Rotorua Lakes High School “Mauria te pono - Keep steadfastly to the truth”
NEWSLETTER ISSUE No. 02 - 18 February 2022
CONTENTS From the Principal – P. 1 News from Teachers – P. 2 - 4 Student Successes – P. 5 - 6 Sports – P. 6 Careers / Gateway – P. 6 - 7 Notice Board – P. 8
Kia ora Koutou, School is settling in to some positive routines for learning as we work through the set up stages for 2022. The key focus for all of us at this part of the year is to support students to build strong and positive relationships both with peers and staff to ensure they feel comfortable and safe to support their learning. On Friday 11 March, we will be celebrating our investiture assembly, where our prefects and houses captains will be formally badged and presented to the school. Unfortunately, due to covid restrictions we cannot invite our parents/caregivers, however, we will be organizing a virtual event, details of which will be issued shortly. We have had phenomenal success with recent scholarships:
CLAY FOOKES Statistics and Accounts RLHS Dux As you will know, these scholarships are not easy to obtain, they are the result of hard work, commitment and dedication. A remarkable achievement.
NCEA figures for 2021 were excellent last year with all our pass rates in all levels higher than the national average. I want to take this opportunity to acknowledge our wonderful students for their hard work and dedication in achieving these outstanding results. We are very proud of you. Again, I thank the staff at RLHS for the exceptional commitment they put into supporting our students. As part of the Investiture Assembly we will also be recognizing students at Levels 1, 2 and 3 NCEA who received Merit and Excellence endorsements in their overall certificates. For the most part, the students are looking great in their uniforms. They show a sense of pride in themselves and our school environment. A gentle reminder to a minority of students that it is important to have the correct uniform for school. Over the past 2 weeks we have been gently reminding students about appropriate uniform and hope that this will resolve any irregularities. As we move forwards, repeat reminders will start to come with 1
consequences. Thank you for your support in ensuring that our students reflect pride in our school and also the pride we have in them. We are looking forward to events coming up at the school, including our Athletics Day on 24 February (further details on page 3). It is always great to see our students out and enjoying themselves. No doubt, we will have some great pics to share with you shortly. As you will be aware, we have had a positive covid case at the school. Our priority is the health and safety of our students and staff and we continue to follow all the health and safety protocols to ensure all risks are minimized. The key safety elements are wearing masks whenever possible and if feeling ill, staying away from school and if necessary getting a covid test. I will be sending out more details in the near future about the various contingencies we foresee. Ngā mihi,
Jon Ward Principal / Tumuaki
___________________________________________________________________________ NOTIFICATION OF PPTA MEETING A reminder that on TUESDAY 22 FEBRUARY 2022 there will be a PPTA Union Meeting for all Rotorua Secondary teachers, which is allowed for under the terms of their Collective Agreement. This means the school will only be able to have classes for periods 1, 2 and 3 on that day. Students will be required to go home at 12.30 pm. Charter bus and Ministry Bus will leave the school at the normal time. The school will remain open and non-union teachers will supervise any students who need to remain at school. Thank you for your co-operation.
___________________________________________________________________________ POTENTIAL IMPACT OF OMICRON ON SCHOOL TRANSPORT SERVICES The Omicron variant of Covid-19 is likely to have a significant impact on our communities over the coming months. One of the groups that could be affected is school transport drivers. It is highly likely that some school transport services will need to be cancelled at very short notice due to drivers being unavailable and it is unlikely that there will be replacement drivers available. In the event of a cancellation: The school will work with the Ministry of Health on the appropriate next steps, including whether the students on that bus need to self-isolate. You will need to have your own plan in place for transporting your children to and from the school. Our service provider has been instructed to let us know as early as possible of a cancellation. They have also been instructed to advise the duration that they expect the service to be cancelled. It is vital that all students wear masks on school transport at all times.
___________________________________________________________________________ FROM THE BOT The following policy is currently up for review. If you would like to view this policy, we invite you to come into the school where it is available at the Principal’s PA office. Alternatively, if you would like a copy emailed, please send an email to humphriesj@rotorualakes.school.nz RTLB Cluster Vehicle Agreement
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NEWS FROM OUR TEACHERS ___________________________________________________________________________ OUR CHILDCARE CLASSES NEED YOUR HELP The Childcare classes are in need of equipment to help the students complete the practical activities in their Units. If anyone is willing to donate: ✓ linen for baby beds, sheets, blankets, preferably cotton and wool ✓ towels, a hooded one would be great ✓ a change mat ✓ a non-slip mat for the bath ✓ infant and toddler clothing ✓ cloth nappies and liners ✓ infant bottles ✓ bibs, soft spoons, bowls, sippy cup ✓ mouli, blender sieve ✓ simple play toys, teething rings, stacking rings, treasure basket items, Duplo or wooden blocks, play dough etc All items can be dropped off to the school, thanks very much, Kay Ackerman
___________________________________________________________________________ ATHLETICS DAY Please note our athletics day has been postponed to Thursday 10 March 2022.
___________________________________________________________________________ YEAR 13 CAMP We are having to review the format of our Yr 13 camp based on the current omicron situation. We will confirm with students and whanau as soon as possible.
___________________________________________________________________________ GET2GO CHALLENGE – ORIENTEERING TRAINING Last year we had multiple teams enter the Torpedo7 Get2Go challenge which is a great entry level adventure challenge for Year 9 & Year 10 Students. The Torpedo7 Get2Go Series combines fun, outdoor adventure activities like orienteering, kayaking, stand-up paddling, mountain biking and a little bit of problem solving, into an action-packed day suitable for students of all fitness levels and experience. Orienteering BOP are running a “Summer Nav” series where students can practice their navigation skills in preparation for the Get2Go Challenge. Each event costs $5 and is a 60 minute evening rogaine in local parks, forest and/or streets. It can be completed individually or in teams. Simply turn up and enter on day. What to bring: cash for entry, walking/running shoes, My Vaccine Pass, mask and water For more information visit https://www.obop.org.nz/summer-nav-2022.html
___________________________________________________________________________ NEW TO NCEA? New Zealand's National Certificates of Educational Achievement (NCEA) are national qualifications for senior secondary school students. Students who will be sitting NCEA assessments this year will be issued an information booklet that helps to explain key areas. NZQA also has made a video to help parents understand NCEA. Go to their website ( www.nzqa.govt.nz) and search for "How NCEA works video".
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___________________________________________________________________________ BRIEF LOOK – TERM 1 2022 24 February Athletics Day (TBC) 1 – 4 March Year 13 Camp 10 March Swimming Sports (TBC) 11 March School Photos 22 March Yr 11 Road Safety Expo 28 – 30 March Talent Quest Heats 31 March Talent Quest Final THURSDAY 14 APRIL END OF TERM 1 4
STUDENT SUCCESSES ___________________________________________________________________________ OUR FORWARD FOUNDATION AMBASSADORS! Huge congratulations to our students, Sara O’Driscoll (Yr 11), Maraea Paul (Yr 12) and Lauren Thompson (Yr 11) who have been selected as Forward Foundation Ambassadors. Forward Foundation strives to assist young female athletes by creating development and leadership opportunities in a sporting environment. From a large applicant base nationwide, 32 Ambassadors have been carefully selected to represent the programme by empowering and inspiring girls to lead active and healthy lifestyles. The Forward Foundation provides supporting leadership and personal development opportunities while the Ambassadors work towards gaining a Forward Foundation Leadership Award.
Well done, we are very proud of you.
Sara O’Driscoll
Maraea Paul
Lauren Thompson
___________________________________________________________________________ OUTSTANDING RESULT FOR PIPI UHL Also, huge congratulations to our Yr 13 student, Pipi Uhl, who competed at the CSNZ NZ Open over the weekend. Pipi was the winner in Women’s K1 U18.
Fantastic result Pipi – very well done
___________________________________________________________________________ FANTASTIC RESULTS AT THE NATIONAL RACKETLON EVENT On 7 February our students Hayden Martin, year 11 and Jessica Martin, year 9 represented RLHS in the National Racketlon event in Palmerston North recently. Racketlon is an international multi-sport where players compete against each other in Tabletennis, Badminton, Squash and Tennis. Hayden won in the boys high school division and Jessica came second in the girls division. Very well done to you both, we are so proud of your achievements.
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___________________________________________________________________________ WELL DONE TO OUR HEAD GIRL KAHURANGI DEWES-GREEN
SPORTS ___________________________________________________________________________ WATERPOLO Inter school Waterpolo starts this week:
Trainings are 7 – 8 pm Thursday and games for both junior and senior teams are at 7.20 pm Due to the pools covid rules, players need to show their vaccine pass at the door and we are unfortunately not allowed any spectators.
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CAREERS / GATEWAY
Gateway provides an opportunity for schools to broaden educational options for students and strengthen pathways to employment, vocational training and further education. Students can receive credits towards qualifications on the New Zealand Qualifications Framework, including NCEA, and gain experience in future career pathways through work placements, which will assist them in their vocational choices. You can ‘try before you buy’. If your child fits in, great, if not, they can try another course. Perfect for our Year 12 and 13 students! We offer many programmes. If your Yr 12 or 13 students are unsure of their pathways they can come in anytime to see me for a brief interview. I am always here to help😊.
Mrs Eva Hingston Tel: 07- 345 6124 Ext 258 Email: hingstonev@rotorualakes.school.nz ____________________________________________________________________________ University Scholarships for Year 13 Students MoneyHub, a consumer finance website, has published a guide to hundreds of scholarships for any student planning to start university in 2023. The comprehensive list includes scholarships offered by every university as well as those specifically available to local students. A list of privately-funded, Maori, Pacific and International university scholarships completes the list. Applications close throughout the year, with tens of millions of dollars available. MoneyHub has also published a list of tips for scholarship success. For more details and to find suitable scholarships, visit the MoneyHub Scholarship page
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FROM NOTICE OUR DEPARTMENTS BOARD To enter the Ocean Champion Challenge, we invite individuals and groups to share their story in a short video (2-4 minutes in length). In this video students could: 1. Describe their efforts to protect or restore our marine environment. 2. Explain what they have been working to preserve the marine environment. 3. Tell us what inspired them to take these actions. Criteria for all entries in each category: • • • •
Videos should include some narrative that tells us about what you are doing and why you are doing it. Entrants can film the video themselves and narrate the video or have someone filming them. Videos should be a minimum of 2 minutes but not longer than 4 minutes. Entries must be submitted as Mp4 (standard video files).
Individuals can choose to NOMINATE someone or APPLY themselves. Competition closes March 31st 2022. There is a place for you to upload your entry : our google form or you can choose to send in your video via email to: seaweek@merc.org.nz -
___________________________________________________________________________ Phone: 07- 345 6124 Email: office@rotorualakes.school.nz www.rotorualakes.school.nz
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