WHS Newsletter | Issue 2.06 | 18 June 2021

Associate Principal's Message

Bienvenidos a todos (welcome to you all) to the end of another fantastic week in which WHS ‘great all-round education’ has been on full display, with a range of academic, co-curricular and extra-curricular events. 

Today was the culmination of our International Languages Week in which there were a range of activities and challenges for students to engage with, including Linguathletics (congratulations to Duncan House). Next week, Houses will begin practicing for our Matatū (Haka/Waiata) Assembly, in which our goal is for every student at WHS to learn the school Haka and/or Waiata. Please encourage your student to get involved in this amazing and exciting school event. 

Our Stars Community Adventure morning was held today, providing our Year 9 students the opportunity to see the range of community supports and partnerships that are available to students - a huge thanks to all the volunteers for their support. 

On Wednesday, the annual James Hargest Sports exchange was held, and due to covid and other factors, this was the first time in four years that we had ventured down to Southland for the exchange. It was a great day with plenty of competition and camaraderie and all games were played in very good spirit.  Once again, a huge thanks to all the staff and coaches from the school and the community who support sport at WHS and the sport vision of ‘growing better people through sport’ (see full vision of sport below). It is truly humbling to be part of a school that is so widely supported by its community.  

On Tuesday, the Level 2 Business Studies classes held their annual Market Day - offering a range of delectable delights including Fudge, Cookies, Brownies, Cinnamon Scrolls, Pizza, Bracelets, FaceMasks and Slime Balls. It is great to see that all profits are going to charitable foundations. See below for more detail.

If you’ve been in the foyer over the past few lunch breaks, you would have been blown away by some of WHS amazing bands, as they’ve let it rip in anticipation of this weekend’s Rockquest finals over in Wanaka on Saturday night. All the best to all our bands and musicians participating in this exciting annual event.

It wouldn’t be a great all-round education without a reminder to senior and junior students about the importance of finishing the last three weeks of Term with a considered academic focus. Our juniors have a range of mid-year exams that provide an opportunity for students to consolidate their learned knowledge, develop their resilience and self-management, and to practice performing under pressure. Additionally, for seniors, the internal assessment calendar is jam-packed at the end of the term, and it is imperative that they work hard to complete these assessments to the best of their ability. See below again for the internal assessment calendar.

Level One Assessment Calendar 2021
Level Two Assessment Calendar 2021
Level Three Assessment Calendar 2021

A reminder that we have our annual Open and Enrolment evening next Tuesday and school will finish at 1:50 pm with buses running from then.

Lastly, we are reviewing our Strategic Plan and would value your feedback. Please see below for more information on how to contribute to this important process. 

Another bumper edition of the newsletter follows, including more information about ‘car-less’ days, 40 Hr Famine, Sports and Arts, enjoy the read and have a good weekend.

Nga mihi nui,

Oded Nathan
Associate Principal

Strategic Plan Review

This year we are reviewing our strategic plan. 

Our strategic plans have been very important and effective documents that have provided a strategic foundation and direction for us as a school, enabling us to move forward towards agreed priorities and goals.

We are now in the phase of the review process where we are wanting input from key stakeholders, including students and parents, and we are really keen to get people’s input.

There are two ways for parents to input into the review:

1. Online Form - with just a few key questions, please click here. 
2. Evening meeting - Wednesday 30/6 at 7pm at school, please click here to register to attend.

Steve Hall
Principal

Junior Examinations

As we head towards the end of Semester, Year 9 and 10 students have exams/assessments for Maths and English, along with Social Studies and Science (if they have these compulsory classes this semester). Students will have begun preparing for these in class. The purpose of these is to give students the experience of studying for and sitting an exam. Going through this process gives the students a better understanding of external exams as they head towards NCEA (rehearsal reduces anxiety). 

To gain the most benefit from these exams, students should be preparing at home. It is also useful for parents to ask their child how the exam went and most importantly, what they would change in the way they prepared. The more students reflect on their preparation, the more they will benefit from sitting these exams. This includes students with special assessment conditions thinking about what is the best way to use the conditions they are eligible for. 

These Semester One exams are held during regular class times, in learning commons (areas students normally have classes). At the end of the year, there will be a specific exam time period for Year 9s and 10s which will include sitting the exams in the theatre as NCEA students do. Again this is with the aim of rehearsing this type of assessment in building preparation for NCEA. 

If you have any questions about the exam, please email your child's subject teacher.

Lee Hiestand
Assistant Principal

STARS Community Adventure 2021

Community Adventure is the key component of the STARS Programme for Term 2. The Community Adventure helps students get to know and connect with our community, giving them the opportunity to explore resources and support networks around them. The aim of today’s event was to create better awareness for the amazing services and people we have in our community, making Queenstown a better place for all.

Our invited guests spoke a little about themselves and what they do in our incredible community, before delivering an activity connecting our school values with a life skill. This year we were lucky enough to have Wakatipu Search and Rescue who explored the themes of Wellbeing and Safety, Wakatipu Youth Trust focussed on Resilience and NZ Police discussed Citizenship.

The STARS Programme sends the biggest thanks to all our guests and all the Year 9 participants as well as to Vicki Patton and Peer Mentors who supported the event to ensure it ran smoothly. Some student feedback was “we had so much fun, and I actually learned heaps” and “I can’t believe that all these guys are here for us”.

Vinaka Vakalevu,

Divesh Singh
STARS Programme Coordinator 

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International Languages Week

What a blast this week has been in terms of celebrating learning languages at school! A plethora of activities around school was on offer:

• Over 200 students competed in languages quizzes at Ako Time
• International short movie festivals every break 2
• Students challenged their teachers to greet them in as many languages as possible
• School bells in different languages
• Signs around schools in 5 different languages

There was a common theme this year in activities, songs and movies chosen which was to embrace the school values (Excellence, Respect, Responsibility, Resilience and Inclusion) via the celebration of  international languages. Thank you to Pak'nSave for supporting this year's event. 

A new language is a new life. – Persian Proverb - In Persian: یک زبان جدید یک زندگی جدید است.

Market Day - A Roaring Trade

Both 7Bus and 6ECB Market Days have been another roaring success! Thanks to staff and students for supporting the 43 small businesses over the two Market Days last Friday and Tuesday in Te Kirikiri. Students enjoyed the opportunity to create, display and market their range of products with the hope of generating a profit and gaining experience in what it means to be in business. The next step for these students is to analyse finances, reflect and evaluate their business activity success. 

Josh Kendall, Erin Sefo and Nicola Proffit
Economics and Business Studies teachers

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Peter Harris visits 7ECO

On Thursday, Peter Harris - the Economic Development Manager for QLDC, came to visit 7ECO in class. He shared information about the QLDCs focus on diversifying the local economy and the direction that the local economy is headed towards. Students were also presented with interesting statistics for how the economy has changed due to Covid too.

We thank Peter for sharing some intruiging information and answering some challenging questions too.

Gemma Boel
Teacher of Year 12 Economics

Environmental Council Car-less Days

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

The 1970s was a difficult time with a fuel shortage crisis hanging over the world. A  Government response to this in NZ was to implement a “Car-less Day” concept. This involved all vehicle users (there were exemptions for essential industry and services) to choose 1 day a week when their vehicle was left in the garage/at home. Instead the expectation was to use public transport, walk - cycle, carpool etc. Vehicles were “stickered up” and the transportation authority enforced this with fines etc. The result was a significant reduction in fuel consumption.

Today we have a “Climate Crisis”. Transport emissions form a major part in this (48%). The Environmental Council wishes to affect change to this by implementing a system similar to “Car-less” days for Wakatipu High School and it’s community.

Method of Sign up/Roll out

1. Parents/staff members/students can choose a day when they intend to not use their vehicle.
2. They then notify the school reception the day they have chosen by filling in and submitting the Google Form (Google form link here). The first batch of stickers will be ordered next week. 
3. You can then pick up the stickers from the school front reception area!

Please note that unlike the 1970’s this is not an enforceable process! We are just trying to do some simple things to improve the environment and ultimately the Planet! Instead of vehicle use on the day, you would try one or a combination of the following options:

1. Walk or cycle
2. Use public transport
3. Get a ride with a neighbour or workmate. 

Next Steps
Discuss with family members/colleagues what day would best suit to go “Car-less”. Then fill out the Google Form attached by link with your chosen day. Orders will then be placed by the school for Car-less day stickers and you will be notified as to when to pick it up.

Electric and hybrid vehicles are exempt!

We look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,
The Environmental Council

Note: we intend to revisit the “Car-less Days” concept in term 3 and will be asking for feedback.

Environmental Council - Reducing Transport Emissions

Greenhouse gases present a major threat to our planet. Greenhouse gases insulate the planet, trapping the sun's energy into the atmospheric bubble. This is known as the “greenhouse effect,” which has severe environmental consequences. In New Zealand, transport is the fastest growing source of emissions, accounting for 21% of the total emissions. Almost 70% of the transport emissions are produced from personal transport. Evidently, transport emissions are a significant source of New Zealand's emissions, due to New Zealand having one of the highest car ownership rates in the world.

Here are some ways where you can contribute to reducing the country’s transport emissions

1. Use public transport: in Queenstown use the bus system which has been praised as one of the best bus systems in the country. 
2. Walk or bike to school: if you live close enough to walk/bike to school get out there and enjoy the crisp central otago air.
3. Carpool: instead of driving alone, ask if anyone you know will be going to the same place from nearby even if it means you might make the odd compromise. 
4. Take one day off driving to school a week: participate in the up and coming “carless day.” 

Olive Ritchie
The Environmental Council

40 Hour Famine

The 40 Hour Famine is running this year from the 25 to 27 June (end of week 8). Make sure you join the 40 hour famine classroom with the code sfvzuy6 for instructions on how to sign up. This year all funds raised by the 40 Hour Famine are going toward sub-saharan Africa where many people are suffering from food insecurity and a food crisis as a result of COVID-19. Here are some examples of challenges you could do for the 40 Hour Famine:

• 40 acts of kindness in 40 hours 
• only eating 4 types of foods for 40 hours
• 40 board games in 40 hours 
• 40 artworks in 40 hours 
• play 40 sports in 40 hours 
• make a movie in 40 hours 
• run/walk 40 km in 40 hours 
• no screens for 40 hours
• 40 hours no talking 
• 40 hours no furniture
• join the WHS skiathon
• anything else you can think of, the possibilities are endless in terms of challenge ideas.

We will be holding an orange-themed mufti day on Friday 25 June to fundraise for the 40 Hour Famine so remember to bring your gold-coin donations!

This year, Wakatipu High School is hoping to raise $10,000 for the 40 Hour Famine. This is an ambitious target but we have already made huge progress and have a big group of dedicated students putting in lots of effort into fundraising to make this happen! Donations can be made via this link: Wakatipu High School 40 hour famine page.

As a part of this year’s 40 Hour Famine, the 40 hour famine committee is running an event called the ‘skiathon. The Skiathon is a relay-type event where groups of up to 4 (or individuals) ski/board 9am to 4pm on Saturday 26 and Sunday 27 as their event for the 40 Hour Famine. This can be any mountain, but we will have high school bands playing and will be running a stall on the Coronet Peak deck both days. There will be prizes for teams with the most vertical meters (so remember to track your groups' vertical meters on your mypass), best costumes, most money fundraised and many other categories! A big thanks to NZ Ski for making this possible! 

Email your group's name to 17jcrichton@wakatipu.school.nz or fill out the google form attached above by Monday 21 June to enter! 

We also have two WHS students, Rohil Prasad and Jack McBeth, spending 40 hours in a Skyline Gondola. Jack and Rohil will be going without any form of entertainment, and will have to stand up to the cold winter nights and live in a challenging position for the entire 40 hours during which time they will not be able to leave, except to use the toilet. At night when the gondola is not operational, Skyline staff will wheel the gondola around to the front of the base building where the public can come and say hello. A friendly team of volunteers will be present during the day at one of two fundraising desks located on the Steamer Wharf and at the base building. Thanks to Skyline Queenstown for their generous support during this challenge.

Deputy Head Boy Message

Kia ora all!

Finally nearing the end of Term as we conclude Week 7 but that in no way means our students are winding down with plenty of internal assessments deadlines due keeping our Senior students busy to say the least. Although I’m sure this won’t be a problem for them as this is where the time management and motivation to succeed really comes in handy, for those who have found the deadlines sneaking up on you however, I wish you all the best.

This past Wednesday we had our annual school sports exchange with James Hargest College with a total of 12 teams travelling down to Invercargill early Wednesday morning (a bit too early if you ask me). It was a thrilling day of “competition, sportsmanship and school pride”. It all came down to the wire with James Hargest needing to topple our Waka Dogs over in the final game of the day, First XV rugby, after a rough start our boys managed to hold out and find the battle within themselves to take the 37 - 19 win securing a draw for the exchange with both schools taking 5 wins a piece. 

Just a reminder about the 40 hour famine this year with our environmental council providing an excellent opportunity with the first ever WHS Skiathon in which teams of 4 students take to the mountain to sky from 9 - 4 on both Saturday the 26 and Sunday the 27, not to mention we also have Wakatipu High School bands playing both days from 12pm - 2pm. For more information, join the 40 Hour Famine classroom with the code sfvzuy6 as well as grab a fundraising booklet from student service. To support the efforts of our students participating in the 40 Hour Famine we have an orange themed mufti day next Friday 25 and I look forward to seeing everyones support in full effect. 

I hope a great weekend is in store for all of you and I wish those participating in sports or activities the best of luck in their endeavours. Kia kaha.

Will Cooper
Deputy Head Boy / Sports Prefect

Sports News and Information

James Hargest Exchange
The annual James Hargest College sports exchange took place on Wednesday for the first time in three years and it was great to have 153 students competing in 12 matches across six sports. It was an awesome day of competition, sportsmanship and school pride. The final result was a 5-5 draw! There were two additional draws in hockey and football demonstrating how well matched the two schools are for each other. A huge thank you to Waine Harding and James Hargest College for being excellent hosts and providing fantastic competition across the board. Thank you to all of our wonderful coaches, managers and staff who travelled down and coached, as well as our supporters. We are already looking forward to hosting Hargest in 2022. Below are the results by match and some pictures of the action. More photos can be found on the school sports Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/WakatipuHighSchoolSports
Junior Boys A Basketball: 77-61 (WHS)
Senior Boys A Basketball: 103-59 (JHC)
Girls 1st XI Football: 2-2
Boys 1st XI Football: 2-0 (JHC)
Mixed A Hockey: 1-1
9A Netball: 27-22 (JHC)
10A Netball: 50-20 (WHS)
Senior A Netball: 29-18 (JHC)
U15 Boys Rugby: 59-0 (WHS)
U16 Girls 10's Rugby: 24-5 (JHC)
1st XV Boys Rugby: 37-19 (WHS)
Senior Girls A Volleyball: 3-0 (WHS)

Otago Netball Champs
Four WHS Netball teams competed at the Otago Secondary School Netball Champs last weekend in Dunedin. It was an awesome weekend with some great results and lots of learning for the first secondary schools tournament of the year. Well done to the 10A team who made it through to the semi finals. A huge thank you to our fantastic coaches; Kay O'Connell, Yvonne Kemp, Sally Bulling, Rebekah Harp and Cameron Murphy and our wonderful managers Rach Middleton and Cordelia Burgess! Thank you also to the students that umpired for WHS over the tournament; Grace Hall, Rachel Scobie, Aurora McLeod and Kaitlyn McKay. These teams have a number of busy weeks coming up with more secondary school tournaments. Final placings are below.
Senior A - 7th out of 20 teams
Senior B - 4th out of 8 teams
10A - 3rd out of 12 teams
9A - 7th out of 12 teams

NZSS Cross Country Champs
WHS wishes runners Jude Deaker, Abby Fookes, Sammy Fookes and Siena Mackley all the very best for this weekend's New Zealand Secondary School Cross Country Champs in New Plymouth. Ka Mauka Whakatipu!

Weekly Results
Hockey
WHS 2nd XI beat WHS Blue: 4-0. Players of the day; 2nd XI: Evie Barlow, Blue: Subath Wijerathna
WHS 1st XI lost to Upper Clutha Black 4-0. Player of the day: Paige Loggenberg

Rugby
U14 Cup lost to Dunstan High School: 88-5
Player of the day - Harry Walker-Leach
U15 Carnival beat South Otago High School: 44-20
Player of the day - Jasper Thomas
U15 Cup beat Otago Boys High School Red: 41-10
Player of the day - Mason Clarke
1st XV lost to South Otago High School: 57-14
Player of the day - Sam McAtamney
Thank you to Fat Badgers Pizza for sponsoring the WHS Rugby Player of the Day

Weekly Draw
Basketball - Stadium Southland
Junior Boys A vs Aurora Mambas - 5pm
Senior Boys B vs Aparima College A - 5:30pm
Junior Boys A vs James Hargest Boys B - 6pm
Senior Boys B vs Southland Boys Senior Development - 7pm

Hockey - Cromwell Turf
Thursday
WHS Blue vs DHS Defenders - 5:45pm
Friday
WHS 1st XI vs DHS 1st XI - 4:30pm
Sunday
WHS Gold vs Cromwell Blue - 4:00pm
WHS 2nd XI - bye

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

Rugby
Saturday
U14 Cup vs Cromwell - Cromwell 11:15am
U15 Cup vs Mt Aspiring College - Wanaka Rec Ground 1pm
U15 Carnival vs John McGlashan Carnival B - Dunstan High School 1pm
1st XV vs Otago Boys High School 2nd XV - OBHS 12:45pm
Wednesday
1st XV Girls vs Mt Aspiring College - Event Centre 6pm

Swim Instructors Wanted
QLDC are currently advertising for part time swim instructors with full training provided. This would be ideal for Year 11/12 students as most hours are after 3.15pm or on a weekend. If you are interested please apply through the link below. The qualification gained will also provide students with NCEA credits.
https://qldc.qjumpersjobs.co/jobs/details/Swim_School_Instructor_-Part-time_Positions-1044472

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.

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

Music Nights
A reminder of the Music Nights occurring over the next few weeks:

• Year 13 - June 23
• Year 11 - June 29/30
• Year 10 - July 7

Music Events

• June 19 - Rockquest Regional Finals -  Wanaka Centre
• July 2-4 - Winterfest -  Times TBC (Rock Bands
• July 9- Play It Strange Songwriting 

2021 National Youth Art Awards
The annual competition fosters creativity among young artists across Aotearoa. Open to individuals aged 13-25, the award attracts many talented young people due to the different categories that can be entered, with no limit on content or media. Contact Monica Parker for more information at mparker@wakatipu.school.nz.

Entries close 30 July 2021. Finalists will be notified by 9 August 2021.

Smokefree Rockquest Regionals
This Saturday at the Lake Wanaka Centre several of our Wakatipu High School rock bands will be performing at the Smokefree Rockquest Regional.  The show will run from 7.00 to 9.30 pm. Click on the link below to buy your tickets. 

Red Leap Workshop
Last week the Year 12 and 13 Drama classes had the opportunity to participate in the highly regarded Red Leap Workshop. These workshops are highly energetic and creative which develop devising techniques.

Participants strengthen their physical awareness and connection, explore dynamics of play and impulse, learn how to build ensemble using a range of elements such as text, imagery, sound and basic materials. By provoking and inspiring this workshop strives for performers to find their strength, have a compelling presence on stage and equip students with ways to take ideas and turn them into great theatre.

Performance poetry workshop

Key Dates

Careers Department - Student Job Vacancies

WHS Foundation

Community Notices