WHS Newsletter | Issue 1.09 | 08 April 2022

Associate Principal's Message

Kia ora e hoa mā, 

This morning our Head Students spoke to the school through the intercom, as part of our ‘Friday Features’, a new initiative this year in which we communicate with the whole school during the last 5 minutes of Ako time on Monday and Friday. We’ve introduced this format of communicating with students, partly due to our inability to assemble in these covid times, but also due to the sheer size of our school (1226 students), which makes it very difficult to assemble together. 

On Monday, we celebrated the achievements of our rowers at Maadi Cup (National Rowing Regatta). As I said to the students, to get to Maadi is an achievement in of itself, as many of our rowers would have been training up to six days per week and sometimes twice a day in the lead up. To have ten crews go on to make an A-Final (top 8 in NZ) is phenomenal, but then to gain four Bronze Medals and four Gold Medals is truly exceptional. To add to the accolades, Wakatipu High School Rowing finished second equal in the country, and was the top ‘sculls’ school in NZ.  John Morrison was named Coach of the Regatta, and then five rowers were named to the U18 South Island Squad. Congratulations to all the rowers, coaches, parents and supporters and to all the athletes who competed in Summer Tournament Week last week. You did WHS proud. Please see more in the Sports section below

You can also listen to our ‘Monday’s Mixed-Tape’ here, which also has a great segment about being kind, and our ‘Friday Features' here. 

As we head into the last week of what has been a long and significantly interrupted Term 1, the number of student Covid cases has seen a significant decline, with only 4 new cases at Wakatipu High School today. With the government set to make an announcement about any change from CPF Red next Thursday, we are hopeful for more continuity next term, including the opportunity to host parents for our Summer Sports Assembly (6 May), Senior Next Steps (10 May), the ‘Connecting and Caring during COVID’ evening for Parents (11 May), our Excellence/Ad Alta/Ākonga Passport Assemblies (week of 16 - 20 May) and so much more. Term 2 is always a fun and dynamic term and requires students to balance the great all-round education, with significant academic pressures and assessments. With that in mind, I hope that students finish Term 1 well and have a restful and relaxing break. 

A great newsletter below, including a nice piece from Sebastian Cera, our Multicultural Awareness Lead Prefect.

Ngā mihi nui,

Oded Nathan
Associate Principal

Key Dates for Start of Term 2

Lead Prefect Message

Kia ora everyone, 

I hope everyone is looking forward to the upcoming school holidays. With all the COVID disruptions this Term it is important we take time to relax and prepare ourselves for Term 2 and the rest of the school year. Term 2 is regarded as one of (if not the) busiest terms of the year. These past 10 weeks have been tough on us all, however we were able to continue progressing and achieving goals, and organising school events. These include the Relay for Life and Funky Sock Friday. The donations from these events have contributed to over $1,500 (and still counting) for the Queenstown Cancer Society. This was only possible thanks to the overwhelming support of our students, whether you ran one lap or 20 we appreciate your involvement!

With the Term coming to an end we should all celebrate what we have been able to achieve. Several of our students competed in tournaments and competitions and many were able to get podiums and awards. The 2022 Footloose Musical is going to be showcased on the 16th of April at the Whakatipu Music Festival and the actual performance will be held in September. 

This was the first term of high school for many of our new students and by far one of the most complicated and challenging, however the new students and the Year 9’s have dealt well with the challenges. A difficult start but hopefully it will be much easier from Term 2 onwards allowing for everyone to properly experience high school and the opportunities that are offered here at Wakatipu. 

We have had some wonderful guest speakers in our External Speaker Series on leadership this Term. Yesterday guest speaker Ruth Stokes, Chief Executive of the Queenstown Chamber of Commerce spoke to the student leaders about relationships and how important it is that we all find our tribe. Tribes are created and built around like-minded people and they help to ensure our success and allow for us to grow. Hoping this inspires some of our students to continue pursuing their passions and moving forward no matter what problems may arise.

Follow us on Instagram to hear about events and Student Council led initiatives that could be happening in this final week of term: @wakatipustudents.

Have fun and stay safe. That's all from me. 

Sebastian Cera 
Multicultural Awareness Lead Prefect 

Whakatipu Reforestation Trust Youth Advisor

Last weekend Lead Prefect of the Peer Mentor Council, Ollie Pope, met with Whakatipu Reforestation Trust (WRT) board of trustees at their first of four tree planting days this month. In addition to Ollie's role within WHS, he is also now officially the WRT Youth Advisor. This role was created to gain a youth perspective to feed into the decision making  at WRT.  We are very excited for Ollie and congratulate him on his new role within the community. 

There are three more planting days every Saturday in April. We'd love to see more WHS faces as we help to restore the biodiversity of the Whakatipu Basin. This week we are planting in Bush Creek from 9am. For more info visit: https://wrtqt.org.nz/community-planting-days/.

Science News & Information

Year 11 Science has been studying microorganisms and the differences between Prokaryote and Eukaryote cell structures. These classes made labeled plasticine models of a prokaryotic cell and an eukaryotic cell showcasing the different components. The unit investigates the biological ideas relating to how humans use and are affected by micro-organisms.

Arts News & Information

Performing Arts/ Workshops
Things are looking busy in the Performing Arts area for the last two weeks of term. On Monday we were lucky enough to have Ricar run a saxophone workshop with some of our itinerant saxophone students. Great to see his passion inspire those who attended. More upcoming workshops include:

- Thursday 14 April - Visiting artists from the Whakatipu Music Festival to demonstrate their skills and share some knowledge with our classes.
- Saturday 30th April and Sunday 1st May - Jazz Workshops held at WHS. Details have been sent to parents.

Aotearoa Music Production Series
On Wednesday we were lucky enough to have the opportunity to go to Mount Aspiring college and attend a program called AMPS (Aotearoa music production series). AMPS is a creating music course where you learn all about the production side of music. We got to spend the day with Estère, Estère is an artist and producer with a passion for sampling the unexpected and for writing unique songs, inspired by acute curiosity. Originally starting out as a beat-maker on a second-hand MPC (Music Production Centre) and touring the world several times over as such, Estère has released two self-produced albums, one co-produced album, a remix EP, and has collaborated as a producer with a wide range of artists including Deva Mahal, Razia Biza and Zoe Moon. She has also been a guest producer for the Apra Songhubs series. This was an awesome experience and we are so grateful we had the opportunity to attend this course. 
- Mikaela Patterson and Mya Wilcox

Whakatipu Music Festival
The Whakatipu Music Festival gets underway this week with a range of music performances and workshops. See the link below for the full programme. We really encourage students to get involved. One opportunity that may interest singers is the Colour in Twilight vocal opportunity on the 18th April. Any level of vocal experience is encouraged to be part of this event. Register for this event here.

‘Footloose’ Musical
The WHS cast and band of this year’s musical, “Footloose”, have been diligently practising all term and will be promoting the musical with two performances of songs. This will be taking place in Break 2 in Te Kirikiri (weather permitting) on Tuesday 12th and Wednesday 13th April next week. Come along and support our amazing crew! 
We will also be showcasing excerpts of our Musical as part of the Whakatipu Music Festival Community programme on Saturday 16th April at the Memorial Centre. Limited tickets are available and can be purchased using this link: https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/tour/2022/whakatipu-music-festival

Student Instruments/gear
With the Term 2 shift to the Temporary Classrooms, students need to ensure that all instruments and gear is removed from the Performing Arts area upstairs. We will have no access to this area after Thursday 14 April and anything left will stay there until we return after the extension work in Term 3. Please ensure that you are organised for this.

ROCKQUEST
New Zealand's nationwide, live, original music, youth event giving young musicians the opportunity to perform live in a professional setting, in venues from Northland to Southland. Information is out and entries are open: https://www.smokefreerockquest.co.nz/

The sign up date for Rockquest this year is May 5 which is in Week 1 of Term 2. The actual event is not until June 18 so there is plenty of time to get your music sorted. Late entries are not always accepted so if students are thinking of entering as a band or solo/duo act (or both), it's advisable to get these entries sorted now.

The Youthtown Songwriting Competition - Aotearoa
This annual competition is open and organisers are keen to receive entries from Year 9, 10 & 11 songwriting students.  There will be at least 65 finalists chosen to record their song professionally in a recording studio.  The mastered tracks will go on all platforms including Spotify and Bandcamp. Come one board!! Here is the link with all the details therein:
https://www.playitstrange.org.nz/competitions-3/competition-info/youthtown-songwriting-competition-2022

Let us Know
The Arts department would like to know about any artistic achievements that students have attained outside of school be it in drama, dance, music or visual arts. Please send through details and photos to mparker@wakatipu.school.nz

Support the Arts
We are always looking for local professional performing and visual artists to visit our school and run workshops for our students. If you or someone you know is interested, please contact Monica Parker the Arts Coordinator at mparker@wakatipu.school.nz. 

Instagram Page
Follow our school’s Instagram page for recent successes or news within the school’s Arts Department at @whsartdepartment.

Sport and Active Recreation News

A Magnificent Maadi Cup Campaign
The WHS rowers made history last week with an incredible Maadi Cup campaign that finished with eight medals, more than the school has ever won in total before. Friday morning was a mind blowing effort with four gold medals by lunchtime sending the school into a spin. It is hard not to overstate the significance of the achievements of last week and is one of the best moments WHS sport has ever experienced. 

The school finished second equal in the overall points race tied with Hamilton Boys High School, a significant achievement for a state co-ed school at the New Zealand Secondary School Rowing Champs. WHS was also the winner of the Presidents Cup for Champion Sculls Rowing School and John Morrison was the very well deserved winner of the Coach of the Regatta award. 

30 rowers competed at Maadi Cup this year, the first time it has been held at Lake Ruataniwha for three years. The results at this year's regatta caps off a phenomenal season of racing for the Whakatipu Rowing Club and their squad of 45 rowers from the school. A huge thank you to the Whakatipu Rowing Club committee, the coaches John Morrison, John Alexander and Shane Muir for their Maadi Cup efforts and all of the volunteer house parents for the prior organisation and the mahi all week. Well done to all who raced at Maadi, who gave their best and were fantastic representatives of the school. Congratulations to all who made A and B finals and a massive shout out to those that medalled, Kā Mauka Whakatipu!

Gold Medals 
Boys U17 single​ sculls - Marley King Smith 
Boys U16 coxed quad sculls - Toby Rorrison, Marley King Smith, Ashton White, Xavier Small and Emily Howick as cox
Boys U18 novice double sculls - Xavier Small and Keegan Green
Girls U17 coxed quad sculls - Keely Erskine, Neve Bates, Olivia Key, Phoebe Cavanagh and Emily Howick as cox

Bronze Medals
Boys U17 double sculls - Sam McAtamney and Marley King Smith 
Boys U16 double sculls - Xavier Small and Ashton White
Girls U18 coxed quad sculls - Keely Erskine, Olivia Key, Neve Bates, Phoebe Cavanagh and Emily Howick as cox
Girls U17 double sculls - Neve Bates and Olivia Key 

Rowing Results from Finals
The below crews made A or B finals and their result is their final placing. Congratulations on making an A or B final!
Boys U17 coxed quad sculls - Toby Rorrison, Marley King Smith, Sam McAtamney, Will Donovan and Emily Howick as cox - 4th
Boys U16 double sculls - Ben Hogan and Logan Noton - 8th
Boys U16 single sculls - Ashton White - 10th
Boys U17 double sculls - Will Donovan and Tiwai Saxton - 13th 
Girls U16 double sculls - Pippa McAtamney and Olivia Bisset - 14th
Girls U18 double sculls - Kate Woods and Pippa McAtamney - 16th

South Island U18 Rowing Trialists
Four rowers and a coxswain have been selected to trial for the South Island U18 squad to compete against the North Island in the annual regatta. This is the largest number of trialists WHS has had before. Well done and all the best to Olivia Key, Neve Bates, Marley King Smith, Sam McAtamney and Emily Howick (coxswain).

Alpine Skiing in Europe
Year 13 student Liv Flight has spent Term 1 training and racing in Cortina, Europe where competition has been tough. Liv finished her first start in a CIT World Cup and ended up coming 11th and 12th which she was very happy with. Those results dropped Liv’s points making her the second-best ranked Super-G skier in New Zealand for the open age category.

Southland Age Group Golf Champs
A small number of WHS golfers competed in the Southland age group golf champs in late March at the Winton golf course. Well done to Jan Ebbinge who won the U19 Boys event and Noah Novecek who won the U16 Boys Gross.

Junior Social Touch
Tuesday was the last day of our junior social touch competition. It was awesome to see a core group of players turn up each week, always with a smile! Some great sportsmanship was on show and the students had a lot of fun. A huge thank you to Year 13 student Kaitlyn McKay for her help running the competition. Keep an eye out for more social sport opportunities coming up in Term 2.

 Central Otago Volleyball Competition
The Central Otago Volleyball competition finished up on Thursday with the WHS Senior B and C Girls playing off for 3rd and 4th. The girls did an awesome job against the mixed teams from Cromwell and Dunstan and it was great to be able to offer regular weekly volleyball to players. A huge thank you to Steve Henderson, Rachel Vermeir, and Ruth Needham for their help over the competition.

1st XV Preseason Match
The 1st XV take on Verdon College at 1pm at WHS on Saturday in their second pre-season game of the year. All support is welcome.

Opportunities to get Involved

Social Sixes Hockey on Friday Nights in Term 2
The WHS Social Sixes Hockey League is up and running next term for 8 weeks on a Friday afternoon. If you are keen to give a new sport a go and/or play some social hockey with your mates please complete the attached form to register your interest by Wednesday 13th April: https://www.sporty.co.nz/viewform/198263

School Football Begins Term 2
If you are interested in playing Girls or Boys Football for WHS this year, please ensure that you have taken a look at the details and joined the google classroom through the sports website: https://www.sporty.co.nz/wakatipu/football There are more details available on the google classroom. Football will start in Week 1 of Term 2. 

All Mountain NZ - MTB Coaching Holiday Programmes
All Mountain NZ is offering two three day mountain bike clinic across both weeks of the school holidays. This is an awesome opportunity to take riding skills and confidence to the next level. The website link has all of the details about the holiday programmes and how to register: https://www.allmountain.co.nz/mtb-coaching-camps-clinics.html or you can email info@allmountain.co.nz with your details to register.

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

WHS Foundation

Careers - Part-time Job Vacancies for Students

WITCHERY Queenstown are looking to fill two casual positions for weekends. We are looking for someone fun and energetic with a passion for fashion and styling. Position available as of 3/3/22

DUTIES:

• Drive sales and profit ensuring the achievement of all KPI’s as set by the company
• Drive a customer centric culture ensuring that each customer looks and feels fabulous
• Ensures that visual merchandise is maintained in accordance to brand objectives
• Adhere to all company behavior’s policies and procedures

SKILL

• A passion for the retail industry with an ambition to progress
• A strong sense of personal style and presentation
• Ability to maintain customer relationships by delivering exceptional customer service

BENEFITS:

• Generous discounts for you on all Country Road, Trenery. Witchery and Mimco products.
• Further offers and discounts available at David Jones
• A genuine, open and high performing culture

HOW TO APPLY  Please Email: queenstown@witchery.co.nz or call us on 03-441-1391

Weekend work in Housekeeping, one day or two. Wanting to work the school holidays?   Flexible with number of days per week. $21.50 per hour.

Send your CV to Catherine -  h5308-hr1@accor.com

Harbour Fish is looking for a senior student to work part-time at our Frankton store. The job is every Saturday. A weekday afternoon and extra work in school holidays are also available. Please touch base with a little about yourself if you’re interested via queenstown@harbourfish.co.nz or drop your CV into the Frankton store at 9 McBride St.

Holiday Employment Opportunity
Calling all Year 13 Students who are looking for holiday work over the April school holidays.
Mana Tāhuna is looking to employ additional people during the school holidays to help plant new trees at Lake Hayes. A great opportunity to be a part of a three year project to plant natives, restore wetlands and make Lakes Hayes swimmable again!
You must be:

• Able to operate effectively and respectfully within a kaupapa Māori environment.
• Committed to maintaining a high safety standard in all aspects of work.
• Interested in achieving positive environmental outcomes.
• Fit, active and able to sustain long periods working in a variety of environments and outdoor
  conditions.
• Able to provide sturdy footwear with good tread and ankle support

We are offering:

• Employment starting on Tuesday April 19, ending Friday April 29. Days are Monday to Friday.
• Hours are from 8am to 4:30 pm, with two 15-minute paid rest breaks and one 30-minute unpaid meal break.
• Pay rate is $22.75 per hour

Please email Sarah Mukai, Environmental Projects Manager - Mana Tāhuna Charitable Trust,
sarah.mukai@manatahuna.co.nz

Careers Profile of the Week - Physiotherapy

Are you interested in how the body works? Can you communicate with a broad range of people? 

Community Notices

Has it been longer than 12 months since your teen had their last dental check-up? From year 9, your child can see a local dentist, and yes, it’s still free until their 18^th birthday. Book an appointment today

PARENTING THROUGH SEPARATION
Up Coming Courses
Dates: Saturday 30 April 2022, from 9am to 1pm
The courses will be held On-line
If you would like to attend; please contact Kaye directly on: 03 466-3020, 021 279-2116 (call or text), 0800 787 268 or by email pts@mmsouth.org.nz

The Wild Dunedin Festival has over 100 events celebrating nature during the April school holidays including deals on albatross and penguin tours, boat trips, surfing lessons and the Resistance Climbing Gym. Many events are for children and most are free.
Here's a link to the Festival programme where you can find out what's on and make bookings.
Programme