Posted in General Polyfest 2023

Date: 17 March 2023

Congratulations to all those students who competed in PolyFest last week, representing themselves, their whanau, their culture and their school with enormous pride and enthusiasm.

Onehunga High School had over 200 students involved in six different groups performing at the Manukau Velodrome: Samoan, Tongan, Cook Island, Niuean, Indian and Filipino. Our Kapa Haka group will be performing on the Māori stage for PolyFest in Week 9.

Thank you to the coaches, teachers, and family members who dedicated many hours to help the students perfect their performances and especially to Deputy Principal Ms Talia McNaughton for her organisation and management of this event.

All groups shone on stage, we also had outstanding results in the speech competition and the Niuean group placed second on the small stage. Thank you to Mr Jay Faata for his work with these groups. His report follows.

Polyfest Results 

I am pleased to share with you that our students have achieved a remarkable feat at the recently held Polyfest Speech Competition. One of our students has emerged as the winner of the competition, while others secured the second and third positions.

The Polyfest Speech Competition is an event where students from different schools showcase their public speaking skills. It is a highly competitive event. Our students have proven their mettle by winning and placing in the top 3 positions, and we are proud of their remarkable achievement.

Magdalena Ieremia - Apelu, who won the competition has shown outstanding oratory skills and excellent delivery of the speech. The hard work, dedication, and perseverance of students has paid off, and they have set an example for others to follow. The students who secured the second and third positions have also displayed exceptional public speaking skills and have made us proud.

Samoan Polyfest Speech competition results 

Magdalene Ieremia - Apelu - 1st place in the year 12 speech competition

Scott Sene - 2nd place in the Year 9 speech competition. 

Joyce Alesana Mamea - 3rd place in the Year 11 speech competition 

Niuean Polyfest Group 

Our Onehunga High Niuean Group placed second overall in the Best Co-ed School section, a remarkable achievement. The group  won five categories (lologo, takalo, fakaotiaga, tame, kamataaga) and placed second in the takitaki fifine and takitaki tane category. 

The Niuean group's success is a testament to the hard work, dedication, and passion of our students, tutors, teachers and families involved in the weeks leading up to Polyfest. Their performances were a beautiful display of Niuean traditions, showcasing their rich cultural heritage and identity.

Mr Jay Faata