Northern Southland College

PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE

27 May 2022

Kia ora koutou

At the last Board of Trustees meeting we discussed Covid Health and Safety. Even though wearing masks on site is no longer a government mandated requirement, we are required to consult with our school community to consider how best to keep our students, staff and visitors as safe as reasonably practical from Covid harm.

Last week I sent an email to all whānau to ask for feedback around mask wearing and Covid Health and Safety. In line with MOE and MOH guidelines we strongly recommend staff and students to wear a mask at NSC. Visitors to NSC are asked to wear a mask while indoors (except those that have an exemption). Visitors may be able to remove their mask indoors in certain circumstances (eg. presenting in assembly whilst being physically distanced from others). Visitors are not required to wear a mask outdoors while on site. Mask wearing on school buses is still mandatory. If you have any feedback on this matter, please get in touch. We encourage all to continue to adhere to good hygiene practices (hand washing, sanitising, cough etiquette, social distancing where practical) and to stay home when unwell.

We are in the process of our PB4L refresh. PB4L is the acronym for Positive Behaviour For Learning, which is the foundation of our school values. We have three values at NSC all based around Respect. They are:

· Respect for Self

· Respect for Others

· Respect for Property

Staff and students in the PB4L committee have been working tirelessly in the background to consult and make decisions about all things PB4L from the ‘Respect Cards’ to the rewards system and poster design to name a few. Over the coming months students and staff will see the PB4L refresh taking shape at NSC.

Ngā mihi

Pete Wilkinson

Upcoming Events

Northern Primary Cross Country - Thursday 2 June
Queens Birthday - Monday 6 June
Chainsaw Course - Y12/13 Ag Students - Thursday 9 June
Vision/Hearing testing - Y 7 - Thursday 16 June
Chainsaw Course - Wednesday 22 June
GRIP Leadership Course - Wednesday 22 June
Chainsaw Course - Thursday 23 June
Matariki Public Holiday - Friday 24 June

Emails from the College

To ensure you don't miss out on important information from the College, please check your junk/spam folder. Our address now ends with "nsc.school.kiwi", so if you do find them there you will need to mark as "not junk mail" so that future correspondence goes to your inbox.

This needs to be checked regularly as each new teacher will mean a new email address that could be going to Spam.

YEAR SEVEN VISION SCREENING

The Vision Hearing Technicians from Population Health team, Southern District Health will be visiting the College to screen all year seven students for distance vision on Thursday 16 June. Please note the change of date.

Distance Vision (Amblyopia & Hyperopia)

This determines how well your child is able to see at a distance. It involves reading an eye chart.

(This free vision check is not required if student wears glasses and/or is currently under care of an optometrist or eye specialist).

If you do not wish your child to be screened please fill out an opt-out slip, which are available at the school office before our visit.

7/8 Mathematics

Our Year 7/8 Mathematics classes have been busy working co-operatively to learn about rockets this term. First games were undertaken to ensure everyone could work together and make changes to plans when different variables were thrown in. A lot of creative thinking was apparent when trying to get the balloon safely to the other end of the courts without it touching any body part above the hips!

Student's worked together to discover the right amount of water and PSI to combine to get the ultimate lift, thrust, weight and drag when launching rockets. Ask them why this is called the 'goldilocks effect.'

After much trial and error and going back to the drawing board, all groups managed to launch their final rocket yesterday. Some with success and some with lots of learning and reflecting on what went wrong with their design!

This was a great opportunity for students to utilise skills of Science, Technology, Engineering, English and Mathematics.

NCEA Credits for Driver's Licence

Seniors - you can get credits for your Driver's Licence. The Learner Licence is worth 2 credits at Level 1, the Restricted is 4 credits at Level 2, and the Full Licence is 2 credits at Level 2. Take a photo of your licence and email it to jordana.norrish@nsc.school.nz and they will be put onto Kamar for you.

May 10-13: Year 11 Kepler Camp

From Tuesday 10 May to Friday13 May, our Year 11s hiked through the Kepler Track. Despite some run-ins with the sandflies at the huts, it was a fantastic trip with picture-perfect weather that allowed us to make it to Luxmore Hut.

A HUGE thank you to Mr Sheat and Mr Reid for helping us look after the students, and a job well done to all students who attended.

Clay Target - 15 May Invercargill Intercollegiate Shoot

Skeet - 1st Junior - Jack Heslip, 2nd Junior Mitchell McLachlan, 3rd Flynn Burr

- 1st 2 person skeet team - Cade McLachlan & Jack Heslip

Single rise - 2nd Senior Cade McLachlan, 1st Junior Mitchell McLachlan, 3rd Junior Duncan Durling

Single Barrel - 1st Senior Makenzie Appleyard-Drake

Points Score Individual - HOA Jack Heslip, 1st Senior Kate Bennett, 2nd Senior Flynn Burr, 1st Junior Duncan Durling, 2nd Ladies Grace Naylor

High Gun - Senior Flynn Burr, Junior Jack Heslip

1st Ladies Team

1st Southland Team

1st Open Team

Rugby

Rugby Southland have introduced Thursday rugby for the boys grades this year. This means all teams will have two Thursday night games. Due to most games being a 4.15 kick off, boys will need to sign out from school early. Boys can communicate with their coaches if there is a problem.

At this stage, these are the games that are on a Thursday, but we imagine there will be more in the U16 grade as the draw is not completed yet due to the grade being split into three pods.

Student Coaching Clinic

Three of our senior students are taking the opportunity to attend a Student Coaching Clinic on Wednesday 1 June in Gore.

Kadia Muir, Kayla Wise and Adam Bayer will participate in groups where they will attend practical sessions about coaching and leadership. We hope this will be most beneficial to their own coaching commitments in their chosen sports.

Extension to COVID-19 hardship assistance for whānau

The Government has extended the increased income limits for hardship assistance until Thursday 30 June.

This means more casual or part-time workers, or people who aren’t already getting financial support, will continue to be eligible for help with their immediate or emergency costs. This is especially important for those who need direct help as part of the COVID-19 welfare response.

People new to MSD can check these links to see the new income limits:

· Special Needs Grant

· Recoverable Assistance Payment

· Advance Payment of Benefit

· then click on our check what you might get guide.

You will be be asked some easy questions about your costs, then MSD will let them you about any Work and Income payments you may be able to get.

Alternatively, if You would like to talk with MSD, you can call:

· 0800 559 009 for working age

· 0800 552 002 for over-65s

· 0800 88 99 00 for students

Interpreters are available.

Please note, income limits for Emergency Housing Special Needs Grants, Transition to Work Grants and the Course Participation Allowance aren’t changing.

University of Waikato Open Day

Open Days for both campuses will extend across Friday and Saturday to give students and their whānau the option to experience the best of what the University has to offer on the day that suits them best. The dates for these are:

· Hamilton campus: Friday 27 and Saturday 28 May

· Tauranga campus: Friday 17 and Saturday 18 June

· Virtual Open Day: Wednesday 17 August

The Friday events are tailored for school leavers, but we also invite students to attend Saturday with their parents and whānau, at one or both campuses. On the day, students can:

· Attend information sessions, mini lectures and workshops

· Chat to our staff and students

· Enjoy live entertainment and food stalls

Click on the link to register and take part.

Virtual Open Day

For those students and staff who are not able to attend our on-campus Open Days, we will again hosting a Virtual Open Day later this year on Wednesday 17 August. We also ask that students register for this event.

Scholarships

We also want to encourage students to take a look at the comprehensive range of scholarships we have on offer for 2023. Our scholarships programme saw over 900 offers made to students in 2022.

Contacting the College

If you need to contact the College about a student absence or for a query please either;

Ring 03 248 7121 and follow the prompts, text 027 248 7121, or use the absence feature on the school app.

Parents/Caregivers are also required to give the College notice if students are leaving early. Please do this by either phoning, using the app or texting the above number.