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,
We farewelled our senior students at the last full school assembly of the year for 2023 and how quickly this has come around. It was wonderful to hear our senior student leaders reflect on their year and even gratifying were the tributes from the junior school as they acknowledged the impact that the seniors have had on their time at Whitby Collegiate.
We wish all students the very best for their upcoming external exams.
Earlier in the week I had the privilege of attending the Young Enterprise Scheme awards ceremony, supporting our Year 12 students of Ana Sexton, Jade Lin, Aifili Patelesio and Milly O'Leary as finalists for the Environment and Sustainability category with their eco tote bags. It was great to see the level of entrepreneurship and innovation amongst all the students here and Whitby Collegiate’s long association with this scheme shows real learning in action.
We are very much looking forward to the Whitby Collegiate Foundation Gala Dinner this weekend as a celebration of the school’s journey and are thrilled to have Karin Burger, current Silver Fern as our guest speaker and one of our very own parent, All Blacks alumni Piri Weepu, along with Tamati Ellison for an "off the bench" panel discussion where I am sure there will be plenty of questions around who will win the World Cup this weekend!
The Foundation are also proud to be hosting MP's Nicola Willis, Chris Bishop and Barbara Edmonds, along with very important stakeholders, Mayor of Porirua Anita Baker, Deputy Mayor Kylie Wihapi and Councillor Tracey Johnson. The school is always very thankful for the support of our Proprietor John Fiso and his family at the event and Board member Tony Hanning.
All the best for a restful weekend or maybe not so restful if you are up early on Sunday morning supporting the men in black.
Warm regards,
Shelley Addison
Executive Principal
Deputies’ Updates
From the Deputy Principal (Pastoral and Wellbeing)
Tāloha ni Parents, Caregivers and students,
Today, during assembly, we farewelled our leavers as they head off for exam leave. In recognising the great work of our Prefects and Year 13 students, our junior House Captains gave meaningful speeches and presented gift baskets for their mentors and House Leaders. They also expressed their appreciation to the leaders for inspiring a culture of servant leadership in our school community.
Today’s assembly was also an opportunity to instill a sense of nostalgia, pride, and connectedness among our students as we listened to departing speeches from our Deputy Head Prefects and watched the Leavers farewell video. As we celebrated the accomplishments of our departing students, they encouraged our future student leaders to continue their journey with enthusiasm, determination and with a heart of service.
This week, we also celebrated Tokelau Language week. Thank you to Anvi, Oriana and Grace for presenting their speeches today at assembly on the importance of celebrating cultural heritage and strengthening cultural identity.
Our Pastoral team look forward to taking Year 9 students to Talima Lodge for an end of year retreat on the 1 December. Here, students will have the opportunity to work collaboratively with their peers on various tasks and activities focused around leadership, school values and building positive relationships.
We are grateful for the support and presence of our Proprietors’ Board at school this week. Their dedicated work behind the scenes is very much appreciated and we look forward to celebrating the school’s success with them at the Foundation Gala dinner tomorrow night.
May I take this opportunity to thank our Foundation Committee Co-Chairs Tim Green and Danielle Leslie for their amazing leadership, support and work in organising what will be an enjoyable event, raising funds for the betterment of our students and the wider school community.
Finally, I look forward to connecting with parents and families at the Foundation Gala Dinner as well as the upcoming Parent Teacher Interviews. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me or either of our Pastoral Deans.
Fakafetai lahi lele.
Ainslie Sauvao
Upcoming Events
Term 4 Activities/Events (Week 4)
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”.
| ACTIVITY/EVENT | DATE |
| Foundation Gala Dinner Senior End of Year Reports on KAMAR |
Saturday 28 October |
| Tokelau Language Week | Sunday 29 October |
| Year 10 Literacy: Writing CAA | Monday 30 October |
| Year 10 Literacy: Reading CAA | Tuesday 31 October |
| Year 10 Numeracy CAA | Thursday 2 November |
| CSW Junior Volleyball Tournament | Friday 3 October |
| CSW Junior Volleyball Tournament | Saturday 4 October |
School News
Senior End of Year Reports
Senior end of year reports will be available on the KAMAR Portal tomorrow, Saturday 28 October with a notification via email. Any issues, please contact Debbie Mitchell directly at debbie.mitchell@whitbycollegiate.school.nz.
Senior PE
Year 13 PE students celebrated the end of the school year by putting their go karting skills to the test at the Indoor Raceway. On their last day of class, our Year 12 PE students celebrated by enjoying some grape juice bubbles and croquet in the sunshine. Congratulations to them, and all of our senior PE students on completing their courses.
Level 3 Biology Zoo Trip
This year our L3 Biology Zoo Trip took place on the finest of sunny days, Wednesday 25 October. The first thing we all did was drink a hot drink thanks to Mrs Mitchell and have a good chat, before embarking on a walkabout of sorts to enjoy the sunny day and see the animals. Our morning of learning truly began when we moved into “the living room” where we were given an overview of primate evolution, supported by hands-on learning with resources such as model stone tools, skeletons, activities, and real hominid skulls. Tim, the educator then led us to Charles; another educator, who took us on a tour of the zoo, to see and talk about the behaviours of many of the animals. Other notable moments include Julianna’s first Kiwi viewing, seeing Sa-Sa the Sun Bear, seeing and learning about the blind, eyeless cave fish, and our close encounter with the Kea. To summarise such a wonderful day, we all had an awesome time and we all learned plenty of helpful things!
Ruby Scott
Community Market Day - Saturday 25 November
Whitby Collegiate will be hosting our inaugural Community Market Day at school on Saturday 25 November 2023 to help fundraise for school scholarships. We would appreciate your family’s support to realise our vision.
What do we need from you, our school community?
RAFFLE PRIZES
We are collecting prizes for quick fire raffles at the Community Market Day. If you or your business would like to contribute an item or two, your donation can be dropped off at the Whitby Collegiate school office. Your donation could be cans, bottles, toiletries or any other non-perishable grocery items.
DONATIONS
We are accepting anything from books, clothing, homeware and other items suitable for resale. To arrange drop off or pickup of your donations, please email events@whitbycollegiate.school.nz or phone Nadine on 021 969 618.
SCHOOL UNIFORM ITEMS
As part of the Community Market Day, the team would like to include a second hand uniform stall. If you have any Whitby Collegiate school uniform items to donate, they will be gratefully received.
STALLHOLDERS
If you, your student, a friend, neighbour or family member would like to have a stall, please apply here. Stall bookings are limited, so please get your application in early.
We thank you for your on-going support for the Whitby Collegiate Community Market Day, to be held on Saturday 25 November, 10am to 3pm.
For further information email events@whitbycollegiate.school.nz
Whakataukī o te wiki
proverb of the week
This whakataukī refers to having great ambition. A rei is a whale’s tooth, and paraoa a sperm whale. The saying reminds us that only a whale’s jaw can carry a whale’s tooth. Likewise, we must have the right skills and qualifications (whale’s jaw) to wield our lofty ambitions (whale’s tooth).
Sports Update
Term 4 Sports Dates
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
Charlie Stewart
Equestrian
In September, Charlie and Beckham competed at the Solway inter-school competition where they achieved a second overall for their classes. On the weekend they also competed DCD Kiwi Arena Rakes Premier League Show, where they achieved second equal across their 3 level 2 tests.
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
