WHS Newsletter | Issue 1.03 | 17 February 2023

Principal's Message

Kia ora - welcome to the Wakatipu High School newsletter. Before I get into the happenings of student and school life here at WHS, it is important that we all take a moment to give our thoughts to those affected by Cyclone Gabrielle and the many homes and livelihoods that have been lost. To support those affected we will be running a fundraiser at next Friday's Participation Day.

We have just finished our third week here at WHS, and the school year has started quite well. I have had the opportunity to walk around the school with various members of the Senior Leadership Team and classes seem very settled with high levels of student engagement and excellent teaching and learning being showcased. 

Students should have started to receive homework and many seniors will have begun their first internal assessments. Please be sure to stay engaged with your students learning - ask them what they are learning in each of their classes and you can even ask to see the Google Classroom for each of their subjects, as this is an area where lots of information is provided and from which both classwork and homework is assigned. Next Tuesday is our NCEA information evening, which is a really important evening for students and parents new to NCEA. We strongly encourage parents of Year 11 students to be in attendance. We will endeavour to record the evening, but it’s definitely better to be there in person. The evening begins at 7pm in the Theatre on Tuesday 21 February and lasts about an hour. Next week, parents and students will also receive their first set of Learning Engagement (LE) Reports , which will give a good indication of how your student has started the year in each of their classes. 

Our week began with our annual Pounamu assemblies. These assemblies saw all Year 12 and 13 students who achieved NCEA Level 1 or Level 2 with a Merit or Excellence endorsement walk across the stage. It was also nice to have ex-students return to receive their scholarship certificates and so many parents in attendance. As mentioned in previous newsletters, students achieved fantastic results in 2022 and we had a record number of students acknowledged for their outstanding academic achievements. See below for our overall achievement and for the list of students who achieved their NCEA level endorsements. 

On Wednesday, we held our annual Extracurricular Expo, where the vast range of opportunities in the Sports, Arts, Culture, Academics and Leadership were presented to students. There were numerous activities showcased, including many clubs and opportunities provided by WHS and external organisations. You can see the full list here, including how to sign up for an activity and/or get more information. Engagement with the extracurricular life of WHS is really important for students' wellbeing and has long-lasting benefits for students, so please encourage your student to get involved. 

Speaking of wellbeing, we are hearing about and catching an increasing number of students vaping and at an increasingly young age. It is concerning how many young people are now becoming addicted to nicotine. At WHS, we treat vaping as both a health issue and a disciplinary issue. Please see below for more information on vaping, including how students can get support to stop. 

Last few things from me:

• The House Touch competition is wrapping up next week. Congratulations to Duncan House on winning the junior competition. Next Friday is our annual Participation Day. We are looking forward to having all students at school, dressed in House colours. Students are asked to bring a $2 coin and all proceeds will go to charities helping those affected by Cyclone Gabrielle.
• All of WHS Policies and Procedures can be found on our School Website. You can find them here and access them with the password Ad Alta. 
• The Post-Primary Teachers Association (PPTA) has initiated industrial action nationwide and they have calendared a national strike day on Thursday 16 March. More information to come. 

Another excellent newsletter follows, be sure to read through. 

Noho ora mai,

Oded Nathan
Principal

Key Dates

Pounamu Assembly Awards

On Monday we celebrated student academic success for 2022 at our Pounamu Assemblies. Students who received NCEA endorsements at Merit of Excellence level as well as scholarship were recognised. 

The following is a list of students, in alphabetical order, who received awards at these important assemblies. Congratulations!

Vaping - Don't Get Sucked In

NZ has legislation prohibiting vaping in all schools (including the grounds and the buildings) at all times. The legislation also prohibits the sale of and distribution of vaping products to young people aged under 18. WHS also has policies on vaping and smoking which extend beyond the school grounds for all students in uniform (from the moment they leave home, to the moment they return home, including on buses). 

How does WHS deal with vaping?
Vaping is both a health issue as well as a discipline issue and will be treated at WHS as such. For a first offence, a student will receive a Dean's detention, a formal warning, be offered the opportunity to engage with the Public Health Nurses (including an education component around vaping), and parents notified. The vaping device will also be confiscated and destroyed.

WHS has an escalation system for all behaviour management elements and for additional offences the escalation process will apply. It should be noted that toilets are an area of concern for vaping and students have been made aware that only one student is allowed in a toilet cubicle at any time.

Support for students
Our Public Health Nurses, Maria Frewen and Karina Anderson, are on site two days a week to provide us and students with the most up-to-date and reliable information and resources regarding vaping. Maria and Karina are at school every Monday from 9:00 - 10.00am and Tuesday from 11:45 - 12:25pm. Students can make an appointment to see them at Student Services at a time that suits. Students also have access to guidance and counselling support including referral to external programmes to support the breaking of habits/addiction.

There is also lot of useful information for students, parents and caregivers on the website 'Don't Get Sucked In'. This is part of the Asthma and Respiratory Foundation's efforts to inform and reduce the appeal of vaping (and smoking) to children and young people and promote healthy lungs.  The material on this website is evidence based and reviewed by the Vaping Educational Advisory Group made up of a wide array of experts including registered health practitioners. 

Year 9 Greenstone Camp

This Outdoor Education event is fast approaching (28 February to 10 March). The camp is a great way for Year 9 students to come together for learning episodes of three days and two nights in their respective Houses.

Dates for each House are as follows:

• Arthur House: 28 Feb to 2 March
• Duncan House: 2 to 4 March                  
• Fox House: 4 to 6 March           
• Hay House: 6 to 8 March                                                
• Mackenzie House: 8 to 10 March 

The camps are about learning some basic campcraft skills, participating in River Safety activities (river crossing, river swimming and kayaking) and completing a day tramp (Lake Rere loop) while gaining understanding of the school values (Respect, Responsibility, Resilience and Inclusion).

Parents and caregivers can find more information about the camp at the link below.

Ken McIntyre
Greenstone Camp Coordinator

Extracurricular Expo

On Wednesday we had the annual WHS Extracurricular Expo, held in our new school gym Pouākai and the Theatre. This was an awesome opportunity for students to sign up for a huge range of different sporting, arts, cultural, leadership and academic activities. It was great to see such a large number of students getting involved and signing up, especially considering how disrupted extracurriculars have been in the last few years with COVID.

Engagement in these activities improves wellbeing, and encourages positive relationships with others. Whether it be playing a sport outside in the awesome environment we live in, volunteering at a charity, or taking part in one of the many clubs we have on offer, there is an activity for everyone.

WHS strives to provide Aotearoa's best all-round education, and participating in the large number of extracurricular activities we have to offer plays a big part in this. We encourage all students to get involved and take advantage of these great opportunities the school offers. 

If you missed the expo you can still sign up directly into the google classrooms using the codes found on this document: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nKog7H-WkOloCSVomjtdZ1jzRFHGdtbq/view?usp=sharing.

Zara Mackley
Sport Lead Prefect

Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award at WHS

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award is a great opportunity for students to:

• Gain an internationally recognised certificate for the time and commitment they put into extracurricular activities
• Discover new interests 
• Support the local community through Voluntary Service

The Award is split into three levels (Bronze, Silver and Gold), which involve progressively greater levels of commitment to three Sections (Physical Recreation, Skills and Voluntary Service).

Participants must also complete an Adventurous Journey (a tramp).  Students receive training to plan and complete a Practice and Qualifying Journey.

Parent and student online information night - Monday 20 February, 7:00 to 7:30pm
Google Meet link: http://meet.google.com/nmf-ewpa-oga 

For those new to the Award or wanting more information, I will explain the requirements of the Award, how it is structured and answer any questions you have.  This will be recorded for those unable to attend.

Key dates
Practice: 2 days/1 night for all levels

Qualifying: Bronze - 2 days/1 night, Silver - 3 days/2 nights, Gold - 4 days/3 nights

• Adventurous Journey 1: March 18 - March 21
• Adventurous Journey 2: May 27 - May 29
• Adventurous Journey 3: July 21- July 23

Students should attend two of these if they wish to complete their level in one year.  The exact dates will depend on the weather.

How to register
You can start earning recognition towards the Bronze Award from the year you turn 14 (if you are year 11 or older, you can skip Bronze and register for the Silver or Gold Award). 

For more information and to register, you can go to the official website: https://dofehillary.org.nz/

For ideas for local activities that will meet the criteria: https://sites.google.com/wakatipu.school.nz/duke-of-ed-whs/

The Google Classroom code is: uiarfxu

Ngā mihi,

Heather Dixon
hdixon@wakatipu.school.nz  

Junior Literacy Parents' Evening

Save the date! 
Wednesday, March 15 · 7:00 – 8:30pm
Google Meet joining info
Video call link: https://meet.google.com/oib-vzar-kzb

The meeting will introduce the new NCEA Literacy requirements to parents of our junior students (especially those in Y10)

Wanted: Reading Material for Lilliput Libraries

"Wakatipu Reads and Writes" is a key element of the Wakatipu High School Literacy Strategy, and 2023 is the year that we really want to shine a light on reading for enjoyment and pleasure. The links between reading, wellbeing and academic achievement are undeniable and with the NCEA co-requisites in place from 2024, now more than ever we need to encourage our young people to read. 

We are wanting to set up Lilliput Libraries around the school, so that sudents can browse and borrow a book to read before school, after school or even during Ako Time. This is where our fantastic community comes in: we are looking for donations of any suitable reading material in good condition. Books, Comics, Graphic Novels or even magazines would all be gratefully accepted, so feel free to clear out some space in your bookshelf or hall cupboard. We will have a box at reception ready for any drop offs, and we hope to have the libraries up and running in time for the start of Term 2. 

Sports and Active Recreation News

Coast to Coast
A huge congratulations to Josh Watson, Pete Davis and Tom Schenk who ran, biked and paddled their way from the West Coast to Christchurch over the weekend as part of the annual Coast to Coast race. The event consisted of three run legs, three bike legs and one epic kayak leg. 'The Wannabes' finished 3rd in the schools event and 13th out of 102 teams in the three person/two day category. Awesome effort!

Central Otago Softball
The WHS Softball team was back in action on Tuesday competing in the Central Otago League in Alex. The team has a few new members and played with more confidence as they entered the second half of the season. Well done folks!

Extracurricular Expo
There was an awesome turn out at Wednesday’s EC Expo in Pouākai. It was great to see so many students checking out the 40 plus opportunities for involvement in sport and physical activity at, or through WHS. Details will be sent out via Google Classroom and email over the next two weeks as to how to get involved in these activities for the remainder of the year. You can still sign up directly into the google classrooms using the codes found on this document: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nKog7H-WkOloCSVomjtdZ1jzRFHGdtbq/view?usp=sharing

House Touch
The annual House touch competition has been taking place at break times over the past week or so. It has been cracker weather for this and a huge thank you to the seniors and Mr Gilbertson for making this happen. The Junior final took place yesterday and Duncan were the winners of the first House competition in 2023. Congratulations! The final results for Juniors were; 1st: Duncan, 2nd: Hay, 3rd (tied): Mackenzie and Fox, 4th: Arthur. The senior final will take place on Monday.

Opportunities to Get Involved

Participation Day
We are excited to be running Participation Day next Friday. This is a fun house day where students dress up in their House theme, learn their House chants, meet their wider housemates and compete to be winners of this awesome House event. The day involves eight events which vary from traditional athletic events like the 100m to fun events like the frisbee throw. It is a great day out and an important one for House and school culture. More information will be in the weekly email on Sunday.

Online Netball Meeting - Monday 20th February
If you are new to WHS and want to find out more details on how the netball programme is delivered at WHS please join us on Monday night at 7:30pm via google meet. We will outline key information about the season and the various opportunities available to students. The link for the meeting is here: meet.google.com/aqy-ttkx-dho

Southland Waterski Champs
The 14th Otago-Southland Secondary School Water Ski Champs will be held at Perkins Pond on Sunday 19th February 2023. Students are able to enter directly through the Facebook event or on the day, linked below. For more information please contact sportscoordinator@wakatipu.school.nz
https://www.facebook.com/events/651572429651765/?ref=newsfeed

Coaches, Managers and Referees - We Need You!
Like many sports clubs in New Zealand we rely solely on volunteer coaches, managers and referees. We do have a few awesome teachers who coach teams but the majority of our sports teams are still coached by parents and/or community volunteers. We are on the hunt for winter sports coaches for the upcoming season for:

• Basketball
• Football
• Hockey
• Netball
• Rugby

If you have any knowledge, skills and passion in this area and are keen to join the WHS sports community by helping coach or manage one of our sports teams, please reach out to me for further details. We have an awesome group of passionate volunteers on board and support available. Please email me if you are interested; lnathan@wakatipu.school.nz or check out our sports website, the link can be found below.

Keep Us Informed
The sports department would love to hear from you if you know of any awesome achievements from our students so that we can celebrate these as a school. Please send through details and photos to lnathan@wakatipu.school.nz.

Support Sport at WHS
Jump on board and support the team by liking or following the Wakatipu High School Sports Facebook page. This is the best way to stay informed and up to date with the successes of our athletes and teams and help celebrate their great achievements. https://www.facebook.com/WakatipuHighSchoolSports/ 

Laura Nathan
Director of Sport

Arts Department News

Rock Apocalypse School Musical
Since the 29th of January  the students and teachers of the school musical, Rock Apocalypse, have been hard at work. From dance to singing to band rehearsals, everyone has been putting their all into it. Leads have begun to create their accents (German, Russian, Brooklyn and many more) and some amazing songs. Behind the scenes we have also been working on creating our crew teams such as makeup and hair etc. We are so excited to perform for all of you in just about 6 weeks! Stay tuned for further updates in the coming weeks. 

Rochelle Tickle,
Arts and Culture Lead Prefect

Congratulations Jake Hansen, our very own Head of Drama who won the OSTA Award for Best Leading Male in a Musical for his role in the Showbiz production of School of Rock. Fantastic effort!

Extracurricular Expo
This week we had our annual Expo which was an opportunity for students to see what is on offer in the Extra/Co-Curricular areas at WHS. It was great to see the level of interest shown and we are keen to get these activities up and running as soon as possible. Further details on these will be in the Google Classrooms that have been set up or students can come and talk directly to the teachers in the Arts areas.

Parent help
If any parents wish to. be involved in the Arts area in helping oversee and/or run groups, mentor students or provide assistance in other ways. We are paticulay looking for anyone with skills in mentoring, running rock bands your help would be greatly appreciated.  Please contact Alison Price at aprice@wakatipu.school.nz

Gigs on the Green
Once again Rockformation is supporting youth in the area with concerts on the Green in Queenstown on Feb 17 and Feb 24. Featuring current bands from WHS and Mt Aspiring as well as ex WHS students, the events run from 5pm until 8pm and will a great evening entertainment.

Itinerant Music Lessons
By next week most of the Itinerant lessons will be underway. Students can still join or change their instrument choice but will need to see Mrs Price asap. Lessons for piano, bass guitar, singing are still to be processed but should be underway the following week.The exceptions are Saxophone, Trumpet and Trombone where students in any of the Music classes can enrol now.

Y9 Music students
Parents of Y9 students enrolled in Music have received an email that outlines how the Music department operates. This should provide most of the information needed but any further questions can be directed to Alison Price at aprice@wakatipu.school.nz

Play it Strange songwriting competition
This is now open for Entry.
Details can be found on the following website: https://www.playitstrange.org.nz

Alison Price 
Director of Arts/HoLA Arts

Art Scholarship
To celebrate the outstanding Art Scholarship results, each week we will highlight the work of one recipient. This week we celebrate Fynn Hyndman's folio in Photography which explored meat consumption and the judgement around food choices. Once again, congratulations to Fynn and the other 6 students who gained Scholarship results in Art.

Abbey Brown
TIC Photography 

YAMI Music Summit
This year's YAMI Music summit in Wanaka is filling up quickly so any students who would like to attend should visit the website and register as soona s possible. The school Awhi fund is able to support costs if needed.

https://wanakasounz.nz/yami/

Careers

You will notice that our calendar is filling up fast and we are now taking sign ups for University Liaison visits taking place in Term 1. If you are interested in attending a session then you need to go to our new Careers website and sign up.

No matter what your pathway, we strongly encourage our senior students, parents and caregivers to bookmark this page and utilise this wonderful resource. 

To access, click on the link below or visit the school's website and find CareerWise under the Careers tab.

WHS Foundation

Community Notices

We have a serious case of flash fever and for a limited time only, we are offering you 4 months free* to play, dine and save. Have access to 1000's of everyday offers at your fingertips for as little as $5 per month*

The flash sale - extension starts at 6 pm, 23rd February and runs until Midday, 25th February.

20% of all sales goes towards supporting Wakatipu High School
Support Wakatipu High School and purchase your Entertainment Membership from us today!!

Does your child require further support, over and above what can be offered at school? 

Would your child benefit from bespoke and nurturing learning sessions from a highly experienced teacher designed to accelerate learning and boost confidence? We would love to help.

We are a team of dedicated teachers, specialising in English and Maths support, for primary, intermediate and college students. Visit www.boostyourlearning.co.nz for more information or contact Jenny 021 223 3349 to book a free consultation. 

LEARNER & INTERMEDIATE DRIVING LESSONS

Dan Gerard Driving Instruction has professional male and female driving instructors, and members of the New Zealand Institute of Driver Educators. We offer high quality friendly driver training covering a range of driving lessons.

• Learner lessons for beginners
• Assessment for Learner drivers who have been taught by family and need their skills polished before sitting their Restricted Test
• Refresher lessons to brush up before sitting the Full Test
• Street Talk defensive driving courses

http://www.drivinginstruction.co.nz/ , E: info@drivinginstruction.co.nz

Rach Gerard: 027 273 9610,  Dan Gerard: 027 349 2447