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Last modified: 30 Sep 2020 11:55am

A group of families watch a reading in te reo at the library

Joining a moment with a million other people will be part of celebrations of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori in Selwyn next week.

Selwyn Libraries will be taking part in Te Wā Tuku Reo Māori, or the Māori Language Moment, where people are encouraged to speak, sing, listen to and celebrate te reo at 12pm on Monday 14 September.

The moment, organised by the Māori Language Commission, is aiming to get one million Kiwis to take part. People can sign up, or find ideas for how to take part at tuku.reomaori.co.nz.

Te Wā Tuku Reo Māori will be among a series of activities at Selwyn Libraries that you can join in marking the week, starting on Monday 14 September.

Nau mai, haere mai, ki te whakanui i Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. He pūrākau kei te haere! (Help us celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori with a storytime!)

Each library will have an activity sheet with basic Māori activities available to pick up and will be hosting poi making workshops and a storytime with waiata (songs) and some of our favourite stories in te reo.

Staff will also be running the poi workshop in a Selwyn kura (school) and collaborating with the school kapa haka group.

Libraries Programme Delivery Coordinator Bridie Frost says it’s good to be a part of a valuable and fun annual celebration.

“Te Reo Māori is an official language of New Zealand, so Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori is a chance to support part of who we are, and celebrate something unique to our country. The Selwyn Libraries team are also always looking for ways we can celebrate our culturally diverse community with initiatives like CultureFest, Diwali and many more, and Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori is an important part of that.”

Te reo Storytimes will be held at:

Rolleston, Tuesday 15 September 9.30–10am

Leeston, Thursday 17 September 10–10.30am

Lincoln, Thursday 17 September 10.30–11am

Darfield, Friday 18 September 10–10.30am

Poi workshops will be held at:

Lincoln, Monday, 14 September, 3.30–4.30pm

Leeston, Tuesday, 15 September, 3.30–4.30pm

Darfield, Wednesday 16 September, 3.30–4.30pm

Burnham Hub, Thursday 17 September, 1.30-4pm