Kia Toa! Be Brave! Be Resilient!
Bernard Mangakahia
came and entertained us with his message to be brave and resilient! It's
all about getting up if you fall down, and trying again.
He sang an interactive
song about a boy running a race, falling down, and getting back up over and
over again. We all joined in with actions and words - prompted by
students holding up encouraging words .
Bernard gave us examples from
his own life of things he has wanted to master, which has meant he had to keep
trying even when things were tricky. Examples were the "Slap"
dance and learning how to juggle firesticks. He encouraged us all to find 2 heroes and research them.
Heroes, who have shown courage, or kept going in the face of adversity.
He talked about 2 of his own heroes who showed
resilience. One was his great-grandma Meri Te Tai Mangakahia of
Taitokerau who requested the vote for women from the Kotahitanga Māori
Parliament in the 1800's. She is represented in a statue in Christchurch.
His other hero is his
father-in-law who faced multiple challenges including being forced off his farm
in Africa and having to start again in Australia, and losing one of his legs in
an accident. Despite this, he managed to climb Kilimanjaro, (carrying a
spare prosthetic leg over his shoulder)!
We had a fun time
trying Bernard's dances.
Remember:
Be
Brave, Be Resilient! If you fall down, get back up and try again!
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| Bernard doing his dance of rings. |
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| Seniors helping Bernard hold up the encouraging words. |
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| Bernard doing his Fijian dance. |
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| His heroes. |
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| Waikowhai Primary joining in and having fun. |
