High School Boys Honor Retiring Teacher With Moving Haka

High School Boys from New Zealand chose to give a moving farewell to a veteran teacher with a rousing performance of their best haka dance at an assembly earlier this year.

Guidance counsellor John Adams was a teacher at Palmerston North Boys’ High School for 30 years, starting out as a substitute teacher in science and agriculture studies in February 1986.

As seen in footage viewed more than 300,000 times, hundreds of students performed an emotional haka in the school’s hall on on April 14, 2016. The haka is a traditional New Zealand war cry, dance, or challenge from the Maori people of New Zealand. While the New Zealand haka is memorably performed at the start of sporting events, it is also used to acknowledge distinguished figures.

Credit: Ella Mitchell