Whitby Collegiate News Week 4, Term 2, 2026

Week 4, Term 2 | 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,

It has been another positive and productive week at Whitby Collegiate, with much to celebrate across our learning, wellbeing, and co-curricular programmes.

You may be aware of the recent announcement from the Minister of Education regarding a delay in the implementation of the revised national curriculum. While this represents a shift in the planned timeline at a national level, Whitby Collegiate is well positioned to respond effectively. Our staff have been engaged in the development and alignment of curriculum practices for some time, ensuring a thoughtful and future-focused approach to teaching and learning. In particular, we are very pleased with the ongoing development of our Year 11 Collegiate Diploma programme, which reflects our commitment to providing meaningful and relevant learning pathways for our students. We will continue to keep our community informed as further guidance is provided.

Over the coming two weeks, we look forward to connecting with families through our scheduled Parent-Teacher Evenings. These meetings provide a valuable opportunity to discuss student progress, acknowledge achievement, and strengthen the partnership between home and school.

School life continues to offer a wide range of opportunities, and it has been especially pleasing to see our senior students demonstrate their leadership during Kindness Week. Their actions have strongly reflected our school values, contributing to a positive and inclusive environment across the college. Staff also actively supported these student led initiatives, culminating in Pink Shirt Day today, where our community came together in support of anti-bullying.

Student wellbeing remains a central priority. Our pastoral team continues to provide proactive support through regular check-in surveys, allowing us to respond effectively to student needs. This week, we were delighted to welcome back former student Sona Beddie, along with her colleagues from Youthline. Their presentation to our Year 9 students offered valuable insights into the impact of social media and strategies for managing these influences. We also acknowledge the ongoing work of Mr Atkinson and Mr Leota, whose Deans’ workshops continue to promote positive and upstanding behaviour.

Our winter sports season is now well underway, and we acknowledge the significant work that has taken place behind the scenes to ensure a smooth start. In particular, we extend our thanks to Ms Newlands for her outstanding organisation and coordination, which has enabled a seamless beginning to the season. It is encouraging to see such strong levels of participation and engagement from our students. Our junior girls’ and boys’ Basketball teams continue to dominate their competition with strong wins this week, our Senior A Netball are working hard in the Premier Division, and we look forward to another very full weekend of Netball and Football.

Looking ahead, we warmly invite our community to support our upcoming school Cross Country event. All students will be participating, either competitively or in a non-competitive capacity, and we anticipate a day that celebrates effort, resilience, and community spirit.

Thank you for your continued support of Whitby Collegiate.

Shelley Addison
Executive Principal

Deputies’ Updates

Deputy Principal (Academics)

Kia ora e te whānau o Whitby Collegiate,

I am so pleased to be back in the office this week, after a fun-filled and action-packed trip to Queenstown with the Level 3 Geography class and Mr Darryn Tinney last week. Thank you to the students (and Darryn!) for making this such an enjoyable experience.

Now we are one third of the way into Term 2, it is excellent to see the number of opportunities for credits that our senior students are getting. Please remember that NCEA credits can be tracked on KAMAR, with updates being sent to NZQA at the end of every month. It is important that all Y10-13 students have an active NZQA login. Using this access, students can track their NCEA progress, complete digital assessments, and upload digital assessments for external standards. If you wish to find out more about NCEA, or look over my presentation from last term’s NCEA information evening, please have a look at our website.

Quite a few of our Year 10, 11, and 12 students will be sitting Literacy and Numeracy Common Assessment Activities (LitNum CAAs) over the next two weeks. Our biggest session is on Monday 18 May, with the Numeracy CAA beginning during Period 3. These assessments are the preferred pathway for our students to achieve their literacy and numeracy co-requisites, necessary for all NCEA Levels. If your child is entered in one or more of these assessments, you will have received an information letter from Mrs Katherine McKinlay, LitNum coordinator. Please direct any queries to Katherine, or send me an email. A second round of LitNum CAAs will take place in September.

As indicated earlier in the year, and on the school calendar, there is a Curriculum Day (Teacher Only Day) on Friday 29 May. Teachers will be using this time for curriculum development and professional learning. Please make alternative arrangements for your child/ren that day, and enjoy the longer King’s Birthday weekend.

Please see below booking information for the upcoming Parent Teacher Interviews on Thursday 21 May (Y8-10) and Thursday 28 May (Y11-13), from 3pm - 7:30pm. To accommodate the early start of PTIs, there is an early finish for students both days, with school finishing at 2.25pm; the Period 6 class will be held during assembly time so there is no loss of learning. Bus departure times will be 2:30pm. If there are any questions regarding PTIs please contact the school office.

Have a lovely and restful weekend,

Ngā mihi,

Debbie Mitchell
debbie.mitchell@whitbycollegiate.school.nz

Deputy Principal (Pastoral and Wellbeing)

Talofa lava, Vanakkam, Mālō e lelei, Ni Hao, Tāloha ni, and Tēnā koutou e te whānau o Whitby Collegiate,

What a vibrant sight our staffroom was this morning! It was wonderful to see our team decked out in pink to support Pink Shirt Day, a perfect conclusion to Kindness Week, with so many of our students joining the staff in wearing pink today. Our Wellness Prefects, Emily De Munnik and Lachlan Dyhrberg, alongside Year 11 student leader Gabriel Anthony and the wider Prefect team, have done a fantastic job leading a meaningful week of activities. Thank you all for your leadership and your dedication to strengthening our school culture.

Within our school community, continuing to build on our culture of kindness, compassion, respect, and empathy is an everyday commitment. This week, those values were reinforced further as our students demonstrated the "Whitby Way" through their positive actions and attitudes. Well done to everyone for embracing these events.

As part of our pastoral team's ongoing commitment to student wellbeing, it was a pleasure to welcome back former Wellness Prefect, Sona Beddie. Sona and her team led an insightful workshop for our junior students, focusing on digital safety, navigating friendships, and building resilience. She is eager to continue supporting our community by offering future guidance on time management and academic balance. We are incredibly grateful for Sona's continued connection to the school and her dedication to mentoring our students. We are also excited to welcome back former Deputy Head Girls Nadia Roach, Aifili Masoe, Sheila Tui, and Lonasei Lolo, who will be assisting with our Cultural Group. It is a blessing to have our alumni return to share their talents and give back to our school community.

I look forward to connecting with our families at next week’s Parent-Teacher Interviews. In the meantime, I wish you all a safe and blessed weekend, and the very best of luck to our students representing the school in weekend sport.

Fa’afetai lava ma ia manuia.

Ainslie Sauvao
ainslie.sauvao@whitbycollegiate.school.nz

Chaplain’s Note

Kindness Week and it has given me time to pause and reflect again just how profound and transformative kindness is. Talk of kindness seems to have gone out of fashion, but in a world of anger and outrage kindness is exactly what we need. Kindness reminds us of our kin-ness and connection to one another.

There is a long thread through scripture of the kindness of God and the invitation to be people, empowered by the Holy Spirit, living in kindness:

Micah 6:8: And what does the Lord require of you  but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?

May we continue to be transformed by and into kindness.

Blessings,
Reverend Chris

School News

Artist of the week - Georgie Rose

Our senior painters, inspired by the still life work of Morandi, have created pieces focusing on quiet colours and how objects relate to each other.

Georgie Rose's painting, which was inspired by her own photographs, beautifully captures the essence of everyday objects with depth and atmosphere. Working with care on her paintbrush and colour mixing skills, Georgie has effectively achieved the subtle tones characteristic of Morandi's style and most importantly enjoyed her artmaking along the way.

Welcome back to the Art room Georgie.

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”.

Parent Teacher Interviews :
Years 8 - Year 10

(excluding new Y9 students who attended interviews last term)

School finishes early for ALL students at 2:25pm
Buses depart at 2:30pm

Bookings open now via schoolinterviews.co.nz (code wcq2x) or scan the QR code.

Bookings close 10am Tuesday 19 May

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

Whitby Collegiate is seeking an Examination Centre Manager to run the NCEA and NZ Scholarship examinations in 2026.

The smooth and successful running of an exam centre is important for all students participating in these examinations.

The position requires you to complete an online training programme and mentoring sessions with NZQA in August. The position requires you to complete several administrative tasks to plan and prepare for the exams from August to October. You must be available to work for the entire exam period (Tuesday 10 November to Friday 4 December).

A high level of organisational skills with great attention to detail, strength in following processes precisely, confidence leading people of all ages, proficiency in using a computer, and learning to use new computer programmes are essential qualities for this role.

For further information, and/or to apply with CV and cover letter, please email debbie.mitchell@whitbycolleigate.school.nz.

Important: How to Reach Us by Email

Dear families,

Please note that emails ending in “school.kiwi” are sent from our student management system, KAMAR. These are used for school communications and absence notifications and have limited functionality, as KAMAR isn’t designed to be a primary email system.

You’re welcome to reply to these emails; however, new emails sent directly to a “school.kiwi” address won’t be received. Forwarded messages and attachments also won’t come through.

To ensure your message reaches us, please use staff email addresses ending in @whitbycollegiate.school.nz

Thank you.
Whitby Collegiate Office