On the 23rd to the 25th of August, 8 students from Ruawai College joined students from Dargaville HS, Otamatea College, Rodney College and Kaipara College to attend the Ngati Whatua AUT tertiary summit. Ngati Whatua is the tribe of the Kaipara area and AUT wanted to offer the students a taste of what AUT tertiary courses are on offer.

We stayed at Hoani Waititi marae in West Auckland and attended workshops at AUT university on education, arts, media, and health. On the second night, we went to a formal dinner at the Trust Arena with a performance from a live band. Each school had to perform something so the Ruawai College group proudly performed our school haka and impressed the rest of the schools. The final day was the AUT open day where each faculty of learning hosted stalls and fun activities for the students to participate in. We would like to thank Mrs Pirepire Marychurch and Mr Townsend for coming along and supporting our students.

I enjoyed meeting new people and finding out about the opportunities that can be given through the iwi. My favourite part was walking around AUT University and going into the TV Studio and being able to test the production gear. – Tiakina Taufonua

Please find photo’s below