On March 23, the school kapa – Te Kapa Haka o Te Puna o Wairaka – set out to perform at the annual ASB Polyfest at the Manukau Sports Bowl in Division 1.
Initially, they were scheduled to perform on the Saturday at 8.35am, which meant a 3am wake-up time.
However, due to unforeseen circumstances, their bus, which was due to pick them up from Te Noho Kotahitanga Marae at Unitec at 6am, didn’t show up.
Fortunately, the organisers of the event were extremely helpful and rescheduled the kapa to perform at 12.05pm, delaying the lunch break by half an hour.
HOF Māori Waimirirangi Paul said, “Adding another spanner to the works was the torrential rain that poured down at the event, delaying the performance even further by another 20 or so minutes!
“In the end, the kapa was able to make it to the stage safely and performed a spectacular bracket, garnering much applause from whānau and supporters alike in the audience.
“The kapa placed 8th overall (out of 14 kapa haka), 4th overall for Mita o te reo (the command of te reo Māori throughout the bracket), placed 2nd for male kākahu (costuming), 3rd for female kākahu and won the ‘Ngākau nui ki te kaupapa’ trophy for commitment to the event.
Ms Paul added, “We are extremely proud of our kapa for representing our school in an exemplary manner, despite the ups and downs!”

Our Te Kapa Haka Te Puna o Wairaka group had a massively successful day on April 5 performing on the Māori Stage at Polyfest.
They were named the Most Improved Group as they finished sixth overall in Division 1.
They also won, for the first time, the best male and female costumes (Kākahu Tāne and Kākahu Wahine) and were awarded the Alice Berridge Trophy and Adelaide Kaka Memorial Cup respectively.
HOF Māori Waimirirangi Paul said, “The final two weeks of Term 1 were very busy and exciting. In week 9, we performed at the school Unity Concert at the Dorothy Winstone Centre, Auckland Girls Grammar. Although this year’s event was doubled over two days, we were only able to open the concert with a performance on the first night, due to our Polyfest preparations. In the end, it was a successful ngahau, we were grateful to be able to tautoko the other cultural groups of the school and it was yet another awesome experience for our students of the kapa.”
She added, “In the final week of the term, the kapa took to the stage to perform at this year’s Polyfest on the Māori Stage at the Due Drop Events Centre in Manukau. For the first time in over a decade, our kapa drew the second to last spot to perform in division 1, which meant that we didn’t have to wake up before dawn to get ready, as was the case last year.
“Our students made us extremely proud with a riveting performance, led by our kaitātaki tāne (male leader/Year 13 Prefect) – Hokioramai Dunn and our kaitātaki wahine (female leader/Year 13 student) – Libby Johnson (both pictured right). There was a great turn out of kaitautoko (supporters), ranging from whānau members, MAGS (particularly Puna), alumni and staff.
“At the conclusion of prize giving, we came away with three awards: 1st place for ‘Best male kākahu’ (costume), 1st place for ‘Best female kākahu’ (costume) – both of which are first time awards for our kapa/school, as well as ‘Most improved’ kapa of the division.
Overall, we placed 6th out of 14 kapa haka and were only five points away from 5th place.”

Te Puna o Wairaka put on their greatest ever performance at Polyfest on to finish third in Division 1 – their best result on the Māori stage.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, this year’s competition – held on March 25 ­– had moved online, with each group performing on stage to the judges and a small handful of supporters and backstage workers, while the performance was live-streamed on the Māori Television website.
For the non-aggregate (non-competition) items, Te Puna placed 3rd for ‘Kākahu wahine’ (Female costumes), 1st for ‘Kākahu tāne’ (Male costumes), 3rd for Co-Ed Mau rākau (use of the rākau weaponry), 2nd equal for Manukura wahine (female leader), 3rd equal for Manukura tāne (male leader).
For the aggregate (competitive) items, Te Puna placed 3rd for the ‘Poi’, 3rd for the ‘Whakawātea’ (exit item), 3rd equal for ‘Mita o te reo’ (the command/use of te reo Māori’ including clarity and diction – accurate/fluent pronunciation).
Whaea Waimirirangi Paul said, “This year’s campaign was particularly challenging with students and one of our head tutors, Matua Peter Walters, going in and out of isolation.
“As a result, only 38 students took to the stage, where normally we would produce a 50-strong team. Further, normally there are three divisions, with a total of 42 teams across all divisions. However, this year only 18 schools participated on the Māori stage.
“Despite these challenges, the students persevered and worked incredibly hard for seven weeks to produce an outstanding performance on stage. In the end, the performance was dedicated to te hunga whetūrangi (those who’ve passed on in recent times), including our Albertians who fell during World War II, in celebration of our Centenary this year. We are very humbled by these achievements and look forward to what the future has in store as this is only the beginning!”

MAGS’ Kapa Haka was first up on the Maori Stage at Polyfest on April 17 and battled terrible weather conditions to finish in eighth place in Division 1.

Fifty students were involved in the Kapa Haka rōpū, and had been training for eight weeks, on Wednesdays and weekends. HOD Te Puna o Wairaka Ms Paul said that in Division 1 you have to perform a number of items over 30 minutes. There are six different disciplines, with haka just one of them.

“In summary, we placed eighth overall out of 14 kapa in Division 1 and had some close aggregate placings that would have seen us place third in some disciplines had it not been for one or two points.

“Looking ahead, we plan to have a debrief to go through the results and judges’ comments in more detail, and to discuss how we can better prepare ourselves next year with the aim to improve our overall competitive results and campaign in general.”

In possibly their best ever performance, MAGS’ Kapa Haka group placed sixth in Division 1.
After the cancellation of the last day of Polyfest due to the Christchurch shootings, the rescheduled competition was renamed Te Pou Herenga o Kia Aroha and held on April 6.
Due to the postponement, this year’s campaign consisted of nine weeks’ worth of training, including Tuesday and Wednesday practices from 3.45pm-9pm, all-day Waitangi Day and six live-ins from 6.30pm Friday through to 1pm on Sunday.
Seventy two students trialled for the group; 50 made the performing team and 15 were reserves.
HoF Te Puna o Wairaka Waimirirangi Paul said, “Overall, we placed sixth out of 13 groups in Division 1, and roughly 52 groups across all three divisions at the competition. We were only five points away from fifth place. This is the best overall aggregate placing MAGS has received, to my knowledge.
“Overall, the comments received from the judges were very positive and some even implied that they thought we would qualify for nationals. However, such is the fate of a competition this tight! The students, wider whānau and us, the tutors, were all extremely proud and happy with the outcome and look forward to next year’s campaign.”
Earlier in the year, MAGS’ Kapa Haka instructors Waimirirangi Paul and Peter Walters became national champions.
Whaea Miri and Matua Peter not only teach Kapa Haka but also take part themselves with their West Auckland-based team, Ngā Tūmanako.
At Te Matatini (the biennial national kapa haka championships) in Wellington in late February, Ngā Tūmanako were crowned Toa Whakaihuwaka (champions) after competing against 46 other teams from all over the country over four days. Their winning performance focused on the revitalisation of te reo.
More photos here

Mount Albert Grammar School’s Kapa Haka group put in one their strongest performances on Saturday, March 19 at ASB Polyfest to finish seventh and retain their place in the prestigious first division.
Waimirirangi Paul, HoF Te Puna o Wairaka, said it was an impressive performance, given they were up against Maori immersion schools. Weeks of planning, practice and costume-making went into the 30-minute performance.
Ms Paul said she was grateful for the support from students, staff, friends and parents on the day and for their positive feedback after the performance on Saturday.
This is how the Kapa Haka group ranked in the various categories: Kakahu Tane – 3rd, Wahine Kakahu – 9th, Wahine Leader – 4th, Tane Leader – 11th,  Tira – 4th,  Mau Rakau – 5th, Eke – 9th, Moteatea – 4th, Waiata a Ringa – 10th,  Poi – 6th, Haka – 5th, Watea – 6th, Mita o te reo – 6th.
The Kapa Haka group were one of seven MAGS cultural groups competing over the Friday and Saturday.