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Hairy hats, mad masks and formal frills were just some of the categories at Coastal Taranaki School’s whanau wearable arts show last week. With 87 entries and 90 models, the event was a hit among students some of which were focused on winning points for their whanau or house.

The whole school was involved with teachers in charge of groups of about 30 students. Whanau activities such as the wearable arts show promote the relationship between junior students, as young as five, and seniors aged up to 18, at the area school. “It’s really special because we have five year olds working with 15 year olds; we are one of the few schools in Taranaki that can do that,” said Whanau Coordinator Ruth O’Connor.

About 60 parents and members of the community attended the wearable arts show, paying a gold coin donation to the Red Cross fund for Christchurch, and got to see what the whanau system was all about. “It was great working with the younger students of the school, in a bit of whanau rivalry,” Marion Richardson, senior teacher said.

Students sourced the majority of materials for their creations, ranging from newspaper to fallen leaves, from within the school ground, in keeping with a school value – sustainability.

“We liked that we got to make stuff and work together, even though we were in different whanaus,” said Beni.

By Rebecca Gibson
Rebecca Gibson is a WITT journalism student