WHS Newsletter | Issue 3.07 | 16 September 2022

Principal's Message

Kia ora, and nau mai haere mai ki Te Wiki o te Reo Māori - welcome to Māori Language Week, and to the Wakatipu High School newsletter. As I write a waiata bell is playing - one of the things we’ve done to mark Maori Language Week, see the article below for more.

Also this week were Senior Next Steps, which were held online on Wednesday. A big thanks to senior parents who took up this important opportunity to engage with their student’s learning. If you did miss it, remember that you can email your student’s teachers if you have questions.

The Branches Parent Information evening was also held online on Tuesday this week, with a good turnout. The meeting was recorded so if you missed it please see below for a link to enable you to watch it. A reminder that the very important Medical and Permission form is due by next Friday 23rd.

Preparations are really ramping up for the musical, Footloose, with the technical pack-in today. Final rehearsals are this weekend with the dress rehearsals Monday and Tuesday next week. Our students never fail to amaze and deliver a great show, so be sure to get a ticket and come along - Wednesday 21st to Saturday 24th next week!

Also next week, voting closes for the board elections on Wednesday 21st. The board is integral to the successful running of the school so please take the time this weekend to read the candidate statements and cast your vote - see below for more.

A reminder also to pop in to the Lakes District Museum in Arrowtown to see ‘Showing Off’ - the amazing annual exhibition of our talented students’ work.

A big thanks to parents who are supporting our focus on students wearing the correct uniform correctly - we appreciate it.

Only two weeks to go in the term, which is actually only nine days now with the Queen’s Memorial holiday on Monday 26th, and with the Musical next week and Year 9 Journeys in Week 10 as well as a large amount of assessment due for seniors it will be a busy time. Seniors especially need to be well-planned and disciplined to ensure they do their best over this important period. Very much related, see below for this week’s Wellbeing action - Give.

Another great newsletter below with pieces on camps, scholarships, and all the latest sports and arts action. A good weekend of weather ahead for spring skiing and getting out and about - enjoy :)

Steve Hall
Principal

Key Dates

WHS Board Election - Last chance to vote!

Voting closes at 4pm next Wednesday 21 September so log in to vote now! 

Parent Election - Click the link in the email (iro@electionz.com) and follow the instructions to see the candidates, read their statements and place your votes. If required, you can log in and out of the voting site as many times as you like before casting your vote. 

The 10 candidates for the six Parent Representative positions are: 
- Blundell, Guy 
- Edmonds, John
- Exell, Rachel
- Hastie, Gaylene
- Irvine, Sara
- Januszkiewicz, Adrian
- O'Malley, Ben
- Maroszek, Daniel
- Mason, Simon
- Read, Melissa

Student Election - voting papers and candidate statements have been handed out in Ako Time.  Please post them in the purple box at Reception. 
The four candidates for the one Student Representative position are: 
- Boyt, Ava
- Clarke, Mason
- Hudson, Jess
- Ricketts, Daphne

Voting closes for all elections at 4pm Wednesday 21 September. 

Karla Dawson
WHS Returning Officer

Year 9 Journeys

Planning is now well underway for these trips that are occurring in the last week of Term 3 - Tuesday 27 and Wednesday 28 September. The Permission form for these trips was due on Tuesday 13 September. We are still short of many of these. They need to be returned as soon as possible, please. There are further planning meetings with staff and students in the coming week. Please ensure you are familiar with clothing, gear, food requirements. Information is available via the student Google Classroom. 

Many thanks
Regards
Ken McIntyre
PE and Outdoor Education Teacher

Year 10 Branches Parent Information Evening

We held a Branches Parent information evening last Tuesday for parents of Year 10 students. Please see link below to view the video footage of the presentation. The Branches consent medical and dietary form has been emailed to all parents. It is due by Friday 23rd September. 
Ken McIntyre
PE and Outdoor Education Teacher

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori

Nau mai ki Te Wiki o te Reo Māori - Welcome to Māori Language week at WHS.

Tēnei wiki, this week has been extra special across the motu as Wednesday marked the 50th anniversary of the te Petihana Reo Māori or Māori Language Petition, an event that led to many of the kaupapa we have today, including Te Wiki o te Reo Māori.

Rakatahi have lead the way this week with a student-led initiative on Monday as students signed a pledge to pronounce kupu Māori correctly, use more of te reo, and to give nothing to racism in Aotearoa. A big kā mihi, thank you goes out to Maraea from Mana Tāhuna for the ataahua, beautiful canvas she created for our tauira, students. During the course of the week we had students leading karakia over the loudspeaker, a Kahoot competition in the foyer, activities for students at Ako time, and live-streaming of the 50th anniversary of the petition.

Kia kaha te reo Māori!

Wellbeing - 5 Ways in 5 Weeks - Give

In the lead up to Mental Health Awareness Week (Week 10), the Wellbeing Council is running 5 Ways in 5 Weeks to increase awareness about how we can use The Five Ways to Wellbeing to help us feel good and function well. Each week, there will be a challenge or activity aimed at improving wellbeing, so keep an eye out on the Insta page - @wakatipuwellbeing - and get involved to win prizes and feel good!

Carrying out acts of kindness, whether small or large, can increase happiness, life satisfaction and wellbeing. By helping others, sharing our skills and resources, we’re doing things that give us purpose and a sense that we’re a part of a team. Giving is important for everyone – no matter what age you are! Giving helps develop children’s brains and supports them to learn to be kind and generous. Giving gives adults a sense of purpose and improves self-esteem. Older people who have left the workforce benefit hugely from sharing their time, knowledge, skills and resources.  

Do something nice for a friend, or a stranger. Thank someone, smile, or volunteer your time by joining a community group. It feels good to give! Everybody has something to offer. How will you play your part? 

Here are some ways you can 'give' back:
- Take opportunities to support and advocate for groups, friends, family or neighbours in need.
- Give a smile away!
- Organise or promote random acts of kindness days at school, work or when you're out with a group.
- While driving, stop to let a car into the traffic.
- Offer to mow the grass verge of your neighbour's property.
- Join a community clean up day - could be a local stream, river, beach or park - or a tree planting project with friends or family.
- If you have fruit trees pop your excess fruit out on the street with a "help yourself" sign. 
- Donate old toys, books, sports equipment, clothes etc to a local charity.
- Help with school working bees and fundraisers.
- Offer to help an older neighbour with their wheelie bins on rubbish/recycling days.
- Give a compliment – acknowledge what someone in your life has done well.

Cosgroves Scholarship

Congratulations to Cosgroves Scholarship Winner, Harry McVicar!

The Cosgroves scholarship established by the Cosgroves Consultants Directors provides financial assistance to students of Wakatipu High school so that they might attend a University in New Zealand. The Scholarship is to the value $2500.

 “We are interested in encouraging any student from the Wakatipu into a technical area where we can assist you with gaining work experience in our Christchurch office as an intern over Summer. Our main office in Christchurch has over 40 staff and it is there that we have the best opportunity to mentor you for a summer internship, with potential for other opportunities after that. We envisage the scholarship would likely go to a student studying either Civil, Electrical, Fire or Mechanical design engineering as those disciplines are aligned with our core services.”

What an amazing achievement for Harry who has shown an incredible interest in engineering throughout his high school career. Harry is an incredibly hard working, motivated and focused individual. With his other passions involving his football playing for the Queenstown Rovers and Wakatipu High Schools own first XI team. He will be pursuing engineering at Canterbury University. 

Well done again Harry, we wish luck to all students who are beginning their engineering journey at university next year!

Lead Prefect Message

Kia ora koutou,

I hope you have all had a lovely week and managed to escape the various cold weather spells. It isn’t too far until the end of the term, and with lots of assessments and pressure, it’s important to make sure you are taking care of yourself and ensuring that you are resting and getting some fresh air. 

This week marked the 50th anniversary of Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. Throughout the week we celebrated this event with different Māori waiatas for the bells, karakia to start and finish the day over our PA system, and a Te Wiki o te Reo Māori pledge signed by students and staff. As a kura, we’re proud to support te wiki o te reo Māori and to strengthen the language and culture of our tangata whenua, Māori. Kaua e whakamā ki te kōrero Māori, ahakoa he iti, he taonga. Don't be shy to speak Māori, no matter how little, treasure it.

Another event that is fast approaching is the annual musical. Tickets are on sale so get in quick before they sell out! It’s a great opportunity to watch all of the artistic talent that WHS has to offer. Opening night is next Wednesday the 21st and runs until Saturday the 24th. Next week also marks week 9 of the Term, the second last week of Term 3. With this in mind, it is going to be a hectic last couple of weeks so make sure to stay up to date by keeping track of your internal assessment calendar and all of your extracurriculars. Planning out your week is a great way to stay on top of your workload and keep a healthy balance between school, extracurriculars and down time. 

WHS is also currently in the process of selecting their student leaders for 2023. Future head students,  prefects, and house leaders are all in the interview stages of selection after some great speeches were shared in front of the school at the start of this week. Don’t forget to cast your vote for the Board of Trustee Student Representative via the purple voting slips handed out in ako. A reminder that these slips must be handed in at student services before the 21st of september.

Nga mihi ki a koutou, and have a great weekend! 
Jett Fa'amalepe
Māori Lead Prefect

Busy week in the Social Sciences

New Zealand Holocaust Centre Visit
Social Science students were fortunate to be given the opportunity to participate in workshops presented by Kris Clancy from the Holcaust Centre of New Zealand on Friday. 

Students appreciated the opportunity to learn and discuss with an external expert about a topic they found interesting and challenging.

Questions posed by the students reflected, not only their high level of interest but also their appreciation of the willingness of Kris to share his knowledge and resources.

Year 12 Business - Motivation in Business, AJ Hackett  Bungy 
AJ Hackett Bungy’s Human Resources and Safety Manager, Shane Wairau returned this week to speak with all three Year 12 Business Studies classes about motivation in business. This informative discussion focused on how motivational practices are implemented at Bungy and Shane shared a range of examples for students to incorporate into their current internal assessment. 

Shane is an inspirational speaker and sparks student curiosity. We really value his contribution and giving up his day to come and speak to our young entrepreneurs. Yet again students were inspired to come up with the best questions in the class with the reward of a free bungy jump. The lucky recipients this time round were:

• Ollie Battrick
• Thisanka Weeraddana
• Lachy Boniface

Thanks for your generosity AJ Hackett Bungy!

Nicola Proffit
Head of Social Sciences

Languages News

On the 14th of September, as an end to our unit on Food in Japanese, the 5JPN3 students went to Tanoshi in Five Mile for lunch. The waiter took the students' orders in Japanese and put a special deal on for the school, with options of ramen, donburi or bento. The food was oishii and this was a great opportunity for everyone to use the language they had been learning all term.  

Term 4 - After School Language Lessons on Offer
We are very excited to offer this first of kind opportunity to learn French after school. Please sign up using the details below. If you wish to know more about these opportunities contact, Mr Charton at gcharton@wakatipu.school.nz.

Mayoral Candidates' Forum

Wakatipu High School students were stars at Catalyst Trust’s Mayoral Candidates Forum held at the school on Tuesday night. If you couldn’t come – here’s the link to our YouTube video of it: https://youtu.be/fdaR_AMxgSo

The forum was moderated by experienced journalist and former local newspaper editor, David Williams, now South Island correspondent for Newsroom.

In the weeks leading up to the forum, Catalyst Trust facilitated workshops between Williams and a group of senior students on local government campaigns, politics and journalism.

Two members of this "Politics Thing" student group joined Williams on the forum's moderating panel, taking their turn to ensure issues important to youth were included and that the occasional attempt to swerve a direct answer did not succeed.

The rest of the group were responsible for collating the many questions from both students and audience to fit into the 50 minute Q&A session, with support from media veteran David Wethey.

And huge thanks to WHS teacher Kyle Jackson for his work coordinating the group.

Voting papers will start arriving in your mailbox any time from today and you have until noon, October 8, to get your vote in. Do check out the YouTube video - both to see the reality behind candidates’ soundbites and marketing gloss, and the great work for local democracy done by WHS students -  and please vote!

AND the evening raised over $300 for the high school Awhi Fund, as Catalyst donated the koha to this great cause.

Catalyst Trust

Position Vacant - Principal's Personal Assistant

We have a full time permanent vacancy for the Personal Assistant to the Principal.  For full details and to apply please see the link below

Arts News and Information

‘SHOWING OFF’ - Senior Visual Art Exhibition
Last Wednesday was the official opening of “Showing Off”. All senior students receiving an Excellence on their artwork were invited to display pieces at this annual exhibition. This year was our best turnout yet! The gallery space was packed with people enjoying the creativity and talent of our students. Those lucky enough to arrive early had some delicious treats from Rachel’s Kitchen. 

Thank you to Wayne Foley from Trinity Developments, and David Clarke and Jane Peasey from the Lakes District Museum for their continued support as our main sponsors of the event. 

For those yet to visit, the exhibition is being held at the LAKES DISTRICT MUSEUM in Arrowtown, running till Sunday 9 October.

There is a People's Choice Award for each discipline (painting, design, and photography) and one overall winner at the end of the exhibition.

Come and see the wonderful and varied artwork on display and cast your vote!

Congratulations FRIDA RYLEV - Competition Winner!
Queenstown Lakes District Council has chosen FRIDA RYLEV as the winner of the ‘ENCOURAGING PEOPLE TO VOTE’ in the upcoming regional elections.

Frida’s winning design will be displayed on the back of the local buses, published in the Scuttlebutt Magazine, and shared on the QLDC Website and local and national media.

It was great to see Frida take on this initiative and we are all very proud of her success.

Wakatipu High School presents Footloose: The Musical. Tickets on SALE NOW!
Wakatipu High School students are busy rehearsing for their annual musical production, Footloose, which opens next week on Wednesday 21 September. The Broadway hit musical, based on the 1984 film of the same name, tells the story of a high school student, Ren, who moves to a small town where dancing is banned. It is a great coming-of-age show that focuses on young people fighting for change, and is backed by a soundtrack of popular 80’s hits.

The production features Stefan Hall in the role of Ren McCormack, Jessa Bodle as Ariel and James Scoles as Reverend Shaw Moore. It is under the direction of Drama teacher Jake Hansen and Musical Director Alison Price. They are supported by student directors Helena Horbacher and Sofia Taquet, and student choreographers Sophie Thompson and Megan McCulloch. Between the cast and crew there are more than 100 students involved.

The show runs from Wednesday 21 September to Saturday 24 September with performances at 7pm. Tickets can be purchased online from iTicket. There will also be door sales from 6.30pm unless the show is sold out.

Venue: Wakatipu High School Theatre
Run Time: Approximately 2 hour plus intermission
Ticket link: https://www.iticket.co.nz/events/2022/sep/footloose-wakatipu 
Contact: Monica Parker, Arts Co-ordinator mparker@wakatipu.school.nz

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

Sports and Active Recreation News

Otago Golf Selections
Congratulations to Sumin Kang who has been selected into the Otago Senior Women's Golf Team and to Josh Harris who has been selected into the Otago Junior Men's team to compete against Southland this weekend. All the best!

Central Otago Junior Basketball Competition
The Central Otago Junior Basketball Competition finals were played on Monday this week and wrapped up the Term 3 competition. It was awesome to have five teams competing across three grades this year. The comp was really well supported by other Central Otago schools as well and has grown significantly this year. Well done to our Junior Boys A team who finished 2nd in the Boys A grade and great to see our Girls team, 9A team and 10B team all finish third in their respective divisions. A huge shout to our wonderful coaches; David Gibson, Ms Dukes, Tom Neilson, Tom Seuron and Matt Simister, who developed our players and traveled with these teams all over Central to play games. Thank you!

Ice Figure Skating 
Congratulations to Year 10 student Georgia Chinn who competed at the recent North Island Figure Skating Championship winning the Intermediate Novice grade and qualifying for Nationals. Sabine Edmonds has also qualified for Nationals at the recent South Island Championships. Skaters have one more opportunity to qualify at the Queenstown Club Champs.

Central Otago U15 Hockey Selections
Congratulations to Hugo Bogue and Alex Campbell who were selected for the Central Otago U15 Boys Hockey team which will compete at the South Island tournament in Christchurch during the holidays. Congratulations also to Abbie Rooney who made the Central Otago U15 girls team. Year 9 hockey player Katie Battrick is going to represent North Otago in a barbarians style team. Well done all.

WHS Rugby Prizegiving
Last night the annual rugby prizegiving was held. It was a great opportunity to celebrate the season, say thank you to our great group of coaches and managers and acknowledge some award winners. Below is a list of recipients per team and a list of those who earned their 1st XV cap this season.

Opportunities to Get Active!

Cricket Registrations
If you are wanting to play cricket this season the registration forms are available for both Queenstown Cricket Club and Wakatipu High School and can both be found on the cricket googe classroom. NZ Cricket has moved to a new system for the upcoming season and all players will need to register with both school and club through separate Play HQ forms. The WHS registration form can be found below. Anyone wishing to play regular, weekly cricket will need to register with the club. School cricket is for school exchanges and secondary school tournaments only.
WHS Cricket Registration Form: https://www.playhq.com/new-zealand-cricket/register/3e80df

Boxing and Muay Thai Sessions in Term 4
There will be boxing and Muay Thai sessions being run for five weeks in November for students on site after school with an instructor from Industrial Fitness. Boxing will run from 3:20-4:05pm and Muay Thai will run from 4:05-4:50pm. These session are for boys and girls and you can do one or both. There will be a cost involved in attending the five sessions which will be confirmed after registrations close. If you are interested please register on the form by Monday 19th September: https://forms.gle/sb2vv49FxjzS8JXXA

Junior Volleyball Competition
The Junior Social Volleyball competition is back for 2022 and will run for 7 weeks on Thursdays after school in the WHS gym from Week 1 to Week 7 in Term 4. More details can be found on the registration form below. All juniors are able to participate in this social competition, including those who are training for competitive volleyball. Please complete the registration form by Thursday 22nd September if you are wishing to participate.
Junior Social Volleyball Registration Form: https://forms.gle/Pbd9vTEwvAdmwiMw6
If you have any questions please email sportscoordinator@wakatipu.school.nz

Secondary School Athletics
WHS is currently the top school in Southland for Athletics and with the Southland Champs being postponed from Term 1 to Term 4 it would be great to have an awesome turn out at this regional event again. If you are keen to compete for WHS it is time to start thinking about training. Formal school training/support will kick off in Term 4. If you have any questions please email sportscoordinator@wakatipu.school.nz.
Key Dates:
Southland Athletic Champs - Saturday 12th November - Invercargill
NZSS Athletic Champs - Friday 9th to Sunday 11th December - Inglewood
Please complete this expression of interest form for the events you are interested in: https://forms.gle/EMuqAeHsFneCuDEN9

Term 4 Social Touch
It is time to gather your mates and get your touch teams together for another summer of fun or opt to be put into a touch team for the season. Below is a registration form for those wanting to play touch at the Event Centre on Monday evenings in Term 4. Details can be found on the form. There is also a team sheet below for those creating their own teams. Team sheets and expressions of interest are due on Monday 26th September.
Touch Registration Form: https://forms.gle/6xGMEqfCbznggbpy7
Team Sheet (please make a copy):
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1BB-1SfMz3zSeDTl1cRkH6gtUK8XNeLYzc03piEJv0AE/edit?usp=sharing

Queenstown Tennis Club Open Days
The tennis club are holding a series of open days throughout September at the tennis courts in Queenstown Gardens. More details can be found on the flyer below. The tennis club is for anyone interested in being coached and developing their tennis skills, including competitive players.
Junior Open Day - Sunday 25th September 1-4pm
For more details check out: www.queenstowntennisclub.co.nz

Kiwi Athlete Agency Seminars
The Kiwi Athlete Agency is hosting a series of zoom meetings for any students and parents/caregivers wanting to find out more information regarding the U.S. student-athlete pathway. This is a chance for those interested to ask any questions that you may have. These seminars are going to range from basic information to sport-specific sessions with guest speakers from their respective sports. The first seminar is going to be on Tuesday 20th of September at 6pm. This will cover all of the basics and is a good way to get things up and running for those  interested. It is free and to sign up you can use the link here:  https://events.humanitix.com/recruiting-101

New to WHS?
If you have just recently joined Wakatipu High School and keen to find out more information about sport and active recreation opportunities please visit our website to see what is on offer and join the google classrooms of those activities you are keen to participate in: https://www.sporty.co.nz/wakatipu

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 - Career Profile of the Week

Are you considering a unique aviation career as an air traffic controller?  

Careers - Job Vacancies for Students

Student Job Vacancies can be viewed at the link below. Please join the google classroom with the code: 3spycgk

WHS Foundation

Office Administrator wanted!
10 hours per week – independent contractor
The Wakatipu High School (WHS) Foundation is a charitable trust, working with our community to
support a world-class, all-round education for the youth of the Wakatipu Basin. 

This independent contractor role will provide administration support to our Executive Officer and
Board of Trustees to ensure that all our programmes, fundraising activities and communications is
delivered as planned.  
 
This role is for a part time Wakatipu based contractor for 10 hours per week, offering flexibility and
both a work-from-home and office arrangement.  Attractive pay rate based on experience.
There is room for both hours to increase as workload varies and over time.

Applications including cover letter and CV to be sent to exec@whsf.nz.
Applications close 20 September 2022

Community Notices

Support Wakatipu High School
and purchase your Entertainment Membership from us today!!