WHS Newsletter | Issue 1.02 | 11 February 2022

Principal's Message

Kia ora & welcome to the Wakatipu High School newsletter at the end of Week 2 - another short week, but another good week of teaching and learning here. Despite Covid constraints we have had online assemblies with all five year levels during Ako time this week. While we would of course have preferred to have met with the students in person, ‘needs must’ and digital technology serves us well in these situations. Similarly, the Greenstone Camp parent information evening was run online on Wednesday evening - thanks to all of the parents who joined us re this important camp meeting (and click here for a recording).

2021 Academic Results continued - we have now received our scholarship results and I am very pleased to let you know that our students achieved 16 Scholarships last year (well up on the previous year’s 10). Scholarship is optional and undertaken by our top scholars - and preparing for them often includes extra tutorials before and/or after school throughout the year. Achieving a scholarship is the pinnacle of academic achievement in a subject. Please see below for the list of students who achieved scholarships, including the subject and their teacher. Of note are the three Year 12 students who achieved scholarships as well as those who achieved multiple scholarships, but congratulations go to all of the students who achieved scholarships - well done!

Also in terms of academic achievement, something that I note at this time of year is the total value of tertiary scholarships gained by our students last year - which for 2021 was $360,000. Again this is a significant sum of money and of great assistance to students and families. The scholarships primarily recognise academic achievement but many also recognise the all-round abilities of our students.

Covid - continues to be a feature of life with schools operating in Red, with the additional reality check of confirmed cases in Queenstown yesterday. You may recall that in my Covid email before school started I said that our aims were to keep people safe and to endeavour to keep school open and running onsite. Related, we had a meeting with the Head Contact Tracer for the Southern region yesterday. It was very useful - including in our context of being an open ILE school. She reiterated the importance of mask-wearing, to reduce both transmission and the number of students and staff identified as close contacts who then have to isolate and be away from school. The meeting supported the positions we have taken on operating in Red, including re mask-wearing and other aspects of school, especially in these early phases of the Omicron wave, and gave us ideas for next steps as cases increase. The meeting did also reinforce that we may well go to remote teaching and learning for a period if we have numbers of staff and/or students absent from school.

For your information I have included important reminders from Southern District Health Board re what we all need to do re Covid - particularly in Queenstown now:

• If you have any symptoms (no matter how mild) get a test and stay at home until you get the result
• If you do not have any symptoms – check the locations of interest – please only get a test if you have been asked to by Public Health. 
• Get your booster (or get vaccinated) - if you’re eligible and haven’t already.
• Make sure you wear your mask
• Check in with your QR codes everywhere you go
• Physically distance, wash/sanitise your hands, and keep up good hygiene measures.

Following are a number of reminders and things to note:

Extracurricular Expo - while online only this year, is still a very important opportunity for students to sign up for one of the many extracurricular activities which are such an important part of our all-round education. Please encourage your student to sign up and make the most of these important opportunities at WHS.

NCEA - on Tuesday 22 February we have an online parent information evening on NCEA. The evening is primarily for parents of Year 11 students who are sitting NCEA for the first time this year, and especially for parents new to NCEA this is a really important evening. More details to come, but please put it in your calendar.

PUM - also on Tuesday the 22nd, the PPTA are holding a paid union meeting in the afternoon, which means that school will finish early and buses will run from 1.50pm that day.

WHS App - a reminder that this is an absolutely key communication channel for us, where you can do everything from read the newsletter to notify student absence, as well as get all-important ‘snow day’ alerts. Especially new parents, please ensure you’ve got the WHS App on your device (and see below for more).

Uniform - again, it is important that students are wearing the correct uniform correctly and this week we have been checking that students have the correct uniform items (and parents of students for whom this is an issue have been emailed). Please see Mr Gilbertson’s piece below. Thank you in anticipation of your support with the uniform.

Awhi Fund - again, we are aware that starting the school year can be expensive, and we are able to support families financially through our ‘Awhi’ (Support) Fund. For more information or to apply please click here or contact one of our Guidance Counsellors.

Another great newsletter follows, including a piece on Helena Hornbacher who has been awarded a second ICAS medal - outstanding!!

A mixed weekend of weather with cooler temps and cloudier skies - I hope you get to enjoy it :).

Steve Hall
Principal

WHS SZ App

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

 Apple Devices

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

 Android Devices

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

NCEA Scholarship Recipients

Congratulations to the following students
Sebastian Cera (Yr 12)   -  Spanish - (Mr. Henderson)
Mia Crawshay  -   Design (Ms. Koehn)
Jasmine Crichton   -  Geography (Mrs. Ray)
Hannah Gaboda   -  Design & Photography (Ms. Koehn & Mrs. Brown)
Alice Gilbert  -   Biology (Mr. Gilbert)
Fineen Hingston   -  Drama (Mr. Hansen)
Helena Hornbacher (Yr 12)  -   Drama & German ( Mr. Hansen & Correspondence)
Elke Koehn  -   Design & Photography (Ms. Koehn & Mrs. Brown)
Marigold Kunath   -  Design (Ms. Koehn)
Sienna Lodge  -   Design & Photography (Ms. Koehn & Mrs. Brown)
Jacob Wilkinson (Yr 12)  -   Calculus & Physics (Mr. Richards & Ms. Murray)

ICAS Medal

Kia ora!

As 2021 came to a close Helena Hornbacher achieved some outstanding results, including, but not limited to - an Excellence endorsement in Year 13 Calculus, a scholarship in German and Drama as well as an ICAS Medal for being the top student in the Year 12 English assessment from all students in NZ and the Pacific. We're also pleased to announce that Helena has also been awarded top student in Year 12 in the ICAS Writing assessment and thus has gained another medal! 

To be awarded a medal is an outstanding achievement, but to get two is incredible. It is a testament to Helena's attitude towards her education and her ability to self-manage and persevere through difficult times that makes her an incredible role model to everyone here at Wakatipu High School. 

Congratulations Helena, and all the best for 2022!

Kyle Jackson
Gifted Coordinator

Uniforms

Many of you would have read my piece in the newsletter last week. Over the course of the last week or so we have focused on informing students about our uniform expectations via assemblies, the newsletter, contact home, and conversations from kaiārahi. Our expectation is that all uniform issues are resolved by Tuesday 15 February, after which we will begin to enforce our uniform expectations with students. If you need any support with issues related to uniform then please see my piece from the newsletter last week.

Students should be seeing their kaiārahi on a Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at Ako time or Student Services on a Tuesday and Thursday at Break 1 if they have non-regulation uniform and need a uniform pass. A reminder that all senior students should be wearing the school tie and that for juniors it is optional during the month of February only. 

Ryan Gilbertson
Acting Deputy Principal

Review and Reconsiderations of 2021 Externally Assessed NCEA Standards

You can apply for a review or reconsideration of your results for externally assessed NCEA standards and New Zealand Scholarship subjects. The following information covers how to apply for an NCEA reconsideration or review for all subjects and levels.

After looking closely at your marked exams online or Level 3 Visual Arts Results Card or portfolios when they are available/returned in late January, you may want to apply for a review or reconsideration of your results.

If you think a standard that you completed is missing some or all of its content, or a grade score has been calculated or reported incorrectly, you will need to apply for a review. A review does not involve re-marking and there is no charge. 

If you would like your marked exam remarked, you will need to apply for a reconsideration. For standards where you've received your exam materials, you will need to include these in your application for a review or reconsideration.

You must not alter or add to your exam material or portfolios in any way. Exam materials or portfolios that contain correcting fluid or pencil will not be accepted for review or reconsideration. They may be investigated as a breach of exam rules.

Reconsiderations for NCEA Level 3 Visual Arts

We recommend that you get advice from your school before deciding whether to apply for a reconsideration in Visual Arts. 

You’ll need to provide printed 4xA4-size colour photographs, one of each panel of your portfolio and one of the entire board. Send these and your signed Authenticity Declaration to the address provided on the Reconsiderations section of your Student Login. Don’t attempt to email the photos as the files will be too big. 

If you’re applying for reconsiderations in more than one field or for both level 3 and Scholarship in the same field, a separate application should be completed online for each standard and separate photographs sent for each application.

Please note:

• All marked NCEA standards completed on paper (for 2021 end of year exams) will be scanned and loaded onto your Student Login. Marked exams will not be returned in the mail.
• Physically submitted Design and Visual Communication and Technology portfolios and folders are returned to the school.
• Physically submitted Level 3 and NZ Scholarship Visual Arts portfolios/workbooks are returned to students by mail.
• Read more about the return of examination material.
• You don't need to send in a copy of your marked exam for review or reconsideration if your marked exam is online.
• If you're going to apply for a review of reconsideration, don't order your result documents until after that process has been completed.

NCEA Reviews

How to apply:

1. Download and print the personalised Request Review application form from your Student Login.
   Note: The form won't be available until after marked materials are returned, or are available online. 
2. Read the instructions on the form and complete the relevant sections.
3. The form must be signed by the student or nominated person (if the latter, NZQA needs written advice from the student as authorisation).

House Competition - Touch Rugby

Despite an initial spanner in the works with Participation Day not running as scheduled on Friday 4 February, house competition comes back to life with house touch kicking off from Monday. There will be a mixed junior and senior competition running over the course of the week with finals on Monday 21 February. From there, there will an almighty clash of the titans with a staff versus students game planned for Tuesday 22 February. Students, get yourselves involved and may the best house win!

Ryan Gilbertson
Acting Deputy Principal

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Deputy Head Student Address

Kia Ora, 

I hope everyone has had a great long weekend and enjoyed another week of school, finishing with the 'Funky Sock Friday' with the gold coin donation going to the Queenstown Cancer Society. Hopefully you have all started to settle into your classes for the year and got back into a routine. I know the days can feel long and that getting back into the swing of things can take time, but at this moment I encourage you to take advantage of the opportunities that will arise and to get yourselves involved in new things!

Speaking of new things, this Friday saw the Extra Curricular 'Expo', and although this is being run virtually (a  very different format to usual), we hope that it is still a great success. To the Yr 9s, I really recommend that you get involved in as many things as you can, and don’t be afraid to try new things - seize these opportunities and experiment with what's on offer at WHS! To everyone else, I challenge you to sign up for something new this year - you might surprise yourself. I know we often do the same things every year, but I challenge you to step out of your comfort zone and to pick something different. 

A great example for trying something new is the 2022 Student Councils. The Student Councils are an extremely important part of Wakatipu High School and the voice of the student body. They are an integral part of many of the decisions made at our school and are a great way to work with the student leaders. The council applications will be emailed on Sunday the 13 February and will close on Friday the 18  February. It won't take much of your time, and is a great way to get involved in the goings on at WHS! 

With trying new things however, make sure you stay balanced and get a good routine set in place. Having a routine is a great way to stay organised and on top of everything and I recommend that you do this now, at the start of the school year. Make sure you include some time for yourself, some time to relax. Being involved in everything is great, but you want to make sure you have time to recharge so you can approach everything with all your energy. 

Over the past two weeks the student leadership team have been voicing our five ‘whys’ to the school, and how we are going to use these to influence positive change at Wakatipu High School. We once again want to say, if there is something on this list that you don’t like or something that could be added or improved, please reach out. Listening to the student voice is important to us all so don't be afraid to let us know!

Our five 'whys' :

• People care about each other, are kind, and feel safe
• People feel like they have a say
• People feel proud and enjoy being at WHS 
• Promoting a culture of success
• Wellbeing is valued

That's all from me! Enjoy your weekend and see you all next week!

Sophie Thompson
Deputy Head Girl
Whanaungatanga Lead Prefect

Arts News And Information

MUSIC DEPARTMENT

Information regarding Itinerant music lessons and activities within the Music department has been emailed to all Y9 students who are timetabled in Music classes. There are also meetings happening for students at all levels wanting to be in bands or groups. If students miss the meetings they are welcome to come and see us in the Music Department at break times.  Questions can also be directed to Alison Price at aprice@wakatipu.school.nz.

Sports and Active Recreation News

Extracurricular Sign Ups 2022
This year we have moved all extracurricular sign ups online via Google Classroom. All students were emailed a comprehensive list of available activities at WHS as well as a number of external organisations to register their interest with. To see the instructions and the full list of activities click here. More information regarding activities can be found on our school website: https://www.wakatipu.school.nz/extracurricular.html and we encourage families to discuss the commitments and requirements of activities together. Details will be posted to each classroom for students to find out more information. Google Classroom is how teachers in charge of activities will communicate with students and email will be used to communicate to both students and parents/caregivers around important details, events, costs etc.

Vaccine Certificates Required for Many Sports
A large number of sports, competitions and tournaments require students to have vaccine certificates in order to compete in extracurricular activities at a local, regional, South Island and national level. This has been determined by the relevant national sporting body, School Sport NZ and/or the specific facility where games are played. As a school we are required to sight and declare that all participants have vaccine certificates before we can enter teams and individuals into competitions, tournaments and events. As such we ask that all students please load their vaccine certificates onto the school portal as soon as possible. This can be done through the Details section under the COVID Vaccination Status tab.

Round 3 NZ Downhill MTB Results
It was a great Round 3 of the NZ Downhill MTB Series for WHS students, racing on home turf at Coronet Peak last weekend. Another stellar performance from Year 9 Malik Boatwright makes it three wins from three for the Year 9 student. Awesome to see a number of riders on the podium. Round four takes place in Dunedin this weekend. Congratulations to the following riders:
Malik Boatwright - 1st U15 Male
Rory Meek - 1st U17 Male
Toby Meek - 2nd U19 Male 
Josh Bonnar - 3rd U19 Male 
Reon Fernandez - 5th U17 Male
Ben Blewitt - 6th U19 Male
Taaroa Malmezac - 11th U17 Male

Jess Blewitt’s Professional MTB Contract
There was an awesome article in the Mountain Scene a couple of weeks ago about 2020 graduate Jess Blewitt who has been offered a professional mountain biking contract with GT factory racing in their team of six. Jess becomes the first NZ female rider to be offered a professional contract. Great stuff Jess! Check out the article here. 

Junior Boys Cricket Final
WHS wishes our Junior Boys Cricket team all the very best for the Otago final of the Junior Boys NZC tournament against Otago Boys High School in Alex on Sunday. It is the first time WHS has made it through to the final of this knock out tournament. The winner of this match will be the Otago representative at the New Zealand Junior Boys finals in Palmerston North at the end of March. Six teams qualify for the national finals. All the very best for the match boys!

Opportunities for Involvement

WHS Athletic Development Programme Term 1 2022
The Wakatipu High School Athletic Development Programme (ADP) is an opportunity for students to gain further knowledge and support to improve fundamental movement skills and personal athletic performance. The ADP is strength and conditioning training based on long term athletic development models and aims to ensure all students are capable and proficient to operate in a performance training environment. The ADP is open to all students who seek to improve their personal performance and outcomes in sport and physical activity. It is run each term for eight weeks, on site at WHS, two mornings a week. Sessions will run from 7am-8am Tuesday and Thursday mornings from Weeks 4 to 11 this Term. Please complete this Expression of Interest form by Monday 14 February to be sent further details and information regarding the programme in early Week 3.

Otago/Southland Waterskiing Champs
These are taking place on Sunday 20 February and anyone interested in competing can register directly through this google form.

Queenstown Associated Football Club (QAFC)
Registrations are now open for our 2022 Junior Season. Full details are at the following link: QAFC 2022 Registrations.
Registrations close on Sunday 6th March. Register by 27 February to go into the draw to win your subs back! Full pre season info

Golf Opportunity
The Grip it and Rip it sessions are back at the Frankton Golf Course from Monday 14 February for eight weeks. Check out the flyer below for more details. 

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

Careers - Job Vacancies for Students

Gibbston Valley have some great part-time/casual roles available!

We have the following roles up for grabs:

HOUSEKEEPER:
Perform routine duties in cleaning and servicing of guest rooms and property under supervision of Housekeeping Manager/Supervisor.

• Hours: between 8:30am-5pm (shifts will be roughly 5 hours)
• Must be available to work at least one weekend day

GREETER/HOST:
We are looking for a friendly host to greet customers as they enter Gibbston Valley Wine and scan vaccine passes! You will need to be confident talking to people, making them feel welcome.

• Hours: 10am – 5pm
• Must be available to work at least one weekend day

KITCHEN HAND:
As the kitchen hand you will maintain the cleanliness of the kitchen by cleaning dishes and helping chefs where required.

• Hours: 10am – 5pm
• Must be available to work at least one weekend day

Reliable transport and proof of vaccination is essential for these roles!
To apply for the following roles please email you CV through to hr@gibbstonvalley.com
Or call Breslin Graham on 021 023 99004 for more information.

We look forward to hearing from you!

WHS Foundation

Community Notices