WHS Newsletter | Issue 2.03 | 21 May 2021

Associate Principal's Message

Kia ora and welcome to the end of another action-packed and stellar week at Wakatipu High School. One of the many highlights was our Excellence/Ad Alta/Ākonga Passport Assemblies which were held in House groups throughout the week. These provide the opportunity to celebrate and acknowledge the academic achievement, effort and all-round participation of students from Term 1. My sincere congratulations to all the students who received  awards (see list below), and we hope that everyone will continue to strive for their own level of Personal Excellence and that we will see even more students across the stage at next term’s assemblies. 

Yesterday, members of the board and Senior Leadership Team had a full-day meeting with the Education Review Office (ERO), in which we had the opportunity to showcase and discuss WHS’ strategic focus and evaluation capability. It was a useful and productive meeting that was well received by both ERO and WHS. As a reminder, ERO has a new model for review and although ERO’s accountability function has not changed, the focus of the new approach is to ensure that the school has robust evaluative capability, and they will not be providing a report for WHS for another two to three years. Ultimately, we are confident that this new model of review will highlight the many strengths of our evaluative processes, and we are hopeful that it will also provide us with some insight and opportunity to improve.

Another highlight of the week was  ‘Pink Shirt Day’ a day in which  students were allowed to ‘accessorise’ their uniforms with pink, to celebrate our key value of Inclusion/Kotahitanga. This day provided a reminder to all students that we must have a safe, kind and inclusive environment for all students all the time, and that together we need to stand-up to bullying.

As we get into the depths of Term 2, now is a good time to remind students that learning, progress and achievement are of paramount importance at WHS. Students will have begun to have academic tracking and monitoring conversations with their Kaiārahi, and students should be striving to achieve the academic goals that they set out at the start of the year. With that in mind, senior students in particular, need to ensure that they have planned out their term and used the Internal Assessment Calendar, in conjunction with the busy School Calendar, to identify any potential pressure points, and prepare accordingly. Please see below for each of the aforementioned calendars. 

• Level One Assessment Calendar 2021
• Level Two Assessment Calendar 2021
• Level Three Assessment Calendar 2021
• School Term Calendar

Earlier this term, we saw the launch of our ‘Financial Literacy’ unit for Year 12 and Year 13 students. This unit provides students with the opportunity to learn about budgeting, tax, saving money and managing risk. Year 12 and 13 students should be working through this during Ako time, but can work through the learning sequences at any time, as they are available through Google Classroom (click here). 

Year 11 students had a launch of a Health & Wellbeing Unit, which they should also be working through during Ako time. This unit asks students to reflect on their Hauora/Wellbeing (physical, emotional, social, spiritual) and identify an area of their Wellbeing that they wish to improve. They are then asked to set a goal, take action, implement and reflect. As we said to the students, taking stock of one’s wellbeing and taking action, if needed, is something that will be used by students long after they’ve left school. 

Speaking of taking action, as mentioned in previous newsletters, vaping seems to be on the rise, and WHS unfortunately, has also found an increasing number of students vaping. This is both a health issue as well as a discipline issue - and will be treated by WHS as such. We regularly remind students that vaping is not only illegal for under 18’s but that we have a school rule around vaping/smoking and that if students are vaping/smoking at school or in school uniform (from the moment they leave home, to the moment they return home, including on buses), then there will be a consequence. If parents/caregivers are interested in addressing the health issues associated with vaping for their young person, we strongly recommend that you get in touch with your GP and/or the Public Health Nurse. If you’re wanting to learn more about vaping, we suggest that you read through the following very interesting article published in North & South in April https://northandsouth.co.nz/2021/05/03/teens-vaping-new-zealand/ 

As indicated above, we want to provide a safe environment for all students, and that includes keeping our school free from harmful substances. 

It should also be noted that students and staff have identified the toilets as an area of concern, and we have repeatedly reminded students that there must not be more than one person in a single cubicle at one time. As a result, if more than one student is seen going into the single cubicle at one time, this will be treated as a disciplinary matter and parents and students will be contacted. 

We would like to thank parents/caregivers for their support with the above matters. 

As a reminder, with the weather changing and winter fast approaching, please make sure that you download the WHS App to ensure you are getting the latest news and updates, especially if there is adverse weather. 

A packed newsletter follows which is certainly worth reading. We hope everyone has a fantastic weekend.

Ngā mihi,

Oded Nathan
Associate Principal

Excellence / Ad Alta /Ākonga Passport Awards

This week we celebrated students who received Ākonga Passport, Ad Alta blue and Excellence Bronze awards in house assemblies.  Congratulations to the following students:

WHS SZ App

All parents, caregivers and students should download the SZapp to your device as this is how we will communicate urgent and important school alerts and our weekly newsletter. The app also features an absence form, the online school cafe, a calendar and some handy links! See below information on how to download the WHS SZ app. 

 Apple Devices

1. On your device, open the App Store.
2. Search the App Store for SZapp.
3. Download and install SZapp.

 Android Devices

1. On your device, open the Play Store.
2. Search the Play Store for SZapp.
3. Download and install SZapp.

Adverse Weather

With winter fast approaching and cold temperatures on the way, this article provides some details about adverse weather. Again this winter we will communicate adverse weather events to: 

• Parents - via WHS App (SchoolZine) and the website
• Students - via internal WHS email

Adverse Weather Overnight and early Morning

We will liaise with QLDC’s roading contractor and the bus coordinator and make a decision re any changes to the school day. If changes are made they are likely to be: 

1. School is open as normal, however some buses may be delayed or cancelled.
2. School has a delayed start (often 10am), with a compacted timetable. Buses may be delayed or cancelled.
3. School is closed. 

Please note that we liaise with all the schools in the Wakatipu Basin, and our decisions are generally coordinated (although sometimes conditions are different for schools). 

Adverse Weather During the School Day

Please note that closing the school early is problematic for a number of reasons (notably trying to run all buses early), and we will try and run school until the normal end of day if at all possible. Accordingly we do not want parents coming to school to collect their children unless specifically notified to do so. 

The likely scenarios for adverse weather events during the school day are: 

1. School runs until normal time, and buses run as normal. 
2. School runs until normal time, but some buses run early &/or runs are altered. 
3. School closes early, with buses also running early. In some cases bus routes may be altered. 
4. In an extreme adverse weather event students may be kept at school until travel is safe or even stay overnight. 

James Rasmussen
Deputy Principal

Valuable Possessions

We strongly discourage students to bring items of value to school. This includes airpods, expensive mobile phones etc, the exception are BYOD devices which are required for learning.  In the event students do choose to bring these items to school they should ensure they have enabled remote tracking and enabled security on their devices, and ideally, named them in some manner. Please ensure your personal household contents insurance covers you for these items.

As hundreds of students have identical devices (usually undistinguishable) getting students reunited with lost items is problematic and often impossible, please bear this in mind when electing whether or not your student can bring the items to school. Students need to be personally responsible for keeping track of their items. 

Lead Prefect Message

Hey Everyone, 

I hope you’re all doing well! The Winter Term has definitely arrived - the mornings seem to be getting colder and colder. Although it’s hard to believe it, we are almost one third of the way through this ten-week term. 

Looking back at the year we’ve had, it’s difficult to imagine that twelve months ago, we had just finished our first week back in school, following the Lockdown last year. A lot has happened since then, both locally and internationally, so it’s good to look back and reflect, and acknowledge all we’ve achieved since then.

Our House Assemblies this week have recognised some of the achievements of students within our school, through Ad Alta, Excellence and Akonga Passport Awards. Congratulations to everyone who has received an award - it takes a lot of hard work and dedication to achieve, and you should all be very proud of yourselves.

This Friday, WHS partook in the annual Pink Shirt Day initiative, a national day to promote awareness about bullying - by accessorizing their uniforms with a pink item of clothing, students were able to show their support for victims of bullying. Pink Shirt Day is always great fun, but also a very important day for our school - a day to speak up and make WHS a safe place for all to attend.

House Debating has run throughout this week, with the finals fast approaching next Wednesday. Well done to everyone who has already debated - there’s been some very interesting, informative and undoubtedly entertaining arguments. Good luck to those still preparing for their debate - may the best house win!

The Arts Department has been very busy too - with Big Break last Friday, featuring some amazing talent, as well as preparations for the Showquest Regional Finals next week. Good luck to the group heading down to Dunedin on Monday.

Last Weekend also saw several of our students attending various sporting events - in particular the Hillary 6 Hour Challenge and the Southland Orienteering Championships, but also the weekly Netball Tournament, Football Games and more. Amazing job to everyone who has represented WHS at one of these events.

Although we are still early in the term, the weeks are busy as ever - with Internals and Uni Trips for the seniors, assessments and extra-curriculars for the juniors, time seems to be flying by. Formal is fast approaching next Saturday for Year 12 &13, and it’s bound to be a great event for all attending. Even with so much to do, it’s still important to take some time for yourself - even just a few minutes of ‘nothing’ every day let you have a little break between everything else that’s going on.

If you’re stuck for something to do over the weekend, head down to watch Showbiz’s production of ‘Legally Blonde’, showcasing some great local talent - including on- and off-stage contributions from our WHS community.

Have a great weekend, and enjoy the nice weather while it lasts!

Helena Hornbacher,
Academic Lead Prefect

Environment Council -Predator Free

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

This week's topic is… predator free!

Since the separation from the supercontinent of Gondwana, Aotearoa has been home to a vast range of unique endemic species of birds, frogs, lizards and plants. As a result of our geological isolatiotion for the last 85 million years, our biodiversity has been hugely distinct. Certain species such as flightless kiwi, takahe, kakapo and weka are able to flourish in the safety of our isolation which cannot survive anywhere else in the world. However, this also increases their vulnerability to introduced predators. New Zealand currently has the highest rate of threatened species in the world with around 81% of our birds, 88% of our reptiles and 72% of our freshwater fish being classified endangered. 

Predator free 2050 is an ambitious goal to rid New Zealand of its most damaging introduced predators which threaten our native wildlife and biodiversity. This aspirational vision hence focuses primarily on the complete removal of rats, stoats and possums. In response, the predator free NZ trust was established in 2013 with the vital goal of protecting our native wildlife. They are a private charitable organisation which strives to encourage, support and connect New Zealanders in their efforts to control and eradicate introduced predators including rats, possums and mustelids (stoats, ferrets and weasels). By achieving this goal, our natural taonga will be able to thrive once again, restoring our precious ecosystems and creating greater ecological resilience. 

Here are some ways you can help New Zealand become predator free:

1. Backyard trapping is the most valuable contribution you can make from your home and has loads of benefits. It can rid your garden of rats, possums and mustelids creating a safe environment for wildlife. More information on the best trapping techniques can be found here. 
2. The biggest risk for flightless birds are roaming dogs so when in the presence of a national park, please keep your dogs under control. Also, be sure not to discard any organic waste into the native bush as this provides extra food for predators, enabling their numbers to increase further.
3. Finally, get involved with a local group. Lake Hayes and Wakatipu Wildlife Trust both have active groups with loads of support and information.

• Lake Hayes Predator Free 
• Wakatipu Wildlife Trust

Harry McVicar
The Environmental Council

40 Hour Famine

On Thursday 13 May we attended the World Vision Youth Conference that was held in Dunedin. 

The conference consisted of three main ideas. Firstly, the issues that people in poverty are currently facing, the tragedy of the commons and how taking things for granted is a huge waste in the long term. Secondly, stories from guest speakers and their relation to World Vision. Two of the guest speakers were Yoseph and Lydia. Finally, how we could help, and how even the smallest amount of money to us could make a huge difference in someone's life.

A story that really struck us was about an African school that decided to introduce a uniform. One child's family couldn’t afford it, so the child and their family walked miles to get to the closest World Vision office where they helped their family afford the uniform. The uniform they were trying to buy was worth less than one New Zealand dollar. 

This was a really good conference and we have taken a lot away from it. It reinforced how important it is to help and take part in fundraisers such as the 40 Hour Famine at school by giving us an insight into what people in other countries' lives are really like and how much we can really make a difference. 

Isabelle Davis, Jentie Newell, Gerwin Ajn Laban

Kapa haka - Inner Wheel NZ conference

Friday 14 May saw the Inner Wheel NZ (A woman's voluntary group) hold their biannual conference here in Tāhuna. 

Te iti o Tāhuna were invited to perform the Mihi whakatau supported by Darren Rewi. The group performed amazingly allowing the Inner Wheel group to have a great start to their conference here in Tāhuna.

Many thanks to all of the people involved in supporting Te iti o Tāhuna as well as the whānau for coming to support their tamariki. 

Kyle Jackson
Teacher in charge of Kapa Haka

Gifted Education

Term 1 Competition winner
Congratulations to Ayla Nakayama (Year 11) who won the term 1 competition from the Curious Minds Classroom competition. 

Ayla completed all of the weekly puzzles/tasks giving her the best chance to be selected as the winner. She now can take 4 of her friends/family to the Escapequest escape rooms in Queenstown.

Many thanks to Escapequest for donating the prize and congratuations again Ayla!

Y10 Marine Science trip
A group of Year 10 students from Wakatipu High School have attended their first residential session with Otago University. Here is a summary from Abby Fookes on what they got up to:

"The four of us, along with a handful of other Year 10 students from around the Otago/Southland region went down to Portobello last Wednesday to take part in a Marine Science course that was led by the University’s Marine Science department. We spent two days learning about various topics within marine science before settling on a project in groups of five. One group is researching oceanography, another is researching the life within mudflats, my group is researching mussels’ selective feeding and the final group is looking into the diversity of fish species in the Otago harbour. We will return to portobello for a total of nine days over the next couple of months to carry out our experiments. I know we have all thoroughly enjoyed the experience so far and are very eager to get back to it."

Abby Fookes
Year 10

8GEO Christchurch Field Trip

Last week our 8GEO class took a field trip to Christchurch to collect data for upcoming research projects which will include topics such as urban regeneration, crime reduction and social cohesion pre and post-earthquake. 

We were lucky enough to visit a variety of speakers who were experts in their respective fields including Geography Professors from The University of Canterbury, the Senior Landscape Architect for Christchurch City Council, Officers from Christchurch Corrections and Probation as well as the Canterbury Police Superintendent. Our students were given the opportunity to ask questions of all the speakers and the astute nature of their inquiries was noted by all. 

The hands-on workshop at the University’s geography lab was particularly enjoyable for all, as was our visit to the new Justice and Emergency Precinct which currently houses the most technically advanced  crisis-response facility in Australasia. 

As a part of their data gathering students also surveyed a variety of people, ranging from local policemen to a New Brighton pirate, who all provided valuable insights.

Amongst their academic pursuits students also found time to explore the city and its outer suburbs with trips to New Brighton, Sumner and Lyttleton. A commendation must also be made to the 8Geo boys on their tireless commitment to sampling the quality of every pie available en route to our destinations.

A heartfelt thanks to Mrs Ray for her tireless efforts in organising such a well-rounded trip as well as Mr Tweddell and Mr Kendall who were invaluable to all. Finally, congratulations to the students of 8GEO, who represented our school so well and made this such a memorable trip.

Mr Kendall
Teacher of Geography

Outdoor Education

Here are some photos of our Year 12 Outdoor Rec students overnight tramping up the Routeburn Valley on the 17 and 18 May.

Languages - Celebrating Excellence

In this week's newsletter we are celebrating students achievement in Languages through their performance in NCEA and in the latest National Languages Championship. Learning Languages takes grit, resilience and it is just adding so many more strings to students' bows and to their present and future!

Certificate of Excellence
On Wednesday students received the inaugural National Certifcate of Excellence in Languages.
Bravo to our 9 students who received Excellence endorsements at Level 1 and 2 in French and Spanish.
Needless to say that these students are truely developing fluency in these languages which can be attributed to their effort and growth mindset in learning French and Spanish. 

Languages Champions
Congratulations to each of the students who, last Wednesday, received certificates, bronze, silver, gold and emerald medals (but also chocolate treats!) for their amazing work in this year's Languages Championship. This is an annual competition and this year 208,000 competitors from all around the world battled for the title of top school and highest scoring student. 
Our students did an outstanding job and we came away with 33 certificates. 
 A special mention to the following students for their outstanding efforts:
- Mikaela Patterson who placed in the top 1% 
- Alisha Messingham who placed in the top 2% 
Fantastic effort by these girls and all our students! Congratulations! 
“To learn a language is to have one more window from which to look at the world”Watch this space as from the 14 until the 18 of June is International Languages Week with special events involving both secondary and primary schools across the Whakatipu.

French International Diploma  (DELF) 2021 
The DELF this year is taking place on Saturday 28 August and registrations are now open!
The DELF Diploma is internationally recognised qualifications that certify the abilities of candidates in the French language.

• It is a diploma which adds a lot to students' CV and internationally recognised
• Awarded by the French Ministry of Education
• Assess the four competencies (reading, writing, listening and speaking) at each level.
• The levels offered are:  A1 --> Year 10/11 / A2: Year 12 / B1: Year 13 / B2: Year 13 / Scholarship

To register either email Mr Charton (gcharton@wakatipu.school.nz) or complete the form which is attached in the senior French Google Classrooms assginements page before Wednesday 26 May 3.10pm.
We are very privileged to be an assessement centre as usually students have to travel to bigger centres such Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington or Auckland which would cost a lot more.
Merci beaucoup,
M. Guillaume Charton

Sports News and Information

South Island Hillary Challenge
Last Sunday, two Wakatipu High School teams took part in the South Island Macpac Hillary Challenge in Christchurch. The Hillary Challenge is a 6 hour adventure race and includes running/trekking, mountain biking, and orienteering/rogaine as the base of the event. Within this, there were two ‘mystery challenges’, which involve problem solving and teamwork. All of these disciplines are completed in an eight person team and all team members had to stay within 50m of each other. The teams were made up of: 
Waka 2 - Finished 10th - Lachy Boniface, Marley King Smith, Josh Watson, Logan Campbell, Olivia Key, Phoebe Cavanagh, Neve Bates, Zara Mackley
Waka 1 - Finished 19th - Sam Davis, Eli Tregidga, Jasper Cuisel, Linus Ritchie, Hannah Battrick, Zoe Crawford, Saskia Learmonth, Jess MacDonald
Both teams performed extremely well, with both teams narrowly missing out in competing in the national final event. A big thank you to Miss Dixon and the parent helpers for making this trip possible.

Southland Orienteering Champs
Three WHS students competed at the Southland Orienteering Champs over the weekend. Congratulations to Siena Mackley who won her race. The duo of Cameron Bates and Lucy Boniface finished third in the same event that was 2.6km in length and included 16 control points.

Criffel Station Rogaine 
A number of WHS students and some staff competed in a rogaine competition on Criffel Station in Wanaka over the weekend. Well done to all involved. Results are below.
Pete Davis and Tom Schenk - 2nd 2hr Open Men
Finn McCaw and Hyugo Saunders - 2nd 2hr Secondary School
Ms Jermy and Ms Jones - 3rd 2hr Vet Women
April Bently and Maddie Harvey - 13th 4hr Open Women
Elias Garceau - 2nd 4hr Secondary School

Barrel Racing 
Year 9 student Zoe Johnston competes in barrel racing, demonstrating just how vast our students' involvement in sport and active recreation is. Zoe is the Central Otago Junior All Round Champion for the 2020/2021 season. Nice one Zoe. 

Hockey gets Underway
The Central Otago Secondary Schools Hockey competition got underway last weekend with grading games. This year WHS has entered four teams for the first time across the two leagues, Senior and Senior Reserve. WHS Hockey would like to thank QLDC for donating powerades to our high school teams for the games. Congratulations to players Ally Wilkinson, Sammy Fookes and Alex Thomson who are representing the Central Otago U18 Girls Hockey team in a tournament in Gore this coming weekend against Otago & Southland. All the best girls!

Injury Prevention and Management Session
Dr Adam Castricum from Axis Sports Medicine will be delivering a session to students at Break 2 on Friday 28th May in the theatre on injury prevention and management for teenagers. This is a really awesome and unique opportunity to listen to an expert on how best to look after and care for our bodies as busy athletes. We encourage all athletes to attend this session. 

Summer Sports Feedback
Students who participated in summer sport this year have all been emailed a google form to provide feedback around the quality of their experiences. This student voice is vital for us to identify ways that we can improve student experiences and enjoyment in sport at WHS and we strongly encourage students to spend five minutes reflecting on their season. The feedback form closes Friday 28 May.

Highlanders are Coming to Town
The Highlanders will take on the Melbourne Rebels in Queenstown at the Event Centre Oval at 2:35pm on Sunday 30th May. This is an awesome opportunity to watch the local super rugby team in action! Grab your tickets from Ticketek now: here

NZSKI Passes
The annual ski pass for WHS students is now online and available for purchasing. Parents/Caregivers can use either the Coronet peak or Remarkables web store to purchase these discounted passes. Everybody purchasing a local school's season pass just needs to select June 11 as prompted, this prompts a dropdown box of which school they attend.
The cut off date for purchase is at the end of August. 
Coronet Peak: https://shop.coronetpeak.co.nz/qt-secondary-schools
Remarkables: https://shop.theremarkables.co.nz/qt-secondary-schools

Term 2 Hoody Order
Last chance to place a sports hoody order for Term 2. Please click on the link below to do this. Details will be communicated and charges will be loaded on Monday morning. 
Order form: https://forms.gle/Kxxc9eKkqQdycaH66

Weekly Results
Hockey
Blue lost to DHS Dodgers - 0-6
Gold lost to DHS Destroyers - 1-6 (Player of the day: Alex Stalker)
2nd XI lost to Cromwell Red - 0-4
1st XI lost to Dunstan 1st XI - 0-7 (Player of the day: Alex Campbell)

Rugby
1st XV lost to Waitaki Boys High School - 12-59
U15 Cup beat Taieri College - 71-10
U14 Cup lost to South Otago High School - 24-55

Weekly Draw
Basketball 
Friday - Stadium Southland
Junior Boys A vs Aurora College - 7pm
Senior A Boys vs James Hargest 2nd V - 5:30pm & Southland Boys HS 1st V - 7pm

Hockey - Cromwell Turf
Friday
1st XI vs Dunstan High School 2nd XI - 6pm 
Sunday
2nd XI vs Dunstan High School Defenders - 2:45pm
Blue vs Maniototo - 4pm
Gold vs Cromwell Red - 5:15pm

Netball
Draw can be found here: https://www.sporty.co.nz/wakatipunetball/Draws-Results

Rugby
Saturday
1st XV vs Taieri College - Taieri College 1pm
U15 Cup vs Dunstan High School - Dunstan High School 11:15am
U15 Carnival vs Dunstan High School - WHS 11:15am
U14 Cup vs Otago Boys HS MM - WHS 1pm
Wednesday
Girls vs Mt Aspiring College - Upper Clutha Rugby Club 6pm

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. 

Laura Nathan
Director of Sport

Arts News and Information

No Man’s Land’s Interview With Ferg
Last Friday we were fortunate to score an interview with Ferg on the Classic Hits radio. During the interview we got to discuss the band and how we started, as well as talking about how we create our songs, especially our single ‘Boo Boo Baby’. Ferg played our songs on the radio which was awesome exposure for us. From this, we hope that our songs will get frequently played in the future. Overall it was an amazing experience and it was good meeting Ferg and learning the ropes around radio. 

'Boo Boo Baby' is available on all platforms (Spotify, iTunes, Apple Music, Youtube).

-No Man’s Land (Keira Almquist, Lucy Glover, Paige Loggenberg and Hannah White)

Congratulations Benji Watson Palmer
Benji has had his artwork published in the newest issue of Toitoi - a national journal of writing and art by young New Zealanders ages 5 -13. Not only was Benji’s work published, but it made the cover.

Rockquest Update
Students who have entered the band, solo or duo categories of Rockquest will go straight to the Regional Final in Wanaka. There will be no local heats for the students here at WHS. The Central Otago Finals will be held at the Lake Wanaka Centre on June 19 starting at 7pm. 

Rockquest will be contacting all students involved in the competition with further information.

Junior Artist of the Week
Our junior artist of the week is Lina Henkenhaf.  She has exhibited fantastic portrait painting skills this year, highlighted in the works below. Featured is a stunning reinterpretation of the famous artwork "Girl with a Pearl Earring" by Johannes Vermeer.

Lena has beautiful skills and confidence with many Art mediums. Well done, Lena.

The Y&H Schools Tour
The Drama Department had the privilege of Young & Hungry visiting our school this week as part of their annual school tour. 

They shared a 50-minute programme featuring extracts from plays written by some of New Zealand’s best playwrights and performed by young emerging professional actors. 

This year’s theme was WHADDARYA? which centred around the theme of New Zealand identity and what it means to be a New Zealander. WHADDARYA? explored identity through excerpts from plays that focus on important events in New Zealand’s history that have helped shape who we are.

The students not only gained support in their acting skills but had the opportunity to self-reflect and learn some New Zealand history. 

Big Break
WHS ran "Big Break" last Friday and featured a variety of school bands and solo/duo acts. The music performed showcased a mixture of covers and originals. It was great to see the enthusiasm and skills on display. Thanks to Rockformation for their continued support of this event, especially Michael Eden for his work with the set up and sound production.

Upcoming Events 
May 24 - Showquest
May 31 - Play It Strange Peace Song Competition
June 2  - Showing Off Art Exhibition Opening
June 6  - Wakatipu Music Festival (Jazz Combo)
June 19 - Rockquest Regional finals
July 2-4 - Winterfestival Music Event
July 9 - Play It Strange Lion Songwriting 

Scholarships

Careers Department - Student Job Vacancies

Looking for a part time job with more work in the holidays? 
We are now hiring staff who can work over the school holidays and work part time either in our new restaurant in town, opening in July or our restaurant in Frankton. We have a number of positions available in Customer Service and Food Preparation for students from Wakatipu High School. 

Apply Now at https://careers.mcdonalds.com/new-zealand/ enter Queenstown as your location and begin your application.

ARE YOU A LOCAL STUDENT ON THE LOOKOUT FOR A  JOB? GREAT NEWS….WE’RE HIRING!

 A long term, part time job while studying. The ideal candidate will be at least 17 years old. We will provide you with valuable skills, training and experience that you can either build on for a hospitality career once study has finished - or take with you when you head off overseas.
We can offer flexible hours to suit your needs, such as part time work while at school and work during university holidays.Learn the skills of hospitality in one of Queenstown’s most popular restaurants.

 You will be well presented and bring the right attitude along with a desire to learn.

 If this sounds like you, then email lou@flamebargrill.co.nz

Key Dates

WHS Foundation

Community Notices

SUSTAINABLE QUEENSTOWN AND WASTEBUSTERS need your help! 

Resourceful Communities Survey 2021

Please complete this survey to help us identify barriers preventing reduce and reuse behaviour in Queenstown Lakes and Central Otago regions. The results will be used to help us plan our community engagement projects.

Everyone who completes the survey can go into the draw to win one of three $150 restaurant vouchers.