Wainuiomata High School Newsletter

May 2010

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Letter from the Principal
• Student News and Achievement
  - Speech Contest Winners, Academic Achievers, House Points,
    Chemistry Day, Year 8 Open Day
• Sports News
  - Sporting Achievements
• Staff News
  - Arrivals
• Careers Faculty News
  - Inspired Entrepreneur Experience, Gateway, Entry to Victoria University
• Board of Trustees News
  - BoT Election Results
• Other News and Notices
  - Teacher-Only Day, Senior Formal, Choices Evening, Father/Son Evening,
    Resilience Programme, Community Challenge Project
• Coming Events

28 May 2010

Dear Parents and Caregivers, Kia Ora, Talofa lava.

We are half-way through Term Two and winter is drawing in on us, with the weather getting worse and the days shortening. Despite this, I notice more and more of our students taking part in extra-curricular activities:

• the 70 or so students getting ready for this week’s Stage Challenge;
• our Kapa Haka group preparing for Nationals in Rotorua later this term;
• our students of Japanese off on a trip to Tokyo;
• the students who will take part in Mr Hotter’s ‘My Tube’ at the end of the term;
• all the students who take part in Winter Sport. Have you been here on a Saturday recently? With football, rugby and all of the Hutt Valley Secondary Girls’ netball being played here, the High School is just buzzing! (But please avoid parking on the median strip—you risk being ticketed.)

On another note, the High School’s staff work hard to ensure positive relationships between teacher and student because students engage more when they feel respected and trusted, and mutual respect between staff and students contributes to a safe and inclusive environment. Students show their respect through being polite, courteous and tolerant—it is just a question of doing the right thing at the right time.

I will not have the safe environment we work hard to achieve at the High School being compromised by a very small minority who choose to behave inappropriately by fighting, being defiant to staff, or indulging in intimidating behaviour, including text bullying. Negative behaviour will be dealt with by the strong student management systems we have in place; we implore all students who are the recipients of negative threats from others to speak about it to staff. All students also need to be aware about how public and accessible electronic forums such as Facebook and Bebo are, and to ensure any comments they post about others are positive and respectful.

Our aim is to develop students who are self-reliant, willing to give to others and who seek help when they face difficulties. The vast majority of our students are a real credit to their families and to the High School, and I am very proud of them.

Martin Isberg, Acting Principal

STUDENT NEWS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Speech Competition Finals

The following students placed in their year level for their speeches, which form part of their English course:

Rachel Tovey	Kasey Tauaneai	Michael Keane	Abigail Wayman

Ella Fifield	Maxie Packer	Heather Smith	Sheridan Babbington

Tawera Ratahi	Shelagh Lote	Tessa Forrest

Noho Pulekautaha-Lai	Aidan Barrett	Nicole Adamson	Colin Williams

Congratulations to all of these students who achieve points for their House Groups. First place receive 10 points each and other finalists receive five points.

Lauren Percy,
English

Year 9 And 10 Awards - Term One

We enjoy acknowledging the successes of students as they strive to achieve their best. Each term we present awards to two students from each form class to reward them for certain aspects of their learning.

Congratulations to the following students on receiving an award for displaying diligence in their work habits:

For Term Two, the awards will be given to students who demonstrate significant improvement in their academic learning.

Year 13 Chemistry Day

Year 13 Chemistry students are currently working on a seven week internal assessment where they are required to “Use an analytical technique to investigate the variations in the amount of a chemical substance to find a possible trend”. On Monday 24 May they devoted a whole day to their science.

Collectively the students decided to test the chloride ion concentration in rivers around the Hutt Valley to see if there was a possible trend. Students collected samples of river water from rivers around the Hutt Valley region and each completed approximately 25 titrations (a type of chemical test) with their samples.

Indraneel Bhattacharjee	Lydia Jones

Although a little frustrating at times and a very intense day in the lab, Chemistry Day was an awesome experience of how real world Chemistry plays out in the lab and a big help towards completing our assessment!

Aimee Furness,
Science

Yoshna Reddy	Sara Kothapally	Ryan Dodgson

House Points

House points are updated on a weekly basis and are reported to students at assemblies, held each Tuesday. The points table as at Tuesday 25 May 2010 is:

Well done Rata! All students should keep up the good work and represent their house well to gain more points.

Year 8 Open Day 2010

Explosions!	Coloured Fountains!	Munny dolls

240 Year 8 students from both within and outside the valley attended the 2010 Year 8 Open Day on Tuesday 18 May. They enjoyed experiencing life as it is in a secondary school, with stimulating lessons and activities which involved the use of innovative technology such as building bridges in Graphics and flame tests in Science, as well as enjoying lunch (which was provided by the Hospitality Academy students). Thanks to all our parents who made this day possible by allowing their children to be released early.

Year 8 families will shortly be receiving the 2011 Year 9 Enrolment Pack and new Prospectus from the High School. The school is very aware of the financial strains on families in the community with the current economic climate, therefore we highly recommend that you complete the automatic payment form and return it with the enrolment pack.

We would also like to remind our parents and caregivers of current students that an AP form is available from the office if you would like to start an automatic payment for uniform items, trips, sports and subject fees.

Martin Isberg,
Acting Principal

SPORTS NEWS

Sporting Achievements

Congratulations to EJ Albright (right), Year 12, who has been named in the Junior Black Sox Softball squad to tour Australia this year.

We wish EJ all the best and will report on the squad’s progress in the next newsletter.

Congratulations also to Kimberley Hemingway who recently competed in the College Sport Wellington Lawn Bowls Champs. Kimberley represented Wellington in the Central Regional Tournament that was held in April.

She was the winning finalist and will be travelling to Dunedin to compete in the Nationals. Our thanks to the Wainuiomata Bowling Club for their support and assistance in getting Kimberley to the Nationals.

Both EJ and Kimberley earn their House Groups 50 points each.

Traffic has increased at the High School due to the Netball, Rugby and Football played here on Saturdays. Please park courteously if you are watching any games, and be aware of the parking restrictions in the area.

We have received great feedback about our High School from all the other schools who have visited for weekend sports.

Peter Cowan,
Sports Coordinator

STAFF NEWS

We would like to welcome James Bruce (right), who joined our Science Faculty at the start of Term 2. James comes to us from the United Kingdom as a first year teacher, but has been in New Zealand for the last five years.

Welcome also to Steve Pass (left), who joins us from Heretaunga College this week. Steve will be working in the Social Sciences Faculty, teaching English, Computing and Social Studies.

CAREERS FACULTY NEWS

Career News

The Inspired Entrepreneur Experience (Kiwi Business Experience) has now been held in the school. This programme is funded by Maori Women's Development Inc. and delivered to our students by 3 presenters from Auckland.

The students who participated all had a great time and some very good business ideas were presented on the last day to the judges. Two Unit Standards at Level 2 and Level 3 were offered to the students and several have achieved these. You can see some more photos in our Activities Gallery.

The winning team was Rapid Roll, comprising Adam Wilkinson, James Finlay, Hayley Colgan, Colin Williams, Allan Ryan and Cory Krieg. Well done!

Fifty Year 10 students will be visiting Whitireia Polytechnic on Thursday 22 July. This is a half-day experience where students will see how Whitireia teaches their students compared to how students are taught at school, and will be shown where their school subjects might lead.

There will also be a tour of the Campus. Students will be travelling by bus and full school uniform must be worn.

Victoria University and Otago University have visited our Year 13 students and will visit again later in the year to help students with course planning and enrolments. Massey University will be visiting Year 13s on 26 May 2010.

The School Career Expo will be held in the High School gym on Tuesday 29 June from 5:00pm to 8:00pm, at the same time as the Report Evening. A variety of Tertiary Providers will be attending and this is a wonderful opportunity for you and your student to find out about career information and courses they offer.

The following Year 10 Form Classes will be out for work week from 21-25 June:
10AD, 10CL, 10HR (ex 10JO) and 10LG

Any help you can give your student to get a job will be very much appreciated.

Janette Tickner,
Careers Assistant

Gateway

Gateway interviews for our second intake will be held over the next 2 weeks. If your student is interested in joining the programme please get them to call into the Careers Faculty to collect a joining form. Our first intake are achieving very well with some gaining fulltime work and apprenticeships.

Virginia Wilson,
HOF Careers and Transition

Victoria University Update

Guaranteed Entry Score (GES)

Victoria University, along with other Universities, has had to look at ways of managing enrolments because of policies to cap the number of funded places for domestic students.

To be automatically accepted into any degree at Victoria University from 2011 students will need to achieve the GES (as well as UE and any other degree-specific requirements).

The Guaranteed Entry Score from NCEA is 120 points for all undergraduate degrees.

How to calculate an NCEA rank score:

• A student’s rank score will be based on their 80 best credits at University Entrance approved subjects at Level 3 or higher, and weighted by the level of achievement. Both achievement standards and unit standards can be counted;
• All Level 3 or higher approved subjects can be counted;
• A maximum of 24 credits in each subject will be counted;
• If students achieve fewer than 80 credits at Level 3 or higher their rank score will be based on those credits they achieved;
• Students are advised to take approved subjects and achievement standards wherever possible in their school programme both for entrance purposes and as the best preparation for University study.

The rank score will then be worked out by awarding points as follows:

An example of a rank score for a student studying for NCEA:

BOARD of TRUSTEES NEWS

Board Of Trustees - Co-opted Members

The Board of Trustees would like to co-opt parents/caregivers with financial experience and expertise, onto its Finance Sub-Committee. This would usually involve attending a Finance Meeting the week before a full Board Meeting (around eight times a year).

If interested, please outline your experience, and send to the High School Office, where it will be passed on to the Board Chair, Vicki Johnson.

Martin Isberg,
Acting Principal

OTHER NEWS and NOTICES

Teacher-Only Day

Tuesday 8 June 2010

Wainuiomata High School will be closed on Tuesday 8 June (the day following Queen’s Birthday on Monday 7 June) for a Teacher-Only Day. This is to enable staff to become more familiar with the new New Zealand Curriculum now being introduced.

I apologise for the inconvenience this may cause parents. If parents wish to have their son or daughter supervised on Tuesday 8 June please leave your details at the school office so I can make arrangements for them to spend the day in our Library.

Martin Isberg,
Acting Principal

Senior Formal - Saturday 26 June

“A Night Through The Looking Glass”

This year’s Senior Formal will be held at the Wellington Overseas Terminal on Saturday 26 June from 8pm until midnight. Students will need to complete the permission slip and pay ($90) by Monday 14 June.

The theme for the evening is “A Night Through The Looking Glass”.

Lots of planning and preparation have been going into this year’s Senior Formal. While these have been great occasions in the past, with students’ behaviour and dress quite outstanding, it is important to reiterate the following:

• Students who arrive intoxicated or under the influence of drugs will NOT be admitted.
• Normal school rules regarding smoking, alcohol and illicit drugs will be actively enforced during the Formal.
• The High School does not condone, encourage, plan, or welcome after-Formal parties – please make sure you know where your child is after the Formal finishes at midnight.

Martin Isberg,
Acting Principal

Choices Evening

Wednesday 02 June, 6:30pm

With the Senior Formal coming up and recent statistics on underage drinking we felt it was time we offered parents some information about ways of dealing with adolescent choices. To this end we are arranging a community Choices Night to give you the best and most up to date information about the choices young people should make and what to do if they make the wrong choices.

We are bringing together Welltrust (a drug and alcohol agency), Vibe (who will have a nurse along to present information about choices around contraception) and the New Zealand Police. The event will start at 6:30pm on 2 June in the Staffroom and will include tea and biscuits.

The format will be Welltrust and Vibe making a short presentation about the harm done by bad choices and ways to avoid making these. This will be followed by a panel session where Welltrust, Vibe and the Police will answer any questions you have about the choices young people make.

We want our students to be able to enjoy the Formal and their social lives without negative consequences and this information-focused evening is about doing just that. The evening is not just for parents with students attending the Formal, but for any parent interested in the choices young people have to make in today’s society. Please ring the school office on 938-3224 to let us know if you are coming, for catering purposes, or ring me if you have any questions about the event.

Martin Henry,
Deputy Principal, Pastoral

Father/Son Evening

As part of an exciting new initiative Wainuiomata High School is hosting a Father/Son evening at the Wainuiomata Bowling Club, Moohan St on Friday 11 June from 6–7pm. Male guest speakers will be sharing their personal "high fives" for being Fathers.

All boys and their ‘"ignificant males" (fathers, grandfathers, uncles etc) are welcome to attend. This is an informal evening where fathers and their sons can spend some time together while at the same time connecting with other fathers and sons in our community.

Come down, have a feed and get in touch with each other. Evening meals are available from the club ($3 – $9).

Resilience Programme

Adolescence is a time of huge change for parents and for teenagers, and these changes can often lead to emotional ups and downs. A programme has been developed to help young people develop resilience and coping skills to deal with these emotional changes, and to help them relate better to others, cope with powerful feelings, and build self-esteem. Research has established that resilience training helps build resistance to the risk of depressive illness and increases wellbeing.

At the end of this term we shall begin the first stage of the programme. This involves asking all Year 9 students to fill in a questionnaire about their feelings, how they cope with common teenage situations, and questions regarding their overall wellbeing. Questions invite students to respond to statements such as "I am sad once in a while" and "I think of myself as a strong person". This questionnaire will be completed during form time in form rooms, and individual results will be kept confidential to the researcher and school counsellor. To help us ensure the programme is made available to those young people who will benefit most, it is important that all Year 9 students have the opportunity to complete the questionnaire.

The programme will be offered to students whose answers show they could benefit from being in the group. Students who are offered a place in the programme will require a signed consent form from parents prior to participation. The programme constitutes of 12 weekly one hour sessions and will be run by the school counsellor and a psychologist during class time at the school. Students will not miss the same class each week.

To establish the long term effects of the programme students will be re-assessed using the same questionnaire three times after the programme; immediately upon completion of the programme, and twice subsequently at six month intervals.

The programme is being undertaken in conjunction with Victoria University’s School of Psychology. The lead researcher is Olivia Notter. Her doctoral research has been reviewed and approved by the Human Ethics Committee of Victoria University of Wellington. Her supervisor is Associate Professor Paul Jose.

When the study is completed, data (with students names removed) will be stored in a secure facility for five years, as prescribed by University regulations. No findings will be published which could identify any individual participant or school.

If you have anything you would like to discuss in relation to the programme or questionnaire please feel free to contact the school counsellor, the lead researcher or her supervisor (contact details below).

Sue Mortimer,
Guidance Counsellor

Community Challenge Project
Childrens’ Clothing Swap

17-18 June 2010 Wainuiomata Mall

On Thursday 17 June members of the local community are invited to drop off any unwanted children’s clothing in exchange for tickets.

Each piece of clothing provided it is in reasonable condition will be replaced with one ticket allowing the individual to return on Friday 18 June and collect new (second hand) items of clothing as per the amount of tickets they have.

Please contact the High School office (ph: 938-3224) for more information.

Building Safer Communities

On the printed version of the Newsletter delivered to our community is a survey form from Acting Sergeant Tania van Ooyen, of the Wainuiomata Police. The survey is for anyone in the Wainuiomata community and your input would be appreciated.

Please complete the survey and either deliver it to the Wainuiomata Police Station, post it to Wainuiomata Police, Fitzherbert Road, Wainuiomata, or drop it in to the High School and we will forward the survey on to the Wainuiomata Police.

Martin Isberg,
Acting Principal

COMING EVENTS

May 2010 Newsletter, online 30 May, as the printed version was being delivered.  News and views from our Principal, staff and students.  The words were processed by Hayley Lawrence.  Editing, HTML and publishing by Clive Grainger.

The following organisations and individuals have generously sponsored our Newsletter. Please support them:

©Clive Grainger 2010