CANTERBURY POLYFEST 2023

By Punipuao Moananu

Canterbury Polyfest was back in full force on the 18th of March, with a sunny day of dance and vibrant Pasifika song performed by secondary schools across Canterbury region.

Crowds of aiga and supporters gathered at the Speacial Events Area, North Hagley Park, Christchurch, to welcome back the event since covid- 19, full of anticipation for the return to the festival feeling that makes Polyfest an iconic date on the Cantebury school calender.

Though the festival is known for its fierce performance across the Samoan, Tongan, Fiji, Nieuan and Cook Island cultures, over the years the perfromance has expanded to include other Pasifika cultures like Kiribati and Tahiti. The stage was on fire from one performance after the other between the 25 Canterbury High Schools that attended the event.

Not only the performances were on, but the kai provided at the event was a double win. Paper plates piled with barbequed chicken, chopsuey, a Raro donut and that famous Otai (tongan fruit salad) make up the perfect hot plate at this year’s Polyfest.

This years Polyfest was definitely HOME AWAY FROM HOME. As Pasifika, everything we do is about embracing our values, culture and identity. This is what we do. This is what we love.

Cheeehoooooooo!!!!

As parents, we all want our children to be healthy and active, but sometimes it can be difficult to find the time and resources to make it happen. That’s why we’re proud to offer the LU Parent Society Children’s Fitness Class - a free, fun, and engaging way for students and families to stay active and healthy.

Held every Saturday morning 10:30 at LU gym, our children’s fitness class is open to all LU students and families, and offers a wide range of activities and exercises designed to promote physical fitness, coordination, and overall wellness.

Led by certified instructors who are passionate about helping children stay active and healthy, our classes are suitable for children of all ages and skill levels, from beginners to advanced little athletes.

Our children’s fitness class is more than just a fun way to burn off some energy - it’s also a great way to connect with other families and build a sense of community. Through group activities and games, children are able to make new friends and develop social skills, while parents can connect with other like-minded families and share experiences and advice. And the best part? Our children’s fitness class is completely FREE for all LU students and families. We believe that access to healthy, active lifestyles is a right, not a privilege, and we’re proud to offer this program as a way to support our community and promote overall wellness.

So if you’re looking for a fun and healthy way to stay active, connect with other families, and make a positive impact in your community, we invite you to join us for our next children’s fitness class. No prior experience is necessary - just bring a positive attitude and a willingness to have fun!

By Liam Hunter

As Lincoln Uni Christian Fellowship (CF) we are all about learning who Jesus Christ is, discovering or growing in faith, and sharing that with others. Whether you’re a seasoned Christian or never even heard of Christianity the CF is a place where we dig into God’s word the Bible, discover Jesus’ love and become strengthened in our faith.

This year over March the 17-19th the Christian Fellowship had our annual camp at Hibburt Park in Spencer Park, north Christchurch. The camp was a combination of hanging out, playing sports, team challenges and hearing a series of messages from Tim Hodge, a TSCF (Tertiary Students Christian Fellowship, the nationwide CF movement) staff worker. We were looking into the Bible book of Haggai, which is a small book in the Old Testament.

Between the competitive games of touch rugby and force back, the CF had a weekend full of fun as well as studying a relatively unknown book in the Bible and seeing why this book is in the Bible and what relevance it still has to us today.

The book of Haggai was written by the prophet Haggai and through this prophet, God spoke to his people, the people of Israel. The book centered around God telling his people to rebuild his temple in Jerusalem, but the people were too busy building their own houses and putting off working on the house of the Lord. So, for us we were challenged by the book as we considered our own lives and asked ourselves the question, are we spending our time building up our own houses or God’s kingdom?

Along with the team challenges and games we also went swimming at the beach and enjoyed time hanging out over the weekend soaking up the last of the summer sun.

The CF camp is held every year and it isn’t exclusive to only existing members of the CF, anyone is invited, and we would love to have more people come along even if they aren’t in the club next year when we run it again.

For people who missed the camp or are keen to check out other stuff that we do, the CF runs Monday evening Bible studies at 7:30pm at The Well flat which is at 1419 Springs Road opposite gate three of the Orchard carpark. On top of this we also have weekly lunch meet ups in the glass box in the Forbes building from 12:30-2pm during UFT on Wednesdays where we meet up for sandwiches provided by us and normally hang out and run activities. We’re part of various local churches. As a club we also have other one-off events throughout the year, and we try to run toasty nights at Mrs. O’s once a term.

By Giorgia Hickey

The AGLS Society is a club focusing on students within the AGLS faculty at LU (but anyone is welcome to come along to events!). We run both social and academic events to bring students together and so everyone can meet people of similar and different degrees and backgrounds!

Our club has had a great start to the year with a woodsplitting fundraiser getting our bank account looking nice with $2500! We had 15 club members come and give us a hand for the weekend of mahi. We also ran a quiz night at the end of the term which had 3 awesome goodie baskets as prizes. We had 5 teams enter and get through the eight rounds of questions, with a group of third years taking the win.

We look forward to more events to come, including a lecturer panel of everyone’s favourite lecturers coming up at the end of May! So stay tuned for that

If this club sounds like a bit of you feel free to join our Facebook page, or scan the QR Code.