South Otago High School News

2024 Newsletter

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14 June 2024 Newsletter

Kia Ora Tatou
 
This week we held our annual book day and it was good to see so many staff and students dress up as their favourite book characters. This is just one way that the school supports students to read for pleasure but we cannot do it all on our own and need support from home. When parents make books available  at home and use the public library this sets habits for children to read. Sitting and reading for pleasure also boosts the habit of concentration. This is particularly important in a world where young people have short bursts of ‘entertainment’ through apps such as Tik Tok and Instagram.
 
Reducing screen time for teenagers
The Government initiative of phones away for the day is making a difference for the reduction of screen time for young people. When we did the community consultation a number of respondents, whilst supportive, felt this was going to be a significant challenge and made the comment ‘Good Luck!’
 
I am pleased to say that the response from students has been great. Typically between 1-2% per day are issued with a cell phone pouch for a breach of expectations which means that 95+% are following the expectations! (Allowing for the ones we do not catch!!)
 
This week I watched a short news item from the UK detailing a programme aimed at reducing student screen time. The first stage was for young people to get an understanding of how much time they spent in front of a screen. (See App Store for screen time tracking apps) A number recorded up to 10 hours in a day in front of a screen and some detailed ‘feeling sad’ or ‘feeling lonely’ and one felt sad for her mum who was sat downstairs alone!
 
The first strategy to reduce screen time was to not charge the phone in the bedroom overnight. The second was to put the phone away, an hour before bedtime. Setting an automated silence of notifications can help too.
 
Students who followed the programme reported that they spent more time doing things outdoors, talking with friends (face to face) and getting other tasks done faster and better. Another said that they connected with a grandparent and realised that this was a ‘valuable time to be with them’
 
Students reported an improvement in their own wellbeing.
 
Matariki Breakfast
Last week a letter was sent out to our community regarding Matariki Breakfast. The event was a great success in 2023 and we now want to open the event to all whanau to come along, enjoy a breakfast and celebrate this important time of the year.
 
Unfortunately, some whanau were not able to access the link due to the was their screen displayed the letter. So, the link for the registration is provided here:

Registration


We will welcome students accompanied by whanau .Siblings will also be welcome to join us for the event. We will be asking for a gold coin donation towards the cost of this event. The breakfast will be held at school at 7am on Thursday 27 June and I hope that you will be able to join us.
 
Absences
Recently I reported to the Board of Trustees that there had been an improvement in the attendance for students in term one of 2024 compared to the same time in 2023.
 
The school does rely upon clear communication from home when students are absent so that this can be recorded accurately. Teachers do their best to complete the attendance records in the first 5 minutes of a lesson and then the school uses that information to text parents when students are absent. Please do trust the school when we say your child has not arrived at class on time!
 
Whilst we know about one third of the senior school is engaged in work experience, further education study and tertiary study programmes on a Friday, which are recorded as ‘present’ there are still significant numbers across all year groups who are absent on Friday.
 
Whanau are able to check student attendance at any time via the Kamar portal.
 
Finally
I learnt this morning of the success of some of our students in the ’48 hour Film Festival’. This was a new event for our students and it is impressive that students have done so well and is another example where support from our teachers has allowed our students to excel. The students were: Team One: Erin Turn and Jess Daumann, Team Two: Logan Dunn, Slade Dunn and Alex Marsh. A full report on this success will be found in this newsletter.
 
Ka kite ano

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