Kura Stevens and Noah Konia competed at the regional Ngā Manu Kōrero speaking competition last week at the Dunedin Town Hall.
We were incredibly proud of Noah Konia and Kura Stevens who, last week, competed at the regional Ngā Manu Kōrero speaking competition - one of Aotearoa's most prestigious speaking competitions.
They were supported by the kapa haka who presented waiata and haka tautoko for both our speakers. The kapa haka were also involved in the pōwhiri welcoming in schools from around the region.
The competition is an annual oratory or speech competition for secondary students with junior and senior divisions in Te Reo Māori (open to all) and English (open to Māori students only). The four divisions include: Te Hurinui Jones Contest, Korimako Contest, Te Rāwhiti Ihaka Contest, and Sir Turi Carroll Contest. It has been running for 60 years and was this year hosted by Otago at the Dunedin Town Hall.
Both boys presented excellent speeches. Noah competed in the Junior English section. He discussed the role of tangihanga and Māori tikanga surrounding death, drawing from personal experiences. Kura presented two speeches in the Senior English section. The first was a prepared speech on the topic "Talent is a flame; genius is a fire. " which discussed the importance of tenacity and resilience through the context of significant Kāi Tahu leaders and events. Following this he had to also present an impromptu speech in the early evening. For his efforts, Kura was awarded second place overall in the Senior English section and in doing so has become John McGlashan's first ever place winner at this competition.
We could not be more proud of the effort, focus and level of excellence that both of these boys displayed last week and over the time spent preparing for this competition. E rere ana te mihi ki a kōrua - e tū maia ana kōrua i te atamira. Poho Kererū katoa mātou i a kōrua.
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