Last night was the end of year senior prizegiving. This is a celebration of students success in the classroom as well as across the wider school. I was blown away by the positive, supportive and inclusive environment I was surrounded by. The whanau were incredible. I felt their love towards their children, nieces, nephews, cousins etc, so much so I was quite teary! There were songs, dances, screaming, cheering and lots and lots of leis!
I was intrigued as to where the tradition of leis came from, after seeing dozens of them last night. In the islands, leis signify feelings of love, respect and appreciation of a person and are woven from beautiful flowers. The tradition has changed a little to be leis of lollies, money and various other items as the plants are not in NZ. After the prizes were awarded stacks of people came to the front to support the child with hugs and leis. I thought it was so lovely!
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