WHS Newsletter | Issue 1.08 | 22 March 2024

Principal's Message

Kia ora and welcome to the end of another great week at WHS,

The sun has been shining on Summer Tournament Week as more than 160 athletes ventured across the country to perform and excel in their chosen sport. For the first time, we sent two Waka Ama crews up to Rotorua to participate in the Waka Ama Nationals. Other teams/players involved were Volleyball, Golf, Touch, Cricket, Mountain Biking and Rowing. Congratulations to our golfers - Noah Novacek, Josh Harris and Toby Gallie, who won the Southland Champs and qualified for Nationals. The action continues tomorrow with the girls 1st XI cricket and you can catch the rowing finals through the following livestream (WHS will have 9 crews racing) or head to Coronet Peak to see our mountain bikers. Once again, congratulations to all the athletes who competed at the highest level and represented their school with pride. 

Last weekend a group of students went south to participate in the Southland Regional Debating Competition, coming in a commendable 2nd place. Congratulations to the team, and be sure to have a read below for more details. 

Wednesday was International Happiness Day and our wellbeing council ran a range of events to support happiness, including the construction of a gratitude board. It was a joyful day and a huge thanks to the students for their promotion of kindness, inclusion and thankfulness.

Following on from our strategic priorities and annual plans that were previously in the newsletter (and can be found on our website), our 2024 academic goals and targets have now been updated and can be found on our plinth, which can be seen upon entry to the school. The goals incorporate both academic and all-round goals, encouraging students to achieve their best possible qualification while also encouraging them to engage in extracurricular activities and look after their wellbeing (see below for a photo of the plinth).

With two 3-day weeks ahead prior to the last week of term, please make sure that you note key dates below and that you continue to support your student to demonstrate resilience, grit and determination as they balance the academic rigour and large internal assessment load (for seniors) along with their extracurricular activities and other responsibilities.  

• Monday 25 March - Otago Anniversary Day - No School
• Tuesday 26 March - Junior Next Steps (see below for more details)
• Friday 29 March - Tuesday 3 April - No School, Easter Break

With less than two weeks until the opening night of our annual musical, ‘Hairspray’, tickets are selling quickly, with the Friday and Saturday shows nearly sold out! Be sure to get your tickets quickly to avoid missing out. Show opens on Wednesday 4 April. 

With a shortened week ahead, there won’t be the usual newsletter, but rather a quarterly update from the WHS Foundation, so keep an eye out for that on Thursday, as well as our Facebook posts on Tuesday and Wednesday. Enjoy the long weekend.

Ngā mihi nui,

Oded Nathan
Principal/Tumuaki

Junior Next Steps

Tuesday 26th March: 2.15 - 7.30pm

Junior Next Steps meetings are an important opportunity for Year 9 and Year 10 students and their parents to meet with their respective Kaiārahi. The discussion will centre around how the year has started, and will also cover their goals, Learning Engagement Reports, Progress and Achievement Grades and involvement in extra and co-curricular activities. This is a really important opportunity to connect with the school and Kaiārahi and all parents are strongly encouraged to attend.

Bookings are essential and will close at 9 am on Tuesday, 26 March.  Bookings can be made here.

Please note that these meetings will be held in person, onsite at Wakatipu High School.

Important Information for NCEA for 2024

The NZQA has released the latest information for entering NCEA and NZ Scholarship for 2024, see below for important information.

International Happiness Day & 'Hunt the Good'

International Happiness Day - 20th March

Wednesady March 20th was the UN International Day of Happiness. The Wellbeing Council encouraged staff and students to be mindful, grateful and kind, and a happiness board was set up to capture all the things that make people happy on a daily basis. Students are also encouraged to get involved by follow the WHS Wellbeing Insta page and sharing a photo of someone who makes them happy and the reason why. 

We can create a happier and kinder world together by adopting simple, daily practices. Here are three simple steps you can use anytime and anywhere to give yourself a boost and build your compassion for others:

BE MINDFUL - Relax your breathing and notice: How am I feeling right now? 

BE GRATEFUL - Look around you and ask yourself: What am I thankful for?

BE KIND - Consider how you treat yourself and those around you and ask yourself: How do I show love for myself and others?

Make time daily to focus on the good and boost your overall happiness. Have a discussion at the dinner table around three good things that happened in everyone's day. The Three Good Things app is a gratitude-focused daily journal designed to cultivate a habit of gratitude.

Follow Wakatipu Wellbeing on Instagram for more ideas!

'Hunt the Good' Easter Competition - 3rd April

A blind boy sat on the steps of a building with a hat by his feet. He held up a sign which read, “I am blind, please help.”

People rushed past and very few took time to donate. 

A man walking by dropped some change into the boy's hat. He then took the sign, turned it around, and wrote some words. He then placed the sign back in the boy’s hand so that everyone would what he’d wrote.

From this moment, many more people began donating and solwly, the hat began to fill.

That afternoon, the man who had changed the sign returned to see how things were. The boy recognised his footsteps and asked, “Were you the one who changed my sign this morning? What did you write?”

The man said, “I only wrote the truth. I said what you said but in a different way. I wrote, 'Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it.'"

Both signs spoke the truth. But the first sign simply said the boy was blind, while the second sign reminded people of how lucky they are to have the gift of sight.

Sometimes, it gets really easy to focus on the negative things in our lives, or what we don’t have. Taking time each day to think about the positives can improve our wellbeing. How? Gratitude is a way for people to appreciate what they have, instead of always reaching for something new in the hope it will make them happier, or thinking they can't feel satisfied until every physical and material need is met. Gratitude helps people refocus on what they have instead of what they lack. Countering our negativity bias with gratitude can help build optimism, which leads to other benefits in our health, sleep, relationships to create a happier, healthier you!

To start off our gratitide journey, on Wednesday, the Welbeing Council ran a 'Hunt the Good' competition. Students had to find the Five Ways to Wellbeing bunnies hidden around the school. They then completed a challenge and sent a selfie to the WHS Wellbeing Instagram page to claim their easter eggs. 

It is our hope that all students at Wakatipu High School have strategies to help them both feel grateful and express gratitude. A way to practice gratitude is by taking a moment at the end of each day to reflect upon three things that went well. If you need help remembering, download the Three Good Things app.

Gratitude turns what we have into enough. - Aristotle 

WHS Debating

The WHS debaters travelled to Invercargill on March 16th to compete in the Southland Regional Debating Schools Debating competition. WHS faced off against 24 teams from around Southland and Otago for five rounds of debating, making it all the way to the final against James Hargest College.

Moots for the day included: This house regrets Valentine's Day; This house would ban sports scholarships; This house holds that fighting poverty takes precedence over fighting climate change; This house supports the Hollywood Blockbuster model; This house would (the plot to ‘Cars’ where Lightning McQueen stops for The King, posed as an ethical dilemma).

If you wish to become involved in debating, join the Google Classroom (Code: 6bltdtz) and watch for announcements. There will be further opportunities both in and out of school during the year.

Chris Mathews
Teacher in Charge of Debating

Gaining Elevation in Geography

Geography in action! - Year 12  Geography Fieldwork

The Year 12 Geography students ventured out of school this week to explore the variation that exists with vegetation in an alpine environment and also to look at sustainability challenges currently being addressed in our local Ski field, the Remarkables.

The aim of the student’s research was to assess how physical and human factors can affect the vegetation in a fragile alpine setting. Data was collected on climate,  elevation, the vegetation types, abundance and height. The impact of human activity, in the form of intense recreational land use was also observed and linked to the vegetation patterns which can be observed and documented. The sustainability of NZSKI’s commercial operations in the Rastus Burn Recreational Reserve (Remarkables) were also considered. This required students to meet and discuss the operations and programs of Mark Sommerville, Assistant Ski Area Manager from NZSKI and Barb Simpson, ecologist and independent monitor for the area. Students ran vegetation quadrat inspections at four different locations in the reserve and along the access road to assess the vegetation profile and the effectiveness of a range of different revegetation methods employed by NZSKI.

A special thanks to Barb Simpson and NZSKI for their ongoing support, and making this field trip possible. Also thanks to Ms Dobbie and Ms Singh for accompanying us on our research.

Michael LaPierre
Teacher of Geography

Environmental Council - Refashion Show

Sustainable Queenstown are hosting Refashion, a fashion show highlighting slow fashion choices and they are looking for 8 people to model Offcut hats that are being loaned to them. Put together the best secondhand outfit to match one of these hats for the chance to win one for yourself (valued at $75)! 

Offcut create hats out of fabric scraps that would otherwise end up in landfill, turning waste into style in a conscious, planet-loving way! Check out their collection here. You'll be assigned a hat once you sign up, and you can create your outfit accordingly! Email rc@sustainablequeenstown.org.nz for more info. 

We are also looking for volunteers in lots of different areas - complete this form for further details. 

Sophie Rasmussen
Environmental Council 

Sport and Active Recreation News

Summer Tournament Week

Our WHS athletes have had a busy week in their respective Summer Tournament Week events - with Maadi Finals, South Island Mountain Biking Enduro races and the 1st XI Girls Cricket tournament still to come over the weekend. It has been awesome to have 164 students representing WHS in South Island and National events around the country! This has involved a tremendous effort from all involved (athletes, coaches, managers, van drivers, supporters and more!). Check out wraps on each sport below. Please note all information was accurate as of Friday morning, with some results still to come at the time of writing!

Once again thank you to the Aotearoa Gaming Trust who provided funding of $30,000 to cover the cost of accommodation, as well as the Wakatipu Foundation for their continued support of sport and extracurricular activities at WHS.

Golf - Southland Champs

Wakatipu High School golfers continued their dominance on Monday at the Southland Champs in Winton. The team of Noah Novacek, Josh Harris and Toby Gallie won the overall team event, qualifying them for the National School Finals in September in New Plymouth. This is the 4th year in a row WHS will be on the trophy! Noah and Josh also took out the top 2 medals in the individual competition with scores of 71 and 75 respectively. Well done to all 12 of our golfers, and thank you to Cory Clark and Ben Gallie for supporting the teams.

Touch - South Islands

The Mixed A Touch team headed to Christchurch for the South Island Secondary School Touch Champs last weekend. It was a busy 2 days of games, with all 16 players putting in the work and playing together as a solid team. The team started with a loss against Lincoln, but followed this up with 3 wins in a row against St Kevins, Waimea, and Taieri. The team’s quarter final match against Rolleston was all tied up 5-5 at full time, with Rolleston coming out on top in the drop-off stages. This meant the team narrowly missed out on semi finals/top 4. Thank you to coaches Jamie Natapu, Nick Saunders and managers Jackie Rule, Marcus Matamua, Cory Tiananga and Richard Hogan. The National Touch Champs are on the horizon in December! Results below:

• Lost to Lincoln High School 4-1
• Beat St Kevin’s College 5-2
• Beat Waimea College 9-4
• Beat Taieri College 5-3
• QF Lost to Rolleston in drop off (game was 5-5 at full time)

Cricket - 1st XI Boys

The 1st XI Boys Cricket team have been down in Dunedin competing in the Gillette Cup. The first match against Dunstan High School saw the team win by 39 runs, with Angus O’Neill batting an impressive 76 not out. This was followed by an extremely close loss to John McGlashan College, by only 1 run! On Wednesday morning the team beat Taieri College by 5 wickets to make the 5th/6th playoff. The final match saw the boys win against St Kevins by 124 runs, with a tournament-high score of 249. An awesome effort by all players! Thank you to coaches Greg Trounce, Bevan Clarke, Andrew Langford and Matt Hollyer.

Volleyball - Satellite Champs

Our Senior A Girls and Senior B Boys Volleyball teams have been at the South Island Satellite Champs in Christchurch. This event has grown in strength and number, with an additional 20 teams from around the South Island participating this year! Both teams had a number of good wins and showed incredible resilience in their close games. The Senior A Boys took out 4th in Division 1, with the Senior B Girls placing 5th in Division 3. Thank you to Ksena Proskur, Emma Smith, Tammy Beale, Matthew Lawton and Kaleb Poole for all of your help! Full results below.

Senior A Boys

• Lost 3-2 to Hagley Community College (losing 2 sets 25-23!)
• Lost 3-0 to Bayfield High School
• Won 3-0 against Logan Park High School
• Won 3-2 against Christchurch Boys High School
• Won 3-0 against Rangiora High School
• Lost 3-0 to John McGlashan College
• Lost 3-2 to Haeata Community College to place 4th.

Senior B Girls

• Lost 3-1 to St Margaret's College Blue
• Lost 3-1 to Catholic Cathedral College
• Won 3-0 against Rolleston College 10B
• Won 3-1 against Geraldine High School
• Won 3-2 against Cashmere High School 10
• Won 3-2 against Craighead Diocesan B to place 5th

Volleyball - National Champs

The Senior A Girls Volleyball have been in Palmerston North this week for the National Champs. This is the third time WHS has sent a team to Nationals - going in as the top seeded Southland school. The event is an amazing development opportunity for our students to play against top schools from around the country, in a volleyball-packed 5 days of competition. The team had some close games during pool play, winning sets against Middleton Grange, Waimea College B and Rangiora High School in the reduced 3-set tournament structure. The team finished strong with a 2-0 win against Pinehurst High School to place 15th in Division 5. Thank you to coach Steve Henderson and managers Sasha McLeod and Susana Gibbons for a big week!

Waka Ama - National Champs

WHS is excited to have sent not 1, but 2 crews to the National Secondary School Waka Ama Champs in Lake Tikitapu, Rotorua for the first time! Our 12 junior paddlers have been training hard with the Whakatipu Waka Ama Club over the last few months in preparation for this amazing opportunity. Both U16 Girls crews have raced incredibly well, with their timings on par with top paddling schools. Thank you to Frances Piacun, Rebecca Jarvis, Lui Matulino and Mia Feasy for supporting the teams in Rotorua. Results below.

• Wakatipu Navy - placed 6th in the 500m Te Takere (Plate) final, and will also be racing in the 250m Te Takere (Plate) Final at 10.52am on Friday.
• Wakatipu Gold - placed 8th in the 500m Te Ihu (Championship) semi finals, making them one of the top 24 schools. The crew also placed 7th in their 250m Te Takere (Plate) semi final.
  

Check out the article below on Wakatipu High School’s involvement in the event! https://www.acc.co.nz/newsroom/stories/a-unique-experience-wakatipu-high-school-competes-at-waka-ama-for-first-time

Rowing - Maadi 

The 40-strong WHS rowing crew has had a successful start to the Aon Maadi Regatta at Lake Ruataniwha, making an incredible 11 A Finals! These will be held on Friday and Saturday - full details and results to come.

A Finals

• Girls U15 Coxed Quad Sculls - 9.30am Friday
• Boys U16 Coxed Quad Sculls - 10.30am Friday
• Boys U18 Coxed Quad Sculls - 1.10pm Friday
• Boys U17 Double Sculls - 3.10pm Friday
• Girls U16 Coxed Quad Sculls - 8.30am Saturday
• Boys U16 Double Sculls - 8.50am Saturday
• Boys U18 Single Sculls - 9.30am Saturday
• Boys U15 Coxed Quad Sculls - 10.10am Saturday
• Boys U18 Double Sculls - 1.30pm Saturday
• Boys U17 Coxed Quad Sculls - 2.50pm Saturday
• Girls U16 Double Sculls - 3.50pm Saturday

Opportunities to Get Involved

Axis Sports Medicine Session

Sarah Beable and Dane Baker from Axis Sports Medicine will be running a presentation for WHS athletes, coaches and parents on Wednesday 27th of March at 4pm in Matuitui. The session will cover performance nutrition, recovery and optimising energy availability. Nutrition is a critical part of an athlete's success, so come along to hear some valuable information and tips from experts in the field!

Please RSVP using the form linked. https://forms.gle/YUJAkqKvZ89cDDrX8

Queenstown Junior Basketball Club

Registrations for the QJBC Friday night competition open Tuesday 26th March. "Follow" qjbc.wordpress.com for the registration link and to stay up to date with information. Register early to secure your spot as they fill up fast!
Funding options are available for those requiring financial assistance. Please email qtnjuniorbball@gmail.com directly with any queries.

Wānaka Basketball Summer Jam 2024.

Join us for an action-packed day at the Wānaka Recreation Centre as we spend a day in the sun, playing some sport, listening to the tunes, chilling on beanbags, eating and drinking and having a blast! Make sure to bring a good attitude and water.

• When: Saturday 27th April 2024
• Time: 9:00am - 3:30pm
• Where: Wānaka Recreation Centre
• Cost: $25 per team
• EARLYBIRD DEAL: $20 per team if you book by Saturday 13th April! (Automatically applies at checkout)
• Grades: U13 boy and girls, U15 men and women, U17 men and women, Open Male & Female, and Inclusive, Mixed Social.

Visit https://www.sporty.co.nz/viewform/286501  to enter your team.

Cape Egmont Virtual Half Marathon 

Want to walk or run in your own time, but also be part of a fantastic event?  Then we would love you to join us. The Cape Egmont Virtual Half Marathon offers three distance options  - 5 km, 10 km and 21 km.  Which can  be completed any time anywhere from the 1st to the 31st of July 2024.   Simply record your time via Strava, Map my run, Fit Bit or screenshot and upload through our website.  Every finisher receives a medal and all money raised goes to the Taranaki Cancer Society and the Taranaki Men Can Exercise Group.  To help those in our province affected by cancer. Enter at:  www.capeegmonthalf.com Enquries: capeegmonthalf@gmail.com

Custom Mouthguards

Needing a quality custom fit sports mouthguard for the 2024 season? Denture Centre Queenstown, in conjunction with the Wakatipu Junior Rugby Club, have recently launched a mouthguard promotion/fundraiser for those wanting a custom fit mouthguard. Between now and 30th June WHS student mouthguards are available for $75 (down from $107), and they will donate $30 from every school age mouthguard sold to the Wakatipu Junior Rugby Club to help get their junior boys’ team to Taupo to compete in the Global Games in September. More info is on the flyer below.

Rally for Support

Keep Us Informed

The Sports Department would love to hear from you if you know of any awesome sporting achievements from our students! Please send through details/results and photos to Sian at shorn@wakatipu.school.nz so we can share and celebrate these as a school.

Support Sport at WHS

Support the team by liking the Wakatipu High School Sports Facebook page. This is the best way to stay up to date with the successes of our athletes and teams and celebrate their great achievements!

https://www.facebook.com/WakatipuHighSchoolSports/ 

Sian Horn
Director of Sport

Arts Strategic Plan

Over the past few months, the Arts Department has been working on developing a draft strategic plan to be implemented from 2025 - 2027.

The strategic plan sits below our Vision Statement here and is an overarching document from which specific annual goals and targets will be developed. 

It is important that we undergo a rigorous process and that feedback is reflective of the needs of our students, school and community. Your feedback in this process is valued and we would very much appreciate you taking the time to fill in a brief feedback form here

Thank you so much in advance for taking the time to be involved in this process.

The feedback form will close on April 5

Arts Department News

Wakatipu High School presents Hairspray. 

Tickets Selling Fast!!!  Make sure to get yours now!
Wakatipu High School students are set to return to the mainstage with their annual musical production, Hairspray which opens April 3rd.

About the show
The 1950s are out, and change is in the air! Hairspray, winner of eight Tony Awards, including Best Musical, is a family-friendly musical, piled bouffant-high with laughter, romance and deliriously tuneful songs.

It's 1962 in Baltimore, and the lovable plus-size teen, Tracy Turnblad, has only one desire – to dance on the popular "Corny Collins Show." When her dream comes true, Tracy is transformed from social outcast to sudden star. She must use her newfound power to dethrone the reigning Teen Queen, win the affections of heartthrob, Link Larkin, and integrate a TV network... all without denting her 'do!

Tickets: Tickets are General Admission only and are on sale now via iTicket.

http://www.iticket.co.nz/events/2024/apr/wakatipu-hairspray

Refreshments will be available before the show and during intermission. 

Contact: Stine Cooper,  Arts Coordinator - scooper@wakatipu.school.nz

The WHS Musical Sponsorship Opportunities
There are still opportunities for sponsorship.  Our musicals are fantastic shows with wonderful opportunities for many of our students, and because of their popularity they provide a great opportunity for the community to support our students.
There are various tiers of sponsorships and advertising opportunities detailed in this document.

Please contact me if you wish to be a sponsor or advertiser or have any queries at scooper@wakatipu.school.nz many thanks in anticipation!

Stine Cooper
Arts Coordinator

Musical Showcase
Wednesday and Thursday - Break 2 in the Foyer

Come along and get a sneak peak at Hairspray, make sure you arrive early and get a great spot to watch and enjoy a fantastic performance.

Rockquest 2024 - entries are open until 3rd of May.  Regional heats will be held on 19th May.

Find out more here: https://www.smokefreerockquest.co.nz/regional-homepage/central-otago

Play it Strange Songwriting Competition is now open for entries.  Make sure you come along to the Songwriting Group with Solomon Crook on Thursday mornings at 8.15am.

More information can be found here:  https://www.playitstrange.org.nz/competitions

Extra/Co Curricular groups
Extra Curricular Music Groups have started up,  more will be starting in Term 2 when the Musical finishes.

• Guitar - Mondays Break 2
• Digital Music Production - Wednesday Break 2
• Songwriting Club - Thursday 8.15am
• Junior Jazz - Tuesday Break 2

Check each of the  Classroom Groups for more details and updates

Dom Ryan off on a new adventure

This week we farewelled Dom Ryan who has been our itinerant drum and guitar  teacher for the past two years. He is heading to LA to pursue his music and we wish him all the best in his next adventure. Dom has been an amazing teacher and mentor to our students and he will be missed.

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 details and photos to artscoordinator@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 the Arts Coordinator at artscoordinator@wakatipu.school.nz

Instagram Page
Follow our school’s Instagram page for recent successes or news within the school’s Arts Department at whsartdepartment.

Scholarship

Anderson Lloyd is excited to announce an incredible scholarship / internship programme aimed at supporting students from Wakatipu High School. Year 12 and 13 students who align with Anderson Lloyd's values have an exciting chance to gain valuable real-world experience through this internship program.

The scholarship objective is to provide financial support and encourage tertiary education for a student who may not otherwise have considered tertiary education due to personal or financial circumstances. 

Please note that the deadline for submitting applications is  Friday 29th March. 

WHS Foundation

Community Notices

Predator Free New Zealand

What Does it Mean and Why Should We Care?

Catalyst Kōrero, 6-7.30pm, Tuesday, March 26

New Zealand is the only country in the world that has turned pest eradication into an export industry, says renowned conservationist David Bellamy – and yet many of our native species are still gravely at risk from rats, mice, stoats and other introduced pests.

What can we do about it? What happens if we don’t? Why should we care? And why is biodiversity so important anyway? 

These are some of the questions three local experts will cover from local, national and international perspectives, in our March 26 Catalyst Kōrero.

In Queenstown Lakes, some 1000 volunteers are the major backstay of predator elimination work in the 163,000 ha of Southern Lakes Sanctuary’s back country.

Starting just two years ago, the original consortium of six groups now supports around 100 volunteer groups. Some of which had already been operating, but in isolation, for over 25 years.

Collaborative efforts in conservation have already led to the return of takahē chicks to the Whakatipu in late 2023, SLS project director Paul Kavanagh says. Takahē had previously been declared extinct  and he admits returning endangered species to the wild is a risk.  “But one worth taking, as Aotearoa’s sanctuaries are reaching saturation point.”

The former Kiwi Birdlife Park manager will be speaking alongside Ange Newport,  the Department of Conservation’s conservation programme senior adviser and detection dog trainer, and Keith ‘Spang’ Springer, now operations manager for Birdlife South Africa’s Mouse Free Marion Project.

Ange has been training and working with conservation dogs around New Zealand for some 15 years. She trains different dogs for feral cat, mustelid, rodent and possum control. They are trained to track and identify, not kill.

Spang has been involved in pest eradication and animal control work for 35 years, moving from mainland pest control to mainly island pest eradication programmes around the world since 2006. 

Tuesday, March 26, 6 to 7:30 pm at the Rees hotel Queenstown’s conference room. Registration is required, as seats are limited. Please bring cash for your koha, which will be given to Southern Lakes Sanctuary.

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