WHS Newsletter | Issue 1.10 | 6 April 2023

Principal's Message

Kia ora e hoa mā and welcome to the final newsletter of Term One,

Yesterday, we had hoped to hold a full-school assembly. However, due to the weather, we ended up bringing only our seniors and all the students involved with Summer Tournament Week and the Musical into our fabulous new double-gymnasium, Pouākai. Meanwhile, the remaining junior students were in Ako groups and had their assembly words through the PA system. I acknowledged students and staff efforts for the term and we also had the opportunity to celebrate together the achievements of those students who were involved in the Musical and/or Summer Tournament Week. Currently, we have 1341 students at WHS, and I acknowledged the 1276 students who are consistently doing the right thing in their classes and have not been referred from any of their classes. As mentioned in previous newsletters, I have had the privilege of taking multiple external groups through the school, and have also done multiple learning walks with our senior and middle leaders this term. I have consistently observed high quality teaching and learning and good levels of student engagement. Needless to say, we have amazing students at WHS and there was so much to celebrate.

Term Two is a very important term for the school with senior students having lots of internal assessments, juniors having their mid-year exams in Week 7 and Year 10’s additionally having their literacy and numeracy corequisite exams in Week 8, which have become part of the NCEA qualification. Additionally, there are many extra-curricular and co-curricular activities taking place, making it essential for students to plan and organize for the term in order to maximize both academic and extracurricular opportunities (see below for more information). 

A comprehensive newsletter follows, but a few final reminders from me:

• Monday 24 April is a Teacher Only Day as we continue to prepare for the implementation of the NCEA Changes for 2024. Furthermore, five years after moving to our new campus, construction is complete and we now have access to all of our buildings. Please join us for our ‘Official Opening’ which is being held at 2pm on Monday 24 April. RSVP here if you plan to attend.
• Tuesday 25 April is ANZAC Day and so school starts for all students on Wednesday 26 April.
• With the weather changing, be sure to download the SchoolZine App (see below), as this is how we will communicate with parents and caregivers in the event of significant weather events (e.g. snow). 
• Learning Engagement (LE) #3 have been published and are now available through the Portal.  
• With it being the end of term, PAS (Progress and Achievement Summary) Reports will be on the Portal this evening, please do look through them and engage with discussions with your student, as required. A reminder that our reporting system is live and in real time, so be sure to look at reports periodically throughout the term or in the lead up to or following assessments.
• Senior Next Steps - are scheduled for Tuesday 2nd May (Week 2) and are a very important opportunity for senior parents and students to meet with subject teachers. Parents of senior students will receive an email over the holidays with further information.
• Wifi - some students have indicated that they are struggling with the school wifi. We have done our diagnostics, and the vast majority of students' wifi issues are due to their laptop configurations. These can be easily resolved using the following tips and tricks.
• The Branches Trust supports the school and its students by providing funds to keep the cost of the Branches Camp down for students and their families. Branches Trust is thrilled to be chosen as a charity partner with Skyline, who are selling their old gondolas. Take a look at the current listing and grab some history for yourself, while supporting the Branches Trust.  

Lastly, we hope that students have a safe and relaxing break and that they come back ready to go for the start of the new term.

Ngā mihi nui,

Oded Nathan
Principal

Academic Achievement - Supporting your Student at Home

We have widely circulated the Internal Assessment Calendars (attached below), but at home it would be useful if parents can sit down with their student and look ahead to Term Two, mapping out which subjects have assessments due and when. A reminder, too, that these calendars reflect internal assessment deadlines only, and students also need to build time into their week to review and consolidate key learning and notes, so that they are adequately prepared for end of unit topic tests or Term 3 School Examinations. Although these formative assessments don’t necessarily count for credits, all of the research around learning supports regular and thorough revision as the best way of committing key knowledge to long term memory.  Doing this will also alleviate pressure prior to the external examinations in November / December (link).

Level One Internal Assessment Calendar 2023

Level Two Internal Assessment Calendar 2023

Level Three Internal Assessment Calendar 2023

Some handy tips and tricks around metacognition (learning how to learn) can be found below. Please note that this site is still under development, so there are not, as yet, any subject-specific resources available.

https://sites.google.com/wakatipu.school.nz/learning-to-learn/learning-to-learn

WHS Schoolzine App

Please ensure you (all parents, caregivers and students) have download the WHS Schoolzine App to your device as this is how we will communicate important school alerts, student notices and our weekly newsletter.  The app also features an absence form, the online school cafe shop, a calendar and some handy links! 

Top tips and helpful information at this link: www.schoolzine.com/szapp-installation

A reminder also for students to also check the Student Noticeboard regularly.

Arts Department News

Rock Apocalypse - It's A Wrap!
It was once again our privilege to celebrate the achievements of the Performing Arts students at WHS as they showcased their skills in this weird and wonderful production of Rock Apocalypse. Whether on stage, backstage or working in one of the crews for tech, costume, props, hair, media, set design, makeup or front of house; the students once again demonstrated the skills that are developed through the musical process. 

As always, this show couldn’t be possible without the support of the community and major sponsors Tomtom and Turn Up the Music. A very special thanks to Monica Parker, Corina Hamilton, Jane Adolph, Paula Bell, Vicki Patton, Genevieve Small, Hannah Coombe, Jen Matiu and Nicky Huck for their time and commitment to the show this year. As always, our student leaders are key to the success of this event. Thank you all for the extra hours and support during this process. Finally, a thank you to the families of the cast and crew who have again supported our extensive demands of time and commitment. 

TO OUR FABULOUS STUDENTS, Thank you for your mahi and focus and we can’t wait to see you bring the WHS stage back to life! 

-  Mr Hansen, Mrs Price and Miss Foster.

Arrowtown Autumn Festival

WHS musicians will also be playing in Arrowtown on Saturday, April 22 as part of the Arrowtown Autumn Festival. 

Wheels at Wanaka

This coming holiday sees WHS musicians in action - Wheels at Wanaka. Bands will be performing on the Wanaka Powersports Dirt Pit stage this Saturday, April 8.

Two WHS Bands will be part of this coming weekend's event in Wanaka. 'Estrogen' and 'The Goose Pies' will be playing so if you're over that way, keep an ear out for them.

Line up:
Estrogen 11:00am
Goose Pies 1:00pm 

Artist of the Week

Georgia Small, a Year 12 student in 7ARP, has been selected as the artist of the week for her outstanding work on the theme of Music and Sound. Her interpretation of music and sound is truly remarkable.

Congratulations, Georgia! Amazing work!

Scholarship

This week we congratulate Ed Forrest for his amazing scholarship design panel submitted last year. Ed was an exemplary student who displayed rigor and excellence as he produced a very professional design portfolio based on the Kiwi Bird Life Park. Congratulations Ed, on your scholarship success. 

Term 2 Events

Plenty happening on the Music front in Term 2 as we build up to the Jazz, Rock and Songwriting events/competitions.

These include:

May 11 - Play it Strange Youthtown Songwriting Competition

May 20 - Rockquest Heats 

May 27/28  - Jazz Workshops

June - NCEA Music Nights 

June 16 - Play It Strange Songwriting Peace Song Competition

June 17 - Rockquest Final

Term 2 holidays - Jazz Practices

Sports and Active Recreation News

Maadi Cup - NZSS Champs
The Wakatipu High School crews backed up a sensational 2022 Maadi Cup campaign with another incredibly strong performance last week at the NZSS Rowing Champs.  This year 2287 students and 113 schools competed at the event at Lake Karapiro in Cambridge. Wakatipu High School finished an incredible 3rd equal in the overall schools points, tied with St Bede's College and WHS was awarded the Top Sculling Schools trophy for the second year in a row! We had 25 students compete at Maadi this year and crews made 12 A finals and 6 B finals. It was another awesome campaign and the hard work of the students, coaches, the Whakatipu Rowing Club and house parents have all paid off. A massive well done to all involved in rowing this season. Congratulations to all of those who competed at Maadi, made A finals and earned themselves medals! Kā Mauka Whakatipu!
Gold - U17 Boys Double Sculls - Xavier Small and Ashton White
Gold - U18 Boys Single Sculls - Marley King Smith
Gold - U18 Boys Double Sculls - Xavier Small and Marley King Smith
Silver - U15 Boys Double Sculls - McKellar Thornton and Charlie Manser
Silver - U17 Boys Coxed Quad Sculls - Toby Rorrison, Xavier Small, Keegan Green, Ashton White + Emily Howick
Bronze - U18 Girls Double Sculls - Neve Bates and Olivia Key
Bronze - U18 Coxed Quad Sculls - Toby Rorrison, Marley King Smith, Xavier Small, Ashton White + Emily Howick

South Island and NZ Rowing Trial Selections
Congratulations to Xavier Small and Ashton White who have been selected for the U18 South Island trials in Twizel from 14-17 April. Marley King Smith and Olivia Key have been selected for a New Zealand U19 trial at Lake Karāpiro from 15-20 April, an incredible achievement! Well done and all the best!

New Zealand U19 Mens Cricket Selection and Otago Cricket Awards
A massive congratulations to Year 12 student Mason Clarke who last week was named in the U19 Men's New Zealand Cricket squad, an incredible achievement! Mason has a number of camps to attend over the coming months as part of a build up to a tournament in Darwin later this year which serves as the qualification for the ICC U19 World Cup in 2024. Well done Mason and all the best in this environment! Mason also attended the Otago Cricket Awards last Wednesday in Dunedin with Year 11 student Hugo Bogue. Hugo was awarded the U17 Boys Batter of the Year while Mason received the U17 Boys Bowler of the Year award. Two well deserved recipients who had an awesome season of cricket, great stuff boys!

South Island Schools Mountain Bike Champs
17 students competed at the South Island Schools Mountain Bike Champs over the weekend at Coronet Peak as part of Summer Tournament Week. There was initial disruption to the programme due to snow that fell last Monday night but once that thawed it was great to see the local students making the most of this event. There were a number of top 5 finishes for WHS amongst the large fields. A big well done to all of those that competed in this event, a number of Year 9's competed for the first time. Below are the top 5 results, congratulations to these riders!
1st - U16 Boys Downhill and 1st Enduro - Malik Boatwright
1st - U16 Girls Enduro and 2nd Downhill - Indy Deavoll
2nd - U17 Boys Downhill - Rory Meek
2nd - U20 Girls Cross Country - Zara Mackley
3rd - U17 Boys Downhill and 5th Enduro - Dylan Collins
3rd - U16 Girls Downhill - Kerys Duffy
4th - U16 Boys Downhill - Finn Almog

South Island Secondary School Athletic Champs
Five students represented WHS at the SISS Athletic Champs in Invercargill over the weekend as part of Summer Tournament Week. Students had to qualify for this event with a 1-3 placing at the Southland Athletics earlier in March. Huge thank you to coach Neville Britton and the parent helpers at the event. A big well done to these five students who all ended up with top 5 finishes.
1st - U16 Girls 3000m and 1st 1500m - Siena Mackley
1st - U19 Girls 800m and 5th 1500m - Sammy Fookes
2nd - U16 Boys 800m and 2nd 1500m - Jude Deaker
3rd - U14 Girls 3000m - Kiera Redden
4th - U15 Boys 1500m and 5th 3000m - James Weber

Otago Nuggets Basketball Camp
More than 100 basketball players from around the basin came to WHS on Saturday afternoon for a basketball camp led by the players from the Otago Nuggets. It was a great afternoon of basketball, with players aged from 5 - 17 learning the fundamentals of shooting, passing and ball-handling. A huge thanks to the General Manager Angela Ruske, Nuggets Coach Brett Matahaere and all the players on the 2023 Otago Nuggets.

Winter Sports Training Timetable
The majority of team trainings have been set for winter sports teams which begin in earnest from the start of Term 2. You can find the winter sports training timetable below:
https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/137tivXWn-5uD1LcxMss25R4SLxoc6dULhYxSq77dRgM/edit?usp=sharing

Opportunities to Get Involved

Queenstown Junior Squash
The Queenstown Squash Club is starting a junior programme with the renowned Tracy Flux. This will take place  every Friday 4pm - 5:30pm at the Queenstown Squash Club on Memorial Ave. This is a free programme so go along and check it out. There are opportunities to compete in regional secondary school events later in the year.

NZSKI - 3 Peak Season Pass Details
We’re delighted to welcome your school whanau back to our mountains this winter with incredible deals on local schools 3 Peak Season Passes for Coronet Peak, The Remarkables and Mt Hutt for enrolled students. 
Purchasing Online – up until 31 May 23'. NZSki will manage the eligibility audit directly with our eligible local schools. From June 1 purchasing only at town Snowcentre (corner Camp and Shotover St) or by phone 0800 697 54, in this instance you will need to bring/supply evidence of enrolment at your school.
Use this link to purchase a secondary school pass.
Any questions please reach out to us via info@nzski.com or call 0800 697 547.

CARDRONA / TREBLE LOCAL SCHOOL CHILD SEASON PASS 2023
Our local school seasons passes are available to purchase online by following the link  - https://secure.cardrona-treblecone.com/s/local-school-child-season-pass/p/local-school-child-season-pass-2023
YEAR 9 – 13    $225

Interested in signing up for a winter sport?
It's not too late! Go to our Wakatipu High School Sporty page here to see all the opportunities on offer.

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

SAT 2023 Test Dates

WHS is one of the New Zealand testing centres for students taking the SATs, the standardized test for college admission in the United States.  If you wish to take the test please register online at https://www.collegeboard.org/ and the test will be delivered here at the school.

2023 SAT dates are as follows:

• 6 May
• 26 August
• 2 December

If you need any further information, please contact Marcelo Carneiro: mcarneiro@wakatipu.school.nz

Marcelo Carneiro
Director of International Students

Gifted Education

Curious Minds Classroom

The Curious Minds classroom is a Google classroom where teachers from all departments post about competitions, trips and other opportunities for any student to get involved with.  In the past this has included ICAS assessments, Biology field trips, writing competitions and university trips to Dunedin to name a few. 
To ensure your student has access to all of the exciting extracurricular opportunities, make sure they are signed up to Google Classroom using this code: bmrwxjo

ICAS 2023

This year ICAS are offering assessments in English, Maths, Science and Writing to Years 9-11. They have stopped offering assessments in Year 12 and 13 students as well as changed the DIT assessment to be only available up to Year 8. 

If you are interested in registering for any of the assessments visit the site and use the code below to purchase the assessments you are interested in. 
Website: https://shop.icasassessments.com/pages/pps
Code: NXD213

You need to have ordered your test before the 31st July to sit these assessments in 2023 and you can see the assessment windows by following this link.

University of Canterbury Junior Kiwi Assessments

Calling all Junior students looking to flex their academic might in Maths, Science and or English. 

The annual Kiwi English, Mathematics and Science competitions are skills-based and closely aligned with the New Zealand Curriculum. The tests are designed by New Zealand teachers for New Zealand students. Results are provided to schools in Term 3. All participating students will receive a certificate and a prize will be awarded to the top student nationally in each competition. The competition will provide parents/caregivers with an Individual Pupil Report of the student's performance in that subject. 

Fill out the form below to register for the tests - which must be completed by 10 May. 
Each test cost $9.90 and this must be paid before the sitting window of the 12th June - 21st July to be able to sit the assessment.  Click here for more information.

Ngā mihi nui,

Kyle Jackson
Gifted Coordinator

Royalburn Station Talk

The end of term draws near but that doesn’t mean the action stops in the Social Sciences Learning Area. 6ECB students were treated to an exclusive talk from one of Queenstown's top entrepreneurs Carlos Bargie last Friday.  Carlos provided students with an insight on one of his business ventures Royalburn and its development and diversification over the years.

This discussion informed students on why businesses must make calculated decisions to be successful in their industry.

We feel very privileged to have access to such a wide variety of experts visiting with us sharing their knowledge and experience from which our students benefit.

Marcus Matamua
Social Science teacher

Ngā Reo Languages Learning Area

Year 12 celebrating Francophonie
(French speaking countries around the world).

In March this year, the Year 12 French students celebrated La Francophonie by doing some in-depth research about countries around the world and putting these into writings and conversations in French.
La Francophonie is an organisation which comprises 88 countries around the world and amongst those countries, 29 have French as one of their main languages.  One of these countries, New Caledonia, is our closest neighbour and  is where our Year 12 and 13 French students will head to this September.
A display of the students work has been set up by our Librarian extraordinaire Mrs Bell and is found by the Library.  Some of the students are also in the gallery below.

La Francophonie - sample of students work

Well done to our French international Diploma (DELF) students.

14 students last week formally received their French Diploma at level A1, A2 and B1 and which was signed by the Ministry of Education in Paris! Congratulations!

SIT Trades Academy - Update

MITO Careers Bus

WHS Foundation

Community Notices

Wild Dunedin Festival 14 – 23 April
Are you looking for things to do in the school holidays? Check out the Wild Dunedin
Festival. Free and fun activities about nature for all ages plus great deals on boat trips,
albatross and penguin viewing, Orokonui Ecosanctuary and Resistance Climbing Gym.
See the programme and book here:
www.wilddunedin.nz

Where does our food come from?
Wao Aotearoa would love your help! You may have noticed our supermarket shelves looking awfully bare in places. And this seems to be becoming commonplace and an accepted issue. So, what can we do about it? Well, with your help we can improve the food supply in our community!

Take 2 minutes to complete this short food survey and help Wao and the QLDC build a roadmap to improve our ability to feed our community into the future. Whether you buy all your groceries or you are an avid gardener, if you live locally, then your input is invaluable.

Lets go --------> https://www.wao.co.nz/food-resilience

Share with your friends and family too - the more we know about our local community food needs, the better the roadmap will be! 

Responses close 16th April 2022

Entertainment is the easy-to-use App packed with incredible savings of up to 50% off and 2-for-1 offers, so you can save on takeaway, dining, shopping, groceries, gift cards, activities and more!

And what’s even better, 20% of every membership purchased goes to support Wakatipu High School!

Your purchase of an Entertainment Membership contributes to our fundraising. Help us achieve our goal by sharing this link with your friends and family. Thanks for your support!

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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