E ngā reo, e ngā mana, rau rangatira mā, ngā matā waka, tēnei te mihi nui atu ki ā koutou katoa. Ko te wawata me te tumanako ka noho ora mai koutou katoa.

Reflecting on Term Two, looking forward to Term 3

The end of Term Two is almost here, it has been a busy and action packed Term at WHS. It has been a Term of highs and lows. The disruption of Covid and flu has been frustrating for the school and community this term. We are still seeing Covid cases in our community and many of us have been affected by the flu which is impacting all schools across New Zealand.

In between this disruption we have seen some real highs. Most recently, our school Matariki celebrations highlighted how powerful it is when staff, students and the community come together for a common purpose. I would like to acknowledge all the hard work from our Junior students, Science Department staff and Te Aka Maatua team who brought the day together.

I have been privileged to see the resilience of our school through this term. Our students have been able to engage in such a range of activities over this term. A wide variety of house competitions, lunchtime clubs, trips, sports events, competitions and leadership opportunities. I continue to see the settled classroom environments we work hard to create and meaningful learning, happening across the school each day. None of this would be possible without our support staff and teaching staff. Like the students, I hope that they get a restful and well earned break.

Term 3. Looking ahead…

Term 3 will start with an adapted Senior and Junior timetable to support Achievement Week. This term we surveyed over 200 of our senior students and learned that there was a lot of anxiety and stress for them about where they were in their NCEA. Listening to the students, we identified that longer blocks of learning and the opportunity to complete outstanding work would really help our seniors. Therefore on the Tue, Wed and Thur of Week 1, all seniors will have the opportunities to complete assessments. Our teachers are currently planning for this week. The Friday of week 1 is a Teacher Only Day and our annual Senior Student Ball, the theme is Ancient Greece. I know our prefects are busy planning for this as we speak!

Week 2 sees another student-led leadership initiative called Peace Week. There are a range of opportunities for students to get involved in during the week at lunchtimes and throughout the day.

Week 4 sees our bi-annual Arts Festival where we showcase a range of talents across our school in the Arts area. Listening to our bands that are performing at Smokefree Rockquest this week, we are all in for a real treat! In addition, we see winter tournament week in week 6. Exam week in week 8. Subject teacher meetings, careers advice and subject selection for all students will be a real focus for us in the latter part of the Term.

We also see the return of International Students back to WHS and we will welcome them as part of our school, helping build our students' sense of the wider world and understanding of different cultures. I thank Sue Whale for re-invigorating this programme.

Thank you, as parents, for your ongoing support of our school.

Martyn Knapton

Principal

Brrr! Kiaora everybody, Mr Hanlen here. As I write this the mercury is hovering at 8 degrees and the rain is pouring here in Whitianga. The temperature may be down but spirits are high as the 19 rescheduled Marine Studies and Outdoor Education Senior Students embark on their PADI SCUBA diving Qualifications. 13 Level 3 NCEA Credits up for grabs. But the students have to work hard for it, completing over 14 hours of online learning and examinations. And right now they are on boats heading far off the coast. The biggest challenge is going to be plucking up the courage to SCUBA in frigid ocean conditions. 6 dives, 3 days. Destination Ohinau Island, Gemstone Bay Marine Reserve and Great Mercury Island. During these times there are Humpback Whales and Killer Whales migrating past and hopefully we will get an encounter over the next 3 days! Best of luck to these courageous young people.

Last week, all junior students contributed towards designing and delivering a Hāngi for the junior school as part of their term 2 science topic 'Matariki'.

This was a great way to come together as a school and celebrate our first Matariki at WHS.

For some students, this was a new experience and it was fantastic to see so many of them engaged, and curious as they learnt more and more about the process of a hāngi. Our Te Aka Mātua tuakana showed leadership and supported the juniors, guiding them through each process.

Students enjoyed a shared kai, a range of workshops, games of Ki O Rahi and performances from Te Aka Mātua.

We would like to congratulate everyone who was involved in making this day so successful and memorable for our school.

We have put together a short video showcasing some moments of the day

https://www.instagram.com/reel/CfN2vpHjSqZ/?igshid=NmZiMzY2Mjc=

GIRLS WITH HI-VIS

On June 16, we had a group of ten Wahine Toa involved in an awesome initiative, Girls with Hi-Vis. These young women demonstrated our school values throughout the day while learning about infrastructure in our local area. They heard from other wahine in the industry, checked out Waiotahi’s Blue Rock Quarry and managed to get behind one of the diggers with the guidance of experienced Waiotahi staff.

This was a great event to be a part of which we hope encouraged our young wahine to consider the various roles involved in infrastructure as a career path.

Special thanks to our hosts, Waiotahi and Connexis as well as guest speakers from Whakatāne District Council and Peppers.

DEFENSIVE DRIVING

We recently had 19 senior students complete their Defensive Driving 8-hour course plus one drive with MaryLou's Driving School. We are trying to negotiate another course for Term Three. Many thanks to Toi-EDA and Mary Lou for their support.

GATEWAY

The Gateway Programme allows students to experience an industry while still at school. We appreciate local employers for their support of hosting students and sharing their industry knowledge. If any of our school whanau and supporters are interested in working with us, please contact us at school. We have recently placed students into Waiotahi Contractors, as a direct result of the Girls in Hi-Vis outing. We also have space for some Year 12 students in Seeds, a retail programme based around Countdown Whakatane. Any Year 12 students interested in that should see Mrs Ball or Ms Stuart.

FUTURES ACADEMY

Students continue to attend the Futures Academy for their chosen trade. There may be spaces for some more short courses beginning in Term Three. Students should look out for details in next week’s school notices.

STUDENT JOB SEARCH

Local employers might want to join SJS to start recruiting for the summer. Our students who intend to study at the tertiary level in 2023 are eligible to use SJS from July 1 this year. It is a free service.

Students who are going to enrol in a tertiary course for 2023 are eligible to enrol for SJS once they have proof of enrolment in tertiary study.

https://www.sjs.co.nz/

UNIVERSITY APPLICATIONS AND SCHOLARSHIPS

Year 13 students who intend to go to university or polytechnic in 2023 or 2024, should check the latest announcement from their Career Classroom to prepare for their applications. Scholarships will be open from July 1 and accommodation applications will be open from August 1.

Next week, Thursday, July 7, from 1.15 pm, we will have Kennedy from The University of Waikato available for extra help with applying for scholarships, in the Careers Room.

DEFENCE FORCE

Students and their whanau wanting to find more information about Navy recruitment, there are a number of webinars coming up, details can be found on this document, including the webinar registrations: Navy Webinars

Jo-Anne Stuart and Julie Ball

jo-anne.stuart@whs.co.nz

julie.ball@whs.co.nz

https://www.facebook.com/WhakataneHighSchoolCareers

WHS had a number of girls playing in the NZ Maori Rugby League tournament that took place in Rotorua over Matariki weekend. Kokako Raki, Jordyn Shadrock and Kaia Skipps all played in the Tuhoe 18s Kotiro team with Naia-Lee Shadrock playing in the Tuhoe 16s Kotiro team. The 18s girls finished the tournament in 3rd place with the 16s finishing in 6th.

Huge congratulations to Kokako Raki who was named in the tournament team AND awarded Player of the Tournament for the 18s Kotiro division. Amazing work Kokako!

WHS U16 boys faced Trident on last Wednesday afternoon. With several key players absent, WHS were down to a team of 18 and feeling somewhat nervous about the game ahead. Trident was up first on the scoreboard with Riccardo Mareroa quickly equalising the score. The scoreboard at halftime was 21-7 to Trident.

Going into the second half Trident scored another two tries leaving a 21 point difference. It seemed like out of nowhere, the WHS team pulled together and ignited that spark that was much needed, demonstrating their determination and sheer strength, both mental and physical.

Te Okiwa Tutua was the next player over the try line, followed by Tawhitinui Midwood and Riccardo with another two to add to the tally. Odin Herrick then had a 40m run away leading to the final try of the match.

Tawhitinui showed he can perform well under pressure by successfully converting the try in the final minute to draw the game. What a comeback!!! Final score 38-38

Try Scorers: Riccardo Mareroa x3, Te Okiwa Tutua x1, Odin Herrick x1, Tawhitinui Midwood x1 and 4 conversions

Results from the EBOP Basketball competition held Monday night last week, for WHS teams -

• WHS Senior Boys A defeated Opotiki College Senior Boys 51-42
• WHS Senior Boys B defeated Te Wharekura o Ruatoki Senior Boys 52-22
• WHS Junior Boys A defeated WHS Junior Boys B 64-14
• WHS Junior Boys B lost to WHS Junior Boys A 14-64
• WHS Junior Boys B lost to Trident Junior Boys 22-72
• WHS Senior Girls lost to Trident Junior Girls 17-62
• WHS Junior Girls lost to TTK Wahine 14-83

The WHS Senior A boys then travelled to Tauranga on Wednesday for their BOP game. The Boys came away with a solid 67-41 win against Trident Senior Boys Blue.

Anyone interested, please get in touch with Mrs Blakeway in Lab 2 or email Mrs Whale at international@whakatanehigh.school.nz

We had 64 people come to enjoy some nibbles provided by the Interact Board and to watch the Elvis movie. Anne Bulley came as a representative of Relief Aid, which is a New Zealand local non-government funded charity working towards providing aid to people in war zones. Anne outlined what the Charity is, what they do and how the money raised will help the people of Ukraine. A raffle provided by Mrs Bonne was given away to the lucky winner on the night as well. The Interact Board are proud of their efforts in organising this event themselves as Mrs Bonne was able to take a back seat, while the board rose to the occasion and successfully ran the fundraiser.

- Charlotte Billings

Health services provided FREE in school:

• School Nurse: daily except Wednesday morning
• School Doctor: Tuesdays P2