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WHAKATANE HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
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PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
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E ngā reo, e ngā mana, rau rangatira mā, ngā matā waka, tēnei te mihi nui atu ki ā koutou katoa. Ko te wawata me te tumanako ka noho ora mai koutou katoa.
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Over the last two weeks many of our Senior students have worked hard in derived grade exams for NCEA. Tino pai tō koutou mahi! Well done to all of our students for their hard work. It's hard to believe that for senior students there are only a handful of school weeks left! I encourage students to:
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- Take on board the feedback from your kaiako (teachers).
- Seek guidance from kaiako (teachers) if you need additional support to be more successful.
- Talk to your mentors if you need it about how you can achieve NCEA Level 1, 2 or 3.
- Create a plan about your priorities for subjects/assessment and revision so that you prioritise the work that is most important.
- Work hard through this final push and be proud of your efforts.
Our achievement team and Heads of Departments will be identifying students that will need to stay at school once study leave starts. They are currently tracking and reviewing achievement data to inform what this plan looks like and we will be communicating early in Term 4 to those students we wish to stay behind to get the additional time to complete their learning and assessments so that they are successful.
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Thank you to all of our whānau who came in for mentoring interviews in Week 8. Subject selection for 2026 has been mostly completed for our Year 10 - 12 students and we will build the opportunity for our Year 9 students to choose subjects for 2026 in Week 4.
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Last week we held our Open Day and Evening. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to open our doors to the community and show them our vision for students at Whkatāne High School. We have strong enrolments for 2026 at Year 9 and encourage any prospective parents who have not enrolled yet to do so as soon as possible. To book an enrolment interview you will need to visit: www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/code/yu3a9.
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I want to thank our dedicated teachers and staff for all their work this term towards ensuring our students make the most of their opportunities when here. Have a restful and enjoyable holiday.
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Forestry
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This week, four WHS boys are out exploring career pathways in Forestry. The programme, delivered by local provider Silvipath, covers everything from health & safety, fire awareness, pruning, and safe chainsaw use to cultivation and planting before heading into the forest around Kawerau and Rotorua to put their skills into practice. Thank you to tutor Patrick Aislabie for sharing his knowledge and enthusiasm. Over the five days, the boys are also gaining Level 2 & 3 credits. Well done to Koby Turei, Charles Dorrans, Jezakiah Hurai, and Jack Dawson for taking on this awesome opportunity!
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If you missed the information evening, but want to receive a copy of the presentation, then please email sport@whs.co.nz. Express your interest by filling out the link below:
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NZ Economics Competition
Earlier in the year, three of our senior economics students participated in Auckland University’s New Zealand Economics competition. This competition has been running since 1997 and pits budding economists from around the country against each other in a test of Economic theory and current economic issues. The competition hosts more than 850 people in each of the two divisions. This year Division 1 (Year 13) had 882 while Division 2 (Year 12) had 868.
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Our students gave it a good go despite doing this on their own volition with no specific preparation, using solely what they have learned in class and their own personal knowledge. Each of the three students who competed deserve to be commended for their efforts and for their results, However a very special mention needs to go to Jayden Hartley De Gouveia who did an extremely impressive job receiving a distinction in Division 1. This meant that Jayden can now lay claim to being the 123rd best Year 13 economist in the country. Jayden scored 37.5 out of 50 and was only one point away from high distinction which is the top mark possible.
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Congratulations to Jayden and also to Claire Miller and Parth Khatri for their quality participation awards.
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𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝗘𝗻𝗴𝗹𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗲𝗰𝗵 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
Last week, we held the annual Whakatāne High School Junior and Senior Speech Competition in the library. Over twenty talented students delivered speeches on a wide range of topics, including learning another language, local body elections, dragon taming, the benefits of school, the drawbacks of school, and identity.
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The showcase of talent was extraordinary, with some of Whakatāne’s best young speakers presenting their skills to an audience. The competition was fierce, and the judges had a tough task deciding the winners.
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𝗖𝗼𝗻𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟱 𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗲𝗿𝘀:
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A huge thank you to the library for hosting us for the day, and to Year 13 student Ethan Clements, who joined Mr Williamson on the judging panel.
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Cross Country 2025
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Today we held our annual school cross country. Not only did the weather hold out for us, but we had two students break records! Congratulations to Theo Henderson, breaking the Intermediate Boys' record coming across the finish line in 25m10s, and to Mia Hyndman on her new Junior Girls' record of 28m47s. A fantastic way to finish a busy term! Full results are as follows:
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- 1st - Jai Taft Robertson
- 2nd - Jai Julian
- 3rd - Ben Peat
- 1st - Monique Prasad
- 2nd - Molly Thompson-Brine
- 3rd - Chloee Munn
- 1st - Theo Henderson (NEW RECORD)
- 2nd - Julian Cardinal
- 3rd - Chris Martin
- 1st - Addie Tetze
- 2nd - Aramia Hanlen
- 3rd - Addison Davis
- 1st - Nikau Dean
- 2nd - Keelan Dawson
- 3rd - Rico Poihipi
- 1st - Mia Hyndman (NEW RECORD)
- 2nd - Rose Morton
- 3rd - Sophia Hall
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Awatapu Clean Up
Earlier this month, eight of our Interact Club students took time out of their day to give back to the environment! They headed down to the Awatapu Lagoon and worked their way around the area, collecting rubbish along the way, including crocs and even car parts 😅.
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A huge thank you to Corey Haycock and Linda Bonne for organising such a successful event. This initiative was part of Rotary’s Footprints For Our Future campaign (8–14 September 2025), which focuses on restoring parts of the Bay of Plenty environment.
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Ka pai to everyone involved - awesome mahi koutou mā! 🌿
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Students involved: Corey Haycock, Ezra Pickett, Aradia Finch, Sarah Banks, Max Coxon, Josh Burgess, Harry Edwards, Ashley Wolstenholme, and Linda Bonne (teacher).
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RACING
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Last month, WHS student Trista and her sister Kenna (a former WHS student) took on the challenge of a 1000km off-road race in Kurow, South Island. Across two days, they completed 15 laps of 32km each day as part of a team effort with their racing club. Kenna shared the driving with fellow racer Asher Morgan, while Trista co-drove, helping with navigation and overtaking. The team achieved an impressive 2nd place in their class and 4th overall out of 26 cars with all different engines and designs. An awesome achievement — and we wish them all the best for their next race at TECT Park in Tauranga, over Labour Weekend.
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RUGBY
Nevaeh Morris, Asaiah Kinghazel and Skye Chisholm have been busy representing the Bay of Plenty in the U16 Girls rugby team.
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The girls recently played Waikato, winning the game 68-0 and have been away this week in Whangarei playing in a tournament.
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