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WHAKATANE HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
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Issue 11 - 13 August 2026
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PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Titiro atu ki runga o Te Rae ō Kohi ki te tihi o tō tātau maunga, he maunga pupuri kōrero rere tika iho ki tō tātau kura o Te Mānuka Tūtahi, te puna o te mātauranga mō ā tātau tamariki, mokopuna, nei rā te mihi nui atu ki a koutou katoa.
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We hope you are all doing well and are managing to steer clear of the recent bout of illness making its way through our town.
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Attendance Progress
A big thank you to staff, students, and whānau for the improved attendance statistics we are seeing this year. The Ministry of Education (MOE) has recently commended our school for the progress made with overall attendance:
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Term 2 Regular Attendance: Showed a significant increase compared to Term 2 last year.
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Chronic Absence: Saw a significant decrease over the same period.
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There is still a lot of mahi to be done to ensure more of our students attend more of the time, but it is very encouraging to know we are tracking in the right direction. Thank you for your ongoing support with helping to raise student attendance at our kura.
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Classroom Routines & Focus
To set strong foundations for quality teaching and learning, we have begun work to establish greater consistency across the school regarding how students enter classrooms, begin lessons, wrap up, and are dismissed. This ongoing focus will support punctual arrival to class, provide clarity and certainty for our students, and help us maximize overall learning time moving forward.
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Parent Meeting: Reporting
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Tonight at 6:00 PM in School Library
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In the last newsletter, we mentioned upcoming changes regarding curriculum, assessment, and reporting. Tonight’s meeting is an opportunity to unpack these reporting requirement changes with you. For parents with children in Years 9 and 10, you may have noticed a difference in the layout of their recent English and Maths reports. We look forward to discussing these updates further.
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Nau mai, haere mai koutou.
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Pathways/Subject Selection
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An important focus for us this term is supporting students to make informed decisions about what subjects they will ultimately select for 2027. Next week there will be a Trades Information Assembly for Senior students interested in those potential pathways. In Week 6, 27th of August, there will be a Subject Selection Information evening for Year 10, 11, 12 students and their family. In Week 8, 9th and 10th of September, you will have the opportunity to meet with your child’s Mentor Teacher and discuss their choices.
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Student Leadership & House Activities
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A special acknowledgement to our Year 12 leaders, who are organizing weekly lunchtime House activities to help promote a positive school culture and sense of belonging. These include academic, arts, performance, sporting, cultural, and novelty events.
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Quiz Event (inspired by “The Chase”)
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All activities are advertised daily through our school notices and Instagram account. We encourage all students to get involved and participate!
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All the best to you all for the rest of the week and we wish all of our students well for their weekend sport.
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Ngā manaakitanga ki a tātau katoa
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Career News
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BOPFA Trades courses for 2027
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Students going into Years 12 and 13 are welcome to look into the Trades courses available through BOPFA. The prospectus is available to look through online. There will be a Trades assembly on Tuesday 18 August at Mentor Time for more information. Students can enter an expression of interest at this stage and applications will be open from 31 August.
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Women in Engineering at University of Canterbury (WiE CAN) is an opportunity for Year 12 girls who are taking Level 2 or 3 Physics and Calculus. WiE CAN is an annual 5 day/4 night Women in Engineering residential programme that features interactive workshops, inspiring presentations, and fun social activities. You will be immersed in student life and experience the range of engineering subjects on offer at UC. Applications close Friday 28 August. For all details, please visit the website - WiE CAN Application
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Those Year 13 students going to university in 2027 should now be applying for their accommodation, and some scholarships are still available to apply for.
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Course planning will happen until the end of term:
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Upcoming Open Days and Information Sessions
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- Wednesday 19 August - Defence Force Information Evening at 2/319 Cameron Road, Tauranga
- Thursday 10 September and Saturday 12 September - Toi Ohomai Open Days, Windermere Campus
- Tuesday 15 September - Awanuiārangi Open Day
- Thursday 17 September and Saturday 19 September - Toi Ohomai Open Days, Mokoia Campus, Rotorua
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Level 2 Business Studies
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Students in Mrs Bonne's Level 2 Business Studies class have created products and are marketing them for sale. Please see the four products below.
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Farmaball
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“Tug ‘n Toss All In One.”
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Farmaball is a pet toy business specialising in producing toys primarily for dogs. Farmaballs' target market centres on pet owners and pet shelters. It will have many options for your dogs.
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Chief Executive Officer: David Binney
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Sales & Marketing: Gordon Gawachab
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David.binney2@gmail.com 0273876901
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Follow our Instagram for updates on the Real x Whakatāne T-shirt! The design features Moutohorā Island in the background, our Real branding, and the Whakatāne postcode on the back. The shirts are unisex and available in both kids’ and adult sizes, with pink and blue colour options.
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Follow our Instagram to stay updated on drop dates, giveaways, and much more!
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Basketball - Division 2 Champions!
Last Friday 10 young men and their coaches travelled to Mercury Arena at Baypark for the Bay of Plenty Junior Secondary School Championships.
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It was a great event that allowed our boys to showcase the skill, dedication and relentless hard work they’ve consistently built over the last two years. The boys played three games across the day and came away with an unbeaten 3-0 record, finishing the day as Division 2 Champions!
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Special mentions for great play on the day go to Paora-Kingi Black, Mateo Rechsteiner, Albie Cameron, and James Searancke. These boys were instrumental in the success of the team on the day providing clutch buckets, set-up skills, shooting, finishing, rebounding, and defensive presence.
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A big thank you to Alamoti Te Pou and Katene Baker for your stewardship of the boys, it is very impressive what the team has become under both of your coaching.
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Surf Competition
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Four salty, seasoned surfers represented the school at the Secondary School National Surfing Championships in Raglan this week -- some for the last time after 5 years of representing the school.
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Noah Vullings, Zane Pearson, Dylan McKay and Jai Taft Robertson competed extremely well against NZ's best student surfers. The conditions were not easy, especially with the U18 heats first up at 7am, before the sun came up and while the sub-zero frost was still on the ground.
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Noah, Dylan and Jai all qualified to go through to the second round of heats, but were then eliminated.
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Overall, it was a great couple of days of competition at one of New Zealand's most iconic surf beaches. Well done, team.
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Junior Get2Go BOP Regionals
Huge shoutout to our incredible Junior Get2Go Team for putting on a masterclass in teamwork at the Get2Go BOP Regionals last week!
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Out of 23 tough teams, our crew dug deep, pushed through every challenge and claimed an awesome 5th place overall!
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- Kayaking: 3rd Place (even at a freezing 9:30am with white toes and chattering teeth, they smashed it! )
- Rock Climbing: 4th Place
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Everyone gave it 100%, worked together as a team and came home smiling and completely injury-free! They should all be super proud of themselves.
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Reading for House Points
Our wonderful librarians, Lisa and Claire, have launched an exciting inter-house reading competition in the school library to foster a love of reading for fun.
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Every time a student checks out a book, they earn a point for their house team! It’s a fantastic way for students to discover new books while supporting their house.
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Here is where the leaderboard currently stands:
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CANVAS Career Expo
Last Friday, all Year 10 students and their mentor teachers attended the Canvas Tauranga Careers Expo at Mercury Baypark Arena. Students were able to explore and engage with exhibitors from tertiary providers, industry, and emergency services.
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The event was a valuable opportunity for Year 10 students to ask questions, discover career pathways, and gather information as they begin considering their subject selections for 2027.
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A big mihi to Priority One for their contribution to our transport costs for the trip.
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HEALTH CORNER
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Going to school every day is important for all school aged children. It helps build their confidence and social skills, and to achieve their education and life ambitions. This information helps you decide when it is okay to send your child to school, when you should keep your child at home and when you should contact a health professional for advice. See the link below:
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