WHS Newsletter | Issue 4.03 | 27 October | 2023

Principal's Message

It was always going to be a wonderful and celebratory week, and the week certainly didn’t disappoint. 

On Tuesday, the Central Lakes Trust (CLT) Scholarship awards were presented to 20 outstanding students from WHS. The guest speaker, William Pike, talked to the students about the importance of resilience and stepping out of your comfort zone, and the presenters commented on the high calibre of students, stating that the future was certainly in good hands. Congratulations to all the recipients and all the Year 13 students who accumulated nearly $600k in scholarships for tertiary study in 2024, a record amount for WHS graduating students. See below for the full-list of CLT Scholarship recipients. 

On Wednesday, we held our annual Cultural Blues awards. Once again, the character and creativity of our students was on full display with outstanding musical, dramatic and visual displays. A massive congratulations to all the award winners (see below for the full list). Be sure to come and see the visual arts portfolios which will be on display at school on Tuesday, 7 November. 

On Thursday, the Year 13’s presented their legacy bench ‘kanohi ki te kanohi’ as part of their final act at WHS. A huge thanks to all the Year 13’s who contributed to this wonderful legacy (see below for more details). 

Today we held our final full-school assembly, in which we presented the premier academic and leadership awards for the whole school to recognise, appreciate and celebrate. Congratulations to Elise Edmonds who was named the Dux and Sammy Fookes who was the Proxime Accessit. 

This was followed by our Year 13 Prizegiving. It was wonderful to have so many parents/caregivers in attendance, as well as the local businesses and philanthropists there to support and acknowledge our students' achievements. Congratulations to all the Year 13 prizewinners and the premier award winners (full list below). 

The latest Learning Engagement (LE) report is now available on the Portal for our Junior students. Be sure to have a look at these and discuss with your student as required. 

The Literacy and Numeracy corequisites are being held next week. Emails have been sent to parents and students with details of which corequisite they are entered for. 

• Monday 30 October. 9:00 am - Literacy - Writing 
• Wednesday 1 November 9:10 am - Numeracy
• Friday 3 November. 9:00 am - Literacy - Reading

Invoices were sent out to all parents/caregivers yesterday. A huge thanks to those who have already paid their school fees and donation, please email accounts@wakatipu.school.nz if you did not receive this invoice or if you have any questions. 

Another big week lies ahead, with details as follows. 

Monday 30 October. 

• Year 11 & Year 12 students are required at school, with Year 11/12 Prizegiving commencing at 11:45 am in Pouakai. 
• Students doing the Literacy - Writing corequisite need to be at school at 8:45 am ready for their assessment which will begin at 9 am in the theatre.
• No school for Year 9 & Year 13 students. 

Tuesday 31 October - Friday 3 November

• Normal school day/timetable for Junior Students. Junior exams and corequisite exams are running through the week (see below for more details)
• Tutorial Week for all Senior Students.

Monday 6 November

• NCEA end of year exams commence. NB. Senior exam admission slips have now been distributed to all students. Unfortunately, NZQA printed them in non-chronological order, so make sure students carefully look at the dates and times of their external exams. 

Once again, I want to acknowledge all the students who continue to live the Wakatipu Way, consistently living the school values of Excellence, Respect, Responsibility, Resilience and Inclusion and who show pride in their school. 

A great newsletter follows, so be sure to have a read. 

Have a fantastic weekend and go the AB’s!.

Ngā mihi nui,

Oded Nathan
Principal

Year 13 Prizegiving

We had a wonderful ceremony this afternoon celebrating the success of our Year 13 students at our annual prizegiving. A huge congratulations to all of our students on their academic, leadership, service and other achievements.

This morning we gathered as a school for the announcement of our top academic award - the Colliers 2023 Dux of WHS. A huge congratulations to Elise Edmonds on receiving this prestigious award. 

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

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Dux - Elise Edmonds

The recipient of this year’s Dux award has excelled in her studies over the last five years. She is altruistic in thought and action with a high degree of emotional intelligence and sense of social justice and responsibility. Elise is described by her Kaiārahi as an exemplary high achieving student.

Elise gained NCEA level 1 with Excellence, including  4 subject endorsements. Last year she gained both level 2 and level 3 with Excellence including 3 subject endorsements at level 2, and 1 at level 3. 

Elise started this year with 53 level 3 Excellence Credits, and has since gained a further 50 level 3 excellence credits - and she is on track to finish with  121 Excellence credits at level 3.  Elise has gained distinction in Photography and commendation in Outdoor Education. 

She is entered in Scholarship exams for English, French, Statistics, Photography and Health & Physical Education. 

Elise quietly and diligently gets on with learning. 

Today in Prizegiving, Elise was awarded with the Rotary Club of Queenstown Tertiary Scholarship for Diligence and Commitment in Year 13. She has been awarded a Central Lakes Trust Scholarship. Earlier in the week she was awarded a Blues Cultural Commendation.

Elise is the lead prefect of the Wellbeing Council - a role that she has used to make a great positive impact for students. Elise has completed the Duke of Edinburgh award at Bronze level this year. 

Next year Elise will be studying Commerce and Philosophy at the University of Sydney.

She is a most worthy recipient of Dux in 2023

Sammy Fookes - Proxime Accessit

Sammy has achieved NCEA levels 1, 2 and 3 all with an Excellence endorsement. This year, she is a recipient of Distinction in both Biology and English. Entering the year with 45 level 3 Excellence credits under her belt already, and having already achieved NCEA level 3 with a Merit endorsement, Sammy finishes the year having achieved NCEA level 3 with Excellence and is on track to gain a whopping 92 level 3 credits with Excellence. To top this off, she has also already gained some University credits in Maths.

Sammy is entered in Scholarship exams for English, French, Biology and Chemistry. 

Sammy is a high achieving student both in the classroom and on the sports field and is to be acknowledged for her diligence and commitment to achieving at a high level across a range of areas. 

In Prizegiving today, she was also awarded the Altrusa International of Queenstown Prize In recognition of all round effort and participation at Year 13, the MacTodd Award for level 3 English, and the Queenstown Medical Centre Prize for Health Sciences at level 3.

Earlier this year she was awarded a Central Lakes Trust Scholarship, The Otago Daily Times “Class Act Award”,  and Achievement Blues for Athletics and Hockey.

Sammy is one of our Deputy Head Students and has been involved in many of our student led activities throughout the year. 

Sammy is on the path for success with dreams of heading into the field of Medicine. We have no doubt that she will succeed in whatever she sets her mind to.

Central Lakes Trust Scholarships

The Central Lakes Trust have given tertiary scholarships to Central Otago youth for many years now, and it was wonderful to attend the official awards function in Cromwell this week with our Year 13 students as they received their scholarships. The scholarships, valued at $2,500 each, aim to assist students in further education beyond secondary school.

The recipients were: 
Evie Barlow                   Vocational Scholarship
Azaria Briscoe              PEL Science & Technology Scholarship
Billie Carey                    General Tertiary Scholarship
Elise Edmonds             Academic Tertiary Scholarship
Sammy Fookes            PEL Science & Technology Scholarship
Emily Gilbert                 Vocational Scholarship
Maisie Grufferty           General Tertiary Scholarship    
Greta Jones                  Vocational Scholarship
Olivia Key                       Academic Tertiary Scholarship
Marley King Smith       General Tertiary Scholarship
Zara Mackley                General Tertiary Scholarship
Madi McLean                General Tertiary Scholarship
Paige Morrison             Academic Tertiary Scholarship   
Charlotte Muir              Vocational Scholarship  
Ayla Nakayama            General Tertiary Scholarship
Ruby Rose                    Academic Tertiary Scholarship
Lucy Sinclair                General Tertiary Scholarship
Jack Speedy                General Tertiary Scholarship
Rochelle Tickle            Vocational Scholarship
Mia Tucker                   PEL Science & Technology Scholarship

Congratulations to the students, and our sincere thanks to Central Lakes Trust for their generous support.

Cultural Blues Awards

Wednesday evening was a fabulous night for the Arts Department. Thank you to everyone who was able to make it to the Cultural Blues to help us celebrate our amazing students and their achievements. It was a great night celebrating the Arts by sharing fabulous performances from Te iti o Tāhuna, Jack Speedy, Billie Carey, Theatrefest, the Jazz Ensemble/Combo and Estrogen (Rock Band).

Congratulations to all the deserving Cultural Blues recipients. A special thanks to Shane Hansen, our guest speaker, and to Alison Beaumont, from the Bruce Grant Trust, who presented scholarships to our winners. Also, thanks to the teachers, tutors, and the wider community for giving our students opportunities to develop their skills. 

For those recipients who were unable to attend, you can pick up your award at Student Services from Monday. 

Monica Parker
Arts Coordinator

Graduating Gift

As our Year 13 class of 2023 departs, we leave our kura with a special gift -  Kanohi ki te Kanohi - Face to Face bench. Please sit down here and look each other in the eye, tell stories, make a plan, have a laugh. Structurally, it is both artistic and versatile. You can put your feet up or squeeze some mates in the middle for a serious kōrero.

Our communication with everyone is so abbreviated & emojified these days that we rarely get the chance to practice the art of real conversation. This bench is designed to focus on the importance of honest and true connection between one another.

The hard wood represents the strength of our wairua (spirit) at Wakatipu High School & the life long friendships that are made here. While the seesaw form is a subtle reminder to look out for each other & keep an eye on each other’s balance because no matter how strong someone looks, life can sometimes get tricky. 

This gift to the school came together from a generous crew of skilful local craftsmen. A special thanks must go to Tim Bryant of Wakatipu Stone for his amazing attention to detail and getting the job done.

Marley King Smith
Deputy Head Student

Key Dates

Seniors - Tutorial Week and NCEA Exams

Tutorial Week begins on Tuesday 31st October and runs through until Friday 3rd November. Tutorial Week provides an opportunity for senior students to attend revision sessions with their respective subject teachers as they turn their attention to preparation for NCEA External Examinations.

Students have been advised that our expectation is that they are either in timetabled classes for tutorials, or offsite doing independent revision.

Senior end of year external exams begin on Monday 6 November, the NZQA Exam Timetable can be found via the link below. Students should have received a copy of their exam admission slip, this will detail each exam they are entered in and when these exams take place. 

For a number of our students, performance in these upcoming examinations will determine whether or not they achieve a significant qualification. To that end, we strongly encourage students to use the resources below to prepare a comprehensive revision programme that covers the relevant course content for each subject.

Junior Exams - Week 4 (30 October - 3 November)

Junior students have important end of year exams coming up in Week 4 of this term. A reminder that we schedule these to provide valuable exposure to formal exam conditions, similar to what they can expect from NCEA. These exams also provide an opportunity to review key subject material, consolidate understanding of important concepts and develop the resilience and self-management skills needed to navigate the challenges of NCEA successfully.

Year 9 students will be sitting three exams: English, Maths and Social Studies. Their other subjects will have summative assessments built into the remaining teaching and learning programme for the year.

Year 10 students will also be sitting three exams: English, Maths and Science. Likewise, their other subjects will have summative assessments built into the remaining teaching and learning programme for the year. Additionally, the NCEA Reading, Writing and Numeracy co-requisite exams will run during this time, though not all Year 10 students will be participating in these. We will be sending out more detailed information about these next week to students and their parents / caregivers, so please keep an eye out for this correspondence.

The exam timetable can be seen below: please note that wherever students do not have an exam scheduled they will be in their regular class (as seen on their Portal).

Subject teachers will be scheduling revision lessons in the leadup to these assessments, so every student should know exactly what is going to be expected of them. We do ask that as parents / caregivers you please support your student by encouraging them to set aside some time each evening and during the weekends to review their course work.

Monday 30 October: Year 10 corequisite - Writing exam 9.00 am
Tuesday 31 October: Year 10 English exam 10.15 am, Year 9 Maths exam 12.25 pm
Wednesday 01 November: Year 10 corequisite - Numeracy exam 9.00 am, Year 10 Science exam 12.25 pm
Thursday 02 November: Year 10 Maths exam 10.15 am, Year 9 Social Studies exam 12.25 pm
Friday 03 November:  Year 10 corequisite - Reading exam 9.00 am, Year 9 English exam 12.25 pm

School Shorts Film Competition Finalists

A big congratulations are in order for Year 12 students Jack Smillie and Jack Trounce who have had both entries selected as finalists for the 2023 School Shorts Competition.

Their documentary 'Pulling Up Stumps' was just one of the projects that ended up making it into the finals. The Jacks described the documentary with the following logline: 'Unveiling the layers of the New Zealand short film "Pulling Up Stumps," featuring Ian Mune and Mark Mitchinson, we gain insight into the creative vision of first-time film director Elinor Teele, as captured through the distinctive perspective of award-winning cinematographer Alun Bollinger.'

As well as 'Pulling Up Stumps', The Jacks also had their dystopian, survival short film 'Desolate Remnants' make it into the finals. They describe the film as ‘Following the events of a nuclear winter, four young teens leave their enclave for survival. When one dies mysteriously, the protagonist faces grief and confusion. Determined, they head for an old communication beacon, unaware that a hidden truth about the death may soon emerge which will ultimately alter their journey.’

The Jacks will be travelling up to Christchurch to attend a screening with the other finalists at Reading Cinemas in The Palms. We wish them the best of luck for this weekend as well as for the rest of the 2023 competition season.  

Hannah Coombe
English & Media Studies Teacher

Sport and Active Recreation News

WHS Sports Strategic Plan
The Sports Department has been in the process of developing a three year strategic plan that will run from 2024 through to 2026. Consultation was done with all key stakeholders including students, parents, coaches and staff that gathered information that fed directly into the medium term plan for sport at our kura. Please take a look below at the strategic plan that will drive decision making and focus for sport over the next three years.

Southland Secondary School Sports Awards Finalists
A number of WHS students have been selected as finalists for this Monday’s Southland Secondary School Sports Awards. Our U17 and U18 Boys Double Sculls crews have been named as finalists for Team of the Year and below is the list of students who have been named as finalists for Sportsperson of the Year. This is a really great recognition of the achievements for the following students, congratulations!
Malik Boatwright - Junior Sportsman of the Year
Marley King Smith - Senior Sportsman of the Year
Siena Mackley - Senior Sportswoman of the Year
Kai Milburn - Senior Sportsman of the Year
Lucy Sinclair - Senior Sportswoman of the Year
Xavier Small - Senior Sportsman of the Year

McCullum Cup Cricket Tournament
The McCullum Cup took place over Labour weekend in Dunedin. This preseason T20 tournament is a great way to kick off the cricket season and this year WHS entered both a 1st and 2nd XI team. Wins were scarce with only the 2nd XI managing to notch up a W over OBHS on the second day in the shield grade, nevertheless, a lot of fun was had! A huge thank you to our coaching crew of Andy Langford, Bevan Clarke, Matt Hollyer, Greg Trounce, Walter Clarke and Gihan Fernando for an awesome weekend away playing cricket!

Otago U19 Girls Cricket Tournament
WHS students Abby Fookes, Honor Gilbert, Stella Rhind and Sorcha Wilkinson had a very successful weekend representing Otago Country at the Otago U19 Women's District Tournament over Labour Day weekend. Six teams competed in the tournament which had Otago Sparks players allocated among the teams too. It was awesome to have former pupil and Sparks player, Paige Loggenberg join the OC team. Otago Country ended up with 3 wins and a loss and on points differential emerged as the tournament winners! Well done girls!

Canterbury Pre-Nats Touch Tournament
The Mixed A Touch team were happy to dust off their boots at a Canterbury pre-nationals tournament in Methven on Monday as part of their preparations for the NZSS Champs in Rotorua in December. There was plenty of learning to be had and more fitness to do but an awesome experience to play some quality schools including the current national champs, Rolleston College. Results below.
Lost to Rolleston College 3-7
Drew with Rangiora High School 5-5
Drew with Mt Hutt College 6-6
Beat Rangiora High School 6-5 - Finished 3rd

Softball 
Our Wakatipu team played well against an experienced DHS Doves team.  We lost 7-13.  It was hard to take a loss but each player had positive moments in the game, contributing to an out, getting on base or home batting, always moving every ball and cheering each other on. As coaches, we are very proud of how they are developing as players and a team. 

Orienteering
Recently Year 9 student Audrey Austin won the Girls 14 and under event at the Canterbury Orienteering Champs. The weather was dyer over the two and a half hour course with plenty of rain and low temperatures. Great resilience Audrey, well done!

Get2Go Nationals - Fundraising 
The WHS Get2Go Adventure Racing Team has qualified for the Torpedo 7 Get2Go National Finals, and they need your support to get there! The intensive 5-day event is held at the Hillary Outdoors Centre in Tongariro in the first week of December. You can support the team by ordering Kai Pai pies and savouries.
https://wakatipuhighschoolget2gopies.raiseit.co.nz/team
Orders close on Sunday 5th November. Pick up will be on Thursday 23rd November at WHS from 3-5pm. We appreciate your support!

1st XI Boys Cricket  - Speed Quiz is on next Friday!
Check out the poster below, rally your mates and purchase tickets through the link here: https://www.sporty.co.nz/viewform/253735 
This will be an awesome night of fun and a great way to support our young men on a tour of a lifetime!

Head Injury Management and Mental Health First Aid Seminar
All coaches, managers, parents and teachers are warmly invited to a seminar on head injury management and mental health first aid. This will be held on Tuesday 14th November, 7.30am at Wakatipu High School. Come along to hear valuable insights from head injury researcher Kate Mossman, ex pro cricketer + coach Shawn Hicks, and mental health first aid instructor Barry Grehan. These issues affect rangatahi across all sports but are not always well understood. Muffins, tea and coffee will be provided for the early morning start!
Please register by emailing jknight@sportotago.co.nz

Opportunities to Get Involved

Rainbow Run
Saturday 25th November on the Frankton Reserve - put this one in the calendar!

Pickleball
The Queenstown Pickleball Club will be running free sessions on a Tuesday afterschool (3.30-5pm) in Pouākai. The sessions will start next Tuesday (17th October) and run until week 9 (5th December). Students of all year levels and abilities are welcome. These are 'open' sessions for you to learn some new skills and play games with your friends. Grab your mates and come along for a fun hit around! If you would like to attend please complete the sign up form below so we can get an idea of numbers.https://forms.gle/ufNkg6x45mi4y4W4A

Bike Wanaka 6 Hour Event
Dean's Bank 6 Hour is back, this time shorter, faster, and more fun! Ride with a team of up to 4 (taking turns) around a 10km single track loop - Dean's Bank or ride it solo in a 3 or 6 hour category. We have special pricing for youth and loads of spot prizes to give away. Teams - each person is to register and pay the entry fee individually, and enter your team name in the entry form. Entry Form: https://www.webscorer.com/register?raceid=317044

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

2024 Musical Auditions Information and Form

FORM CLOSES FRIDAY, 3 November (Week 4 - *Seniors audition that week*) 

The musical is a major commitment for Term 1 and involves weekly Sunday rehearsals starting from the 4th of February; possibly a full weekend workshop 3rd & 4th (TBC); break-time rehearsals throughout the first term and after-school rehearsals four weeks leading up to the musical. In short, the musical is a major commitment and requires you to be available for all rehearsals. Other commitments need to make way for this event.

We are still to confirm the dates for the 2024 show. Please encourage all students to audition, even those who might not have auditioned because of sports week clashes; please sign up.  

This show requires a diverse cast to make it a truthful and powerful piece. We encourage everyone to audition if they have had an interest before. 

https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSd-txh7XKCbP0tdaUnAtuyvoPxihJE83nL1J4zdUuCgVYkZ0g/viewform

Labour Weekend Performances

The Jazz Bands played at the Village Green last Saturday. It was a lovely sunny day and they had a great turnout.

We had a fabulous time last Saturday night, as well, at Te Atamira. The recent Theatrefest national winners performed their production of “That time. That Place.” Also featured were three of our singer/songwriters, all of whom have made it onto the national Play It Strange songwriting albums: Jack Speedy, Mala Januszkiewicz and Billie Carey.

Rounding it up were the Jazz Combo and Ensemble groups who achieved highly in both the Southern Jam Youth Jazzfest and Invercargill schools event.

Thank you to all who attended and supported us. 

Black Grace  Dance Workshop - Sunday, November 5

‍Attend a workshop with Black Grace, New Zealand's leading contemporary dance company. The workshop will be focused on contemporary dance techniques and movement aesthetics specific to the Black Grace style. Go to the Te Atamira link for more details and information. 

https://www.teatamira.nz/events/black-grace-workshops

Central Soundwave

The annual Central Soundwave competition is happening at 5.30pm on Sunday 5th November at Yonder.  Huge thanks to Rockformation and Whakatipu Youth Trust for their support in creating this opportunity.

Posters are up all around the school with details on where to find more information.

Yonder Cafe - 14 Church Street, Queenstown

Register online

Important Dates Coming Up in the Arts

• Oct 28 -  Jazz at the Blues Bar at Maya Music (Combo/EnsemblePerforming)
• Oct 29 -  Y11/12 Prizegiving (Ensemble/Combo Performing)
• Nov 5 -   Central Soundwaves - Yonder Cafe 5.30pm
• Nov 7 -   Senior Folio Exhibition

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.

WHS Foundation

Community Notices

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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