Ōtepoti Literacy Challenge 2026!

Early in Term Two, it was announced that Tahuna would be sending some teams to the Ōtepoti Literacy Challenge 2026 to be held at Tahuna. Some people were chosen to be a part of it, and we met every Monday and Tuesday at 12:40 in the afternoon to prepare.

We were all studying the book Nine Girls by Stacy Gregg. The title has to do with the place the story is set in, which is Ngaruawahia, how you spell that is; Nine Girls Are Running Under A Wharf And Here I Am; so it's the first letter from each word. The main characters are Titch, Pan, and Tania. Titch is a 12-year-old girl who is trying to find out who she is. Pan is a taniwha who tells Titch stories about her ancestors. Tania is also 12, and she has cancer (but doesn't know it).

At the competition, we found our seats, and there were books, pens, and stickers on our table, so we got to keep them (which was really cool). Once the competition started, there was a quick-fire round, a guess the book by the emoji round, and a create a poem based on friendship round. They also did spot prizes for the adults who were there, and spot prizes for the kids.

The judges were Miss Bird, an author, and Jackie. They each got a gift bag, and there were Year 8 helpers.

The Things-Ma-Bobidi-Bobs came third, which was an awesome achievement! Congratulations to Sophie Cartwright, Sydney Pomerleau, Flynn Reay and Alec Cahill. Trinity number one came second, and Trinity number two came first. After the schools had left, they emailed out the scores to teachers, and the teachers told their students.

It was such a fun event, and I know lots of us are really looking forward to having another go at it next year.

By Georgie Rawling

Event photo courtesy of Otago Literacy Association