item details
Overview
This is a Year Thirteen group photo taken at Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate Junior School in 2017. It relates to collection object O.045120, an image which features these six students when they were Year One entrants.
Project 83: Small things matter
Mahina Finau.participated in the 2017 co-collecting initiative Pikipiki hama kae vaevae manava: joining our vaka to share our breath or life stories. The project worked with members of the Tongan community in Tamaki Auckland. Finau participated as part of a Year 13 Tongan language class from Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate in Otara. We held a two-day training workshop with the class that aimed to demonstrate how collections and the museum can be meaningful spaces where their lives and experiences are valued, including contemporary teenage life.
As part of the sessions we encouraged the students to come up with a project name for the youth-focussed collecting that they would be undertaking - Project 83: Small things matter.
This was an opportunity to represent themselves and counter the stereotypical representations of their home town of Otara. The number '83' represents their school 'Hilary Collegiate' taken from the position of the letters 'H' and 'C' in the alphabet. The name reflects the experiences and values they share as 'Proud Otarians'. The second half of the title is 'small things matter' inspired by the story of a small shell in our collections. This tag line represents their collective agreement as a class to commit to this opportunity, and share what matters to them, regardless of how insignificant they may appear to others.
Significance:
This photo was donated alongside the image O.045120 by Mahina to reflect her formal schooling which to date has been located at Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate. School is an informative place for youth and Mahina acknowledges the growth she has experienced at school.
"These photographs are very significant as it holds lifetime memories that I will forever cherish. Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate is the place where I've had my ups and downs, a place where I've shed my happy tears but also my sad tears. This was also the school that gave me many friends who have supported me up to this day, and for that I am deeply grateful. My aim for this artefact is to encourage young students and children in the future, and say if I'm from Otara and attend a low decile school and I succeed than anyone can. I hope once I step out into reality that I may realise the good impact this school has had on my life, but also to take with me the day to day values which is Respect, Excellence and Whanaunatanga" (Mahina Finau, July 2017).
The two photographs are representative of her personal journey through education and emphasize the influence and role of schooling in a young person's life.