WHS Newsletter | Issue 1.10 | 9 April 2021

Associate Principal's Message

Kia ora all and welcome to the end of a very short but good school week following the recent holiday.

On Wednesday evening, we held a Sport Coaches evening where the newly developed ‘Vision for Sport’ was presented to all the coaches. It was truly humbling to see so many coaches in the room, whether they be parents, teachers or members of the community, all of whom volunteer their time to provide such a range of sporting opportunities for our students. The key focus was on the holistic development of our student-athletes, and recognising that many teenagers these days play sport for the friends, fun and fitness. 

Sport, Arts, Culture, Leadership, the Outdoors and all the extra and co-curricular opportunities available at WHS are fundamental to our vision of delivering Aotearoa/New Zealand’s best all-round education, as we know how much students learn and grow from these applied learning experiences. In particular, these opportunities offer students the opportunity to develop holistically, as per the Ākonga Profile. 

Our Ākonga Profile, which was developed in 2018, attempts to identify the essential skills and capabilities for students to be great all-round citizens who can successfully adapt to an ever-changing world. We are currently in the process of refreshing our Ākonga Profile and if parents are interested in knowing more about and/or feeding back on what is included, please email me (onathan@wakatipu.school.nz) before the end of the term. It would be great to have a small group of parents/caregivers to discuss the refresh of the Ākonga Profile early in Term 2. 

With Term 1 being quite a long term, we definitely hit the ground running in Term 2 with Senior Next Steps occurring on Thursday 6 May (first week of Term).  More details will be available next week via email. 

Also a reminder that next term we are offering parents an opportunity to come and take a tour of the school. The tours, which will be hosted by a 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.

It has been a really good and settled term at WHS but with only one week to go including the fact that many seniors have internal assessments due next week, it is important for all students to finish the term strong. 

Hope everyone has a fantastic weekend. 

Noho ora mai,

Oded Nathan
Associate Principal

School Accounts

A reminder to parents that you can view your student's account and make payments on the Portal. As the Student Manager system is a "live" system, we advise that you check the School Portal for the latest amounts due on your student's account. We will be emailing Tax Donation Receipts by the end of the term.

Please also note that our banking provider, ASB, is phasing out cheques as a payment option. A number of other New Zealand banks have also indicated their intention to phase out cheques during 2021. Our school will therefore stop accepting cheques as a method of payment from 28 May 2021.

Michelle Loggenberg
Finance Manager

Head Student Message

Kia Ora Everyone,

Welcome to what is the end of our shortest week here at school. I hope that everyone thoroughly enjoyed their extra long weekend. Over the last couple of weeks, the Wellbeing Council has been busy working on a new Wellbeing model that is going to be used to talk about Wellbeing to both students and staff.

This model of wellbeing uses the Te Whare Tapu Whā model of wellbeing which is your Physical Wellbeing, Spiritual Wellbeing, Mental and Emotional Wellbeing, and Social Wellbeing. This model also talks about being connected to the land and your roots.

Along the top of the Whare, we have used the school's cultural pattern which represents Learning and Intellectual Achievement, Growth, Cultural Diversity and Guardianship. Our model of wellbeing also includes the Five Ways to Wellbeing, which are: Connect, Be Active, Take Notice, Keep Learning and Give. 

The Wellbeing Council has also been busy planning an event for Wednesday Break 2 next week. Come along and have a chat with the Wellbeing Council and give us your ideas. There will be baking available for anyone that comes.

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.

Throughout next week the Academic Council is running a treasure hunt make sure you get involved. 

Hope everyone enjoys their weekend and gets ready for the final week of the term.

Johannes Mackay
Lead Prefect of Wellbeing 

Arts News and Information

Sheilah Winn Competition

Last Tuesday we to Invercargill went,
For Sheilah Winn, where many schools compete
With scenes from Shakespeare's plays to which they add,
Updated settings each school doth invent. 
Macbeth we set in prison, Hamlet war.
And both ran smoother than we’d ever hoped
As half the cast was tired, having finished
The musical a mere two days before.
And when they did the prizes then present
Twas Lucy Glover and myself who were
Awarded best director. But of course
Without our teachers, there’d be no event.
Ms Rodgers, Jake, I’d like to thank you for
Your guidance, knowledge, wit, and so much more.

Fineen Hingston - Student Director

Rockquest Entries
Smokefree Rockquest is New Zealand’s only nationwide, live, original music, youth event. Now in its 33rd year, the series of over 40 events reaches audience numbers in excess of 10,000 every year. Smokefree Rockquest aims to motivate young musicians to prove their ability and realise the heights they can reach in their music careers, and to encourage their peers to support original New Zealand music. You need to have completed the online registration form by 12 May 2021 (the sooner you get it done, the more time you allow yourself to get organised with all the information).

www.smokefreerockquest.co.nz

Youthtown Songwriting Competition
This competition celebrates and embraces the voice of our youth through song, shared with schools, community, whanau, peers and the wider music community. SIXTEEN song finalists to be chosen from each area – eight in each division. Songwriters of these 48 songs will then enjoy the experience of having their song recorded in a professional recording studio in their region. All songs will be mastered for the 2021 Youthtown Songwriting Competition Aotearoa Album. The overall winner in each category will be invited to perform at the 2021 Play It Strange Awards held in December 2021.

Note: You don't need to be taking music as a subject to enter. Your Music Teacher, Teacher, Principal or Parent can authorise your online entry form. Go on - write a song!

Entries close Friday 23rd April. 

Youthtown Songwriting website

National Youth Art Awards 2021
The National Youth Art Awards helps to bring the art of students to a public platform. It is a great way for young artists to learn all that is involved with entering a competition to receive an award. 

Award Dates

• Entries close 30 July 2021 (you must be between 13-25 on 30 July 2021)
• Finalists will be notified by email 9 August 2021

Award Prizes

• 13-14 years – Main Prize $500
• 13-14 years – Merit Prize $250
• 15-19 years and 20-25 years each
• Main Prize $2000
• Merit Prize $500
• Overall Print Award $500
• Overall Photography Award $500
• Overall People’s Choice Award $250
• PLUS Overall Categories Award $1500
  

For more information visit National Youth Art Awards

Sports News and Information

Lynfield College Cricket Exchange
The summer of cricket wrapped up over Easter with two games against Lynfield College from Auckland, on their South Island tour. A team with a mixture of junior and senior boys produced fine all-round cricketing performances in two closely fought games at Millbrook. A stand-out performance from Albie O'Connell in the field (1 wicket and 4 catches) limited Lynfield's target to 136 runs in Monday's T20 match.  A fine half century from 37 balls from Finley Young and Albie (27 runs) built a solid run chase, but high-quality bowling from the Lynfield team restricted our score to just 127. Day two was a 40 over game where we batted first and posted 242 runs, again Albie and Finley batted very well with 56 and 72 runs respectively.  WHS then bowled and fielded nicely to hold on for a 16 run win.  Finley Young completed a fine game with the impressive bowling figures of 4-11 from 5 overs which was well supported by some fantastic catches (Todd Vermeir) and tight bowling, particularly as tension mounted at the end of the innings, by Mason Clarke (2-26) and Matt Langford (3-48).  Thank you very much to the players who represented WHS so well and a huge thank you and acknowledgement to Matt Hollyer for his organisation and coaching of the team on both days.

Central Otago Volleyball Finals
Our Senior B Girls volleyball team played Cromwell College in the final of the Central Otago Senior Volleyball competition on Thursday evening at the Event Centre. WHS lost the first set, won the second and third by which time they had found their rhythm and were looking polished. The fourth set was really close and WHS managed to pull it out 27-25 to win overall 3-1. Thank you to the parents who came along and supported there was great energy from both teams. Congratulations girls! This is an awesome end to a very busy and successful season for the B team who have developed really well over the past few months. A huge shout out to coach Steve Henderson for all his expertise, time and energy.

WHS Coaches Session
On Wednesday night WHS held a coaches meeting where a large number of our volunteer coaches and managers learned about the WHS Ākonga Profile and Vision for Sport. The session also included aspects on creating a positive team culture and Sport NZ’s Balance is Better approach. Our coaches and managers give up a great deal of personal time to enable sporting opportunities for our students to happen and we encourage all of our students and parents to understand, appreciate and respect the sacrifice they are making. Developing a positive relationship with the coach, as either a parent or a player, is important and we strongly encourage you to do this.  

Winter Sports Training Timetable
A winter sports training timetable will be made available next week for all players and parents to access. This will help coaches, players and parents see training times and locations in order to organise and manage time as best as possible. A number of our students play multiple codes and sports are working with one another to avoid clashes where possible to enable students to play more than one in season sport.

New Sports Offerings
So far this year we have had two new sports on offer for WHS students to try. Roller derby has been a huge hit with our girls who have been lucky enough to have Ms Smart and Ms Needham coach them in this exciting sport played on roller skates. The group have been training on Thursday evenings at the Event Centre. Also on Thursday evenings is water polo which is on offer for our senior students through the local community league and Ms Webster has been organising and running this team. It is great to see our students making the most of the wide range of sporting opportunities that are on offer for them at and through WHS.

Summer Sports Coaches
WHS would like to say a huge thank you to the following people who have generously dedicated their time and energy to providing summer sports opportunities for our students. We appreciate and value your effort and input towards WHS sport. Thank you!
Athletics - Neville Britton, Ms Scott, Mr Fleming
Cricket - Bevan Clarke, Matt Hollyer, Damien O’Connell, Mr McNamara
Get2Go Challenge - Kiri Rasmussen, Sarah Gutslag
Golf - Simon Boland, Mr Harding
Roller Derby - Ms Needham, Ms Smart
Rowing - Russell Everitt, John Morrison, Shane Muir, Lucy Travis, Ms Dawson
Tennis - Ms Daly
Touch - Jerram Hill, Steve McIsaac, Mrs Nathan
Volleyball - Rosiane Haas, Steve Henderson, Asha Shaefer, Mrs Panapa, Rosalind Box
Waterpolo - Ms Webster

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 (@WakatipuHighSchoolSports). 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. 

Laura Nathan
Director of Sport

Gifted Education - Current competitions

Kia ora koutou,

Currently on Hunga Māhirahira (Curious Minds) Classroom are a selection of competitions that students are able to sign up for. To enter these competitions either fill out the registration forms on the Google classroom or send an email to kylejackson@wakatipu.school.nz. If there are any other competitions that you would like to enter your students for that aren't advertised here - please get in touch and we'll get it arranged!

Univeristy of Canterbury (CAM)
A Kiwi English, Maths and Science competition which are written by New Zealand teachers, based on the New Zealand Curriculum. The online competitions will take place in the last 3 weeks of Term 2 or the first week of Term 3.  All participating students will be awared a certificate and a prize for the top student in each of the competitions. 
Available to Year 9 and 10 students
Cost: $9.50 for each competition entered
Dates: Last 3 weeks of Term 2 - first week of Term 3
For more information visit CAM

ICAS
ICAS assessments are designed to recognise and reward academic excellence in Maths, English, DIT, Writing and Science. 
Availabe to English, Maths, Science and Writing Years 9, 10 , 11, 12 and 13. DIT - Years 9, 10 and 11
Cost: All assessments cost $18.40 except Writing which costs $24.73
Dates: See link below
For more information visit ICAS

International Chemistry Quiz (ICQ)

Details: The Royal Australian Institute (RACI) invites you to take part in their thirty-ninth International Chemistry Quiz - which runs across 21 countries with around 95,000 students. It consists of 30 multiple choice questions that can be done online. You will recieve a detailed results report, a certificate and if you obtain full marks a Certificate of Exellence and a lapel pin. 
Available to Years 9, 10, 11 and 12
Cost: $5
Date: Thursday 29 July
For more information visit ICQ

Environmental Council - Recycling

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

This week’s topic is… Recycling.

Recycling is a very simple way to save the planet. This is because it reduces the need for more materials. This will decrease the need for extracting, mining, logging, processing, etc for new materials. This will reduce the amount of air and water pollution coming from the factories and machines creating the materials (greenhouse gasses) and will also save wild habitats and animals.

What you can do…

• Buy reusable things as an alternative such as- reusable coffee cups, containers, metal straws, etc
  One of the biggest problems worldwide is the amount of single-use items we use in everyday life. For example, around 300 million coffee cups are thrown away each year in New Zealand alone. This number would and can easily be reduced if more people made an effort to purchase a reusable coffee cup and would positively impact the environment greatly. This is the case with many other items such as the ones listed above.

• Do research as to what goes in each  bin (recycling, waste, glass, plastic, etc)
  Each bin has a different purpose and is meant for different items of waste however, this is often misused which results in rubbish put in the wrong bins. If everyone put their rubbish in the correct bin this would help solve a huge problem in today's society as well as making it a lot easier in the long run. https://www.marion.sa.gov.au/services-we-offer/waste-and-recycling/three-bin-system- This is a link to a website which states what goes in each bin!

• Reduce the amount of single-use plastics you buy
  Nowadays there are many alternatives as stated above which can be used instead of single-use plastics. Over the course of a year, we are producing over 380 tons of plastic with over 50% of it being single-use plastic. This number keeps increasing each year and is predicted that by 2050 this issue will be too large to solve. This means that it is extremely important to try do your part now before it is too late!

• Around the school there are many bins - think before you put you throw your rubbish away about which bin it belongs in
  Around the school, there are three different bins- recycling, organic, and waste. Each of these bins are meant for different types of rubbish however they are often mixed up with rubbish being put in the wrong bin. This means we are unable to recycle the things that are meant to which results in everything being put into the same place. This is very unsustainable for the environment however it is an easy fix that everyone can help with!

Kate Woods and Pippa McAtamney
The Environmental Council 

Academic Council Scavenger Hunt

The Academic Council is proud to present our second annual Scavenger Hunt! Our council members have been working hard to create clues that will be found around the school, consisting of puzzles, riddles, crosswords, and other messages of cryptic nature… It’s an adventure that welcomes you and your friends to participate, and even better, there are plenty of prizes for the quickest participants up for grabs! (Yes, you can buy REAL brownies with these!) 

The first clue will be released next Monday 12 April and sent through email by Mr Rasmussen. There are 10 clues in total to complete; you have until the end of the week. 

Good luck and keep an eye on your inbox! :)

Helena Hornbacher
The Academic Council

Key Dates

WHS Foundation

Community Notices