Today I, as a part of the Flute Choir, got to skip Physics and go to Ferguson Intermediate in Otara and play in their assembly. I think it’s fair to say that everyone was fully blown away with our welcome.
When we pulled in there was a line of students all holding lei and everyone got were presented with one. We were welcomed with a powhiri and a waitata. It was fully hard out. We walked down the middle of the assemblly while the kapa haka group sang. The students seemed to be amused with us because I noticed a slight snigger go through the crowd. It could have been that we were a group of asians teens walking into a hall filled with P.I kids… We got seats up at the front of the assembly where everyone could see us. I could see straight away that this school had a huge Maori influence with powhiri and the really well-practiced kapa haka group and even the school hall was built in a marae style with the rafters sloping in and a backbone rafter down the middle. (I’d give a better description if I remembered what these were called.) A teacher gave a speech in Maori… I understood “haere mai” “tamariki” “whakarongo” and ”tena kautau”.
The prinicpal addressed the school and the school replied in a really unenthusiastic tone “Good morning Mrs Leach.” ( and yes, she is Mr Leach’s wife) and welcomed us again. She talked about how they were starting their Performing Art programme next year and I guess they got us in to promote that (even though half of the school won’t be there next year.) Mr Leach said a few words and then Ms Spurr went up and introduced our instruments while we got ready to play. After that we went up on the stage (which I have to say is better than the stage we have at school. It doesn’t bounce when you jump and is actually attached to the floor) and set up the stands… and broke one of them… I think it was the one that I accidently bent backwards when we went to the old folks home (Dannemora Gardens I think it’s called.) We played our songs and got them to clap the beat in the last one. I’m pretty sure they enjoyed it…
It was then that Mrs Leach got the equivalent of class leaders to come and present Mr Leach, Ms Spurr and us with gifts… WOW! They only ever gave us chocolate bars at the old folks home and had never welcomed us on with a powhiri. The assembly carried on as we sat there with our gifts with Mr Leach presenting awards to their Boys Volleyball team who had come 1st in the South Auckland competition and then 3rd in Auckland. They got volleyballs and a certificate… my sport teams were never rewarded with sport equipment…
Then it was time for us to leave… We got handshakes from teachers as we tried to put the stands and flutes away without being too distracting. They clapped us out and I got a highfive from a 12 year old. As we left I realised that they had given us tuners in our little gift packs! I don’t have one so it is completely awesome because I was thinking of getting one but they’re rather expensive. I’m not sure how to work it so I’ll have to figure that one out.
I never would have guessed that we would have been treated this way because we were just there performing… it was no big deal.
A BIG FAT THANK YOU GOES OUT FERGUSON INTERMEDIATE!!!!!!!!!