Tarawera pair prepare for Hawaii
1 April 2015
HAWAII FUNDRASING: Mickey Savage and Levi Whata are busy fundraising for a class trip to Hawaii in September. Photo Megan Hunt D1899-06
TWO Tarawera High School students will meet more than just Hawaiian locals for the first time during a class trip in September.
Mickey Savage and Levi Whata will travel to Hawaii with students from 10 other North Island schools after meeting them in person for the first time shortly before the trip.
Both 17-year-olds wanted to take te reo Maori this year, but their subject lines clashed.
Along with five other Tarawera students, they joined a digital classroom as part of the Volcanics cluster, which included 15 North Island schools.
The te reo Maori class connected students from 10 of the schools to each other and their teacher, based in Northland, through a video link.
Mickey said talking regularly through the digital network each Wednesday helped the group build friendships, but she was looking forward to meeting her classmates in person.
The group flies out on September 24 and will spend four days billeted with different families and the remaining eight nights in hotels.
During the 12-day trip they would give four kapa haka performances after practising as a group once they touched down in Hawaii.
The main focus of the trip was to learn how native Hawaiians preserved their culture and how these methods could be applied to Maori traditions.
Mickey was busy mixing, baking, and icing cupcakes and slices to fund her trip.
She hosted cake stalls at the Kawerau night markets to fundraise. These were so popular she sold out most nights and she has received more orders through Facebook.
With support from family members Levi approached community groups and businesses for funding.
Both students were in their final year of high school and preparing for tertiary study in 2016.
Mickey is planning to attend Sir George Seymour College next year to pursue a career as a flight attendant, while Levi is considering studying teaching at Waikato University.
Soure: Whakatane Beacon