Important Dates
- Monday 17 July – Start of Term 3
- Wednesday 19 July: 2.00-6.00pm. Senior students’ parents evening – school closes at 1.20pm for all students.
- Monday 24 July: 2.00-6.00pm. Junior students’ parents evening – school closes at 1.20pm for all students.
- Monday 24 July: 6pm. Board meeting
- Monday 7 August: 3.45-6.00pm. Future Focus evening (years 10-12).
- Monday 21 August: 6pm. Board meeting
- Wednesday 23 August: 8.30-11.00am. MCAT derived grade exam (year 11 students)
- Thursday 24 August: Learning Conversations. Students will come into school only for their learning conversation.
- Friday 25 August: Mid-term break – school closed
- Monday 4 – Friday 8 September: Derived grade exam week.
- Seniors will attend school only for their exams.
- Junior students’ timetables are modified with lunch from 12.20-1.20 and period 4 is from 1.20-2.20pm.
- Tuesday 12 – Thursday 14 September: Year 11 DCAT exams
- Tuesday 19 September: Music Evening
- Friday 22 September: End of Term 3
Important Information
Route 726 changes for Term 3
Metlink has made some changes to school bus routes to help to deal with overcrowding on school routes. The route change results in the morning service operating directly down Adelaide Rd bypassing Luxford, Rintoul & Riddiford St. In the afternoon only variation to the 3.30pm trip to Owhiro Bay will use Adelaide Rd. The 3.25pm Island Bay variant 4 service remains unchanged.
Maps have been attached here for a visualisation of the route.
Overseas Travel
If your student is heading overseas this holiday and needs access to their WHS accounts, please email Alison Jeffery (admin@whs.school.nz) who will arrange for the geolock to be removed.
If you have already requested approval for a term-time absence then the holidays will have been taken into consideration and the geolock removed already.
Reports
Reports have been published and emailed to caregivers. They can also be accessed through the parent portal. Please email admin@whs.school.nz if you need confirmation of your login details.
What’s happening?
Strengthening Democracy Project
In late 2022 PeterCullen initiated a program with high schools in the Greater Wellington region to encourage youth participation in our democracy. Students were asked to work in groups to answer the following questions:
- What is democracy?
- What are the current threats to our democracy?
- What possible solutions are there to these problems?
- How might the suggested solution strengthen our democracy?
The groups presented their ideas as a video, supported by a written document and the 3 finalists were presented at a recent Cullen Breakfast with Nicola Willis.
Congratulations to Francis Till and Vidthia Beaglehole who led a small team of students from Wellington High School who came third. Consequently, the team recently got to visit Parliament, met with the Speaker of the NZ Parliament, attended Parliament’s Question Time, and then met with Prime Minister Chris Hipkins to discuss ideas which have arisen through the project. Their video can be viewed here!
40 Hour Challenge
Some WHS students participated in the 40 Hour Challenge which raises money for World Vision. This year, the money fundraised goes towards providing access to clean water. There have been some amazing challenges such as walking 40 kilometers in 40 hours, and a picture from that challenge is attached. All the students worked really hard and have done an incredible job completing their challenge and at raising the money they have so far.
Students at WHS have raised over $3000 and are aiming to raise $5000! Donations are much appreciated, and you can donate using this link.
Music
Although the Music Evening unfortunately couldn’t go ahead this term, our senior Music classes have been having a lot of fun doing their group performances throughout this week. There has been a huge range of music on display and some lovely supportive audiences of friends at afterschool sessions. We look forward to being able to bring you a Music Evening again next term!
Blank Canvas
Blank Canvas is student and staff of Wellington High School art exhibition. Entries are still open until Friday 21st July (week 1, term 3). Student and whanau opening night is on Thursday 27th July from 3:30-6pm (week 2, term 3). Open to the public Saturday 29th from 10am-3pm.
To enter, fill in the online entry form here.
You can enter 1-2 artworks and it can be in any medium; painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture, textiles, jewellery or mixed media. The idea is for people to purchase your artwork however, if you don’t wish to sell and wish exhibit only that’s also fine.
Ruby Joy in North and South
Our very own art teacher Ruby Joy has been featured in North and South magazine, talking about her artwork and her journey with quilting. You can read the article here. Congratulations Ruby!
World refugee day
It was World refugee day on 20 June, a day created to raise awareness of the plight of refugees and celebrate their resilience and courage in rebuilding their future. To honour our former refugee students we celebrated with a morning tea.
He Kākano
Ka pai junior and senior ākonga who competed in AWD Ten Pin Bowling this week! It was great to see positive mentoring within the teams with words of encouragement. A great way to end Term 2.
Achievements
Te Whānau a Taraika Kapa Haka
Ngā mihi ki a koutou katoa mo to tautoko. Our rangatahi did us so proud performing on stage on Friday 23 June at Te Rauparaha Arena.
Central and Southern Zone Underwater Hockey Tournament
Wellington High School had unprecedented success at this year’s tournament. Our Senior Open A, Senior Girls, Junior Open and Junior Girls teams all won medals and qualified for Nationals in Auckland next term. Additionally, nine girls and 10 boys were selected to trial for Central Zone under 18 teams. Goals remaining this year are Nationals medals, U18 success, NZ team selection and the retention of the three CSW challenge shields we currently hold. Thanks must go to the coaches, managers and parents who assisted in making the weekend such a success for our players.
Artstart
Artstart (formally The Creators Room) is an annual exhibition celebrating senior art students work. For the past 10 years or so this exhibition has been run out of Christchurch however, this year Artstart reached out to Wellington secondary schools seeking senior art students to enter. Five Year 13 students from Wellington High School were selected to exhibit their work in the first Artstart show to be run out of Wellington. Congratulations to the following students from 2022:
- Evie Ashby
- Jessie Davidson
- Luke Keys
- Iona Sneddon
- Inese Velde
Special Olympics
Former WHS alumni Matthew Di Leva has gained a silver medal at the Special Olympics! Here is an excerpt from the Stuff article about him: “The penultimate day of competition saw most outdoor events cancelled, but Wellington’s Matthew Di Leva was clearly used to the wet conditions by claiming a silver in the long jump, before the rest of the events were postponed to Saturday (Sunday, NZ time). Di Leva said he was extremely pleased and proud to have won a medal for New Zealand, only 8cm behind winner Zainulabdeen Al Kafaji from Iraq.”
Congratulations Matthew!
Sport
Senior Student Mitre Flats Tramp
At a wee bit past nine, we loaded up the van, squeezed in and were on our way to the Tararua Range! The drive was uneventful, and we soon found ourselves walking along a gravel four-wheel-drive track that marks the beginning of the Mitre Flats tramp.
The track wound its way through sunny farmland, with good views of the river and the valley up ahead. The group began to spread out and soon we had entered the shady bush. Tūī, pīwakawaka and kererū flitted and swooshed through the valley, calling out to one another. We got properly wet feet walking through the various side creeks and had to navigate some gnarly roots and rocks. After a long time trekking through the stunning Tararua bush, we crossed over the massive Waingawa River in full flood, grateful for the solid bridge under our feet.
After a couple of hours resting our feet at Mitre Flats Hut and eating delicious, scrambled pancakes, three of us decided to head up Mitre Peak – the highest in the Tararuas. The Mitre Track zig-zags its way up a steep shoulder, and the bush slowly begins to transform from open beech and fern forests into a cool, dark goblin forest. Beautiful moss dangled from the branches of the gnarled trees. As the canopy began to lower, we reached a small clearing. It was getting late, but the clouds parted for a moment to throw stunning fingers of light through the misty forest.
Finally, we pushed through a thick canopy of plants and found ourselves above the bushline. We stopped for a small rest, taking in the amazing tussock and dracophyllum, then headed back down to the hut. After such a long day, we were happy to rest our legs by the fire and talk about everything under the sun, from grand tramping plans to breakfast.
The next morning we woke to a perfect day. The sun was burning off the layer of mist that cloaked the valley. We quickly packed up and packed out, leaving via the track we had come up the day before. We were all very tired and glad to slump into the van for the drive home. We stopped off in Carterton for the customary hot chips at the Wild Oats Cafe, then headed home.
– Fynn Marno-Simpson
Counselling
Mindfulness Month
The Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand, The Kindness Institute, and Pause Breathe Smile bring you Mindfulness Month 2023.
Mindfulness is simply about being in the moment, observing our thoughts, our aurongo or emotions, and the world around us. And that’s what this month is all about – finding a small moment each day to embrace the here and now. For some, mindfulness might be a new concept, and for others, it might already be a part of your every day. This could be a reminder to prioritise mindfulness or a chance to learn something new.
If you are interested, do check out the links and practice some mindfulness over the holidays. Next term for the rest of July, the counselling department will be offering suggestions on how to be more mindful and some opportunities to practice some mindfulness.
From your counselling team,
Gavin, Jawahir, DeNeen and Nikki
