Speaking of awards, here are some little videos that I shot at Amiri's school's annual awards ceremony. It took place after school hours, and it was a nice evening-- he and I walked there hand in hand, just the two of us, and we even got an ice cream. Afterward, we kicked off our shoes and played barefoot in the park.
The ceremony was mostly made up of the usual reading-of-names and winners-coming-up-to-accept, with the preponderance of attention devoted to the 'graduating' sixth graders (as is only fair). But they had also prepared some entertainment for us. Here is one of the musical interludes where the children, who had been seated on the floor of the gym, stood and turned to face their whanau.
Amiri's little face is obscured in a sea of little faces here, but while 'live' I could make out his very earnest performance of all the words and motions, and I told him afterward how proud I was of him. (On the way in, he had confided to me that he was nervous about remembering everything. Sweet little boy, he wanted to get it just right.) He is standing to the right of the white projector, kind of just above the guitarist's head.
And at the close of the ceremony, the sixth graders were farewelled onto their next stage of life by exiting through a gauntlet of shirtless, enthusiastic (and fifth-grade and younger!) haka warriors. Kia kaha*, kids.
* 'Stay strong.' A term of affirmation, encouragement, and approval.
The ceremony was mostly made up of the usual reading-of-names and winners-coming-up-to-accept, with the preponderance of attention devoted to the 'graduating' sixth graders (as is only fair). But they had also prepared some entertainment for us. Here is one of the musical interludes where the children, who had been seated on the floor of the gym, stood and turned to face their whanau.
Amiri's little face is obscured in a sea of little faces here, but while 'live' I could make out his very earnest performance of all the words and motions, and I told him afterward how proud I was of him. (On the way in, he had confided to me that he was nervous about remembering everything. Sweet little boy, he wanted to get it just right.) He is standing to the right of the white projector, kind of just above the guitarist's head.
And at the close of the ceremony, the sixth graders were farewelled onto their next stage of life by exiting through a gauntlet of shirtless, enthusiastic (and fifth-grade and younger!) haka warriors. Kia kaha*, kids.
* 'Stay strong.' A term of affirmation, encouragement, and approval.
3 comments:
What a lovely evening that Amiri and you had together! NZ has such beautiful ceremonies for the students. I could not quite make out Amiri but I liked knowing about where he was. I am sure that his performance was perfect. I am a proud Aunt also. Thank you for sharing it.
Yes, how wonderful an evening! Auntie Kathie is proud of Amiri too!
It's always amazing to me to see how much value NZ puts in its children with such elaborate ceremonies!
I love how Maori culture is integrated in these events!
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