On the 18th of March 2015 Glenfield College took the stage at the ASB Polyfest. “An awesome performance”, “Talk of the day”, all the compliments that were given to us, but with each performance comes a long and tiring journey before it.
For what seemed like the longest eight weeks of our lives we trained lightly then as the time drew nearer practises became more intense and we started to learn more about the true meaning of “kapahaka” and “whanau”.
Some may say that kapahaka took up all our time. In some cases that’s true, in most not so much. Kapahaka became our lives. It’s what we ate, slept and breathed. You see there are two completely different meanings between time and life. One is what you try and fill, the other is who you are.
For a few members in our group this was the first time in a college roopu, or as we see it Whanau. For four of us it was going to be our last stand. This was a long and emotional road to Polyfest, but from our first practise to now, you can see just by looking at us that kapahaka has changed us from strangers, or those we sometimes see in the playground, to a family that carried each other to our battlefield, or as we all know it “POLYFEST”.
We went there with a “Who are you?” name and left there with people asking “Where is that Glenfield College from?”. We were literally the talk of the day. We were recognised as a competing school, and not just a school that was there for a day off.
We had excellent performances and the highlights being:
1st Waiata Tira- Pirangi ahau
3rd Moteatea- Maia te Tipua
3rd Manukura Wahine- Leeah Chou-Lee Ryder
All this would not have been possible without our parent and teacher helpers.
Whaea Anne, Matua Hone, (Staff) Jono and our wonderful supportive whanau (who are to many to mention), you are all wonderful and our whanau are forever greatful.
With final words to my family Te Kareti O Kaipatiki
“Whāia te iti kahurangi ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei”
“Aim for the highest cloud, for if you are to bow down to anything, let it be the highest mountain”.
Established in 1969, Glenfield College is a state co-educational secondary school (Years 9-13) on the North Shore of Auckland. Over the years, we have nurtured many students who have excelled in external examinations, producing a proud record of academic achievement, above the average for similar schools. Classrooms focus on student inquiry and learning in a supportive environment, while our facilities encourage participation in co-curricular activities, giving students the chance to thrive both in and out of the classroom.
