A teacher at Kaiti school in Gisborne says staff and pupils are "over the moon" at winning the top honour in the 2011 Maori Language awards.
The school beat off 26 other finalists in 15 categories to take the Supreme award at a function in Rotorua on Friday night.
Viki Lee says it was really exciting for those from the school who attended the awards but the atmosphere in class today has been electric.
She says the children are loving the attention and think they're all superstars because it was their mahi and their work.
Viki Lee says the school's entry entailed each class making a food dish for someone in the community they thought was special during Maori Language week.
Maori Language Commission's chief executive Glenis Philip-Barbara says the school really captured the spirit of Manaakitanga, or showing respect and kindness.
She says what made the entry special and inspiring, was that it was mostly driven by the pupils and not the teachers.
