Week 7, Term 4 | 2021

WORD FROM MS ADDISON

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

And just like that, we have reached the end of the academic year for 2021! Another whirlwind week has come to a close and our students have certainly embraced the range of activities that have been on offer this week.

The Year 10 Camp at Talima Lodge was a great success, and according to the students, the highlight was the staff item at the talent quest and Mr Powell's songs. Thank you to all the staff who made sure that the students had such a wonderful time, working on team building and collaboration which will be so important next year as they head into the NCEA Level 1.

Our wrap up assembly today highlighted the junior activities week and it was wonderful to see the range of performance, creativity and innovations and large doses of good humour that was enjoyed by the students.

Monday will be the formal end of the year with our final assembly and we look forward to further celebrating student achievements and the final farewells as everyone heads into the holiday period.

A special congratulations to Lonasei Lolo who has been named in the Northern Zone A Volleyball U15 Representative Team, and to Lebeta Pauta, Aifili Patelesio and Laken Masoe who have all been named in the B team. These two teams will be playing in a regional representative tournament next weekend and we wish them all the best. 

Planning for 2022 is already well underway and staff will be ensuring the programmes that are offered at Whitby Collegiate continue to provide a strong foundation for our academic programmes with a future-focused approach. The work on new programmes of study will continue as we keep abreast of changes to the national curriculum whilst ensuring that our students are part of innovative learning projects.

Thank you to all of those who have been such wonderful contributors and supporters of the school. We continue to be blessed with a school community that has embraced the challenges of the year, we see growing resilience within our students whilst striving to be the very best that they can be. I want to thank the staff for their tireless work with our student body and the senior leadership team for their management of the school.

Finally, I would like to thank the Parents’ Advisory Board, the Parents’ Association and John Fiso and the Proprietor’s Board for providing the school with such strong governance and leadership and which will see us heading into 2022 with the largest student roll that the school has ever had. Whitby Collegiate has navigated the last two years with confidence and we are looking to great things in 2022.

Wishing everyone a safe and happy holiday season and a very Merry Christmas.

Ngā mihi nui,

Shelley Addison
Chief Executive

FROM THE ACADEMIC DEAN

Kia ora e te whānau o Whitby Collegiate,

What a wonderful year it has been. The school has been full of motivated learners, eager to showcase their understanding and growth. I have been so blessed to witness the many successes of our students this year, both academically and sporting, and of course the many personal victories as well. 

We cannot look past the impact another year of Covid-19 restrictions has had on us all, the most recent being that NCEA examinations will continue for our seniors until Tuesday 14 December. Once again, I would like to state how impressed I have been with our students’ resilience this year. The Whitby Collegians really embody our school values of Respect, Resilience, and Excellence, and it is truly an honour to work alongside them.

While the Final Assembly on Monday will be a sad final farewell to our Year 13 Class of 2021, and to any other students leaving, it will be an honour to also acknowledge those that were not able to cross the stage at our Prize Giving in November.

Parents of Junior students are reminded to check the Edge Parent Portal on the evening of Monday 6 December to download their child’s End of Year report. Any issues accessing the report, please contact me as soon as possible.

I look forward to welcoming everyone back after a restful summer break. Have a healthy and safe holiday. Merry Christmas.

Ngā mihi,

Debbie Mitchell

UPCOMING EVENTS

Term 4 Activities/Events

Key dates are located on the website calendar. Please check for your activities.

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SCHOOL NEWS

Year 10 Camp at Talima Lodge

Year 10 students enjoyed river rafting, some great company during their visit to Kāpiti Island and staff performances at talent quest whilst on camp earlier this week. Thank you to the staff and parent helpers for ensuring such a fantastic experience for students.

Junior Activities Week

SPORTS UPDATE

Secondary school sport restricted to fully vaccinated participants as of 2022

Following the Government’s announcement that Wellington will be entering the ‘Orange’ level of the COVID Protection Framework (Traffic Light system) today, the Board of College Sport Wellington, and School Sport New Zealand, have confirmed that all sanctioned competitions and events in Term One 2022 will be restricted to fully vaccinated participants only. 

The CSW Board also agreed that only fully vaccinated spectators (over the age of 12) will be permitted to attend College Sport Wellington sanctioned events and competitions. 

College Sport Wellington understands this will create difficulties for some students and their parents. However, they feel it is necessary, to ensure the 2022 sporting calendar can proceed with the least disruption and in the safest possible way. As per the COVID Protection Framework, the outlined gathering restrictions mean that the vast majority of events and competitions simply cannot proceed if Vaccination Certificates are not being checked. The gathering limits at Orange and Red in particular become too restrictive for viable sports events to take place. Further, with Council venues preparing to require vaccination certificates, it means that for many of our students the decision is already out of College Sport Wellington’s hands. 

CSW are very conscious that some students may not get vaccinated for a variety of reasons, and we will work with our member schools to make alternative intra-school options available to them.

Basketball

Capital Basketball has revised its Capital Zone referee education program and will be hosting a FREE Referee Practical Workshop on Tuesday 14 December, 5:30-7:30pm at Onslow College (CLICK to REGISTER).  Referees at college basketball games earn $20 per match.  If you would like more information on the referee workshop please email sally.rose@whitbycollegiate.school.nz

Hockey

Wellington Hockey has announced the return of their Secondary Hockey Development Camp.  This exciting opportunity for our young players has been designed by Shea McAleese, one of the most experienced international hockey players to represent New Zealand. Shea recently retired from international hockey after amassing 320 caps for the Black Sticks, attending 4 Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games and World Cups throughout his career. He is the 3rd most capped men’s Black Stick of all time. 

Shea McAleese will be joined by fellow coaches from Wellington Hockey development programmes for the camp on Saturday 11 and Sunday 12 December from 9:00am to 3:00pm at the National Hockey Stadium. To book a place on the camp, please register here. 

Goalkeepers are welcome to enrol as there will be a goalkeeper specific trainer to assist your technical development. 

We are currently at Alert Level 2, please remember:

• NO SPECTATORS/PARENTS allowed (only managers and coaches allowed). This includes children.

• Contract tracing is compulsory at venues. 

• Warmups should be completed outside the venue before entering.

• Please use a Face mask/covering when if you are not actively playing.

• Please sanitise when entering and leaving the venues.

• Please cough/sneeze into your elbow.

• Stay home if you feel unwell.

• Teams must leave venues as soon as their game finishes.

SPECIAL NOTE: The government's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the education sector has taken effect and the sports coordinator is required to confirm the vaccination status of all coaches, managers, drivers and other volunteers that come into contact with our school teams.

Stay safe Whitby Collegiate families ☺

For all sports information, latest draws & results, sport clubs and registrations please click on the appropriate link below.

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

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