WHS Newsletter | Issue 4.07 | 15 December 2022

Principal's Message

Kia ora and welcome to the final Wakatipu High School newsletter for 2022. As always it has been a big last few days with plenty happening right up until the very end.

On Monday Branches Camp 2 came out, tired but happy. While both camps experienced a bit of weather, both were very successful and provided our students with great experiences in the special place that is Branches. My thanks to everyone who makes Branches possible - from the wonderful Branches Trust, to members of our community who support the camp in a range of ways, to our fantastic instructors, our WHS staff, and the key managers who organise the camp including Branches Camp Coordinator, Mr McIntyre.

Also below is a piece on the Year 9 Festival of Fun day, also on Monday. It was a really good day, and my thanks to Mr Lowe and other staff who made it happen.

In terms of this week being action-packed, Tuesday and Wednesday had three very important ceremonies, including Year 13 Graduation on Tuesday night. It was a full house for a really lovely night of celebration of five years at WHS - our first cohort to have done all their five years at the new school, and it was great to have our Deans acknowledge every student with a citation. This year’s Year 13s have been a wonderful group, and it was a pleasure to acknowledge them and wish them all the very best for their futures.

Year 9 and 10 Prizegivings were held on Tuesday and Wednesday respectively. End of year Prizegivings are our most formal and important celebrations, and both were great celebrations of the academic and all-round achievements of our junior students. After last year’s livestream events, it was great to have large numbers of parents and whanau in attendance. Our congratulations go to all Ākonga Passport recipients and academic and special prizewinners. See below for links to the lists of prizewinners. 

With the 2022 school year now finished, immediately below are the dates for the start of the 2023 school year - please do read through them and note the key ones for you.

As I said at the prizegivings, another interesting year at WHS comes to a close. While much has been said about how this year has been the most difficult of the Covid years for education, and along with the final Phase 2 work it made the first half of the year in particular another challenging period in our recent history, overall it has been a good year at WHS. We have done well in terms of teaching and learning as well as delivering our great all-round education, including important undertakings such as the Musical and Branches. I acknowledge and thank staff and students for their perseverance and resilience once again in 2022.

As my final newsletter comes to a close I do want to say that I believe the school is well-placed to go forward. With Phase 2 all but completed, the school financially sound and well-supported and performing well in many areas, Mr Nathan and the senior leadership team, staff and Board are a great team to take the school into the future - WHS is in good hands. My very sincere thanks to everyone who has supported me and WHS on the journey that has been the last 10 years :).

I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and a safe and happy New Year, and I hope that everyone has a well-deserved break and returns rested and ready to go for 2023!

Steve Hall
Principal

Ngā mihi nui ki te tumuaki ō tātou kura

When Mr Hall first arrived at WHS in Sept 2012, there were 662 students, 51 teachers and the school was at the old Gorge Road site. Ten years on, WHS has 1220 students, 90 teachers and a new campus with the capacity for 1800 students!

Mr Hall has made a profound impact on the school and the community, and has enabled thousands of students to achieve their best possible qualification and recieve a great all-round education.

Mr Hall’s mahi over the past ten years leaves a lasting legacy for WHS. Thank you for your leadership and contribution!

Helpful Information for the Start of 2023

We look forward to welcoming our students to WHS in 2023.  Please read the information below to prepare for the start of the school year.

Key Dates

Students leaving WHS

Students who are not intending to return to WHS in 2023 are requested to please complete the Leaving Form below.

2022 School Magazine

Our 2022 School Magazine is a snapshot of the highlights and memorable events of the year. It celebrates the people, events and achievements of our students in 2022. Click the link below to take a look at the wonderful year our students have had at WHS. 
Cover Art by Lily Kay.

Year 9 & 10 Prizegiving

We celebrated the success of our Year 9s and our Year 10s in prizegiving ceremonies held earlier this week. Our prizegivings are our most formal and important events held to recognise and celebrate Academic excellence, as well as important Leadership, Service and other achievements of our students.  

Huge congratulations to all the recipients - a full list of prizewinners is included in the link below.

Branches Camp 2022

Branches!!!! Another epic 2 weeks was had by the Year 10 student cohort up in the head of the Upper Shotover valley in that special place that is "Branches". Both camps worked their magic despite the weather doing it's best to make it tough! Students came together well and many new relationships were formed during the shared experiences of rafting down the river rapids and experiencing the gold mining past, slogging it upvalley to Lochnagar between speargrass and matagari spikes, keeping dry and away from the sandfly while sheltering under a fly on SAR... plus the comrardery of hanging out at base camp and enjoying the magic of the camp fire. Perhaps the greatest benefit of this camp is the strengthening of the relationship between teachers and students and then the carrying of this forward into senior school and beyond into life, along with a new found maturity. Kia Kaha Year 10, rest well and see you in the new year

Mr Mac

Branches in School programme

The Branches In-School Programme had three goals this year which was to develop personal growth, resilience and wellbeing as students head into the senior school next year. Our new format this year enabled these goals to happen.  Students had a choice of activities to learn and grow from which teachers chose to pass on their "secret skill". The activities ranged from fishing, origami, arts and crafts, sports, netball to international food and culture, sports, yoga, planting, knitting and climbing.  These allowed for positive and focused effort from both teachers and ākonga each morning.  

In the afternoons there were two wellbeing and resilience workshops lead by Ryan Gilbertson and Lucy Ford.  This involved an interactive workshop, gratitude and how to improve your "5 ways to wellbeing".

On the third day we adventured up the Remarkables Ski Area to support their environmental clean up programme.  This allowed the students to undertake a day of community service.

Thank you to all the staff and students who supported and got involved with the programme.

Meri Kirihimete!  Have a safe and fun summer.  

Gigi Hollyer
Teacher Health and PE

Festival of Fun

The sun came out, as did the Year 9 students, during the inaugural Festival of Fun that celebrated the end of the academic and co-curricular year for the Year 9 students. With Mr Whippy and The Italian Way providing ongoing refreshments during the day, students were involved in tabloid style games and activities that tested both mental and physical abilities as students were required to carry out 10 challenges. From the classic Tug o War and Gumboot Throw, to the more adventurous (and wet!)) WaterFall, the Year 9 students came to play and a great time was had by all.

To end the festivities on the field, a staff v students softball game ended what was an exceptionally exciting and fun day had by all. To celebrate not only the day, but the year as a whole, students assembled in the theatre to view House presentations of the day's proceedings. Santa Clause took some time out of his very busy schedule to present awards to some budding Peter Jacksons and Jane Campions.

It was a great day and an excellent platform on which to provide a passage for the Year 9 students to become Wakatipu High Schools next Year 10 cohort. Best wishes and a Happy Christmas to all.   

Graduation for Louise and Amos

Last Tuesday was the graduation of two long-standing students of Wakatipu High School. Louise Wright and Amos Van Asch have been students of the school for the last 7 years and it was our great pleasure to host a graduation ceremony for them with their whanau, friends, and staff attending. The Principal and staff members made speeches and shared fond memories from their time at school.

Students Bake for Baskets of Blessings

Four students from Year 11 took time out over the last week to bake and decorate over ninety Christmas cookies for Baskets of Blessings. They then travelled to Arrowtown by bus so that they could hand them over personally, ready for Christmas basket packing. Along the way, they learned valuable life skills such as how to read bus timetables, good time keeping and efficient budgeting. Baskets of Blessings were really grateful for the donation and we hope they bring a little Christmas cheer to those in need.

Speech NZ Results

Congratulations to the following students for completing their Speech and Drama exam with Speech New Zealand. The following qualifications were gained:

• Evie Snow - Grade 7 Speech and Drama
• Mia Pagan - Grade 7 Speech and Drama
• Ruby Rose - Associate Diploma - Performance - Module 2
• Billie Cary - Associate Diploma - Performance - Module 2

Competition Winner!

A huge congratulations to Year 10's Alisha Messingham who won the $50 Whitcoulls gift voucher for sharing the book she would like to be gifted for Christmas, and why.  Alisha would love to receive Double Cross by Malorie Blackman this festive season - a fantastic choice!

"I would like this book because it is the next one in the Noughts & Crosses series. This series leaves the reader speechless at the end of each book, their mind racing as they search for a conclusion. The strong presence of racism in the books is similar to what has happened in the real world. It gives the reader an overall perspective on how some people are discriminated against and how they may live. It is an interesting read and I would love to continue the series."

Thank you to everyone that entered the competition, and I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas. 

Arts News And Information

Farewell to 2022
Thank you to the students, parents, teachers, community and all Arts supporters of 2022. The Arts team are off to practice what we preach and enjoy our various forms of the Arts over the holidays. See you all again in 2023!

New Zealand Secondary School Photography Competition: Registration Starts Now
The New Zealand Secondary School Photography Competition is thrilled to announce the fourth year of its competition!

The competition will see Year 9 to Year 13 students submit up to three unique photos to be adjudicated by a panel of the Photographic Society of New Zealand's accredited judges. The top twenty photographs will be displayed in an exhibition, with various prizes awarded to the top three and people's choice.

This year we have over $2500 in prizes! More detail can be found on our Instagram  @nzsspc, Tiktok  @nzsspc, and website nzsspc.org.

Registration will also be done through our website or through this form:

For this year, we have chosen the theme of Peace, in response to current global issues. Note that the theme is only a guideline but is open to a wide array of artistic interpretations. The competition will also be split into three categories: people, nature, and still life. Submissions are open until the end of the year.

Let Us Know
The Arts department would like to know about any artistic achievements that students have attained outside of school be it in drama, dance, music or visual arts. Please send through details and photos to mparker@wakatipu.school.nz

Support the Arts
We are always looking for local professional performing and visual artists to visit our school and run workshops for our students. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact Monica Parker the Arts Coordinator at  mparker@wakatipu.school.nz 

Instagram Page
Follow our school’s Instagram page for recent successes or news within the school’s Arts Department at whsartdepartment

Sport and Active Recreation News

NZSS Touch Champs
The Mixed A Touch Team competed at the New Zealand Secondary School Touch Champs in Rotorua over the weekend. This is just the second time that WHS has attended this event. It was a pretty wet three days but that did not stop some great touch being played and the team enjoyed a total of 4 wins and 5 losses for the tournament to finish 4th in the plate division and 14th overall in the mixed grade, three places higher than 2019. The students relished the opportunity to watch and learn off the best schools in the motu and played some periods of great touch. A huge thank you to coaches Jamie Natapu and Nick Saunders and manager Steve McIsaac. We are looking forward to the 2023 season and continuing to improve.

NZSS Athletic Champs 
The New Zealand Secondary School Athletic Champs were held in Inglewood over the weekend in tough conditions and WHS had five students competing at this pinnacle event. There are some awesome top 10 results that have been well earned. Congratulations to all of these students, it takes an incredible amount of drive and sacrifice to compete at these events. Well done!
Jude Deaker - 6th Junior Boys 1500m & 6th 800m
Sammy Fookes - 6th Senior Girls 800m 
Siena Mackley - 5th Junior Girls 1500m & 7th 3000m
Sienna Watson - 10th Senior Girls Triple Jump, 16th Long Jump & 5th High Jump
James Webber - 19th Junior Boys 3000m

Otago U19 Women’s Cricket Team
Congratulations to Year 11 students Sorcha Wilkinson and Abbey Fookes who were selected to represent the Otago U19 Women's Cricket team at the national tournament in Lincoln last week. Ka pai te mahi girls!

Waka Ama Aoraki Regionals
Six WHS students represented the Wakatipu Waka Ama Club at the Te Waka O Aoraki Sprints over the weekend. Well done to Mia Bulling-Eady, Sophie Bulling, Izzy Burgess, Bethany Graf, Lucia Marshall and Rosa McBride. The team won the J19 W6 500m event and finished second in the J19 W6 1000m race.

NZ U19 Women's Cricket Selection
A huge congratulations to last year's Year 13 graduate Paige Loggenberg who has been selected into the New Zealand U19 Women's Team for the upcoming world cup. What an incredible achievement!

Thank you to Volunteers
The Wakatipu High School Sports Department wishes to sincerely thank all of our wonderful coaches, managers, parent support and volunteers for their contributions in 2022. We would also like to acknowledge and thank our local clubs for their efforts in delivering sport to the rangatahi of this area. It certainly is a team effort to deliver the breadth and depth of sporting opportunities that we are able to in Queenstown. We wish everyone a safe and enjoyable summer and look forward to 2023!

WHS Foundation

Careers - Job Vacancies for Students

Student Job Vacancies can be viewed at the link below. Please join the google classroom with the code: 3spycgk

Community Notices

Be the teen King or Queen of summer reading!
Win a prize fit for a royal and win a King(or Queen)PIN voucher in our inaugural Teen Summer Reading Challenge. Find out more by clicking the link below.