Poutini and Waitaiki Legend

Poutini and Waitaiki Script

Jennae: First of all there was a legend we may have heard of. Producer Milan and Director Jennae will inform you about this legend.

Milan: Long Long ago… there was a taniwha called Poutini. He swam up and down the rough seas

of Te Tai O Poutini protecting the people and the spiritual essence of pounamu.

Jennae: One day while Poutini was resting in the warm waters of Tuhua he saw a beautiful woman, called Waitaiki, bathing in the moana. Poutini immediately fell in aroha and he snatched Waitaiki and swam south towards the mainland.

Milan: Waitaiki’s husband, Tamaahua,  was a strong chief and he was the most skilled person in the

spiritual world. When Tamaahua finally found out that Waitaiki was gone, he threw a large dart into the air;

the dart pointed in the direction that Poutini and Waitaiki were. Tamaahua and his slave quickly paddled in

their waka towards that direction

Jennae: Waitaiki and Poutini finally reached the shore at Tahanga /Taupo and Poutini lit a fire to warm them up. When Poutini heard Tamaahua coming he grabbed Waitaiki again and took off.

Milan: The chase kept going and going all around Aotearoa. Each time they stopped somewhere new Poutini lit an ahi.

Jennae:Waitaiki was terrified and makariri. She begged Poutini to turn around. After a lot of begging

Poutini listened to Waitaiki and carried her back up the West Coast.Tamaahua found his wife’s tears in the waters near Piopiotahi / Milford Sound and realised that they had turned around.  Those tears are found in the greenstone known as tangiwai.

Milan: One night Tamaahua sat down and got ready for a big fight with Poutini for Waitaiki. Poutini was concerned and said to himself, “If I can’t have Waitaiki then no one can!”

Jennae: Poutini transformed Waitaiki into pounamu, and laid her down in the makariri waters of the Arahura River. High up the Arahura River there is a stream known as Waitaki Creek, the legend says that in the waters of the aahura, at this point, lies a ledge of pounamu, the body of Waitaiki.

Milan: Tamaahua set out tin the  morning to fight Poutini and to claim Waitaiki back. He reached where Waitaiki was and realised what had happened. Tamaahua was devastated and returned back home without his wife.

Jennae: That concludes our story of Poutini and Waitaiki. Thank you for watching we will see you next Sunday on ABC News.

Milan and Jennae together: Kite Koe I muri  

Link to our video

Graph DLO

Chinese New Year

Chinese New Year

Learning Intention and Success Criteria

In Room Eight we have been learning about the Chinese New Year and what they do for their New Year and how different it is to our New Year. We are learning about the Chinese New Year to  have more of an understanding about their culture and to have repsect for it. This also goes back to one of my school values 'respect.'

‘What’: (L.I) The dragon is a mythical creature that looks a bit like a lizard or a serpent. Combine some of the features of two interesting animals to create your own mythical creature. Decide on a habitat for your creature. This is a drawing of Hannah and I’s mythical creature. It is named FlamingoX. The FlamingoX lays eggs every chinese new year and it likes habitats like swampy and wet places. They love to swim and are very good at it, which make them a very dangerous aquatic animal.


‘Why’: (L.I) One Chinese New Year tradition is to give children red envelopes containing money. Make a list of pros and cons of giving money as a present. Would you rather receive a surprise gift or money? Explain why.  Pros: you get money to spend, you can get more money to save for something, so you have money to buy something for someone. Cons: it puts lots of pressure on the people who give the money, your siblings might nag you for it, you might feel bad taking the money, it is only on special occasion.  I would want a surprise gift because I would feel bad taking the money and I might not need it.

‘When’:Large crowds of people come together for festivals and parades.
Do you remember when you part of a large crowd? How did you feel?
Use all your senses and describe the experience in a paragraph. I remember
when I was a little young and I were at the Jackie Thomas concert in
Greymouth at the Regent Theatre. I was standing in a huge crowd full
of other fans holding up signs. My mum  and the rest of my family seen
that on television she had won the XFactor and we had been watching
every week when it was on at her singing. I felt happy that I met her after
and had her signature and a photo. I also felt like I could do that because
ever since I could sing my mother printed out song lyrics and I always got
told to be quiet when I was singing them. So I could only sing songs when no
one was in the house but me.

Taste: I couldn’t taste anything when I was in the large crowd.

Sight: I could see a huge gathering of people like me (fans) swarming in,
around the stage just watching Jackie Thomas. I could also see Jackie opening
her mouth to a microphone.

Touch:  I could feel the vibration of the floor shaking me and the feel of the
bamboo stick gripped tightly to my hand with a message to Jackie.

Smell: I could smell the powder they put on stage for effect flying up in the air.

Sound: I could hear a really good singer on stage, the crowd yelling and
screaming when Jackie sang and also the sounds of the speakers vibrating.

‘Where’: Red is considered to be a very lucky colour in Chinese New Year celebrations. Make a list of the red things you would find in a supermarket.
Apples, Strawberries, Raspberries, Cherries,  Dragonfruit, Capsicum, Grapes,
Chilli, Tomato sauce, meat, bacon, fizzy drink, redskins, liquorice, baby food,
lolly pops, watermelon, grapefruit, jam, wine, red food dye,

‘How: Look at pictures or videos showing how teams of people hold a dragon on
poles to make it dance during a parade. How can you improve this method of making
a dragon move?

I watched a video on two people moving a dragon on tall poles. I saw that there
were two people that were lifting their partner up in the air and moving them to
the next pole in front of them or behind. This made it look like the dragon was
moving around on the poles. A way I could improve this method is by making
the poles maybe a little closer to each other and then the dragon can move faster
and make it look more real.

Hannah and Jennae’s own Trek Cards

‘Who’: Who has the biggest Chinese New Year celebration outside of China?  
San francisco America has the biggest Chinese New Year celebration outside
of china. It has huge parades and dances., street fair and fireworks.

“Which’: For the Chinese New Year they celebrate for 15 days. Each day they have
different events.  Which events have you heard of they do for the Chinese New Year?
Which event is the most popular?

The event that is the most popular for the Chinese New Year is the Spring Festival.
The Spring Festival is the most popular because it is the first event that happens
at the beginning of the New Year. Some Chinese New Year events I have heard of
is the lantern night,  dragon and lion dance and the spring festival.

Hannah Coggle: Chinese New Year (Mind Map)

Jennae  Coggle: Chinese New Year (Mind Map)