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WHAKATANE HIGH SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
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PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
E ngā reo, e ngā mana, e ngā rau rangatira mā, ngā matā waka, tēnei te mihi maioha atu mō te tau hou ki ā koutou katoa. Ko te wawata me te tūmanako ka noho ora pai koutou katoa.
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Welcome back and best wishes for the new term to everyone within the Whakatāne High School community. This term is an 11 week term, with the last school day being the 3rd of July.
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Last week saw our Senior and Junior ANZAC assemblies being held in advance of ANZAC day itself. The Senior assembly was held in the War Memorial Hall and was attended by returned servicewomen and men. The Junior assembly was held in our school hall and was attended by members of the Royal New Zealand Navy. We were all proud of the reverence and respect our students demonstrated towards the kaupapa of remembrance on these two days. Special mention also to our prefects and Te Aka Matua students for the role they played in these events.
Kia maumahara tātau ki a rātau, we will remember them.
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By now I’m sure you will be well aware of the change in school policy around cellphones in school - phones are not to be seen out during the entirety of the school day. This messaging was reinforced this week at assemblies with our students. It has been encouraging to see very few phones out at intervals and lunchtimes these past two weeks. As mentioned in a previous newsletter, supporting wellbeing and conditions conducive to learning are at the core of these government mandated changes. Attached here is a report from the show, 60 Minutes, looking at some of the research that is beginning to emerge associated with excessive screen time. With this change in policy, students will also no longer be able to show a text message to sign out of school. If your child needs to sign out for any reason, please use one of the following options:
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Email: absent@whakatanehigh.school.nz
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SchoolAppsNZ: Fill out the absentee form
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Website: Submit an absence using the "Report an Absence" function
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Phone: Call the office on 07 308 8251
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With the move to hour-long lessons this year and the importance of students being in class and staying in class to maximise learning time, we are trialling a new system for students who need to leave their class during the lesson. Each teacher will have one “out of class pass” to issue to one student at a time. We will review the effectiveness of this system as we move forward. The correlation between attendance, ongoing engagement and achievement is clear, however.
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Congratulations to Year 12 student Ariana Dawson who has achieved to the highest level possible in two sports recently. Ariana was part of our Senior A Girls Volleyball team that placed 4th in the NZSS National Volleyball tournament held at the end of last term in Palmerston North. As a result of her performance throughout the tournament, Ariana was named in the National tournament team at the final prizegiving. More recently, Ariana was named in the NZSS Netball team, an outstanding achievement, especially given she has not had the benefit of being schooled in one of the major centres and the exposure to selectors and access to programmes these centres provide. Well done, Ariana! Your school and community is very proud of you.
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Carrying on in the theme of sport, acknowledgements to all of our staff and students who travelled over to Hamilton last Tuesday for an interschool winter sports exchange with Fraser High School.
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The day was a huge success for us as a kura, both on and off the field and we received a lovely email from Fraser High’s Principal, commending our students and staff for the way they represented our school.
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Many of our winter sports codes kick off either this weekend, or in the coming weeks and we wish all of our teams the best for the season ahead. Play hard, play fair, stick together and enjoy yourselves!
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Please remember to contact the school if you have any queries or concerns about any aspect of your child’s schooling. The more closely we work together as a school and whānau, the better the outcomes we can achieve for our students.
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Ngā manaakitanga ki a tātau katoa
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Career News
- Wednesday May 6 Victoria University of Wellington Student recruiter presentation - 9.30 am in the library
- Tuesday May 12 University of Otago student recruiter presentation - 9.00 am in the library
- Wednesday May 13 EBOP Career Expo - all senior students to attend - Whakatāne Memorial Hall
- Thursday May 21 6.00 - 7.30 pm Victoria University of Wellington Information Evening at BayPark - register here
- Friday May 22 University of Waikato Open Day - full day trip for Year 12 and 13 students - $30.00 - please contact Ms Stuart to reserve a seat on the coach
- Friday May 22 Toi Ohomai Tauranga Creative Workshops - see Ms Stuart, Whaea Amy or your Art teacher for details of how to register and go with the school.
- Wednesday 3 June - Girls with Hi-Vis at Horizon Networks, any interested senior girls please let Ms Stuart know.
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The most recent issue of the Leaving School magazine is available to read online or in hard copy, available from the Careers Room or the Library. Good information about tax codes and minimum wage rates, CVs, student loans and kiwisaver, along with various job profiles.
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Before university or your first job, do something that truly stands out. New Ventures Worldwide is hosting a free online info session on Thursday 14 May at 6:00pm AEST / 8:00pm NZST all about volunteering in Spain as a School Language Volunteer. Hear from a volunteer out there right now and get your questions answered live.
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New Zealand Sportfishing Council Youth Nationals 2026
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Congratulations to Corey Munn, Kiana Skead, Mia Hyndman and Keelan Dawson who participated in the NZSFC Youth Nationals last month, and came away with the EBOP Interschool Trophy and a prize for $500. This is the second year running that WHS has won this trophy.
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Design Thinking Workshop
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Hamish from Museum of Technology (MOTAT) brought his travelling classroom and spent time with our Year 9 and 10 Design Thinking classes for a session in the library. Hamish supported the students to learn how to code and connect with Arduinos. They spent time creating and working on circuits and connectors. This directly relates to the Year 10s who are making light creations for the upcoming light up Whakatane project. For the Year 9s they had a great taster ready for next year. Thanks to Natalie Cattell for organising this.
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Senior Volleyball Girls Achieve 4th in New Zealand
Our Senior Volleyball Girls had an outstanding campaign at the New Zealand Secondary School Volleyball Nationals in Palmerston North in Week 9 of Term 1.
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Heading into the tournament, the team set a clear goal: to qualify for Division 1 (top 16) out of 100 competing teams. They got off to a strong start with a must-win 3–1 victory over Mt Maunganui, and went on to finish 1st in their pool—an excellent achievement.
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The next round presented a tough challenge against strong opposition, including Waimea, Mt Albert Grammar, and Tauranga Girls’ College (BAYS champions). A decisive 3–0 win over Tauranga Girls’ College secured the team a place in the quarterfinals, in what was arguably their best performance of the season.
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In the quarterfinals, the girls faced Trident High School. Despite having no previous match experience against them, the team played with confidence and determination to win a thrilling five-set match and advance to the semifinals.
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The semifinal against St Margaret’s College (Christchurch), last year’s champions, was a fantastic experience for the team—our first semifinal appearance in around 20 years. The girls competed strongly, taking the first set before going down 3–1 in a high-quality match, supported by a great crowd.
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In the 3rd/4th playoff, injuries to key players meant the team was unable to perform at full strength. Despite this, they finished an impressive 4th in New Zealand—an achievement the team can be very proud of.
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A special congratulations to Year 12 student Ariana Dawson, who was named in the tournament team—an outstanding individual honour.
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Thank you to everyone who supported the team throughout the season, both in person and online.
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An illustration comparing a normal throat with a throat affected by strep throat.
Source: KidsHealth
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