WHS Newsletter | Issue 2.03 | 20 May 2022

Principal's Message

Kia ora and welcome to the Wakatipu High School newsletter at the close of Week 3 - a big and busy week at WHS.

A very important part of this week were the five Excellence/Ad Alta/Ākonga Passport assemblies that were held in Houses throughout the week. It was great to be able to gather and celebrate excellence in achievement, effort and the all-round participation of our students. It was also wonderful to be able to have parents join us - and a big thanks to those who came along to celebrate with us. Please see below for the Head Students speech which they delivered at the assemblies, as well as the lists of recipients.

Today has been Pink Shirt Day at WHS, and indeed across the motu and even the globe - with ‘Speak Up, Stand Together to Stop Bullying’ the theme. As well as pink accessories worn by many students, in the newsletter below you will see a number of items related to Pink Shirt Day, including an item on our bullying prevention programme, words from our Spectrum Club students and the HPE Learning area, as well as advice for students and parents. This is a challenging but important area for schools, and as a school we are working hard to continue to make progress in this area so that WHS is a safe and inclusive place for all.

Today was also the first of our senior Business Studies students’ Market Days - with some great products and a big turnout of student and staff customers. This week we also had a visit from legendary New Zealand rower, and cyclist, and Olympic champion, Hamish Bond - see below for more.

Covid continues to be an issue, with approximately 200 students per day absent (not all Covid-related) and staffing tight on some days again this week - our fingers are crossed. Reminders that students who are sick or symptomatic, whether Covid or other illness, should not come to school, and RAT test and isolate as appropriate. Please also continue to let us know if your child is absent with Covid.

With the wintery feel of the last 24hrs please do make sure you see the piece immediately below on adverse weather and how we communicate this during winter.

LE Report #4 is out today - please do have a look at it. We know that Covid may have been a disruption for your student but the LE Reports are an important indicator of how your student is engaging with their learning.

As well as the adverse weather, assembly recipients and Pink Shirt Day items, the newsletter below has some great articles on what is going on and coming up at WHS - and there’s plenty! 

Finally from me, this afternoon my letter re the school donation was sent out again. We really appreciate those who have already supported us - thank you very much. As the letter notes, the community and we want our students to have a great all-round education but we can't do that without your support. Please do read the letter and support us by choosing one of the levels of donation - many thanks in anticipation.

Another very autumnal weekend ahead, with snow on the hills and cold temps - wrap up warm if you’re out and about or on the sidelines :)

Steve Hall
Principal

Adverse Weather

With winter fast approaching this piece is regarding ‘adverse weather’. The most important point to note is that again this winter in the case of adverse weather we will communicate through the following channels: 

• To Parents - via the WHS App (see below if you don't have it on your device) and the WHS website
• To Students - via normal school email

On a morning with adverse weather (which particularly includes snow and/or ice on the roads) we liaise with QLDC’s roading contractor and the school bus coordinator and make a decision regarding school for that day. If it is not a normal school day, the common options are either a delayed start or school closed, in which case we will communicate through the channels above. Please note that we typically only communicate if there is a change to the school day or school is closed, and that we will endeavour to do so by 7.15am.

Please note that if we do get adverse weather during the day, we will not normally close the school - this is primarily because school buses are not normally able to run early. However we do monitor adverse weather and conditions very carefully and make decisions and communicate accordingly.

Please note that we do liaise with the other schools in the Basin and decisions are generally coordinated, although sometimes conditions are different for different schools and some primary schools do not have school buses - which are a key consideration, and ultimately each school makes its own decision. 

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.

Excellence/Ad Alta/Ākonga Passport Assemblies

Speech from the Head Students at the assemblies held this week
Our student leadership team puts a lot of emphasis on achievement. It’s one of our whys, to ‘promote a culture of success’. Our school puts a lot of emphasis on achievement. It’s in our motto, to ‘reach for your heights’. The students that walk across this stage today put a lot of emphasis on achievement. It’s in their nature.

One of the common misconceptions about excellence is the awards surrounding it. I often see people look at benchmarks, achievements, prizes and think ‘oh, so that’s excellence (good to know)’. Then they keep walking. But awards like these aren’t excellence. Excellence isn’t an end product, its a choice.

When we say we want to ‘promote a culture of success’, we don’t necessarily mean ‘we want this many people to get this award’. We mean ‘we want to create a space where people choose to excel, to succeed, to try, fail, and try again’.

Theres a quote that’s incorrectly attributed to Nelson Mandela, but was actually said by Marianne Williamson. It goes like this:

“Our deepest fear is not that we are weak. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? Your playing small does not serve the world ... As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

That’s what a culture of success looks like. Students that are willing to shine out and choose to excel. And when people see them trying their best, they won’t say they’re self-serving. They’ll say they’re inspiring, and then they too… will make the choice to succeed.

We have 3 chief awards being given today.

1. The first is an Excellence award. To achieve this high bar, a student has to exemplify a couple school values. Not just the one you’re thinking. This achievement requires the values of excellence… and resilience. When striving for success in the NCEA system, the fruits of your labour don’t always come immediately. You have to keep pushing, and trust that your hard work, your mahi… will pay off. Although all our house’s students look incredible onstage, this award is about celebrating the unseen struggles, the unsung battles. Every one of these achievers made a decision to pursue excellence. To turn the screen off, to postpone the night out, to grit their teeth and do that thing they have to do. That’s what we applaud each time a group leaves the stage… we applaud all the hours of hardship that we don’t see.
2. The second is the Ad Alta awards. These awards depend on your Learning Engagement Reports, measured across 4 categories. In order to achieve this, a student has to put in serious effort. The Dunedin study shows that self-discipline, managing your effort, is the most important aspect of long-term ‘success’, no matter what way you want to succeed. This internationally recognised study is proof, that the recipients of this award are striving for success, and are destined for great things.
3. The third is the Ākonga passport tiers. Of the three awards, the Ākonga passport is the youngest being given today. It’s an important milestone for our junior students, that was created with the goal of our ‘best all round education’ in mind. It makes our junior students ask themselves. When they’re in their final year like we are… what positive difference did they make at this school? How will we know they were here, besides a name on the roll or a note in a CV, saying they got this mark on this test at this time. This award mainly recognises community achievement, teachers can award signatures to students, but stickers can also be gained through extracurricular activities and through showcasing the Ākonga Profile. When this award is given, you know that that student is having a positive impact on WHS, and that in itself is worth celebrating.

So, even if you’re crossing the stage or not. Lets be proud of what we’ve achieved as individuals, and as a school. You guys, our students, are proof that the culture of success we want to create isn’t too far off.

- Head Students

Please see link below for a full list of award recipients.

Bullying Prevention and Response 2022 Update

Reducing bullying at WHS is a strategic priority this year. After researching and engaging with experts, we are focusing on prevention, intervention, and monitoring. Below are some insights in some of the actions currently underway in all three of these areas.

Term 1 Bullying Survey Results

As part of our monitoring, in week 8 of Term 1 all students were sent a survey on their experiences around bullying at WHS during 2022. 

• 53% of students completed the survey across all year levels
• 14.4% responded that they had been bullied this year
• 28% reported seeing someone else being bullied
• Verbal bullying was the most common general category. This includes name calling, body shaming, starting rumors, racism, homophobic, sexual,  and gender based bullying.

These results need to be cautiously viewed as many students are unsure of what bullying is. As our education around bullying increases the numbers will change. Please note we are using the Bullying Free NZ definition which can be summarised as: bullying is deliberate, harmful, involves a power imbalance, and has an element of repetition. To find out more please go to www.bullyingfree.nz .

For a national perspective, in 2019 Educational Review Office survey found 31% of secondary aged students reported being bullied at their current school. 58% reported witnessing someone else being bullied. 

In our survey students were also asked what WHS could do to reduce bullying. Awareness was a major theme in the responses. When reading what students wrote it was clear that if we can encourage bystanders to take more action it could have a significant impact on reducing bullying. This is the central theme for Pink Shirt day today. 

Responding to Bullying at WHS
We recognise that for students and parents to speak up and report bullying there needs to be confidence in how it is going to be dealt with. Over the last term we have been working in the background on our processes for responding to bullying. Although every type of bullying is different and requires different interventions, there are some key principles in how we deal with bullying:

• Clear communication with the victim and family
• Early in the process communication with the Whanau is critical. Although there are some instances where we need to act for safety reasons, most potential interventions are discussed with the student and family first so everyone knows what to expect.
• Safety of the student is top priority
• This includes the immediate time around reporting and after any intervention has occurred. It will include things like identifying possible risks, knowing where to go if they feel unsafe, who to contact and how, if they need to report any further incidents. 
• This could also include ongoing support from our guidance team.
• Students facing discipline for bullying have a right to give their side of events
• Students who are accused of bullying have the right to be able to respond to any allegations if the intervention is progressing to discipline.  They will know who the alleged victim is, and what is claimed to have occurred.  We can generally be discrete about how we learnt of the bullying. 
• If a victim wishes to remain anonymous this severely limits our ability to hold the bully to account and support improved behaviour. We will be able to work with the victim on strategies and next steps. 

We strongly encourage anyone concerned about bullying incidents to please report this. Some key ways bullying can be reported are:

• Telling a trusted teacher either in person or by email
• Telling one of our guidance team
• Emailing a dean or senior leader
• Reporting via our website here: https://www.wakatipu.school.nz/reportbullying.html

Please remember the first part of the process for us is to talk with the student and family to work through together what steps will be taken. If you are unsure please don’t wait for things to get worse - let us know.

Lee Hiestand
Deputy Principal

Speak Up, Stand Together, Stop Bullying

What can I do to help?

Give - your time, words and presence.
The Mental Health Foundation states that as a part of The Five Ways to Wellbeing, giving words, time and presence is good for our wellbeing. In the context of bullying, you can use your voice to make a difference. It’s important to talk about bullying and not let it live or grow in silence. Talking about spreads awareness and stops bullying from being ignored or even normalised as a part of our school culture. If you’re being bullied or know someone else is being bullied, tell someone you trust, or use the anonymous form on our school website. You might feel like you don’t want to tell anyone else in case it makes you more of a target, but doing nothing means it will probably continue and it might be happening to others. 

Our words have the power to lift someone up but also to tear them down. Showing kindness to ourselves and others can create a chain reaction. When kindness becomes expected and normal then bullying is less likely to happen. Even the smallest acts of kindness can change how someone is feeling - tell someone why you are grateful for them, or thank the stranger who holds the door open for you - it all counts. When we spread kindness, we feel just as good as the person we are being kind too. He aroha whakatō, he aroha puta mai. If kindness is sown then kindness you shall receive. 

If everybody says something, we can change everything. So speak up and remember the three powerful words, “That's not OK”. Strong people stand up for themselves, but the strongest stand up for others. 

Take Notice of how your friends are feeling and Connect to those around you.
Check in on that friend who has not seemed themself lately, and ask three powerful words, ‘Are you OK?’ Remember to approach the situation gently as people who experience bullying might be scared to talk about it, or they might feel ashamed about being bullied. 

If you think someone is being bullied, you can help. Aside from telling someone you trust, or reporting it, you can help make that person’s day a little easier by being there for them. Sit next to them in class, let them know you care. Include them in your group at lunch and stick up for them if you see anyone bullying them. We all need people on our side and this connection can make a huge difference to the wellbeing and mental health of the person experiencing bullying. 

What can I do if I’m being bullied?
If you’ve been affected by bullying – you’re not alone. Bullying is never OK and you don’t have to put up with it. Speak up – you can do something to stop it.

• Tell the person who is bullying you to stop (if you feel that you can). Or just walk away.
• Tell someone you trust like a parent, teacher, Dean, or one of our school counsellors (email guidance@wakatipu.school.nz). Keep telling adults until someone does something to stop it.
• Use the anonymous form on our school website.  
• Spend time with friends who help you feel good about yourself.
• Don’t reply to any messages that make you feel sad, threatened or embarrassed. Often people who bully others are just looking for a reaction.
• Keep all messages and take photos of uncomfortable posts. Make a note of the time, date and content. This is evidence you might need if the problem gets worse.
• Use privacy functions on Apps to block or prevent receiving nasty messages – contact NetSafe if you’d like help on
• Contact 0508 NETSAFE or queries@netsafe.org.nz for advice. 
• Contact WHAT'S UP, a free counselling service just for teenagers. Phone 0800 942 8787 between 1 pm and 11 pm any day, or go to the WHAT'S UP website.

Lucy Ford
Wellbeing Co-ordinator

Another Perspective

Walking from your class, looking forward to getting to lunch, and you hear some loud talking in the hallway.

"I don't know what I would do if I were straight." followed by giggling from a large group of kids. You brush it off, and continue walking to your friend group.

Your next class is health and PE. You hear some kids on the table over, whispering about how straight people might have sex, making strange gestures. It's the next break, you're in the cafeteria line. Someone shoves past you, calling you straight. Another kid purposely calls you by a different name, you brush it off.

Replace all the times 'straight' was written with 'gay'. Think about how you would feel if this happened to you on a daily basis? Would you feel hurt? Upset? Angry? Annoyed?

This happens in the school halls far too often, many students part of the LGBTQIA+ community suffer from bullying, whether it's verbal, physical or emotional. This attitude towards the community is not okay, yet it still happens on a daily basis. Why is this considered normal?

If you need a safe place to talk or to simply hang out, contact the youth workers at Wakatipu Youth Trust about the Spectrum club. We have regular meetups where we just chill, eat food, and do some fun activities. 

HPE bullying, diversity and inclusion at WHS

As a Health and Physical Education learning area we have units of work that occur within our Year 9 compulsory course and Year 11 and 12 Health that include bullying.

With the Year 9 cohort we have included learning about types of bullying including physical, cyber, verbal and social.  Ākonga learn how to identify bullying, prevent it and what they can do about it.

The Health unit for Year 9 also includes learning about sexuality and gender identity which increase students' knowledge about diversity with the aim of empowering students to understand people who may be different to themselves.

In our senior school we have sexuality and gender as the basis of study for NCEA level 1 & 2 assessments.  This is a really relevant topic for students to learn more about and explore how people identify within their sexuality and gender.  Having knowledge of what life is like for people in the LGBTI+ increases learners acceptance of diversity.  We discuss how bullying has an impact on people and how with can use personal, interpersonal and societal strategies to combat stereotypes and gender roles in our school and society. 

Gigi Hollyer
Teacher Health and PE

Mid Year Junior Exams - Week 7

As we head towards the end of Semester One, which ends at the end of this Term, Year 9 and 10 students have exams/assessments for each of their six subjects. Students are likely to begin preparing for these in class over the coming weeks. The purpose of these is to give students the experience of studying/preparing for and sitting an exam or assessment. Going through this process gives the students a better understanding of external exams as they head towards NCEA (rehearsal reduces anxiety). NOTE: For some subjects there may be a practical component, or the assessment may be entirely practical in nature.

To gain the most benefit from these exams, students should be preparing at home. Subject teachers will provide access to revision resources and will spend time in class going over what students can expect. Ako Time will also provide an opportunity for students to review course work. Some Learning Areas often run tutorials during breaks in the leadup to exams: this will be communicated out to students via email.

Once exams and assessments are over it is useful for parents to ask their child how the exam went and most importantly, what they would change in the way they prepared. The more students reflect on their preparation, the more they will benefit from sitting these exams. This includes students with special assessment conditions thinking about what the best way is to use the conditions they are eligible for. 

These Semester One exams are held during regular class times, in learning commons (areas students normally have classes). At the end of the year, there will be a specific exam time period for Year 9's and 10's which will include sitting the exams in the theatre as NCEA students do. Again, this is with the aim of rehearsing this type of assessment in preparation for NCEA. 

If you have any questions about the exam, please email your child's subject teacher in the first instance.

Justine Duncan
Acting Assistant Principal

Head Students' Message

Hey Guys!

And there goes another hectic week in Term 2! We hope you were able to stay organised and keep on top of your responsibilities as students of WHS.

Today was pink shirt day, the final day in anti-bullying awareness week. This week we really wanted to focus on being kind to each other through our words and to also stop being bystanders. Often when there are incidents of bullying, the staff may be unaware of what is happening, which is why we wanted everyone to focus on not just standing by and watching what is happening (being a bystander) and instead speaking up for themselves and others. It was great to see everyone dressed in their pink accessories today, as well as to see the students and staff involved in the activities throughout the week. This week is not the end of the focus on anti-bullying week and we will soon be having more activities/events surrounding these issues. 

This week also featured our Housewide Excellence assemblies. Despite the formality of these important events, it was so enjoyable to see all the students and parents of each House gathered together. Covid had kept assemblies at bay until now, and these assemblies were the first time us Head Students got to speak publicly to the school. We were so proud of the students of WHS, not just for their achievements awarded through these assemblies, but for their attention and professionalism during the assemblies. It makes it a lot easier to deliver a speech with a respectful audience, and we want to thank you guys for your efforts. 

We also had a visit from the liaison from the Otago Polytech and the University of Otago. This shows that things are starting to ramp up for the Yr 13s and their future. There are some exciting things coming and although it may be daunting, take these opportunities to learn more as they come by. 

Thanks so much for another great week team!

James Scoles & Sophie Thompson
Head Boy & Deputy Head Girl

Graeme Dingle Foundation 'Stars' at WHS

How does Stars fit into Pink Shirt Day?
As today is Pink Shirt Day, I think it's important to highlight the role Stars plays in contributing to antibullying at WHS, not just today- but throughout the year. Stars is designed to create inclusive, positive and caring relationships between students and between students and teachers to enhance school culture. We match Senior students as Peer Mentors to their Year 9 counterpaths and incorporate the tuakana-teina (older guiding younger) mentoring structure.

This year we have a cohort of 67 Year 12 & 13 students who have been giving up their time once a week to either plan or deliver one hour fortnightly sessions with Year 9 students during their ako period. With next weeks akonga focus being 'Connectedness and Empathy', our theme is based around 'Social media/ Digitial Citizenship and Cyberbullying'. The aim of the lesson is to help Year 9's gain an awareness of their digital footprint on social media platforms and the effects their words may have online to prevent cyberbullying and trolls on the internet. 

Stars Feedback
Last term we introduced a feedback system through Google forms that was sent out to Year 9's after every session to enable regular check-ins, ensuring that we're making steps to provide value every session. These are some of the things students have to say about 'What worked well? (What did you learn, what were some highlights?)' in their sessions so far:

"What worked well was talking together and doing the activities collaboratively and as a group."
"I learnt that working together makes things easier."
"Socializing and getting to know my house better."
"it went well because we all got to talk to each-other and work with people we don't normally work with"
"We all worked together and talked to people we wouldnt normally talk to."
"we know more about each other and we get to know each other in a fun way."
"that we have all become closer by peer mentors"
"The games were fun, I learned some stuff about the others in my ako"
"The games were fun and engaging"
"I liked the different various games we played"
"listening to each other making new friends"

These are some of the things students had to say about 'Is there a PM you want to give a big ups to? What did they do?

"All our PMs were very fun and nice and they helped us and made it fun."
"All of them were really fun , nice and supporting which is good. They talk to us in a way that makes us think that the senior students aren't scary and all."
"All of them they are very engaging"
"all of them they were all really nice and kind and the games were fun."
"All of them because they were helping us with communicating with others"
"All of them for making it a fun and enjoyable experience."
"They were really nice and helpful, and they supported anyone who needed help."

Upskill Workshop
Last Friday Peer Mentors came together on their day off for an upskill workshop where they were able to reflect on Term 1's learnings, areas for improvement and how their participation in the programme can be more rewarding heading into Term 2.

They were introduced to the theory of Adventure Based Learning (ABL) which involve cooperative games, trust exercises and problem solving activities. Instead of being told the answers, students are presented with a situation, activity or problem to make sense of and overcome. The aim is for Peer Mentors to be able to facilitate these activities in their fortnightly sessions as a means of learning and understanding that’s relevant to the sessions’ learning intention, in an engaging and fun way.

Special thanks to Kyle and Lauren from Rothbury (one of GDF's Key Partners) who cooked up our delicious BBQ and shared with the group their connection between GDF and therefore Stars at WHS. We love when our sponsors are eager to make a physical connection to the programmes they support and even better when they make connections with the students they are impacting on the way. 

WHS Adventure Day 2022 Evaluation
Earlier on in the year, Year 9 students participated in a river-based activity day as their 'Adventure Camp' component in the GDF Stars Programme. This day was held in lieu of the annual Greenstone Camp. The students were supported by their peer mentors in their House whānau groups. They went kayaking on the Kawarau River, learnt river safety and swimming skills under the Kawarau Falls Bridge Ō Te Roto, and were taught valuable river crossing safety at the Shotover Delta Puahuru.

The day was an opportunity for Year 9 students to step out of their comfort zones and experience the rich outdoors whilst taking part in a series of outdoor activities to develop positive relationships, resilience and teamwork.

Our team of research and evaluation analysts captured the programme success through the Year 9's evaluation and feedback surveys they completed after the event. These were just a few findings worth mentioning in the report: Many of the top-rated statements linked to skills improving teamwork and self-confidence. Areas where students felt the greatest gain were: ‘Listen to others points of view’, ‘Learn to give new things a go’. ‘Learn to be supportive of others', ‘Learn I can achieve things if I put my mind to it’, and ‘Learn that working together requires some cooperation'. 

Evaluation showed that the Stars Adventure Day had a positive impact on students in the areas of; ‘Working with others’, ‘Courage’ and ‘Building Relationships’. Student comments from the survey gave further insight such as:

• “My favorite thing was the kayaking it is fun getting out of the comfort zone and doing something new..” 
• “I got to know new people and see what they enjoyed and didn't. I swam in white water for the first time as well.”
• “I got to know the mentors”
• “I got to know people better and I had fun”
• “New friends. Increase in confidence.”

GDF programmes are made possible thanks to the charitable support from our community. Special thanks to Central Lakes Trust, Wakatipu High School Foundation, Skyline, Kathmandu and Rothbury for their support of Stars at WHS. You can find out more about the GDF HERE.

Cheryl-Kay Phillips
Stars Coordinator

Community Service Day

Last Friday 13 June a group of our students spent some time volunteering in our community with The Queenstown Trails Trust and Taramea Community Garden, organised by the Community and Service Council and hosted by Volunteer South. At the Taramea Community Garden they cleared vegetable beds, planted loads of garlic and made some fantastic posters and signs for the garden. With the Queenstown Trails Trust the students surveyed trail users collecting important research information essential for the Trust. They also had a team of three bikers accurately place signs along a stretch of the trails. They spent 87 hours in total - that's the equivalent of nearly 11 days work! 

Active Citizenship is a key component of our Ākonga Profile and it was great to see our students in the community volunteering their time. Thanks to Gillian White and the team at Volunteer South for organising the day. The Community and Service council hope to run more volunteer days in the future so please look out for them and get involved!

Volunteer South have shared their media release of the day. Please click on the link below to read it.

A visit from Hamish Bond

On Wednesday morning, we were fortunate enough to have three-time Olympic gold medallist Hamish Bond talk to a group of students. It's not every day you have an Olympic legend roaming the halls and passing on their experience. Unfortunately, not all students got to attend the assembly, so I've collated what resonated the most with me and have been asked to share this with other students and parents.

"I'm often asked what I’m most proud of, and it’s not the medals, for me the medals are icing on top of the cake. I'm most proud of baking a good cake, the cake being the past 4 years of commitment that nobody saw, with no cameras or fans watching. It's pretty simple, you can enjoy a cake without icing, but you can't enjoy icing without cake."

"I have been very fortunate throughout my life to have been able to overcome hurdles I’ve encountered, and I encourage everyone to push through their own hurdles within reason, if you're constantly overstretched in trying to overcome the impossible, maybe it’s time to change things up, but if not there's a possibility of sunshine and flowers behind every hurdle you encounter."

"When I was in my final year of high school my rough vision was, I can sort of see how I can make the NZ Rowing team, I needed a job to support the opportunity to row, maybe go to Uni, and get an accounting degree. Start thinking about a vision, have an idea. A vision or an idea gives you a sense of purpose and motivation."

Once again, a massive thank you to Hamish for taking his time to come and speak to us. 

Sam Davis
Deputy Head Student

Rocket League eSports

Congratulations to the Wakatipu Wranglers, consisting of Lycan Maynard, Xavier Cammell, and Tarras Learmonth for placing 7th at the Yrless+ Southern Rocket Masters tournament in Invercargill. After exceeding all expectations and dominating in all 3 of their qualifying matches, they placed top five for the playoff bracket where they were unlucky with their matches, coming 7th overall and taking home over $300 worth of vouchers.

The Wakatipu Wildcats, consisting of Dominic Smith, Victor Sampaio and Ronil Prasad, also made an appearance at the tournament where they got unlucky with their qualifying matches. The Wildcats won their first two qualifying matches, losing the third one to The Real Energy after two very close matches in the best of three series. They came 11th overall, only three goals short of qualifying for the playoffs.

Kyle Jackson
TIC eSports

Ngā Reo Languages Learning Area

Involving the community with learning Languages
The focus in Ngā Reo Languages this year is to involve and connect with the local and global community when it comes to students learning Languages. Guests and speakers are invited either online or face-to-face to talk with students in the languages that are being learnt. This goal is to have students using languages meaningfully, discovering and appreciating cultures, sharing and connecting with local and international people.

He aha te mea nui o te ao
What is the most important thing in the world?
He tangata, he tangata, he tangata
It is the people, it is the people, it is the people

Guillaume Charton - Head of Languages

Ludivine Jargy and Loic Bonnefoy - Year 11 French classes guests
Year 11 students have been able to interview Ludivine on Tuesday followed by Loic on Wednesday.

Students asked a range of questions in French and were actively listening to understand and gather as much information as possible about their French speaking guests. Ludivine shared anecdotal stories about Switzerland, her homecountry, and how while living across the border in France she used to walk everyday by foot to her school in Geneva. Loic, from Bordeaux, South West of France talked about cultural aspects of his part of France.

Ludivine has volunteered her time at school to help senior French students so they could further develop their speaking and writing and were able to reach a higher level of proficiency.

Merci beaucoup to Ludivine and Loic for making the time to meet with the fantastique senior French students.

Re-connecting with former Languages student across the world - Shey Pope-Mayell
In this piece of the newsletter we are reconnecting with past Wakatipu High School students who studied languages. It is a delight to read, in the interview below, Shey Pope-Mayell journey and what will come next.

1). When did you attend school - where are you now and doing what?
I attended WHS from 2011 until 2014, after having been homeschooled for two years.
After finishing high school, I moved to Wellington where I attended Victoria University and studied first a BA in English Literature and French, then a BA (Hons) in English Literature before finishing with an MA in English Literature. I have also started and run my own website, Mayell.ink, and have published two books. The first of these is the first in a series of quasi-futuristic mystery novels and the second is a poetry collection. For the last two years, I have been teaching EFL (English as a foreign language) at a private school in Tokyo on the Japan Exchange and Teaching Programme (JET). 

2). You and languages - where did it all start?
Three events sparked my interest in languages. First, as a young child, my mother showed me a picture of Picasso's famous Les Demoiselles d'Avignon. I couldn't pronounce its name for the life of me, but I knew I wanted to figure it out one day! Second, when I was thirteen years old I travelled to France and stayed for a month in Provence, during which time I was directly exposed to French culture for a long period of time - to this day, my French accent, I am told, can be quite southern! Third, though it may sound pretentious, I have always found French - and, in a different way, Japanese - very pleasurable to speak, hear and read. I allow aesthetics to guide me!

3).  What do you like about learning languages?
Language is all about understanding. Language learning is therefore, in effect, learning to understand. I think understanding people and cultures is one of the most important tasks one can undertake, so I enjoy learning languages. 

4). What did this help you with?
Becoming multilingual has helped me immensely. Not only can I communicate with many more people, but a new world of art, literature and culture is now open to me in ways it otherwise never could be. As a published author and poet, learning the Romance languages in particular has helped my understanding of my own language.

5).  What's next in your journey?
I intend to live in Japan for another year (3 years over all), at the end of which time I will return to university to earn my PhD in comparative literature (English/French), either in New Zealand or somewhere in the UK/Europe, with the goal of lecturing in a higher education setting and continue to independently publish more literary, poetic and critical work. 

Sports and Active Recreation News

Hamish Bond visits WHS
On Wednesday morning we had the privilege of hearing from New Zealand sporting great Hamish Bond who shared some of his insights and wisdom on what it takes to succeed at the top. This was an incredible opportunity for 100 of our students to hear from one of NZ's best rowers and to actually hold his gold medals! A huge thank you to Forsyth Barr and Sport Central for making this possible.

School Climbing Team
Last Thursday after school saw members of the school climbing team climbing at Base Camp from 3:15 until 5pm. Students finished their climbing sessions with sore forearms but happy and wanting more. Thanks to everyone and to Gareth Hughes for his help.
Guillaume Charton - TIC Climbing.

Volley South Women's Team
Congratulations to Year 12 student Aurora Macleod who was selected into the Volley South Women's team. Aurora played in the South Smasher tournament last weekend for the South Women’s team who beat Southwood Export, 028Women, Otago Gold and Otago Blue. The Southland team will travel to Wellington for the Volleyball New Zealand Inter-Provincial Championships at Queen’s Birthday weekend. Well done Aurora!

Swimming Update
There have been a few swimming events recently, with National Age Group Champs in mid April, and Division II Champs at the beginning of May. Jacob Marriott attended the National Age Group Champs, placing in the top 20 in both the 50m and 100m backstroke and qualifying for the final of the 200m backstroke finishing 7th. Finn Henderson attended the Division II Champs, gaining a top 15 finish in the 50m butterfly and 50m backstroke and a top 25 in the 50m freestyle. Well done Jacob and Finn!

Blake Inspire Leadership Programme
Congratulations to Year 12 student and sports council member Lachy Boniface who was selected for the Blake Inspire Leadership for Sailors programme. This is an amazing opportunity for Lachy to meet other like minded teenagers from around New Zealand and spend time onboard the Steinlager boat sailing the Hauraki harbour, snorkeling at Goat Island and learning about conservation from some of New Zealand’s top scientists. Nice one Lachy!

Draws and Results on the WHS Sports Website
Draws for rugby, netball, hockey and basketball can be found on the sports website. This is the best place to check to see what is happening in each sport each week. If we have the draw these will be put on our website here: https://www.sporty.co.nz/wakatipu/draws

Opportunities
Social Hockey
Our new social sixes hockey competition got underway last Friday evening at the turf. This is a great way for students to give hockey a go and play some casual sport. We have six weeks of social sixes hockey from 4-5pm at the turf on Fridays. There are still spaces in teams if anyone is interested, please email Miss Horn at shorn@wakatipu.school.nz. Get involved!

Rugby League Development Opportunity
The inaugural Otago Rugby League Development Day is being held on Sunday 29th May at Logan Park in Dunedin from 9:00am-3:00pm. This is for U14s, U16s & U18s Boys and Girls (born from 2004-2009). This also leads on to the rep season, the South Island Rugby League July Youth Tournament and acts as the first open training and a chance for selectors/coaches to have a look at players. There is a $10 registration fee for each player which can be paid into the following bank account: 02 0240 0064759 01. Please put your child's full name in the reference details. The $10 registration fee will cover; a South Island development day t-shirt, lunch and snacks and the best resource coaches from NZRL and the South Island.
Registration link for ORL development day: https://www.sporty.co.nz/viewform/198290 

Dr Craig Harrison - The Developing Athlete Seminar
Queenstown Snow Sports Club (Formerly Remarkables Snow Sports Academy) is proud to announce Dr Craig Harrison, internationally recognised expert in youth athlete development and host of the popular podcast “The Athlete Development Show", is presenting his talk to our community.
About Craig's talk: 
Right now, more kids are dropping out of sport by their 13th birthday than ever before. For the athletes who remain, the youth sport culture is putting their mental and physical health at great risk and limiting their potential. Drawing from the latest research and more than 10 years of experience coaching kids, Craig explains where we’re going wrong, with practical tips to help your child be happy, healthy and achieve more in the sports that they love! A thought-provoking and entertaining evening with Craig, this event is a ‘must see’ for parents/caregivers with kids who love their sport and for coaches working with youth athletes.
Tickets can be purchased here: https://www.eventfinda.co.nz/2022/the-developing-athlete/queenstown

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

Te Atamira Arts facility
With the opening of the new Te Atamira Arts facility in Remarkables Park, there are a number of events happening that showcase a range of Arts activities. Included is an evening concert with Billie Carey performing TONIGHT at 7.00pm. The link to tickets can be found HERE or can be accessed on the Te Atamira website or Facebook page HERE.

SINGERS WANTED for TVNZ2!!!!!!
So you can sing? TVNZ2 is producing a new youth reality TV show and they're on the hunt for Aotearoa's Best Singing Superstars! If you're aged 15-18 and would love to have a music video made in a professional studio, then this is the show for you. Pop, rap, metal, country, soul - whatever your genre - head to takethemic.co.nz and submit a video of you singing your favourite song. Entries close this Sunday 15th May.
*Solo artists and duos only

Term 2 Music events
Things are busy in the Music department this term with the following events scheduled.

Songwriting competitions;
June 11 Peace Song entries due
July 27  Lion Foundation entries due
Further information on Play it Strange can be found HERE.

Band events
June 2 Big Break (in-school event for bands/ solo-duo)
June 18 Rockquest Regional Final
May 28 Ex -student David Bell 7pm at Te Atamira
June 3/4 Echoknot supported by school band Estrogen 7pm at Te Atamira

Jazz bands 
Continue to prepare for the Blenheim trip in August 2-7

NCEA Music Nights
L1 Mon June 13/Tues June 14
L2 Mon June 27/Tues June 27
L3 Wed June 22

Itinerant Lessons
The move to the TC’s has been a huge juggling act around our Itinerant lessons. If you are involved in Itinerant lessons (drums, guitar, piano, trumpet, trombone etc) please make sure you are keeping up to date with the new room allocations. These have been emailed out to you on Monday morning along with reminders being sent out throughout the week. If you are still not sure where to go- TC 9 has regular updates on the whiteboard and a teacher should be there to help if needed. Thanks for your patience and cooperation during this transition phase. 

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

Key Dates

Careers

Careers Profile of the Week - Optometry is a profession that often attracts students with a strong desire to connect with patients individually and develop long-term relationships with them.  If you are thinking about becoming an optometrist, check out this week's 'Career of the Week'!

WHS Foundation

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