WHS Newsletter | Issue 1.11 | 16 April 2021

Principal's Message

Kia ora and welcome to the final newsletter for Term 1. The term has been long and varied but a very good one for WHS. As I said to staff at briefing this morning, I had some concerns as the term began re the potential impact of Phase 2 (with us losing the eastern end of the building, the temporary classrooms and the construction) as well as Covid (and remember Auckland was locked-down and we went to Level 2 early in the term), and the length and nature of the term, however the term has gone very well and once again I believe we have done a great job of delivering a great all-round education to our students. Accordingly I do want to acknowledge our staff and students who have done a great job of getting on with it and coped very well with the changes and impact of Phase 2 - great work, thank you all very much.

I also said to staff this morning, following this term I am feeling particularly optimistic about our ability to get through Phase 2 successfully - including that we will begin to get existing and remodelled spaces back from the start of next year, and then the new spaces and additional capacity of Phase 2 will come onstream during next year which is going to be fantastic for the school.

LE Reports - are important of course, and were sent out earlier this week due to the Phase 2 work meaning that the Portal will be down for the holidays. Parents have now been emailed a PDF copy of the LE Reports so please look for that if you miss the Portal.

Just a note re that - with the Phase 2 work impacting services to the school the main building will be completely closed for the holidays. Key staff will be working remotely but please note that there will be no one here at school.

Senior Next Steps - are on Thursday 6 May (Week 1) and are a really important opportunity for senior parents and students to check in with subject teachers. As per the email, if you have not already please ensure that you click here to make your bookings with  subject teachers. 

Please note that school will finish at 1.50pm that day for all students, and buses will run from that time.

Next Term - in addition to Senior Next Steps above and the usual trips and events, Term 2 gets off to a flying start with the following of particular note:

• Summer Sports Assembly - 2pm Friday 7 May (Week 1). 
• Accord Day - Tuesday 11 May (Week 2). This follows the Accord Day in November last year, and is another in a series of nationwide days over the next few years for schools to work on the upcoming NCEA changes. There will be no school that day.
• Excellence and Ad Alta Assemblies - are in Week 3, see Key Dates below for House days and times.

Parent Tours - another reminder that we are offering parent tours on Wednesday mornings in Weeks 3, 4 and 5 next term. You do need to book - please click here to do that.  

Parking - a reminder that the student parking changes I flagged in Week 8 take effect from the start of next term. Students were emailed a reminder this week, including to register for the local parking deal.

It is a pretty sizable newsletter below with lots of great info and updates on happenings here at WHS. Following my positive words about how the term has gone, don't miss Head Student Grace Hall’s great piece about the term and our all-round education.

Next term will be another busy one - Term 2 always is, with a focus on teaching and learning as well as all the other important events of WHS including the Formal and the House competition, including Matatu to finish the term. Next term we will also be getting input into the review of our strategic plan so be sure to watch out for that in June.

My thanks to everyone for another very good term at WHS. I hope that everyone has a great and well-deserved break and is able to enjoy the Wakatipu in autumn - I’m sure that I’ll see some of you on Anzac Day :).

Steve Hall
Principal

Hīkoi to Te Tai Tokerau

Kia ora e hoa mā! 

Ī tēnei wiki our roopu from the kura has brought 20 or so tauira on a haerenga to Te Tai Tokerau. The kaupapa is to immerse ourselves in te ao Māori and to gain a greater appreciation and understanding of tangata whenua and hītori Māori. This is our second hīkoi to Northland as a kura and it’s an amazing taonga for our rangatahi to have access to. Te Tai Tokerau is a stronghold of Māoridom and it’s good for our tauira from Tāhuna to experience such a diverse place which we all whakapapa back to in one way or another! 

We’re based in Paihia for 5 days and go on more than a few ‘roadies’ to a vast range of places in Te Tai Tokerau. Highlights include visits to many wāhi tapu such as Tāne Mahuta, Waitangi, Ōhaeawai, te Hokianga, and Ruapekapeka pā. There’s a few photos attached of our highlights- ka mau te wehi!

Tēnei te mihi nui ki ngā tautoko (Whaea Roni, Whaea Gemma, Candace, Sydney and Callum) for their mahi and tautoko. Aroha nui! 

Heoi anō tāku mō nāianei - kua pau te hau!  

Matua Gilbertson 

Meeting with Climate Change Minister

Last Friday, the Environmental Council and student leaders had the privilege of video calling Climate Change Minister and Associate Minister for the Environment, James Shaw. Throughout the 30 minute call, we discussed climate change and what the government was doing to address this issue as well as what we could do as a school and as youth to keep up the political pressure and fight for change. This was a great opportunity for everyone to ask questions and to put forward our concerns about climate change directly to the Climate Minister. Many great ideas were suggested to us for how we can make a difference and fight climate change. Some of these ideas included asking parents what they were doing to address the climate crisis, helping keep climate change on the political agenda by writing to our local MP Joseph Mooney to campaign for climate action in parliament on our behalf and writing to media outlets about the climate crisis and why more action needs to be taken. We would like to say a huge thank you to James Shaw and his team for giving up their time to speak to us, it was truly an incredible opportunity.

That same day, the Environmental Council also ran a climate change interactive expo to help raise awareness for the climate crisis and sustainability. We ran a number of games and had local climate expert AJ Mason and Otago Regional Counsellor, Alexa Forbes, in to share their expertise to students and inform everyone about the QLDC climate action plan. It was great to see everyone come along and increase their knowledge on climate change!

Jasmine Crichton
Environmental Lead Prefect

Head Student Message

Hello WHS, 

Well, we’ve made it to the end of the first term folks! I’m not sure about you but for me, it’s definitely flown by. And though this time last year we were pursuing adventurous endeavors, baking banana bread, and sticking to our bubbles, this term it’s been nothing but busy. 

Wakatipu High School’s achievement is unmatched, the quality and the diversity of success is incredible. Therefore it is only right that we celebrate this success. Though this piece would be pages and pages if I listed all the achievements, some of the highlights range from the phenomenal ‘Grease’ the musical, to the outstanding achievements during summer tournament week to the tireless effort behind council events such as Bandana day, Breakfast Club, and the Academic Council scavenger hunt. 

But the achievements don't just stop here. This week the year 13 OREC students ventured down the Clutha River for three nights. The constant endurance, the multiple rescues, and the miserable weather put them to the test. But overall they all had an amazing time that was completed by kayak surfing at Kaka Point. 

On Wednesday the Wellbeing Council held their new initiative “Wellbeing Wednesday”, where all students were welcome to have a chat with the members and enjoy some home baking. A great turnout, and a full suggestion box for the members to improve within the school next term! 

With assessments, internals, and tests all being due around this time, students and teachers have definitely earned a well-deserved break. Whether you go for a bike ride, have a sleep-in, or watch some Netflix, whatever your jam is, take a break, and I hope everyone has a fantastic holiday. 

Grace Hall 
Whanaungatanga Lead Prefect

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 today.

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

Maori Carving Project

Our new and fantastic Maori carving project has come to an end this term with the classes’ work being displayed in the Library for all to see. We have had the privileged of having various amazing visitors and guests into the class. The latest artist was the Simon Decker who is a local artist. We are grateful to him for giving up his precious time to come and speak to use about how he uses the laser cutter to produce his illustrations. He gave us some amazing tips and tricks for what treatments to use to stain/wax/treat the students’ Maori carving outcomes.

LUMA concepts approved

LUMA creation and construction started back in November 2020! In Hard Material classes, junior classes have had the opportunity to submit their work to the Directors for selection. Six students got selected and their work will be exhibited during the LUMA light festival throughout the Queens Birthday weekend. Students have work in collaboration with international artist Angus Muir who has created the ovals that students have transferred their work onto. A combination of EL wire, LEDs and black light will make the work a magnificent addition to the exhibition. Congratulations to the six students who were selected from the 60+ entries: Avie Scott, Avalon Johnson-Pettiford, Matthias Breitenberger, Beth Graf, Skye Down and Keira Jamieson.

Environmental Council - Biodiversity

Loss of Biodiversity is a decline in the diversity of a species, an ecosystem, or a habitat. It also means that the number and variety of different animals decreases. When this happens it can cause a breakdown in many different ecosystems. It is mainly caused by deforestation, overpopulation, pollution, and global warming, as well as overexploitation. When we clear, and destroy many different environments to make way for farm land, not only are we wiping out many different creatures habitats, but also replacing many diverse, unique species, and endangered animals with farm animals, which is massively contributing to a major imbalance in the world's ecosystems, and causing problems in lots of different food chains.

Things you can do to help stop the loss of biodiversity:
* Recycle as much as you can: People have been told repeatedly to try and recycle things they don’t need instead of letting them go to waste, although many people are still ignoring this statement. Try to purchase products that have been recycled and you can recycle plastic, wood, paper and metal yourself so they don’t end up in the tip or many other places that waste happens to come about including the ocean of which 10% of the worlds waste ends up each year- that’s averagely 260 million tonnes!
* Avoid products such as nutella, doritos, 2 minute noodles, buttery substitutes: These products all contain palm oil in them. Palm oil usually comes from trees that many endangered animals live around, because of this many orangutans, species of elephants, rhinos and many more are losing their homes and habitats, making them endangered. If we try to cut down our consumption of any products containing palm oil this would mean that there would most likely be less production of palm oil meaning less habitats disappearing. 
* Drive Less: Try asking yourself before you hop in your car, do I really need to be going here today? Is there another alternative to driving if I want to get to this place? If so, do it! There are so many different ways you can get from A to B here in Queenstown including bussing, walking, biking and maybe if you’re meeting or going with friends carpooling. 
* Buy Sustainable: This just means when you go to buy seafood, or meat in general, make sure that what you are buying is something that has been sustainably harvested, or farmed. Avoid fish that are endangered, like Bluefin Tuna, Orange Roughy, and purchase meat, and chicken products that are free farmed.
* Go Plastic Free: There are many different alternatives to plastic that you can use when going to buy something. Supermarkets in Queenstown have Boomerang Bags, that you can use for free anytime, and give back when you are finished. If you have your own shopping bags, try to always use those when you can, instead of using plastic bags. Buying things in bulk is a really good way to cut down on the number of shopping trips, and plastic packaging used.
* Plant a tree or do something simple to help the wildlife surrounding you: It’s so simple to buy a small tree and plant it in your backyard. A native tree or plant is even more helpful, it attracts the native birds and lots of other wildlife. Some trees you could consider are: flaxes, kowhai trees, cabbage trees, New Zealand iris, hebe and many more!

Zoe Grant and Molly Roberts
The Environmental Council

Readers' Cup inter-class competitors selected

The following students have been selected to represent their English class in the upcoming inter-class round of the Readers' Cup. They will compete against each other in Week 2 of Term 2 to select our representative team for the regional round in Invercargill. Good luck with the reading material, people!

STM - Remy Vaivars, Louis Aldwell, Madeleine Harvey
KBM - Ellana Badenhop, Alice Davis, Grace Baker
MRD - Holly Gane, Seb Watson, Grace Kunath 
Reserve: Ella Hay
LLB - Tayah Vivian, Imogen Olliver, Cybella Briscoe
Reserve: Isabelle Davis
AST - Mya McKee, Amelia McKay, Trinity Jones
Reserve: Simone Rider
JRD - Scarlette Henderson, Caitlyn Bibbie, Brooke Hansen
Reserve: Millie Vaitkus,
JDL - Oscar McCartney, Kyle McKinnon, Benji Watson- Palmer
KRH - Chloe McQuoid, Lucy Boniface, Marty Botha
Reserve: Joe Leyden 

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

Student Research Request

A student from our year 12 Geography class is researching the effects of COVID in Queenstown as part of an assessment. It would be appreciated if you could fill in the survey at the link below.

Sports News and Information

Here we are at the end of what has been a very busy and long term! Thank you to all of the students who have played sport at and for WHS this summer and who are raring to go for the winter season. A huge thank you and acknowledgement to our wonderful volunteers that enable sport to happen at WHS! Highlights of Term 1 have included delivering new sporting opportunites like roller derby and water polo and seeing such a large number of students participating in sport which is so important to us as a school. The trophy cabinet is looking full with Regional titles being won in Southland Athletics, Southland and Otago Golf, Southland Touch, Southand Lawn Bowls and Central Otago Volleyball. There were also a number of firsts including; the Senior A girls team competing at the NZSS Volleyball Champs and the Girls 1st XI Cricket team making the Gillette Venus Final as well as records broken at Southland Athletics and athletes placing at the South Island Athletics and Mountain Biking Champs. We will have the chance to celebrate and acknowledge our student's sporting success from Term 4 2020 to Term 1 2021 at the summer sports assembly on Friday 7 May.  

South Island Athletic Champs
Eight Wakatipu High School students competed at last weekend’s South Island Secondary School Athletic Champs in Christchurch. This is the pinnacle event on the Term 1 athletics calendar and it was great to see so many of our students competing and achieving excellent results. We are incredibly proud of all of these athletes. A special congratulations to the students below. A huge thank you to all parents who attended and supported our team and a special thank you to Neville Britton, our fantastic long and middle distance running coach. Bring on the nationals in December!
Eliana Collins - 1st U15 Girls High Jump, 2nd Triple Jump, 3rd 80m Hurdles
Sammie Fookes - 1st U16 Girls 800m, 2nd 1500m
Jude Deaker - 1st U14 1500m, 2nd 800m
Siena Mackley - 2nd U14 Girls 3000m, 2nd 1500m

New Zealand U18 Ice Hockey
Congratulations and all the very best to Axel Ruski-Jones, Maz Gregory, Tyler Challoner and CJ Kemp who will wear the silver fern and represent the NZ U18 Ice Hockey Team this weekend as part of a triple star event also involving the NZ U20 and NZ Ice Blacks teams. This is an initiative to provide these top players with a development camp and the opportunity to play each other while the borders remain closed. Check out their facebook page to stay across the action.

Toby Hart - Otago U19 Bowler of the Year
Congratulations to Year 13 student Toby Hart who was awarded the U19 Men’s Bowler of the Year title at this week’s Otago Community Cricket Awards. This is a fantastic achievement and recognition of Toby’s continued hard work and commitment to his sport. Well done!

Golf
Year 11 student Sumin Kang has continued her good run of form in her recent efforts at the latest Charles Tour Events held at Gulf Harbour Country Club and Murawai Links. Sumin made the cut at both events and finished as the leading women's amateur at Murawai Links competition. Great to see the dedication and hard work pay off. Keep it up Sumin!

Netball Teams Named
This year WHS has 23 netball teams and 215 players all participating and competing in the Wakatipu Netball Centre competition which begins week one of Term 2. It is awesome to see so many students involved in playing netball. The teams were named at the beginning of the week and we would like to say a special congratulations to the following students who were selected in 2021 Senior A team:
Jordan Boland
Phoebe Cavanagh
Jett Fa’amalepe
Maisie Grufferty
Ruby Kirk
Jess MacDonald
Lucy Viggers
Phoebe Wallace
Olive Watherston

Winter Training Timetable
Please click this link to check out the winter sports training timetable for 2021. Some of these times may change but players and parents will be notified about this.

1st XV vs Morrinsville College
The first game of the WHS 1st XV pre-season campaign will be against Morrinsville College this Saturday 12pm at the Rec Ground in Queenstown. Get along and support the team!

Otago Nuggets vs Southland Sharks Game and Camp
There is a great opportunity this weekend to get along and watch the Otago Nuggets and Otago Goldrush team’s take on the Southland Sharks and Central Otago Women’s teams respectively at the Event Centre. Check out the poster below for more details. There is also an Otago Nuggets training camp opportunity at 9:30am on Saturday morning at the Event Centre, open for anyone who is keen to get along. 
Training Session Registration: https://form.jotform.com/211012900444843

Friday Night Basketball is Back!
Here it is folks, your 2021 Friday Night Basketball registration form! Always popular and with limited spaces. If you want to play social basketball this year, here is your chance! Registrations close on the 23 April.
Register for Basketball at Qjbc.wordpress.com 

Associate Rugby Referees Course
WHS will be hosting an Associate Rugby Referee course on Wednesday 5 May 6pm at WHS. The Wakatipu Basin often finds itself short of refs and we need our passionate people to put their hands up and give back in this form in order to ensure that games go ahead. It is an open invitation to anyone interested or thinking about picking up the whistle. Could be a refresher for some or the start of a longer journey towards refereeing.

Tennis Lessons
Tennis lessons are available these holidays at the Arrowtown Tennis Club. Ph/Email Louie Lanz: 0220672819 louie.qtowntennis@gmail.com

Master the Art of Sports Parenting
On Wednesday 21 April 7.30-8.30pm Sport NZ are delivering another Balance is Better webinar: Mastering the art of sports parenting, featuring special guest, Professor Camilla Knight. Camilla, is an internationally renowned expert in the space of parental influence in youth sport, and co-authour of “Parenting in youth sport: From Research to Practice”. This webinar is targeted at parents, but coaches and other volunteers will no doubt benefit from some of the messages.
Registration is free and details can be found here: https://balanceisbetter.org.nz/webinar/mastering-the-art-of-sports-parenting/.

Touch Southland Representative Programmes
For Secondary School students who wish to be considered for a Southland U16, U18, U21 or Open team for the 2021-22 season a parent/caregiver can complete this online form - https://www.sporty.co.nz/viewform/154826
For more information about Touch Southland representative teams click here - https://www.sporty.co.nz/touchsouthland/Development-1/Southland-Representative-Teams
These forms will be open right through until the end of Term 3 2021.

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 about what is happening in the sports space and keep up to date with the successes of our athletes and teams and help celebrate their achievements. 

Laura Nathan
Director of Sport

Arts News and Information

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. 

The entries for Rockquest are due to Mrs Price by Wednesday, May 5 in the first week back in Term 2 at the latest. 

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. 16 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.

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

Jazz Band Workshop 
The jazz band workshops are happening this weekend in the temporary classrooms. Students involved need to meet at 9.45am in the Temporary Classroom area on Saturday.

The workshops run as follows:
Big Band - 9.45am to 3.00pm on Saturday 
Big Band - 10.00am to 12.00pm on Sunday 
Combo - 12.30pm to 3.00pm on Sunday

Big Break
We will be running our annual Big Break event in the WHS Theatre on May 14. Any band, solo/duo acts at all levels are welcome to be part of this and need to email Mrs Price if they are keen.

Footnote Masterclass - May 10
We have been given the opportunity to have a masterclass at WHS that goes for 90min.  It will look at contemporary dance techniques, show repertoire and choreographic tasks. It's a great way for the students to get an insight into the Footnote show, learn about how it was created and be taught by professional dancers.

We can have a maximum of 30 students attend.  Please contact Mrs Parker if you are interested at mparker@wakatipu.school.nz

Footnote Dance Company will be performing The Movement on the 11 May, 7pm at The Lakes Centre in Wanaka. Tickets are available to students who participate in the workshop. 

Key Dates

WHS Foundation

Community Notices

We need your feedback!   
SchoolPickUp is YOUR online school fundraising store that costs the school ZERO but has the potential to generate HUGE passive extra income the school needs to give our kids the best possible education and maximise the opportunities available to them. - let's utilise this! 
Please take this 2 Minute Survey - so we can find out what you - the parents want, to make this initiative really work