Congratulations to Matteo Pohomare Koroheke Brennan, 14, who had an excellent year in 2015 with sporting, academic and personal achievements.

Matteo, (Ngāi Tahu – Te Ngāi Tūāhuriri, Te Arawa) is a student at St Bede’s College in Christchurch and teina to Maui Brennan.

Matteo, is the bass player in the St Bede’s, seven member Jazz band, which received a bronze award at last year’s Jazz Quest. He also played in the winning team that won the U14 Mainland Football Championship.

Academically, Matteo received excellence in English, languages, religious education, social studies, the arts; and he was first in his year group for music, Spanish and te reo Māori.

Well done Matteo, your whānau are proud of you and all of your achievements to date.

Matteo Pohomare Koroheke Brennan.

Matteo Pohomare Koroheke Brennan.

Sporting and academic success

Simone Pitama, (18) was the recipient of the CPIT Foundation Rakatahi Award, and along with nine other Māori and Pasifika students, she recently travelled to Auckland to watch the Oprah Winfrey show.

Simone is an all-round achiever. She also received an award from Rangiora High for being the student who most contributed to te reo at her kura.

She is a fan of sports and has played netball, volleyball and basketball. Her other passions include kapa haka.

Simone, who has lived in Rangiora all of her life, often spends time at Tuahiwi Marae and within the marae community.

In an article in the Northern Outlook, published on 23 January 2016, Simone said, “When there’s a funeral (at the marae) I’m definitely in the kitchen helping prep food and trying to take care of people. There’s also te reo workshops…I always try and get to a few of those, to keep up with my te reo and to network with everyone as well.”

Simone also received a First Foundation Scholarship and as part of her scholarship she is working at Spark. She says she will be studying accounting and commerce at university.

Congratulations to you Simone – your whānau and hapū are proud of you.

Writings by Lesel Flutey

FORGIVENESS
There it is stuck in my mind
The very thing I thought I’d left behind
It sticks like glue and hardens like clay
All the things I had no courage to say
Now it’s another day and I am doing my best
But I really need to get this off my chest
I know life is too short to hold a grudge
It does me no good when this won’t budge
I’m going to open up like a budding flower
Need to speak my truth & take back my power
So here is my courage, the softening of the clay
I choose to remove the glue and here is what I’d say

I can’t change the past and need to let this go
I need to move forward to help me grow
No longer needed in my life you can’t stay
I wish you well and send you on your way
I learnt to forgive this started with me
I’m thanking you for setting me free
Because I’m not the person I used to be.
Nā Lesel Flutey.

ROOTS OF THE  ANCIENT GRANDMOTHER TREE
She can sing, dance and show herself bare
She has a lot to offer and a lot to share
Under the roots of an ancient Grandmother tree
There’s hidden knowledge for those who go in and see
The roots are spread wide, long and thick
It started with a seed and grew real quick
Instinct and intuition our ancient coding found
The energies of earth deep within the ground
Embedded within that we carry deep
The roots of experience for us to keep
If we understand ourselves we understand our kin
The strong roots of generations entwine within
Always memories forgotten at one point or another
Stored in our DNA like the ancient tree the Grandmother.
Nā Lesel Flutey.