This year was the 54th year of the Ngā Manu Kōrero Māori Speech competition. Our Horowhenua/Manawatu regional competition was hosted by Hato Paora College in Feilding and attended by 15 schools. The aim of the competition is to encourage the development of skills and confidence of Māori students in spoken English and Māori.
Nikita McDermott competed in the Senior English section with eight other schools. Her prepared speech topic was “My culture is more than a performance” and her impromptu topic given to her 5 minutes before walking on stage in front of hundreds of people was “I believe in the teachers strike because…”. She was amazing, well prepared and focused, taking everything in her stride. She gave it her absolute best against seasoned and confident speakers. She didn’t place but she is a winner in our eyes and we coundn’t have been more proud of her, and she of herself. It was a good day attended by her mum, her two first counsins, Alison Parata and Ricky McDermott, senior students Billie Paki, Holden Beckham, Miya Riwaka, and Whaea Kawa, Matua Chris and myself.
Whaea Tracie
TIC Manu Kōrero