WHS Newsletter | Issue 2.04 | 28 May 2021

Principal's Message

Kia ora and welcome to the WHS newsletter at the end of Week 4. It has been a good week here, with plenty going on as per usual. Relatively brief words from me this week, in part as there is a significant piece from me on Branches Camp below.

A highlight of the week has been the Debating competition, which I had the pleasure of judging. Congratulations to the winners, Duncan House, and to everyone who stepped up and represented their Houses, as well as the students who organised, ran and supported this important House event. We had the drug detection dog through the school again this week, part of our ongoing efforts to ensure WHS is a safe place for students and staff.

Assessment Calendars - in his piece last week Mr Nathan noted the importance of seniors planning their terms - particularly including their internal assessment, using the Assessment Calendars. This really is important, and I encourage you to support your senior student to do this.

Uniform - a reminder that, with next week being June, from Monday until the end of August students are permitted to wear puffer jackets. Please note that they must be plain black and worn over top of (not instead of) the blazer.

Teacher Only Day - as per usual before Queen's Birthday weekend, is next Friday 4 June, followed by the public holiday on Monday 7 June. Please note that with TOD there will be no newsletter next Friday.

The other big event this week is the formal tomorrow night. Always a big occasion, the formal is a very important and special event for students, families and the school, and we look forward to a great night. As per the Sport section below, our rugby teams are at home tomorrow, so while the weather doesn't look much good on either Saturday or Sunday (understatement), get along for some great rugby and to support them.

Steve Hall
Principal

Branches Camp

As we have grown as a school we have known that the Branches Camp model was going to need to evolve, and that 2021 would be the year - with nearly 290 Year 10 students this year.

Since the start of the year Bridget Janse (Branches Camp Manager), Ken McIntyre (Branches legend), Associate Principal, Oded Nathan and I have worked on a review of the camp model. Underpinning our review was the need to ensure that Branches is a safe, high-quality camp with great outcomes for students. 

Our first step was to identify the key issues and constraints that the camp was facing as it continued to grow. These included a range of things from staffing and environmental impact (and NB we are only at Branches Station by the good grace of the station owners and managers), to the increasing numbers of complex medical, mental health and dietary issues, the increased potential for group dynamics and behavioural issues, and the fact that we can no longer charge for a very expensive undertaking.

Next we identified the key components of Branches Camp - the elements that make it special. These included: 

• Branches the place - including its geography and remoteness, camping under canvas and the camp’s history at Branches. 
• The activities - some of which are specific or special to Branches, including the 3-day Lochnagar tramp, rafting (students’ favourite, on the upper Shotover), SAR (Search and Rescue, minimalist overnight) and Polnoon (gorge walk and swim).
• ‘All in’ - that the whole year level goes to Branches.
• Duration - the 12 days (a long school camp).
• Relationships - the opportunity for students and staff to bond through shared adventure in a special environment.
• Community support - notably including the support of Branches Trust, and the Branches Workday.

Our next step was to identify the potential options for the camp and consider the pros and cons of each. The model also needed to be scalable - able to accommodate our continued growth (up to 330 students in the future), and sustainable in terms of our ability to run it.

Given that, and our safety and quality objective, it became obvious that the current model was no longer viable with our growing numbers. We then considered two options which split the camp in different ways. Having considered the issues and constraints, key components, scalability and sustainability, our preferred model became clear - for Branches to become two 7-day camps, run one after the other. The camps would include Lochnagar, rafting and SAR for all students (and Polnoon, duty and shooting for most students) - the ‘best of Branches’.

This model was presented to and approved by the board of trustees yesterday and will be the model for Branches Camp from this year.

While we know that some people may be disappointed with the change, Branches camp has evolved from its beginnings as an 8-day camp with 19 students in 1967, and this new model is a continuation of that evolution so that our students can continue to have the iconic and awesome Branches experience for another 50+ years.

Steve Hall
Principal

House Event Competition Results

Congratulations to Duncan House for winning the debating competition and extending their lead. Current house points place Duncan in the lead followed by Arthur, Fox, Mackenzie and Hay House. Our next big event will be the Matatu Assembly at the end of Term.

Pink Shirt Day

Hi everyone! 

Last Friday Wakatipu High School saw pink, pink, and more pink in support of Pink Shirt Day! It was amazing to see so many students wearing pink accessories and showing support for the movement. Bullying is a very large problem and “In NZ, 32% of students reported being bullied at least a few times a month, compared to 23% on average across OECD countries.” WHS got involved in Pink Shirt Day to celebrate working together to stop bullying by celebrating diversity and promoting kindness and inclusiveness. Whanaungatanga Council ran a series of activities in which students could get involved to show their support for the cause. Some of these activities included a pink photo frame where you could dress up and get photos with other students, face painting, and a paper chain where students wrote many, many positive messages, which are now hanging up in the foyer so make sure you check it out! Oh and not to mention Pinky Bars for the best-accessorized students! Thanks to everyone who wore pink and got involved, don’t forget to spread kindness and be an upstander to bullying. 

Speak up, Stand Together, Stop Bullying!

Bella Middleton
Whanaungatanga deputy chair 

Year 13OREC Rockburn Tramp

As part of learning about risk and safety management, both Year 13OREC classes set off early on Tuesday 25 May. Meeting at the OE Shed at school and completing a quick compulsory gear check, allocation of tents, cookers and billies, Ms Janse's class left at 7.00am, followed by Mr Mac's class at 8.00am. A quick toilet stop at Glenorchy and then to the Routeburn Shelter to park the vans and begin the walk.

This was a 3-day, two night tramp over Sugarloaf Pass and into the Rockburn,  a very special and unique part of Mt Aspiring National Park. The weather was spectacular, fine, sunny and calm, which did make for splendid views but very cold nights in the tents (-7°C 'n the wee hours of Tuesday morning).  Both classes camped in different locations and then met for lunch on Wednesday.

An absolute delight, was hearing and sometimes seeing the birdlife - the critically endangered: Mohua (yellowhead); Kea (mountain parrot) and Whio (blue duck). This a testament to the success of ongoing predator trapping efforts in the area. As the sun warmed the forest the bird song came alive, with Piwakawaka (fantail), Tomtit, Bellbirds, and the occassional Kakariki singing and flitting around to check us out. Inquisitive South Island Robins and Kea took a liking to Mr Mac's class's campsite. It was a demanding tramp in some challenging terrain and the students did really well.

Head Student Message

Hey Everyone

This week has been an extremely busy one, with a wide variety of activities and events happening across the region

On Tuesday Year 13 Outdoor Education students embarked on a journey to Glenorchy, where they began their three-day hike up the Rockburn. Im glad they arrived back safely today and that they haven’t managed to lose too many toes in the process. 

The finals of House Debating took place on Thursday, with Arthur affirming the moot that ‘Eating meat is unethical’ with Duncan negating the point. In what was a very intense battle involving conversations on the Economic and Environmental impact of meat, Duncan came out on top in a unanimous win. They walked away with the maximum amount of house points, successfully opening up a sizeable gap on second place in the House Competition. The next event on the calendar is a big one, Matatu Assembly or Haka Waita. This is arguably one of the biggest House competitions of the year, so it is extremely important for Houses to put all the Mahi in.

On Monday our Showquest team travelled down to Dunedin to participate in the regional Showquest Competition. Showquest involves a mix of dancing, acting and singing and our team managed to take home a solid 4th place, with Year 9 student Hannah Eade taking home the Rangatahi/Best Overall Performer award. A great achievement for her and the school. 

This week also saw the Junior Council launch their inaugural colouring competition with canteen vouchers up for grabs. This image focuses on one of our core values, Respect or Te whakaute. Hard copies can be picked up from the library or printed via the jpg file sent by Mr Nathan in this week’s weekly email. Entries must be submitted into the labelled box in the library before the 3rd of June.

Over the weekend 74 Year 13 students travelled down to Dunedin to check out the University of Otago Campus and the Otago Polytechnic campus. They looked at a variety of halls of residence, caught up with ex-students to get inside information and looked at their faculties of interest. Although I didn’t travel down, I’ve heard from students and teachers that the trip was a success. The Otago trip marks the second last University trip, with students heading up to Wellington to check out Massey and Victoria in the near future. 

Amidst all the hustle and bustle of school life, the annual formal is occurring this Saturday up at Skyline. A huge thank you to Aimee, Olivia and the rest of the formal committee for putting in a lot of effort in organizing the venues, getting resource consent from the council and doing a whole lot more. This formal probably wouldn’t have gone ahead without such a dedicated team so thank you. 

Hope everyone has a good weekend

Todd Vermeir
Head Boy

Branches Trust AGM

SAVE THE DATE- Wednesday 16 June 2021
The Branches Trust AGM will be on Wednesday 16 June, venue to be confirmed so look out for it in your next newsletter.  All are welcome.

Although this notice is to notify you all of our upcoming AGM, we at the Branches Trust would like to add a short note in support of the upcoming changes to the Branches Camp.  As Mr Hall says above, all scenarios have been considered trying to accommodate the increasing year group numbers and we are delighted that this new model has all the best bits of our beloved Branches Camp (Lochnagar, rafting and SAR all stay!) and the camp is now scaleable for the ever increasing roll. 

We wish the staffing team well as they work through this transition, it sounds like Branches Camp will evolve but very much stay alive and we at the Branches Trust will continue to work hard to raise the funds to ensure that our future generations will continue to be able to experience this once in a lifetime opportunity.

 Kia Kaha
The Branches Trust

Sports News and Information

Girls Boxing
This term 12 students have taken up the opportunity to be involved in a girls only boxing class delivered on site and in conjunction with Industrial Fitness and Wakatipu Youth Trust. There are two sessions a week for eight weeks with a mix of girls, some playing sports already and many that are not. A huge thank you to Noah  and Jules from Industrial Fitness and to the Wakatipu Youth Trust for coordinating this opportunity.

ESports at WHS
The latest representative sport for Wakatipu High School students is in the form of ESports and our team Playing Valorant is entered into a secondary schools competition. The school's first ESport team starring Yubin Lee, Oto Higuchi and Carlos Wilson showed outstanding resilience to beat Christchurch Boys High School 13-3 in the second round of the competition. The team cleaned up Waitaki Boys High School 13-0 in the first round and are currently tied at the top of the Canterbury-Otago pool and in with a good shot to make it through to the regional playoffs.

George Reedy - NZ U20’s Trial Selection 
We wish Year 13 student George Reedy all the very best for his upcoming New Zealand U20’s Touch trial in Auckland. George has been selected to trial for this team. Ka Mauka Whakatipu!

Sports Injury Prevention Session
Today we were privileged to have Dr Adam Castricum from Axis Sports Medicine speak to students about injury prevention and management for teenagers at Break 2. This was a unique opportunity to gain knowledge and insights into preparing and caring for growing bodies across the demands of sport. Thank you very much to Axis Sports Medicine for engaging and sharing this knowledge with us.

WHS Rugby Club Day - Saturday 29th May
Tomorrow all of the WHS Rugby teams will be playing in the basin with the majority of the teams playing our neighbours Mt Aspiring College at WHS. We would love to see a great crowd here to support the teams, the draw is below.
U14 Cup vs MAC - 10:45am WHS
U15 Carnival vs West Otago - 10:45am Jack Reid Park, Arrowtown
U15 Cup vs MAC - 12pm WHS
1st XV vs MAC - 1:30pm WHS

Wakatipu Shield - Hockey 
Ally Wilkinson, Sammy Fookes and Alex Thomson represented the Central Otago U18 Girls Hockey team last weekend making solid contributions to the side. Results for these matches are below. 
Central Otago beat Otago 1 - 2-1
Central Otago beat Southland - 3-0
Central Otago lost to Otago 2 - 2-0  

Maori Wellbeing Funding Opportunity
Te Kīwai is a new fund developed in partnership between Te Pūtahitanga o Te Waipounamu and Sport New Zealand Ihi Aotearoa, designed to support Māori wellbeing through play, active recreation and sport. For more information please click this link: Te Kīwai

Queenstown MTB Club AGM
The Queenstown Mountain Bike Club have their Annual General Meeting coming up on Tuesday June 8.
QTMTB Club are aiming to call on the whole community to contribute in different ways and make sure there is a platform where riders can put their skills and passion to use for their mountain bike club. It will be really important that there are as many interested people at the AGM as possible to gather feedback and support.

Weekly Results
Basketball - Stadium Southland
Friday
Junior Boys A lost to Southland Boys HS Jnr A - 50-26
Senior A Boys beat James Hargest 2nd V - 77-29 & lost to Southland Boys HS 1st V - 87-7

Hockey - Cromwell Turf
1st XI beat Dunstan High School 2nd XI - 5-0 
Player of the day: Samuel Robertson-Muir
2nd XI lost to Dunstan High School Defenders - 6-0 
Player(s) of the day: Ruby Guilfoyle & Louis Aldwell
Blue lost to Maniototo - 8-0 
Player of the day: Scarlett Blundell & Sienna McIlroy (Sunday 16th)
Gold lost to Cromwell Red - 1-0 
Player of the day: Lydia Marks

Rugby
1st XV beat Taieri College - 17-10
U15 Cup beat Dunstan High School - 79-12
U15 Carnival beat Dunstan High School - 68-5
U14 Cup lost to Otago Boys HS MM - 108-17
Girls beat Mt Aspiring - 22-15

Weekly Draw
Basketball - Stadium Southland
Friday
Senior B Boys vs James Hargest B - 5:30pm and Central Southland College Colts A - 7pm
Junior A Boys and Senior A Boys - Bye

Hockey - Cromwell Turf
Friday 
WHS 1st XI vs Cromwell 7:30pm
Sunday 
WHS Gold vs WHS 2nd XI 4pm
WHS Blue vs Cromwell Blue 5:15pm

Netball
Draw: https://www.sporty.co.nz/wakatipunetball/Draws-Results

Rugby
Saturday
U14 Cup vs MAC - WHS 10:45am 
U15 Carnival vs West Otago - Jack Reid Park, Arrowtown 10:45am 
U15 Cup vs MAC - WHS 12pm 
1st XV vs MAC - WHS 1:30pm 
Wednesday
Girls vs Cromwell College - Event Centre 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

Showing Off Art Exhibition - Opening 2 June - Lakes District Museum
Please join us in celebrating our top Visual Art students of 2020 at “Showing Off”. The Opening is on Wednesday, 2 June beginning at 6.00 pm. Drinks and nibbles will be served. All are welcome.

The “Showing Off” Art Exhibition will be sharing a collection of painting, design and photographic work of current WHS students that achieved Excellence in 2020. The exhibition will run from 3 June until 4 July at the Lakes District Museum, Arrowtown.

A “People’s Choice” award will be given to each discipline at the end of the exhibition by our sponsor Trinity Developments. We encourage you to visit the exhibition so you can have your say. 

Showquest 2021
The Showquest team went to Dunedin last Monday to perform their 8-minute dance piece to a packed audience at the Regent Theatre. They were competing against Mt Aspiring, Logan Park, Otago Girls High and Dunstan High, and proudly came away with two prizes -  ‘Excellence in Lighting’ with Lucy Glovers’s expertise being rewarded for ‘Best Lighting’ and Hannah Eade being awarded ‘Best Performer Of The Night’.

A huge thank you needs to be made to the leader Sophie Thompson for her ability to organise, motivate and oversee the group from beginning to end. Helena Hornbacher and Zoe Barham also need a special thank you for their contribution as part of the leadership team. Another successful year has been completed with great memories to look back on. Each participant should be very pleased and proud of their contribution to a wonderful team effort.

Mrs. Koehn
TIC Showquest

"This week a group of 26 students were lucky enough to travel to Dunedin to compete in the Showquest Otago Regional Finals. After rehearsing for three weeks, we got on the bus early Monday morning and drove down to the Regent Theatre. It was so much fun to see all the other schools perform, as well as talking to everyone backstage - there were so many awesome creative ideas and performances. Our cast killed it on stage - and we are very proud of everyone! A huge congratulations to our Lighting Designer Lucy Glover for winning the ‘Best use of Lighting’ Award, as well as Hannah Eade, who won the overall ‘Outstanding Rangatahi’ Award for best stand-out performance of the whole event - especially impressive given the short rehearsal period. We all had a great time, and can’t wait to do it all again next year!!"

Sophie Thompson and Helena Hornbacher 
Leaders of the Showquest Creative Team

Guest Speaker - Anne Leese
We are very excited to have Anne Leese coming into WHS next week to talk about her career as an opera singer and showcase some of her amazing skills. This is a great opportunity for students to hear a musician with skills in a genre that many have not had the opportunity to witness previously. She will be in the Y2/13 Music class on Thursday at 10.15 am.

Bluelight Sailing Opportunity

Two Rotary sponsorship opportunities for the Bluelight Whitbread, Steinlager II Leadership Voyage
Sponsorship 1:  4-8 October for two students in Years 9-13.
Sponsorship 2:  January 2022 (Actual date to be advised) for two students in Years 9-12.

Students are asked to email Rotary President, Lee-Ann at llines@xtra.co.nz  and note WHY they would like to go on the course and to include, in their own words, WHAT they know about the boat (no more than 80 words). Please also state your preferred dates. 

It is also important you and your family understand your commitment/outlay which are your return airfares to Auckland.  (Rotary may be able to assist with some additional sponsorship upon application).

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.