Term 4 - Week 2

Tēnā koutou,

Our annual Sports Awards were held on Tuesday evening this week.  The hall was packed with students and whānau, and it was a fantastic evening celebrating our students who have achieved success at local, national and international levels.  The major award winners for 2024 are listed below in the other news section below.  A huge congratulations to all our award winners and nominees.  Our guest speaker, Black Stick Steph Dickins, spoke beautifully about her successes and trials and tribulations throughout her career.  I know the students would have been inspired by her journey.  Thank you also to our master of ceremonies, Brenda Ronke, who helped to create a great atmosphere throughout the awards.

Thank you to all our whānau who turned out for the two rounds of subject teacher interviews over the past two weeks.  We hope you gained valuable feedback and feedforward from our teachers about what is going well, and areas your child could continue to develop.

Today, we held our senior assembly for 2nd and 3rd academic prize winners in 2024.  There is a lot of competition in our senior school for any award, so the students who received awards today need to be acknowledged for continuously demonstrating wero (courage and bravery) to bring their best on a daily basis.  We are so very proud of all of you!

Our senior prize giving will be held on Thursday 31 October at 6:30 p.m. in our school hall. Doors will open at 6:10pm.  It will be another fantastic evening celebrating our students’ achievements in 2024.  Again, whānau are warmly welcomed to attend.

On Tuesday 12 November we will be holding a teacher only day.  Our teacher only day is different from the rest of our Taupō schools to allow us to accommodate students who need special assessment conditions for the NCEA level 1 English exam.  A lot of our rooms around the school will be used for students who require separate accommodation for reader/writers. 

Today, a letter will go out from our contributing schools encouraging whānau of Year 8 students not yet enrolled, to complete the enrolment process ASAP.  There is an incentive of a $300 Pak n Save voucher draw for whānau of any student who is enrolled by the end of next week. If you are aware of any Year 8 students who are not yet enrolled, and want to attend our college next year, please encourage them to get their enrolment form into our office as soon as possible.  Enrolment forms can also be found in the enrolment section on our website.

Our concerns and complaints procedure can be found in the contact section of our website.  If you wish to raise a concern, please follow the procedure in this document.

Our school continues to opt into the Government School Donation Scheme.  Information about this scheme can be found here.

This term’s school policies are now available for review.  To view and review the policies use this link. 

Ngā mihi

Ben Claxton
PRINCIPAL

                                                       Sporting News

Sports Award Winners
 
Congratulations to all our recipients and nominees at the 2024 Sports Awards.

We truly have an amazing bunch of athletes at our Kura and we could not be prouder.

Well done again to the major award winners:

JASON BOYDEN MEMORIAL TROPHY- Junior Sportsmanship
Zene Erasmus

DECCA BRAGGINS TROPHY- Senior Female Sportsmanship
Georgia Fox

ELI BRAGGINS TROPHY- Senior Male Sportsmanship
Aries Haitana

BOARD OF TRUSTEES CUP- Service to School Sport
Abby Cameron

ROBINSON TROPHY- Team of the Year
1st XV Boys Rugby

RENT A DENT TROPHY- Junior National Achiever
Brooke Atkinson
Ty Blake

NEIL WATSON TROPHY- Senior National Achiever
Sarah Nelson
Grace Hura

JUNIOR SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR
Dante Minhinnick

JUNIOR SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR
Bianca Stewart

BD UPSTON TROPHY- SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR
Oliver Barnett

BD UPSTON TROPHY- SPORTSWOMAN OF THE YEAR
Grace Hura

                                                     Careers Information

Leaving School Magazine
The next issue of the Leaving School Magazine is available. This issue contains information on CV’s, exam advice, articles on the following careers: vehicle sales, environmental consultant, fisherman, accounting technician, forestry machine operator, production supervisor and meat industry careers. To find out more you can access it online at: www.oliverlee.co.nz/leavingschool-issue31

American Summers Opportunity 2025
Applications for the 2025 American Summers IENA camp program are open. As young people throughout New Zealand are weighing up their options for their future endeavours, we think an American Summer is such a fantastic opportunity for them. If you want to know more about what an American Summer Camp looks like? Check out my video here, showcasing the camp I’ve spent the last 3 years at. American Summers IENA has been around since 1996, we know the camp game better than anyone else! Below is a rundown of the perks we offer.
AMERICAN SUMMERS PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS:

• You get paid! Minimum of $2,250 USD. This is the highest earning regardless of age, skills or experience (approx. $3700 NZD)
• Program price: $525 NZD broken into 2 simple fees.
  
• What else do you get:
  * Free food and accommodation while at camp;
  * 4 months (123 days) medical insurance;
  * 30 days prior to camp and 30 days after camp to travel and sightsee America;
  * Visa sponsorship. IENA – American Summers is your visa sponsor (not a 3rd party). We have been a Visa sponsor since 1996;
  * 30 year’s experience. Our staff have years of experience in the American camping industry;
  * Top-level customer service and support from today till you return from camp in September 2025!
  

• 3rd Party costs:
  * Visa fees – $185 USD paid to the US Consulate (don’t need to pay for this till you are placed and when visa appointments start in early 2025) – plus costs to get to the US Consulate in Auckland;
  * Flights to the USA, your camp and home or out of the USA (don’t need to pay for these till your placement and visa is approved. You have plenty of time to save)
  * Police check - just wait for us to send you the instructions.

Learn more on our website: https://americansummers.com/
 
University of Otago Māori Health summer school scholarships
The University of Otago have two summer school scholarships they are offering to tauira Māori who are interested in pursuing health careers and may need some extra help with physics or chemistry before starting university: 

• The WHAI Physics scholarship supports Māori students interested in a career in health to prepare for the PHSI 191 ‘Biological Physics’ paper, as part of Health Sciences First Year. It covers tuition fees and residential college accommodation for the duration of the JumpSTART Physics programme, as well as continuous support through the PHSI 191 paper and HSFY. For further information about the WHAI Physics Scholarship and application process, visit https://www.otago.ac.nz/mhwdu/kahikatea/whai-physics-scholarship-support-through-jumpstart-and-phsi-191
• The WHAI Chemistry scholarship supports Māori students interested in a career in health to prepare for the CHEM 191 ‘Chemical Basis of Biology and Human Health’ paper, as part of Health Sciences First Year. The WHAI Chemistry Scholarship covers tuition fees for CHEM 150 as well as residential college accommodation for the 2 week on-campus component of the programme. Recipients will also receive continuous support through the CHEM 191 paper and HSFY. For further information about the scholarship application process, visit https://www.otago.ac.nz/mhwdu/kahikatea/whai-chemistry-scholarship
  

Applications are open now until November 15^th, 5:00pm. There will be multiple recipients for each scholarship.
 
Survey & Spatial NZ Scholarship
Survey & Spatial NZ offers an annual scholarship of $1500 for school leavers intending to enrol in a tertiary surveying or spatial qualification. Students within the Tauranga, Rotorua, Whakatane and Taupo region can apply, with a 31/12/24 closing date for applications. See the notices in Career Central for more information and an application form.
 
Advance Education Medical Industry Pathway Summit
Considering a career in the Medical Industry? Want to get first hand insights about the workplace reality and income potential from different roles from those who are working within it? The Medical Industry Pathway Summit is FREE for students and has just gone live. It involves interviews with active medical professionals who share their journey, industry insights, day to day realities, income expectations at the various stages, and insight into the roles they serve. Link: https://www.advanceeducation.nz/medical-industry-pathway-summit
 
University of Auckland Course Planning
To assist prospective students in preparing for their first year with us, we have recorded comprehensive course planning advice for all our 2025 undergraduate programmes, except for Law. Information regarding the Law programme will be finalized in the coming weeks, with the planning video expected to be completed by the end of August. We aim for this resource to be invaluable for students in planning their first year, selecting courses, and staying informed about all enrolment details. Go to: https://www.auckland.ac.nz/en/study/study-options/undergraduate-study-options/information-for-parents/course-advice-2023.html
 
Studying Health Science or Biomedical Science next year?
MoneyHub has published a detailed guide for Year 13 students planning to study Health Science or Biomedical Science at Otago or Auckland University. Our detailed guide has been prepared by two top-performing 4th year Auckland Medical School students and is the first of its kind in New Zealand:
https://www.moneyhub.co.nz/tips-for-studying-biomed-and-health-science.html
 
Must-Know NCEA Resources for Year 11-13
Looking for quality NCEA preparation resources? MoneyHub offers over ten invaluable tools to guide students towards achieving merits and excellence. Perfect for gearing up for internals and externals. Explore now: https://www.moneyhub.co.nz/resources-for-ncea-students.html
 
Scholarships
MoneyHub has compiled a comprehensive guide to scholarships for students planning to start university in 2025. Available at MoneyHub Scholarship Guide, this resource lists scholarships from all universities, along with exclusive opportunities for Maori, Pacific, and International students. The guide, updated regularly, includes application tips and deadlines, helping students easily navigate the scholarship process.
 
Looking to learn a trade or explore apprenticeships? 
Check out MoneyHub's comprehensive guide, a must-read for anyone considering an apprenticeship. Visit MoneyHub's Apprenticeship Guide to learn more:
https://www.moneyhub.co.nz/apprenticeships.html
 
Looking for a part-time job? 
Check out MoneyHub's newly updated Student Jobs guide! With over 60 employers and valuable job application tips, find your next opportunity here: https://www.moneyhub.co.nz/student-jobs.html
  
CV Writing and Interview Preparation
Discover MoneyHub's invaluable resources for CV writing (https://www.moneyhub.co.nz/cv-template-students.html) and interview preparation (https://www.moneyhub.co.nz/common-job-interview-questions-students.html). These tools are designed to empower students in their job application journey. Explore and step into the job market with confidence!
 
Money Guide
MoneyHub has crafted a comprehensive guide for students, designed to provide essential tools and knowledge for building a healthy relationship with money. Explore it here: 
https://www.moneyhub.co.nz/money-in-a-nutshell.html
 
Any business wanting to host a student for work experience?
Every year we are funded to put out 70 of our senior students on voluntary work experiences. From these work experiences come some amazing things….... confidence, a sense of belonging, the knowledge that they can add some value, learning about industries that they know very little about and sometimes the opportunity of potential employment. Everything that is learned on a work experience contributes to a future decision and learning work ready skills are vital for life beyond school. Do you know a business that would like to host a Taupo-nui-a-Tia College student for a 10-day work experience? If this is something that you would like to know more about, please contact Nicola Thomsen, Gateway Coordinator, e-mail: [email protected]