WHS Newsletter | Issue 4.02 | 29 October 2021

Principal's Message

Kia ora and welcome to the Wakatipu High School newsletter at the end of a short second week. A shorter piece from me too this week, which begins with the presentation of our 2022 student leaders to the school this morning.

Covid prevented us from doing it as we normally would, i.e. gathering as a whole school in Te Kirikiri, so we ran a ceremony with the student leaders and livestreamed it to the rest of the school as we really wanted to acknowledge these important positions. In my words I thanked our outgoing 2021 Head Students, Lead Prefects, BoT representative and House Leaders for their contribution to WHS in 2021, and congratulated and welcomed the incoming leaders. See below for the names and pictures of our 2022 student leaders.

Keeping with Covid and following my words last week re the guidance on significant ceremonies and events, Cultural and Sporting Blues are now on Tuesday and Thursday next week. As per last week, unfortunately we can not have external guests and parents, so the times have moved from the evening to after school at 4.30pm. While this may seem like a strange time it is because with us currently using the theatre for English classes we have to change it from a classroom to a theatre before the ceremony.

Similarly, senior prizegiving has exercised our attention this week and we have decided that senior prizegiving will be for Year 11-13 prizewinners and Year 13s who wish to attend, on the afternoon of Thursday 11th. We will livestream the announcement of the Dux and their speech to the school just before midday that day, when school will finish for students not attending prizegiving, and we will also livestream the prizegiving so that parents can watch it. More details on all of this next week.

Finally re significant events, we live in hope that the junior prizegivings and Graduation may be able to run with parents present and we will keep a watching brief as these events are still a number of weeks away.

Given all of the above, we encourage our students to get vaccinated and again below have included a range of information re vaccinations.

When I spoke to the school this morning I thanked everyone for the way in which they are continuing to get on with teaching and learning with us being cosy for space and rooming, and it has been another good week here despite the Phase 2 work.

There are now only single-digit days of school left for seniors - with last internal assessments due and revision for externals in classes in full-swing. Please support students to do their very best as the end of school year approaches for them.

Another nice newsletter below, with a fine piece from Deputy Head Boy, Will Cooper, and great sports results - including the 1st XIs first ever win in the McCullum Cup, awesome!

Mr Nathan will be doing the honours on the newsletter next week, but for now another reasonable weekend of weather ahead with tomorrow looking best for getting outdoors and mowing the lawns :)

Steve Hall
Principal

Vaccine Information

Vaccination is an important topic right now. Here are some videos and articles from a wide variety of sources if you are looking for more information. 

Videos

• Nigel Latta, Dr Maia Brewerton and Dr Helen Petousis-Harris recently answered questions in a Facebook live event.
• Dr Ashley Bloomfield, Dr Nikki Turner, Dr Siouxsie Wiles and Dr Vanisi Prescott recently answered questions about the COVID-19 Vaccine, moderated by Mihingarangi Forbes.
• Mihingarangi Forbes sat down with Dr Hinemoa Elder to discuss some key concerns and hesitancies.
• Vax Facts with Māori Doctors: Dr Anthony Jordan, Dr Papaarangi Reid, Dr Rawiri McKree-Jansen, Dr Maia Brewerton (specialists and activists in Māori health) take phone calls from the Public about Covid and the Vaccine. (Most callers are unvaccinated.)
• Clinical psychologist Rachel Prebble explains how to talk to friends and whānau in this video create an opportunity for open, safe conversations which build trust and enable change over time
• A fun and informative item on the Hahana Facebook page with answers to lots of vaccine questions.
• A rangatahi panel with Dr Jason Tuhoe to kōrero about the vaccine from different perspectives (vaccinated, vaccine hesitant, wants to be vaccinated but whānau pressure not to).
• Watch a discussion between four health professionals where they share their thoughts, knowledge and experiences of the COVID vaccine in Straight Up with Dr. Lily Fraser – The Panel.

Articles

• Why some people struggle to change their minds about vaccination is a video and article in The Whole Truth series on Stuff.
• Talking to vaccine hesitant people – an article on the World Health Organization website, also available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Portuguese and Spanish.
• A recent article in The Herald where University of Auckland vaccinologist Associate Professor Helen Petousis-Harris looks at 10 vaccine myths circulating on social media.
• In this The Spinoff article, Kate Hannah (a cultural historian at Te Pūnaha Matatini) shares some thoughts on how to talk to loved ones who are vaccine hesitant.

2022 Head Students

Congratulations to our new Head Students, Lead Prefects, House Leaders and Deputy postions announced this morning at our student leadership assembly.

HEAD GIRL - Sofia Taquet
HEAD BOY - James Scoles
DEPUTY HEAD STUDENTS - Alix Long, Sophie Thompson, Sam Davis

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Branches Camp

Branches Camps are only 4 weeks away (NB: the camps can run if we are at Alert Level 2 or Alert Level 1). The third Student Meeting about Branches Camp was held this morning. It included a reminder about key events, dates and Work Day. The Branches Camp Gear List was discussed. A copy of this has been posted on the Branches Google Classroom. Essential items are highlighted on the gear list. These are fundamental for personal safety for many of the activities at camp and will be checked before students go to Branches Camp. 

Transport for students into and out of Branches is provided by parents with suitable 4WD vehicles. A Google Form will be sent out to all parents/caregivers on Monday next week. All parents need to complete this form, even if you do not have a 4WD. This is to establish how many students need a ride into and out of camp. Students will be advised which camp they are on, with the list posted on the Branches Google Classroom on Monday. You should ask your child to share it with you/show you before you complete the Transport Google Form.
Students were also reminded that poor behaviour choices at school could jeopardise their attendance at Branches. 
The next student meeting is on Monday 8th November to prepare for the Pre-Branches Tramps on Friday.

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:
Monday 1 Nov - Students advised which Camp they are on; Transport Google Form sent out
Monday 8 Nov - Transport Google Form due 
Friday 12 Nov - Pre-Branches day tramps, essential gear check, incl Activity Groups

Branches Student 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

Mahu Whenua Inspiring Explorers™ Team

Antarctic Heritage Trust recently selected a team of seven Inspiring Explorers from across Aotearoa to be a part of the first official expedition to cross the Mahu Whenua Traverse. The team included two students from Wakatipu High School.

The Mahu Whenua Traverse is a new 50-kilometre route through the Harris Mountains between Treble Cone and Coronet Peak. It features ‘Turk’ accommodation – 26,000-litre water tanks that have been converted into huts. Antarctic Heritage Trust pioneered Turk huts in Antarctica, at its field camp established to support the restoration of Borchgrevink’s huts at remote Cape Adare.

Due to snow conditions, the traverse was postponed from its original date in August until September and unfortunately, the COVID-19 outbreak delayed the expedition further. It has been decided that the snow conditions would make it unsafe to undertake the full traverse this year.  Instead, the Inspiring Explorers met in Queenstown for three days of team building and skills training in preparation for the 2022 Inspiring Explorers ExpeditionTM Mahu Whenua Traverse.

After having the opportunity to connect and learn about the Trust’s work conserving the early explorer bases in Antarctica and inspiring the next generation of explorers, the team joined expedition guides Steve Schreiber and Thomas Vallietet for mountain safety refresher training in transceiver use. The guides also assessed the team’s backcountry skiing skills. On day two the team headed out for a day of ski-touring in Soho Basin along with an avalanche exercise scenario. On the final day, the team tramped into one of the Mountain Turk Club’s alpine huts known as ‘Turks’.   The team are already enthusiastically looking towards next year’s expedition and enjoyed meeting each other and improving their skills.

Inspiring Explorer Emily Wilson reflected that exploration is important to her because it’s about facing the unknown. “It’s about building that resilience and confidence in yourself to be able to face things that you might not expect. I feel like I always need to work on being more comfortable with being uncomfortable. Putting yourself in those situations is a really good opportunity to grow," says Emily. 

Thanks to sponsors Queenstown Park Boutique Hotel and The Remarkables and Coronet Peak ski fields.

Antarctic Heritage Trust
A couple of weeks ago, we were fortunate enough to spend three days with the Antarctic Heritage Trust up The Remarkables and Soho Basin as part of the Mahu Whenua Inspiring Explorers™ Team. We learnt about the history of the Antarctic Heritage Trust and the Inspiring Explorer's™ programme they run that we are fortunate enough to be a part of. 

The Antarctic Heritage Trust has run programmes such as ours for the last 6 years with the hope of connecting the youth of New Zealand with the legacy that the trust protects. Our main trip was postponed till next year due to a lack of snow, so we spent two days on the snow learning and developing our avalanche skills and getting to know the group of people we would do the traverse with. 

Cameron and I would both like to say a huge thank you to the Antarctic Heritage Trust and school for providing us with this amazing opportunity and would like to encourage you to go and look at their website and see all the amazing work the Antarctic Heritage Trust has done. 

Sam Davis and Cameron Marshall

Deputy Head Boy Message

Kia ora all,

Week 2 was a quick one coming off the back end of labour weekend, I hope you all enjoyed the long weekend, I sure did after taking out the McCullum Cup in Dunedin with the rest of the Wakatipu High School First XI going a flawless 4 from 4, our Second XI also pulled through, tying for the shield with OBHS Colts, both are reasonably young teams and it’s great seeing the talent coming through in the school. 

Bit of a worrying week for some with the first Delta Variant COVID cases making their way into the South Island in Blenheim and Christchurch, luckily we’re remaining at level 2 and still staring down the barrel of level 1. We’ve all been extremely lucky to have been able to attend school and events and live our lives practically uninterrupted aside from the obvious lack of tourism to the region. To the seniors, I hope you’re not closing up shop in your brains expecting end of year exams to be cancelled, because oh boy would it be bad if you got caught up in late night cram study sessions instead of getting a head start on your studies now. 

For all our Year 13’s, I’m sure this week was a real shock, with the google form being sent out, asking you to reflect on your favourite moments from highschool, we’ve all come a long way, more grown, found ourselves and our people, and it’s been great to have shared the mantle of the class of 2021 with you all. I look forward to hearing about all the adventures our cohort undergoes next year, and I wish you all the best no matter which path you pursue, whether you want to further your education through university, choose to take a gap year, or even jump on the building site.

For the rest of the students, I hope you enjoy your time at highschool now, because the end of Year 13 really creeps up on you, and before you know it it’s there, and you’ve got to move on to the next part of your journey. My time at Wakatipu will never be lost. Ad Alta.

Signing off for the last time,

Will Cooper
Deputy Head Boy, Sports Lead Prefect

Library Books

The library will be sending out overdue emails to students next week and then charging students for their overdue books the following week. Please try to return all school library books and English reading books as soon as possible. As always, if you return a book after it has been charged for, the charge will be reversed AND we would prefer to have our book than your money! 

Arts New and Information

Important Arts Events Coming Up
Cultural Blues - 2 November
Central Soundwaves - 7 November

Central Sound Waves 2021  
DATE: Sunday, November 7th, 2021.  
TIME: 5.30pm - 9.30pm (approx)  
VENUE: Yonder Queenstown.  

Registrations are now open : http://whakatipuyouthtrust.co.nz/product-category/events

Please register ASAP. This includes soloists and bands. 

Jazz Band Plays in Arrowtown
Last Saturday the WHS Jazz Band performed at the New Orleans Hotel and the Fork and Tap in Arrowtown. The Big Band performed their set for 30 mins at each venue. Past WHS music students happened to be watching in the crowd and joined in to jam with the students at the end of each set. It was a very exciting way for the students to end their final public performance for the year.

2022 Musical - Heathers (High School Edition) 
We are excited to announce that the 2022 Musical will be "Heathers". 

The cast and company have now been chosen for next year's musical. All students were sent an email with important dates and apps to use. Parents and caregivers will be given an update closer to the end of term. 

Sports News and Information

McCullum Cup
It was a historic weekend for Wakatipu High School Cricket with two teams competing in the McCullum Cup, a preseason T20 tournament in Dunedin. The 1st XI beat Otago Boys High School, Waitaki Boys and for the first time ever Kings High School to win the Cup division. This is a milestone achievement for WHS and Queenstown Cricket! A number of players had some great performances including Oscar Pullar who finished with a 7 wicket haul across two games, Mason Clarke’s 39 against Kings and Toby Hart’s 38 against Waitaki Boys. These games were incredibly close and the team demonstrated grit, composure and determination to pull out wins against these boys schools to be crowned 1st XI champs for the first time. 

We are so proud of these players. A huge thank you to coaches Damien O’Connell and Bevan Clarke and manager Mike Cooper. It was also a great way for a number of Year 13’s who have made a significant contribution to WHS cricket over the last five years to end their secondary school cricket days. Thank you to Toby Hart, Will Cooper, Todd Vermeir, Finley Young, Albie O’Connell and CJ Kemp for being outstanding role models and contributors to cricket.

The 2nd XI also had an awesome tournament finishing up as joint winners of the Shield grade, alongside Otago Boys, an excellent effort which included playing some Dunedin school’s 1st XI’s. Stand out performances in the 2nd XI were Hugo Bogue with a combined total of 114 runs, Anthony Hollyer 57 runs and Jack Gallie with 6 wickets. Thank you to coaches Matt Hollyer, Greg Trounce and Mr McNamara. An excellent start to the cricket season for these players.
Ka Mauka Whakatipu!

Otago Country U19 Girls Cricket
Seven WHS players represented Otago Country in the U19 Girls Cricket District Tournament in Oamaru over Labour Weekend. They were Paige Loggenberg (co-captain), Lucy Viggers, Mia Williamson, Sorcha Wilkinson, Abby Fookes, Eva Hemingway and Stella Rhind. The team won against Southland and lost to Dunedin and North Otago. Paige Loggenberg was named Otago Country MVP for the tournament. Well done girls, it is great to see so many Queenstown cricket players in the OC team!

Waka Ama
Wakatipu High School entered a Waka Ama crew for the first time over the weekend at the KI UTA KI TAI WAKA Southland Competition in Te Anau. The team consisted of Year 10 students; Sophie Bulling, Mis Bulling-Eady, Izzy Burgess, Lucia Marshall, Rosa McBride and Baylee Rapata-Fish. The Junior 16 Girls crew won their 5km event against crews from James Hargest and Verdon. A huge thank you to all of the efforts from Frances Piacun, Leon Williams and Sally Bulling from the Wakatipu Waka Ama Club who have coached these girls and provided all of the resources and equipment.

Volleyball
A huge weekend of challenge and development was had by the Year 9A and Year 10A Girls Volleyball teams in Christchurch. The teams competed in an invitational tournament against a number of power house schools like Christchurch Girls, Burnside, Cashmere and St Andrew's to name a few. The Year 9's managed one win against Lincoln High School while the Year 10's were unable to notch up a W. The focus of this awesome opportunity was to get our teams more regular, quality games against secondary school teams so that our players can continue to develop and learn. Mission accomplished! The intensity and quality of training has already improved since the weekend. A huge thank you to coaches Mrs Panapa and Steve Henderson for all of their tireless efforts and passion to grow volleyball at WHS and Rachel Vermeir for being an all star camp mum!

Cancellations of South Island and NZSS Events
School Sport NZ communicated on Wednesday that all events on their calendar for the rest of the year have been cancelled. While this is not surprising given the current situation in NZ it has significantly affected a number of WHS athletes who were due to compete in South Island and national events at the end of this year including the:
South Island Secondary Schools Junior Volleyball tournament in Nelson
Get2Go National Finals on Great Barrier Island
New Zealand Secondary School Athletic Champs in Inglewood
New Zealand Secondary School Touch Champs in Rotorua
We feel for the 60 or so students who have missed out on these events this year. Competing in local and regional events will have to remain the immediate focus of school sport for the foreseeable future. 

Central Otago Girls Development Cricket
10 students have made up the WHS Girls Development Team for another season of Central Otago cricket. The team attended a festival day in Cromwell on Wednesday afternoon where they enjoyed developing their skills and knowledge in a fun environment before playing against Mt Aspiring College…… The competition runs from Week two to six.

Waterpolo Game
The WHS Senior Waterpolo team is competing in their very first secondary school game on Monday 1st November 10am at the Event Centre. The team is playing Verdon College who regularly compete at the South Island Champs. This will be a great measure of where we sit as a school and help us to identify areas of improvement on the road to competing at next year’s SISS Waterpolo Champs. All the best to the team!

Youth and Masters Bouldering Champs
We wish all of the WHS students competing in this weekend’s La Sportiva Youth and Masters Bouldering Champs at the Basecamp Adventure Centre in Queenstown all the very best for round one of the national 2021/22 series. 

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

Student Job Vacancies

Looking for work over Summer?            

Why not come and work in one of our local Orchards or Packhouses

Pure Pac Ltd is Cromwell’s newest state of the art Export Cherry Packhouse, operating for the first time in December 2017.  We grow, pick and pack all our own cherries and have a variety of positions available in both the Orchard and Packhouse.  Our positions start from Mid-December and finish end of January so perfect timing to earn some money over the school holidays!

Look us up at www.purepac.nz  then click on “Join Our Team” for more information on the opportunities available this season.

We welcome applications from any student from 15 years up.  Unfortunately due to our compliance regulations we cannot employ anyone under 15 years of age.

If any of these positions sounds like you and you are a keen, hard worker with the ability to work in a fast paced team environment flick us an email at hr@purepac.nz or give us a call to chat further on 0273877163

Looking for school leavers who may be interested in working in the civil construction industry. Wilsons are a locally owned and operated company based in Queenstown, with branches in Cromwell and Invercargill as well.

Wilson Contractors has opportunities for entry level civil construction workers. Ideally you would hold a full class 1 licence.  Wilsons also have a role for an apprentice Fitter/Turner/Machinist which would be based in the Kingston Workshop. 

If interested please send a CV and cover letter to Kim Clearwater | Human Resources Coordinator - kim@wilsoncontractors.co.nz 

KINROSS  has an after school / weekend / school holiday job available, starting immediately.  This role is for a dish-hand in our kitchen team.  Hours can be to suit school and study commitments.  It would be on a casual contract at $20 per hour.

Any interested students can contact Christine on the below email christine@kinross.nz

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.

Waste Management NZ has a summer job!
The role involves riding an electric trike in Wanaka to service, clean and maintain public rubbish bins in the CBD and along the waterfront from approximately 12 to 5pm daily Monday to Sunday. Desire to have two students job share this role. 

Full training would be provided for this very relaxed and chilled job. A pre-requisite of the role is a reliable, outgoing and confident personality.For the right candidates we are offering $22.00 per hour.

Applications to Sean Cronin M: +64 27 675 2159 E: scronin@wastemanagement.co.nz

Branches Trust- B Quiz Night

‘Beginning with B’ BRANCHES QUIZ NIGHT – Friday 12 November 2021

I have two pieces of information regarding the upcoming Branches Trust Quiz Night, firstly that we have decided we will continue to run this event even at Level 2 with slightly fewer tables allowing for increased social distancing.  Secondly, as a result of that the Quiz is now SOLD OUT!! 

 The organising committee of Branches Trustees and Year 10 parents are working hard to put on a great night out!  We are still on the hunt for prizes, prizes, prizes ... we would be very happy with anything big or small, in fact small would be excellent given our current climate.  If you are a business that cannot give a voucher yourself why not consider buying a hospitality or excursion voucher to donate or perhaps a supermarket voucher, just about everyone would appreciate those!   This quiz and it’s proceeds are 100% for our Year 10 Branches kids, if you can donate anything then please contact Belinda at branchestrust@gmail.com to arrange for delivery or the item can be left at school with Erin Tapp.

Many thanks

BRANCHES TRUST

WHS Foundation

Community Notices

Otago Regional Council is developing a new Land and Water Regional Plan including rules and regulations for land and water use in your area and they would love your input. They will be in:

• Frankton on Wednesday 17 November at the Queenstown Events Centre
• Wanaka on Thursday 18 November at the Lake Wanaka Centre

Meeting times: 12:30-2pm or 7-8:30pm. Drop-in before or between the meetings to chat with them. For more  details and background information go to: www.orc.govt.nz/UpperLakes
NB: Please do not attend these meetings if you have cold or flu symptoms or waiting for the results of a COVID-19 test.