Week 1, Term 2 | 2023

WORD FROM MS ADDISON

Kia ora, e te whānau - parents, caregivers and families of Whitby Collegiate,

Welcome back to Term 2 at Whitby Collegiate! We hope you had a restful and enjoyable break, and everyone is feeling energised and ready to tackle the upcoming term. 

We are pleased to announce that Mr. Roger Moses CNZM, a renowned educator and current board member of NZQA, has joined the Proprietor’s Board at Whitby Collegiate. Mr. Moses brings a wealth of experience and expertise to the Board, and we are thrilled to have him on board. With his extensive knowledge of education and leadership, we are confident that Mr. Moses will make a valuable contribution to the Board and help us to further enhance the educational experience we provide to our students. Please join us in welcoming Mr. Moses to the Proprietor’s Board at Whitby Collegiate.

At the same time, we would also like to extend our thoughts and well wishes to one of our other Proprietor’s Board members Mr Api Fiso, who underwent surgery last week. We hope for a speedy and full recovery and send our warmest regards to him during this time. Please join us in keeping him in our thoughts as he recovers.

We are proud to say that we had a wonderful representation at the ANZAC service this year. It was heartening to see our students, staff, and families come together to pay their respects and honour the memory of those who have served our country. We would like to extend a special thanks to Isabella Connor and Emma Evans, who made the beautiful wreath that we were able to present on behalf of the school.

Our Level 2 Geography students are currently on an exciting trip to the Tongariro region, where they will be engaging in a range of activities to gather research data and study the formation of the landscape over time. Led by Mrs. McLeod, our students will be tested both physically and mentally as they take on challenges such as the Tongariro crossing and white-water rafting.

Our winter sports teams are about to commence this week, and we are excited to announce significant increases in teams across the board. With six basketball teams and five netball teams as our biggest growth sports, we are thrilled to see so many of our students showing interest and enthusiasm for these codes. Hockey and football are also key winter codes, and additionally, the Badminton and Table Tennis club is going strong after school on Wednesdays. 

Thank you to the Netball coaches and managers who organised scrimmage games on ANZAC day as an excellent dress rehearsal for the upcoming Netball season.

There are many events planned over the next few weeks and encourage everyone to keep an eye on the calendar, and in particular we are looking forward to inviting everyone to the school cross country on Thursday 18 May.

Ngā mihi nui,

Shelley Addison
Executive Principal

COMMUNICATION FROM PROPRIETORS BOARD CHAIR - MR JOHN FISO

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Mr Roger Moses, Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, to the Whitby Collegiate Proprietor’s Board commencing Term 2. 

Mr Moses, a renowned figure in the field of education, brings with him a wealth of experience and an illustrious career spanning over four decades. His unwavering dedication to fostering educational excellence has made him a respected and admired leader in the education sector. 

As the former principal of Wellington College, Mr. Moses’ tenure saw an emphasis on academic achievement, while also nurturing the values of integrity, empathy, and resilience among students. All these qualities are shared with Whitby Collegiate and aligns with our goal to be recognised as the best educational institution in the country. 

He has been recognised for his outstanding contributions to education and was honoured with the prestigious Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit in the New Year honours of 2020. 

We are confident that Mr. Moses’ expertise, passion, and commitment to excellence will greatly contribute to the continued success of Whitby Collegiate. 

Please join me in extending a warm welcome to Mr. Roger Moses as he embarks on this new journey with Whitby Collegiate, and we look forward to the positive impact his leadership will have on our school community. 

Mr. Moses’ appointment to the Whitby Collegiate Proprietor’s Board is a testament to our commitment to continually elevating the standards of education at our school. 

Once again, we extend our heartfelt welcome to Mr. Roger Moses on behalf of all the Proprietors Board members, Advisory Parent Board, Foundation Board, Parents Association, and staff and students.

Ngā mihi nui,

John Fiso
Proprietors Board Chair

DEPUTIES’ UPDATES

From the Deputy Principal (Academics)

Kia ora e te whānau o Whitby Collegiate,

Welcome back to a brand new term, full of enthusiasm and wonderful learning experiences.

Over the next few weeks I will be holding group sessions with Years 11-13 students, with reminders about NCEA assessment practices. Additionally, based on the Academic Goal Setting task completed by senior students over the past month, some students will also be meeting with me individually to discuss their personal goals. If your son or daughter is yet to complete this task, please encourage them to do so as soon as possible; it can be found on the Senior Students’ Google Classroom.

My sessions with students lead on to the NCEA information evening that is aimed at all parents and caregivers unfamiliar with NCEA processes and procedures, particularly those with children in Y10 and Y11. This information evening is held in conjunction with NCEA ma le Pasifika. 

I look forward to welcoming you into Room 17 in the Pavilion on Tuesday 9 May from 6.30pm. If you intend on coming, please RSVP by emailing me at debbie.mitchell@whitbycollegiate.school.nz. 

Whitby Collegiate has a proud NCEA Scholarship history. From this year we are expanding our offer of sitting Scholarship examinations to Year 12 students, and I’m looking forward to seeing some great things from this year’s Year 12 and 13 cohort. We have already had expressions of interest from a number of students regarding sitting NCEA Scholarship examinations, and I encourage all those interested to register their interest with their subject teachers and by emailing me.

Ngā mihi nui,

Debbie Mitchell
debbie.mitchell@whitbycollegiate.school.nz

From the Deputy Principal (Pastoral and Wellbeing)

Tēnā koutou e te whānau o Whitby Collegiate,

It’s great to be back for yet another eventful term and I am looking forward to taking students on trips for the STEMM Challenge competition and student leadership workshops.

As I sat through the ANZAC ceremony with some of our students on Tuesday, I felt a sense of gratitude as I reflected on the courage, dedication, and selflessness of the men and women who had gone beyond the call of duty to serve their country. For many people, participating in the ANZAC Day ceremony can evoke a strong sense of pride and community. I am extremely grateful to Emma Evans, Isabella Connor, Sona Beddie and David Beddie who took part in the march and made ANZAC wreaths to present during Tuesday’s ANZAC ceremony in Porirua.

The sense of pride and community that is felt during the ANZAC Day ceremony can also extend beyond the day itself. It can inspire individuals and communities to engage in acts of service and generosity, and I am indeed thankful to the many students who have already contributed a great deal to our school community during Term 1.

Our Deputy Head Prefects Albertus Viljoen and Hudson Weight also attended the ceremony representing not just Whitby Collegiate, but their Cadets Force. Both Albertus and Hudson participated in the ceremony which included a march, and flag-raising. For these student leaders, it was a very meaningful experience and provided them with an opportunity to honour and recognise the importance of their own role in serving their school community.

I want to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to those of our students who have led and demonstrated excellent servant leadership. It takes a lot of effort and time to plan and execute school events, but our student leaders have shown they are willing to go above and beyond to ensure all our students have an enjoyable and positive experience at Whitby Collegiate.

House Spirit week (1-5 May)

Next week is House Spirit week and the Prefects have organised the following creative activities and sports events:

I am certain there will be a sense of excitement and enthusiasm during House Spirit week and the opportunity for students to develop a sense of pride in their school and their house. Thank you again to our amazing Prefects who have organised this event.

This term, we welcome new students Moon Liu (Year 7) and Caitlin Barr (Year 10). I am certain our students will help make them feel welcome and also ensure they feel supported in their new school environment.

I look forward to sharing with you photos from our House Spirit week in my next newsletter report. Till then, have a safe and restful weekend everyone.

Fa’afetai tele lava ma ia manuia.

Ainslie Sauvao
ainslie.sauvao@whitbycollegiate.school.nz

From the Pastoral Dean

Kia ora Students, Parents & Caregivers,
Subject - Parents’ Cybersafety Evening

We want our school to be a safe place. 

Because of the rapidly changing times, our tamariki are growing up in, and the mounting challenges and harms they are facing online we need to start talking about and tackling this as a community.

As such, in conjunction with the Whitby Collegiate Parents’ Association, we have organised Author, Filmmaker and Speaker Rob Cope, producer of the documentary "Our Kids Online" to come and give what promises to be a humorous and eye-opening evening talk to our parent community.

His talk will cover

• Cyberbullying - How cyberbullies can reach our kids 24/7

• Social media - The pressure for kids to build an online brand that is often far removed from their authentic selves. FOMO, Highlight Reels 

• Gaming and the developing brain – An oversupply of dopamine leading to dopamine deficiency, synaptic pruning, and the underdevelopment of social skills and empathy

• Naked Selfies - The pressure to send nudes from intermediate up through high school 

• Online predators - The methods they use, how to spot them, and how to get out from under their control if your child has been trapped

• Online porn vs healthy sexuality - How consuming online pornography as a child or teen can create a sexual template where violence, aggression, and dominance are seen as normal and consent can become very blurry

Solutions

• Filters - Which filters are best and how to install them

• Smartphones - How to lock down a smartphone to make it a safe phone

• Boundaries - How to put good boundaries in place around device use 

• 3 golden rules - The 3 golden rules that will keep your kids safe

• Talking to your kids - How to have difficult conversations with your kids

• Challenging our own phone and device usage - Reconnecting as a family.

Here is a promotional video for you to watch Our Kids Online Parent Evening.

The talk will be held at Whitby Collegiate on Thursday 1 June from 6.30 - 8.30pm.

We would request that at least one adult from each family attend, this topic is too big for us not to pay attention.  

Rob's mantra - "We need to tackle this as a community so that all of our kids are safe. When you protect your kids online, you are also protecting mine and when I protect my kids online, I am also protecting yours."

An RSVP invite will be sent to parents shortly in order for you to register for this very important event.

Ngā mihi nui,

Maurice Atkinson
Pastoral Dean

UPCOMING EVENTS

Term 2 Activities/Events (Week 1)

Key dates are located on the website calendar. Please check for your activities. Subscribe to the Whitby Collegiate calendar from the school website calendar page here by clicking the button that reads “subscribe to this calendar”.

SCHOOL NEWS

Gifted and Talented for Terms 2 and 3

We are pleased to offer the following opportunities for your son or daughter to participate in as part of our Gifted and Talented programme. If you have any questions, or require additional information, please contact our Gifted and Talented Coordinator, Christina Lindsay.

University Of Canterbury Kiwi Competition

The Kiwi Competition run by the University of Canterbury will take place during the last 3 weeks of Term 2 and the first week of Term 3. These online tests on English, Maths and Science challenge students from Year 7 to Year 10 within their appropriate curriculum level. Students receive certificates and the top students also receive prizes. The cost per subject is $9.90. If you wish to enter your child into any of these competitions please use the link below to do so. Please complete your entry by Thursday 11 May.

International Competitions And Assessments
For Schools (ICAS)

This year students in Years 7-11 will be offered the opportunity to enter in the International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) for English, Science, Mathematics, and Writing. Digital Technologies and Spelling are also available for Year 7 and 8. The cost for entry is $20.70 for each subject, with the exception of Writing which is $27.03. These prices include GST. This year all competitions will take place online over three weeks from 7 August – 1 September 2023. Please complete your entry by Friday 28 July.

Tournament Of Minds 2023

Tournament of Minds (TOM) is back! This is an amazing international problem-solving program for teams of seven students from Year 7 to Year 10. We will run an in-school challenge, and the winning team from this will be entered into the Regional Final in September where they will be required to solve two demanding, open-ended Challenges. The skills encouraged in Tournament of Minds include: co-operation, teamwork, risk-taking, and creative, divergent and critical thinking. The cost for entry is $20 per student, and includes coordination and coaching. This does not include the cost of competing at the National final, or the international final which is held in Australia. If TOM is something that you think your son/daughter would benefit from, please complete the entry form by Friday 12 May.

Reading as Sport: Kids’ Lit Quiz Wellington Regional Competition 2023

We were very proud to compete in this year’s Kids’ Lit Quiz, Wellington Regional competition, a test of how much our Year 7 and 8 students have read. Our teams comprised: Xiangyi, Anvi (8BN), Pranavi (7AH),Flynn (8LM), Emma (8LM), Priya, Gabriel (7AH) and Max (7ML).

Xiangyi’s team chose ‘super heroes’ as the category on which to double their points and Emma’s team chose ‘book titles’.

There were ten rounds of ten questions in a range of categories. These included manga, pigs, potluck, snow and ice, spiders, blindness, masterminds, adventure.

There were cash prizes for each team that won a round; teams could only win once and there were sudden death questions when more than one team had the top or second to top score in a round.

According to our teams, the best round was the ‘pigs’ round; the hardest was the manga. Max said that he found the experience really fun and that everyone worked together to find the answers. Priya said she liked the variety of questions; some that really tested her. Anvi said she liked how challenging it was and the $5 questions.

Ms Visser
English Teacher

Tuck Shop

We continue to work towards a long-term provision of services in our School Tuck Shop. In the interim, Whitby Collegiate is installing a vending machine within the Tuck Shop space and introducing the option to purchase food via Lunch Online from next week.

The Tuck Shop will re-open from next Monday. During a 10-minute period at the start of each lunchtime students can collect a lunch order, or heat food that they have brought with them from home. Students will only be permitted to use the microwaves under supervision during this period, but the Tuck Shop will remain open during the lunchtime to allow access to the vending machine.

Lunch Online

Students and their families will have the option to order a lunch to be delivered fresh to school. Initially, this service will be available two days per week. There will be Sushi every Wednesday from 3rd May and Pita Pit every Friday from 5th May.

All you need to do is register at www.lunchonline.co.nz and follow 4 easy steps to get started:

1. Register an account

2. Add member/s including your name and delivery location

3. Make a payment to have funds in your account before you order

4. Select your lunch and place an order

Orders can be placed in advance and must be received at the latest before 8.30am on the day. Your chosen lunch will be delivered to school for collection from the Tuck Shop at the start of the lunch break. Students must collect their lunch immediately at the start of lunchtime.

Vending Machine

Our new vending machine will supply students with occasional snacks to supplement their lunch. Snacks have been carefully selected to be appropriate for a school environment and are not intended to be a replacement for a lunch. The payment method for the vending machine is via “PayWave.”

SPORTS UPDATE

For all sports information, latest draws & results, sport clubs and registrations please visit our online sports hub here.

Join the Whitby Collegiate Sport Facebook Group

Keep up to date with all Whitby Collegiate sport news, draws & results, achievements, and LIVE updates at facebook.com/groups/whitbycollegiatesport

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS

We love to celebrate our students’ achievements. For inclusion in the Whitby Collegiate newsletter or on our Facebook page, please forward student achievements to communications@whitbycollegiate.school.nz and sporting results to the Sports Coordinator, sally.rose@whitbycollegiate.school.nz

COMMUNITY NOTICES

It is with great sadness that we announce that a longstanding itinerant teacher of our Taiko Drumming, Mrs Erola Whitcombe passed away this past week. Erola was dedicated, passionate and committed to sharing her love of the art form with her students. We send all our sympathy and best wishes to her family.

View full post