Wainuiomata High School Newsletter December 2009

IN THIS ISSUE:

• Letter from the Principal
• Student News and Achievement
  - Year 11 and Senior Prizegiving photos, 2010 Head Students, 2010 Prefects, Junior Prefects, Principal's Day Out
• Sports News
  - Sporting Achievements
• Staff News
  - Departures and arrivals, Study Awards to staff
• Careers Faculty News
• Board of Trustees News
  - Message from the Board Chair
• Other News and Notices
  - Uniform Shop Hours, Junior Prizegiving, Farewell to Night Classes at WHS, HPV vaccinations
• 2010 Start Dates and other coming events

11 December 2009

Dear Parents and Caregivers, Kia Ora, Talofa lava.

This is a great time of the year for the High School, because the Sports and Academic Prizegivings make us reflect on the successes of our students, and how well many of them have done during the year. The academic and sporting milestones reached by a number of our pupils are cause for celebration and recognition.

I talked at our Senior Prizegiving about how quick the media is to bag youth in general, but slow to pick up on their achievements. We all heard about a motel in Palmerston North banning people from Wainuiomata (in reality, the Manager got the wrong group of students), but we don’t hear about the Auckland schools pleading for us to run the National Rugby League Tournament again; or how Tryfan Ephraim and our students continue to develop mountain bike trails off Waiu Street; or about the stunning successes of our Kapa Haka group; or NZQA using our Art students’ work as exemplars; or the successes our Gateway students achieve in their placements; or about the attention being given by other schools to our staff’s professional learning programme; or our Project-Based Technology course being copied by more and more schools – and I could go on and on.

One notable exemption needs to be acknowledged: Jamie Adams, of CityLife Wainuiomata, who is always willing to make known the great things that happen at the High School, and in the Valley in general.

It is also a great time of the year because it’s Christmas, a time for us to be with friends and family (and what else really matters?). I wish to thank all the parents and caregivers who have supported the High School and their sons and daughters throughout the year, in so many ways, and in doing so have helped their children move closer towards their life’s goals.

Thanks also to my staff and Board of Trustees who are always willing to go the extra distance to get the best for our students – I am really looking forward to working with you again in 2010 in my new role.

Enjoy the break, enjoy your friends and family, best wishes for the New Year.

Martin Isberg, Acting Principal

STUDENT NEWS and ACHIEVEMENTS

Head Students 2010

In their final act as Head Students for 2009, Taina Wilson and Brandon Dickson announced our new Head Students for 2010 at the end of their prizegiving speech. Congratulations to Nicole Adamson (Head Girl), Gabriel Tupou (Head Boy), Marley Aitken (Deputy Head Girl) and Alesana Mene (Deputy Head Boy).

Nicole Adamson	Gabriel Tupou	Marley Aitken	Alesana Mene

Year 11 and Senior Prizegivings

Prizewinners in the Year 11 and Senior Prizegivings were announced in the last school newsletter, however photographs were not available at that time for publication. Following are some of the award winners photographed during and following Prizegivings.

Colin Williams and Aidan Barrett – joint Top Year 11 Students	Arek Wojasz – Dux 2009
Debbie Stonyer with the Mata Semau Memorial Trophy for Persistent Work Ethic	Jennifer Flanagan and Michael Bool – recipients of two WelTec Scholarships worth $4,000 each
Hailey Thomson and Morgan Ryan – Joint Proxime Accessit to Dux	Yoshna Reddy (Top Year 12 Student) and Christine Volk (Runner Up Top Year 12 Student) with their combined stash of cups
Oli Ryan receving the Fiona Christellar Architects Trophy for Year 12 Visual Arts from Vicki Johnson, Board Chair, and Martin Isberg, Acting Principal

Prefects 2010

Next year’s prefects were also announced at the Senior Prizegiving and were invited up on stage to receive their badges. Congratulations to:

Martin Isberg,
Acting Principal

Principal’s Day Out

On Monday 07 December I had the pleasure of hosting 42 students from Years 9 and 10 with the highest attendance rates to a day out.

We saw a movie, had Subway for lunch at the park and then finished the day 10-pin bowling.

The students will also be recognised with Board of Trustees Attendance Certificates at the Junior Prizegiving.

Martin Isberg,
Acting Principal

Junior Prefects

Congratulations to the following students who have been selected as Junior Prefects for the remainder of 2009:

SPORTS NEWS

Sporting Achievements

Congratulations to Teina Puketapu (left) who won the College Sport Wellington Female Touch Player of the Year award at the College Sport Award Ceremony held last month in Wellington.

Other Wainuiomata High School students who were named as finalists were:

Our Senior Girls Volleyball team finished first equal in the Hutt Valley Secondary Schools Volleyball Champs.

Our Junior Girls Volleyball team travelled to Rotorua last week to the Secondary Schools Junior Volleyball Champs. Teachers Brenda Collins and Sahara Siale attended with the girls who placed third in the Third division. Well done girls!

The Mixed Touch Rugby team go away this week to Palmerston North to compete in the National Touch Rugby Tournament from 11 to 13 December.

We wish them the best of luck and look forward to reporting on their results in the first newsletter of 2010.

Peter Cowan,
Sports Coordinator

STAFF NEWS

There is a mixed bundle of news for the wrap-up of 2009. We have a number of staff leaving the school, both permanently and temporarily, and new staff to replace them.

Nicola Jackman	Dave Roberts	Ross Sellwood

Nicola Jackman, English, is leaving us for a year to travel Asia and Europe, with a view to doing volunteer teaching in Nepal and teaching in the UK. We wish her the very best and look forward to hearing all about her travels when she returns in 2011.

Dave Roberts, ICT, departs Wainuiomata High School permanently to return to the UK to get married to his partner Laura. Congratulations Dave on your upcoming nuptials, and we hope you enjoy your time with family and friends back home.

Ross Sellwood, Guidance Counsellor, joins a growing number of ex-Wainuiomata High School staff in the United Arab Emirates, when he leaves us in January to join his wife, Angela Sellwood, who departed at the end of Term 3. Ross will be working in an advisory capacity at the same school as Rob Mill in Al Ain. Ross, you will be sadly missed but we know you will enjoy this new experience.

Fflur Morgan	Ameeta Raju	Jody Plummer

Fflur Morgan, English/Drama, leaves us at the end of this year to take up a position at Wellington East Girls’ College. Fflur has been at Wainuiomata High School since the start of 2006.

Sue Mortimer	Derek Ashworth

Welcome back to Sue Mortimer, who returns to her Guidance Counsellor position after a year’s leave. Sue has recently returned from the UK where she spent a year with family, traveling Europe.

The following people have been appointed to new positions for 2010. A photograph and introduction will be included in the first newsletter for 2010:

• Dave Roberts' position has been filled by Neil Leslie, a graduate from the College of Education this year, having moved from a lecturing position at Victoria University.
• Aisea Masila has been appointed to a Mathematics position from the start of 2010. Aisea joins us from Taita College and replaces Ameeta Raju.
• Suzanne Meijer joins the Mathematics faculty as a first year teacher from Victoria University College of Education, where she has just completed a conjoint Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Teaching.
• Kim Leach returns to Wainuiomata as a teacher of Mathematics. Kim has been teaching most recently in the UK but was a teacher at Wainuiomata Intermediate School prior to going to the UK in 2003.
• Corrin Vedder joins the English faculty, having spent time earlier this year at Wainuiomata High School on placement from Victoria University College of Education.
• Jennifer Wright also joins the English faculty.

Martin Isberg,
Acting Principal

Staff Achievements - Study Leave

Huia Puketapu, HoF Māori, has been granted a year’s Study Leave to undertake Heke Whakaakoranga at Te Wananga o Raukawa in Otaki. Tupu Williams has been appointed Acting HoF Māori in Huia’s absence.
	Huia Puketapu	Tupu Williams
		Gael Ashworth, Deputy Principal, has also been granted Study Leave in 2010 to finish her Masters in Education at Victoria University. Melissa Denzler will be Acting Deputy Principal while Gael is studying.
Gael Ashworth	Melissa Denzler
Kade Mills, HoF Arts, leaves Wainuiomata High School on 09 December to begin his Study Leave to complete his Graduate Diploma in Design. Kade rejoins the staff at the end of 2010. Charlie Lee will be Acting HoF Arts in Kade’s absence.
	Kade Mills	Charlie Lee

We wish all our Study Leave recipients the best of luck with their endeavours and look forward to their return.

Martin Isberg,
Acting Principal

CAREERS NEWS

Gateway Luncheon for 2009

A luncheon was held at the Angus Inn late last month to celebrate the accomplishments of Gateway students.

Gateway students and employers at the luncheon

Congratulations to the following students who have gained outstanding results in this programme:

Nikki Otter	William Fowles	Sam Kinsey	Mitchell Moore
Dannielle Young	Samantha Cowden	Ryan Abrahams

Our Gateway 2010 first intake has been chosen and parents and guardians have been notified.

Sue, Janette and Judy wish families a happy Christmas and prosperous New Year.

Sue Ward,
HoF Careers and Transition

BOARD of TRUSTEES NEWS

A Message from the Board Chair

Now that the 2009 school year is at an end I would like, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, to take this opportunity to wish you and yours well for the festive season and the summer holidays. Once again our students and staff have worked extremely hard and I believe that they should all feel proud of their efforts. We can go into 2010 looking forward to a further year of positive outcomes for our students.

To those students leaving us we wish you well for your futures and for returning students and staff we look forward to welcoming you in 2010.

Thanks and our appreciation also to the community of Wainuiomata which supports the High School in so many ways.

Vicki Johnson,
Board of Trustees Chairperson

OTHER NEWS and NOTICES

Junior Prizegiving - Tuesday 15 December 2009

Parents and caregivers are most welcome to attend the final prizegiving of the year when we recognise the academic and cultural achievements of our Year 9 and 10 students.

The prizegiving starts at 10:00am in the Auditorium and should last approximately 1.5 hours, after which the students will be finished for the year.

Chris Wood,
Deputy Principal

Facial Piercings

I'm sorry to "wear the Principal’s hat", but I ask parents and caregivers to please avoid giving facial piercings as Christmas presents, especially if they can’t be removed by the start of the school year. Our uniform policy doesn't allow visible piercings, which has caused a problem for a small number of students in previous years when they return to school after the holidays.

You can see the High School's uniform requirements on our Uniform page. It would also be worthwhile checking out the last newsletter about allowable school shoes (also on our Uniform webpage here).

Martin Isberg,
Acting Principal

Adult Community Education (ACE)

100 Years of Night Classes

Adult Community Education Classes, or "Night Classes" as most people have known them as, have been running for over 100 years. Over 400,000 adults per year throughout New Zealand enrol in a night class, whether it is to upskill themselves for the workplace, to start a new hobby, for mums who are home all day with the children, or just to get out of the house and meet new people while having fun.

I came into my role as an ACE Liason Officer at the beginning of Term One 2008. I was in that role for two terms then I was promoted to ACE Coordinator in Term Three. I have learnt so much since then and have really enjoyed this role. I was deeply saddened when the National Government decided to cut 80% of all funding from 2010. This has meant that we would not be able to justify running any night classes, unless we imposed User Pays, which would mean a 300% increase in fees for the Wainuiomata community.

The "Stop Night Class Cuts" Campaign has been running ever since the announcement and I have supported this as much as I can by: attending all meetings, including a public meeting held at Murphy’s Bar in Petone, where Paul Quinn (National MP) could not answer any of the questions thrown at him; having a petition where we acquired 250 signatures; marching on Parliament in the pouring rain; and attending the National Day of Protest Balloon Release at Civic Square.

Cuts to Adult Community Education funding will harm the very people Anne Tolley insists she wants to help. The residents of Wainuiomata will be losing out even though Anne Tolley suggests night classes can continue on a user pays basis. The unintended consequence of this is that high decile schools in wealthy areas can continue and all other schools can not. If the National-led Government does not change their mind, only three out of eleven Wellington schools currently offering ACE will continue to do so. It is clear that this was a hasty budget decision and a "slash and burn" exercise, with no consultation.

This is The End of an Era

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Rob Mill, Principal, and Diane Woodger, Business Manager for helping me find my feet in my role as Coordinator. I would also like to thank Hayley Lawrence, Karen Irwin, Kath Adams and Joe Hemi for opening and closing classes when I have needed them. Also, Sandy McVey for keeping my budget up to date and Sarah O’Neill who has catered for meetings, also for Adult Learners Week. A huge thank you must also go out to all tutors, past and present for dedicating their time and being such awesome teachers. Last, but not least, the adult students, for without you, there would have been no classes!

All the best for the future and I hope you all can continue your Life Long Learning in some way or another!

Natasha Baker,
ACE Coordinator

Uniform Donations

Have you recently finished at Wainuiomata High School? Do you have an old PE uniform hiding out in your wardrobe? If you do, and have no need of it next year, you could donate it to the PE department for use as spare uniforms! Any donations gladly accepted!

Kath McGuinness,
Assistant Hof PE

Library News

We have experienced another very successful year, so it is with sadness that we wish our long-serving Librarian/Assistant Librarian, Anne Stubbs, a very happy retirement. It is Anne’s hope that all students at the school experience that moment when they discover the joy of reading and become aware of the wealth of information they can access through the resources available in the library.

A number of books have not been returned to the school, and there are also a number of books that have been lost during the year. If any of these are found during the holidays, they can be returned to the school office.

Rosalie Carman,
Librarian

HPV Vaccinations 2010

Just a reminder that the Gardasil vaccination programme to immunise girls against the HPV virus, which may cause cervical cancer, will be offered at no cost to all our girls next year.

The District Health Board will be offering an education session in February with Dose One being provided to those who want it on 11 March 2010.

Girls may also, if they wish, receive the vaccination for free through their own GP.

Martin Isberg,
Acting Principal

COMING EVENTS

The Staff and Board of Trustees would like to wish all parents and students of Wainuiomata High School a fun and restful Christmas and a safe New Year.

December 2009 Newsletter, online 13 December, 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.

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