Newsletter 2022 Term 3 week 1
Wairarapa College 2022
Principal's message
Welcome to Term 3 and welcome to our new staff and students. This term I am looking forward to building on two significant positives from last term. These were:
- a positive Education Review Office (ERO) visit
- very pleasing Semester 1 Junior Curriculum feedback from students
As you will see below, the Term 3 calendar contains a number of upcoming events and opportunities. It is also an important term for our senior students as they complete NCEA internal assessments and senior exams. To support our staff and students, with their learning and well-being, I encourage our parents and caregivers to attend Whānau Day on Tuesday 9 August and Course Selection Evening on 25 August. Further information will be emailed to whānau.
This term board of trustee elections will also be held. If you are interested in further involving yourself with the College's governance and educational outcomes, I encourage you to consider nominating yourself (or someone you know) for this role. Please make contact if you would like more information.
Please do not hesitate to contact the school if you have any questions by email office@waicol.nz.
Let's make it a great term.
Meitaki ma'ata - Thank you
Matt White
Principal Tumuaki
Please send us your Feedback to office@waicol.nz
Welcome to our new staff
Staff appointments:
· Aroha Pirere, Assistant Principal (start date August 22) joins us from Solway College.
· Kataraina Orme, Youth Worker.
· Kylie Banner, from Tu Ora Compass Health, will join Claire Marara for two days per week as a second school-based health provider. Kylie is a mental health nurse and is funded by the DHB.
Board of Trustees Elections
Tēnā koe
Calling for nominations for election as a school board member
Wairarapa College, like most state schools in New Zealand, is governed by a board of trustees. School boards play an important role in shaping the education experience and achievements of students and in setting related and other strategic goals for a school.
Board elections occur triennially (every three years) and provide an opportunity for parents and whānau members to be elected, by school community vote, to become trustees. Elections will be held this year, during September. Wairarapa College students’ parents, caregivers or other community members may stand for election to our board.
The composition of a (our) school board should reflect the composition and diversity of the members of the school community. Therefore, we welcome any nominations; and we encourage parents of Māori, Pasifika, and international students to consider this opportunity to stand for election as a trustee. We would also like to achieve a balance of genders on our board.
Standing for election is a great way to get involved with your school and your, and other, students' education. Almost anyone can be a board member. You don't need special skills or qualifications, just an ability to work well in a team and a genuine interest in the work of the school and the education and welfare of its students.
If you wish to consider standing, please visit the New Zealand School Trustees Association (NZSTA) website for further information.
https://www.schoolboardelections.org.nz/becoming-a-board-member/
Candidate nominations for the elections are open until 3 August 2022. You should receive a nomination form in your mailbox or via email over the next week or so. Please contact the school if you do not via office@waicol.nz or 06 370 0400.
Nāku noa, nā
Gretchen Dean
Presiding Member (Chair)
Wairarapa College School Board
Junior Curriculum in action
Ikubunkan High School Exchange
We are excited and honoured to welcome Yuna Kawai from Ikubunkan High School in Tokoyo, Japan. Yuna is attending college for the first six weeks of Term 3 and staying with Ms Bushnell and her whānau. She is one of the 42 exchange students from Ikubunkan High School currently attending schools in the Auckland and Wellington regions. We were also privileged to host Yuna's teachers and principal on July 27 who were impressed with our new buildings, our school farm and our sports fields.
40 Hour Famine
Our students (and 3 teachers) completed the World Vision 40 Hour Famine. Challenges included 40km walking and bike rides, 40 hours no talking, 40 hours only using 40 litres of water, 40 hours outside, 40 hours 40 acts of kindness as well as the traditional 40 hours no food. The prefect team also took on the challenge of 40 hours no furniture over 2 school days.
The annual 40 Hour Famine concert was held last Thursday night. It was a great success with some awesome acts and raised over $1000. Big thanks to Mr Wiramanaden, Thorin and the tech crew and all the amazing performers for making it such a great night.
While the 40 Hour Famine is now completed, we still have time to reach our fundraising goal of $10,000. As of last night, we are sitting at over $9,000.00. You can sponsor Wairarapa College via https://my.worldvision.org.nz/ss/GakS6J/wairarapa-college or go to http://famine.org.nz/ and search for a student or teacher to support.
Thanks to the awesome 40 Hour Famine student leadership team for all their hard work to make it happen.
Ms Fleur Hardman
40 Hours Fun Fundraising
40 Hour Famine Concert
Congratulations
Former Student Success
Former students Aqeeda Singh and Jordan Minnell both went to Otago to do Health Sciences. See below information on some of their achievements to date.
School Ball
We have the Wairarapa Senior College Ball coming up on the 20th August. This is a special night, much anticipated by our Year 13 Students. In order to attend this, it is important students have regular attendance at school.
Tickets sales for the Ball are now open and close on the 5th August. There are NO LATE SALES, as caterers need definite numbers.
Tickets will be issued on Friday 19th August to the ticker purchaser. That means students must be at school on that day. Tickets are $85 each.
SADD.ORG.NZ
This past term has been very busy for the SADD team! During Week 2, it was Road Safety Week. This involved running a Drive App Campaign, encouraging students to get their licenses. The winners of this campaign were Ella Ticehurst and Lily Rees, who each received a pass to the Screening Room. Thank you to our Road Safety Counciller, Holly Hullena, for organising these prizes for us! On the last day of Road Safety Week, we held a Yellow Shirt Day, with members of our team wearing yellow shirts. In Week 5, the SADD Regional Youth Symposium was held at REAP House. Four students from the WaiCol SADD Group attended this, and below is a summary of the day, written by Izzy Ross-Harding, one of the attendees. Nearer the end of the term, during Week 9, a casual clothes day was held to support the Wellington Free Ambulance, and Fire and Emergency NZ. Thank you to all those who helped us raise a total of $850, which will be halved and donated to each organisation during the next assembly.
On the First of June members of our SADD group had the great opportunity of attending the Wairarapa Regional Youth Symposium for Students Against Dangerous Driving. Many schools participated in this day, and it was an opportunity for us as a group to share ideas, gain more knowledge on road safety and pinpoint our next plans. We learned how to best make an action plan for future projects.
At the beginning of the day, we listened to a talk from a representative from Waka Kotahi, who discussed the toll that road accidents have on the government and the importance of proper car safety ratings. There was then a talk from General Manager, Donna Govorko who spoke about the design process which complemented our Road Safety Counciller, Holly Hullena, who spoke about the process of planning an activity that had purpose and was related to our core beliefs. We broke off into our groups and identified issues we had surrounding road safety in our communities and ideas of how to fix these. We also got to hear from a panel comprised of representative from the Greater Wellington Council, Carterton Council, Wairarapa Fire, Wairarapa Police department, and Tu Ora, who taught us how to make our own mocktails. Hearing from this panel meant we got to hear different ways to implement road safety and all the ways that road safety operates in our communities.
All of the attendees of the Youth Symposium appreciate all of the hard work and dedication that was put into making sure that this event could take place. We were all disappointed that the National Conference was cancelled due to COVID-19, so the opportunity to attend a regional event such as this was amazing!
-The SADD Team
Kylie - Registered Nurse
Fay - Nurse Practitioner
Claire - Registered Nurse
Wairarapa College Health Clinic Update
Kia Ora Waicol Whānau,
The Health Clinic at Wairarapa College is a confidential service provided free of charge to all our students. Term 3 sees us extend our clinic hours to provide a range of health services to our students Monday to Friday 8.30am – 3pm (9am on Fridays). This is an important function our school has taken on as the health service in the community is currently under intense pressure. Appointments at school take pressure off practices in the community, and save whanau having to get students to appointments outside of school hours.
This term, we welcome Kylie, a registered nurse who will be working two days a week as a specialist mental health nurse. Kylie has experience in case management as well as crisis and community support. Kylie will also cover in the general clinic so students will get to know her around school. Students wanting specific support with their mental health can self-refer. Parents or staff can also request for Kylie to assess students. Kylie will work closely with the student support team at school to refer students for in-house counselling, or to specific support services in the community. Referrals to agencies outside of Waicol require parental consent.
Fay is a very experienced Nurse Practitioner who we are very fortunate to have on our team. A Nurse Practitioner has more training and experience than a registered nurse. Fay can diagnose and prescribe medications. She comes to the Health Clinic one morning a week and is always well booked up. Fay is usually based in the emergency department at the hospital. Fay describes herself as doing what a family doctor/GP can do with the heart of a nurse.
Claire is our full-time registered nurse who is now in her sixth term at Waicol. Based in the general clinic, Claire can assess injuries, help with monitoring long term conditions, offer sexual health services or anything else a student may be concerned about. Claire is usually the first port of call for students before referrals to Kylie or Fay if more specialist support is required. Claire and Kylie also complete wellness assessments on our Year 9 students. These assessments give us the chance to confidentially discuss anything that could be hampering an individual’s learning. We then make a plan to get support in any necessary areas.
Appointments are required to see any of the health clinic nurses. This can be done via messaging ‘nurse’ on Teams, or emailing nurse@waicol.nz. There is also a letterbox outside the clinic if students wish to be called for an appointment. As a team, we work closely with the school student support team to provide the best possible care for our young people. For ‘panadol and plasters’ (minor ailments) we ask students to see our lovely office ladies. This frees up the nursing team to have constructive appointments with your children. The Health Clinic service is provided by Tu Ora Compass Health.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch with the clinic if you have any questions or concerns
Ngā mihi
Claire, Fay and Kylie
Classics Week Prize Winners
Thank you to everyone who entered the national Classics Week competitions.
Congratulations to Year 13 Classics student Arahanga Manaena for winning first prize in 'I Need A Hero' with his artwork of Achilles reimagined as Spiderman. Well done to Year 10 student Ben McCarthy (All Roads Lead to Rome) who gained the second highest score in Aotearoa New Zealand in the Classics Blooket Quiz. An Honourable Mention goes to 13 Classics for their re-creation of Pompeii's Dionysiac Frieze from the Villa of the Mysteries.
Mrs Kate Murray
Empowering Youth Blue Light Leadership Programme
Our Blue Light Leadership Camp at the RNZAF Base Auckland Whenuapai from the 06th to the 10th of December 2022 is now open for application.
The programme will centre on a week-long residential camp covering several aspects of leadership training. This will include confidence building , teamwork, communication, physical activity, and coordination. Participants on this programme can also earn up to 14 Level One NCEA credits.
Attached below is the information brochure and application form, so if you are a Year 10 and 11 student who has demonstrated leadership skills and who you think would benefit from attending our camp, please contact me as spots are filling up quickly. 😊
Feel free to contact me if you have any questions
Kind regards
Stefanie McGregor
Youth Worker & Mentor
Outstanding Youth Champion – NZ Youth Awards
Phone 022 106 8216 Office 0800 BLUE LIGHT (258 354) Email stefanie@bluelight.co.nz
Visit us at www.bluelight.co.nz www.facebook.com/nzbluelight
NZ Blue Light Ventures Inc. PO Box 102199, North Shore, Auckland 0745
Registered charity: CC21948
Upcoming events
July 31 - Cook Island Language Week
August 2 - Palmerston North Girls Sports exchange
August 4 - NZ SS Squash Tournament & Australian Math Competition begin
August 5 - Veterinary Nursing Taster Day
August 9 - Whànau Day
August 10 - Matharapa begins & Barista Course
August 11 - Apiculture Taster Day
August 12 - Food Bank Casual Clothes day
August 15 - Interhouse quiz begins
August 18 - School Photos
August 20 - Senior School Ball
August 23 - Year 13 Geography Trip
August 24 - Speech Competitions begin
August 25 - Course selection evening
August 29 - Teacher Only Day & Winter Tournament Week begins
September 4 - Tonga Language Week
September 8 - Year 10 Agricultural Trip
September 9 - Cultural Photos
September 13 - Māori Language Week
September 19 - School Exams begin
September 25 - Tuvalu Language Week
September 27 - Sports Photos
September 28 - 3x3 Basketball Tournament
September 30 - Term 3 Ends
Contact Us
Email: office@waicol.nz
Website: https://waicol.co.nz/
Location: 83 Pownall Street, Masterton 5810, New Zealand
Phone: 06 370 0400