Term 2 Week 11 Friday 13th July 2011 Assessment week was a

Term 2 Week 11
Friday 13th July 2011
Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou, special greetings to you all.
Winter has arrived with a vengeance and the stormy
weather over the last few days has reminded us that we
have the coldest part of the season beginning. It is wonderful to see the jonquils and camellias flowering and be
reminded that there is always something to celebrate and
enjoy.
Another busy term has come to an end. It certainly has
finished as it began; filled with events and filled with pleasing achievements by our many fine young people who
make up the college whānau here at Ōtorohanga.Today
sees the end of the celebrations of Matariki and your child
will be able to tell you who the winning house was at the
end of the performance assembly held this afternoon in
the hall. I wish to take this opportunity to extend a big mihi
of thanks to Whaea Mita, Whaea Donna, our staff and students/tauira who lead so many of these events and to the
whānau of the school who came and participated in the
many activities which made up Matariki 2011. Such
events are always special in the life of a kura; they are
always with their challenges and they are always with their
memories. To you all who gave of time, commitment
and enthusiasm, ngā mihi nui ki a koutou.
Assessment week was a busy week for most students and staff within the College. During that week
all senior students sat a range of assessments; tests,
examinations and practical tasks. They have now
received their results and have a sense of how well
they are progressing. The formal written reports
have all been posted out so we hope that you all
have an idea of how well your child is progressing.
The NCEA focus groups have been meeting this week
also which provided us with some valuable time to
check with these students, their progress and issues
being experienced. Let me urge you all to contact
the school should you have any concerns about how
well your child is achieving this year. To our students
enrolled in NCEA courses, let me urge each of you to
continue to extend yourselves and to remind each of
you that because of the changed school year this
year, term 3 is crucial for you all to maintain a high
work ethic. There are effectively now only 13 weeks
until this academic year finishes for our senior students.
It is always a real pleasure to acknowledge excellence and I intend to offer in this newsletter many.
First the College’s congratulations are extended to
Chris Lord, a year 11 student. Chris was awarded the
Herbert Memorial Trophy at the Awaroa Sports Day.
He won this tohu/trophy for his wins in the standing
and underhand chopping events. Chris recently
trialled for the New Zealand Under 21 Chopping
Team, narrowly missing selection, however, he
stands an excellent chance of making the team next
year. Chris’s trophy arrived at the school recently
and with the blessing of his whānau, it will be on display with the College’s other trophies in the foyer for
the remainder of this year. A fine effort Chris – well
done indeed; Ngā mihi tautoko o te kura nei ki a
koe.
Congratulations also are offered to those 83 students from our senior school who have thus far this
year earned passes at their level of NCEA study, and
received at least one of their “passes” with an endorsement of “merit” or “excellence”. To have 83
students from within the College achieving in one or
more standards of assessment at these higher endorsement levels is wonderful to see and is a credit
to the students, their staff and whānau at home.
Last week the College under the leadership of Mrs
Russell, Senior Manager Student Wellbeing and the
three Senior School Deans, Mrs Kurth, Mrs Pemberton and Mr Howitt put on a celebratory luncheon
for these students. It was a time to acknowledge
hard work, a time to say well done and a time to allow our students to mingle with some of their staff
as successful learners within our College community.
These students are named elsewhere in this newsletter. My desire is to congratulate you all, and to
compliment you all for setting high goals and maintaining standards of excellence. Your hard work is
commendable; know that your efforts bring a sense
of pride to your whānau, your kura and to your
community. Tino pai rawa tu.
This week also sees the posting home of congratulatory Principal letters. There are four or five of these
sent home at the end of each term at each year level. Each term they have a set criteria and Deans and
Staff are asked to make a selection of students a6t
each level. These nominations are then sent to the
Principal for final approval. This term the letters being sent home are received by students “who give
100% of effort and attitude to all tasks they undertake at the College”. To those who receive such a
letter and card, I extend to you the congratulations
of the whole College. Your fellow students and all
staff here at the College celebrate your wonderful
attitudes and efforts; keep it up.
While offering congratulations for mahi completed
these last few weeks let me also acknowledge the
large number of our staff and students who took
part in the annual Bailey Ingham fun run a couple of
weeks ago. Great to see such significant numbers of
College whānau participating; a sign of a healthy
community working together. The school’s own
cross-country was held yesterday here at the College. As far as conditions go, it could not have been
much wetter or colder; indeed mud, mud, glorious
mud probably sums it up best. However, in true Ōtorohanga fashion, participation was very good and I
congratulate all of you who participated, for your
attitude, sense of fun, commitment and of course
effort. Special congratulations to the winners.
Their names are listed elsewhere in this newsletter;
your efforts of excellence are noted; ngā mihi nui ki
a koutou.
House competitions in these last weeks of the term
focussed on volleyball. Many lunchtimes in the gym
have seen large numbers of students competing
against each other for the title of “Top House – Volleyball”. The competition has been popular and seen
a good spread of students becoming involved. A
special thanks here to the staff who ran the competition. The finals saw Brown House take out the
championship title and to them all; our congratulations. A pleasing aspect of the House competition
this year has been the fact that a number of houses
have won a range of events. This will make the
awarding of the overall Champion House 2011 announced at our Senior Prize giving a most interesting
award. Of note here also is that the result of the
staff v. Year 13 2011, volleyball game, saw the staff
this year become the victors – well done staff. E
kaiako mā.
Last week our College was visited by Mr Ewen
McDonald to carry out an audit for New Zealand
Qualifications Authority on the standard of our systems and practices in regard to offering NCEA assessments. The audits are carried out on all Secondary
Schools in the nation. Their purpose is to check processes and procedures for internal assessment and
moderation and school’s overall compliance with
NZQA assessment principles. The audit requires a lot
of work from a range of staff and that team was
headed by Ms Marion Harvey, Deputy Principal
Learning and Assessment in the College. Over the
weeks leading up to the audit, Ms Harvey and her
team have reviewed processes and Ms Harvey has
redeveloped a 2011 set of school wide processes and
procedures. The audit went very well; Ms Harvey
being commended for her impressive systems, innovations and knowledge. The auditor also worked
with Mrs Kurth, Mr Parsons, Mrs Legg and Mr
Chetty as a representative sample of our Heads of
Faculty. Mr McDonald commended them as a
group for their high professionalism, their dedication
to our students and their enthusiastic desire to be
part of implementing changes in assessment alternatives. Our formal written report will not be received
by the College for another five weeks. When it does
arrive, it will be posted on our College web-site for
you all to read. Well done to all staff for what we
have been told will be a first rate report. A special
acknowledgement to you, Ms Harvey, for your wonderful work in this all important area of our College’s educational life.
There are some changes in staff to be made over the
next few weeks. Ms Stacey Matthews, teacher Math
will be on maternity leave for all of next term. Her
teaching responsibilities will be taken over in the main
by Mr Hao Jason Wang who is coming to take up this
position from Christchurch. Mrs Kristen Andrews,
teacher Physical Education, Health and Guidance will
also be on maternity leave for all of term 3. Her
teaching responsibilities will be in the main taken over
by Ms Gina Albrechtsen who comes to us from Te Kui-
We have also appointed to an administrative and
development role, Mrs Jaimee Tamaki to the Careers and Pathways Centre in the College. Mrs
Tamaki is known to many of our school whānau already as one of the kapahaka tutors for the College.
We welcome all these new staff warmly to their new
roles within the College and know the College
whānau will look after them.
At the end of week two next term we will farewell
Mr George Cowen our Head of Faculty Math. I intend to make my acknowledgement and final farewells to George in the first newsletter of next term. I
wish here to simply announce and acknowledge that
his resignation has been received and accepted with
regret by the College’s Board of Trustees. An acting
HOF Math will be appointed and announced in due
course. Such staff changes all take time to process
and require a significant amount of work to make
sure they are handled and monitored professionally.
In that regard I would like to acknowledge the thorough work carried out by Mr Gavin Hockly, Deputy
Principal Human Resources behind the scenes for
many of the major projects carried out in our College,
including the appointment of new staff. Āku mihi nui
ki a koe.
It is time to sign off for this term. We have two
Teacher Only Days (this Thursday & Friday) and then
our term will close too. I would like to thank all our
staff for a wonderful term and for all the extra’s many
of them do for our students and College in general.
Your efforts and supporting attitudes of our young
people is vital to their success and I take this opportunity to wish you a great break.
We wish you all whānau and students a safe and
warm July holidays. We hope that all the upgrades
scheduled here in our kura these holidays; ICT server,
sewerage, drainage and waste water systems, reroofing and remediating of some flooring and heating
issues will all be completed on time. The school will
certainly be full of people these holidays. In that regard let me acknowledge Mrs Fiona Hodges for her
on-going work on the accounts of the school, and Mr
Mike Smith and Mr Andrew Court for their “On-site
Officer” work throughout this break time, including
security. Kia pai tōu mahi.
See you all Day 1, Term 3, Monday 1 August.
Mā te atua koutou e manaaki, e tiaki hoki/may you all
be blessed.
Timoti Harris
Tumuaki
CROSS COUNTRY 2012
The Ōtorohanga College Cross Country was held in cold, muddy and wet conditions this year. This
made for a fantastic spectacle as the students enjoyed running their championship event or fun run
through creeks with raised water levels, slippery hills and a whole lot of mud. Once again students received House points for finishing in the top 3 and points were given for participation. Brown were
crowned the winners of the Cross Country Interhouse Competition as they were able to accumulate an
impressive 119 points. Kedgley took out second with 98 points, Eveleigh third with 82 points and Hotson the wooden spoon with 78 points. A Summary of the results with the champions and place getter's
of each age group are below.
Junior Girls Championship—1st Talesha Waretini (10 points) Brown
Junior Boys Championship—1st Harry McConnell(10 points) Eveleigh
Intermediate Girls Championship—1st Shantelle Morrisey (10 points) Kedgley
Intermediate Boys Championship—1st Nelson Hove (10 points) Kedgley
Senior Girls Championship—1st Angela Rawlings (10 points) Brown
Senior Boys Championship—1st Jeremy Hayes (10 points) Brown
Girls Fun Run—1st Chloe Collins (4 Points) Hotson
Boys Fun Run—1st Matt Crum (4 Points) Eveleigh
Week 1
Monday 1st August
Term Three begins
Thursday 4th August
Australian Maths Competition
Week 2
Monday 8th August
SADD Week
Week 3
Tuesday 16th August
Board of Trustees Meeting
Wednesday 17th August
University of Waikato Enrolment Assistance
Young Enterprise Exam
Friday 19th August
Assembly—Tournament Teams
BOT Student Nominations open
Week 4
Monday 22nd-Friday 26th
National Secondary Schools Tournament Week
Week 5
Friday 2nd September
Newsletter #10
Week 6
Wednesday 7th September
BOT Student election voting
Week 7
Monday 12th-16th September
Senior Assessment Week
NZQA Information
These are due by September 1st. As with previous years, Otorohanga College will act as collector for these fees
and forward them and the required documentation to NZQA. All year 11, 12 and 13 students are required to
pay these NZQA fees. The one fee covers all subjects and both internal and external standards.
Fees for 2011 are $76.70. If you have a community services card this fee drops to $20. There are also discounts
for families available. If you qualify for the discounted rate please bring your community services card into the
office so we can take note of the details along with your fee. If you require an amended invoice this can also be
done at this time. The last date for fee payment at the College is September 1st 2011. If the fee is not paid by
this date an additional late charge of $50 is added to the full fee and payment will have to be made directly to
NZQA.
Checking credits:
I have completed another submission to NZQA today (Wednesday) and these updated details should be live on
the NZQA website within 24hrs. Log onto www.nzqa.govt.nz with your NSN and the password you set up
when you first registered. (There is an 0800 number to call if you have forgotten your password). Any problems
or concerns relating to standards or credits please, in the first instance see your subject teacher or dean. If you
require further assistance then see Ms Harvey (NZQA Liaison teacher).
??? Did you know …….
NZQA has a page just for students. It can be found at:
http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/audience-pages/students
This page contains everything from ‘Understanding NCEA’ brochures to how to request a review of the marking
of your examination papers.
The following students were invited to a special luncheon
last Friday in the hall to recognise their achievement in gaining an
Excellence or a Merit in an assessment.
Alex Anderson
Harlym Apperley
Patricia Aquino
Nga Armstrong-Nield
Matthew Bond
Jean Bowden
Carmen Brightwell
Sarah Budd
Troy Bush
Luke Care
Mason Carroll
Evan Chandler
Jason Chandler
Andrew Clark
Nicolas Connolly
Rachel Connolly
Tiana Corbett
Puna Cormack
Aaron Crossley
Matt Crum
Max Cumpstone
Lovely Dizon
Chris Ferguson
Vicky French
Ethan Gibson
Dave Goddard
Harlen Graham
Karli Graham
PHOTOS
Heidi Groube
Matt Hall
Megan Haswell
Carlin Hearfield
Stephanie Hill
Laura Hobbs
Jessica Hodges
Nelson Hove
Hayden Kanters
Te-Tuhi Kawhena
Brooke Kenny
Zayed Khan
Tutunui King-Mctainsh
Trinidad Lavin
Chris Lord
Devon Lyon
Kelsey Maniapoto
Levi Martin
Callum Mc Neil
Caleb McEwen
William Moreland
Phillip Morgenthaler
Brandi Murphy
Sam Murphy
Mahuripounamu Neha
Aidan Pevreal
Maxine Puhi
Peggy Putaranui
Norton Pye-Koroheke
Jade Reedy
Shenaye Roach
Ethan Rogers
Cheyenne Ruwhiu
Odette Sanson
Callum Schumacher
Kate Schumacher
Caitlin Scott
Ngaire Signal
Matiu Smith
Teneish Smith
Ruth Swartzberg
Mikki Tainui-Mclean
Trent Tane
Kaitlyn Tindle
Frantino Tonihi
Jessica Tucker
Casey Tuhua
Hayden Van Der Hoek
Kendall Van Straalen
Sonny VanTol
Liam Vick
Rawiri Wanakore
Benjamin Whiteman
Logan Wright
Mitchell Wyllie
NOTICE BOARD
Canteen
This term has been a significant change for students for having access to food and drinks every day at school. We are grateful to Sue Yand
of Sushi Corner, Calleigh Baker of Povender
Vending Machines and John Wooten of Subway
for their energy in creating a new system. There have been some teething problems
and we are aware that there could be improvements. If you have any suggestions to improve
what is being offered can you write a note to
the school or pass on a message through our
FEES DUE FOR PAYMENT
Invoices have been sent out for any fees payable to the College. We would appreciate payment of all fees please. This also includes all
technology, art and sports fees.
Senior Uniform (Years 12 & 13)
From students comments last year to raise
their pride in what they wear on a daily basis
as well as when they represent the Kura, we
are investigating a senior uniform. With students growing out of clothing anyway and potentially new items costing an extra $10 to $20
the overall cost should not be prohibitive. At
this stage however we are keen for feedback
either through the office or by mail.
Otorohanga Health & Well-Being Expo
Saturday 16th July 2011
Ōtorohanga College Hall 8.30 am to 4.00 pm
Promoting good healthy living and lifestyle and all
round well-being.
PLEASE RETURN
URGENTLY
Sites $20.00 each
A Privacy release form was posted out
with the Senior reports and the same
form has been posted with this newsletter and Junior Reports. Please sign
and return this form to school as soon
as possible. It is essential we have a
signed release from caregives/parents
for any photos associated with school
activities.
Side room for half hour seminars:
book yours for $10.00
Entry: Gold Coin Donation
Creche operating: Gold Coin Donation.
Raffles, Food and Drinks for sale.
For bookings and further information:
Contact: Carol 027 231 4773 or
07 873 8099 evening
Could you please ensure that all money
paid into the office for fees, trips and
any other payments is the exact
amount as we do not carry cash onsite. We appreciate your support with
this.
or
Ōtorohanga College Office 07 873 8029
All funds raised from this event go towards sending the
Ōtorohanga College 1st X1 Soccer team to Ashburton for
Tournament Week 2011.
HOSTEL NEWS
It was great to have nine senior students qualify for the Merit and Excellence luncheon last Friday. Remember next term is a key time to gain as many credits as possible prior to the external exams.
A reminder that you should have your child registered at the local medical centre—a big difference fees
charged. Include your community services card no. if applicable.
It is also pleasing to have so many students involved in winter sports teams. Some great results by
most of the teams.
A food survey will be posted with the Fees accounts. Please complete the form and have your child
return it at the beginning of next term.
Enjoy your time with your child over the holiday break.
Self Defence, Martial Arts and Boxing at
Otorohanga College
Senior Physical Education students were given the opportunity to
participate in some Self Defence and Martial Arts this week. The objective of the experience was to learn some basic self defence tools
that they could apply if the situation of an attack ever arose.
Martial Arts experts Phil and Ramon taught students how to evade
attackers from close range, brake holds, fall safely and they also
learnt how to strike an attacker if they needed too.
Also included was a boxing demonstration from the local King Country Boxing club. Students participated enthusiastically throughout
the week and took some valuable skills with them.
It was also great for these senior students to experience another aspect of the broad range of activities Physical Education can cover.
If students would like to join the boxing club or train there they were
invited to join.
Times
KC Boxing Club Monday and Wednesday Nights 6.30pm onwards
Public Fitness. Tuesday Nights 6.30pm-7.30pm. $7
Gym Use. $5 a time
Location. State Highway 31, 8km north.
SPORTS NEWS
Soccer:
Junior Boys Soccer
The team has played better and better as the season has progressed. Against St Pauls, the boys fought hard to win 4-2 - a
great result after losing to this team during a pre season grading
game. Fine displays were produced by Aorangi Jones and Grayson Fortis. However, Jacob Walker battled away and was Man of
the Match. The team then came up against a very good unbeaten
Huntly side. Despite going down 2-0 early, the boys pegged it
back to be 2-2 at half time, a fantastic effort on the large field.
Unfortunately though, a defensive error let Huntly in with a final
score of 2-3.This weekend the boys play Matamata at 11.30 at
the College.
Good luck!
Mr Lonsdale
The Girls Soccer Over the past two weeks, the girls football team
has faced some challenging teams. On the 2nd of July, the team
faced top-of-the-table Tokoroa. It was a great game, that was
played with skill, but the end result was not in our favour. Odette Sanson and Jaz Apperley scored the goals, but the
end result was a 3-2 loss. Player of the game was Kirsten
Beck. The next game was played mid-week against Dio. Despite
have a thousand shots on goal, Oto couldn't score and the end
result was a 0-0 draw. Player of the game was once again,
Kirsten Beck, for her determination as a defender and midfielder. Things got back on track at this weekend's game against
Te Kuiti. Despite the heavy rain, and obstacles on the field, the
girls had a convincing 6-1 win. The team faces Hamilton Girls
High School on Saturday at home at 10:00.
Miss Hanson
Netball: Two weeks ago the College took 3
teams to Te Kuiti to play against Te Kuiti
High School teams. It was good to play
against students their own age in another
centre. College A ran a very successful tournament last week as part of their fundraising for National Tournament Week.
There is netball this Saturday, but there is
no netball again until the 6th August at the
Centre courts.
Rugby: The under 15’s team has been playing very well this season. They have kept
their unbeaten run intact with only 2 games
left in the competition.
Last week they drew against the very formidable Hamilton Boys Under 14’s A team. In
this competition there is no final being
played. So whom ever is on the top of the
table at the end of the season will win the
competition. Ōtorohanga College currently
sits 1st equal with Fairview, but Ōto is
ahead on countback points, and this weekend is the top of the table winner takes all
clash. Ōtorohanga College play an away
game. On behalf of the school good luck to
the boys.
Year 13 v Staff Volleyball Challenge
The Year 13 v Staff volleyball challenge was
played two weeks ago. Staff were out to
win back the trophy held by the Year 13’s
from the Tug-o-war competition. Competition was fierce, however, the Year 13’s
were no match for the Staff team. The
Staff won in two straight sets and staked
their claim on the trophy.
Staff look forward to the next challenge in
whatever the sport may be against the extremely competitive and fit Year 13’s.
Staff v Brown House
Brown House challenged the Staff in the volleyball competition.
Staff won this game after a fiercely contested game.
Good luck to both teams.
Basketball Report
The Senior Girls have qualified 2nd in the Central Country Secondary Schools Comp AA Division. This is a great
feat by the girls because this is their first year in this division. Congratulations to them all.
The Senior Boys are in the Central Country Secondary Schools Comp A Division and the Waitomo Basketball
League B Grade. The Junior Boys are in the Single A Comp in the Waikato Division. The teams are doing amazingly well. We are fully proud of their achievements.
On the 9th of July Ōtorohanga College had the privilege of taking 26 students to the New Zealand Premier
League Comp semi-final game between The Otago Nugget and The Waikato pistons. This game held in Hamilton. The game was won by the Waikato Pistons and because of Ōtorohanga College having strong links to this
team by way of Dave Murray we were able to take advantage of this opportunity and have these wonderful
memories.
Special thanks to Dave Murray, Manager of the Waikato Pistons for all the balls, tickets, time and gear he has
given the team, Charles Toa and Meal Tapara for being a great Bus Drivers.
Me karakia tātou
Let us pray
Haere mai ki te kai
Hōmai te pata
Come and have a kai
Please pass me the butter
Hōatu te pata ki a Hēmi
Anei te pata
Here’s the butter
Hi tī, he kāwhe rānei
Please pass the butter to Hēmi
Would you like tea or coffee?
He reka tēnei
He kawa tēnei
This is delicious
This is sour
Ko taku reo taku ohooho. Ko taku reo taku mapihi mauria
My language is my awakening. My language is the window to my soul
40 years ago the idea was mooted and 40 years later we continue to set aside one week in the year when all of
Aotearoa is encouraged to reflect on a world without Te Reo Māori and to do something about assisting with its
rejuvenation and retention. Of course for some Te Reo Māori me Ōna Tikanga is the essence of their being, but
sadly, these precious taonga who include our kaumātua Nana Mangu, Nana Koata, and Koro Sol ,are a dwindling minority.
Year 9 students currently in their Reo Māori rotation reflected these sad statistics. Of the 20 questioned, 6 have
grandparents who speak Te Reo and then only 3 have parents who speak Te Reo. This trend is frightening, but
we made our own effort to embrace the kaupapa of Māori Language Week in a minor way.
Manaakitanga was the National theme and we brought the ideas of caring, kindness, hospitality and respect into
our classroom. Our menu grew from the regulation fried bread and cocoa to a boil-up with steamed pudding to
follow. The invitation went out to the tuakana in Years 10 – 13 Te Reo Māori classes and for a koha of $4 per
person the hākari was on!
“Mā whero mā pango ka oti te mahi.” Students helped in many areas; peeling spuds, washing cabbages,
cooking the meat, making the steamed pudding, setting the tables, enfolding utensils in serviettes, and making
motumotu. Working as a team to get the work done was reflected in this hugely successful effort. We
acknowledge too the wonderful hands that sent the rewena and the paraoa parai to grace our table. Not a
crumb was left for latecomers!
Everyone was so hungry that the karakia was barely said before plated meals were being demolished! Few students remembered to use Te Reo when asking for or passing food items. Few people remembered to go bilingual even. So the score was Manaakitanga 10/10. Te Reo 3/10.
Kōrerotia mai. Kōrerotia atu, Ahakoa ngā hapa pea, ko te mea nui kia kōrerotia te reo. Speak Māori to me
and others. Regardless of the errors you may make, the most important thing is to speak and learn to self correct
by modelling off others as you progress.
Kia kaha. Kia māia. Kia manawanui
News From The Careers Room by Donna, Karen and Jaimee
We have had a busy time in the
Department in the last couple of
weeks. We had two students
head off to the Sir George Seymour Flight Attendant Information Day in Hamilton. The
students really enjoyed this experience and are keen to attend the
advanced course later next term.
On Friday we had a visit by the
Year 7 & 8’s from Otorohanga
Primary School to the Careers
Department. They were studying careers at school and this
visit followed an initial visit to the
school by Donna. Students were
able to pick up brochures and
pamphlets on the career choices
they were interested in. We look forward to furthering this connection with not only them, but also students in other schools.
On Monday we welcomed Tony Burt, an ex student who now
works for Air New Zealand as a Cabin Crew Attendant. He
has family links with Donna and through this he agreed to visit our
Tourism classes and discuss with them what his job entails. During this time he was also taken down to St Mary’s to his old school
to see Mrs Dianne Porter and her students. This was a real walk
down memory lane for both of them. Tony’s visit with our Tourism
students was very successful and many questions were answered
by him.