Term 4 - Week 3

Tēnā koutou,

Our celebration season continued last night with our annual senior prizegiving.  As usual, it was a fantastic event and an opportunity to honour our senior students’ academic achievement in 2024.  It is important to acknowledge everyone who was involved in the planning, preparation and delivery of our senior prizegiving.  It’s a huge team effort, and I know many hours were spent putting the event together by a large number of people.  There is so much attention to detail that goes on behind the scenes to make senior prize giving a success - thank you!  

The supreme academic award winners for 2024 are:                                          Dux of the College - Luka Leusink                                                                        Proxime Accessit - Nicholas Steed  

We also announced our head student group for 2025 during the senior prizegiving.  Congratulations to the following students who will form our head student rōpū (group) next year:                                                                            Head Students - Tawhai Donaldson and Vanya Heaslip                                      Deputy Head Students - Mia Way-Ferguson and Scarlett Rutherford

A reminder - on Tuesday 12 November we will be holding a teacher only day.  For our teachers, the day will focus on building capacity in the area of teaching literacy. 

On Tuesday next week we will hold a junior assembly to set expectations for our Year 9 and Year 10 students for the remainder of the school year.  The remainder of term four is an opportunity for junior students to step up and become more of a leadership presence around the school.  We will be re-teaching students about our expectations related to whakapono - honesty and integrity, wero - courage and bravery, and manaakitanga - respect, support, and care. 

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

Upcoming events:
BOPSS Junior Volleyball Champs- 2nd- 3rd November, Rorotua 
Ki-o-rahi Junior Nationals- 7th-8th November, Taupo

                                                     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].