HAMILTON GIRLS’
2015
HIGH SCHOOL
AUGUST
NEWSLETTER “A wise woman shapes her own destiny”
FANTASTIC SENIOR WORK FROM THE ART DEPARTMENT - Pg. 8
SUCCESS AT THE NEW ZEALAND SECONDARY SCHOOLS GYMSPORTS COMPETITION - Pg. 13
Waikato Young Leaders Day - Pg. 19
GET TO GO - Pg. 7
PASIFIKA PROUD FRESH HORIZONS - Pg. 16
HGHS at WaiMaths - Pg. 6
WAIKATO CULINARY FARE 2015 - Pg. 7
PRINCIPAL’S COMMENT
Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou “Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going” - Jim Ryun A growth mindset to nurture in students is a willingness to want to make their good better and their better best by striving to discover innovative learning and thinking techniques. While most students strive to “do the right thing” by applying themselves to their learning, unfortunately, their efforts are not always rewarded because they don’t know how to “do the thing right”. They need to be taught how to learn and think smarter in a variety of ways. Earlier this year, we had a visit from Stuart Wright, UCANDO, who worked with our Year 11 and Year 13 students on skills and knowledge to improve independent learning both in and out of the classroom. Learning to learn is an art, and many of our students need to ensure these skills are reinforced on a daily basis. With the up and coming Practice examinations in September, it is important that our students prepare well for these. These practice examinations prepare our students for NZQA externals at the end of the year. More importantly, they also provide an indicator for a derived mark whereby if you attend an NZQA external examination session and your performance has been significantly impaired for an approved reason such as illness or bereavement. Please support your daughter to do her very best. In addition, most departments offer tutoring and we encourage her to take up these opportunities. Once again, we have had a busy start of term 3. Congratulations to HBHS for an outstanding production “Jesus Christ Superstar” and to all our students that participated onstage and backstage. It certainly was a magnificent show. In 2016, the production returns to our school to be led by Ms Wynn Jones. This is always an exciting event in our calendar. Thank you to all our students who assisted with our Open Day. It was a great success with many visitors through school. Year 9 enrolments close on August 28th, and if you know of any families applying, please encourage them to do so as soon as possible. Your positive comments and word of mouth is the best type of marketing for our school. Our Option evening will be held on September 10th from 4.00pm – 6.30pm, and we encourage parents and students to attend. We will have a number of external providers in
2
attendance as well such as Wintec, the Universities, NZMS, Gap Year providers and so forth. We hope that they will assist you and your daughter for mapping a pathway for their future destination. I was fortunate to be invited to a Smart Waikato Trust Networking Meeting this week. Smart Waikato Trust is a charitable trust formed in 2009 to enable better linkages between secondary and tertiary education and the Waikato workplace. Their vision is to build a network of engaged youth, educators and employers so our rangitahi are workready and employer are youth-ready. Our own school business community is vast and for many of you, our parents and grandparents, you are either an employer or an employee that could contribute to the future of our students. I would like to invite you to think about how you maybe able to build our network of support within school. A separate information letter will come out at a later date. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to wish our sports teams all the best for Winter Tournament. Attending tournament is a privilege; the privilege to have the opportunity to perform individually and as a team, the privilege to represent your family and our school but more importantly for each person to grow as an individual. Playing sport does not build character, it reveals it. Good luck to the following teams: • Premier Netball Hamilton • Senior A Basketball Rotorua • 1st XI Hockey Pukekohe • 1st XI Football Taupo •
1st XV Rugby Play Opotoki on 29 August to try and qualify for Top 4
Marie Gordon
Principal
Deputy principal’s corner eLearning@HGHS At Hamilton Girls’ High School our eVision is for: students to be confident, responsible digital citizens who are collaborative, critical thinkers, able to construct knowledge. In order to do this we aim to provide students with the skills, knowledge, confidence and guidance to be an effective, ethical and safe user of ICT.
BYOD
Our BYOD policy was implemented at the beginning of 2014 with our Year 9 students. In 2015, the expectation is that all Year 9 and Year 10 students have their own device. Having said this, many students in all year levels bring their devices and use them in the classroom. Students who have their own devices have access to: • Information at their finger-tips for research purposes • Further explanations or clarification of topics • Accessing relevant information or lessons on Schoology • Collaboration tools, such as Google Docs, to work easily with peers at school and at home • More creative opportunities, including use of creative apps • Digital files, as subjects are saved in folders on Google Drive
eLEARNING TOOLS
There are a variety of elearning tools used by our HGHS community. We are now a GAFE School, Google Apps for Education, so have access to a variety of Google Apps under the umbrella and safety of our own school domain. This move to GAFE means both students and staff now use Gmail and have access to many useful and educational apps such as: Google Docs, Google Sheets, Google Forms, Google Drawing, Google Classroom and much more.
This year teachers have been trialling a new Learning Management System (LMS): Schoology. Both teachers and students who have been using this LMS have found it user friendly and beneficial for accessing lessons and/or resources; especially for those students who have been sick or out of the classroom for other reasons. The expectation for 2016 is for all Year 9’s to use Schoology within each of their subjects.
CYBERSAFETY
Within our school environment we are protected by ‘Fortigate’; a sophisticated filter system that blocks undesirable sites and anonymous proxies, and filters images and digital footage. Social network sites such as, facebook, twitter, askfm and tumblr are blocked as they would be a distraction for many students, and if not used sensibly, can lead to issues at school such as bullying. As a parent/caregiver cyberspace (the electronic medium of computer networks, in which online communication takes place) can be daunting. It is better to lean on the side of caution. We cannot assume that learners know everything on how to keep themselves safe on the web just because they know how to tweet or text. For information on cybersafety and digital citizenship, check out netsafe.org.nz.
APPS: Useful and Free 1. NCEA Student Allows you to plan your NCEA course, enter your results as you go, and monitor your progress towards your NCEA goals. 2. NCEA Guide NCEA Guide is designed to help students and whanau understand how NCEA works and answer key questions. It outlines NCEA in simple and clear terms and provides tips for helping parents to support children achieve NCEA success. 3. DICTIONARY.COM (DICTIONARY & THESAURUS) No need to carry around a bulky dictionary and thesaurus in your backpack. This app also has a fun “Word of the Day” feature that helps increase vocabulary.
Sharleen Nathan
ADVANCED READING SKILLS COURSE – HALVE READING TIME AND INCREASE COMPREHENSION SKILLS. Hamilton Girls’ High School will be offering to senior students in Years 11,12 and 13 the internationally accepted reading efficiency programme known as the Advanced Reading Skills Course. This four session course will be held at Hamilton Girls’ High School on dates to be confirmed. The course runs between 3.30 and 6.30 pm. The minimum expectation of the course is that participants will at least double their reading rate and significantly improve comprehension and retention. This means that the amount of time required for any future reading task is effectively halved. If you have any questions about the course content or its suitability to your child please call Steve Hersey, Brite Spark Learning & Development at 027 5799 009 or steve.hersey@xtra.co.nz For more information you can look us up on www.britespark.co.nz If you are interested in enrolling your child to participate in this opportunity, please email interest to Steve Hersey at steve.hersey@xtra.co.nz
3
Academic
NEWS
INTER-HOUSE ACADEMIC QUIZ Our 2015 Inter-house Academic Quiz held in the Auditorium on August 6th was a huge success! Ngaa Puawaitanga was filled with teams from each house all competing for the Brain trophy. We were very fortunate to have David Bennett MP for Hamilton East to MC the event. We thank Mr Bennett for taking time out of his busy schedule to help us and to help make the event as great as it was! Thank you to all the students and teachers who participated and we hope to see you next year. The results will be announced in the next Principal’s assembly where the House points will be awarded and the trophy presented to the captain of the winning House.
INTER-SCHOOL ACADEMIC QUIZ EVENING On Thursday the 13th August the Hamilton Girls’ High School Executive Council hosted an Inter-school Academic Quiz night held in Ngaa Pauwaitanga. We had 22 teams of 6 students from high schools in Hamilton competing to be crowned champion. The night was split into 7 rounds ranging from Disney movies to general knowledge with a break in the middle of the evening for pizzas in the foyer. The event ran very smoothly and was thoroughly enjoyed by all participating students. The team that came out on top was a HGHS /HBHS mixed team. Each member won a $15 Centre Place voucher, some chocolate and the glory of being crowned quiz champions. Due to the event finishing a little early, we had time to get the microphones out and participate in a bit of karaoke. We were very grateful for the support of our teachers including Mr Scrimgeour, Mrs Shute, Ms Morast, Miss McKenzie and our wonderful MC Mr Smith – whose lame jokes kept us entertained. The Executive Council will be using the money raised for a future project in the school.
4
English THIRSTY A football game was in the middle of play in front of us, but even with all the excitement going on, boredom was still the predominant attitude on my mind. I sat with my friend Allison and we picked at the freshly mown grass beneath us. Both Allison and I had been made to come to Dan’s (Allison’s younger brother’s) game by their Mum, as my Dad wasn’t due to pick me up for another couple hours at least. I watched as Allison’s Mum approached us “How you going girls?” She asked, with exaggerated enthusiasm. “Good” Allison and I said simultaneously. “Well that’s good,” She smiled “Would you girls mind popping over and grabbing Dan’s water bottle from the car? He’s getting thirsty.” Allison sighed as she stood up. She brushed herself off and looked over at me “You coming?” She said. I stood up in response and we started down the cobble path, headed for the carpark “Thanks girls!!” Allison’s mum called out to us. The carpark was concealed behind the football club building so we had to follow the path around the building to get to the carpark. The walk was about 200m around unused football fields and the blub building. We walked in silence, side-tracked with matters which must’ve seemed important at the time. Probably school dramas or something. We heard shouts coming from the general area of the carpark and looked at each other uncertainly but continued walking. We neared the final corner where the grassy fields ended and the cobble path widened into a carpark. The carpark was an average size and not very full, with only several cars positioned around the area. But what really caught my eye, was the small group of unruly teens in the centre of the carpark. There was some kind of out-of-place bustle happening but it wasn’t entirely clear what. As we fully rounded the corner of the club, the scene became more apparent. A group of rough looking teens sat in a cluttered group in the centre of the carpark. They all wore a rundown looking uniform from a school just down the road; tatty black shorts with a polo shirt that was probably once blue. The youngest looked around 15 and the oldest maybe 18 years of age. But they all shared the same entertained expression as they watched the smaller group of four in front of them. The smaller group was a strange mix. The oldest one was the toughest looking and clearly the ring leader of the group, who stood facing the other three. One boy was clearly out of place in the crowd. He was smaller and scrawnier than the others. He was also the only one who wore a uniform from a posh local school; white shirt tucked into his black pants with black polished leather shoes. His uniform was perfectly clean except for a few red stains, splattered down his white sleeves. He stood uncomfortably between two young burly teens that had their large hard hands gripping firmly onto his impotent arms. The scrawny boy had clearly taken a beating. The ring-leader stood facing the victim. The skinny teen looked withdrawn, like he’d given up. “Yeah, go on Scottie!” encouraged a dark-skinned girl from the audience of bystanders. Scottie looked his opponent up and down, as if admiring artwork. He
lurched forward all of a sudden and threw a brutal punch to the boy’s abdomen. The force of the punch threw the boy back. His body started convulsing violently, in some form of a spasm. Amused smiles grew on the audiences faces. They thought this was funny!? When the shaking stopped, the boy slumped forward, hanging limp in the bully’s arms, unconscious. All the while Allison and I are still walking towards the car, terrified “Al, you think-“ “Let’s go.” Allison interrupted; obviously relieved I had spoken first. We both turned on our heels and started walking briskly away. “Yeah, you better run you cowards!” One of the boys yelled, laughing. I couldn’t believe they thought this was all some big joke. As soon as we were out of sight, we both started sprinting back to the adults on the side-line. “Help, please!” Allison yelled. The bystanders looked over, confused at first but then their expressions changed to worried and they rushed over. “Some boy-” We panted “Getting beaten, badly!” We point towards the carpark. The adults exchanged nervous looks before several fathers-including Allisson’s- started running for the carpark. In other circumstances it may have been funny; watching overweight men running like their lives depended on it. But in this case, someone’s did. Allison’s Mum comes over to us “That was a good thing you did there girls,” She smiled tenderly “I expect it’d be better if you wait a while before heading over there, ok?” Allison and I nodded. We waited 5 or so minutes before curiosity got the better of us and we headed towards the carpark once again. There was already an ambulance and police car already on the scene, having an intense conversation with Allison’s Dad, but we were too far away to hear anything. Another one of the fathers came over to us and filled us in on what happened; when the teens saw the adults coming towards them, they dropped the unconscious boy and scattered. The fathers caught two of them but the others all got away. The fathers’ then called the cops who called the ambulance when they saw the state of the boy. Allison and I went to go check on the unconscious kid. As we neared the ambulance we could already tell that there was something very wrong with his face. His left eye was swollen shut and his nose crooked. Blood flowed freely from his nostrils and dribbled over a puffy split lip. The most disturbing thing about his face though, was the jaw, the bottom half of his jaw was off centre and stuck out the right side of his face. I couldn’t imagine what the rest of his body looked like. As we gaped at the boy’s injuries, his eyes fluttered open. The ambulance paramedic leaned over the stretcher and placed a puke bucket on the stretcher next to his body. “Take it easy lad,” He said in a thick Welsh accent “That’s it...” He chuckled to himself as the injured teen lurched into a retching fit. The vomiting finally subsided and the paramedic finally saw his chance to talk “What’s your name lad?” The injured boy responded with difficulty “Adam” he slurred, before falling back into unconsciousness. Dan walks over, oblivious. “Hey, where were you guys?” He blurted “You didn’t bring me my water and I’m still thirsty!” By Tessa Klapka-Innes of 10 MA
5
 
MATHS
MATHS TUTORING TIMETABLE:
Maths tutoring continues to be offered to all students during the first half of lunchtime in M1.1. We encourage all students to take advantage of these tutorials especially with NCEA exams not too far away for the Seniors and Junior Placement exams very early in Term 4. The schedule is as follows: WEEK 1. Monday (Day 1) Tuesday (Day 2) Wednesday (Day 3) Thursday (Day 4) Friday (Day 5)
Yr 9 Yr 10 Yr 11 Yr12 Yr13
WEEK 2 Monday (Day 6) Tuesday (Day 7) Wednesday (Day 8) Thursday (Day 9) Friday (Day 10)
Yr 9 Yr 10 Yr 11 Yr12 Yr13
WAIMATHS 2015
On Thursday, 13th August the annual WaiMaths Quiz Night was held at Hamilton Gardens. This was a riveting evening for our Year 9, 10 and 11 quiz teams. This interschool competition is where teams of three students pit their problem solving skills against each other. A total of 108 teams from 48 schools participated in this event. All the girls, including the reserves, deserve accolades for making us proud of their efforts. Congratulations to the girls for being the top of their year levels and representing the school in this event. Our very own HGHS Teams: Year 9: Olivia Gyde, Paige Ace and Dominique Stephens
We hope to see more students, who need help, attending. Maths teachers commit to these.
SCHOLARSHIP DAYS
Year 10: Anna Gallaher, Sunny Jeon and Kate Sampson.
Scholarship days will be Wednesday 26th August (Statistics Day) and Thursday 27th August (Calculus Day) at the University of Waikato. Two select groups from HGHS will attend each of the two days. This is a great opportunity to discuss the exams, how to prepare for them, get hints and strategies, do some outrageous maths questions, and to meet other like-minded students. Not surprisingly these students have a really good balance of academic to other activities.
EDUCATION PERFECT... PERFECT FOR EXAM REVISION
Education Perfect has offered HGHS Senior students entry into their Maths website for the rest of the year. If you do not have your login details, speak to your Maths teacher urgently. Use it to boost your grades and get a better understanding of the subject.Year 11MAT and 11MXT students who are sitting the MCAT exam are greatly encouraged to use Education Perfect for revision and doing practice questions and assessments. These are formatted optimally to meet NCEA standards and requirements. Don’t miss out on this exceptional revision and practice resource FREE for your benefit!!
MATHS WEEK IS COMING UP!
Keep an eye on the school notices. Maths week will be in week 9 for our school. There will be lots of questions, puzzles, prizes etc during the week, as well as a free two week (wk 8 and 9) competition online with FREE pizza for the winning class.
6
Year 11: Ramandeep Kaur, Shania Thomson, Imogen Graham (reserve). Annabelle Carrington - sick on the day.
LANGUAGES We celebrated International Languages Week! On Tuesday 18th August 6 students were invited to a special morning tea in the Languages department. This was to celebrate the Elite awards they received during the recent Language Perfect World Cup. Elite award winners have gained more than 10,000 points on the Language Perfect vocabulary learning competition, which takes a substantial amount of brainpower and time commitment. We are very proud of these students and the effort they put in to achieve this award. Pictured: (left to right) Sania Naved, Sunny Jeon, Rachel Li, Sapna Pandaram, Melissa Montante, Eden Poihipi.
On Wednesday 19th August we held an International Cupcake competition. We received 40 entries and were amazed at the thought and creativity the girls put into their entries. Voting and judging took place at interval and the results were as follows:
Technology THE 2015 WAIKATO CULINARY FARE The 2015 Waikato Culinary Fare was exciting yet a nerve racking experience. I enjoyed the challenges this year as I entered 5 different classes and earned 5 medals. A lot of the year 10 girls entered this year and their standards were very high. We are aiming for individual entries next year, to take out the overall secondary championship. I’m looking forward to the 2016 Culinary Fare which would be my last. Anyone that is interested in entering can talk to one of our Technology teachers. Maddison Fatu & Rebecca-Rose Ngatai
First Place: Caitlin Hamilton ECX and Leila Green XLH
People’s Choice (most votes): Rebecca-Rose Ngatai EBC We would like to thank Heather Turner and her staff from the technology department who judged the competition for us, and all of the girls who supported this event by making cupcakes, voting, and buying the cupcakes. Thanks to all of you it was a very successful event.
7
ART
FOR CARBORUNDUM SAKE! Heather Bramwell, Waikato University educator presented a hands on workshop specialising in Carborundum Intaglio printmaking. Carborundum is a fine silicon carbon that creates unique surfaces ideal for textured surfaces. Level 2 students were taught to use this process to create prints for their external portfolio work. The workshop headed by Bramwell was an excellent opportunity for both students and staff to be up-skilled in a process that hasn’t been used at Hamilton Girls’ High School for some time. Being environmentally aware and using sustainable processes was one of the themes that ran through the workshop. The knowledge gained from this workshop was beneficial for both learners and the environment in which they work.
DOODLE FOR GOOGLE Year 9 and 10 Art students from Ms Gray participated in the DOODLE for GOOGLE National competition entitled ‘If I could travel back in time I would...’ The results were stunning across the board. These artworks show the diversity of interest and purpose of four students from Year 10. Their statements consider why they would travel back in time. Mwewa Kasongo said she wanted her work to be a memorial to Amelia Earhart, the first female to fly across the Atlantic Ocean. Mwewa admired how Amelia showed that women can do anything they set their minds to. Michaela Gatiss-Ward used a TV set from the 1960’s to frame images of the first landing on the moon and space travel. Michaela imagined what it must have been like to see these amazing things happen back when TV was new and there were no cell phones to communicate. Courtney Druett was fascinated by the first ever hot air balloon created in Paris where it wasn’t people who tested it but a sheep, chicken and a duck. Rayven Lousi highlighted natural disasters such as floods, volcanic eruptions and earthquakes. If Rayven could go back in time she would warn people to prepare for disasters to avoid loss of life and those things most dear to them such as family photos and heirlooms. There were 15 entries chosen by Ms Gray, Ms Fernyhough and Mrs Nathan to represent Hamilton Girls’ High School in the National competition. Good luck girls! We appreciate this opportunity to share our creativity and thank Ms Gray for promoting this.
TAKING A HOBBY AND TURNING IT INTO A BUSINESS Students attended a floor talk by Sirjana Singh co-partner of ‘Tinted Photography’. Singh spoke about how to take a ‘Hobby and turn it into a thriving business’. She said that ‘understanding where there is a need in the market was one of the key elements to being successful’. ‘You need to be prepared to smooze with clients, know what they like, prepare the shoots, test and work hard...’. Students enjoyed the opportunity to talk and bounce ideas off Sirjana and have been invited to send through examples of their creative work for critique and mentoring. info@tintedphotography.com
SENIOR ART STUDENTS With Senior exams around the corner Level 1, 2 and 3 Art students are in production mode for their external portfolios. Here is a snippet of what our talented Level 3 students are producing.
8
9
PHYSICAL EDUCATION & HEALTH
GET TO GO
On Tuesday 11th August 2015, eight Year 10 students, four of them being Girl’s High and four of them being Boy’s High set off to Lake Karapiro. We were competing in the Waikato Get to go adventure race. Get to Go is a race where your team versus other school teams from around the Waikato. The activities that we do are mountain biking, orienteering, problem solving and canoeing. For Get to Go you need to be fit and be able to work and communicate as a team. Teamwork was a key factor but leadership was also important in completing the challenges. The activity that I liked the most was problem solving as we really had to work together well in order to finish the task. For us to be ready for the adventure race our team trained three times a week to make sure we were fit enough to complete the challenges.
10SPORT
The 10 Sport option classes have been fortunate enough to be part of a six week Judo experience at Metro Judo Club, Hamilton. The girls have embraced the experience and learnt some excellent self-defence skills. It has been great to see the girls grow in confidence, get stuck in and learn some vital skills to prepare our students. Each of the three classes are competing in an interclass competition where a champion will be determined in each of the classes. Good luck and may the best Judo skills win. Mrs Johnstone, Mrs Perry & Mrs Hita
For the mountain biking our team got a great start as one of the members from our team was really good at the sport, from then on our team pushed themselves and we came first over all in mountain biking. In orienteering our team also did well as we got 18/26 points. For problem solving we got off to a rough start but we pulled through and ended up doing really good in two of the activities. The last race we did was canoeing and we excelled in this activity by getting lots of points and even over lapping some of the other teams. The winning team from our Waikato region will be able to go to Great Barrier and compete in the Hillary Challenge on Great Barrier Island at the end of Term 4.
TERM 3 FRONT UP FITNESS
Get to Go was really fun and was a great way to get outdoors and meet amazing new people.
Are you ready for a bit of a challenge and to push yourself ??? How about a 6 week programme twice a week to wake your body up? Well this is what a bunch of students and I have been doing this term with Carolyn Grey. Her programme is a progressive one in which we learn basic movements and exercises and then each session it progresses on or extends us either by manipulating technique, intensity and/or time. Due to its’ popularity Front Up Fitness runs twice a week on either a Tuesday and Thursday or Wednesday and Friday lunchtime. The environment is awesome, we are all going hard and getting sweaty and trying our best. At the end of each session there is a real sense of achievement and the group morale is high. Here are a few comments from some of the participants “…challenging and everyone supports one another which is great!” “Hard as but you get a lot out of it” “Like the types of exercises and feedback from Carolyn is great and she gives the top times for the exercises too.” So keep an eye for the next 6 week challenge which will be starting soon. Sign up quickly, as spaces are limited and I’m sure it will fill up quick. Mrs Irwin
10
GEOGRAPHY YEAR 11 GEOGRAPHY – MAATANGI WHENUA COMPETITION 2015
On the afternoon of Thursday 13th August, two teams of Year 11 Geography students went over to Tauranga Girls’ College to attend the Waikato/BOP Maatangi Whenua quiz competition for 2015. The students who participated were Georgia Anderson, Eilish Dockery, Chloe Hayes, Jamie Mitchell, Michaela Bosson and Tiana Parker. There were 7 rounds of questions which ranged from geography in the news, analysing maps and graphs, guessing where in the world google images were taken, quirky infographics and images related to Geography, identifying places in NZ and play dough moulding of geographic features. It was a challenging evening at times but the girls had lots of fun putting their geography knowledge and skills to the test. There were 16 teams that competed and our girls placed 11th and 12th with 81.5 and 81 points in total. Well done ladies! Thank you to the teachers who were involved in the organisation and running of the trip – Miss Campus, Mrs Cantlon, Ms Maplesden and Mrs Weir.
SCIENCE OPEN DAY
On 4th August the Science Department participated in the Hamilton Girls’ High Open Day. On the day, our department had a number of activities to represent the range of subjects and opportunities offered in Science subjects. The activities included an eyeball dissection, elephants toothpaste, van der graaf generator and many others. We had a lot of interest from prospective parents and students.
Y13 BIOLOGY FIELD TRIP TO THE AUCKLAND ZOO. On Friday August 3rd,Y13 Biology classes visited the Auckland Zoo. The day’s activities were based around two external Achievement Standards. The students had an interesting lecture on plant and animal responses to their environment. After this they went out into the zoo to observe animal behaviours which related to the lecture. Then they came back into the education centre for a lecture on human evolution. Finally the students participated in a hands on activity focusing on early stone age cultures. A great day was had by all. Gail Bergman HOD Science
11
Social Studies 9EA’S TIME WITH ANDREW LITTLE AND JOHN KEY In Social Studies 9EA have been learning about the government structures from across the world (e.g. democracies, monarchies and dictatorships). Unbelievably, 9EA got the chance to speak to the New Zealand Labour Party opposition leader Andrew Little. Andrew Little is a very busy politician and could only spare us 20 minutes of his time which was more than enough to ask our questions via Skype. In groups 9EA had a couple of days to come up with three questions to ask Andrew Little. We had to be relevant. This was a very important process as our questions then got sent to Mrs Gordon to be checked and approved. Once given the all clear we Skype Andrew Little on Monday 10th August during tutor time. We all sat down in our groups, we went up to the computer introduced ourselves and asked questions like… If you became Prime Minister of New Zealand what would you change and why? What policies that Labour have help me as a teenager in New Zealand today? Andrew little answered positively, honestly and engaging to our questions also he was quite funny. Also, this was Andrew little’s first time skyping a class and answering questions, 9EA was very privileged to have an opportunity such as this. But all great things must come to an end. After the chat we took a picture, said goodbye and thanked Andrew Little for his time. As a follow on from this on Tuesday 18th August 9EA then got the opportunity to talk to the Prime Minister. We were looking forward to doing this to see how the two leaders acted and talked to us and also being able to then compare the National Party and the Labour Party and see the difference between the two. We were in the same groups as our previous skype chat but because of time constraints we were only allowed 2 questions and these questions again had to be approved by Mrs Gordon before we could ask them.
After a bit of a wait (he is running the country after all!) we were able to spend 20 minutes talking to the Prime Minister about National’s policies, what they are doing for people our age and also what it is like to meet the Royal Family (as well as lots more questions). We really enjoyed this opportunity and it will be something that we never forget!
By Josie Cox-9EA
THE HOPE PROJECT On June 22nd, The Hope Project arranged for two Jewish Survivors of the Holocaust to come to school and talk with interested students about their experiences in Nazi occupied Poland. Mr Shmuel and Mrs Fredja Rothard were children during the war. She was blonde and blue eyed and survived by living with a Polish family who took her in after Fredja was told to deny her family. She saw her mother killed. Shmuel was helped to escape the Krakow Ghetto after his mother bribed a policeman. He too was helped to survive by non Jewish people. Some of his family survived but his father was killed in Mathausen death camp, and his eldest brother who was blind disappeared. The Rothbards survived and after the Nazis were defeated, they both travelled to Israel where they met each other in a camp. They have now been married for over 60 years.The students really appreciated the opportunity to meet this inspirational couple who were generous with their time and in answering questions. Several commented that for the first time the Holocaust seemed like a real event.
12
sports AT HGHS
YOUNG SWIMMERS MAKE A SPLASH AT THE NEW ZEALAND SHORT COURSE SWIMMING CHAMPIONSHIPS Katlyn Steedman, Kaitlin Sosa and Peyton Tofaeono all had a very successful meet at the New Zealand Short Course Swimming Championships early August. These young swimmers brought home two gold medals, three silver medals and three bronze medals as well as a number of other top 8 finishes. They each continue to improve on their personal bests and are making excellent progress. SUMMARY OF RESULTS Kaitlin Sosa 200m freestyle - 2:12.90. This was a 2.01 second PB. Bronze medal. 400m freestyle - 4:37.54. This was a 8.36 second PB. Gold medal. 50m freestyle - 29.09 (not a PB) 800m freestyle - 9:37.41. This was a 6.83 second PB. Bronze medal. 100m freestyle - 1:02.82. This was a 1.80 second PB. Katlyn Steedman 200 Individual Medley 7th with 3 sec PB. 400 Individual Medley 6th with 1 sec PB. 100 Butterfly 2nd with 1.4 sec PB - SILVER MEDAL. 200 Butterfly 2nd with 4.8 sec PB - SILVER MEDAL. NZ Open Womens’ Final - this is the top 10 swimmers in 200 Fly in NZ at this meet. Katy went in ranked 10th and was the youngest swimmer in the final. She came in 9th with a 0.24 sec PB but another swimmer was disqualified so she ended up 8th! 100 Individual Medley 10th and was on her time. Peyton Tofaeono 50m Butterfly 2nd SILVER MEDAL 50m Freestyle 1st GOLD MEDAL 100m Freestyle 3rd BRONZE MEDAL 100m Butterfly 6th 400m Freestyle 7th 200m Freestyle 9th
SUCCESS AT THE NEW ZEALAND SECONDARY SCHOOLS GYMSPORTS COMPETITION Hamilton Girls’ High School sent a small team to the New Zealand Secondary School GymSport Competition in Auckland on 1st August, 2015. Maia Barbuzza (Year 10) came first in Level One Maia also came 1st on bar, 2nd on vault and 3rd on floor. Jen McIlroy, who does competitive gymnastics with Hamilton City GymSport, competed in the more difficult Level Six, placing 2nd on beam and 6th overall - a worthy achievement for a Year 9. Joeleen Chapman (Year 9) also competed in Level One at her first national gymnastics event.
13
THE REPRESENTATIVE LIST GROWS A huge congratulations to the following students who have been included in the Waikato Womens’ Provincial Cup Squad, Kanyon Paul, Makaia Riki Te-Kanawa,Terina Te Tamaki and Tennika Willison. They join two members of staff Shakira Baker, who coaches the 2nd XV and Lynaire Hita, coach of the Premier Netball team who also made the squad along with a number of former HGHS students including Toni Hall who also coaches the 2nd XV. It is great to see so many past and present students and staff following their sporting aspirations.
CONGRATULATIONS CHELSEA KELLY Chelsea competed at the New Zealand Secondary School’s Judo Competition on the 5th July in Tauranga. Chelsea finished 2nd in the 57 kg class. Well done Chelsea we look forward to following your progress.
We have a number of students who have also made the Waikato Secondary Schools Squad. The team will be officially announced in the coming weeks so we look forward to seeing more of our girls in Waikato colours.
RUGBY HAMILTON GIRLS’ HIGH RUGBY EXCHANGE WITH FEILDING HIGH SCHOOL New friends were made as Hamilton Girls’ High School hosted and billeted Feilding High School 1st XV. Players from both sides were somewhat nervous as they met their host families but that soon dissipated and based on all accounts, they had a fantastic evening with their respective counterparts. The match on Saturday 15th August was hard fought and tested the skill level of both teams. The ferocity of the match soon gave way to some steady phases of play which resulted in three tries in the first half to Hamilton Girls’ High who held a 20-0 lead at the break. During the second half Feilding worked hard to feed their centre and were able to work themselves back into the game. A final try in the dying minutes to HGHS left the full time score at 27-17.
HAMILTON GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL FIRST XV RETAINS THE VANESSA COOTES TROPHY For the third year running the HGHS 1st XV Rugby team were able to retain the Vanessa Cootes Trophy as winners of the Waikato Secondary School competition. Tokoroa High School brought their all to the final. They showed some good strength defensively and at times challenged our own defence but we were too strong and were able to control the final and take the win 33-0. Winning the Waikato Secondary School final places Hamilton Girls’ High School in the position where they will play-off against the winner of the Bay of Plenty Secondary School competition and the Counties-Manukau Secondary School competition to vie for a position at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Top Four Rugby Tournament. Coaches Crystal and Brent Kaua and Trainer Zara Powell have an excellent plan in place that will place us in the best possible position to make the journey all the way to the Top Four and a chance at retaining the title we won in 2014. In 2015 it was fantastic to once again have two fifteen aside teams in the Waikato competition. The 2nd XV had an excellent season with Shakira Baker, Toni Hall, Jamie Smith and Victoria McKenzie guiding and nurturing this team, many of whom are only Year 9.
14
NEW PLYMOUTH GIRLS’ HIGH SCHOOL EXCHANGE On Tuesday 11th August we welcomed 80 students to Hamilton Girls’ High School for the annual exchange, which was established last year, from New Plymouth Girls’ High. Like last year, when we travelled to New Plymouth, there was an air of trepidation about collecting and being billeted. The following morning all teams arrived for a full on 4 hours of tightly contested matches involving 9 A, 10 A, Premier Reserve and Premier Netball, Junior Premier Basketball, 1st XI Football and 1st XI Hockey. Hamilton Girls’ were able to take home the overall prize this year winning six out of the seven matches. The 9A Netball team were the first out of four teams to play against New Plymouth Girls’ High. NPGHS had a fantastic start, feeding the ball well and shooting with accuracy to secure an eight point lead at the end of the 3rd quarter. However, with a few changes to the Hamilton line up, HGHS 9A were able to fight back and win the game 25-26. New Plymouth Girls’ High had chosen Hamilton’s MVP, which went to Capri Paekau and Fair play award went to Waimaatao Hira. The HGHS 10A team were focussed heading into their third school exchange for 2015, this time against NPGHS. The team started strong, with our attacking end sinking their goals from all over the circle and managing to convert any turn-over ball gained from New Plymouth. The score was close at the end of the first quarter, with HGHS ahead at half time. HGHS kicked into another gear in the third quarter and secured a healthy lead going into the last quarter. A few positional changes meant a few adjustments from HGHS in the fourth quarter which took the team a while to adjust to, however the team still pulled away with the win at full time. Most valuable player was awarded to Anahia Noble and Fair Play awarded to Leila Green. HGHS Prem netball team started the game on the back foot, being six goals down in the first quarter. Second quarter was a complete turn around and defensively we managed to keep NPGHS to just two goals by shutting down their accurate goal shooter and forcing their middies into passing errors. Our attacking end regained control, used better ball movement and fed our shooters good ball. Our Shooters found their rhythm and finished off our own centre pass off plus any bonus ball the defence collected. We managed to grow the lead and pull away in both the third and fourth quarter. Our girls’ communication increased and each player stepped up and dominated their individual positions. This helped us to win by ten points in the end. Overall a great team effort and vast improvement from last year. Our girls did well to pull together and put out a good performance against a formidable opponent taking the win 34-25. A great game of Basketball was played by our junior team. Playing fast full court pressure defence they forced turnovers creating scoring opportunities which saw them jump to a 15 point lead in the 1st quarter. Guards Quaye and Kasee controlled the game tempo with forwards Tara and Dominique dominating the boards and Riva contributing with good outside shooting. Overall, it was a great team effort with everyone contributing. HGHS finished the game with a 40 point win and are on track for their Junior Regional Tournament in September. The HGHS 1st XI football team took the field at school, one of their first for the season. It allowed a huge number of parents, staff and students the opportunity to watch these girls in action which was exciting for all concerned. Hamilton Girls’ put their mark on the game early and were able to take two excellent goals to lead at half time. During the second half NPGHS were able to slot one goal away and the final result was 2-1. Michaela Foster was awarded the Most Valuable Player and Emma Megchelse the Fair Play award. This was a great lead into the New Zealand Secondary Schools Lotto Premier Football tournament where both HGHS and NPGHS will be competing. The 1st XI Hockey team knew that it would be a hard fought match against NPGHS. They are a strong team who are ranked amongst the top 16 teams in the country. Hamilton Girls’ High School were unlucky to concede a goal just before half time, the only one of the game. The team worked well as a unit and put together both good attacking and defensive play. The MVP was given to Renee Allan whilst received the Fair Play award.
15
RECOGNISING ACHIEVEMENT IN SPORT Each year we rely on Sports Organisations, parents and students to help ensure we keep up to date with the achievements of each student within the school. As we are sure you can appreciate, there are a huge number of talented girls at Hamilton Girls’ High School and there is also a huge variation in the timeliness of information from different Sports Organisations. That is where we need your help. If you play a sport that we do not have here at Hamilton Girls’ High School or you have made representative teams (local, regional and national) in your respective sport, we would love you to complete an achievement form so we can ensure you are recognised, and also to see if you meet the criteria for our Sports Awards. The form can be found under Sport on our website and should be completed and submitted by Monday 14th September 2015.
IAN FOSTER - EUROPEAN SPORTS TOUR FUNDRAISING DINNER In April 2016 a HGHS Football team consisting of 15 players will tour the UK and Spain. The team will participate in 3 coaching sessions held at Tottenham Hotspur, Barcelona and Valencia. The team will play 5 matches over the 16-day tour and travel between the 2 countries.
On Thursday the 20th August Ian Foster kindly donated his time to act as a quest speaker for a dinner/auction evening. It was a fantastic night that was enjoyed by many. Ian is a charismatic speaker who shared some of the insights and thinking that goes into coaching and preparing a world cup All Blacks side. The question and answer session gave some of our armchair critics the opportunity to ask face-to-face questions around selection, preparation, the draw and of course the referees. Ian also kindly donated two All Black signed jerseys. One was auctioned on the night and went for $1500. Cassey Kopua also donated one of her Silver Ferns training tops that she had signed by the recent Silver Fern World Cup team. A big thank you to everyone who attended the evening and donated auction items.Your support is greatly appreciated. The evening raised approximately $9000 towards the trip. Further fundraising ventures are under way as each student is required to raise approximately $9000 each.
ARts AT HGHS
PASIFIKA
Talofa and Warm Pasifika Greetings, August has been a very busy time for our Pasifika girls. We have performed for two important events, some of the students have been fortunate to attend Fresh Horizons, an Arts and Media-based programme hosted at WINTEC and in addition, the teachers have been busy meeting with and mentoring our girls. Thank you to all who have contributed to making Term Three successful: the teachers, Pasifika team, student leaders and of course, our girls. The following reports are highlights of some of our successes. Faafetai lava August 8th - Thank you to Aunty Esta Aunty Esta has given service to the Pasifika Performance Group for the last eight years. As a thank you, the girls were happy to dance for her cultural evening. A good time was enjoyed by both the girls and the audience. Aunty Esta, thank you for all you have done for us. August Mentoring Families, the practise exams will be held next week and in preparation, the teacher mentors have been very busy working with your daughters to make sure that they are as well prepared as they should be. As a reminder, we invite the girls to attend the Pasifika Tutoring Centre, held each Thursday in Anderson, under the care of Mrs Blagojevich, Mrs Turner, Mrs Meha-Uelese and Mrs Nathan. In addition, the girls are also welcome to attend the Pasifika Homework Centre in H12, where Ms Sharpe and Mrs Meha-Uelese will help the students with their assignments. We ask you to encourage your daughters to use these facilities.
16
-Painting/Visual Arts, where students studied the meanings behind different traditional tapa cloth designs, before coming up with their own, using printmaking, painting and sketching skills to complete their pieces -Performance, where students worked their ideas onto tarpaulin using techniques, some as simple as sewing.
PASIFIKA PROUD - FRESH HORIZONS Last week (Week 4) a selection of senior Pasifika students were lucky enough to attend Fresh Horizons; a fullyfunded three-day Wintec course based on the arts; a great opportunity to explore identity and build on talents while working their island heritage into their pieces.
The competent young adults who tutored these workshops worked well with our girls, partly because of their young spirits and easy-going vibe, effectively building up confidence in the students’ creativity with their experience from studying and teaching at Wintec. The course closed with an exhibition, where the students brought in their aiga / family to showcase what they’d been working on over the past few days; their beautiful pieces of art expressing their creative indulgence in their island cultures. Elisa Keung (Year 12)
The workshops gave all participants, who came from across the Waikato region, an exceptional opportunity to get to know a little more about their cultures and themselves. The course was based in Wintec’s spacious art facility; an ideal environment to talk, work and jam to music comfortably in one another’s company and also experience a tertiary environment. Students chose to participate in one of three workshops: -Fashion, where students came up with their own clothing designs on mannequins, getting inspiration from various successful fashion figures of pasifika descent
PASIFIKA PERFORMANCE AT HBHS On the evening of Saturday, August 15th, our HGHS Pasifika group performed at Hamilton Boys’ High School along with the combined schools Kapa Haka ropu and several other supporting acts. It was an all-star occasion: the highlighted artist of the evening was Tiki Taane, whose vibrant and energetic act certainly had the entire audience spellbound, but the Pasifika and Kapa Haka groups were equally well received – a credit to their tutors and the long hours of practice put in by the students. The girls in the Pasifika group continue to be wonderful ambassadors for the school, showcasing the talents of the various cultural groups they represent, and if anything their transitions have become even more slick as they perform at different venues. Everyone was impressed by the way they delivered their programme; it was clear that the girls were enjoying the experience and were proud that they were part of such a successful performance. We would like to thank the families who have supported their daughters through the long hours of preparation and continue to be there to encourage them as they perform. Without their dedication, it would not be possible to reach the standard of excellence which the girls have attained. We have a fine group of young women in our Pasifika group and look forward to continuing to work with them in the future. Special thanks are due to Mrs Turner and Mrs Nathan who were there to assist backstage, and to Mrs Meha-Uelese, Mrs Metekingi and Miss Sharpe for their organisation beforehand. - Jo Belgrave
See more photos on Page 18.
17
August 15th - Toi te Tupu Pasifika were honoured to be part of the fundraising efforts by Te Maurea Whiritoi, in their preparations to visit our Polynesian cousins in Hawaii.
TUPU TE TOI FUNDRAISING CONCERT On Saturday 15th August the ‘Tupu te Toi’ fundraising concert was held at Hamilton Boys’ High School. This was a concert to help our students fundraise to go to Hawaii and LA in September this year. It was a wonderful evening supported by teachers and parents. We had some great acts from Jaedyn Randell, Pani Potts, Isabella Harry-Rapira and Maia-te-Oho Holman Wharehoka, HGHS Quartet, our Kapa Haka group- Te Maurea Whiritoi and our extremely talented Poly Group. The highlight of the evening was a performance by Tiki Taane. We were overwhelmed that he was going to support our event and perform for us. Overall an awesome night to showcase the talent of our students and it was enjoyed by all.
18
DANCE NZ MADE REGIONAL COMPETITION
Sacred Heart and Fraser High Schools were hosted at HGHS for the inaugural DanceNZmade Waikato Regional competition on 19 August. Dean McKerras, and two other dancers held workshops during the afternoon and a performance was held in the early evening. Sacred Heart and Fraser carried off the awards in the evening, though all three schools are eligible to compete at the National Finals in Palmerston North next month. Dean is hoping to build on the excellent event in the coming years. Thank you Dean.
HBHS AND HGHS TALENT QUEST FINAL
HBHS and HGHS Talent Quest Final is coming up on 21 September at 7pm, in Ngaa Puawaitanga and it promises to be a fun and spectacular event. Tickets will be $5 at the door. Come along and support our great performers.
GATE
GIFTED AND TALENTED EDUCATION
WAIKATO YOUNG LEADERS DAY
This year, we had 20 Year 9 students attend the Waikato Young Leaders Day (WYLD) which was held at Waikato University on 20th June. These students were nominated by their teachers as demonstrating strong leadership potential. The day began with an introduction speech from Paula Dewar, the organiser of WYLD. We were then split into groups and mixed with students from other schools. In these groups we moved off to different lecture theatres where community leaders, from a Paralympic Athlete to Year 13 leaders, shared their stories of leadership in action. After the lectures we came back together with our school group and explored leadership concepts through interactive workshops with WYLD facilitators. When doing these activities we had to use communication and thinking. My highlight of the day would have to be listening to the community leaders share their stories of leadership in action. Personally, Waikato Young Leaders Day has improved and extended my knowledge and understanding of what leadership really is. Article written by Morgan Clayton (XSP)
19
CAREERS This term is a busy one for Yr13 students deciding where to next. For those enrolling in tertiary study they can now start applying for courses as August generally signals the opening date for applications. It is important the students check the closing dates for courses in particular ones requiring additional information such as portfolios, interviews, references, auditions. These usually have an earlier closing date. All eight universities will be in school this term to assist with course planning, the school website has the dates and times. Students looking at employment for next year should start to update their CV and consider work experience through volunteering as a way to increase their network contacts. Websites that could be useful are:
www.careersnz.govt.nz - advice on how to write a CV, plus interactive tools to help with some of those career decisions. www.volunteeringwaikato.org.nz - register for volunteer work if 16yrs.
SUBJECT SELECTION / CAREERS EXPO EVENING – 10TH SEPTEMBER 4.00 – 6.30PM Here are some tips to help you make a decision about what school subjects to choose.
SUSSED! Students thinking about further study after they leave school have a lot of choices to make. Sussed Online is a great way to get thinking about what it will cost to live and study. Will it be broadband and baked beans, or dial up and dining out? Part-time job or parents helping? Hear from students about their experiences and the choices that need to be made.You’ll also find out more about StudyLink and what they do along the way. We encourage students and parents to check it out at www.studylink.govt.nz. Thinking about further study? Students planning to continue study after they leave school have a lot of choices to make.
Course Information Booklet read this booklet carefully when it comes out.
Sussed Online will get you on your way. There are some really important decisions to make. A little effort, planning and commitment now can turn into exciting jobs, higher wages and only having to pay back what you really needed to borrow to get there.
Ask questions and talk to Careers staff and your subject teachers.
Let’s figure out what things you’ll need for your tertiary education, and how you might pay for them.
Think about your abilities and interests at school.
Complete Sussed online now http://www.studylink.govt.nz/applicants/index.html
Which subjects are you good at? Which subjects have you enjoyed studying? Which do you dislike and why? Are you a good writer, good with numbers, a practical person?
How will your choices affect your future? Think about how your subject choice will affect your future career options and/or your future tertiary training options.
Find out what secondary subjects are recommended or career choices which interest you.
www.careers.govt.nz
Each subject choice should have a purpose, they can complement each other, provide a range of skills and learning environments.
Keep your career options open if you’re unsure about your career, try to study a wide range of subjects at school. This will provide you with more options later on.
20
The StudyLink team
UP AND COMING EVENTS OPTION EVENING 10 September UNIVERSITY VISITS 4th September - Otago University 7th September - Lincoln University 8th September - University of Waikato
GATEWAY
KEANDRA MERCADO SOFTWARE ENGINEERING AT GALLAGHER GROUP I definitely enjoyed my time at Gallagher’s and have learned a lot about Software Engineering. Just to name a few:
EDEN BATES ATC MILITARY PREP SCHOOL In the first week of the Term Two holidays I was lucky enough to be selected to take part in the 4 day Intensive at ATC MILITARY PREP SCHOOL along with 4 other Girls’ High girls. Over those 4 days I truly learnt so much about myself in terms of how far I can push my body physically and emotionally and how your mental strength reflects whether you succeed or fail. Coming home aching everyday with cuts, grazes or bruises surely didn’t stop me from wanting to turn up the day after and learn even more about what life is like in the NZ Armed Forces.
• Understanding how the automation team works with the people in R&D and their contribution to the development process of products (kanban board). • How to code basic Ruby. • Writing my own automation script (and it worked) • how a number of programs are used in testing such as VisualStudio and simulation programs. • How security works around Gallagher. • The software, different servers and the hardware.
I also loved the site tour. It was awesome to go down to the factory and see how everything worked. It gave me a much bigger insight on how everything linked together. The seminars and stand-up meetings showcased how great the communication around the workspace was. Overall, I had a blast with my work experience at Gallagher’s. The staff greeted me with warm smiles and it was a pleasant environment to be in.
If anything, this Gateway course has influenced me even more to want to be a part of the NZ Navy and I think it has set me up for hopefully an interesting, thrilling career ahead! Thank you again,  Eden Bates.
SADD WEEK (STUDENTS AGAINST DANGEROUS DRIVING)
SADD Week is being held at Hamilton Girls’ from the 7th-11th of September. There will be activities running throughout the week to raise awareness of dangerous driving and how it can affect our community.
21
SERVICES COUNCIL HOUSE SPIRIT CROSS COUNTRY 2015
Our five houses have been incredibly busy recently. Term Two saw us compete against each other in the Cross Country in Week 5 and Multi Sports in Week 8. Cross country results: 1st - 1193
2nd - 1081
4th - 1055
3rd - 1060
5th - 932
We also had a fantastic time competing in the Academic Quiz run by the Academic council in Week 3 of this Term. We are now all awaiting the results!
Campbell House Charity Week. Beautiful artworks all ready to be delivered to the Woman’s Refuge! HEADS CHARITY WEEK Change someone’s life Thank you for contributing to the Red Nose Day donation. Our charity will help fund vital research into the treatment and cures of serious health conditions that affect our kids.
CHARITIES
MACDIARMID CHARITY WEEK
Each house has its own charity for which we are raising money. Campbell Woman’s refuge Edgecumbe Motor Neurone Disease Heads Cure Kids MacDiarmid Plunkett Wilson Daffodil Day
17th – 24th August was MacDiarmid House Charity week. Our goal was to raise money for Plunket and in particular fund car seat rental in our area. The three activities were guess the teachers baby photo competition, guess the lollies in the jar and hit the teacher with the wet sponge.
We have a great deal of fun fundraising for these important charities and thank the staff and students for their ongoing support.
It was a successful fundraiser and we managed to raise $300 which is enough to fund 12 car seat rentals for one year for under 5.
Academic mentoring As the school year heads into its business end the Heads of Houses and tutor teachers are spending time academically mentoring our students to ensure that we are all on track to achieve our goals for 2015 and set ourselves up well for the future. These mentoring sessions are incredibly valuable and help us all to focus at this busy time.
A big thank you to all our MacDiarmid volunteers, the teachers who supplied baby photos and Mr Scrimageour, Mr Devcich and Mr May who were targeted for the sponge throwing.
WILSON HOUSE CHARITY WEEK
Wilson House Charity Week is coming up in Week 8 of this term. From the 7th-11th September we will be selling Daffodils for $2 during tutor group and at lunch time to support The Cancer Society. We will also be writing messages, for a donation, on yellow card in the shape of a daffodil to support those who have been affected by cancer. All proceeds will be donated to The Cancer Society. Please get involved and support this wonderful cause!
22
Fri 4 Dec
Thurs 3 Dec
Wed 2 Dec
Tues 1 Dec
Mon 30 Nov
Fri 27 Nov
Thur 26 Nov
Wed 25 Nov
Tues 24 Nov
Mon 23 Nov
Fri 20 Nov
Thur 19 Nov
Wed 18 Nov
Tues 17 Nov
Mon 16 Nov
Thurs 12 Nov
Wed 11 Nov
Tues 10 Nov
Mon 9 Nov
Fri 6 Nov
Date / Time
23
Social Studies
2.00 pm
Latin
Art History
2.00 pm
Te Reo Rangatira
2.00 pm
9.30 am
Samoan
9.30 am
German
Social Studies
Te Reo Rangatira
Education for Sustainability
Spanish
2.00 pm
Business Studies
Chinese
Classical Studies
2.00 pm
Health
Music
Art History
9.30 am
Accounting
Chinese
2.00 pm
9.30 am
Agricultural and Horticultural Science
Business Studies
9.30 am
2.00 pm
9.30 am
Latin
German
2.00 pm
Drama
Geography
Economics
2.00 pm
Japanese
Classical Studies
9.30 am
Drama
History
9.30 am
Chemistry
2.00 pm
Agricultural and Horticultural Science
9.30 am
Chemistry
Home Economics
Accounting
2.00 pm
Biology
2.00 pm
History
French
Samoan
Spanish
Dance
Physics
Media Studies
Biology
Economics
Te Reo Maori
Home Economics
Mathematics
Earth and Space Science
English
9.30 am
Dance
Health
2.00 pm
9.30 am
Physics
9.30 am
2.00 pm
French
Media Studies
2.00 pm
9.30 am
Japanese
9.30 am
2.00 pm
English
Geography
9.30 am
Te Reo Maori
2.00 pm
Science
Mathematics
Music
9.30 am
NCEA Level 2
NO EXAMINATIONS THIS AFTERNOON
NCEA Level 1
9.30 am
2.00 pm
9.30 am
2.00 pm
9.30 am
2.00 pm
9.30 am
NCEA
Latin
Social Studies
Samoan
Dance
Spanish
Te Reo Maori
German
Accounting
Agricultural and Horticultural Science
Chinese
Media Studies
Art History
Japanese
Calculus
Geography
Business Studies
Earth and Space Science
Biology
Te Reo Rangatira
History
Physics
Statistics
Economics
French
Drama
Classical Studies
Music Studies
Health
English
Home Economics
Chemistry
Making Music
NCEA Level 3
External Examination Timetable
German
Agricultural and Horticultural Science
Earth and Space Science
Japanese
Art History
Chinese
Latin
Chemistry
Economics
History
Music
Accounting
Classical Studies
French
Te Reo Rangatira
Geography
Spanish
Media Studies
Calculus
Physics
Statistics
Samoan
English
Biology
Te Reo Maori
Drama
Scholarship
School’s deadline – 20th November 2015
Were due 24th July 2015 Were due 24th July 2015
Mail:
Phone:
E-mail:
Mr Mitchell Principal’s Nominee PO Box 4082 Hamilton
07 839 1304 EXT 839
mitchellm@hghs.school.nz
Mr Mitchell is the Principal’s Nominee (NZQA Liaison) at the school. You can contact him by:
School contact
Students studying for NCEA Levels 1, 2, and 3 certificates will be able to achieve these qualifications with Merit or Excellence endorsements. = 50 credits at Merit (or Excellence) at the same level, or higher. 1. Merit endorsement = 50 credits at Excellence at the same level, or higher. 2. Excellence endorsement 3. Credits can be accumulated over more than one year for the purposes of certificate endorsement. 4. In any one year a learner will be awarded an endorsed certificate only at the highest level of endorsement recognised that year except when a learner has achieved two or three NCEA qualifications in a single year.
Certificate Endorsement
Students will gain an endorsement for a course where they achieve: 1. 14 or more credits at Merit or Excellence at the lower level that supports the endorsement 2. at least 3 credits from externally assessed standards and 3 credits from internally assessed standards (Physical Education, Religious Studies and Level 3 Visual Arts will be exempt from this) 3. sufficient credits in a single school year.
Students will be able to have their strengths in individual courses recognised with a course endorsement at Merit or Excellence.
Course Endorsement
Unless you have been given an adequate assessment opportunity
5th April
(Updated on the 5th day of each Month)
Key NZQA Dates Start checking your results on the NZQA Database NZQA Fees Financial Assistance Last Date to Withdraw from Internal Standard
KEY DATES SEPTEMBER 2015
31 - 4 SEPTEMBER NZSS Badminton Winter Tournament 1 - 9 SEPTEMBER Gateway and Health Safety Courses 3 SEPTEMBER Market Day 4 - 6 SEPTEMBER NZSS Girls 1st XV Rugby Top 4 Finals NZSS Swimming Championships 5 - 6 SEPTEMBER NZSS Individual Cycling Championships 6 SEPTEMBER NZSS Cheerleading Championships 7 - 11 SEPTEMBER Sports Council Lunchtime Activity Week 8 SEPTEMBER International Literacy Day 9 - 10 SEPTEMBER Barbershop Finals 9 SEPTEMBER Mufti Day Quartets Nationals Technology Showcase 10 SEPTEMBER 2PED Full Day Choruses Nationals Freedom Day Option Evening - All Year Levels 11 SEPTEMBER 2PTR Fitness Day 12 SEPTEMBER 5-aside Football 13 - 16 SEPTEMBER NISS Skiing 14 - 18 SEPTEMBER Freedom Week Maths Department Week 14 - 15 SEPTEMBER NZSS Sport Conference 16 SEPTEMBER Year 8 Parent Evening 17 SEPTEMBER 13APO/APS Fitness Day Year 9 Extension Field Trip 18 SEPTEMBER Freedom Day Thanks Coach/Manager Function 20 SEPTEMBER 1APO Xterra Run 21 - 23 SEPTEMBER NISS Snowboarding Championships 21 SEPTEMBER 2APO Mountain Biking 22 SEPTEMBER 13APO/APS Multi/Tri Practice Sports Photos 23 SEPTEMBER Senior Parent-Teacher Meetings 26 SEPTEMBER Term 3 Holidays 28 SEPTEMBER NZSS Basketball Nationals until 4 Oct