Kia ora e te whānau o Whangaparāoa

Tālofa lava, Tēnā koe, and greetings to our Whangaparāoa community,

It is Samoan Language Week this week. It is an interesting fact that the Samoan language is the third most spoken language in New Zealand. With the theme of the week being ‘Mitamita i lau gagana, maua’a lou fa’asinomaga - Be proud of your language and grounded in your identity’ it is a good reminder to us to celebrate the diversity we have in our school and our wider community.

In the newsletter you will see a new section, focused on “Lifting Literacy”. I am sure you have seen the recent press about New Zealand's literacy rates. We are not exempt from having literacy levels below where we should. As a Kahui Ako (Community of Learning), alongside our contributing primary schools, we are upskilling staff in response to raise literacy levels and therefore have greater access to the curriculum. I hope you enjoy this new feature of the newsletter.

Last week we acknowledged a number of learners at our school assembly. To be acknowledged in front of our whole community is an absolute honour. We are proud of all our learners who achieve beyond their potential, and of course those with exceptional achievements. Please feel free to pass on any achievements of learners to us as we continue to celebrate them.

We are aware of a number of issues a small number of our learners are presenting in our community. We are working with local businesses, neighbouring schools, and our local politicians to tackle some of the community issues head on. We are not absconding from our responsibility at all, but if you notice young people involved in activities they should not be, please do inform the police immediately.

As we rapidly approach the final weeks of Term 2, it is easy for our learners to avoid doing some of the ‘hard stuff’. We know from past experience that doing an extra bit of study, revision, reading or general homework now, will help learners gain or exceed their potential later in the year. We appreciate some of our learners are exceptionally busy, but every little bit done now, will help them in the future. As parents and whānau, please do encourage your learners to complete that extra little bit now.

Our much anticipated production, Bugsy Malone, was due to have its first show tonight. Unfortunately, due to a number of our key cast and crew coming down sick this week, we are having to postpone our production. We wish all the cast and crew a speedy recovery and we can't wait to see you bring the house down on June, 16th & 17th!

Ngā mihi

Steve McCracken
Tumuaki | Principal

June 
5               King's Birthday - Public Holiday
16             Bugsy Malone Production (rescheduled date)
17             Bugsy Malone Production (rescheduled date)
20            Learner Lead Conference
21             Learner Lead Conference
30            Matariki Fiafia Festival
                 Last Day of Term 2


PPTA Rolling Strike Dates

June
1               Year 12 Rostered Day Home
6               Year 10 Rostered Day Home
8               Year 9 Rostered Day Home
28             Whole School - To be Confirmed

Bugsy Malone Rescheduled

New dates: Friday 16th June & Saturday 17th June

Unfortunately, due to a number of our key cast and crew coming down sick this week, we are having to postpone our production for two weeks.

The dates are now:
Friday, 16th June at 7pm
Saturday, 17th June at 2pm - Matinee
Saturday, 17th June at 7pm - Final Show

If you have already purchased tickets for this week, you will receive an email from Eventbrite with details on how to change or refund your tickets.

If you haven't bought tickets already, please support us and get in quick!

Tickets from Eventbrite: Bugsy Malone Tickets

New School App

Please install

We are transitioning to our new school platform. This platform consists of integrating our website, intranet, mobile app and access to KAMAR (parent portal).

Our new school app allows us to have more streamlined communication with our caregivers, as well as learners. It not only has access to the school calendar, notices, attendance and academic grades but will also be a one-stop solution for permission slips and notifications.

Allowing you to get the information you need with fewer clicks!

Click here to download the new school app: School App Link

School app

Download instructions

Nurse Update

Year 8 HPV Vaccination

Change of Date

Due to the strike on the 11th May, dates for the HPV vaccination have changed. The new dates are as follows:

Thursday, June 8th - HPV Dose 1

Wednesday, November 29th - HPV dose 2

Only learners who have returned a form stating consent will receive the vaccination.

School TV

Managing Screen Time

“Parents have an important part to play in role modelling a positive approach to using screens and assisting young people to navigate the content they watch.”
Dr Michael Carr-Gregg

Many parents have reported excessive screen time as the number one health concern affecting kids, especially now in the hyperconnected world we live in. The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that there should be no screen time at all for children under two, less than an hour a day for children aged from two to five, and less than two hours for five to 17 year olds. However, these guidelines have been disputed by experts and often ignored by families. Parents must play an important role in modelling a positive approach to using screens, and assisting children to navigate the content they access.

To view, please visit: Managing Screen Time

Lifting Literacy

Tip #1: Unlock your local library

You never forget your first library card. A golden ticket to a world of adventure, library cards offer our tamariki a taste of responsibility and help to unlock their unlimited potential. Acquiring a library card is free, and building library visits into your weekly or fortnightly schedule will encourage a healthy interest in reading - especially if you join them in their reading, set reading challenges or show an interest in their books.

Far from extinct, libraries are adapting to suit our accelerating world, and are frankly better than ever. E-books, e-magazines, graphic novels, audiobooks and podcasts are all part of the modern service, and librarians can even be booked to help learners master digital skills, write CVs or research family history. An Auckland library card will also unlock 16,000 free eLearning video courses and tutorials to advance technology, creative and business skills.

Kaitiaki Tangata

(EnviroGroup)

Article by: Ruby Douglas (Year 12)

Whangaparāoa College runs a bokashi composting programme, with the food tech classes and certain staff rooms putting their food waste into small bins. These are collected twice a week, and put into a bigger bin. When bokashi zing is added to the food waste, it slowly turns into compost. Our school’s big compost bin is one of 50 or so in the local area which run on this programme, and are sent to a farm in Kaukapakapa once full. The composted material is then mixed with wood shavings, as well as a substance known as biochar. It is then either used to grow groves of bananas, or further composted. Regardless of which occurs, these processes turn the soil into carbon-sink soil. This is a form of soil which is so full of microorganisms that, when these organisms perform respiration and photosynthesis, they remove the carbon dioxide from the air, helping to limit the impact of fossil fuels. The farm also grows other foods, such as pumpkins and oyster mushrooms.

If composting interests you, then you might be interested in Kaitiaki Tangata (previously called the EnviroGroup). We meet on Fridays during lunch in S13 and new members are always welcome! That’s anyone from Year 7 to Year 13, and staff. An extra pair of hands is always appreciated.

Photo: The compost bins collected at the farm

Photo: One of the rows of bananas growing on the bokashi compost

Year 7 Camp

Year 7 Camp took place last week at Camp Adair in the Hunua Ranges. They had a fantastic time taking part in a variety of activities that were pretty challenging, including the Confidence Course, the climbing wall, a mudslide, archery and the high beam. It was great to see them making connections with their peers and encouraging one another.

All in all, a huge success, great weather, good food and a lot of fun!!

Sport

Nearly 600 learners are currently involved in school sport at the college.
If you want to get involved as a coach / manager please contact: [email protected].

There has been huge growth in basketball and netball. Rugby teams are going well , senior boys football remain undefeated, girls lacrosse , hockey and football are training hard despite the weather. Preparations for sports camp and Aims are in full swing, and Zone days on pretty much every week.

Please follow us on our Sports Facebook Page to keep up to date with all draws, notices and results. 

Fantastic performances from our Whangaparāoa College Windfoilers.

Congratulations to Aimee Bright on becoming the 2023 inaugural New Zealand Women's National Wingfoil Champion.
Aimee sailed exceptionally well to also finish an impressive 7th overall in this highly competitive open international fleet.

Congratulations also to:
Kosta Gladiadis who finished an impressive 6th in the competitive open international fleet and took silver in the U19 division.

Other amazing results from our students:
Jack Bennett - 12th overall
Jacob Pye - 13th overall
Finn Pye - 20th

Photo: Aimee Bright

Creativity in Textile Technology

Year 11

Yr 11 Textiles - One of our focuses was showing manaakitanga (making something for someone with a need bigger than theirs) - the girls have constructed dresses and shorts for underprivileged children in another country. These dresses and shorts will probably go to a village in Samoa were children don't often get a new item of clothing. It has been exciting see the bright and cheerful colours come together. If you would like to donate new underwear or a small tee shirt to go the dresses, please drop them at the school office - the size the garments have been made for are for a 3 to 4 year old child. 

Year 12

Year 12 learners were challenged to construct an oversized button-down shirt that was unique. The aim was to use advanced textile procedures to make a garment that was ethical, unique and showed self expression in colour matching.

Year 11

Year 11

Year 12

Hosting an International Student

Kia Ora Whānau 
 
We are very excited to be welcoming a large number of International's for term 3 and beyond.
 
This is a great opportunity for you to experience hosting a student from another country and share with them your family and community.
 
If you would like to be considered for this opportunity please email Sue McKay [email protected] to discuss further. Alternatively, you are welcome to visit our college website and explore the information listed in the International tab.
 
We would love to hear from you.

Community Notices