Onehunga High School News

Tēnā koutou, ki te whānau o Onehunga High School

The third school term has begun with purpose. With eight weeks remaining before the end-of-year senior exams and eleven weeks until the start of NCEA exams, it's encouraging to see students taking ownership of their learning journey.

Thank you to whānau for attending the whānau/student/kaitiaki Three-Way Conferences this week. Maintaining open communication with teachers and being actively involved in your child’s academic progress will provide important support and motivation during this significant phase of the school year.

Currently, students are selecting their subjects for next year using the new SchoolPoint feature in the school app. Next week's Careers Pathways Evening on 7 August will assist students in making informed decisions about their subject choices. This event provides an opportunity for whānau to discuss subject options with teachers. Our Careers Advisor, Mrs. Kristin Shaw, will be available to discuss subject requirements for different universities and career pathways. Several tertiary providers will also be present. I encourage students from all year levels to attend. Additionally, the Business Department is hosting a night market during this event, and we would love to see your support for this initiative.

There have been many notable highlights over the past fortnight:

Open Days for 2025 Cohort: Thank you to all the families who attended the Open Days, it was a great opportunity to meet with so many prospective students and whānau.
Little Women Senior Drama Production: We enjoyed an impressive drama production of Little Women, demonstrating once again the depth of talent we have in the school. It was the first production in the fabulously refurbished school hall.
Duke of Edinburgh Weekend to Kauaeranga Valley: It is great to see our students taking up the challenge of the Duke of Edinburgh Award. The work required to gain the awards is empowering for students and develops important life skills.
Spoken Word Team Performance: In preparation for the semi-finals on August 17, the Spoken Word team performed at a stand-up poetry evening, sharing their pieces in front of a Grey Lynn community audience. It is exciting to see the development of their work as they prepare for the competition.
Girls Rugby: Our rugby girls' 10s are second in their pool competition as a result of their high scores in the last few games. The highlight of the season so far was their victory against Aorere College, scoring 84-0, with Grace Matakaionogo in Y11 scoring six tries in one game. The coach for the girls' rugby team, Willie Masters, has been consistent in setting high expectations and building strong relationships with the team.
Fakatoukatea Tongan Leadership Group: The Year 9 Tongan Leadership programme started last week to inspire and develop the leadership potential of our young Tongan students.

This term, the school is highlighting the value of integrity, building upon the foundations of respect and resilience we have established in previous terms. At OHS, integrity means being honest and upholding strong moral principles. It guides us to make the right choices, be accountable, and treat others with fairness and kindness. I am heartened to see our students embracing our values and living them out daily. Their commitment to our values not only enhances their personal growth but also strengthens our entire school community.

Last term, we focused on resilience, and it is crucial for students to embrace this value now as they work to finish the year strong. This whakataukī, "Whāia te iti kahurangi, ki te tuohu koe, me he maunga teitei," is about perseverance and endurance. It highlights the importance of refusing to let anything get in your way while striving to reach your goals.

Have a great weekend.

Shameen Hayat
PRINCIPAL

Key Dates

7 August - Pathways Evening (school finishes at 1.30pm)
7 August - Business School Night Market
8 August - Tough Guy and Girl Challenge
16 August - Diversity Day by the Cultural Council
19 August – Level 3 Tourism Trip to Rangiriri
19-23 August - Tongan Language Week
24 August 10.00am-2.00pm In-Zone Enrolment Interviews for 2025 cohort (no need to book)
27 August- Canapés Evening
29 August 9.00am-8.00pm In-Zone Enrolment Interviews for 2025 cohort (no need to book)
12 September - Graduation Gala Concert (Year 13 Music) - 6pm
17-19 September - NZQA Common Assessments (CAA exams for Years 10 & 11)
20 - 26 September - Senior End of Year Exams (Years 11, 12 & 13)
26 September - Last day of Term 3
27 September - Teacher Only Day

Sporting News

Term 3 sport will see the various winter sport competitions draw to an end.

Term 3 will also see a number of Onehunga High School teams prepare for School Sport NZ Winter Tournament week. Onehunga High School have the following teams taking part:

Girls 1st XI Football: National Premier Tournament - Nelson
Boys 1st XI Football: Rex Dawkins Tournament - Napier
Junior Boys Football XI: Hillsdene Tournament - Tauranga
Senior Netball: UNISS Tournament - Waitakere
Senior Girls Basketball: Northern Regional Cup - Waitakere
Senior Boys Rugby League: NZSS National Championships - Papakura
Senior Girls Rugby League: NZSS National Championships - Papakura
Senior Badminton: NZSS National Championships - Porirua
Junior Boys Basketball have been invited to contest the Northern Premier Championship. The team was on the waitlist for the Northern Regional Open, which is the division below Premier.

A short week this week has meant only a few of our teams have been in action with the majority of our teams starting again next week.

Sports highlights:

Boys 1^st XV Rugby:
The First XV took the first win the Plate Championship 44-10 over One Tree Hill College. They currently sit 2^nd on points with a game in hand. The team will have two home games to close out the Championship and are in the running to host their respective finals matches.

Girls 10s Rugby:
The Girls 10s are currently in 2^nd place with one round remaining. We host Tamaki College, who the team bet in a pre-competition friendly. The top 2 play in a cross-over finals with Pool B.

Basketball:
-Senior Boys A will be playing in the Bronze Final of the Central West Open Top 6 next week vs Western Springs College.
-The Boys U17 team took out their Bronze final with a 62-24 win over St Paul’s College.
-The Senior Girls Open team finished 2^nd after going down in the final vs Diocesan School. Finishing in the top 2 of their grade means they will get to contest the Auckland-wide Championships, which will include the top 2 teams from North Harbour and the Counties divisions.

Football:
-Girls Premier 1^st XI moves into the second stage of their season as they play in the APC Cup Division 2. They will host Long Bay College in their first game next Wednesday.
-Junior Girls 2^nd XI are playing in the Junior B Top 4 playoffs. MAGS Victory and OHS progress from Central Pool 2 and will be joined by Baradene A & Baradene B from Pool 1.

Netball:
Our three netball teams get back on the court this weekend as all three divisions have moved into the 2^nd stage of their competitions.

Orienteering:
Onehunga High School continues to have success with our individual athletes with Xavier White continuing his meteoric rise in Orienteering. Before the school holidays Xavier was named in the NZ Orienteering team that will be travelling to Australia to contest their domestic National Championships in October. During the holidays the NZ School Orienteering Championships were held in Wellington, where Xavier dominated his age-group by being crowned the National Junior Boys Champion in both the sprint and long-distance events. These results helped him accumulate enough points to also rank 3rd in the overall Premier Boys Award. This is a school-based award which is impressive as he was the sole athlete from Onehunga High School. He finished behind MAGS (1st) and Cashmere High School (2nd).

Congratulations Xavier!

Open Day.

The second Open Day of the year was held this week, with prospective students and their families visiting the school.

Timeless Tale Brought To Life.

This year, the OHS Level 2 and 3 Drama students presented the play 'Little Women’.

Careers Pathway Evening.

The Careers Pathways Evening and Night Market is on 7th August 3-6pm.

Internships Enlighten Students'.

Eight Year 13 students’ from Auckland were selected to participate in the Icebase 360 programme which paired young students with companies to enable them to get real life experience in areas of interest to them. Three of these students came from OHS! All three received paid work internships.

Duke of Edinburgh Adventure Weekend.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award is an award for young people, founded in the United Kingdom in 1956 by the then Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Phillip.

Memorable Lessons for Geography Students'.

Level 3 Geography students have recently returned from a fun filled and informative three days in Rotorua.

Alumnus- John Tagi

OHS alumnus John Tagi was fortunate to be awarded a Keystone Trust Study Award as a Year 13 student in 2015.

Xavier White- Champion!

The NZ Secondary School Orienteering championships were held in Wellington and Xavier White proved once again he is a champion.

Year 9 Tongan Leadership.

Congratulations to the Year 9 students chosen to participate in the Fakatoukatea Leadership programme run by alumna Anahila Kanongata’a and Sepa Hausia-Schaumkel.

Careers

Fifteen of our Māori Yr 13 students recently took part in the ‘Kei Runga Ki Mua Careers programme’. Students were inspired by facilitator Koro Carmen from Icebase who shared tools for navigating the next part of their journey into further study and employment. Students gathered over 6 weeks for weekly wānanga, shared kai and delved into topics crucial for career development such as resilience, confidence, leadership, and personal branding. They had the privilege of hearing from several guest speakers, a highlight being Paul Whatuira, former NRL player.

This week all our Year 13s were invited to Tertiary Planning seminars with Unitec and the University of Auckland.

2025 In-Zone Enrolments

Enrolling your child for Year 9 in 2025 at OHS is easy. Please follow a 3 STEP process.
STEP 1: Online Application Form
Complete the enrolment application online (tab above). Remember to attach all relevant documents to support your application and answer all of the questions.

STEP 2: Enrolment Interview
All Year 9 in-zone applications are required to attend an enrolment interview at the school with a member of the Senior Leadership Team. Do come with your child to the front reception for the interview. You do not need to book a time. Make sure you have completed the online application beforehand. During the interview we will share key information about OHS, answer your questions and your child will select their 2025 option subjects.

We are running the interviews at the following times and they should last approximately 20 minutes:

Saturday 24^th August 10.00-2.00pm
OR
Thursday 29^th August 9.00am-8.00pm

STEP 3: Confirmation of your place
You can confirm your place at OHS during the enrolment interview or / and we will write to you after the interview asking that all in-zone places are confirmed by 13 September. Confirmation by this date is important so we can plan for your arrival in 2025.
We look forward to meeting.

Out-of-Zone Enrolments & Ballot

The out-of-zone applications for 2025 will close on Wednesday 4 September 2024 at 3pm and the ballot will be drawn on Wednesday 11 September 2024. Families will be notified of the ballot results within three days.

Onehunga High School will hold a ballot annually to determine which Out of Zone students can be given the right to enrol for the following year. The ballot will be supervised by a solicitor, in accordance with the Enrolment Scheme.