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News / Notices Weekly Wrap Up

Weekly Wrap-Up (Term 1 – Week 4)

This week the focus falls on the forthcoming Athletics Day and you can read about our Year 13 Biology students’ research trip to VUW.

Important Dates

NOTE: You can access the school calendar on our website: WHS School Calendar

  • 26-28 February: 9Riley Noho Marae
  • 1 March: Athletics Day
  • 4-6 March: 9Royal Noho Marae
  • 6-8 March:  9Howell Noho Marae
  • 26 March: FRIDAY timetable runs today
  • 29 March: Learning Conversations all day (with rōpū teachers)
  • 12 April: End of Term 1

Important Information

WHS Athletics Carnival – Friday 1 March

On Friday 1 March we will hold our annual WHS Athletics Carnival Day at Newtown Park.

This year we expect all year 9 and 10 students to compete. In years 11 to 13 the event will only be for competitors, peer supporters and those running stalls. All other students in years 11 to 13 will have a Home Learning Day. Teachers will talk to students about their expectations for the day, and we encourage students to make good use of their time if they are not attending the athletics.

Students need to make their way to Newtown Park and have their name marked on the roll by 8.45am. The athletics programme will start at 8.45am with the 1500m. Those competing in the 1500m need to be at the track at 8.30am to get ready. The day should conclude by 3.30pm. Entries for all events are taken on the day and students are encouraged to participate actively and to support their whānau group by wearing their colours: Riley – red; Kelly – yellow; Howell – green; Royal – blue.

We look forward to seeing who our top athletes will be. These students will go on to represent WHS at the Western Zone Athletics Championships on Wednesday 6 March.

Please note that although bikes, skateboards and scooters can be used as transport to the park, they must not be ridden inside Newtown Park at all. Shoes and appropriate attire must be worn whilst competing.

Students should bring water, wear a hat and have sunscreen. Students should bring food for the day and may like to bring cash to purchase food from stalls run by senior students.

Newtown Park is an all-weather track, however, should we need to cancel the event, we will communicate this through the WHS website, school app, Facebook and Twitter.

 

 

What’s happening?

Ecology Trip July 2020

In 2020 WHS hopes to take a small number of students who will be at least 16 years old to the small island of Dominica. The aim will be to learn about ecology techniques both on land and in the sea.  Click here for further information. Please note the rock canyoning is not part of this trip.

For further information, contact Joanne Lowe  or come to the information evening with Dr Tim Coles, the founder of Operation Wallacea, on Monday 25 February at 6pm in the school library. (Please note the meeting has been changed from Wednesday February 27).

After school Kimono experience

Students learning Japanese had the opportunity to experience wearing kimono, traditional Japanese wear, after school on Tuesday.

Licensed kimono instructor, Colleen Esler, ran the workshop for interested students. Students learnt important tips including left goes over right (the reverse is reserved for burial), before being dressed in their choice of formal or ‘street style’ kimono.

Library lunchtime lecture

Jim Inglis, Senior Business Manager Genetics, Pamu,  gave a fascinating talk to staff and senior students in the Library yesterday in the first Library Lunchtime Lecture for 2019.

He spoke on genetics in livestock systems  in NZ and fielded a range of considered questions from students keen to better understand the biological and social Implication of CRISPR. CRISPR is a new gene editing technique that cuts and repairs genes with astonishing accuracy and precision.

Senior Biology students discovered which biotechnologies are legally permitted for use in New Zealand and, perhaps more importantly, discovered those we are not yet using and why this is so.

Sincere thanks to Jim Inglis and the Library Staff for this golden opportunity to discover more about the possibilities and potential problems with CRISPR and other new  biotechnologies in Aotearoa New Zealand.

CRISPR research at VUW

Wellington High School students took a lunchtime library research trip to Victoria University this week.

Our students found key texts on CRISPR, investigated the latest scientific journals and accessed the best online biological databases in the scientific world. Students heard how CRISPR and gene editing techniques are being used here in Aotearoa New Zealand to fight cancer,  investigate gene mutations and repair metabolic pathways blighted by inherited mistakes in gene coding. Students were left considering the possibilities for possum control and even eradication with gene driven technologies, plus the potential for the control of disease causing mosquitoes and ticks in Australia and America. We had a wonderful whistle stop tour of the library’s rich resources and will return to visit the laboratories and lecture rooms of our closest university and research institute in coming weeks.

Thanks to the VUW Science Librarians and Thom Adams (Engagement Coordinator), from the Faculty of Science.

 

Sports

Preseason training update

 

Since term began, preseason training has been underway in Basketball, Netball, Rugby and Dragonboating. In this time a lot of hard work has been done and, as we progress towards the winter season, this will only continue to intensify. Everyone involved in preseason training understands that doing the hard work now will help us reap the rewards later on. Not only that, having invested heavily now, we will enjoy the challenge of games and matches much more too.