Kia ora e te whānau o Whangaparāoa

As we rapidly approach the end of Term 2 it's a great time to reflect on the term and also look ahead to a number of exciting events on the horizon in Term 3.  Coincidentally this also reflects the kaupapa (principle) of Matariki.  Yes, we get a public holiday, but more importantly this time of year represents the Māori new year, and is a time to gather with friends and whānau, to reflect, celebrate and look forward. 

Thank you to all of you who were able to attend the Learner Led Conferences.  It was great to see many of you in attendance supporting our learners, and strengthening relationships between home and school.  If you were unable to attend, please contact your learners Kaiarahi or Dean.

Last night, our school production of Bugsy Malone kicked off after two postponements.  It is an amazing production and I strongly encourage you to attend this evening for the finale.  Congratulations to everyone involved in bringing this together and putting on such a good show.

The term is not yet quite finished with the last two days being significant.  On Thursday a number of our learners are representing the school at ShowQuest, and on Friday, our senior Kapa Haka learners attend the Matariki festival held this year at Orewa College.  Good luck to everyone involved.  Additionally, there are a significant number of assessments due across the school and across year levels.  Please discuss your child's learning with them and support them to meet the respective deadlines.

As we look ahead to Term 3, we are delighted to be able to host and present to our whole community a fantastic evening with Jehan Casinader.  Jehan is an internationally acclaimed journalist, and was named “Broadcaster of the Year” in 2020.  Not only a successful journalist, Jehan has had his shares of highs and lows.  In his presentations to Year 12 and 13 learners, Staff and the Community, he will share “the power of stories”.  At this event he will share his story and encourage us to shape our own stories empowering us and building on a positive impact on mental health and relationships.  This is a free event, but we do ask you to register at via our website www.wgpcollege.school.nz to ensure your spot is guaranteed.  See below also, for more information.

I wish to finish this term off by thanking our whole community.  It has been disrupted by weather events and industrial action but we feel very well supported by you all and are appreciative of the support you give us as a school.

When the time comes, please have a great break and we can't wait to get stuck into an intense Term 3.

Ngā mihi

Steve McCracken
Tumuaki | Principal

June 
28             PPTA Union Meeting - School closes for instruction at 12:00pm
30             Matariki Fiafia Festival
                 Last Day of Term 2

July
17              First day of Term 3
26             Enrolment Info Night

'The Power of Stories'

Whangaparāoa College is proud to present Jehan Casinader, journalist, keynote speaker and mental health advocate.

In the aftermath of natural disasters, terror attacks, sporting triumphs and everything in between, renowned journalist Jehan has helped hundreds of Kiwis to share their vulnerable, deeply personal stories with the rest of the country.  He is the author of This Is Not How It Ends: How rewriting your story can save your life (HarperCollins).
 
Jehan is a respected voice in the areas of wellbeing, leadership and diversity.  He will explain how we can “flip the script” on mental health, and help our young people to become the authors of their own stories.

We are delighted to be able to share Jehan’s insight with the Hibiscus Coast community, in this free event to be held here at Whangaparāoa College on Tuesday, 8 August.  Register at via our website www.wgpcollege.school.nz to ensure your spot is guaranteed.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Sports

CONGRATULATIONS...

Jacob Pye

Huge congratulations to Year 13 Jacob Pye, who came first at the Wetsuit Outlet and Zhik International Moth World Championship 2023 in Portland in the UK a couple of weeks ago.
Whilst the weather disrupted event was not quite what the organisers had hoped, there was plenty of praise for Jacob’s impressive performance. 

Fellow Year 13 Jack Bennett also competed, with a great performance in a field of over 120 sailors from across the world. 

How exciting is it to have such talent in our school and wider community! 

Read more about the event here

Ruby Amkreutz

Huge congratulations to Ruby on being selected into the New Zealand Junior indoor squads 2022-2024 international cycles

Music

Secondary Schools Chamber Music

Year 12  student Amelie Che from Whangaparāoa College competed in the NZCT Chamber Music Contest for secondary school students on June 10th playing the piano in the combined school trio called Klaricello.

We are thrilled that their hard work was acknowledged with them being awarded Best Performance of a New Zealand Work by Anthony Ritchie with his work Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano, Movt. 3.

Northshore Regional Finals at the Smokefree RockQuest

Year 7 learner Isaac Goswami from Whangaparāoa College played the drums in his combined schools band called Borderline along with Long Bay College, on June the 9th at Auckland Girls Grammar . 

We are very proud of what Borderline has achieved getting to the Northshore Regional finals and competing against the top 12 Northshore schools for 2023.

Behavioural expectations

For learners using school buses

To make sure the bus is a safe place for everyone, all learners must follow these behaviours:

• Passengers must sit down straight away and remain in their seats for the entire journey. If standing, always stay behind the driver, stand quietly, and do not push or move around the bus.
• Do not eat, drink, vape or smoke on the bus.
  
• Don't throw objects inside or out of the bus. 
• Use socially acceptable language when talking to the driver and/or other students, and speak quietly to not distract the driver. 
• Respect bus property, equipment, shelters and signs (e.g. do not stand on seats, remove labels, graffiti or vandalise the bus in any way). Put your rubbish in the bin or take it with you when you leave.
• Passengers must not harass, bully, or abuse other passengers or drivers in any way (neither verbally nor physically). 
• Passengers must respect others' property and not interfere with it in any way. 
• Passengers will listen to and always follow the requirements and instructions of the bus driver and the  teacher/s on duty.  
• Passengers must not engage in any behaviour that could put other passengers, the driver, or themselves at risk. 
• Passengers must not allow any portion of their body to protrude out of bus windows or doors.  
  
  

EPRO8 Intra School

The EPro8 Challenge is an inter-school science and engineering competition.  Each year over 25,000 students from throughout New Zealand take part in events designed to promote science, engineering and problem solving.
This year the Epro8 Competition has been offered to Years 7 and 8 at Whangaparaoa College.  99 learners commenced participation in May, in the Intra School Events and two teams of four will qualify for the main event in August.

Challenges have included paper planes with paper that was just 10cm by 10cm, slingshots to fire skewers through an A4 sheet, bridges constructed using masking tape to support a big marshmallow as well as being the strongest and tallest structure.

With one last round to go, who will design and demonstrate the best Rube GoldBerg Machine?  Good luck to all learners involved!

School TV

Celebrating Matariki

Matariki, is the celebration of the Māori New Year and the start of te maramataka, the lunar calendar. Matariki is rich with tradition. It is the Māori name for a cluster of 9 stars, 2 of which can be hard to make out with the naked eye. In other cultures, Matariki is known by other names. The Ancient Greeks referred to it as the Pleiades, Hawaiians call them Makali'i or 'eyes of royalty', and in Japan it is Subaru, meaning 'gathered together.' Today, they are also often referred to as The Seven Sisters.

The Matariki star cluster is dominated by hot blue luminous stars that have formed within the last 100 million years. The disappearance of Matariki in April, signals the time to gather and preserve crops. Matariki then reappears again in late June or early July, making it an important marker on the harvest calendar. Appearing in the eastern sky sometime around the shortest day of the year, the colour, size and clarity of Matariki is thought to determine how successful the harvest crop will be in the coming season. The brighter the stars, the more productive the crop is predicted to be.

Last year was an incredible highlight for all of Aotearoa with Matariki marked for the first time as an official public holiday. For Māori it is an opportunity to remember ancestors, especially those who have gone to rest among the stars. It is an important time to spend with whānau, to enjoy being connected, to collectively reflect on unfulfilled challenges, and to look towards the future with hope and forgiveness. The growth of Matariki in importance and relevance marks the continuing enlightenment and depth of understanding that New Zealanders as a whole have of the special culture that is indigenous to this land and all who call Aotearoa home.

The Museum of New Zealand, Te Papa Tongarewa, offers a number of resources to engage children and learn more about Matariki.

To view, please visit: Celebrating Matariki

Lifting Literacy

Life after Wordle

In late 2021, the word guessing game Wordle took the internet by storm. Perhaps it was lockdown boredom, but the addictive daily puzzle really seemed to bring people together - even if only for a daily bragging session. If the craze taught us anything, however, it’s that improving literacy skills can be a lot of fun if it’s competitive. Wordle is a great place to start, but Waffle, Wordscapes and Spelling Bee are great online alternatives. If you’d prefer to avoid screen time, Scrabble, Boggle and Bananagrams provide hours of fun and quality time. Why not give them a go these holidays?

Careers Update

CAREERS UPDATE – TERM 2

Year 12s & 13s; watch out for our Careers Update newsletter about to
land in your inbox. Full of details on scholarships, upcoming open days
and more!

CAREERWISE WEBSITE

Explore the latest Career news, jobs & events on the new
Whangaparāoa College CareerWise website!

Check it out at: Career website

New School App

We are transitioning to our new school platform, which will become crucial to our communication with you.

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

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

Snowplanet is pleased to open registrations for our Term 3 Programmes

Open Schools- For ages 5 to 12 years
Tuesday 4pm-5pm OR Thursday 5.30pm-6.30pm
8 weeks
$336
Starts Tuesday 25^th July & Thursday 27^th July
Open Schools Term 3 Programmes

High Flyers- For ages 12+
Learn to ski or snowboard with peers of a similar age. 
Open to all levels.
Please note minimum numbers are required.
Tuesday 6.30pm-8pm
8 weeks
$488
Starts Tuesday 25^th July
High Flyers Term 3 Programme