WHS Newsletter | Issue 1.10 | 14 April 2022

Principal's Message

Kia ora and welcome to the final newsletter of Term 1 - and what a term it has been. Clearly Covid has dominated the term, from masks to close contacts and rostering home it has been another term like no other. While we acknowledge the disruption and lack of continuity and connection that we are all aware of, I do also want to note that in so many respects we have done well to keep the school open and teaching and learning and many of our extracurricular opportunities happening throughout the term. My thanks go to staff, students and parents for their perseverance and forbearance in what has been another challenging term. FYI, Covid-related absence of staff and students has continued to drop steadily this week, down to approximately 50 students and single digits of new cases per day.

The move to Orange is significant for schools, with the main areas of difference being gatherings and masks. Our team is meeting during the holidays to work through the details, but we had expected to be in Orange next term and our calendar includes a number of assemblies and events that will now definitely go ahead. We will communicate before or at the start of next term as appropriate re Orange. Students will need to look out for Mr Nathan’s email on Sunday 1st May which will contain important information re Covid and other changes for the term. Related, Mr Nathan’s email last Sunday contained really good info for senior students in particular re planning for Term 2, including assessment calendar links, planning tools and a wellbeing tool.

Reports - LE Report number three will be available for viewing on the Portal later this evening, and we encourage you to acknowledge areas of success and discuss any areas of concern with your student (and please note again that ‘0s’ mean a teacher has not seen enough to give a grade).

With it being the end of term, PAS (Progress and Achievement Summary) Reports will also be on the Portal for viewing, please do look through them.

Senior Next Steps - are on Tuesday 10th May (Week 2) and are a very important opportunity for senior parents and students to meet with subject teachers. These will be held online. Parents of senior students will receive an email later tonight with instructions for booking, or see below to book your meetings with subject teachers. 

Please note that school will finish at 1.50pm that day for all students, and buses will run from that time.

Phase 2 - is big news for next term as the new NE extension wing opens, housing primarily maths and science - exciting! Also next term the Performing Arts area will have modification work done to it, so the first floor on the south side of the building will be closed meaning that Performing Arts and English will be based in the temporary classrooms. For Term 3 we will have the new SE wing open and all of the modifications in the current building will be complete - we are nearly there.

A highlight of the week was the showcase of the musical, Footloose, during break on Tuesday and Wednesday. While the musical isn't on until Term 3, the team are performing a showcase at the Whakatipu Music Festival on Saturday - see the Arts section below for details.

Term 2 is always action-packed, and as well as teaching and learning it will have a lot of senior assessment, as well as assemblies to celebrate our students' efforts and achievements, the House competition, including Matatu, the Formal as well as many other events. Some key events to be aware of at the start of term include:

• Summer Sports Assembly - Friday 6th May.
• Senior Next Steps - Tuesday 10th May, as above.
• ‘Care and Connect’ evening - Wednesday 11 May, see below for more.
• Accord (Teacher Only) Day - Friday 13th May, another in a series of nationwide days to prepare for the NCEA changes.
• Excellence/Ad Alta/Ākonga Passport Assemblies - Week 3.

My thanks again to everyone for a very good term in the circumstances. Not only do I hope that everyone has a great holiday, but it is actually really important that everyone has a good break to recharge and get ready for a productive term two. Enjoy the Wakatipu in autumn, and happy Easter :)

Steve Hall
Principal

Key Dates for Start of Term 2

Hanley's Farm / Jack's Point - Public Bus update

Earlier in the year the school engaged with the Otago Regional Council to ask whether there was a possibility of redirecting the Jack’s Point Orbus bus (Route 4) to the High School in the afternoon. I am happy to announce that yesterday we received official notification that this has been given the green light.

From the start of Term 2 Monday 2 May the Route 4 bus to Jack's Point will depart the Frankton bus hub as usual at 3.25pm and will be at the Red Oaks Drive public bus stop outside the school at approximately 3.30pm.  The bus will stop to pick up any Wakatipu High School students waiting, and then depart right away to carry on the rest of the route as usual heading into Hanley's Farm and Jack's Point. Please note, this may have implications for students who currently qualify for the Jack's Point MOE provided bus, but no decisions have yet been made. We will update all relevant stakeholders as new information comes to hand.

This is a fantastic result for all affected students and parents, and we would like to take this opportunity to publicly thank the Council for their help in this matter.

Justine Duncan
Assistant Principal

Branches Trust

Kia ora from Branches Trust

For those of you who do not know, we at the Branches Trust are dedicated to raising money to keep the Branches Camp affordable for all students and their whānau. We fundraise throughout the year to raise enough money to fund the shortfall of the camp that is not covered by the parent donation of $350.00 per student. We are a small yet dedicated and dynamic group of parents, all fanatical about the Branches Camp, here is a photo of us at our Art Auction fundraiser last August.

We are extremely pleased to announce that we fundraised $55,000.00 last year which we paid to WHS last month to cover the shortfall of 2021's Branches Camp.  This is the biggest amount of money we have paid to the school since the Branches Trust began in 2006.  Thank you to everyone who supported our fundraising initiatives, as a charity organisation everything we fundraise is for the benefit of the Branches Camp.  

With the Branches Camp now split into two camps the costs have escalated so we encourage all Year 10 parents this year to please pay the $350.00 parent donation for the camp.  This amount only goes part way to cover the costs of the camp, so the more parents who pay this the less we will have to fundraise.  

Now for some other news!

2021 CAMP PHOTOS - Photos of last year's camps are now on sale, simply click on this link and fill out the form, we will get back in touch with you when they are ready for collection.  

'LONG DROPS AND HARD KNOCKS' - Back in 2019 the Branches Trust launched an amazing book marking the first 50 years of the Branches Camp.  It is an excellent book with lost of great stories of the camp and how it has morphed over the years.  This book is also for sale on this form and there is a special deal if you buy a book and photos together.

And some 'Save the Dates'!

BRANCHES TRUST ART AUCTION - Always much anticipated, we will be running our Art Auction this year at the Memorial Hall on Friday 12th August 2022. 

BRANCHES TRUST QUIZ NIGHT - After our fantastic inaugural quiz night last year we will be holding another one later in the year at Lake Hayes Pavilion on Friday 4th November 2022.

Ngā mihi nui,
Branches Trust

Deputy Head Girl Message

Hey guys!!

….and that concludes Term 1!! An interesting one for sure, but you have all worked extremely hard to get through it and we acknowledge you for this. COVID-19 has impacted this term like never before, with rostered days home, high absence rates and mask wearing - yet, it seems that no matter what has been thrown at us we have been able to stride through. It hasn’t been easy, as I’m sure you all know all too well, but there's only moving up and onwards, and we are looking forward to slowly moving back to ‘normal’.

Yesterday was the first Wellbeing Wednesday, kicking off with an Easter Egg hunt around the Five Ways to Wellbeing: Take Notice, Give, Be Active, Keep Learning and Connect. It was a great success and well done to the Wellbeing Council for such a cool initiative. These holidays, I challenge you to remember these Five Ways to Wellbeing and try to focus on at least one over the two weeks. Maybe it's being active, doing what you can and enjoying what you do, or connecting, talking and listening to others. Whichever you choose, focus on what you can do in the holidays to support this and look after your overall wellbeing. 

Next term is sure to be very hectic with internal assessments, events, extracurriculars, trips and more, and I can’t stress to you enough how important it will be to stay organised and on top of everything. Look at your assessment calendar and extracurricular activities now, and plan everything out. Don’t forget to add some time for yourself to rest up and recharge! Work hard next term, but not to the point where you burn out, your health takes priority and having everything planned out will help this. Start the new term right, and you will find it will all fall into place. 

It was great to see the musical cast and band performing in break 2 on Tuesday and Wednesday, sharing with the school what they have been working so hard on. As choreographer of the show, I can say that it definitely hasn't been easy, with every day somehow being impacted by Covid - at one point we only had 10 people at rehearsals! Through it all, everyone has been continuing to practice their steps and singing and we are all looking forward to the performance at the Whakatipu Music Festival this Saturday. We hope everyone who watched in break enjoyed it, and we can’t wait to bring you the full show in September!!

Term 2 is going to be exciting, and we are looking forward to things like the new wing opening, university trips, lots of arts and sporting events especially when moving into the winter season, as well as maybe even getting to have assemblies all together again! To keep up to date with all of this and more, don't forget to follow the Head Students' Instagram page @wakatipustudents. 

That's all from me! I hope you have a great holiday. Get out and adventure, take a break, watch your favourite Netflix show, have some ‘you’ time. Whatever it is, have fun and I will see you all back and ready to go in Term 2!!

Sophie Thompson
Deputy Head Girl 
Whanaungatanga Lead Prefect

Year 13 Biology Trip to Portobello

Our Year 13 Biology students completed three days research at the NZ Marine Centre (University of Otago), Portobello. They investigated the behaviour of crabs in different contexts for an internal assessment. The marine staff at the University were very impressed with all of them- hardworking, great problem solving abilities and very respectful- apparently one of the best groups they have had through for awhile!! Ka pai students.

Rose Kidd
Biology Teacher

8OREC Kayak Trip on Clutha River

Our Year 13 Outdoor Education Class have spent the last three days kayaking on Clutha River. Here are some photos of their trip.

Sport and Active Recreation News

Otago Secondary School Volleyball Champs
Our Senior A Boys Volleyball team headed to Dunedin over the weekend to compete in the Otago Champs. The team played a number of competitive matches, placing 7th overall. A huge congratulations to Lucas Haas who was named in the tournament team, well deserved! With a number of younger students in the team we are excited to see what the future holds for these players. Thank you to coaches Ty Evans and Jeremias Romero for all of the hard work they have put in over the season, and to Mrs Panapa for helping get the team down to Dunedin.

NZ Volleyball Rep trains with WHS Teams
Senior Girls Volleyball kicked off their winter programme on Sunday with guest coach Shaunna Polley. Shaunna, with partner Alice Zeimann have dominated New Zealand’s Beach Volleyball scene for many years and are now finding increasing success internationally with a recent gold medal in Portugal on the World Tour and are about to kick start their campaign to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham. It was exciting that Shaunna took time to rub shoulders with the girls and share the vital thoughts and attitudes it takes to achieve at the highest level. Our best wishes are with Shaunna and Alice for their travels ahead.

Southland Yachting Regatta
A number of WHS students competed for the Wakatipu Yacht Club at the Southland Champs in Te Anau last weekend, the final regatta of the summer. Congratulations to the following students who earned top five placings.
1st Laser - Blake Jackson
2nd Laser - Jack Smillie
2nd Open Dinghy - Henry & Finn Brown
4th Skiff - Lucy Boniface

Student Athlete Commission Appointment
Congratulations to Year 12 student Zara Mackley who is one of a handful of students around the country who have been appointed to the 2022 School Sport NZ Student Athlete Commission. This is the first year that School Sport NZ have developed this initiative to gain more student voice and insight and it is awesome to have a WHS student in the mix. Well done Zara. 

WHS Sport - Whanau Webinar
On Thursday 5th May 8-9pm there will be a webinar for all students involved in sport and their parents/caregivers. This is an opportunity to look at the vision and values of WHS Sport, the Sport NZ Balance is Better initiative and athlete welfare with special guest Dr. Sarah Beable from Axis Sports Medicine. We encourage all WHS students playing and involved in sport and active recreation to tune in from the comforts of their own home. Please pop this into the family calendar along with the link below.
WHS Sport - Whanau Webinar Thursday 5th May 8-9pm: meet.google.com/ugp-nuiz-mhf

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 4th May: 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.

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

Arts News & Information

Whakatipu Music Festival
The Music department was fortunate enough to have visiting musicians from the Whakatipu Music Festival with us on Thursday. The artists ranged from opera singers to jazz musicians and composers and it was great to hear them share their skills and insights into the music industry. Many thanks to Ruby Solly (Tararua - Cello & Taonga pūoro), Phil Boniface (Tararua- jazz bassist & Taonga pūoro), Lucy Mulgan (composer), Madeline Pierard (soprano) and Clare Hood (soprano) for an awesome experience and inspiring our students. 

Whakatipu Music Festival Programme
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.

Performing Arts/ Workshops
Saturday 30th April and Sunday 1st May- Jazz Workshop held at WHS. Details have been sent to parents.

‘Footloose’ Musical
The WHS cast and band of this year’s musical, “Footloose”, promoted the school musical with two performances of songs that took place in Te Kirikiri during Break 2 on Tuesday and Wednesday this week. We are so proud of all those that performed and thank all of those who turned up to support our talented and hard working 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

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.

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

Careers Profile of the Week - Visitor Centre Ranger- Department of Conservation

Do you have a love of the land? Are you passionate about conservation? This may be just the job for you! Bex Orpin writes about her role in her dream job. Learn about the key requirements, duties and skills needed to be a Visitor Centre Ranger.

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