WHS Newsletter | Issue 1.9 | 1 April 2021

Principal's Message

Kia ora - welcome to the Wakatipu High School newsletter. A shorter piece from me this week at the end of another short week.

Junior Next Steps on Tuesday was an excellent evening with a great turnout - 400 families met with their student’s Kaiārahi. The evening went well and seemed to be productive for families. A big thanks to all parents who engaged with us re their student’s education - good on you! 

Hopefully you saw our Facebook post on yesterday’s full school assembly, when we gathered in Te Kirikiri to celebrate the extracurricular efforts and achievements of our students last week. We brought our Maadi medallists across the stage and acknowledged others who had placed nationally or broken records, as well as everyone involved in our awesome musical, Grease. It was a pleasure to celebrate our students' involvement and achievements in extracurricular activities and our all-round education - which we think provide such an important opportunity for our students’ holistic development, and to acknowledge all those who make those opportunities possible. Related, below is an excellent piece from senior student Zoe Barham on her experience as a student leader in Grease - it's a great read in terms of the amazing learning opportunity that extracurricular activities provide our students.

Yesterday we also had a special visitor with the drug detection dog through the school. As I have said in the past, we are committed to doing our best to make WHS a safe place and will continue to do this periodically. 

Next term we are offering parents an opportunity to come and take a tour of the school. The tours, which will be hosted by me and/or another member of the senior leadership team, will be on Wednesdays in Weeks 3, 4 and 5, will start at 9.30am for 60mins. They will be limited to a maximum of 10 parents so please click here if you wish to signup.

Today has been Bandana Day here - an awareness and funds raiser for young people impacted by cancer. It was also the Staff vs Duncan (winners of the House competition) touch game on the front field at Break 2 (which unfortunately the staff lost ...).

With the end of term approaching, below is an excellent piece by one of our Head Students, Jasmine Crichton. It is well written with some great suggestions for students for when the pressure comes on - which it normally does for seniors at the end of term.

Today marks the end of Week 9 in our 11 week term. Even with the impact on the school of the Phase 2 work, including the temporary classrooms, it has been a very good term thus far. When we return on Wednesday there are only eight days of teaching and learning until the end of term, so I encourage students to have a great break over Easter so that they return with good energy for a strong finish to the term.

The weather actually looks not too bad for Easter at this stage, with relatively mild temps for this time of year and plenty of outdoor weather mixed with a few showers. Make the most of it - especially as autumn really settles in, with clocks falling back out of daylight saving on Saturday night.

Steve Hall
Principal

Grease the Musical

Experiencing Grease
In today’s politically correct world, doing a musical such as Grease will cause controversy no matter how you go about it, whether the old-fashioned themes are changed or not. However, with such a focus on the slightest adaption to the themes within the musical, it seems that some have forgotten the real reason this show was put on in the first place. For the students who took part in Grease, it was all about the experience. Being able to experience every aspect of the performing arts and perform to large audiences. The experience of connecting with all kinds of people, of making new friends and of being in a positive and supportive environment. That’s what Wakatipu High School musicals are about. The experience. 

This year my experience with the musical was different to previous years. As one of the choreographers, I’ve been much more involved in the creative process and therefore now have a better understanding of what is required behind the scenes. One part of the Wakatipu High School musicals, that makes them such an important part of the school’s culture, is the student-led aspect. There are students as choreographers, band leaders, production managers, tech leaders, student directors, hair and makeup leaders and backstage, props and stage design managers. Although we do have teachers who support us, it is still nearly entirely student-run. This makes it mean more to us and involves greater numbers of students, who are able to get experience in areas they are passionate about, which, in some cases, has supported future careers. 

While for many Grease wasn’t on their radar until March, the experience for us truly started last year. Due to Covid-19, All Shook Up, Wakatipu High School’s last musical, was postponed to September. This meant that within a couple of weeks of finishing one show, we were auditioning for another. There was no time to rest. In fact, auditions were over before the students were even told what the musical would be. Which is why I say that the experience is more important to the students than the content itself. 

It wasn’t long after auditions that we began choreographing, because while four months may seem like a long time it goes in the blink of an eye. Being able to have the freedom to create whatever we wanted meant we were enthusiastic about what we were doing. Choreographing a musical itself gave us the opportunity to create dances in different genres at varying levels, so it never got boring. Once we began teaching the dances, however, we ran into a few walls. Some things didn’t work on the stage or with the set and the musical was constantly changing and therefore we had to adapt. Yet, when some of our insane ideas worked and the show began to come together, all our previous stress was forgotten. The rehearsal period was crazy and free time was a thing of the past. I pretty much lived at the school for two months. However, once we got on the stage and were able to perform, seeing the audience enjoying and praising what we had created made everything worth it. 

Zoe Barham
Year 13

It's A Wrap
After three months of practices and planning, Grease had four sell-out shows to highly appreciative audiences. It was a fantastic end to a process that has seen students at all levels of the school gain a range of skills and grow in confidence.

Thanks to everyone who helped with this production; the sponsors, staff, parents, teachers and community. We are so grateful to have had your support in making Grease such a successful show.

Jake Hansen and Alison Price

Head Student Message

Kia Ora everyone,
I hope you’ve all had a fantastic week and are looking forward to the five day weekend coming up! After a jam-packed couple of weeks at WHS, I'm sure that we’re all very grateful for a bit of time off. 

I just wanted to congratulate everyone involved in the musical and to all the sports teams that represented WHS last week, it was definitely an awesome week in terms of extracurricular achievements. It’s been another busy week here at school, with lots of different things happening around the school. Everyone seems to be working extra hard finishing any internals or assignments due in before the end of term in time for a well needed two week break. 

The Community and Service Council have been selling bandanas and collecting donations from today's mufti day for Bandana Day. All proceeds from Bandana Day go towards helping young people impacted by cancer get access to programmes, counselling and peer support. Well done to everyone who supported this cause, the difference even small donations can make to those in need can be life changing. 

The Community and Service Council weren’t the only ones busy this week, however. The Sports Council held its inaugural House touch competition during Break 2 this week. Each house battled it out for a spot in the final, with Duncan and Arthur coming out on top after winning their hard-fought semi final matches. But there could only be one winner. After a game filled with enough athleticism and skill to impress even the All Blacks, Duncan came out on top securing their title as the victors of the 2021 House touch competition. 

This is a notoriously busy time of the year and for many it can feel really hard to balance all your school work, extracurricular demands and social/family life. With this in mind, here are a few strategies on how to cope with any pressure you might be feeling:

1. Stay organised. Organising all your school work and other commitments through things such as calendars or to-do lists can really help you visualise what you have to do and when so that you don’t feel the stress of having to remember a million different tasks at once. Personally, I like to use the app Trello to keep track of all my homework and schoolwork and a calendar to keep track of any other commitments I have.
2. Set numerous small goals each day. These could be personal or school-related goals that you are hoping to get done that day. Remember to reward yourself for any goals you achieve and to reflect on what you accomplished that day. 
3. Make time for exercise and mindfulness every day. This could be as simple as going for a walk in nature or doing 10 minutes of meditation a day. It is especially important in times of pressure or stress to take time to work on your physical and mental health as these can often be the first things to go when we are busy or under stress. 
4. Get enough sleep!!! I cannot stress enough how important this is. I know very well how hard it is to focus in school or on homework if you’re tired and, chances are, watching endless cat videos at 2am isn’t really that useful. 
5. Remember that the holidays are nearly here and all it takes is one last push before two weeks off!

Just a few reminders that the Whanaungatanga and Community and Service Councils are running Breakfast Club every Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings in the Duncan Social Space so come along to get some weetbix and milo! Make sure to follow the student instagram page (@wakatipustudents) to keep up to date with any events happening throughout the school.

Hope everyone has a great five day weekend and don’t forget to take some time to relax. 

Jasmine Crichton 
Environmental Lead Prefect 

Fast Fashion

Hi guys and welcome to the 2021 Environmental Council’s environmental topic of the week!

This week's topic is……… fast fashion. The fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world, just after the oil industry. Fashion production makes up 10 per cent of humanity's carbon emissions, dries up water sources, and pollutes rivers and streams. 

What can we do?

1. Buy Less
Most of the problem stems from our excessive consumerism. We tend to think that buying new clothes will make us happy. Maybe we should reconsider some foundations of our lifestyle. 

2. Only buy from sustainable and eco friendly brands
More and more fashion brands take into account the environmental and social impact of their production. You can check how ethical a brand is using this website: Good On You - Sustainable and Ethical Fashion Brand Ratings 

3. Think twice before throwing out your clothes
Most clothes can be repaired/redesigned with a little love. 

4. Buy from second hand stores.
There are lots of great second hand stores in Queenstown such as the Salvation Army, Hospice Shop, Happiness House, Walk in Wardrobe and the Recycled Boutique. There are also great online second hand stores such as Trade Me and Designer Wardrobe. 

The Environmental Council

Sports

NZSS Rowing Champs - Maadi Cup
It was an epic Friday and Saturday for the WHS rowers and the Wakatipu Rowing Club at Lake Karapiro last week for the finals of Maadi Cup 2021. Nine crews made A finals which is a phenomenal effort, three medals were won and Charlotte Muir was awarded the Simon Briggs Trophy for Champion Coxswain of the regatta for making the most A finals. A huge congratulations to all of the rowers who competed at Maadi 2021 and to those that made A finals (listed below). A massive thank you to the Wakatipu Rowing Club for providing rowing for our students and to the coaches of the secondary school crews for all of their hard work, time and dedication to the sport of rowing; John Morrison, Russell Everett, Lucy Travis and Shane Muir, thank you!
A Finalists:
Gold - Boys U16 Double Sculls - Sam McAtamney and Marley King Smith
Bronze - Boys U15 Coxed Octuple Sculls - Toby Rorrison, Luka Bouchier, Josh Viana, Marley King Smith, Ashton White, Logan Noton, Ben Campbell, Ben Hogan + Charlotte Muir
Bronze - Girls U16 Double Sculls - Olivia Key and Neve Bates
7th - Boys U15 Double Sculls - Toby Rorrison and Josh Viana
7th - Boys U16 Quad Sculls - Finn Brown, Marley King Smith, Sam McAtamney, Will Donovan + Charlotte Muir
7th - Girls U18 Novice Double Sculls - Olivia Bisset and Pippa McAtamney
7th - Girls U16 Quad Sculls - Keely Erskine, Phoebe Cavanagh, Primrose Johnson, Ellie Shuttleworth + Charlotte Muir
7th - Boys U15 Coxed Quad Sculls - Toby Rorrison, Josh Viana, Luka Bouchier, Logan Noton, + Charlotte Muir
8th - Girls U16 Coxed 8 - Zara Mackley, Olivia Key, Neve Bates, Keely Erskine, Phoebe Cavanagh, Holly Rogers, Primrose Johnson, Ellie Shuttleworth + Emily Howick

NZSS Volleyball Champs
The Senior A Girls volleyball team traveled to Palmerston North last week to play in the New Zealand Secondary Schools Volleyball Championships. This is the first time ever that Wakatipu has been represented at nationals. The tournament works on regional seedings based on the previous years results and the team started off in 92nd position out of 96 teams (Division 5/6). After pool play, the team successfully made it into Division 5 and then faced tough opposition throughout the week, finishing 14th in this Division but improving on our seeding by 14 placings! A fantastic achievement. It will take a number of years, gaining consistently higher results to move up through the divisions but it is really pleasing to have made fantastic start. Congratulations to the girls in the Senior A Volleyball team and a huge thank you to Mrs Panapa for her consistent drive and motivation to improve volleyball and the experiences of volleyball players at WHS.

NZSS Triathlon Champs
Year 11 student Logan Campbell finished 5th in the U16 Boys event at the New Zealand Secondary School Triathlon Champs in New Plymouth last weekend. This is an awesome result in challenging conditions and a big improvement from last year. Great stuff Logan! 

South Island Satellite Volleyball Tournament
The Senior B Girls volleyball team competed at the South Island Satellite tournament in Christchurch last week as part of summer tournament week. The team finished 10th in Division 2. This team consisted of Year 11s and has a lot of potential for the future. A big thanks to Steve Henderson and Ms Rainham for taking the team. 

Southland Lawn Bowls Champs
11 students represented WHS at the Southland Secondary School Lawn Bowls Champs last Friday. These championships came at the end of five weeks of training sessions for players at the Queenstown Bowling Club and it sure showed in the results with WHS taking out the overall schools trophy. A huge thank you to Mrs Richards for all of her organisation and Mrs Glanfield for assisting on the day. Congratulations to the following students: 
Nissa Vile and Baylee Rapatafish - 1st Girls Pairs
Caleb Witherford and Ronil Prasad - 1st Boys Pairs
Oliver Bowman and Harry Thompson - 2nd Boys Pairs
Ollie Dennie and Rohil Prasad - 3rd Boys Pairs

Lynfield College Cricket Exchange
All the best to our cricketers as they take on Lynfield College from Auckland in two matches this Easter weekend. If you are keen to get along and support check out the details below.
Monday 5th April - T20 - 1:30pm Millbrook
Tuesday 6th April - 40 over match - 11am Millbrook

Wakatipu HS Coaches Meeting
We are holding a coaches meeting for all WHS sports coaches, summer and winter, this Wednesday 7th April 7pm in the school theatre. The WHS Vision for Sport will be introduced along with discussions around creating positive culture within teams and Grant Milne from Sport Otago will be discussing Sport NZ's Balance is Better initiative. Everyone is welcome and we are hoping to see all of our coaches there. 

NZSKI Rookie Instructor Programme
The NZSKI Rookie Instructor Programme is back for 2021! Many WHS students have gone through this programme over the years, gained their instructors qualifications and employment, particularly during university holidays. If you are a Year 12 or 13 student keen to get involved in the NZSki/WHS 2021 Rookie Instructor Programme for Ski and SB please click here for more details around the application process. 

Laura Nathan
Director of Sport

Key Dates

WHS Foundation

Community Notices