Kia ora koutou!
So many things have been happening in the last few weeks and it was difficult to choose what to write about!
We had the awesome School Holiday workshops with Marrzipan on the first week, a Plastic Free July Harakeke weaving workshop with Tanya, different gatherings and few new classes starting! Afro-Brazilian Dance, Traditional Dances of Mexico and now in August, the Wgtn International Folk Dance classes... So I guess we should take our shoes off and embrace dancing! A great way of increasing the energy and the best winter's warmer I could think of!
Check our website for our updated Timetable.
In this edition, we are introducing 2 new sections: one is Whanaungatanga, a section meant for sharing experiences and perspectives from the Aro Valley community.
The other one is Te kupu o te marama / Word of the month. Inspired by the amazing team at Newtown Community Centre (thanks Eryn and Ellie!), we decided to start sharing a meaningful word each month, both in Te Reo Maori and NZSL.
If you have a word that you love and that you'd like to share with the community, email us :)
To wrap up and leave you to enjoy your reading, we wanted to remind you that we are open under Level 2 alert, classes are still running, and we encourage everyone to keep up with the good hygiene practices, keeping your distance when in a group class, keep doing your contact tracing, and staying home if you feel unwell.
Ngā manaakitanga,
Roxy and Dani.
Aro Valley Community Centre.
|
|
|
|
|
The Confidence Corner / Marrzipan School Holiday workshops
|
|
During July's school holiday break, Marrzipan came with their great energy and awesome mahi, and run a 5-day Holiday Workshops. Marrzipan is a revolutionary new teaching method, with the mission to increase self-confidence in children in New Zealand.
They believe self-confidence (or lack thereof) is at the root of many social problems, and can be overcome through belief in yourself and your abilities.
Children devise their own play, create characters they feel awesome portraying, learn to direct each other, design the set, bring in costumes, film a trailer for their production and get to perform to family and friends at the end of the final day!
Workshops are a great to build a child's confidence before school starts, as well as a cool environment to meet new friends and play fun games.
|
|
|
Wellington Timebank at Aro Valley :)
|
|
|
Timebanking is here!
Alana from the Wellington Tiembank came to the Community Centre to have a kōrero and share what the Timebank is about. Wellington Timebank is a community of people who share skills and the currency is time rather than money! If you are interested in being part of a sharing economy, that focuses on building community, skills and knowledge sharing, then Timebanking is for you!
If you want to know more or sign up for being part of Wellington Timebank, pop by the Community Centre, every Tuesday's 10am-12pm and have a chat with Dani (or email her to arrange another time)
P.s: If you would like to sign up, please bring a valid ID! (passport or driver's license)
 
|
|
|
Plastic Free July event: Harakeke weaving with Tanya
|
|
|
We invited Tanya Milne to teach a Harakeke/ NZ Flax weaving workshop at the Hall, as part of our commitment to Plastic Free July and to reduce waste by learning a traditional skill such as flax weaving.
Tanya has great knowledge and amazing skills and she shared a Sunday morning with a group of 9 people, talking and teaching about the ancient art of basketry and weaving.
NZ Flax - Harakeke is the most enduring of all New Zealand native plants, a natural resource and easily accessible.
This koha event included techniques of weaving, along with being taught the cultural customs of working within the sustainable practices of tikanga.
If you want to find more information about Tanya's work, you can check it here
|
|
|
After having a cracked mirror for a while (most of it while we were closed!), we were lucky enough to get in touch with James from Glazing 360 who did a super up-to-speed and awesome job, giving a creative solution for the Community Centre :)
 
|
|
|
|
This month we launched Whanaungatanga - a uniquely Aro centric blog showcasing the talents within Aro valley to the world!
Whanaungatanga is about relationships, kinship, and a sense of connection, created through shared experiences and working together.
It's an invitation to share experiences through kōrero, and for the inaugural edition Roxy sat down with Ruby Solly.
|
|
|
by Roxy Coervers
Ruby Solly is a taonga pūoro practitioner, writer, musician, and music therapist in Pōneke.
Her first album, ‘Pōneke’, was released on June 5th 2020. ‘Pōneke’ is a project involving nga taonga pūoro and cello, withpūoro recorded in different environments around Wellington in order to play with te taiao within the music, allowing us to examine our relationships with our environment and to explore our hidden histories with our city.
I sat down with Ruby for a chat about creativity, art and everything in between
Roxy: How long have you lived in Aro Valley?
Ruby: I moved here when I was 17. And I'm 24 now, so 7 years?
I started off living on Holloway Rd when I was 17. Then I lived at 1 Brooklyn Rd which is at the intersection of Brooklyn, Mt Cook, Aro Valley and Te Aro boundaries. We were in the house right at the intersection of the 4 suburbs. It was a really strange place to be, living in 4 different communities at once, and kind of not being in any of them at the same time.
We lived there for about two years and then we moved because we just really missed being right in the thick of things in Aro. We ended up in Epuni st, which is similar to Holloway road in that it's got an equally deep history and a similar sense of community. I reckon it says a lot about a person, what street they choose to live on... Continue reading Ruby's interview...
|
|
|
In September... Elections 2020!
|
|
|
From Saturday 12th till Saturday 19th of September, Aro Valley Community Centre's Hall will be an Advance Voting place for the 2020 General Elections.
Opening times for voting:
Saturday 12th & Sunday 13th: 10am-4pm
Monday 14th - Friday 18th: 8am-4pm
Election day, Saturday 19th: 9am-7pm
Find more information about the 2020 General Election, how to enroll, referendums here
And find a map for alternative voting places here (from August 10th)
Check your details, update them if needed and
make sure that you are set
to have your say on election day!
|
|
|
|
Te kupu o te marama / Word of the month
|
|
|
The word for the month of August is: Community
New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL):
|
|
|
|
|
|
