WHS Newsletter | Issue 3.08 | 24 September 2021

Principal's Message

Kia ora and welcome to the Wakatipu High School newsletter at the end of Week 9 - the penultimate week of the term. It has been another good week at WHS, and like Mr Nathan last week, I also want to thank students for how they have been since we have returned from lockdown in this Covid-disrupted term.

It has been a busy week for seniors, with many in-class exams this week as part of our rejigged school exams, as well as internal assessments falling due as they always do at the end of Term 3. Re exams, I do want to give a shout out to our reader-writers who support our students with special assessment conditions. As a school we work hard to support all of our students to reach for their heights, and these folks play an important role in that - thank you very much :)

Speaking of seniors and exams and assessments, Senior Next Steps are on Tuesday afternoon - senior parents please see below if you have not yet booked your appointments, but please note that school will end for all students at 1.50pm on Tuesday and buses will run from this time.

While we are very fortunate to be back at school in Level 2 - unlike schools in Auckland, and most of our students have coped very well, the MoE have produced a really good video for parents by Nathan Wallis and Dr Hinemoa Elder. While it is primarily aimed at life in lockdown, it has some great hot tips on parenting teenagers in general.

We have also had ERO here this week. As I have noted previously, their operating model has changed considerably and is now focused on working with schools to identify a specific area which the school wishes to evaluate. We are going to be looking at the area of junior literacy - an area which we already do good work in, but with the upcoming changes to NCEA and the increased importance of literacy we want to ensure we are being as effective as possible in this area.

Phase 2 - as you may have seen on our Facebook page, there was a big concrete pour for the foundations of the new gym earlier this week and it was great to see that project progressing.

However, lockdown has not been good for Phase 2 and the great progress that they were making on the new wings has been impacted. While they had actually been ahead of schedule we now expect to have the new wings on schedule - ie the NE wing for Term 2 next year and the SE wing for Term 3.

Phase 2 also includes modifications to our existing building, and lockdown is going to have an impact on that too. One area that is being modified is the hard tech and visual arts areas on the south side of our building. When this work is being done we lose access to the whole ground floor of the south side, and unfortunately because that work will be noisy we will not be able to use the floor above it either. That clearly impacts the amount of space we have, so our cunning plan was to do it in Term 4 when the seniors were only at school for two weeks before they depart for exams. Unfortunately with lockdown pushing exams back, that two weeks has become four weeks. This does mean that we will be tight for space until the seniors leave. We will make it work - using the temporary classrooms of course, and the builders are temporarily giving us back part of the learning commons in the NE corner that we have not had access to while they work on the extensions, and with public holidays and prizegivings it is actually only 16.5 days we need to get through until our seniors begin to depart. 

In terms of dealing with disruption through Phase 2 we have done very well thus far, and schools all across the land have to deal with these situations as they extend and rebuild, and we will make this situation work too. As I have said previously - it will be awesome when it is all done, and that is now effectively only three terms away.

LE Reports - are now up on the Portal. These are important indicators of how well your student is engaging with their learning, so please do take the time to go through them and acknowledge the positives and have discussions about the not so positive. Please note that this is the final LE Report for senior students for the year.

Next week is the final week of the term. It is always an important one for seniors with assessments due - please support them to continue to do their best, and all students to finish the term well.

Despite clocks springing forward into daylight saving tomorrow night it is not a very summery weekend of weather ahead, with tomorrow looking particularly wet. Fingers crossed for maybe a few fresh flakes on the fields for some late season pow turns on Sunday :).

Steve Hall
Principal

Covid-19 Support

The Covid-19 Support and Wellbeing information sheet below contains active links to contacts and additional resources from various local and national organisations who can help. Please download the PDF document to access the links.

Te Hau Toka Southern Lakes Wellbeing Group was set up in response to the uncertainty that Covid 19 brings and the subsequent community-wide mental health impacts.  Te Hau Toka hopes to build awareness of services that are available, connect people with the support they may need and help them to stay well.

Te Hau Toka has put together this ‘traffic light’ guide (designed to be folded into a brochure)  for looking after your wellbeing.  It covers tips for what to do in an immediate mental health crisis (red), extra support (orange), and keeping well (green).  

Branches Camp

Planning for Year 10 Branches Camp in Term 4 is well underway (NB: the camp can run if we are at Alert Level 2 or Alert Level 1). The first Student Meeting about Branches Camp was held this morning. It included details about the camp; how it is run, its organisation and structure, staffing, transport, activities, safety, food, tents, how the activity groups are compiled. Jane Bamford (Volunteer Student Workday Coordinator) spoke to the students about the Community Workday.  It also was an opportunity for students to ask questions.  

The weekly student meetings will resume again in Term 4. These meetings will progressively inform students about the camp and preparations, including the Community Workday and Pre-Branches tramps.  Another key source of information for students is the the electronic ‘2021 Branches Camp Google Classroom’ - information and notices will be added to this. Students are reminded to check this regularly.  

While the Branches Trust very generously supports the camp to help make it affordable for families, we strongly encourage parents to please contribute towards the $350 donation we request for Branches Camp. This amount is currently loaded to your student’s school account and we appreciate any (all or part) payment towards this amount. As this is a donation payment, you will be entitled to a tax credit. Please pay through the School Portal, online (ASB a/c 12-3234-0080772-00), or at the school office by Eftpos. Many thanks in anticipation.

Key dates
This years' two 7-day camp dates are: Camp 1 - Monday 29 November to Sunday 5 December, and Camp 2 - Monday 6 to Sunday 12 December. 
Other important Branches dates to note are:
Friday 24 Sept - Student Medical, Health, Consent Google Form due
Monday 1 Nov - Students advised which Camp they are on
Monday 8 Nov - Transport Google Form due - this will be emailed out on Monday 1 Nov
Friday 12 Nov - Pre-Branches day tramps, incl Activity Groups & Camps

Branches Workdays
Every year students going to Branches Camp have a ‘Branches Workday’ where they spend a day working to raise money for Branches Trust who support students and the school with Branches Camp. Depending on which camp students are on, their Workday is either: Camp 2 - Friday 3 December or Camp 1 - Friday 10 December.
With Covid again this year however it will be a little different. While students are still required to complete a workday this year they will work for a local company or community group who support the school and the Branches Camp and give back to the community. If some of these organisations are able to give a donation towards the cost of camp to help keep the costs down for students and their families that will be great, and if you are able to sponsor a student to work for a community group, eg. Happiness House, Reforestation Trust, that would be a ‘double good deed’ in that it supports a Branches student and a local community group. 
Of course if you can provide paid work for our students on workday, or if you know of any businesses or individuals who may be able to support us, we would also love to hear from you.
Please contact Jane Bamford - Volunteer Branches Trust Workday Coordinator (021 949916 or by email: jbamfordqt@gmail.com )

Bridget Janse
Branches Camp Coordinator

Extra-curricular photos now available online

If you received an email with an access code, your extra-curricular photos are now available to purchase online at www.photolife.co.nz.

Click on Order Online and enter the access key code emailed to you. Free delivery expires Midnight Sunday 3 October. If you have any queries regarding your photo orders please email enquiries@photolife.co.nz

CAM Kiwi Maths, English and Science results

This year students sat the CAM Kiwi Maths, English and Science assessments. To be awarded an Achieved award means the students are in the top 50% of competitors, to be awarded a Merit the top 25% and an Excellence is the top 10% of competitors.

Congratulations to the following students! 

English Assessment:
Excellence: Lucy Boniface, Tayah Vivian, Jess Hudson, Jared Long, Mia Pagan and Maggie Watts. 
Merit:  Madeleine Harvey, Jared Bramwell, Georgia Chinn, Nethumdi Galla Palliya Guruge, Hugh Hodgson, Anthony Hollyer, Daphne Ricketts, Leyna Van Beers, Sorcha Wilkinson and Daniel Wright. 
Achieved: Olivia Bisset, Harriet Blundell, Jude Deaker, Louis Denney, Paige Jones, Nikole Martinez, Tristan Mason,  Angus McDowell, Jessica McLister, Alice McPike, Sophie Rasmussen, Jack Smillie, Milky Tam and Toby Tregidga. 

Maths Assessment:
Excellence: Harry Seeto and Anthony Hollyer
Merit: Kieran Leftly, Paige Jones, Jared Long, Angus McDowell and Jack Trounce.
Achieved: Alisha Messingham, Tayah Vivian, Harriet Blundell, Georgia Chinn, Eliana Collins, Peter Davis, Louis Denney, Abby Fookes, Tom Martin, Alice McPike, Mia Pagan, Sophie Rasmussen, Tom Schenk, Xavier Small, Jack Smillie, Sara Warmington and Ricky Webster. 

Science Assessment: 
Achieved: Lucy Boniface, Tayah Vivian and Jack Smillie. 

7HOS Cafe - "Kai Time"

The Year 12 Hospitality students ran their second cafe for the year on Thursday this week.  Teaching and support staff came along to one of two sittings  and enjoyed excellent table service of drinks and kai. On the menu were made from scratch kiwi mince and cheese pies and a vegan curry, along with a variety of hot and cold beverages. Thanks to Miss Webster for her "Gordon Ramsay" style organisational skills, the kitchen ran like a well oiled machine.

Justine Duncan
HoLA Technology

Lead Prefect Message

Hey everyone, 

Hopefully you’re all well and the start of spring has treated you well. With only one week of the term left, and just under five weeks of Teaching & Learning left for Seniors, it’s hard to believe that it’s almost October. 

The year has definitely been a very eventful one - the last few weeks especially, with our return to school under Level 2 and School Exams for Senior Students. Given the lockdown, lots of assessments have been moved around, and seem to be all happening at once - so here’s a couple of tips to help you keep up:

• Study Effectively: split your time between assignments, and figure out what structure of learning works best for you. One popular method is the Pomodoro Technique, which allows you to divide your time effectively and still take regular breaks. 
• Make a Study Calendar: this is especially helpful for upcoming externals, and there’s lots of templates easily found online that can really help give you an overview of what you can revise when.
• If you do find yourself feeling stressed or overwhelmed, make sure you take a break and reach out to someone; listen to some music, go for a walk, call a friend, and try to keep to a regular sleep schedule. This is not only great for your mental health, it will also help your study sessions be more effective and productive.

For the Juniors, there’s still plenty going on - Semester Two Classes are in full swing. For Year 10’s, preparations for Branches Camp have begun - even with the slightly altered format, the Camp is bound to be an awesome experience and is a very exciting time for all involved. Year 9 Students are nearing the end of their Stop, Drop & Read Programme, with the final assembly next Wednesday - once again, a huge thank you to all the students, teachers and businesses involved in making this programme possible for our Year 9s. 

As well as all this, lots of extra- and co-curricular activities have been happening around the school as well. While Tournament Week was sadly cancelled due to the Lockdown, other sporting events are still going ahead - such as the NZ Secondary Schools Skiing/Snowboarding Championships, and the OREC Classes’ Snowcaving Trip up at the Remarkables. This weekend is a great time to head up the mountain a final time before the end of the ski season - the weather is looking a bit mixed, but it should be a nice few days of snowsports for anyone who’s keen. 

Next term will be quite fast-paced, with Prizegivings, Exams, Camps and of course, the completion of the House Competition - the final event being the Wakamaths competition scheduled for early in the Term - more details to be announced soon!

With the Term starting to come to an end, it’s time to put in that last little push in the next week before the holidays - when we can all relax and take a break before what will certainly be a very busy Term 4. 

Have a great weekend everyone!

Helena Hornbacher,
Academic Lead Prefect

Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW)

Next week is Mental Health Awareness Week (MHAW).  This year’s theme is take time to Kōrero. The Wellbeing Council are going to be running some amazing activities for you to take part in.

On Monday, we will be launching our MHAW Coloring in competition; pop by the library and pick one up, entries for this close Monday 18 October (First Monday Back), hand it back into Mrs Bell once you are finished. There are some vouchers up for grabs, as well as lots of Lollies. Wednesday is our big day. We will be having a Bake Sale in Te Kirikiri at Break 2, so don’t forget your cash. We will also be having a Mufti day on Friday 1 October, so don’t forget your gold coin for this. All funds raised by the Bake Sale and Mufti Day will be going towards Central Lakes Family Services.

Central Lakes Family Services is a local not-for-profit organisation providing support to people in the Queenstown area. There will also be a game of multisports on Friday in the Gym at break 2. There will be a chance for you to get some lollies on Thursday as there will be a lolly scramble in the foyer. There will be a complement board setup in the foyer for you to write compliments to people throughout the week. Be sure to follow us on Instagram @WakatipuWellbeing for updates.

Johannes Mackay
Wellbeing Council 

Arts News and Information

Important Arts Events Coming Up

Songs of the Wakatipu - Cancelled
Roger Fox Workshop - 20 October
Invercargill Jazzfest - 21 October 
Labour Weekend Jazz Performances -TBC
Cultural Blues - 26 October
Central Soundwaves - 7 November

Artist of the Week - Marigold Kunath
Marigold Kunath is doing Level Three Design and has chosen to promote the Salvation Army as her brief for the year. The first step in the design process is to devise the branding.

In her own words: '"My branding concept is to bring attention to the lives that have been lived within the second-hand clothing found in Salvation Army stores. Clothing found in Salvation Army stores is never brand new, it always has a past, a journey it has travelled before reaching you. The patterns, the fabrics, the colours hold a diversity that has travelled from person to person. My branding revolves around this. I want to carry over the use of different fabrics and patterns throughout my work along with a scruffy handwritten text to show that everything is not new but has history and character"

Sports News and Information

Get2Go Challenge - Central Otago Results
WHS had two teams compete in the Torpedo 7 Get2Go adventure race on Friday 17 September. This involved kayaking, mountain biking and orienteering. The students worked hard and had a ball. WHS came away with a well deserved first and second place. WHS1 has qualified for the national finals on Great Barrier Island in December. This is the second year in a row we will be sending a team to the national finals. Congratulations to WHS1; Tom Schenk, Jess Hudson, Jude Deaker, Mia Pagan, Peter Davis, Abby Fookes, Kate Woods, Harry Seeto. Well done also to the runners up WHS 2; Oscar McCartney, Charlie Manser, Finn McCaw, Seb Watson, Lucy Boniface, Cameron Bates, Siena Mackley, Elsbeth Purdue. A big thank you to Ms Dixon, Jayna Mackley and Rosemary McCartney for their organisation and support on the day.

SISS Ski and Board Champs
The South Island Secondary School Ski and Snowboard Champs took place at Remarks on Sunday. WHS entered two ski teams and one snowboard team into this teams based event. Our students achieved some awesome results as both teams and individuals.

NZ Torpedo 7 Slopestyle Showdown
A number of WHS students competed in the biggest event of the National Slopestyle Series last weekend at Cardrona. Congratulations to the following snow sports athletes on their results!
Madeleine Disbrowe - 3rd - Freeski Women, 1st - U14 Freeski Girls
Kaiya Collins - 3rd - Snowboard FIS Women, 3rd - Open Snowboard Women, 3rd - Snowboard Women
Harper Souness - 3rd - Freeski FIS Men, 3rd - Open Freeski Men, 3rd - Freeski Men
Brooke Hansen - 6th - Snowboard FIS Women, 5th - Open Snowboard Women, 7th - Snowboard Women
Max McDonald - 7th - Freeski FIS Men, 9th - Open Freeski men, 12th Freeski Men

NZ Junior Freeride Tour
Round 2 of the NZ Freeride Tour took place at the Remarkables on Saturday. A number of WHS students competed in this event. Highlights from the event are below, congratulations to these students!
Abbie Rooney - 2nd U14 Female
Flynn Dawson - 3rd U16 Male
Charlotte Muir - 3rd U18 Female

Alpine Skiing - Remarks Interfields
It was a very busy weekend for snow sports and another round of the junior interfield competition was held at the Remarkables over Saturday and Sunday. WHS students achieved some fantastic results which included three podiums. Well done to these ski racers!
Hyugo Saunders - 1st U16 boys 
Finn McCaw - 1st U14 boys 
April Bentley - 3rd U14 girls

Linger and Die Downhill Results
Two WHS students competed in last weekend’s Linger and Die Downhill MTB competition in Clyde. Well done to Year 10 Rory Meek who won the U17 Men’s event and Josh Bonnar who placed third in the same category

Central Otago Hockey Team - U15 Teams Named
Congratulations to the following 1st XI mixed hockey players that have been selected into the Central Otago U15 Development Teams for the 2021 season.
U15 Boys - Oliver Battrick, Hugo Bogue, Samuel Robertson-Muir
U15 Girls - Abby Fookes
These students join Ally Wilkinson, Sammy Fookes and Alex Thomson who were also selected to represent Central Otago in the U18 Women’s team that competed at the national U18 tournament in the July holidays.

WHS Rugby Awards
The annual Wakatipu High School Rugby Club prizegiving took place on Wednesday after school with players and WHS staff only. This was a lovely way to celebrate the season, thank our incredible coaching teams and acknowledge the prize winners of each team. Please see the list of recipients below. Congratulations to these players.

WHS Hockey Awards
The WHS Hockey prize giving took place today at Break 2 at school due to Level 2 restrictions. It was a nice way to bring all four teams together to celebrate the 2021 season, acknowledge prize winners and thank coaches. The award winners of each team are listed below, congratulations to these players.
WHS Mixed Gold
Most Improved Player - Seb Watson
Most Valuable Player - Peter Davis
WHS Mixed Blue
Most Improved Player - Scarlett Blundell
Most Valuable Player - Subath Wijerathna
WHS Mixed 2nd XI
Most Improved Player - Lucy McNay
Most Valuable Player - Charlotte Muir
WHS Mixed 1st XI
Best Contribution - Lucy Viggers
Most Valuable Player - Sammy Fookes

WHS Netball Awards
The Wakatipu High School Netball awards will take place at Break 2 on Wednesday 29th September in the theatre. Unfortunately as we are at level 2 this means it can only be with students and WHS staff. 

Social Sixes Hockey League
To kick off the use of the new multipurpose turf at the Event Centre Wakatipu Hockey Club in conjunction with QLDC are running a Tuesday night twilight social hockey competition in Term 4. This competition is fun for all levels and will have a Year 9-11 grade and a Year 12+ grade where seniors will play with adults. If you are keen to have some fun, try a new sport and improve your fitness, sign up on the form below. Sign ups need to be completed by Friday 1st October. This is an awesome opportunity for students!
Social Sixes Hockey Sign Ups: https://forms.gle/k4taaqeVDowYYPWo7

Junior Social Volleyball Competition
The seven week WHS Junior Social Mixed Volleyball competition got underway this week on Tuesday afternoon. There are 60 students playing across eight teams in this social development competition. A huge thank you to Year 13 student Ruby Kirk who is coordinating this competition each week.

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. https://www.facebook.com/WakatipuHighSchoolSports/ 

Laura Nathan
Director of Sport

Scholarships - Careers Department

Year 13’s students are encouraged to apply for local scholarships. At the Careers Hub we have the applications for the following local scholarships:

• The Margaret Templeton Scholarship (Closes 30 September)
  For students who would be unable to or would find it extremely difficult to obtain such a tertiary education due to circumstances beyond their control. Specifically for those who have challenging life and financial circumstances. Need to reside within the Wakatipu Basin. 
• The Ray and Elizabeth Clarkson Scholarship Application (Closes 24th October, 5pm)
  Tell us, in under 500 words, why you think it is important that students continue to
  study Humanities subjects at University? The scholarship is $1500.00 towards your expenses in 2022.  Applications can be emailed directly to tglanfield@wakatipu.school.nz 
  

NEW SCHOLARSHIP!!!!

• The Arrowtown Autumn Festival Scholarship  (Closes on 15 October).
  • Up to 2 Scholarships to be awarded to two Year 13 students at Wakatipu High School. Value $2500 per student.
  • Winners of the scholarship will have shown a willingness to support their community by giving their time; fundraising, volunteering, and/or supporting the goals of community groups. 
  • The application form can be accessed from: 
    https://www.wakatipucommunityfoundation.co.nz/scholarships

For a comprenhensive guide to a range of University, Regional, Industry and Sport Scholarships that are now open and available for our Year 13 students  to apply for.  Please refer to the attached link. Please note that many of these scholarships are closing soon! 

Student Job Vacancies

New Zealand Cherry Corp in Cromwell are looking for Cherry Pickers, lifters, Quad bike drivers and Packhouse workers for the Cherry season. 
If you are age 14 or over and willing to work from mid-December to end of January, we would love to hear from you!

Starting pay rate $20 per hour! Contact Carol on carol@nzcherrycorp.com or apply on our website www.nzcherrycorp.com.

Branches Trust 'B' Quiz Night

With uncertainty around when we will move to Level 1 we have taken the precaution of changing the date of our upcoming Quiz Night.  The new date is Friday November 12.  This new date is now at the end of week 4 of Term 4 and it coincides with the Year 10 Branches practice tramp – it will be a very Branches day for our Year 10 families!

Table sizes are now 8 (previously advertised as 6) and will be $200 per table which includes finger food throughout the night.   To book a table please email branchestrust@gmail.com and we will revert back with confirmation of your table and bank details for payment.   Your ticket will then be emailed to you.  We have limited capacity at the Lake Hayes Pavilion so make sure you get in quick!    

If you would like to support this event further then please know we are looking for prizes for the silent auction and raffles.  We know these are difficult times so anything you can offer would be very gratefully received.

Kia kaha
Branches Trust

WHS Foundation

Community Notices

Queenstown Lakes Christmas Show Auditions Auditions: Saturday 30th October Ages 8-11: 1.00pm – 2:30 pm Ages 12-18: 3:00pm – 4:00pm Do you or do you know a young person who would be interested in auditioning for the 2021 Christmas Show!? Auditions are open to all children aged from 8-18 years. Complete the Audition Form through our Website