Ellesmere College will be putting on a production of “Into the

Woods” Musical.

The musical will consist of approximately 25 –30 cast and crew

in the team building and performance of this musical.

Production dates are 15th, 16th 17th August 2017. Please note

in your diary.

Book by James Lapine and music and lyrics by Stephen

Sondheim, Into the Woods JR. is based on the Broadway pro-

duction which won several Tony Awards, including Best

Score, Best Book, and Best Actress in a Musical. The musical

follows a Baker and his Wife who learn they've been cursed

with childlessness by the Witch next door. The couple em-

barks on a quest – swindling, deceiving and stealing from such

already-victimized characters as Cinderella, Little Red Rid-

ding Hood, Rapunzel and Jack (fresh off the beanstalk!) – to

get the special objects required to break the spell. However,

the story doesn’t simply end “happily ever after” as each char-

acter must now face the consequences of his/her decision.

Ellesmere College Production

2 June 2017

Principal’s Comment Tenā Koutou

Last Saturday evening I had the privilege of attending the screening of the film ,‘ A Night

in Syria’.

This was a record of the Forty Hour Famine overnight refugee camp experience held two

weeks before. A group of senior student leaders, assisted by Miss Lilly, Miss van den

Beuken, Mr Mower and Dr Cameron developed scenarios relating to what life would be

like in a Syrian refugee camp for the students participating (please refer to student leader

Kate Inwood’s article later in the newsletter).

I was totally impressed with not only the quality of the film but also the effort and attitude

of all the students involved. The commitment of our senior students in organising, firstly

the weekend camp and then the film night, was superb. The evening rounded off with a talk

by two former refugees now living in Christchurch from Bhutan, a father and daughter.

Their account of what life was like both physically and emotionally living in a refugee

camp for seventeen years was deeply impacting.

This, plus the highly successful ’Pink Shirt Day’, promoted by the Level 2 Health Class

and Guidance Department are outstanding examples of our school value empathy in action

and once again reinforced what an amazing group of senior students Ellesmere College is

fortunate to have. My congratulations to all involved in either leading or participating.

Best wishes to the Kapa Haka group heading to Rarotonga at the end of the term with

teachers Mr McLean and Mr Forward. This should be an amazing experience for our stu-

dents as they trace our Tipuna and experience Cook Island culture and school life.

Ngā mihi

Gavin Kidd

Principal

First XV Rugby team

versus Geraldine High

School played at

Ellesmere College on

Wednesday 23rd June.

Ellesmere won con-

vincingly

3 June 2017

Students Comment

Since Term 2 is in the middle of the year, school is getting very busy particularly in our

senior school. There are lots of Internals going on and students are beginning to practice

for our end of year externals in some subjects. This term Ellesmere College has been get-

ting involved with and participating in a variety of activities from sports to Pink Shirt Day

and 40 Hour Famine. Both of our Junior, Middle and Senior School had their Quad Tour-

nament this term. The Quad Tournament is made up of four schools; Ellesmere College,

Darfield High School, Mount Hutt College and Geraldine High School. There are three

sports being played on the same day; Netball, Rugby and Soccer. Ellesmere College’s Jun-

ior and Middle Schools both came second overall with a close third for the seniors overall.

I participated in the rugby where a great game was held against Mount Hutt College. It was

a close game during the second half with 0 - 5 to Mount Hutt. The game was very central

with a lot of good hit ups and tackles but we eventually lost 5 - 21. We as a team know we

have a lot to work on for our final game against Geraldine High; hopefully we can make it

a good win to end the season on a positive note.

On 9th to 11th of June, Ellesmere College had the 40 Hour Famine, the proceeds of which

are going to the refugees in Syria. The 40 Hour Famine committee organised 20-hour camp

at the school hall on the 3-4 June. This was to simulate what it’s like in Syria and what the

refugees have to though each day, but also to promote awareness and inspire students to

raise money for the cause. As the camp was going on we interviewed and filmed the stu-

dents and asked them a variety of questions such as “if you had to take three things from

your home in such a horrible crisis like what is happening in Syria today, what would they

be?” This was to make a documentary. We screened the documentary at school on the

17th of June with the camp footage that we had filmed. On the night, we had two refugee

guest speakers; they came out to speak about what life was like in their countries and what

they had to do get here in New Zealand.

It’s great to see so many students getting involved. Mrs Cheesman, with the help of the

senior drama class and students from all years of the school, are participating in the pro-

duction this year. This year’s school’s production is “Into the Woods” will be held in Term

3. The Junior and Senior Student Council have been planning and organizing new events

for next term, such as the upcoming Winter fair.

I really think Ellesmere College is a great school, by demonstrating the variety of different

student talents in the school or outer activities such as the sport and cultural events.

Jack Dudley

Deputy Head Student

4 June 2017

STUDENT DETAILS

Please advise the school as soon as possible of any changes in your child’s details, i.e. ad-

dress, cellphone, email etc.

Please email Lois Richards directly at richardsl@ellesmere.school.nz with any future

changes.

Profiles sheets were issued at the beginning of the year for changes to be made, not all

forms were returned.

Thank you for your help.

Kind regards,

Lois Richards

HOMEHOSTING OPPORTUNITY:

Would you like to Home Host a High School student from Japan during Term 3 in 2017?

Ellesmere College will be hosting students from Okazaki Nishi High School, Urawa

Minami for a number of weeks during these terms. We need warm, friendly families to

host these students and enjoy having another member in their family for this short time. A

payment to cover your costs will apply on this occasion.

Please contact Nicki Hart, our Homestay Co-ordinator, on 03 324 4011 or via email on:

hartyson7@gmail.com

If students have any questions at College, they can come and ask Janet Sirisomphone, In-

ternational Dean.

Janet Sirisomphone

International Dean

Currently Ayden Fleck a Year 12 ex-

change student at Ellesmere College is

spending one term at Urawa Minami

High School. The photo is of Ayden

reading his speech in Japanese at School

Assembly.

5 June 2017

Mathematics Support

Every TUESDAY LUNCHTIME we offer MATHS in Room 18.

M aths

A ssistance

T o

H elp

S tudents

It is run by senior students, with support from Miss Morton. Students can bring work they

are struggling with in class, or some homework they don’t get.

It is open to all year levels from Year 7 to Year 13 Statistics.

Careers Department

Careers Education is provided at all levels throughout the school. The Careers Department

consists of a Careers Adviser, Tessa Collins and Vocational Pathways Coordinator , Kelly

McEvedy. The Careers Adviser is available by appointment to all students. Senior students

are interviews with career pathways and planning offered for each. Parents or guardians are

welcome to make appointments to discuss their son or daughter’s career plans. There is an

up-to-date resource room that displays career information for any student to access and this

is staffed by the Vocational Pathways Coordinator.

The Careers Adviser maintains close links with all universities and tertiary education pro-

viders and visits are arranged to the Careers Expo’s. A regular programme of speakers and

liaison officers have student presentations in the Careers room usually during whanau time

and intervals. All Year 12 and 13 students receive the latest news and notifications specific

to their year level on Google classroom. All seniors have mentor groups that meet regularly

and support all of the above.

Events in Term 3

Week 3 Year 13 Students Pathways Interviews

Week 8 Year 11-13 2018 Pathways Information Evening

Week 9 Year 10-11 2018 Pathway Interviews

Week 10 Year 13 Pathway Interviews for 2018

Dates and Times to be decided

Robyn Thompson

thompsor@ellesmere.school.nz

Tessa Collins

collinst@ellesmere.school.nz

Kelly McEvedy

mcevedyk@ellesmere.school.nz

6 June 2017

Ellesmere College Sports Hoodies 2017

I will be placing another Hoodie order at the end of June 2017. If you would like one please have the orders into to me by Wednesday June 28th..thanks Ms Poorter

We are placing a ‘Ellesmere College Sports Hoodie’ order with our uniform supplier. The hoodies will have the College Crest on the front and the students surname will be printed on the back. This hoodie is for students who are regularly representing Ellesmere College in a sporting code. This hoodie IS NOT to be worn around school or in PE classes. The order form below is required by Wednesday 28th June and is to be given to Ms Poorter at the Main Office or via email at poorterd@ellesmere.school.nz. There are size samples available at the uniform shop if sizing is needed. The cost of the Sports Hoodie will be $70.00. Payment is required with the order form. __________________________________________________________________________

Ellesmere College Sports Hoodie Order Student Name and Form Class: Phone Number:

First and Surname of Student please:________________________________________

Please circle payment method:

TOTAL PAID via Cash / Eftpos /cheque or internet banking in school bank account BNZ 02 0860 0074747 00 reference: student name/hoodie

$____________

Cheques to be made out to Ellesmere College

PO Box 52, Leeston Ph: 3243 369

Adults XS S M L XL

(TICK ONE)

7 June 2017

From Guidance and Student Wellbeing Department Hi everyone, two new resources that you will enjoy and be able to make use of….

Sparklers: Helping tamariki live brighter. Sparklers is another fantastic resource that has

been created in response to the Canterbury Earthquakes. Since then, schools have reported

increased anxiety, reduced coping skills, relationship problems and behavioural issues in

the classroom. “All Right”, CAF and Canterbury DHB’s School Based Mental Health Ser-

vices have put their heads together, and come up with Sparklers. Sparklers is an online

wellbeing toolkit full of activities proven to help young people be calmer and ready to

learn. The 36 activities take between 10 minutes and one hour and cover topics such as

tummy breathing, managing worries and kindness.

In addition to the classroom activities, Sparklers also includes six parenting guides contain-

ing information on how parents can support child wellbeing at home. Sparklers also con-

tains information on Parenting Courses and other available supports.

Sparklers has been extensively piloted in Canterbury schools and the feedback has been

overwhelmingly positive.

To find out more about Sparklers visit: www.allright.org.nz/sparklers

Habit Sticks: Doing more of the little things that can make you happy and healthy can

make a big difference. Habits can seem completely insignificant in isolation, but when we

do them day in and day out, their impact can really add up...like the “Four Pillars of

Health” that I suggest in the Flourishing and Wellbeing resource Kit for College Students

and Staff that I have introduced you all to and encouraged you to be working on.

So, how do you make a good habit stick? With a Habit Stick of course! Grab yours at all-

right.org.nz/habits

The Habit Stick makes it easier to make a good habit stick...Just write down the tiny habit

you want to adopt and then give yourself a tick very time you achieve it. Before you know

it, your habit will be full of ticks and your new habit will be something you do every day

without thinking about it!

Best regards, Murray Cameron Guidance Counsellor

World Challenge Myanmar:

12 students from Ellesmere College have signed up for the World Challenge trip to Myan-

mar. World Challenge organises trips around the world with the purpose of connecting stu-

dents with the challenge of travelling to a 3rd world or developing country and then partici-

pating in a 3 phase programme. The 3 phases of: trekking; community service; and rest and

relaxation, occur over 28 days. Students will be asked to attend several meetings regarding

the organisation of the trip, and in particular with fundraising and team building activities.

The next meeting with Mr. Alan Hodges, our World Challenge facilitator, will occur early

in term 3. However, more information can be obtained at the website: http://

www.worldchallenge.co.nz. . The trip is set for December 2018. Students are now beginning to or-

ganise and fundraise for this event. If you know of anyone who would like to support our

fundraising efforts in any way, please contact: Mr. Dayle Stoliker at Ellesmere College.

8 June 2017

NCEA in Year Ten

In the second part of the year several subjects will be offering NCEA Level One Achieve-

ment Standards to students. An Achievement Standard, a parcel of knowledge, will be

worth between three and five credits each.

To get the NCEA Level One, students need 80 credits at Level One or above

Including

Ten numeracy credits – either from the three adult numeracy standards from the

LANES course or designated Achievement Standards

Ten literacy credits either from the three adult literacy standards from the LANES

course or designated Achievement sSandards

NZQA has a parents section on their website: http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/audience-pages/

parents/

As NCEA is a national qualification we have rules that we must follow to maintain the con-

sistency of the qualification across all secondary schools in New Zealand.

Important things you need to know now about absences

If your student knows in advance they will be away on the day of the assessment they

need to apply for an extension with Miss Morton (Learning Coordinator) using an

Extension Application Form, this must be done as soon as possible on knowing the

assessment date.

If your student is away on the day of the assessment, they need to apply for an

extens ion using an Extension Application Form.

Important things you need to know now about extensions

We grant extensions only if it will not affect the validity of the assessment task,

sometimes it is not possible to grant an extension due to the nature of the task.

We require medical certificates if a student is away ill

We do not grant extensions if the student is going on holiday (this is an NZQA

directive)

Important things you need to know about extension application forms

These can be collected from outside Miss Morton’s office between Room 17 and 18

They need to be signed by student, parent/caregiver and the classroom teacher before

they are handed to Miss Morton

Once a decision is made, the decision will be emailed to student, parent/caregiver and

the classroom teacher

It is important that as soon as students are given an assessment date OR hand in date they

record it.

We will be holding a Year Ten parents information evening towards the end of Term Three

If you have any questions before this time please feel free to contact us

Miss Morton (mortonk@ellesmere.school.nz) as the Senior Learning Coordinator at

Ellesmere College

Deputy Principal Mrs Thompson (thompsor@ellesmere.school.nz) as the NZQA Principal's

Nominee.

**Attention Parents / Caregivers / Students**

Add Ellesmere College’s Facebook page to

your ‘likes’ to stay in touch with all current

news and notices from Ellesmere College.

To find our homepage go to

http://www.facebook.com/ellesmerecollege

Please note you have to ‘like’ this,

it cannot be added as a Friend.

Confidential Assistance for Families in Need We are a caring Community of Teachers, Support Staff, Counsellors at Ellesmere College

who often support disadvantaged and struggling families and college students by providing

second hand uniforms, financial support to attend camps, assistance with sports fees and

transport to games where that will remove barriers to participation, assistance with lunch

etc. This work is done quietly and in a confidential way that does not create embarrassment

or identify students and families being supported in this way.

We would really like to know if there are any ways we can remove barriers to your son or

daughter fully participating and enjoying College life. We can only assist if we know about

your situation. If what you require is outside our capability and resources, there are a num-

ber of other organizations in our community that will be able to assist, and that we can link

you with.

Please contact me for a confidential discussion if we can help.

Kind regards,

Murray Cameron,

cameronm@ellesmere.school.nz or 0276945275

Head of Guidance Department,

Ellesmere College

10 June 2017

Pink Shirt Day

I think it goes without saying that we all

want to feel safe, valued and respected

wherever we go: school, work, home or in

the community. This is the aim of Pink Shirt

Day, which is celebrated annually around

the globe. It began in Canada in 2007 when

two students took a stand against homopho-

bic bullying and mobilised their whole

school after a peer was bullied for wearing a

pink shirt.

At Ellesmere College the Year 12 Health

class decided that they wanted to do some-

thing that would help make everyone at the

College feel comfortable with being them-

selves at all times regardless of their age,

sex, gender identity, sexual orientation,

ability or cultural background. To achieve

this they decided to promote Pink Shirt day

on Friday 26 May, but the actual activity

began much earlier in the week. On Mon-

day and Tuesday they hosted a Pink Pro-

motes Positivity Photo booth where students

were asked to pledge their support, while on

Wednesday and Thursday the Social Pre-

fects hosted a movie that prompted under-

standing. On Friday staff and students wore

pink and purchased candyfloss to show their

support for spreading positivity and taking a

stand against bullying. With the slogan was

“Pink Promotes Positivity” it is hoped that

everyone at the College can enjoy a positive

environment while celebrating individuality

and diversity.

In order to get more coverage the students

wrote to Selwyn TV. They sent their camer-

as and have posted a video of the event on

Facebook.

Ellesmere College has a zero tolerance to-

ward bullying and this event has been very

helpful in achieving this goal.

11 June 2017

ELLESMERE COLLEGE BOOK WEEK Well, it’s been a busy and entertaining week in the library this month.

Book Week was a huge success!

VISITING AUTHOR

We had a visit from author Vaughan Rapatahana who ran poetry

and creative writing workshops with the Seniors and Y8 classes.

Vaughan also visited Mr Mclean’s class to inspire writers from a

Maori perspective.

WHO’S BEHIND THE BOOK COVER?

The “Who’s Behind The Book Cover” competiton was very

popular and created a lot of buzz in the library! Thirteen teach-

ers volunteered to hide behind book covers which created a lot

of speculation as who was who.

ELLESMERE COLLEGE CAFÉ

BOOK TASTING

We opened an Ellesmere College

Café in the Library and ran Book

tastings. This gave students a

choice of books for their Entrees,

Mains and Desserts.

LIBRARY UPDATE

12 June 2017

MURDER IN THE LIBRARY

Each day we murdered a different

book character and left clues be-

hind. Percy Jackson, Harry Potter,

the BFG and Katniss from The

Hunger Games were our victims

this year.

Congratulations to Callum Laine

and Iris Heal who won the Murder

in the Library competition.

The Roald Dahl quizzes and Who Said That Book Quote were also popular and students

were rewarded with edible bookworms for correct answers.

PINK SHIRT DAY

On the 26th May, the College celebrated Pink Shirt Day, an initiative to celebrate diversity

and prevent bullying. We also supported Pink Shirt Day in the Library with displays and

positive messages.

Rochelle Ealam

Library Manager

13 June 2017

Ellesmere College Supports the World Vision 40 Hour Famine Over 6 years of war 400,000 people have been killed, 1.9 million people have been wounded

and 13 million people have been forced to flee their homes. This is the reality of the Syrian

Refugee Crisis. These numbers are too big to even begin to comprehend and it can seem as

though we have no impact at all. Their homes have been destroyed, they have lost their

friends and family members, been forced to leave their own country and now have no home.

They are stuck in refugee camps, uncertain about their futures, and reliving the horrors of

their past.

We have turned a blind eye to their suffering for

too long, so the Ellesmere College World Vision

40hr Famine team held a 20 hour long camp for

students at Ellesmere College on the 3rd - 4th of

June. The purpose of this camp was to immerse

the students in the harsh life conditions, and to

experience on a small scale what the refugees

have to endure on a daily basis, while raising

funds and awareness for the refugees.

The students experienced everything from the

unrelenting boredom of being stuck in a refugee

camp with no entertainment, to a surprise bomb

raid and terrorist attack simulation late at night.

We directly placed everyone in the shoes of the

refugees, and empowered them to become pas-

sionate about the crisis and raise funds for the

ongoing horror they have to face in Syria and

refugee camps in Jordan.

This camp also included dividing the students into

families for the night, a race to pack your bag like

the refugees had to in seconds before escaping the

conflict, a blindfolded obstacle course where family

members had to lead them to represent the blinding

terror of being separated from your family during

evacuation, building a shelter out of cardboard and

tape, and simulating the struggles of immigrating to

a refuge friendly country.

The entire camp was also documented through inter-

views and videos taken by the team, and has been edited into a documentary format for the

community to view. All the students that joined in showed amazing durability and empathy,

and we have all become so much closer. We hope we have changed the mindset of all the in-

dividuals involved through this experience, and together we can help the refugees of the Syr-

ian conflict. Written by Kate Inwood

14 June 2017

15 June 2017

16 June 2017

SPIRIT OF ADVENTURE

The Spirit of Adventure Trust was established to provide the youth of New Zealand access

to a character development programme through sail training. During the course of each

voyage, the Trust aims to give young New Zealanders an equal opportunity to learn and de-

velop from each other qualities of independence, understanding and community spirit

through the medium of the sea.

Although the Trust is described as a ‘sail training organisation’, the focus of learning for

‘Trainees’ (what all participants are called on-board) is on personal skills such as team work

and communication. Learning to sail a Tall Ship is a means to an end, rather than a specific

objective.

Each year between 100 and 1200 young people aged 15-19, from a wide range of ethnic and

social backgrounds throughout the country participate in the Youth Development pro-

gramme. In the past 30 years, fifty thousand young people have taken part.

The Trust ensures that every trainee on either Youth Development 10-day programmes, or

during specially designed voyages for young people with disabilities or those that are disad-

vantaged, are given every opportunity to achieve personal goals.

17 June 2017

10-Day Voyages

Youth Development 10-day Voyages

Any young person aged between 15-19 years, be able to swim 100 metres, may apply for a

voyage.

The Emphasis of the Youth Development Programme is on team work, leadership, inde-

pendence, problem solving, motivation, public speaking, self confidence, community spirit,

self esteem and over coming challenges.

Permanent crew with appropriate nautical qualifications and training in experimental learn-

ing and youth development, sail as Master, Mates, Cook and Engineers. Volunteer crew

sail as Watch Assistants. The Spirit programme facilitates opportunities for young people

to discover things about themselves and those around them.

The activities vary according to location, the group mix and the weather. Usually there will

be both land and water based activities for teams and individuals. The voyage qualifies for

Young New Zealanders Challenge (Duke of Edinburgh Award) Gold Residential Project.

Trainees split into four watches of ten for the duration of the voyage. All trainees have the

challenge of being leader of their watch for the day. On day nine trainees bring together all

the skills they have learned, elect their own crew and sail the ship to its final anchorage

within a given time frame. This is the highlight of the voyage.

The full cost of a voyage is $1975.

The Trust pays for travel up to the value of $200 to and from the ship for those who live

outside of 150km from the port of departure or arrival. Method of travel will be the most

economical.

The Trust also has financial assistance to trainees who qualify and a time payment option

for those do not meet the funding criteria requirements but need a little time to pay off the

voyage fee.

If you are interested speak to the students who have been on these voyages, check out the

web page www.spiritofadventure.org.nz and/or see the Principals Assistant.

Ellesmere College’s Coordinator is the Principals Assistant so please forward your name/

nomination to her to coordinate the College’s berth allocations.

18 June 2017

Sports News 2017 Term 2

Photo’s from Middle

School

Quad Tournament

19 June 2017

2017 Mud Run

20 June 2017

Mud Run Report Motukarara Race Course Sunday 17th

June 2017

Twenty three Ellesmere College students in 6 different teams participated in the annual Sec-

ondary Schools Mud Run this year at Motukarara Race Course. They were amongst nearly

1000 High School students that challenged themselves when completing a 5km course con-

sisting of muddy channels, obstacles and even a crawl-through mud pit!

Fun and team building was the emphasis for the day and of course MUD, MUD and more

MUD.

Costumes helped set the scene and reinforce team work and they were very well selected

and included fancy ties, green apple t-shirts, yellow wigs, high vis and the ever present tutu.

A big well done to our students who participated enthusiastically and had a ball on the day.

Here’s to an even bigger contingent next year!! The big question is will we see the return of

the teachers team….??

Chris O’Connell

Head of Sport

21 June 2017

NZSSCC Recently some of our students attended the

Secondary Schools Cross Country event in

Christchurch

Lily McClure was placed 66th out of 103

starters for Year 9 girls.

Sarah McClure was placed 51st out of 130

starters for Senior Girls

Both girls enjoyed their day and were happy

with their results

Well done girls!!

Pink Shirt Day

Pink Shirt Week was an awesome success

and on behalf of the Level 2 Health class

and Student Wellbeing team, we would like

to say thank you to all the students for their

involvement in various activities held

throughout the week. We were really im-

pressed by how many people got into the

spirit of Pink Shirt Week, and especially on

the Friday seeing almost everyone dressed

in pink. During the week we had a photo

booth, where students could write positive

messages, and on the Friday we spelt

‘PINK’ in the gym with as many students as

possible. Also we had a sausage sizzle and

candy floss stall.

Pink Shirt Week was to spread awareness

about putting a stop to bullying and hope

this is a step in the right direction towards a

bully free environment. The student wellbe-

ing team are interested in promoting more

mental health based events and activities

throughout the year.

22 June 2017