Dear Parents/Caregivers
Kia Ora Tatou

This morning New Zealand woke to hear the news of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II early this morning. At this very sad time for the Commonwealth we will remember her contribution and special relationship that she had with New Zealand. In the coming days we will learn how New Zealand is to mark her passing and will share with our community any commemorations at South Otago High School.

Winter appears to have returned again at the start of this week with snow on the ground and very cold wind. I am grateful that the cold weather arrived this week and not last when so many students would have been travelling for the winter tournament events!

Option selections for senior students
This week has been the final push to take the senior option choices for Year 10-12 students ready for the 2023 school year. We know that for some parents there may be some questions with regard to NCEA and so I do encourage parents to contact the school with any questions that they may have.

At South Otago High School we ensure that we offer students diverse opportunities to a wide variety of career pathways. We have refined our programmes over the years without sacrificing the opportunities for students to achieve excellence and work towards diverse career pathways. Our students still perform well in gaining NCEA certificates and University Entrance qualifications.

We also offer a wide variety of vocational training courses which sees over 30 students studying with tertiary providers such at Otago Polytechnic and SIT on a Friday. In addition we also have partnerships to provide opportunities for students to gain relevant, practical and hands on experience and qualifications in building and engineering thanks to programmes supported by Big River Homes with Otago Polytechnic and the South Otago Regional Engineering Consortium (SOREC)

Our Friday programme provides students with the opportunity to take up a sixth NCEA subject, study university papers (either through Canterbury or Otago Universities), have additional tuition in a number of subjects or to follow a course of personal interest. Our Friday programmes are invaluable and allow students to pursue personal excellence

So, for students entering into the senior years it is important to select the right courses which are going to support engagement and lead to successful career path.

Art Award
This week the school was informed that Ryan Williams has been selected as a finalist in the Secondary School Art Awards organised by the Wallace Art Trust. The winner of this prestigious award will be announced next month. We wish Ryan all the best in this competition. An exhibition of the art work will be on display at the Wallace Art Trust in Auckland from 4 to 24 October.

Farah Palmer Cup
On Saturday the Farah Palmer Cup Final will be played at the Balclutha Showgrounds. It is quite a coup to be hosting this important game in Balclutha and is a great opportunity to see a number of South Otago High School former students take to the field to play for the Otago Spirit team. I wish the team all the best and do encourage the community to get out and support our past students in this important game. The ex-South Otago High School players are:

Keely Hill
Tegan Hollows
Isla Pringle
Kayley Johnstone
Atawhai Hotene

Uniform Review
For some time we have promising a review of the South Otago High School uniform and I am happy to say that this week we launched the survey to parents, students and staff. We would like as many responses from our school community, so this week we sent out a special letter to parents, caregivers and whanau to advise that this consultation is available. The survey can be accessed through this link: https://forms.gle/tiTdNSHh9jR9LYP78

Thank you to those parents who have already responded to the survey, your opinion and consideration is appreciated. All feedback will be presented to the uniform committee for their consideration and recommendation to the Board of Trustees. The aim is to have a comfortable, affordable uniform that students will wear with pride.

Finally
This week we have started the recruitment process for the Head Student roles for 2023. Students from Year 12 have been spoken to about the process and applications close at 3pm on Wednesday 21 September. We encourage all Year 12 students to give serious consideration to applying for one of the positions.

Ka kite ano

Year 13 Biology Fieldwork

The year 13 Biology trip to the Otago museum to take part in their fantastic human evolution programme and see the butterflies to learn about selection pressures and adaptations went very well this week. Students were amazing and did the school proud.

VIEW PHOTOS

Senior Exam Timetable 2022

SOHS 2022 Senior Exam Timetable