Whitby Collegiate News, Week 1, Term 1, 2026

Week 1, Term 1 | 2026

Executive Principal’s Update

Kia ora, Talofa, Bula vinaka, Malo e lelei, Fakatālofa atu kia te koulua, Kia orana, Hallo, Hola, Ni Hao, Namaste and Greetings, parents, caregivers and families of Whitby Collegiate.

A very warm welcome to all members of our Whitby Collegiate community as we begin another exciting school year. We trust that everyone had a restful summer break and is ready for the opportunities, achievements, and learning experiences that 2026 will bring. This year promises to be one of growth, innovation, and connection across all aspects of school life.

I wish to acknowledge the thoughts and prayers that we received from our school community with the passing of our Proprietor's Board member Mr Tony Hanning prior to Christmas. Mr Tony was an integral part of our school who provided invaluable insight, experience and support for the development of Whitby Collegiate. He will be greatly missed.

I am very pleased to welcome our new staff to the Whitby Collegiate team this year. We are thrilled to be fully staffed and to have an incredible combination of experience and enthusiasm joining our school community. In particular we welcome Ms Meg Kale to the PE and Health department, Mr Nic Wilson to the Maths department, Ms Joanie Erasmus who will be teaching both Science and Maths and Mr Adam Goodyear who brings a wealth of knowledge to the Digital Tech and coding space. We are also delighted to welcome Ms Kelly Newlands as our new sports coordinator.

Once again our students' academic results have been outstanding from 2025 with provisional results sitting at 100% completion for NCEA Level 1 and 2 and 97.5% NCEA Level 3 (likely to increase to 100% with reconsideration). We are thrilled with our results overall and thank Mrs Mitchell and all the teachers for their hard work and dedication in supporting these results.

It was fantastic to have two days away with our Year 13 students at the annual "retreat" at Talima Lodge where, led by Ms Sauvao and Mr Atkinson, it was a time of reconnection and planning for their year ahead. We have a wonderful group of student leaders and it was excellent to see them all stepping up as leaders and making our Year 7 students' first day with us welcoming, inclusive and creating the sense of belonging that is so important here at Whitby Collegiate and really showing the Whitby way. We look forward to our Year 13 students continuing to support the juniors through the ongoing peer support programme in term one.

Our summer sports season is off to a great start, with registrations well underway for the summer codes. It has been a flying start for some of our sports with their first competition games starting this week. It has been great to see our Volleyball teams putting in a huge effort with training camps every day for the last two weeks of the holidays in preparation for the upcoming national tournament in a few weeks' time. Congratulations to members of our Softball team who have also been competing not only for their region but nationally as well. A big congratulations to Bella Coxson, Ella Smits and Safira Schultz who all made the NZ U23 White Sox Softball side and who competed in Australia last week. We are very excited to be working towards defending our national title at the end of March.

Finally it has been wonderful to meet so many new students and families and we take great joy in welcoming everyone to our school. We are looking forward to our annual meet the teachers BBQ next Thursday afternoon, being generously hosted by our Parents Association and I extend a very warm invitation to all families to join us. It is a fantastic opportunity to not only meet the staff, but connect and reconnect with other families, and celebrate community and fellowship and the start of another wonderful year together.

We look forward to a year full of growth, achievement, and community spirit at Whitby Collegiate.

Ngā mihi nui.

Shelley Addison
Executive Principal

Deputies’ Updates

Deputy Principal (Academics)

Kia ora e te whānau o Whitby Collegiate,

I have really enjoyed meeting many of our new students this week, and welcoming back our returners. It is a great privilege to get to see such wonderful people everyday.

Last year’s senior students have all received their 2025 academic results via their NZQA portal, and I am so very proud of the amazing accomplishments. If students have any concerns regarding the marking of their external assessments I encourage them to speak with their subject teacher. NZQA Reviews and Reconsiderations close on Wednesday 18 February. Full instructions for the process of applying can be found on the NZQA website. Students can access their marked examination scripts on their NZQA portal, with cut scores (differences between the different grades) found here. If anyone needs particular help with this process, they should make contact with me as soon as possible. Those students who completed NZ Scholarship examinations last year can access their results from 10 February.

I am looking forward to supporting our students to meet their academic goals this year. If there is anything I can do to assist, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Ngā mihi,

Debbie Mitchell
debbie.mitchell@whitbycollegiate.school.nz

Deputy Principal (Pastoral and Wellbeing)

Tālofa lava, Da jia hao, Mālō e lelei, Namaste, Kia orāna, Tāloha ni, Kia ora Parents, Caregivers, and families,

I extend a very warm welcome to our school community. I hope you all enjoyed a restful break and are ready and refreshed to embrace the year ahead.

In mid-January, our Prefects arrived at school, enthusiastic, excited, and eager to get planning for the year underway. It was inspiring to see how every intricate detail of their planning was woven into our theme for this year: ‘Connections’. This focus is intentional, as we believe that deep connection is the foundation of strong student wellbeing.

Our Year 13 cohort took part in a very successful Retreat before school started, where they delved deeper into setting the tone, establishing standards, and understanding the importance of service to both our school and the local community. We are incredibly proud of the work our student leaders have already done to ensure our Year 7 students enjoyed a positive start to their time at Whitby Collegiate. Establishing a strong sense of belonging early in the year is vital for our students, ensuring they feel welcomed and supported to make the most of their overall learning experience.

There will be a myriad of extra-curricular activities and lunchtime clubs that students will have the opportunity to sign up for during the coming weeks. Some of these clubs include: chess, dance, medicine and health, choir, coding, environmental, art, sports, cultural performance, Kapa haka, technology, wellbeing and many more.

Please note that your child’s Tutor Teacher (whom you will meet next Thursday evening) is your first port of call for any queries. However, our wider Pastoral Team is always here to help. Mr Michael Leota, Mr Maurice Atkinson, Mrs Vaishally Patel, and I look forward to supporting our students with their wellbeing and leadership goals. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.

Finally, I am very grateful for the example of Servant Leadership that the late Tony Hanning (Proprietor’s Board member) showed and helped to embed within our special school community. We will continue to instil our faith-based values in everything we do. These values were incredibly important to Mr Hanning, and we will continue to honour his legacy of service and faith in our school.

Our staff look forward to meeting our families next Thursday at the ‘Meet & Greet’ BBQ. Enjoy the long weekend, and we will see you next week.

Fa’afetai tele lava ma ia manuia.

Ainslie Sauvao
ainslie.sauvao@whitbycollegiate.school.nz

Assistant Principal

Kia ora Students, Parents & Caregivers,

As another school year begins I would like to offer a very warm welcome back to Whitby Collegiate. A number of exciting initiatives await us this year but I would like to draw your attention specifically to the Our kids Online Parent Evening that we will be hosting at 6pm on Thursday 5 March. This year we have teamed up with Discovery, Adventure, and Pāuatahanui schools to host Rob Cope for an eye-opening, humorous, and practical talk on navigating cyberbullying, social media, AI, and online safety. Although heavily subsidised, this will be a ticketed event.

We would strongly encourage as many of our families to attend as possible. More information to follow but for now please save the date.

Ngā mihi,

Maurice Atkinson

maurice.atkinson@whitbycollegiate.school.nz

Chaplain’s Note

School News

2026 New Staff at Whitby Collegiate

Art of the Week - Bag Dump

As a fun introduction to Still Life in our L2 painting course, our artists explored everyday objects through a photographic “Bag Dump” to investigate identity. By experimenting with compositional groupings and reflecting on the meaning, students discovered the personal narratives within their daily possessions.

Upcoming Events

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 by clicking the button that reads “subscribe to this calendar”.

Parents' Association Meeting

Parents and caregivers of Whitby Collegiate students are warmly invited to attend the first meeting for 2026 of the Whitby Collegiate Parents' Association (WCPA) to be held on Monday 9th February at 7:00pm in the school staff room.

We have already started preparing and planning for what bodes to be an exciting year ahead as we support the school by organising events to bring the wider school community together.

Join us to connect with other families, share your ideas, and help shape our school community.

If you have any questions please contact us at wcpa@whitbycollegiate.school.nz

Meet the teacher BBQ

Just a reminder that our Meet the Teacher BBQ is happening next Thursday, 12 February 2026, from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM.

We're looking forward to seeing parents, caregivers, and students there to meet our teachers, key staff members, and fellow families while enjoying amazing food provided by the Parents' Association.

We hope to see you there!

Discover your musical talent

Students at Whitby Collegiate have the opportunity to learn to play musical instruments through the Itinerant Music Programme from a team of highly skilled and passionate music specialists. Lessons are 30 minutes long, once a week during school time, and cost $35 per lesson.

Classes are organised on a rotation system so students don't miss the same lessons each week. Priority is given to senior students, with remaining spots allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Register here: https://shorturl.at/OYlpc

If you have any questions, please email Ms Nicole Ting at nicole.ting@whitbycollegiate.school.nz

Have a Go Mountain Biking

The Whitby Collegiate Mountain Bike Club is hosting a Have a Go day for anyone keen to try mountain biking. Bring a bike and helmet and enjoy a supportive environment with awesome coaches to help you get started. All rider levels are welcome.

When: Tuesday 10 February, 3:45pm
Where: Spicer Botanic Park

Sports Update

For all sports information and registrations visit our online sports hub here. Join the Whitby Collegiate Sport Facebook Group to keep up to date with all sport news and achievements.

Student Achievements

We love to celebrate our students’ achievements. For inclusion in the Whitby Collegiate newsletter or on our Facebook page, please submit via the button below or email communications@whitbycollegiate.school.nz

Community Notice

SAFETY NOTICE

We kindly ask all parents and caregivers to please avoid stopping on yellow lines or blocking driveways on Discovery Drive during student drop-off and pick-up times.

For everyone’s safety, the designated drop-off and pick-up area is the car park at Adventure Park.

Thank you for your cooperation in helping keep our community safe.

Sincerely,
Whitby Collegiate Office