WHS Newsletter | Issue 3.9 | 18 September 2020

Principal's Message

Kia ora and welcome to the Wakatipu High School newsletter at the end of the penultimate week of Term 3. Another busy week, which has also been Te Wiki o te Reo Māori - which has included a mass singing of Tutira Mai on Monday and a performance by our Kapa Haka group at lunchtime today.

We also had the Level 1 ‘MCAT’  external maths exam on Tuesday morning, remote senior Next Steps on Wednesday, and a special visitor yesterday - a drug detection dog. As noted previously we are committed to making sure that WHS is a safe place, and we will do this periodically. 

This morning was our Winter Sports Assembly and while it was without parents or coaches, it was great to join with over 400 students to celebrate that we have actually had sport this winter and to acknowledge the many achievements and contributions of those involved in winter sport.

Formal - much of the senior school waited with baited breath for the Alert Level decision on Monday. Unfortunately staying in Level 2 meant that the formal could not go ahead tomorrow, but it has been re-scheduled for Saturday 17th October. As legendary ‘80s Kiwi band, The Narcs (who I actually met up skiing at Remarks one day) said: ‘this is your last chance to dance’ - fingers crossed.

LE Reports - number 9 will be up on the Portal and out later this evening. These really are very important indicators of how well your student is engaging with their learning, so please do take the time to go through them together and acknowledge the positives and have discussions about the not so positive. Please note that this is the final LE for senior students for the year. 

New WHS App - as per my piece last week, Schoolzine is the new platform for much of our communications, including this newsletter. Please do download their ‘SZapp’ (see below) as it will be our communications channel, and NB next week will be the last week we use our old WHS App. Re Schoolzine, do make sure you have a look around the features on this newsletter platform, such as the ability to view it in multiple languages and to be able to change the font size.

Branches Camp - Parent Information evening is 7pm next Tuesday 22nd. This is an important evening for Branches, see below for more and please put it in your calendar if you are a Year 10 parent (students are also welcome).

Uniform - another reminder that puffer jackets are no longer part of the uniform until next winter.

Perform Under Pressure - a heads up that we have an outstanding speaker booked in for Tuesday 20th October (ie Week 2 of next term). Dr Ceri Evans is an amazing man who has worked with Richie McCaw and the All Blacks as well as other top sports teams and organisations and has developed a model to help people perform under pressure. As well as being at school that day, he is going to run an evening session for parents. We know that pressure and anxiety is often an issue for young people so this will be a fantastic evening - put it on your calendar.

It is good to see the site works for Phase 2 progressing, including the fencing for the temporary classrooms on the NE corner. There are some big milestones to come on this significant project and we will keep you posted.

Next week is the final week of the term. It is normally a big one for seniors with a number of assessments due, please support them to do well, and all students to finish the term well.

A great weekend of weather ahead - both days should be really lovely, and with a bit of fresh falling during the week it should be an awesome weekend for some late season turns on our local hills :)

Steve Hall
Principal

NEW - WHS School App

We have updated our communications system and have a brand new app. Please ensure you have download it to your device as this is how we will communicate school alerts, student notices and our weekly newsletter.  The app also features a new absence form, the online school cafe shop and a calendar and some handy links! 

Please can all student ensure they have downloaded the app to their device or check the Student Noticeboard regularly.

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori

Kia ora koutou, 

It has been a big week at the school to celebrate Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. 

This year it was particularly significant to start the week on the 14th of September, the date that commemorates when the 1972 Māori language petition was presented to parliament. 

The Māori Student Council have done a fantastic job organising many activities around the kura to celebrate this very special week:

• On Rāhina, the school participated in the nationwide Māori Language Moment with a mass group waiata to sing Tūtira Mai Ngā Iwi.
• During Ako time, students participated in quizzes in their Ako groups to learn some new words (kupu).
• On Rātū, some of our senior students sang Māori waiata in the foyer.
• On Rāpare, the Māori Student Council organised a scavenger hunt using kupu in te reo Māori.
• Today (Rāmere) the kapa haka put on an impressive performance for the kura in the theatre. 
• Throughout the week, Meaz Nathan at student services has been running a te reo Māori quiz. 
• Paula Bell has been adding to her impressive display board in the library with new kupu and useful expressions for having conversations in te reo Māori. 
• The school bell throughout the week has celebrated famous Māori waiata.

It was great to see students getting behind the celebrations this week. A big thank you to the Māori Student Council for their leadership and hard work this week. Also thanks to Sonia Panapa and Ryan Gilbertson for all their organisation and mahi.

Kia kaha te reo Māori.

John Henderson
HOLA Languages 

Year 10 Branches Camp - Parent & Student Information Evening

Despite current uncertainty around Covid-19, planning for Year 10 Branches Camp in Term 4 is well underway.  As in previous years, there is a Parent and Student Information Evening on Tuesday 22nd September 7.00pm - 8.30pm in the school Theatre.  

This is your opportunity to find out more details about the camp; how it is run, its organisation and structure, staffing, transport, activities, safety and food.  It is also an opportunity to ask any specific questions you may have regarding the camp. All parents/caregivers and students are welcome. 

All other information regarding the Branches Camp will be sent to you via emails next term. This years' camp dates are: Friday 27th November - Tuesday 8th December.

Bridget Janse
Branches Camp Coordinator

Branches Trust

We are delighted that the Branches Camp is going ahead this year from Friday 27th November to Tuesday 8th December.  Thank you Staff and Management at WHS, it is wonderful that in this year of change and cancellations that this camp is still able to go ahead! 

We here at the Branches Trust are all very mindful of the challenging times we find ourselves in and for this reason, we, like many organisations, have decided to rely on our reserves to fund the Branches Camp 2020 short fall this year and will not be undertaking any fundraising in 2020.   

That said, we will continue to promote and sell our wonderful book 'Long Drops and Hard Knocks' so look out for initiatives and offers on that in the coming weeks and months!

AGM NOTICE  Monday 12 October at 6pm - WHS Library 
The Branches Trust will be holding its AGM at the WHS Library on the first Monday of Term 4, Monday 12 October.  We are in need of some new Trustees to join the team and additionally need to fill the Treasurer position, so if you have a passion of the Branches Camp, are a team player and very motivated, we would love you to join us.  Any inquiries call Louise Ward 0276641001.  All are welcome.

Belinda Crichton

All Shook Up

Huge congratulations to the cast and everyone involved in All Shook Up. It was a long time coming but the final result truly reflected all the work and effort that had gone into this show. Thanks to TomTom and Soundpeople for the incredible technical support and also to all the teachers and people in the community who gave up their time to help us. We would also like to acknowledge our other sponsors, especially Turn Up the Music, for their support and the advertisers who helped make this show happen. Your support has been truly appreciated.

Alison Price, 
HoLA Arts

Top Art Exhibition

WHS had the privilege to exhibit the Top Art Exhibition. Top Art is an annual touring exhibition featuring a selection of the NCEA Level 3 portfolios that achieved Excellence in Visual Art in the previous year. Five streams are covered: design, painting, photography, printmaking and sculpture. 

Once again, it was a lovely addition to the Library and the Student Services area for the week.  

Monica Parker 
Arts & Culture Coordinator

Pink Ribbon Brunch

Huge thanks to Odelay, Frank's Pantry, Ferg Bakery, Ma Boulangerie, Countdown and everyone else that got involved today to come together for the Wakatipu High School annual Pink Ribbon Brunch. It was a huge success and great fun.

Ella Lanuel
Community and Service Lead Prefect

Head Student Address

This week has been a much awaited one for many of us. The school’s production of All Shook Up is making its debut.

For many of us the school musical has been an annual event, with some of us being involved for our fourth or fifth years in 2020. However this year has been very different. Due to the circumstances that we have been put under, the musical was something that was never guaranteed to happen this year. 

Despite this the leaders, crew and cast pushed on with their rehearsals back in March. Only to be told that the show would be postponed due to Covid-19. For the team that had been working so hard this news was absolutely gutting. Especially for the year 13’s who knew this would be their last school musical.

Friday 8th of May our worries were somewhat relieved when Jake Hansen (our incredibly supportive director, teacher and friend) let us know we had a new date for our opening night. September the 9th. 

For the month leading up to this week the cast, crew, dancers, band and the lot were working many hours weekly to reproduce the show. Wednesday this week was our opening night at which we performed to our school bubble. The performance went down very well and the audience was not able to stop laughing. 

We now look forward to our performance to our families and a one off live stream performance which tickets are still available for. Don’t miss out on the opportunity to watch our performance from the comfort of your own home! 

The difficulties we had to go through to get to this point make the show just that much more rewarding. I am so proud of the people who have been along this journey and what we have achieved. 

Greta Balfour
Head Girl 

Art Departpment

Central Soundwaves

The Central Soundwaves event has been postponed until November. Bands and solo/duo should continue to sign up and further information will be shared when it becomes available.

Sports News and Results

NZ U19 Cricket Camp Selection

Year 12 cricketer Toby Hart has been selected in the New Zealand U19 Cricket Development Squad working towards the 2022 U19 World Cup. This selection starts with a week-long camp in Lincoln during the holidays. Cricket players selected for this camp will need to keep performing and being motivated over the course of the next year and a half in order to make the final team. This is a significant achievement for Toby and for Queenstown and Wakatipu High School cricket and is very, very exciting! We are super proud of Toby’s efforts to get this far and wish him all the very best as he involves himself with the highest level of age grade cricket in the country. Ka Mauka Whakatipu!

Otago Southland Junior Netball Champs 

WHS 9A and 10A netball teams competed in the Otago Southland Junior Netball Champs in Dunedin at the beginning of this week. The 10A team finished 10th while the 9A’s performed incredibly well finishing second losing to Columbia College in the finals. This is an awesome achievement for WHS netball. Congratulations to Eliana Collins, Bridget O'Malley and Mia Bulling-Eady who were three of 19 Year 9 players named on Netball South's Talent Identification list from the Otago Southland Junior Netball Champs. Thank you to coaches Sally Bulling, Rebekah Harp, Trish Cody and Mrs Kemp for coaching and taking the junior A teams away.

Get 2 Go Challenge 

On Monday WHS had two teams compete in the annual Central Otago Get 2 Go Challenge. There were 11 teams competing in the event held at Kelvin Heights and Jardine Park. The Year 9 Blue team finished 4th while the Year 9 Gold team won the event and have qualified to spend a week on Great Barrier Island and compete in the national finals, an awesome result and exciting opportunity! The winning team was:

Pete Davis, Abby Fookes, Zara Martin, Alex Murray, Sophie Rasmussen, Carlos Reuss, Tom Schneck and Kate Woods.

1st XV Rugby - OSSRC Winners

Last Saturday the 1st XV played South Otago High School in the final of the bottom four for the Otago Secondary School Rugby Championship. The team had a blinding first half and put a solid score on the board by half time with tries to Lucas Erskine, Lachlan Marshall and Alesana Tulafono. The second half SOHS staged their fight back and came within whiskers of snatching victory. The defensive line held to full time and WHS were victorious, winning the trophy and finishing 7th out of 12 teams overall, one better than 2019. Congratulations lads!

Central Otago School Girls Football Champions

We are super proud of the girls football team who beat Mt Aspiring College for the first time this season to win the Central Otago final on Monday night. A great achievement for the team as we look to rebuild girls football at WHS. A big thank you to coach Jamie Whitmarsh for his time, commitment and enthusiasm for this group! Bring on 2021!

Match report from coach Jamie Whitmarsh

FT MAC 1 v WHS 2.  HT 1-1 Nieve FT 1-2 Mia.

Sport from time to time provides nights like tonight, a game between MAC and us always has a higher degree of importance. For our 4 Year 13 players Evie, Indigo, Nieve and Isobel it was to be the last time they would pull on the WHS kit. A game that both sets of girls can take a huge amount of credit from, see's MAC dominate possession without too much threat. 

Nieve scores a thunderous strike from the right to give us a 1-0 lead, MAC equalise from a cross come shot that leads to a OG from us.  HT is 1-1. Second half is a completely different story. We dominated MAC from start to finish both technically and physically and the only reward for a pulsating second half showing from us is a 25 Yard strike from Mia Williamson.

Woman Of the Match:  Evie Brown.  A simply outstanding performance ably supported by the rest of the squad. A big thanks to all the players for their efforts and good luck to the Year 13 girls in their future football careers.  Thanks to Meaz, Laura and Helen for all the work behind the scenes.

Winter Sports Assembly

This morning 452 students who have represented WHS in winter sports were invited to celebrate the achievements of athletes and teams from the past two terms. This was a really nice way to acknowledge 125 student’s individual and team achievements at a regional, South Island and national level. It helps to build pride and a positive culture in sport across all levels of Wakatipu High School sport.

WHS Sports Vision

This year we have been developing a vision for sport at WHS which will provide focus and direction for sport and physical activity opportunities for our students. The WHS Sports Steering Committee made up of members of Senior Leadership, Sports Department, Board of Trustees, Student Sports Council and our external community have developed a draft vision. We are currently in the process of consultation with students, staff, parents and coaches/community clubs. It is important for us to have input from all of our stakeholders. Feedback is open until Monday 21st September.

WHS Sports Vision Feedback - https://forms.gle/yWUJoCdtRD9KEXsUA

Sports Opportunities

Cricket
Afternoon grade cricket registrations are now open, this includes senior & high school players. To register follow the link: https://registrations.crichq.com/register/253478 

The grades we have available are:
Youth Friday Night T20 (Years 9-11)
Youth Saturday afternoon 35 overs (Years 9-11)
Senior Reserve Saturday afternoon
Seniors Saturday afternoon
Once registered we will align you into teams and grades. 

South Island U18's Rugby League Tournament 
Timaru Friday/Saturday 9th/10th October
An opportunity for boys who have had or not had experience but are interested in giving rugby league a go. We are putting an Otago team together. As time is limited, there will be a couple of practices for Central players in Central, Dunedin players in Dunedin then coming together in Timaru on the Friday 9th as a team. Cost approx $50 - 60 including travel, food and accommodation. If you'd like to broaden your rugby skills and experience and have some fun, please contact T on 027 7251 349 for details and to express your interest.

Sports Results

Basketball
Senior A Boys bet Aurora College 59-40
Senior A Boys bet Central Southland College Colts 76-68
Junior A Boys bet James Hargest HS A 39-18
Junior A Boys bet Central Southland College A 49-32

Football
Girls 1st XI bet Mt Aspiring College 2-1

Hockey
Mixed A bet Dunstan HS Gold 3-2 - finished 4th in Central Otago
Players of the night - Alex Thomson, Sam Little & Lucy Viggers. 

Rugby
1st XV bet South Otago HS 29-26
U15 lost to Kings Panthers U15 26-20
U14 bet Dunstan U14 57-21

Weekly Draw

Basketball
Friday 18th September
Senior A Boys vs Verdon College - Stadium Southland 5:30pm
Junior A Boys vs Verdon College - Stadium Southland 5pm
Junior A vs James Hargest College A - Stadium Southland 6pm 

Community Notices

Banff Mountain Film Festival

At the Queenstown Memorial Hall next week, the New Zealand Alpine Club - Central Otago Section presents:

Banff Mountain Film Festival World Tour 2020 Queenstown  

Members | $20
General Admission | $30
Double Screening Tickets Adult | $50

Wednesday 23 September and Thursday 24 September 
All Screenings start at 7.00 pm with doors open from 6.30 pm - a cash bar will be available prior to the event and during intermission.  
Tickets are not being sold in stores this year, online only. The event will only run if Queenstown is at Level 1. The Government has agreed, in principle, to move New Zealand (excluding Auckland) down to Alert Level 1 at 11:59pm on Monday 21 September. The Government will make a final decision on Monday 21 September.

Buying tickets from Eventbrite is 100% RISK-FREE, with all ticket fees being refunded if we do have to cancel the screenings.

Grab your friends, support the New Zealand Alpine Club and have a great night watching some epic films!

South Island U 18's Rugby League tournament Timaru Friday/Saturday 9th/10th October

Looking for interested players to join our teamAn opportunity for boys who have had or not had experience but are interested in giving rugby league a goWe are puting an Otago team together. As time is limited, there will be a couple of practices for Central players in Central, Dunedin players in Dunedin then coming together in Timaru on the Friday 9th as a team.Cost approx $50 - 60 including travel, food and accommodation.If you'd like to broaden your rugby skills and experience and have some fun, please contact T on 027 7251 349 for details and to express your interest.