Te Maurea Whiritoi make history at Kapa Haka National Championships

Those of us who crowded into the School Hall to see Te Maurea Whiritoi take the National Kapa Haka stage on Friday at lunchtime via Maori Television would all agree that the performance we were treated to was truly stunning, and fortunately the judges were in agreement.  The group had to qualify in order to make finals day on Friday and competition, particularly from the Tainui region, was very strong.  Te Maurea Whiritoi qualified first in their pool of 13 schools (there were three pools in total) and were one of the few mainstream schools to win through to the finals.  The group finished fifth overall, which is the best ever result for our Kapa Haka group, and won four individual awards, winning Best Haka, the Te Reo award (for language), Best Action Song and HBHS Year 13 student  Lucas Baker won Best Male Leader, which is an extraordinary honour (his trophy is pictured at right).  We are hugely proud of our Kapa Haka group, and congratulate them on a magnificent effort which could only come about after hundreds and hundreds of hours of work and dedication from staff, students and whanau.  We look forward to profiling Te Maurea Whiritoi in the Term 3 edition of the High Achiever.  Kia Kaha.