PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE Greetings and welcome again to the Wakatipu High School newsletter as we reach the end of Week 8 and an important junction in the term as we head to Easter. The term so far has been a very busy one, so it feels lucky to have this early Easter break in the term. Please see below for some important points to note.

ISSUE 9 • 24 MARCH 2016 IN THIS ISSUE: Principal’s Message

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New school ground-breaking

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Student Council Update

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Sheilah Winn Festival

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Sports Coordinator News

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Student Design Challenge

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Japanese Exchange

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Youth Conference

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School Musical

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2016 Youth Award Nominations

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2016 Important dates, Meet the Staff

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Community notices

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New School Ground-breaking - last Friday afternoon was the ground-breaking ceremony for our new school. While the original intention and advice was that it only needed to be a low-key and small ceremony, it actually became quite a large event with over 140 people attending, including the Deputy Prime Minister, the Honourable Bill English. The great turnout shows how important the new school is to WHS and to the community. As well as blessing the site in anticipation of the site works, which were to begin this week, it certainly was an event which marked an important moment in our journey to the new school. This thing which seemed far off into the future certainly felt a whole lot closer and more real. It was also significant for a number of people to actually stand on the site and see just what a remarkable place it will be for our school. Next Steps - Parent-Teacher Evenings - there was a great turnout for the Junior Next Steps evening last night, it was great to see so many junior parents and students there. Senior Next Steps is next Wednesday 30th March from 2:30pm - 7:00pm, bookings are open at www.schoolinterviews.co.nz and the booking code is mx2n3. This is an important evening, please do come along. WHS Communications - as I have flagged recently we have now developed a plan for how we will communicate what to parents. Improving communication to parents has been a real focus over the last few years, and the feedback is that

we have done a good job. It is certainly something that has evolved over that time - in part as technology and various mediums change and develop, but also as our understanding of this area has developed. There are a number of considerations for us in our communications strategy, including being timely, being able to target the right group (eg bus info) rather than swamping everybody with all info all the time, and being efficient, including cost. Targeted texting from our database has been effective in the last few years, but it is expensive. The new WHS App has been a good development and meets many of our criteria. Our plan for how we will communicate what to parents is now on our website. It shows for example how we will communicate for events that are urgent and important and involve the whole school, eg a snow closed day, versus what we will use when one bus is running late. Please see details here. From that you will see that the WHS App is a critical part of the way we are going to communicate - so if you haven't already, please go to the iTunes App Store or the Google Play store and download the WHS App AND then go to Alert Subscriptions to select what you want to receive notifications about. Musical - it is that time of year again when we have our wonderful school musical. This year it is ‘Catch Me If You Can’ - with a great story and great music. Our musicals are always fantastic entertainment, but they are also an important opportunity for our students to learn - both in an academic sense for a number of students, but also in a holistic way for everyone involved. Musicals are also however incredibly expensive undertakings for schools and we really need good ticket sales to support it. Please do support this wonderful opportunity for our students by encouraging friends and family and buying tickets to the show. Tickets are available on Eventfinda.

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WHS Vision - another reminder to put Wednesday 13th April in your diary for our evening for parents to have their input into the vision for WHS. Our facilitator, Mark Osborne, is a great presenter who will open your eyes to the future of work and education as part of the process of developing a vision for WHS. As I opened with, today is an important marker in this term as we break for Easter. When we return there are only two and a half weeks until the end of term, which does include summer tournament week and the Musical. Seniors in particular are highly likely to have assessments due (see the Homepage of our website for Assessment Calendars), so students need to return from this break raring to go. Please do note that as we are celebrating Southland Anniversary on the day after Easter, school starts again on Wednesday 30th. Despite the pouring rain as I write, the weather is going to come right - have a happy Easter. Steve Hall Principal

NEW SCHOOL GROUND-BREAKING CEREMONY Photos by Mr Guillaume Charton

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STUDENT COUNCIL UPDATE The foundations for another busy year ahead of the various Wakatipu High School Sub - Councils have been set, with numerous council meetings being held over the last few weeks in order to develop visions for the year. These visions, in the form of ambitious goals will guide the direction in which each Sub - Council will move in, as well as influence the impact they have on the specific areas of our School and wider Community. The Goals for the various 2016 Wakatipu High School Sub - Councils are: Academic Council: - Provide promotional support for extracurricular academic activities in order to increase school wide involvement. - Organise at least one successful academic focused event a term - Raise school wide involvement in academic events Chair person: Kirsty McCorkindale [email protected] Community and Service Council: - Provide Wakatipu High School with an array of opportunities to ‘give back’ and positively contribute to our local community - Raise awareness within the school about what charities and organisations we have within our community, as well as highlight what they have to offer and how we can support them. -Contribute to the environmental wellness of the school and wider community. Chair person: Ashley Burney - [email protected]

Arts and Cultural Council - Promote arts and culture at Wakatipu High School - Increase relations between the Lakes District and the arts council - Organise at least one successful event a term; accompanied by large amounts of promotion and awareness of these events within the school and community. - Help recognise arts and cultural achievement in and out of school Chair person: Luke Petre - [email protected] Sports Council: - Increase participation in the sports and outdoors both inside and out of school. - Recognise all areas of participation within the sporting sector. - Communicate out of school sporting events and achievements. - Create an MVP (Most valuable player) for sports teams. Chair person: Ben Hull - [email protected] Junior Council: Showcase and raise awareness of the Junior Council's’ involvement in various initiatives, events and efforts to the student body and affiliated to positively increase support. Organise at least one Junior School exclusive event over the course of 2016, which is to be lead and directed by Junior Students. Improve the positive interaction between the Junior and Senior School in an effort to enhance the Wakatipu High School environment. Chair person: Yuta Honda - [email protected]

Information about each Sub-Council can be found on the school’s Intranet page under the students section. Details about the roles and responsibilities of each Council, their members as well as minutes from each meeting can be found there. If you would like to get in contact with any of the Sub-Councils, please email the appointed Chairperson to do so.

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SHEILAH WINN SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL The Southland Regional SGC NZ University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival was held on Tuesday night at James Hargest College to a packed audience. It was an absolute feast of Shakespeare’s finest works. Wakatipu High School always provide very strong competition for the other Southland schools and we are all treated to 12 highly engaging performances; from the bawdiest of comedies to the bloodiest of tragedies. This year’s student directors; Vanessa Woodward, Georgia Budd, Hugh Taylor and Ella Buchanan took on the huge task of directing two comedy excerpts; a 15 minute piece from “Much ado about Nothing, which they played as a “sit-com” and a 5 minute piece which was set in an office in the 80s. While neither performance qualified for Nationals this year, the actors performed beautifully and received three well deserved awards. Best Costume for “Much Ado About Nothing” & Best “moment” in a scene from Midsummer Night’s Dream where Lysander and Demetrius fought with staplers. Beatrice Onions received the award for “Excellence in Acting” for her comedic role of Beatrice in Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Full Cast photo "Much Ado About Nothing"

Overall, it was a very successful trip that gave all 16 performers valuable experience of this hugely popular Shakespeare Festival. Planning is already underway for next year! Congratulations to the entire team - Hugh Taylor, Ella Buchanan, Georgia Budd, Vanessa Woodward, Esmond Paterson, Kiki Leichti-Clarke, Ben Nicol, Hannah Jarocka, Beatrice Onions, Nina Johnstone, Izzy Jack, Billie Parvin, Amelia Hamilton, Sophia Harris, Erika Takahashii and Bayley Bennett as tech support. A huge thank you to our support Crew of Kate Rolleson, Jack Swale and Dierdre Butler.

Cast Photo "Midsummer Night's Dream"

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SPORTS COORDINATOR NEWS Athletics – Everyone who participated managed to qualify for at least one event for the South Islands which is a very impressive accomplishment. The first 5 in each final qualified for the South Islands. Sophie Woodham continued to show her class in her events. She won the Long Jump and High Jump in her grade, was first equal also in the hurdles in a dead heat which the cameras couldn’t separate. After all that still had enough energy to place 4th in the 100m sprint final, so has qualified in all of her events. Benjamin Britton placed 4th in his U14 3000m race and 6th in the 1500m. While Alex Cheifetz placed 5th in his U14 1500m and 8th in the 800m. Gareth Harcombe placed 5th in the U15 boys 800m and 6th in the 1500m. Tasuku Yoneto placed 2nd in the Under 14 boys Hurdles and 7th in the Long Jump, while big brother Hayato Yoneto finished 5th in the Under 15 boys 400m and 9th in the Triple Jump. Lars Noordhoek also placed 5th in the Triple Jump. Skiing – The alpine ski racers have been at it again. Alice Robinson had an amazing weekend at the USSA Western Region Championships winning the U16 Girls. She dominated with a 1st place in the Giant Slalom and Slalom and a 5th in the Super G. Andie Gillings also raced strongly in these finals finishing further back in a very strong field. Ben Ellis also had great day for the Slalom finishing 12th after putting himself in 6th place after his first run. Downhill MTB – The downhill team have earnt themselves a rest after a long season racing all over the country in the NZ Cup Series and then also finishing with the New Zealand Downhill Nationals in Cardrona last weekend. Sam Robbie led the way again taking out the national title in the U17 men’s event at Cardrona on the weekend after also winning the NZ Cup Series title. Hamish Mcleod also raced in the NZ Cup series with a 5th place overall while Blair Mcleod was 7th overall in the U19’s. Golf – Congratulations to the Golf team who travelled to Dunedin last Friday to compete in the Otago Intercollegiate Tournament at Chisolm Links Golf Course. Callum Judkins and Danielle Bailey were the standout performers of the day finishing 1st and 3rd respectively. Jack Turner had a good comeback to finish tied for 10th while Terry Kim came in 16th. This meant that WHS took out the team title and qualified for the national finals later in the year! Summer Tournament – There is not long to go now until the end of the summer season with tournament week fast approaching. This year we have students traveling as far as Auckland with the Tennis team making the trek north for the National finals. We will also be cheering on the athletics team, swimmers, rowers, lawn bowlers, and triathletes this year. We are lucky enough to have the New Zealand Secondary Schools Triathlon Championships in our own back yard at Jacks Point and the Maadi Cup just up the road in Twizel.

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Rowing - It was a big weekend in rowing last week with the South Island Secondary Schools regatta being held in Twizel. A squad of 52 made the trip up the road to race against the best in the South Island. The team came back with a haul of six medals and are building nicely for Maadi Cup in a couple of weeks. Top Results: Girls U15 Double Sculls – Gold Girls U16 Coxed Four – Silver Boys U15 Coxed Four – Silver Girls U18 Lightweight Coxed Four – Bronze Boys U18 Lightweight Coxed Four – Bronze Boys U18 Novice Coxed Four - Bronze Netball – A big thank you to Kaye O’Connell for getting the Netball girls up and running. Again we have a record breaking year with over 160 girls involved this season. Squad lists and training times have now been posted on the school gymnasium noticeboard with training starting up next week. If any parents would like to be involved with a team this year volunteers are more than welcome. Please contact Kaye or the Sports Coordinator [email protected] Cricket - The 2015/16 cricket season has now come to an end. It has been a big rebuilding year for players and the school. From initially struggling to consistently field quality teams, there are now two good groups playing on Saturdays in the ‘Central Schools' grade and several players who have pushed on and played at Senior Reserve level. A lot of this enthusiasm came from the initiative of Russell Mawhinney who with the help of Ian Collin and others, organised a tour to new South Wales to play in a Cricket carnival. This event, along with good coaching from Emma Campbell from Queenstown Cricket Club, has really raised the standard of play and pride in performance. A number of players gained Otago Country Representative honours and participated in regional age group tournaments. Ex student and top school cricketer Kevin Loggenberg is also about to head to the United Kingdom and commence playing for a club there which is an exciting step for him as a cricketer. Thanks to all involved and ‘Go the Black Caps’ in the World Cup 20/20! Wakatipu High School Rugby Open Day Last weekend a team of rugby coaches and teachers hosted a skills session at the Rec Ground focusing on key aspects of the game for players from the U14, U15 and senior team. This was an opportunity to welcome boys to the start of the rugby season and was followed by the senior team playing a travelling Canadian team as part of their pre-season programme. WHS won 25-20. A big thank you to the coaches and teachers involved, we look forward to a great season this year. Information about the season was emailed to all players and parents last week. Subs are due to be paid by early May.

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Southland Volleyball Championships - The Senior A Girls Volleyball team recently competed at both the Otago Championships in Dunedin and the Southland Championships in Invercargill. The finished a very commendable 6th out of 12 teams in the Otago Championships which gave them the game time they needed to go on and win the Southland Championships the following day. It was a tough battle in the final against a very experienced Southland Girls High A team but the team kept their composure, winning 1614 in the final set. Members of the Champion team are: Candace Berger, Sydney Bongers, Sophie Brown, Danique Ehmann, Melisse Cayabyab, Akaze Suzuki, Olivia Ray, Olivia Whorskey. Coach: Sonia Panapa.

STUDENT DESIGN CHALLENGE Calling all creatives! We are going to produce a biannual journal that publishes student writing, photography, art and design. But the journal needs an identity. Here's the brief:  Come up with a concept for the title and cover design  Design a poster calling for submissions to the journal. The poster will be published in the school newsletter and in A3 format around the school buildings  Should command the attention of WHS creatives and clearly communicate a vision for the Journal  Come up with a tagline for the journal that will be included in advertising material for it  Choose a series of possible themes for upcoming publications (suggested number: 8)  Should be original and reflect the identity of WHS as a community  Must be relatively timeless as we hope the journal will continue in coming years. Concept shouldn’t date too quickly. Deadline for concept submissions: Friday 1 April Email entries to [email protected]

JAPANESE EXCHANGE STUDENTS From the 15th of March we have been privileged to welcome 24 Japanese Exchange students to Queenstown. They will sadly be departing on Saturday 26th March back to Japan but we are looking forward to experiencing their way of life in September this year. During their time here they have been enjoying a wide variety of activities as organised by Miss Hembrow including bungy jumping, gondola lunch and luge, Earnslaw farm tour, kiwi bird life park, jet boating to name but a few. Alongside this, the students have also come into classes with buddy WHS students. Our Japanese students have been staying with host families during their time here to experience an authentic cultural experience and enjoy the lifestyle of a New Zealand family. I have hosted one of these students and can confidently say that they have thoroughly enjoyed it! Jason McCulloch, Year 10 Student

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YOUTH CONFERENCE Did you know that the streets of Queenstown are empty at 5am? Well, for the 11 Wakatipu High School students who attended the 2016 Global Youth Conference last Friday, it wasn't the only thing we were shocked to find out on the day. Dunedin served as the host city for the conference, which revealed itself to be a lot more than just for the purpose of absorbing facts and opinions. Each student was individually challenged in a multitude of activities involving group work, strategic thinking, and retaining the expansive range of information we were given on the day. Business men and women walked across the stage, retelling not their luck, but their passion which propelled them to unbelievable success in their field of work, all at the mere age of 19 to 26! A 19 year old lady, Bonnie Howland, has developed a mascara that is vegan and cruelty free. Upon purchase of said mascara, it provides funding to restore the sight of a blind person who lives in the Pacific. The relevance of each speaker was so inspirational, empowering every one of us not to elect someone to be responsible for a problem, but to elect ourselves to be a part of the solution.

SCHOOL MUSICAL - CATCH ME IF YOU CAN Wakatipu High School presents … CATCH ME IF YOU CAN - APRIL 6 - 9 - MEMORIAL CENTRE A Musical about Frank Abagnale, Jr. (played by Theo Baumfield) who worked as a doctor, a lawyer, and as a copilot for a major airline - all before his 18th birthday. A master of deception, he was also a brilliant forger, whose skill gave him his first real claim to fame: At the age of 17, Frank Abagnale, Jr. became the most successful bank robber in the history of the U.S. FBI Agent Carl Hanratty (played by Hugh Taylor) makes it his prime mission to capture Frank and bring him to justice, but Frank is always one step ahead of him. Tickets will sell fast and are available via Eventfinda and at the School Office. This year we have approximately 120 students involved to bring you a fast-paced and energetic show with music and lyrics by the same guys who brought us HAIRSPRAY!

HELP NEEDED The HAIR department would love to hear from you if you have experience in hairdressing and can help with the Musical one or two nights during the show – 6-9 April approximate times we would need you are 4:30 - 7:30pm on any night. We would love your help - thank you very much! Please contact Louise Ward [email protected]

See you there!

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NOMINATIONS FOR 2016 YOUTH AWARDS Nominations are now open for the 2016 Youth Awards, which celebrate young people who’ve achieved outstanding results, and those who’ve made a significant contribution to supporting young people. Nominations for the 2016 Youth Awards close on 18 April. The winners will be formally recognised at a celebratory event at Parliament on 24 May 2016. Find out how to make a nomination here. 2016 Youth Awards categories There are up to five recipients for each award. Recipients are chosen by a panel including young people. Change Maker Award For young people who have created positive change: · to foster cultural understanding in their community (Cultural Change Maker) · in or for the LGBTI community (LGBTI Change Maker) · which results in a safer environment for young people in their community (Community Safety Change Maker) Leadership Award For young people who’ve demonstrated leadership in a project or organisation. Giving Back Award For young people whose actions address a current need and have had a significant impact on their community. Working for Youth Award For young people whose actions specifically support other young people in areas such as (but not limited to) the arts, culture, environment or sport. Youth with Disability Award For young people with a disability who’ve made a significant contribution to the disability sector and/or their community. Youth Group Award For a group of young people who’ve made a significant contribution to their community in areas such as (but not limited to) the arts, culture, environment or sport. Youth Champion Award For an individual or organisation who has made a significant contribution to their community in areas such as (but not limited to) the arts, culture, education, environment, health, research or sport.

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Important dates for your diary… WHO

EVENT

DATE

Meet the Staff…

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Easter Monday – WHS closed

Mon 28 Mar

Steve Temple

All

Southland Anniversary Day – WHS closed

Tue 29 Mar

How long have you been at WHS? 2 months.

Yr 11,12,13

Senior Next Steps

Wed 30 Mar

What is your position? English Teacher.

All

Last Day of Term 1

Fri 15 April

What do you love about the job? Love teaching literature and language.

All

First Day of Term 2

Mon 2 May

What do you like doing in your free time? Family, friends, the outdoors (skiing, fishing, golf, cycling and sports).

Year 13

School Formal

Sat 21 May

What do you like about Queenstown? The history, the people and the environment.

All

Teacher Only Day

Fri 3 Jun

Describe yourself in three words: Family, Arts, Sports.

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COMMUNITY NOTICES Wilding Pines Removal Community Event on the Devils Creek Track (above Arthurs Point): Saturday 2 April 2016 from 9am to 1pm. Devils Creek track is a beautiful track located above Arthurs Point just before Skippers Saddle/Mt Dewar. Unfortunately wilding pines are taking over the land and are spreading fast, which is impacting on the native flora and landscape. Be part of this community event to pull a few trees while getting to know your friendly locals. For more details contact Mr Charton: [email protected]

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COMMUNITY NOTICES

Catalyst Trust kicks off autumn with two great talks: Tackling Poverty – Catalysing a National Conversation. March 29, 6-7.30pm. Queenstown Memorial Centre. Poverty in Queenstown? Yes, there’s more of it than you’d think. Free. Register: [email protected]. More info: catalystnz.org

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Public Health Nurse – Karina Anderson Visiting Schedule WHS every Monday Break 2 from 1.45pm – 2.20pm NZQA Office in the Admin Block.

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Guitar, Drums and Bass Tuition Estab 2007 Phil Hartshorn BA (HONS) PGDip Tching Email: [email protected] Mobile: 021 075 0927 Please read my student testimonials.

Dan Gerard is a professional driving instructor and a member of the NZ Institute of Driver Educators. He offers high quality driver training and specialises in driving lessons for learner drivers for their restricted class 1 licence and polishing lessons for those doing their full licence. His driving assessments and reverse parallel parking technique is very popular. Having been a driver licence testing officer he understands not only how to ensure you are driving safely, but also what is legally required. DAN GERARD – 027 349 2447

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Dear Parents and Caregivers, Wakatipu High staff have a team in this year's Relay for Life, during the weekend of the 2nd and 3rd of April. This is the major fundraiser for the Central Otago branch of the Cancer Society. All money raised from the weekend relay stays in the Central Otago district for the benefit of all families living with cancer. We would appreciate your support in the form of an online donation. In 2014 our team was the top fundraiser ($10,500.00), and this year we would just love to meet or beat this figure. Should you wish to donate please click here www.relayforlife.org.nz and donate to: District - Central Otago, Team - Wakatipu High Team member - any you choose. We thank you in advance for your donation on behalf of all families in Central Otago living with cancer.

The Wakatipu Youth Trust has started a QSA (Queer Straight Alliance), a group for LGBTQ+ and its supporters. If you are interested to support the LGBTQ+ community or would want support yourself please contact the Wakatipu Youth Trust team (Jaqs, Alice, Richie and Suzie) on [email protected]

Erin Tapp Team Captain

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