Waitaki Boys’ High School - waitakibhs.ibcdn.nz · Dear Parents and Waitaki Boys’ ... Matthew...
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WBHS Newsletter 2017 Dear Parents and Waitaki Boys’ community, As I said to the school at the Prefects’ Assembly this morning, what a fantastic first week it has been. My first assembly as the new Rector was an occasion I had looked forward to and one I will never forget. The Hall of Memories remains the school building in New Zealand with- out equal. The boys have made a tremendous im- pression on me with their approachabil- ity, respect and integrity. They have al- ready shown they are young men of high quality and I am excited by what we can achieve. Likewise the staff have impressed with their energy and professionalism. In one on one interviews I have conducted with over half the staff now, what continues to shine through is their passion for Waitaki Boys’ and their desire to help the boys “be their best”. This combination bodes well for an exciting time ahead at our school. A number of other events also give me confidence that the school is heading in the right direction. The school roll is currently at 450 which is 20 more boys than we ended 2016 with. The number of boys and their parents / whanau who attended course confirma- tion day last week was the largest for some time and an encouraging sign of community and parental engagement. In terms of the property of the school I have had assurances that the Art and Science facility project will be ready as a new teaching and learning space from the beginning of 2018 – this is a long awaited development which will see the Art department relocated to a new classroom in the Technology block and the Science de- partment relocated to three new classrooms and two new labora- tories on the first floor of the Lilburn block. We are all extremely excited about seeing this project finally become a reality and it un- derlines our commitment to have the boys learning in a modern environment. Another exciting development for 2017 is the alignment of the timetable with Waitaki Girls’ High School. This has allowed the opportunity for a good number of boys to travel to Girls’ High to take subjects they couldn’t study here and vice versa. This is a valu- able opportunity to broaden the curriculum available to our boys and one which I hope will only grow. Along with this, new Voca- tional Pathways courses and a ‘Ready for Work’ programme have been introduced at Year 12 which will also enable more boys to achieve academic success through trades and practical courses they find more engaging. This again has the potential to broaden our curriculum moving forward. Likewise Maori stud- ies has been introduced for all Year 10 students and by offering Year 10 options over two semesters, boys can also choose one more option than pre- viously before choosing their NCEA Level 1 course. Beginning this year we are running a Values Education programme. Part of this are the courses being run period 5 on a Thursday. The Year 9’s are in a peer support pro- gramme being run by a good number of Year 13’s. The benefits of this positive mentoring has already been evidenced on the first day of school. The Year 10’s are going to work through a course called the ‘Rite Journey’ – a rite of passage programme for adolescence. The Year 11’s are engaging in the Kia Kaha programme, which is a national Police run bullying preven- tion programme. The Year 12’s are doing a leadership programme, starting with Peer Support, and those Year 13’s who are not in- volved in the Peer Support programme are doing active Commu- nity Service around Oamaru, in places such as Iona Home, Har- bourview, SPCA, District Council and numerous primary schools. On Wednesday in Period One I will be holding a Values Assembly. This term my focus will be on the value of respect. With that in mind I want to remind the boys that their uniform needs to not only be worn with pride at school, but all the way to and from school. Not only does this reflect respect for the school but it also reflects the respect we have for how we are presenting ourselves. I would greatly appreciate your support with this. Secondly to the boys that get on the buses, please let the girls from the other schools, and also the children younger than you get on the bus first. This is not only showing respect and caring for others but in particular respect for women, and as Waitaki men we can take the lead on what is a societal challenge. Finally I shared with the boys on Wednesday as I had with the staff on Monday the idea of the power of the word ‘yet’. It is based around having a growth mindset - to always challenge ourselves to be better. We may not be a great school….yet, but we will get there! Could I cordially invite you to meet with me next Tuesday or Wednesday at 7pm in the Auditorium where I would like to share with you the direction I want to take our school. I wish the school community an enjoyable and relaxing Waitangi weekend and thank you for a wonderful start to 2017. Mr Darryl Paterson Rector FROM THE RECTOR Newsletter 3rd February 2017 Waitaki Boys’ High School
Transcript of Waitaki Boys’ High School - waitakibhs.ibcdn.nz · Dear Parents and Waitaki Boys’ ... Matthew...
WBHS Newsletter 2017
Dear Parents and Waitaki Boys’ community,
As I said to the school at the Prefects’ Assembly this morning, what a fantastic first week it has been. My first assembly as the new Rector was an occasion I had looked forward to and one I will never forget. The Hall of Memories remains the school building in New Zealand with-out equal.
The boys have made a tremendous im-pression on me with their approachabil-ity, respect and integrity. They have al-ready shown they are young men of high quality and I am excited by what we can achieve. Likewise the staff have impressed with their energy and professionalism.
In one on one interviews I have conducted with over half the staff now, what continues to shine through is their passion for Waitaki Boys’ and their desire to help the boys “be their best”. This combination bodes well for an exciting time ahead at our school.
A number of other events also give me confidence that the school is heading in the right direction. The school roll is currently at 450 which is 20 more boys than we ended 2016 with. The number of boys and their parents / whanau who attended course confirma-tion day last week was the largest for some time and an encouraging sign of community and parental engagement.
In terms of the property of the school I have had assurances that the Art and Science facility project will be ready as a new teaching and learning space from the beginning of 2018 – this is a long awaited development which will see the Art department relocated to a new classroom in the Technology block and the Science de-partment relocated to three new classrooms and two new labora-tories on the first floor of the Lilburn block. We are all extremely excited about seeing this project finally become a reality and it un-derlines our commitment to have the boys learning in a modern environment.
Another exciting development for 2017 is the alignment of the timetable with Waitaki Girls’ High School. This has allowed the opportunity for a good number of boys to travel to Girls’ High to take subjects they couldn’t study here and vice versa. This is a valu-able opportunity to broaden the curriculum available to our boys and one which I hope will only grow. Along with this, new Voca-tional Pathways courses and a ‘Ready for Work’ programme have been introduced at Year 12 which will also enable more boys to achieve academic success through trades and practical courses they
find more engaging. This again has the potential to broaden our curriculum moving forward. Likewise Maori stud-ies has been introduced for all Year 10 students and by offering Year 10 options over two semesters, boys can also choose one more option than pre-viously before choosing their NCEA Level 1 course.Beginning this year we are running a Values Education programme. Part of this are the courses being run period 5 on a Thursday.The Year 9’s are in a peer support pro-gramme being run by a good number of Year 13’s. The benefits of this positive mentoring has already been
evidenced on the first day of school. The Year 10’s are going to work through a course called the ‘Rite Journey’ – a rite of passage programme for adolescence. The Year 11’s are engaging in the Kia Kaha programme, which is a national Police run bullying preven-tion programme. The Year 12’s are doing a leadership programme, starting with Peer Support, and those Year 13’s who are not in-volved in the Peer Support programme are doing active Commu-nity Service around Oamaru, in places such as Iona Home, Har-bourview, SPCA, District Council and numerous primary schools.
On Wednesday in Period One I will be holding a Values Assembly. This term my focus will be on the value of respect. With that in mind I want to remind the boys that their uniform needs to not only be worn with pride at school, but all the way to and from school. Not only does this reflect respect for the school but it also reflects the respect we have for how we are presenting ourselves. I would greatly appreciate your support with this. Secondly to the boys that get on the buses, please let the girls from the other schools, and also the children younger than you get on the bus first. This is not only showing respect and caring for others but in particular respect for women, and as Waitaki men we can take the lead on what is a societal challenge.
Finally I shared with the boys on Wednesday as I had with the staff on Monday the idea of the power of the word ‘yet’. It is based around having a growth mindset - to always challenge ourselves to be better. We may not be a great school….yet, but we will get there!
Could I cordially invite you to meet with me next Tuesday or Wednesday at 7pm in the Auditorium where I would like to share with you the direction I want to take our school.I wish the school community an enjoyable and relaxing Waitangi weekend and thank you for a wonderful start to 2017.
Mr Darryl PatersonRector
FROM THE RECTOR
Newsletter3rd February 2017
Waitaki Boys’ High School
WBHS Newsletter 2017
POWHIRI
PREFECTS CAMPThe weekend before school started, Mr Mattisson, Mr McCallum and Mrs Crane took the 2017 prefects up to Lake Middleton to bond as a prefect team and learn about the leadership skills they would require through the year.
WBHS Newsletter 2017
PREFECTS’ INVESTITURE
Prefects 2017
Head Boy: Lance Schaffer Deputy Head Boy: Harry ThorpHead of Don House: Thomas Hutton Deputy Head of Don House: Henry Bower
Head of Forrester House: Samuel Roberts Deputy Head of Forrester House: Peter ArmstrongHead of Lee House: Patrick Ens Deputy Head of Lee House: Liam Proctor
Head of Sutherland House: Alex Hardy Deputy Head of Sutherland House: Matthew Dennis
Jack Fielding, Gordon Lay, Joe Martin, Alexander McCulloch, Brady McNeill, Rhys Petrie, Kurt Thomas, Izaak Thompson-Holloway, Zachary Watts
WBHS Newsletter 2017
A reminder that Music lessons are available through the school in nearly all instruments from Piano through to Bagpipes, including Guitar, all Brass,
Woodwind and String instruments. All of these are free of charge except for Piano and Drum lessons.
Contact Mr Hinds at school for any further information [email protected]
COMING UPFEBRUARYMon 6 Waitangi DayTues 7 Meet the Rector 7pmWed 8 Meet the Rector 7pmThurs 9 Community Association meeting 7.30pmFri 10 Excellence Assembly 9.40amTues 14 Whole school photosMon 20 / Tues 21 OBHS interschool (Home)MARCHThurs 2 / Fri 3 Athletic SportsMon 6 / Tues 7 TBHS Interschool (Away)Thurs 9 Swimming Sports
Community Association AGM 7pmSun 12 / Mon 13 Kings Interschool (Away)Mon 20 Otago Anniversary weekendTues 21 - Sat 25 Year 9 CampsAPRILMon 3 - Wed 5 Year 13 Bio trip - PortabelloMon 3 - Fri 7 Year 9 CampsThurs 13 Summer Sports Photos
Last day Term 1
For a more detailed Calendar, refer to the calendar on our website www.waitakibhs.school.nz
MEET THE RECTORTues 7th or Wed 8th February
7pm, Auditorium.Come and find out the Rector’s vision and expectations
for Waitaki.A small supper will be provided.
Year 9 boys arriving on the first day of school
