WHS Newsletter | Issue 1.2 | 12 February 2021

Principal's Message

Kia ora - welcome to the Wakatipu High School newsletter at the end of Week 2. It has been a good week here. As I noted last week, we deliberately put Participation Day, photos and other setup into the first week so that we can really get into teaching and learning this week. Walking around the school this week it has been very pleasing to see that the school has settled to teaching and learning really well - great stuff.

Speaking of Participation Day, the results were announced on Wednesday this week and a big congratulations to Duncan House who take an early lead in the 2021 House competition!

It was great to see a good turnout of Year 9 parents at the Greenstone Camp evening on Wednesday night - good on all those parents who came along for info on this important camp.

In terms of Phase 2, the foundations for the SE wing were poured this week. To minimise disruption this massive concrete pour took place in the early hours of Thursday morning. It is good to see this project progressing well.

Extracurricular Expo - central to WHS is our vision for a great all-round education for our students. Integral to this is the holistic development that we want for our students, as per our Ākonga Profile. Accordingly, we see students being involved in extracurricular activities, such as sport, arts, culture, community and outdoors, as very important opportunities for them to develop holistically - learning about themselves and others and developing as a citizen. As a school we even have goals and targets for student participation in extracurricular activities. 

Our annual Extracurricular Expo next Tuesday 16th highlights all the opportunities WHS has to offer. Parents should ensure their students are aware of this important event and get along and sign up - being involved in these opportunities is key to our all-round education!

Attendance - at school is essential for students to successfully learn, progress and achieve. We have made some changes to our attendance system this year, including automating elements of it so that it works more effectively. Please see below for more, as well as the email that was sent to all parents this morning.

NCEA - on Tuesday 23rd February we have a parent information evening on NCEA. The evening is primarily for parents of Year 11 students who are sitting NCEA for the first time this year, and especially for parents new to NCEA this is a really important evening.

Another great newsletter below with lots of updates and info, including a piece thanking Bunnings for their support and be sure to check out the sports section for pieces on Sammy Fookes’ amazing athletics exploits and our team racing the Coast to Coast this weekend.

We look forward to seeing a number of parents at the House Pounamu assemblies next week.

Another good summer weekend of weather ahead - not quite as incredible as last weekend, but nice temperatures and good weather for being out and about, enjoy :)

Steve Hall
Principal

Extracurricular Expo - Tuesday 16 February

The annual Expo showcasing all of the awesome extracurricular opportunities at WHS is on Tuesday 16 February at Break 2. All sporting opportunities will be in the Stadium and all arts, cultural, academic and leadership activities can be found in the Theatre.

Participating in extracurricular activities at WHS is highly valued and beneficial and the Expo is the best chance for you to get involved and contribute to the wider life of the school, make friends and stay connected. There is something for everyone!

To check out what is on offer prior to the expo and signing up, you can find more details on the school website: www.wakatipu.school.nz and select the Extracurricular drop down menu. 

Attendance

Attendance is an important aspect of student engagement and achievement at school. Students need to be present for all classes, including assemblies and Ako time.

If your child is away from school, is late to school, or needs to leave school for an appointment, please email attendance@wakatipu.school.nz. Alternatively, you may ring the school on 03 442 7370. Please include the reason for the absence. If the absence may affect an NCEA assessment you will need to refer to our assessment policy. Email drichards@wakatipu.school.nz for any questions related to missing NCEA assessments.

For all planned absences, students are to complete a Leave Form (make a copy and follow instructions on form). https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wrX09F2K4IRs6RD3RX-2dqLSDc56X4fMu0zNwyb1u50/edit

We have updated our attendance processes automating the tracking of absences. Unexplained absence and lateness results in automatic detentions after three school days.

Today we emailed this information and shared the Portal login with the primary email for Residence A and B. 
Please note that the Portal reports broad Ministry of Education attendance codes:
- Justified covers medical, bus breakdowns, representative sports/cultural, bereavement and exceptional family circumstances.
- Unjustified groups together unexplained/truant, holiday during term time, and explained.
The Kaiārahi can see more detailed codes if you require more information. They will review attendance with students during Ako time.

Note: Year 12 and 13 students must have less than 5% of unexplained absences at the time tickets are on sale to be eligible to attend the Formal (this also applies to Year 13 Graduation). Kaiārahi will be able to advise students what their percentage is as the year progresses.

Our attendance policy is available on SchoolDocs; the link and login instructions can be found here: https://www.wakatipu.school.nz/policies-and-processes.html 

If you would like to discuss your child's attendance please contact either their Kaiārahi or their Dean.

Lee Hiestand
Assistant Principal

NZQA

Return of external assessment material from 2020
All NCEA material, including DVC/Technology portfolios and Scholarship booklets should have been returned to students or schools by mid-February. Please contact Mr Richards as soon as possible if material is missing so that we can endeavour to locate this. Students who participated in the digital externals can access their marked work until 30 June 2021. Instructions on how to do this are here  https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/ncea-results/results-publication/information-for-candidates-digital/ 

Review and Reconsideration applications for 2020 external exam results
It is advisable for students to talk to their teachers prior to applying for a review or reconsideration. The original answer booklet must accompany any application for a review or reconsideration except for digital exams and digitally submitted Technology standards. The closing date for Applications for Review and Reconsiderations for all NCEA externally assessed standards is 26 February and the closing date for Scholarship is 5 March.  Instructions on how to do this are here  https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/ncea-results/reviews-and-reconsiderations/

Cut scores have been released and may be found at the relevant subject link  https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/subjects/cut-scores/ These scores may assist students in their decision about whether to request a Review or Reconsideration. 

In a Review, all sections of a booklet or portfolio are checked to make sure they have been marked and results correctly recorded and transferred. A review does not involve re-marking and there is no charge.  

A Reconsideration involves re-marking all answers in the answer booklet and checking mechanical processes (such as transferring grades). NCEA Reconsiderations cost $20.40 for each standard. The fee for Design and Visual Communication (DVC) and Technology portfolios is $20.40 for each external achievement standard, not each portfolio. The fee for Scholarship Reconsiderations is $30.70 per standard (subject). NZQA will waive the fee for students meeting income criteria who wish to apply for a reconsideration of an NCEA or Scholarship result. Where the Reconsideration leads to a grade change, the fee is refunded. 

NCEA Parent/Student Information Evening - Save the Date
On Tuesday 23 February at 7:00pm there will be an NCEA information evening in teh Theatre where we will go through everything parents need to know about NCEA and how parents can best support their students. This is an essential evening for parents and students who are new to NCEA.

Dax Richards
Principal Nominee

Kapa haka - First wānanga

Kia ora koutou!

Are you interested in joining or supporting the Kapa haka group this year? We're having our first overnight wānanga next Friday after school (19 February) starting at 4 pm with a BBQ in Te Kirikiri and ending the next day at 1 pm after a short performance to showcase what we have learnt. If you are interested in joining us - please email me at kylejackson@wakatipu.school.nz to request the permission form.  

Ngā mihi nui,

Kyle Jackson
TIC Kapa haka

Gifted Education

Would you like to know more about Gifted Education here at WHS? We're having a Gifted Education Parents Evening at 7pm on Wednesday 24 February. This is a great oppertunity to ask all the important questions about how the school is ensuring we our supporting gifted students across the school. 

Also please encourage everyone to join the Curious Minds Google classroom (Code: zpam44a) to keep up to date with competitions and other opportunities - such as the current weekly competitions to have a chance to win a trip to an escape room. Thanks to Escape Quest Queenstown for donating the prize.

Kyle Jackson
Gifted Education Coordinator

48 Hour Film-making Festival

The Vista Foundation 48Hours shoot weekend is scheduled on 5-7 March 2021.

We are looking for teams of student film-makers to enter this classic film competition. Many NZ film-makers have launched their careers with this festival and it's always a tonne of fun! WHS has even earned a few nominations for awards in the past.

As they say ‘restriction breeds creativity’ and that’s what this competition is all about. Teams get given a genre and a few things to include in the film on Friday night, then have 48 hours to write, shoot and edit a film ready for submission on Sunday evening. You don’t need to be a professional filmmaker, this competition is open to all ages and abilities and everyone has a story to tell.

If you would like to join a team, please email Ms Katherine Beaumont at kbeaumont@wakatipu.school.nz. There will be an entry fee of approximately $25 - $50 depending on the size of the team.  The school's film-making equipment is available for use.

The shoot weekend is March 5th - March 7th, 2021. Get in touch quick!

Musical

2021 WHS Musical - Sponsorship and Advertising Opportunities

WHS is excited to announce that this year’s Musical is Grease! Set in 1959 at fictional Rydell High School, Grease follows ten working-class teenagers as they navigate the complexities of peer pressure, politics, personal core values and love. The Musical will run from 24 to 27 March in our Theatre.

Our musicals are fantastic shows with wonderful opportunities for our students, but significant undertakings to put on. Because of their popularity with students, families and the local community, they provide a great opportunity for the community to support our students. 

Businesses or families can sponsor the musical, please click here for options and details. Businesses can also advertise in the musical programme - a great way to support the musical and promote your business at the same time! Advertising includes a range of options, each with complimentary Thursday night tickets, please click here for options and details. As always, we are very appreciative of other support including supplies and paint, props, costumes, makeup, as well as adult support for the various production crews.

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

Monica Parker
Arts Coordinator

Adobe Creative Cloud Suite

WHS is offering Adobe Creative Cloud Suite licences for the year at $10.  Students have received an email to sign up for this once only offer for this year.  This form closes Tuesday 16 February and payment must be made into WHS account by Monday 22 February.  

Please note if your student is taking an art, photography or painting class, they do not need to submit form and they will be given access as it is part of their curriculum.

Rosalind Box 
Finance Department

Thanks Bunnings!

We would like to say a huge thank you to Britt and her awesome team from Bunnings for donating their time and all the materials to build two buddy benches and a picnic table for us to keep here at WHS!  Miss Hembrow's Year 10 Hard Tech had a great time building these  on Tuesday morning.

Library News

We now have all our new students uploaded to the ebook borrowing platform. If you would like to borrow an ebook go to https://wakatipu.wheelers.co and log in using your portal username and the password library1. The site has instructions on how to download the free app so that you can borrow books to read on your device AND you don't actually need to be at school to use it if you are worried about exceeding your data limit!

If you can't log in, come to the library and we will make it happen!

We will be charging for all books, computers and cameras that are overdue from 2020 very soon. If you have a WHS book, camera or computer that you borrowed last year, please return it as soon as possible.

Paula Bell
Librarian

Head Student Message

Hey everyone,

Well, we did it! We have officially made it through the first proper week of school. With Participation Day practises ending on Thursday last week, this has been our first week of ‘disruption free learning’. I know the days feel long, and getting settled into classes can take a while, but with that I encourage all of us to take advantage of the opportunities provided for us. I know it’s not something we hear often but we are incredibly fortunate to be spending six hours at school everyday. So make the most of it, set your goals and have a great start to a fantastic year.

Participation Day was last Friday and was a fantastic day as always. I hope everyone enjoyed themselves and participated. I want to give a huge congratulations to Duncan house, taking first place in the march as well as overall with a whopping 14/15 points!!!!!!! Giving them a three point lead over the closest house. However, don't be too discouraged Arthur, Mackenzie Fox and Hay, there's still plenty of points to gain throughout the year, setting us up for a fierce competition.

A quick reminder that council applications close today, and the Student Executive team will read your applications over the weekend. We are hoping to announce the councils sometime next week so best of luck to all who applied. 

I hope everyone is enjoying the start to the school year and have a great weekend. :)

Carmen Woodhouse
Head Girl

Sports News and Information

Participation Day and Results
It was a stunning day last Friday for our annual Participation Day. This day celebrates school pride and House spirit and it was awesome to see this on display throughout the day. Congratulations and a big thank you to all House Leaders who were exceptional role models and contributors towards their House whanau. The marches were fantastic this year and it was great to see a large number of parents come along and watch these. If you are yet to check them out, they can be found on both the school and WHS sport facebook pages. Participation Day kick starts the House competition for the year and is worth a total of 15 points with the girls, boys and march all worth five points each. Congratulations to the following houses for taking out the various categories:
Girls Winner: Duncan
Boys Winner: Mackenzie
March Winner: Duncan

Overall results: 
1st - Duncan - 14 points
2nd - Arthur - 11 points
3rd - Mackenzie - 10 points
4th - Fox - 7 points
5th - Hay - 5 points

100m Finals Results
Each year we complete the day with the 100m finals, the eight fastest runners across each year group. Below are the placings for each race.
Year 9 Girls
1st: Polly Bennetts - Duncan
2nd: Erin Bunner - Duncan
3rd: Grace Kunath - Mackenzie

Year 9 Boys
1st: Seb Watson - Mackenzie
2nd: Oscar Crossman - Fox
3rd: Hugo Bogue - Fox

Year 10 Girls
1st: Mia Pagan - Hay
2nd: Eliana Collins - Mackenzie
3rd: Beth Pick - Fox

Year 10 Boys
1st: Ben Baker - Mackenzie
2nd: Kai Milburn - Fox
3rd: Lucas Hass - Mackenzie

Year 11 Girls
1st: Maisie Grufferty - Fox
2nd: Marite Balzarini - Mackenzie
3rd: Olivia Key - Duncan

Year 11 Boys
1st: Tyler Harris - Duncan
2nd = Oliver Bowman - Duncan
2nd = Max Healy - Hay

Year 12 Girls
1st: Caitlin Hollyer - Arthur
2nd: Olive Watherston - Hay
3rd: Mikaela Evans - Arthur

Year 12 Boys
1st: Morris Finnigan - Mackenzie
2nd: Jacob Gjaja - Mackenzie
3rd: Ben Barke - Duncan

Year 13 Girls
1st: Jordan Boland - Duncan
2nd: Ally Wilkinson - Mackenzie
3rd: Lucy Viggers - Mackenzie

Year 13 Boys
1st: Cameron Marshall - Mackenzie
2nd: CJ Kemp - Mackenzie
3rd: Liam Judkins - Hay

Sammy Fookes - International Invitational Track Meet
Sammy Fookes was invited to compete in the women’s 800m event at the International Track Meet in Christchurch over the weekend. This race was Sammy's first taste of competing against NZ elite women with the majority of the field in their 20’s and 30’s. The field was stacked with runners who have qualified for the Olympics and been previous NZ title holders. Sammy finished in 5th place, the best result she could have hoped for in this field and beat NZSS Senior Girls 800m winner Emma Douglas and former Sec School Champion Tillie Hollyer. Congratulations Sammy on your superb performance!

Coast to Coast
We wish Sam Davis, Jess MacDonald and Linus Ritchie all the very best as they count down to defending their Schools Mixed Teams title in the Coast to Coast this weekend. The 243km journey from Kumara Beach to New Brighton Beach will be covered on foot, bike and kayak. If you are wanting to track their progress, click the link below and enter Wakatipu High School in the search bar. The race starts early Friday morning. Good luck and go well! Tracker link: https://coasttocoast2021.maprogress.com/

Southland Sailing Regatta
Several WHS students represented the Wakatipu Yacht Club at the Southland Regatta in Te Anau recently with some great results.
Open Gold Fleet - Blake Jackson - 2nd
Open Silver Fleet - Henry Brown - 2nd and Jack Smilie - 5th
Open Bronze Fleet - Violet Smilie - 1st

Swimming - Junior Nationals 
Congratulations to April Bentley who has qualified to compete in the Junior National Swimming Champs next week in Dunedin. April qualified in eight events and we wish her all the very best!

Extracurricular Expo
The Extracurricular Expo is this coming Tuesday!! If you are planning on playing sports this year at or through WHS, you must be there and sign up as this is the primary way we take registrations. We encourage all of the WHS student body to think about what physical activities and sports they would like to involve themselves in this year. Participating in extracurricular activities is known to improve wellbeing by enhancing relationships with others and building a sense of whanaungatanaga and community. There is something for everyone and we strongly encourage families to do some homework with regards to what is on offer and what is manageable from a commitment point of view for students and families. Please take a look at the details on the school website with regards to each sport before signing up as we take the names and follow up straight away. To find out more please click: https://www.wakatipu.school.nz/sports.html 

Southland Schools Surf Champs
If you are interested in competing in the annual Southland Secondary School Surf Champs at Colac Bay or finding out some more information, please email Matua Brad for the details at bfleming@wakatipu.school.nz. Entries close on 24 February and competition is on 27 February. 

Southland and South Island Tennis Champs
If you are wanting to represent WHS in the Southland and South Island doubles competition, please email Matua Brad for more information at bfleming@wakatipu.school.nz. Please ensure you register your interest with him by Tuesday 16 February.

WHS Social Touch Comp Starts
The WHS Mixed Social Touch Competition begins this Tuesday 16 February and runs for six weeks on the WHS fields. This is a chance for students to pull a team of mates together, have fun, be active and enjoy playing sport. The draw will be posted to the Social Touch Google Classroom each weekend. Entries for this competition close on Monday at 10am. The cost is $20 per player and is a fundraiser for the WHS Mixed A team. Link to entry form: here.

Swim School Job Opportunity
If you are a senior student who enjoys working with children, watching them learn and loves the water, exploring the option of being a swim instructor or a lifeguard may be for you. Alpine Aqualand are looking for people to join their swim school, become swim instructors and gain a worldwide recognised swim qualification. If you are interested in finding out more please email dot.legget@qldc.govt.nz.

WHS Sports Hoody Order 2021
This year there will be one sports hoody order being placed each term. The dates orders close are below. The WHS sports hoody is the outer garment for sports teams which is worn to games/tournaments and can also be worn for PE classes. It is not limited to sports and anyone can order one, however they are not a school uniform item and cannot be worn around school during the school day. 
Term 1 - 12 March
Term 2 - 28 May
Term 3 - 20 August
Term 4 - 29 October
If you would like to order a school sports hoody please click this link: https://forms.gle/bRoaZ95YZZgzQ7qk6
If your child would like to size up a hoody before placing an order, they can pop into the sports office and try one on. Hoodies are $70.00 and will be charged to school accounts. 

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/ 

Key Dates

WHS Foundation

Community Notices