Matariki at St Francis

X-factor Kiwi kids at St Francis School in Pt Chev. These Tongan children are so proud their brother is on the front cover photo of Rise of the To’a. By the way these children are all siblings … 4 sets of twins … from one family! “You have made a huge impression on children and…

Sometimes when you hear the phrase “the streets” it has negative connotations, especially the streets of places like Manurewa. That’s why I’ve been doing this project with children of Waimāhia Intermediate to change that perception. In this collection of writing the children write about the people, places and memories of their streets which are uplifting…

Today we launched this beautiful book at Elmwood Resthome. Ten children from The Gardens School have been working with 10 elders living in nearby Elmwood Rest Home on a special project called Silent Witnesses. Elders shared stories about treasured objects and the children wrote and illustrated the stories. Many of the elders said they looked forward to the…

On Thursday I attended an event called the May Meet Up at the Mangere Arts Centre. It was a gathering of artists and people with dreams from Mangere-Otahuhu and was such an inspiring evening.  We heard about these awesome projects that are happening in our community and country like: Anonymouz creating a soundtrack to help blind people…

Hanging out with Libby Gray, Rebecca Ter Borg and the legendary matua Witi Ihimaera at the Children’s Book Awards. I remember reading Pounamu Pounamu as a kid, and watching the film version of The Whale Rider with my students at TC. Never did I think I would even meet Witi, but share an event with…

He’s a blond pocket rocket! He’s like a magician with a box of tricks! He’s dazzling, lightning, electrifying! But he’s only 175 centimetres (5 feet 9 inches) tall and weighs just 78 kilograms. How does he do it? You’ll Be Right is the inspiring story of Damian McKenzie’s journey from the deep south of New Zealand…