WHS Newsletter | Issue 4.5 | 13 November 2020

Principal's Message

Kia ora and welcome to the Wakatipu High School newsletter as we enter the second half of the term - which is flying by.

Today is a special day at WHS, our annual Orientation Day when we welcome our incoming students. This day is always a mix of lots of excitement and a few nerves for the students, and probably for some parents too - and a very warm welcome to the WHS newsletter to our new parents! The day has gone very well, the students have been great (and special thanks to our senior student leaders and peer mentors for their contribution) and we look forward to welcoming them back for their first day on Friday 29th January next year. Parents, please put that afternoon in your diaries for our Year 9 BBQ and chance to meet key people.

Part of Orientation Day today is that the school is very quiet for our new students, with Seniors on exam leave and Year 10s on their Branches Camp Workday - an important fundraiser for the camp. A huge thanks to Bennie Neilson for all her work over many years with Workday, and also to everyone supporting Workday. Another reminder that if Branches Camp fees are an issue our Awhi Fund is available to support students and families financially, please either contact one of our Guidance Counsellors or click here for an online application. Please see below for more on Branches.

Last Sunday evening was the Generation Give grant giving ceremony. Generation Give is our wonderful youth philanthropy programme, and the ceremony - the culmination of their year’s work, saw them give grants totalling $10,000 to five local charities. A huge thanks to everyone who made this fantastic programme possible, notably including Christian and Jennifer Belmont, and to the students for their commitment to giving back to our community.

Phase 2 continues to progress. Yesterday morning a small group of us took a tour through the temporary classrooms which are being assembled ready for the start of next year, and we were pleased with what we saw in terms of size and quality. Maths and languages are going to be based out of the temporary classrooms next year. Work is progressing on the foundations of the extension to the main building and we have had some noise in that end of the building this week. This will be an issue we will deal with at times as the project progresses.

VPNs - Virtual Private Networks are an issue for schools, both in terms of students using them to circumvent the systems which are in place to provide a safe network for our students, and in the extra traffic they cause on our wifi system (eg one student’s device ‘polled’ our system 11,000 times in a week!). Accordingly we are doing something about it, please see below for more.

‘Accord (Teacher Only) Day’ - a reminder that this is next Tuesday 17th November. This is the first in a series of nationwide days for teachers to work on the upcoming NCEA changes. Exams continue for seniors but no school for juniors.

Next week is the Sotheby’s International Queenstown Marathon and the chairman of the Wakatipu High School Foundation, Wayne Foley, is running and raising funds for the Foundation. The Foundation makes a very significant difference to WHS - if you are able, please click here to support him. 

NCEA exams start for seniors on Monday, and we wish them all the very best. Certainly seniors who have been in tutorials and studying here this week have been focussed and on-task. Re our lovely seniors, please see below for lists of end of year Principal’s Award recipients - congratulations to them all.

While not quite the stunning weather of this week, it will be a reasonable weekend weather-wise. Both days will be warm, with Saturday again the best day for outdoor activity and lawn-mowing. Support the seniors to study well, and Year 10s to start getting their Branches gear together. Enjoy :)

Steve Hall
Principal

Branches Camp Update - Week 5

It definitely feels like summer has arrived with hot sunny days this week.  As I write this, Year 10 students are out and about completing their Community Workday, raising funds for the Branches Trust which provides essential support in keeping the camp running at an affordable cost for families.   Thank you to all the individuals and businesses that have taken on students for Workday, your support is hugely valued and appreciated.  

Next week, on Friday 20th are the Pre-Branches Day Tramps.  This is when the students' essential clothing and equipment is checked. All students then head off on a day walk with 2-3 other activity groups and staff around the Queenstown Hill environs. Groups all finish back at school in time for the end of day buses.

A number of Year 10 students are sitting NCEA exams on Friday 20th, and will receive an email with instructions on getting their essential gear checked before camp. Students who are not attending Branches or who cannot complete the day tramp are expected at school to help with food packing. They may wear appropriate mufti and should bring a packed lunch, water and be at school by 9am.

Bridget Janse
Branches Camp Coordinator

Branches Trust

Term 4 is always busy and exciting here at Branches Trust and we have a few things to note and gratitude seems to be the theme so please read on.

WORK DAY – THANK YOUs
By the time you receive this the Year 10 students will already be home from their work experience day out in the community.  We would like to say a huge THANK YOU to all the businesses who supported this day be it through placing a child or two at your work, sponsoring work on a community project or supervising a Year 10 student at your work station.  As we have previously mentioned, due to this extraordinary year, we have not sought payment for their efforts, however we have been overwhelmed by the generosity of those who feel they can still contribute, so another THANK YOU!   This work experience is so important for all students as for some it is their first day at work!  I have to say it is logistically huge as well, so another THANK YOU must go to Bennie Neilson who somehow works her magic to place an ever growing number of students in the community.  This year it was close to 240 students ... I am told next year there will be more! 

LONG DROPS AND HARD KNOCKS
Our fabulous book is our main fundraiser for the Trust for this year.  We are so proud of this book and as often happens, projects evolve into spaces not previously envisaged.  This book was originally designed to record the first 50 years of WHS iconic Branches Camp but it has become so much more than that.  It is now a piece of local history, charting the changes in the town as well as the school and the camp.  It is an excellent read and I can’t stress enough the words of Craig Smith, author of The Wonky Donkey and past Branches Camper when he said ‘Every Queenstown family and business should have one’ .... so have you got yours yet?  

You can buy a book from various locations around town, another THANK YOU to these businesses who continue to support our book:  WHS front desk, Summerfields Pharmacy, Arrowtown Museum, Halo, The Exchange, Provisions, Dorothy Browns, Brandlands, Paper Plus or online at www.branchestrust.co.nz

Now priced at $49.95 we also have a great pre-Christmas deal of 2 for $90 .... so again, have you got yours yet?!  

Remember, ALL proceeds go to fund future Branches Camps.

FERG FOR BREAKFAST ON THE HITS
A number of drama students and I were lucky enough to head to The Hits radio studio this week to record readings from our Branches book LONG DROPS AND HARD KNOCKS.  These exerpts will be played out twice daily during the week Mon 30 Nov – Fri 4 Dec, while the Year 10s are on Branches Camp themselves. 

Another huge THANK YOU goes to long time local Radio DJ, QLDC Councillor and passionate community supporter Ferg for allowing us to do this, we think you will enjoy hearing some of the stories, there are many more in the book! 

Another THANK YOU to the excellent readers who I have listed below, you all did a great job!  Ferg tells me they will be played at 6.40 and again at 8.05 ... ish!

Mon 30 Nov – Greta Balfour
Tues 1 Dec – Sophie Thompson
Wed 2 Dec – James Scoles
Thur 3 Dec – Ryan Connaghan
Fri 4 Dec – Helena Hornbacher

And finally, we have some fabulous new ads playing out on social media at the moment, designed by Scott Conway and his team at Feast Creative.  They have done a wonderful job of conjuring up an old cine reel of yesteryear which is on our Branches Trust Facebook page. 

So have you got yours yet?! 

Enjoy your weekend everyone,

Belinda Crichton
Branches Trust

Attendance Update

We are updating our attendance procedure at WHS and would like to take the opportunity to remind parents and caregivers of the importance of contacting the school prior to a student's absence, or at the very latest 48 hours after.

Absences can be communicated by:

• email: attendance@wakatipu.school.nz
• phone: 03 442 7370
• our new school app found here for Apple and here for Android

Emily Ellice
Attendance Officer

School Network Security (and VPNs)

The school has an obligation to provide a safe digital environment for all students. The safety of our students is of paramount importance and we take cybersafety seriously, this includes protecting our network, protecting the students and preventing cyberbullying.

WHS needs to ensure that the school's ICT network, hardware and software is effectively maintained and secure, including content filtering. For this reason, the use of VPN (Virtual Private Network) software, which is designed to circumvent the school’s network security and content filtering, is prohibited on our network.

To ensure the safety of the students and the network, we are activating a quarantine facility for devices that have VPN software installed and/or active. The school's filtering system will detect VPN software and quarantine the device. The quarantine will stop ALL internet traffic to/from the device for a period of five minutes. The device will continue to be quarantined until the software is removed.

VPN filtering and quarantining will be implemented for Years 9 & 10 on Monday 16 November.
VPN filtering and quarantining for seniors will be implemented after exams in preparation for 2021.

Andrea Wilton-Connell
Executive Officer

Inaugural Scholarship Awarded

Trades Academy Graduation

Principal's Awards

Congratulations to the following senior students who have received Principal's Awards this week.

Arthur House
Alice Gilbert    AONT
Annabelle Ferguson    APHN
Antonia Gavin    ADRS
Arwyn Donnelly Cranston    AJGB
Bella Middleton    AKBM
Esther Vile    AJGB
Indigo Little    ADRS
Ivy Barker    ARSC
Jack McBeth    AJGB
Liam Climo     ARSC
Lucy Glover    AONT
Maggie Frew    AJGB
Mikayla Evans    AKBM
Will Cooper    AKU
Zoe Barham    ASKG

Duncan House
Adam Numara    DMPR
Alice Price    DNPT
Alix Long    DEQD
Ben Barke    DEQD
Briar Greer    DEQD
Daniela Tapper    DMPR
Elke Koehn    DNPD
Emily Clearwater    DMPR
Ethan Mendoza    DEQD
Evie Brown    DMPR
Fineen Hingston    DNPD
Greta Balfour    DNPT
Hannah Battrick     DCSB
Izzy Cheifetz     DCSB
Jacinta Ricketts    DEQD
Jett Fa'amalepe    DKWB
Katie Westphall    DNPT
Linus Ritchie    DAWR
Megan McCulloch    DJHE
Niki Nakao    DNPD
Olive Ritchie    DJHE
Paddy Lawn    DCHW
Rachel Scobie    DEQD
Sam Davis    DKWB
Savannah Bowman    DNPT
Sophie Thompson    DMPR
Tessa Jones    DAWR
Tobi Hughes    DCHW
Yzza Rizo    DNPT
Zoe Crawford    DNPT

Fox House
Alisha McKinney    FSTM
Amelia Grufferty    FHWD
Amelie Saint-Pere    FKMT
Grace Hall    FJDC
Hannah Stevens    FJRD
Hannah White    FJDC
Harry McVicar    FSTM
Jacob Marriott    FJRD
Jacob Wilkinson    FJRD
Jasmine Crichton    FRND
Johannes Mackay    FRND
Kira Almquist    FABR
Lucy Tulloch    FJRD
Mia Crawshay    FRCA
Michaela McLister    FHWD
Micky Nguyen    FKJA
Minna Zhu    FKMT
Mucha Milne    FBKL
Pippa Bashford    FKJA
Rei Watanabe    FSTM
Sade Kaihe    FKMT
Sofia Taquet    FBKL

Hay House
Alicia Robert    HJRM
Aliyah McPherson    HJST
Allegra Boyd Slawson    HNKU
Annie Fraser    HJKN
Emily Bisset    HDAS
Harry Thomas    HNKU
Jack Higgins    HJST
Jasper Cuisel    HJHZ
Julia Salonga    HDAS
Kloe Vermeir    HJKN
Millie Jamieson-Gough    HJAD
Olive Watherston    HMBN
Ollie McLean    HDAS
Paige Cuisel    HJST
Ruby Ruski-Jones    HJHZ
Sebastian Cera    HJKN
Todd Vermeir    HNKU

Mackenzie House
Ally Wilkinson    ZAR
Angus Forrest    MLRY
Bella Archibald    MRML
Charli McLeod    MDHR
Ed Forrest    MLHI
Ella Lanuel    MLHI
Ella St John    MKJK
Emma Saxon    MKJK
Finn Hyndman    MKJK
George St John    MDHR
Hanna Cerecke    MBJN
Hannah Gaboda    MAPC
Isaac Frewen    MHDX
James Scoles     MLRY
Kate Edmonds    ZAR
Keanu Panapa    MDHR
Lucy Viggers     MBJN
Marigold Kunath    MRLM
McKenzie Galbraith    MLRY
Nadia Burns    MLHI
Natsune Suzuki    MLHI
Nieve Collin    MKJK
Ollie Pope    MKJK
Om Alva    MDHR
Toby Hart    MRML

Karate - New Zealand Nationals and Secondary Schools

On October 31 the New Zealand Karate National Competition and the National Secondary Schools competition were held in Auckland. Mackenzi Jackson who is in Year 10 represented our school in both the Kata and Kumite disciplines. She had a very successful day, coming away with a silver medal in her Open Kumite division, a bronze medal in the Premiere Kata and a bronze in her weight division Kumite. These were accompanied by a silver medal in the Secondary School Championship as well. Mackenzi is looking to be strong contender in her age divisions in karate, consistently finishing in the top three for her age group. She has done very well in a year when most competitions were cancelled. Travelling to Chrischurch in September she was able to get a bronze in Kata and a gold medal in her Kumite division. At the Christchurch competition Sensei Pat managed to win a silver medal in the Open Kata and at the Nationals a bronze medal in the Premiere Kata division.

Sensei Pat

The Readers' Cup team does us proud!

For the second year running, the Wakatipu High School Readers' Cup team flew to Auckland to compete in the National Competition. Although we did not place this year, we are very proud of the combined effort of the team to participate competitively. The competition continues to grow throughout New Zealand and this year over 70 teams competed for a position at the Nationals. A huge congratulations goes to the awesome Year 9 team: Katherine Read, Milky Tam, Ava McIntyre and Abby Fookes. 

Arts Update

Junior Music Performance Night

The 5MUSB Music Class has their Music Night next Wednesday 18 November starting at 6.00pm upstairs in the Music area. Parents/caregivers and friends are welcome. We look forward to seeing you there.

Junior Auditions for 2021 Musical 

Junior students will be auditioning for the 2021 Musical next week (Week 6). Any students who still want to audition must find Mrs Price or Mr Hansen as soon as possible. 

Sports News and Results

Seven’s Success for Olive Watherston
Year 11 student Olive Watherston has been named as one of four high school students in New Zealand to be involved in this year's Red Bull Ignite Sevens series to be played in Tauranga in early December. Olive will be mixing it with the very best of New Zealand’s Women's sevens players in a week long training camp followed by a two day tournament. The four teams to play are selected on a draft system and Olive will be selected as a player apprentice to one of these teams. Olive has been identified by the New Zealand sevens coaching group as a player with significant potential and has also been named in the New Zealand Secondary School Sevens squad for the World Schools Sevens Aotearoa tournament in Auckland on the 19th and 20th December. This is an amazing achievement and opportunity for Olive and a rugby player from Wakatipu High School. We are super excited for the next six weeks for Olive, all the very best!

EVO South Island Downhill Champs
It was great to see a large number of WHS mountain bikers compete in last weekend's EVO South Island Downhill Mountain Bike Champs in Dunedin, there were some awesome results achieved, congratulations!
Riley Adlam - 2nd U19 Men
Maia Jowett - 5th U19 Women
Josh Bonnar - 3rd U17 Men
Joe Baker - 6th U17 Men
Jamie Gaboda - 7th U17 Men
Toby Meek - 10th U17 Men
Rory Meek - 3rd U15 Men
Thomas Hulsman - 8th U15 Men
Reon Fernandez - 9th U15 Men
Zach Dixon - 10th U15 Men
Tavi Rasnoveanu - 16th U15 Men
Eva Hemingway - 2nd U15 Women

Gillette Cup - 1st XI Cricket
The semi final match of the Gillette Cup against Otago Boys High School was unfortunately rain affected in Dunedin last weekend with play being called off on Sunday, the match was rescheduled for Monday but was still rain affected. WHS posted 125/9 off 28 overs with Om Alva top scoring with 60. OBHS achieved the total in just over 20 overs. This means WHS is down to play Kings High School in the 3rd/4th playoff match, whether it is to be played, we are still yet to find out. A huge thank you to Daniel Gibbons, who had his last match as head coach of the 1st XI cricket team. Daniel has been fantastic in his role as coach and organiser of this group of young men and has had a significant impact on the growth and progress of Wakatipu High School cricket over the last five years, helping to cement WHS as the top co-ed cricket school in Otago and Southland. Thank you Daniel for your service to WHS sport, you will be missed. The team will be coached by WHS sports stalwart, Damien O’Connell in 2021. 

Otago U19 Cricket Squad
Congratulations to Toby Hart who has been selected into the 18 man Otago U19 Men’s cricket squad to play at the national U19 champs in Lincoln over the holiday break. All the best Toby!

Careers Department - Student Job Vacancies

Key Dates

Community Notices

Startup Queenstown Lakes 27 Nov

Startup Weekend is a high-energy, 54-hour event for established entrepreneurs and budding founders, for designers, developers, business-focused, and non-technical people alike. It's like outward bound for entrepreneurs!

You can expect to: 

• Meet potential new co-founders and make some great friends.
• Have a FUN time - make some great memories with passionate, energetic people.
• Learn from the best - engage with mentors who will keep you going and foster your entrepreneurial spirit.

Just 50 tickets available + selling fast - don't miss out.

https://startupqueenstownlakes.lpages.co/startup-weekend-2020/