WHS Newsletter | Issue 4.7 | 29 November 2024

Principal's Message

It’s been another busy and eventful week at WHS with the first 130 Year 10’s heading into the 57th Branches Camp on Tuesday morning. The weather has been good and so far, all groups have had an uninterrupted schedule and been able to engage in all the activities that comprise the ‘best of Branches’ 7-day camp. Camp 1 comes out on Monday 2nd December and on Tuesday 3rd December, Camp 2 students start to head into the camp held at the top of the Shotover River from 7 am. 

Meanwhile, our Branches ‘in-school’ programme has been running a range of activities at school and in the community, and this past Wednesday, the students had the opportunity to head up the Remarkables Ski Field where they learned some key environmental sustainability concepts and also showed their active citizenship by helping clean up any rubbish remaining below the slow melt. Next week’s ‘in-school programme’ sees our students heading up to Coronet Peak to continue with their learnings from Branches Camp. 

This morning, results from the September round of the Literacy and Numeracy corequisites were released. We know this will be a big moment for some of our Year 10 and Year 11 students who have been working hard to achieve these new requirements for NCEA. Overall, we are pleased with the literacy and numeracy development of our students in the junior school and interim results for our entire Year 10 cohort showed that 68% of our Year 10 students achieved the numeracy corequisite and 78% of Year 10 students passed both literacy corequisites. Similarly, more than 90% of Year 11 students have achieved the literacy requirements and numeracy requirements for NCEA. An email has been sent to all students and their families regarding the corequisite results and a further email will be sent to students and parents who have not passed one or more of the corequisites after Junior Prizegiving. The email will include supports from the school and things that can be done over the summer. In the meantime, if you have specific questions regarding the literacy and/or numeracy corequisites, please contact Sarah Hill (shill@wakatipu.school.nz), Deputy Principal. 

NCEA Senior Exams wrapped up yesterday at WHS and they went very smoothly. A huge thanks to the students for their diligence and focus and also to our Exam Centre team, including invigilators, reader/writers and administrators. It takes a massive effort from a range of people to run these exams effectively and my thanks go to those who make it happen.

There has been a lot of chatter about NCEA in the media and while WHS is reviewing it’s qualifications framework in 2025, including looking at the possibility of ICGSE or IB, we are also happy with how our current NCEA Level 1 courses are structured and assessed and we are confident that students are being well prepared for their NCEA Level 2. We know that every year is very important in a student's education and we will always put students' learning, progress and achievement at the forefront of our decision making. 

This week, the WHS Foundation has been very busy out in the community. On Thursday, the WHSF along with Cook Brothers and Ayrburn held a long-lunch at Ayrburn’s newest restaurant, ‘The Bake House’. We were the first ones to see and use this majestic facility and greatly appreciate all those that came out to support the WHS Foundation and WHS. The food was amazing, as was the venue, the hospitality and the company, not to mention WHS Jazz Combo! As Dave Bulling, WHSF Trustee noted, the funds raised from this event are going towards enhancing the Literacy support that WHS offers students as well as continuing to progress the school-wide Wellbeing program. A massive thank you to Cook Brothers, Ayrburn and all the guests and businesses that supported this wonderful event either through sponsorship, donations or simply being in attendance. 

On Friday, Roost Mortgage Brokers ran a WHS Foundation event at the Arrowtown Golf Course, this time to support the school’s commitment to recruiting and retaining world class teachers. This new initiative from Roost aims to support housing costs and to ultimately enable our great teachers that are new to the region to get on the property ladder, so that we can retain our outstanding teachers. The weather certainly played its part and once again a huge thanks to Mark and Emma Pullar and the Roost team, as well as all the local businesses who donated their prizes and time for the auction. 

WHS has also linked up with the Queenstown Lakes Community Housing Trust and it was wonderful to see Julie Scott and her team launch the latest batch of affordable housing options yesterday at Tewa Banks. Again, WHS staff have been well-supported in this space and it was wonderful to see this great initiative acknowledged by Ministers and the media. 

We have an extraordinary community, with exceptional students and families and we are very privileged to not only have your support but to work with you and your students. 

Less than 2 weeks left in school and while the seniors are finished with their exams, and our Year 10’s are focused on Branches and the ‘in-school’ programme, our Year 9’s still need to be focused on their subjects and learning, and ensuring that they are finishing the year strongly. 

Another great newsletter follows including some wonderful photos from Branches Camp, and key dates for the remainder of the year and for 2025, so be sure to have a look.

Key Dates

Upcoming Prizegivings

As we approach the end of 2024, we are excited to celebrate the academic achievements of our Year 9 and 10 Ākonga at the upcoming Prizegiving during the final week of school. These events are among our most formal and significant celebrations, recognising the hard work, dedication, and effort our Junior Ākonga have demonstrated throughout the year.

The Year 9 Prizegiving will take place on Tuesday, 10 December, and will begin at 11 a.m. The Year 10 Prizegiving will follow on Wednesday, 11 December, and will also start at 11 a.m. Both events will be held in Pouākai.

Families of prize winners will receive an email notification on Tuesday, 3 December, with further details about the events, and instructions for prizewinners. If you have any questions about the Prizegiving or the notification process, please do not hesitate to get in contact.

We look forward to celebrating with you the exceptional achievements of our Junior Ākonga for 2024.

Branches Camp 1

Lake Lochnagar Group One
Year 10s embraced the challenge of this three-day adventure, tackling it head-on to reach the breathtaking lake. While Lake Lochnagar was truly rewarding, it was the journey that made the experience unforgettable! 

We look forward to welcoming Camp One back on Monday, a big thanks to Mr Guillaume Charton for these incredible photos.

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Branches In School Programme

Throughout the week our Branches Camp 2 students have focused on personal growth, resilience, and wellbeing through various in-school activities. On Wednesday, they gave back to the community by volunteering at the Remarkables Ski Area to clean up parts of the ski area.  

Discover the Magic of Branches with a Guided Self-drive Tour

The Branches Charitable Trust is hosting an exclusive, guided self-drive tour to the breathtaking Branches Station in March 2025. This once-in-a-lifetime opportunity takes you on a scenic journey along Skippers Canyon Road, with a first-hand experience of this historic station.

There a just 20 spots available,  be sure to secure your place. Email branchestrust@gmail.com to book.

University Results for Semester Two

Ten students have completed the Math199 course worth 30 points through Canterbury University. Congratulations to the following students on their outstanding results:

Tom Schenk 95% A+
Ricky Webster 94% A+
Jack Trounce 94% A+
Angus McDowell 92% A+
Sara Warmington 91% A+
Bella Taylor 88% A
Peter Davis 88% A
Ole Wijntjes 87% A
Jared Long 74% B
Anthony Hollyer 70% B

Students gaining A+ and then enrolling in an undergraduate degree at UC are eligible for the AIMS scholarship worth $5,000.

Understanding Our Local Environment

The Lake Hayes Science trip is a great highlight in our Year 9 science program. Our students head off as intrepid explorers to review the quality of the water in Lake Hayes and the surrounding feeder streams. Through hands-on experiences like water sampling and macroinvertebrate collection, they develop a deeper understanding of local ecosystems and the importance of environmental stewardship. We really appreciate the support of Mana Tāhuna for their work in the area, as well as our lab technicians, Rosemary McCartney and Frances McLachlan for organising equipment and ensuring a smooth trip.

Hākitekura Sports News

Hākitekura, our Special Needs unit went to Cromwell this week to play Frisbee Golf. This event was led by the Otago Secondary Schools Sports Association who connected us with Dunstan High School, Mount Aspiring College and Cromwell College for this event. 

After a rainy start to the morning, we arrived in Cromwell to blue skies and with some very excited and enthusiastic young people who had never played Frisbee Golf before. Today we learned how to throw a disc and score as we move around.  After our coaching session today in this sport, we feel we can visit the Queenstown Gardens and have fun throwing golf discs into the target baskets with confidence. We ended the day with a game of rounders and we are looking forward to our next sports event in the new term. 

A huge thanks to Chris Moffitt and Megan Anderson from OSSSA for this and future events. 

New Entrants Information

We look forward to welcoming the entire cohort to Wakatipu High School next year, with the first day of school for all Year 9’s on Tuesday 28 January.

We have collated relevant information for our New Entrant students in the document below,  this contains a number of areas that we think are important or useful to you in the lead up to the 2025 school year.

Sport and Active Recreation News

Volleyball

The Junior South Island Volleyball Champs were held in Christchurch from Tuesday 19th - Thursday 21st November. It was a great 3 days of volleyball for our Junior A Boys and Junior Blue and Gold teams - with the Junior Girls Blue team making the final of their division!

The Junior Girls Blue team had a strong tournament, winning all 3 of their round robin games and 2/3 of their crossovers. The team won their semi final against St Margaret's College 2-1 to make the Division 2 final against Garin College. Garin took out the first set, and the team came firing back in the second set but ultimately went down 20-25. Overall an awesome result for the team, winning promotion into Division 1 next year. MVP for the tournament was Marian Navasca.

The Junior Girls Gold team achieved a top 3 finish in Division 3, winning their bronze match against James Hargest College 2-1. The team finished 2nd in their round robin, winning 4/5 games but went down to St Margaret's College B in their semi final. The team improved every game both in their game and personal team skills - which were no better exemplified by their Captain and MVP Luana Kirkoff Pereira. All players contributed throughout the week, pulling each other through in a number of close games - a reflection of the team’s commitments and efforts throughout the season.

The Junior A Boys played in Division 2 with some tough match ups in their round robin play. The team had a strong finish, winning their final 2 games against Central Southland College and Otago Boys’ High School 9 Blues to place 9th overall. The MVP for the tournament was Issei Muta who was absolutely consistent with his game play and skills on the court and one of the most respected players on the team. A shout out also to Gianny McLean who was most improved, having come into the team with no volleyball background he always had a positive outlook.

A massive thank you to coaches Steve Henderson, Ksena Muddle and Duane Te Paa and managers Mel Henderson, Michelle Bose and Conner Hamlin for their mahi and support of the teams throughout the tournament. We are always looking for parent support as coaches and managers, so please reach out if you are interested!

Basketball

The annual Junior Apples Basketball Tournament was held in Queenstown last weekend. Wakatipu High School entered a Year 9 Boys, Year 10 Boys, and Junior A Girls team for a fun weekend of basketball. Thank you to coaches Oded Nathan, Tom Neilson and Callum O’Connell for their mahi. Thanks also to Central Otago and Whakatipu Basketball, with a special shoutout to Jackie Kukutai, for running the comp!

Team Spotlight - Year 9 Boys

After three trainings, the Year 9 Boys team got off to a strong start with a well-earned victory over Aspiring Basketball Academy (Mt Aspiring). This was followed up with a thrilling, down to the wire draw the WHS Year 10 Boys team on Saturday (38-38). On Sunday, the boys had three games and started off with a convincing victory over a QJBC team that had a range of students from Year 9 and Year 10 at WHS. The boys ran out of puff in the final two games losing convincingly to the strong Southland and Eastern teams, who ended up finishing 1st and 2nd respectively. The Year 9 boys finished 3rd equal with a record of 2 wins, 2 losses and a draw. Overall the boys played very well, learned lots and had heaps of fun, and are in a good position to come back next year to hopefully take the title that was won by WHS in 2023. 

Photo credit Aroha Photography / jaffe.santos.photos

Orienteering

Shout out to year 10 student Audrey Austin who was the start controller at the COPSSA Central Otago Orienteering Champs last Friday. She got awesome feedback from the event organisers and was still stuck in tidying up at about hour 8! It’s great to see our students volunteering their time to support sport in the area!

Aotearoa Gaming Trust - Thank You

The Wakatipu High School Sports Department wishes to extend a huge thank you to the Aotearoa Gaming Trust for their continued support of our student athletes. For 2024 AGT provided $59,000 of funding for the majority of our Summer and Winter Tournament Week teams. These funds were used to heavily subsidise the cost of accommodation for 282 students this year. An incredible 22 teams were involved with 18 National and South Island Events held across the country in March and September - with total accommodation costs exceeding $70,000. These funds are extremely appreciated by our students and their whānau to keep these pinnacle sporting events accessible!

Sporting Action Next Week

Best of luck to the following students and teams next week!

• 1st XI Boys Cricket - Taieri College Exchange - Sun 1st and Mon 2nd Dec at the Queenstown Events Centre
• 1st XI Girls Cricket - Blue Mountain College fixture - Mon 2nd Dec at the Queenstown Events Centre
• Get2Go Adventure Racing Team - Get2Go National Finals - Mon 2nd - Fri 6th Dec at Tongariro National Park
• Junior Boys Cricket - St Kevin's Junior Tournament - Wed 4th - Fri 6th Dec in Oamaru
• Mixed A Touch - National Secondary School Champs - Fri 6th - Sun 8th Dec in Rotorua
• Athletics students - National Secondary School Track and Field Champs - Fri 6th - Sun 8th Dec in Timaru

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 Department News

Artist of the Week:  Gianny Mclean

Ms Hamilton's Year 10 class have been working on Portraits during Term 4.  Gianny Mclean has shown to be an enthusiastic, creative and hardworking student and has completed this re-interpretation of the famous painting "Hand of God" by Michelangelo on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, Italy.

Thrashmore Congratulations!

Congratulations to Atomica and 4BLU who have made it through to the final three of the A.J.Hackett Thrashmore competition. This now enters the final stage with P. Diggs judging the overall winner to be announced on Dec 3.  Thanks to everyone who supported the bands to this point.

Looking for Student Leader Set Designer Superstar!

We are looking for one Senior student that is interested to become Set Design Crew Leader and support Mr Hansen and the team in creating the set. If this is something you would like or if you want to know more please get in touch with Mr Hansen jhansen@wakatipu.school.nz. This role will commence this term. 

Opportunity for parents to help

The Mamma Mia! set design includes a fair bit of construction and resourcing materials. We are reaching out to our wonderful parent community to check if there might be anyone interested to either help with the building/construction of the set or to support in supplying the set materials. If you are interested or have ideas to this please contact Mr Hansen  jhansen@wakatipu.school.nz

Wakatipu High School Musical Production - Opportunities to support 

Wakatipu High School has a long standing tradition of putting on incredible musical productions involving more than 100 students and welcoming around 1400 guests during show nights. 

We are excited to put on Mamma Mia! in 2025. The Musical will run 2 - 5 April 2025 and tickets will go on sale next year. 

The musical production is the highlight of the year for many of our students and it provides considerable leadership opportunities as they assume responsibility for the various crews. 

Musicals are, however, a significant undertaking and we appreciate support from the wider community to ensure they happen at the level we aspire to. One way for this to occur is through sponsorship or advertising in the musical programme. We hope that you would like to take this opportunity and support the Wakatipu High School Musical. 

Sponsorship options- All sponsorships receive 

• complimentary tickets for the Thursday Show on April 3 2025 
• Your name and logo in the Musical Programme and Foyer Screen.

Platinum Sponsors - donation of $3000+                                              Gold Sponsors - donation of $1000 

Includes 10 complimentary tickets                                                         Includes 6 complimentary tickets 

Silver Sponsors - donation of $500                                                           Bronze Sponsors -  donations of $250 

Includes 4 complimentary tickets                                                           Includes 2 complimentary tickets

Advertising Options - All advertising options include 

• complimentary tickets  for the Thursday Show on April 3 2025 
• a colour advertisement in the programme
• an advertisement on Wakatipu High School Foyer screen displayed all 4 show nights

Full-page (A4 portrait 297mm X 210mm)  -$800+GST includes 4 complimentary tickets to Thursday April 3 2025

Half-page (A5 landscape 148mm x 210mm) - $400+GST includes 2 complimentary tickets to Thursday April 3 2025

Quarter-page (A6 portrait 148mm x 105mm)  -$200+GST includes 1 complimentary ticket to Thursday April 3 2025

**Please provide advertisements in high-resolution (200 dpi) JPEG or PDF files with a 5mm border around it.

If you are interested or have any questions please send an email to scooper@wakatipu.school.

Warm regards,

Stine Cooper 

Arts Coordinator, Wakatipu High School 

YAMI

With a reputation for luring some of Aotearoa's finest musical talent along with industry heavyweights, YAMI (Youth + Adults in the Music Industry) is preparing to celebrate 10 years of delivering the high-aiming Wanaka summit.  Held at the start of NZ Music Month (May 3 + 4) past summits have featured (among others) such luminaries as Troy Kingi, Anika Moa, Ladi6, Barnaby Weir, Tiki Taane, Moana Maniapoto, Jon Toogood, Julia Deans, Anna Coddington, Dave Dobbyn, Kings, Bella Kalolo, plus members of The Beths, L.A.B., Fat Freddy's Drop, Fly My Pretties, The Phoenix Foundation and Shapeshifter.

Next year's line up will be announced in February and organisers say a wide diversity of talents will be represented at the May summit.  All Earlybird tickets have already sold out but standard places for Junior (ages 10 to 13 years), Youth (ages 14 to 18 years) and Adult (ages 19 to 110 years) are still available.

Participants learn to navigate the music industry with workshop and seminar topics covering performance, DJing, Songwriting, Beatmaking, Royalties and Distribution, Marketing and Management.  The bi-ennial summit was the first to welcome rangatahi and adults, with the minimum age to attend being 10 years old.  With most of the crew being volunteers, director Lynne Christie acknowledges the support from the music industry is vital. "The tutors and speakers are incredibly generous with their time and knowledge," she affirms. "They are able to tap into focussed hacks that guide talented creatives to the next level."  Yami Ambassador Barnaby Weir says he's very proud to support this summit since its beginnings in 2014. "It's not always easy being a creative. This summit shows the participants that there is a network, there is support and that each individual has a unique and powerful story to tell."

Registrations for the non-profit summit are available at Ticketfairy.  Please email us at info@yami.nz for more information including group booking discounts and Professional Development options.

You can also follow them on Facebook: facebook.com/yamisounz or IG: instagram.com/yamisounz

Exciting visits in ART

Being able to access a visiting artist is an incredible opportunity for our students to get first hand input from established artists. We hope to welcome more artists and professionals in the arts space in the future. If you would like to share your experience and knowledge please get in touch with Arts Coordinator Stine Cooper scooper@wakatipu.school.nz.

Upcoming for Term 4 

7 December - Jazz Combo at Ayrburn

10 December - Yr 9 Prizegiving

11 December - Yr 10 Prizegiving

Te Atamira - is a multi-purpose arts and cultural space at Remarkables Park Town Centre - check out what is happening at Te Atamira here

Te Wahi Toi - Nau mai, haere mai, Te Wāhi Toi is the meeting place and online directory for Queenstown and Wānaka’s creative community.  Find them here

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 scooper@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 Mrs Cooper the Arts Coordinator at scooper@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

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