WHS Newsletter | Issue 4.10 | 15 December | 2023

Principal's Message

Kia ora and welcome to the final newsletter for 2023. Although it has been a short week for students, it has been a wonderful week of celebration marking the culmination of a great year at WHS.

The Branches Camp was an extraordinary success, and the numerous stories I’ve heard from parents and students about the friendships forged, the resilience developed, and the growth experienced have reminded us all of why the camp is so vital to the students and the community. A huge thanks to all the staff, contractors, and community members who ensured the safe and smooth running of the camp and the in-school programme, and once again thank you to the Branches Trust, WHSF and Uncle Jack for the incredible financial support that keeps costs down for families and the school. Please take a moment to view the 2023 Branches Camp video below.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, we hosted our Year 9 and Year 10 Prizegivings, respectively. These are two of the most significant events of the year, and it was fantastic to hear about the students' achievements from their Semester 2 classes and throughout the year. Find below the full list of prizewinners, and congratulations to all the students who received awards. Reports were sent out to junior parents and students earlier this week so be sure to have a look at those, and congratulations to everyone who strived for their own level of personal excellence throughout the year.

On Tuesday evening, we conducted the Graduation ceremony for the Class of 2023. Though it was a lengthy evening, it was humbling to learn about our students' future endeavours. As they represent our future doctors, lawyers, politicians, psychologists, architects, engineers, builders, hairdressers, and more, there is no doubt that the Class of '23 will have an impact locally, regionally, nationally, and globally and our future is certainly in good hands. Please take a moment to watch the Graduation video and review the citations below.

The year has been filled with highlights, all of which and more can be found in our annual School Magazine below. A huge thank you to everyone who contributed to its publication. Be sure to have a read through!

To those not returning to WHS, we wish you success in your future endeavours and thank you for your effort and support of the school. We hope that you will keep in touch with the school and please join our Alumni Foundation to ensure you’re kept abreast of future events and opportunities to get involved. 

For those returning next year, please take note of the key dates and helpful information for 2024 just below. 

To everyone, I hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable summer break and get to spend time with family and friends doing the things you love. 

Ngā mihi nui,

Oded Nathan
Principal/Tumuaki

Helpful Information for the Start of 2024

We look forward to welcoming our students to WHS in 2024. Please read the information below to prepare for the start of the school year.

Key Dates

Year 9 and 10 Prizegiving

This week, we held prizegiving ceremonies for our Year 9 and Year 10 students, which are our most significant and formal events. These ceremonies aim to acknowledge and celebrate the academic excellence, leadership qualities, service, and other accomplishments of our students. We would like to congratulate all the deserving recipients, a complete list of prizewinners is below.

Graduation 2023

We celebrated Year 13 Graduation on Tuesday with the families of our Year 13 students. It was a lovely evening of celebration. Here's a look back at their last years at WHS.

WHS 2023 School Magazine

Branches Branches Branches 2023!!!

Well, this iconic part of the school is done and dusted. Running this camp takes a huge amount of resources and the planning starts virtually at the beginning of the school year. However although it can seem like a lot of work, it is all worth it when the students get into the unique location of the Upper Shotover Valley and commence their 7 days of activities... rafting the river to Deep Creek; slogging it to Lochnagar with a pack on your back; cooking in the kitchen under pressure as there are hungry mouths waiting; suppressing the possum threat while sleeping under a tarp on SAR; putting back to the farm by contributing to the wetland planting project. Yet this camp is not just about the activities! It is learning about positive relationships when you are in a group that consists of a range of students and is not just your besties. It's about learning to better manage yourself when the conditions and duration of the camp demand it. It's about learning that nature is greater than humankind and sometimes you just have to wait and be patient and positive - and not whinge! The camp just cannot run without community support. We are sooo grateful to the following:

Andrew Colby/Crystal Gardens - for food and fuel delivery and lettuce!
NZSKI - Ross Lawrence and Brendon Waller - Trooper truck transport and logistical support.
Real NZ - Guido Leek - rafting equipment and some staffing support.
Queenstown Police - Wayne Park and the shooting instructors.
Branches Station - Gene and Marg - for continued farm access and allowing for disruptions to the farming operation Branches Trust - for their vital ongoing financial support.
Jones Contracting - Trevor Jones transport and support.
WHS Foundation and Unclue Jack  - crucial financial assistance.

Finally, a special thanks to Mr Andrew Regan who managed all aspects of the camps in a professional and engaging manner! 

Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas everyone!

Mr Mac

International Students' Aoraki Mount Cook Expedition

Last week 12 of our senior International students were lucky enough to go on a 2 night trip to Aoraki Mount Cook to celebrate a successful year in our department. The highlight of the trip was the presentation by Ranger Matt from the Department of Conservation, who taught us all about the local area and entertained us all. That was followed by walking the magnificent Hooker Valley Track in the afternoon. The students enjoyed seeing another part of the South Island outside of Queenstown and will head back to their home countries with some very special memories.

Sport and Active Recreation News

NZSS Touch Champs
The Mixed A Touch Team had an awesome four days at Touch Nats in Rotorua over the weekend. A massive 41 teams competed in the Mixed grade this year, up from 24 in 2022. The team ended up with 6 wins and 2 losses across the three days of games to finish 17th overall and winners of the Putake Grade. The group were gutted not to be in the top 16 as they can easily mix it with the schools in the top 10, but that is life at tournament. However, they showed tremendous grit and determination throughout the tournament, played the best touch in WHS history and made us all really proud with their effort and attitude. A massive well done to all involved and a huge thank you to coaches Jamie Natapu and Nick Saunders and manager Steve McIsaac as well as Tracy Galbraith as parent help.
Results below:
Beat Selwyn College 10-0
Beat Tai Wananga Tu Toa 6-1
Lost to Mt Albert Grammar 3-5
Lost to Botany Downs 7-8
Beat Te Kuiti High School 8-3
Beat Tangaroa College 12-4
Beat Mt Hutt College 5-4 
Beat Whakatane High School 4-0

Get2Go National Finals
Our junior adventure racers had a massive 5 days at Tongariro for the Get2Go National Finals last week. From blindfolded high ropes to upside down kayaking, mountain biking and a 6 hour rogaine, the team showed extreme resilience - persevering through bike malfunctions and injuries to complete every challenge in good spirits! The team finished up 10th place, an awesome achievement with over 200 teams attending the qualifying events around NZ. Well done Sydney Alva, Sebastian Carlson, Logan Harrison, Lexi McLeod, Caitlyn Purdue, Keira Redden, Oli Watson and James Weber! A huge thank you also to team managers Rod Redden and Connie Carlson for their support over the week.

NZSS Athletics Champs
Four WHS students competed at National Secondary School Track, Field and Road Race Champs in Christchurch. This was a busy weekend, particularly for our junior runners Keira and James who flew straight to Christchurch after competing in the National Get2Go Final! A huge congratulations to Siena Mackley who took out bronze in the Senior Girls 3000m. Full results are below.
Siena Mackley - 3rd Senior Girls 3000m and 8th Senior Girls 1500m
Jude Deaker - 14th Senior Boys 800m
Keira Redden - 12th Year 9 Girls 3000m Road Race
James Weber - 15th Junior Boys 3000m Road Race

Junior Boys Cricket St Kevin's Tournament
Our Junior Boys XI Cricket team enjoyed a fun three days competing at the St Kevins Tournament in Oamaru this week. It was full on with three 40 over games in a row. The team had a win against St Kevin's and lost to Southland Boys and St Thomas' of Canterbury. This was an awesome opportunity for the boys to travel away, stay in a hostel environment, play different schools and have plenty of fun. Thank you to St Kevin's for running the tournament and hosting our team and a massive thank you to our coach Walter Clarke and manager Kath Melville for enabling this to happen!

Swimming Results
Year 9 swimmer Bailey MacKay competed at the Otago Long Course Champs over the weekend where she achieved the following top 3 placings; 50 Breast 2nd, 100 Breast 3rd, 200 Breast 2nd. Well done Bailey!

Summer Sport
We wish all of our students who are representing WHS at cricket tours over January all the very best for these awesome experiences. The Junior Boys XI are off to the Riverbend Tournament in Hawkes Bay for a week and are Girls are off to Christchurch to play at the exclusive Willows Ground in North Canterbury. All the very best to all other students competing in representative sport over the summer break and those traveling overseas for skiing/boarding training and competitions. Everyone else, stay active and see you in the new year!

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 News And Information

Farewell to 2023
Thank you to the students, parents, teachers, community, and all supporters of the Arts who made 2023 such a successful year. The Arts team is now taking some time off to practice what we preach and enjoy various forms of the Arts during the holidays. We look forward to seeing you all again in 2024!

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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Kia ora Queenstown 

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

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