STRATFORD HIGH SCHOOL Te Kura Tuarua O Whakaahurangi E-mail: mail@stratfordhigh.school.nz Website: www.stratfordhigh.school.nz

Vol 17: Issue 1 February 20 2017

Contents NCEA News Absence procedures Buses 2017

Poutama interviews HEART Northland mystery raffle

Hydration Careers news Roadsafe Taranaki

Sports report Calendar Are you new?

FROM THE PRINCIPAL’S DESK Greetings to you and your family. Ngā mihi ō te wā ki a koe me tō whanau.

Special greetings of the new year to you all, the families of our school. I extend a special welcome to those families who are having their first association with Stratford High School. I encourage you to keep open lines of communication with the school and contact us directly if you have any concerns. We are sure you will enjoy your association with our school. Our newsletters are available at the beginning of each month. They are emailed to parents/caregivers, available on the school website http://stratfordhigh.ultranet.school.nz/WebSpace/358/. For those families who do not have email, the newsletter will be sent home with your child.

The start of the year has been very hectic but enjoyable and I would like to thank the staff for all their work in ensuring a smooth start to the year. It was very pleasing to see the large number of parents and whanau who attended our year 9 Powhiri. Your sons and daughters are entering an exciting and challenging time in their education journey and you can be assured that we have quality people here who will assist them to accelerate their learning and provide a range of other opportunities. The afternoon saw the year 9 and 13 students involved in tabloid sports. It was a time of great hilarity and allowed students to participate and the year 13’s to put into practice the leaderships skills they learned at camp.

Our roll is around 520 with still a number of new enrolments to come. Along with new students to our school, we also welcome Mr Kerr (HOD Social Studies and history), Mrs Leafberg (French), Mrs Campbell (NCES, tourism), Ms Julian (English, media studies), Ms Robertson (digital technology), Miss Bell (special needs, English) and Mrs Vermeulen (Guidance Counsellor). Ms Roberts returns after her PPTA presidency and Mrs Salsano and Mrs Houia-Rongonui will return in 2018 after their study leave.

In the past week we have had a visit from the Education Review Office (ERO) which visit schools every three years. We named our student leaders, house leaders and HEART monitors during the past week. Senior student leaders are: Estella Van der Lee (student council), Detroit Hoyes and Phoenix Witeri (culture captains), Jackson Taylor (BOT), Jake Vincent (head boy), Olivia Slater (head girl), Erin Uhlenberg and Dylan Moore (sports captains), Jessica Potroz (arts captain). The others are listed later in this newsletter.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate those students who sat NCEA in 2016 for the results they achieved. I wish all the best to those going on to further education or employment. At the present time results are provisional. There were a number of students who gained merit and excellence endorsements and we will celebrate their achievement in assembly along with those who gained a course endorsement.

Tomorrow is swimming sports and I encourage all students to have a go. There are many events for both competitors and non-competitors. Parents and whanau are invited to attend at the school pool as well. The year 13 students will have a barbecue raising funds for their world vision child.

At the first full school assembly I spoke about one of our values E – Excel (our desire is for our students to challenge themselves in all endeavours and to be the best they can). I indicated my take on this as every student at Stratford High School can achieve. This means being the best you can be. Make the most of the potential you have been given. That is attainable for all students. I stressed the importance of starting Term 1 well, which means start as you plan to continue. During this term they will lay the foundations for the success for the rest of the year. One of the most powerful influences on how well a student does at school is the student themselves. Students need to have a ‘can-do’ and ‘give it everything’ attitude if they are to reach their potential.

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My expectations of every student are simple and I expect every student to:

Make learning their priority

Come to school each day prepared for learning

Take responsibility for themselves and their behaviour

Wear their uniform correctly and with pride

Look after the school property and learning environment

Respect themselves, other students and staff

Work hard to reach their potential

The key to our continued success as a school is the partnership between school and home. If we work together and support each other, our young people get a huge advantage. Please stay in touch with what is happening at school and do not hesitate to contact us is there is anything you want to discuss. Together we can ensure that students fortunate enough to attend Stratford High School continue to receive the best possible education.

I look forward to meeting with parents at school events in the year ahead and to having discussions about important and not so important educational matters.

“The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra”. No reira tena koutou katoa. Philip Keenan, Principal

NCEA NEWS This year the role of Principal’s Nominee is being shared. Mrs Christel Broadmore will be supported by the SMT; Mr Wayne Smith, Mrs Barbara Gall, Mrs Wendy Walker and Mr Philip Keenan. Please contact any of us with any queries regarding NCEA/NZQA matters. Congratulations to all the students who had a successful year in 2016 in gaining NCEA, University Entrance and course endorsements. We will be celebrating their academic success in assembly in the weeks ahead.

“NCEA: A handbook for parents and students” will be issued to all Year 11, 12, 13 and 14 students next week. The students will have to sign on receipt of their booklet and the expectation is that they are taken home to parents/caregivers. The booklet describes the key features of NCEA, includes a timeline of key events and outlines the policies and procedures practised at Stratford High School. You and your students are advised to read through this booklet so that you are familiar with our requirements and expectations. (especially regarding attendance). Keep it in a safe place for reference in case any issues arise.

A number of classes are beginning or moving towards internal assessment activities and it is important to impress upon your students the need to be present before and during assessment, to attempt every part of the assessment, to complete them on time and to do the best that they can. If they are offered resubmissions they need to turn up at the times allocated by their teacher.

There are a number of students involved in Distance Learning programmes this year – STAR and Correspondence School. Credits from their courses contribute to their NCEA results. This learning is self-directed and the students involved must remain committed to completing their units of work on time to gain the credits available. The students have time and a room allocated at school to do this work but some time should be allocated for homework as well.

Thank you to those parents/caregivers who were able to attend the information evenings last week. We intend to repeat this exercise in November this year.

Coming up: This month the students are due to receive Information sheets from NZQA through school. At the beginning of April, information and forms regarding NCEA fees and financial assistance this year will

be available.

ABSENCE PROCEDURES Absences from school have been proven to have a major impact on student learning and achievement. The process for all students (Year 9-14) is as follows:

Parents/Caregivers ring in to the school in the morning letting us know that a student will not be at school.

On their return to school, the student must bring a signed note from the parent/caregiver identifying the period of absence and clearly stating the reason for it.

On the morning of their return, the student will collect an “Explanation of Absence Slip” form from either the student office or their first period teacher to which the note will be stapled. The student is then required to show this to their class teachers and get the teachers signatures. On completion of this, the slip is then given to the form teacher.

For NCEA students, this process is very important, especially for absences during assessments (see the section on this in the NCEA Handbook). If students are away for three or more days for medical reasons during an assessment, a medical certificate is required.

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Students with known absences ahead of time (eg going on family holiday, national swimming champs) are required to bring a letter addressed to the Principal two weeks beforehand requesting leave.

Your full support with our system will be much appreciated. If you have any queries about any of these matters, please contact me at school – 067656039 extn.706. Wayne Smith, Principal’s Nominee

BUSES 2017 The Ministry of Education is updating its database for all students who travel to school by bus. All students must be registered to use our school buses or the bus driver is entitled to refuse to allow them onto the bus. Bus student wishing to have friends to stay must ensure that the friend brings a note from home and this needs to be signed by one of the SLT. New students who travel by bus have been issued with a code of conduct contract. Parents need to read through this with their student. The form then needs to be signed and returned to the student office by Wednesday 22 February. Students who live more than 2.4km from the nearest bus stop may qualify for a transport assistance subsidy. If this applies to you, please pick up an application form from the student office. Mrs Gall, Deputy Principal

POUTAMA INTERVIEWS The Poutama mentor groups for this year are currently being finalised with the Poutama interviews taking place on Wednesday 1 March from 1pm – 6pm. This is an important time for students, parents and teachers to meet to ensure realistic academic goals are set for the year. Research has shown that caregiver input has a valuable effect on student achievement. Information regarding interviews has been sent home this and interviews will be able to be booked using our online booking system. We will be running shortened periods on that day with school finishing at 12.15pm. Mrs Gall, Deputy Principal

HEART Congratulations to our recently appointed HEART Monitors who will act as a student sub-committee to our staff HEART Committee and will help develop and promote our HEART values both in school and in the community. The HEART Monitors for 2017 are: Jake Vincent, Razniem Alluad, Brittany Barker, Natida Jane, Ben Johns, Jessica Jones, Veronica Lacerna, Luke Ratu, Isaac Smith, Estella van der Lee, Phoenix Witeri.

Following a positive trial in term 4 last year, we have resumed our HEART ticker promotion. Students will be presented with HEART tickers by staff for consistently demonstrating our HEART values during school time and in any school activity. Each

ticker earns house points and on gaining seven tickers a “Praise” postcard will be sent home. We would like you to support our programme by acknowledging your son’s/daughters success. Each postcard also results in an entry in a prize draw at the end of the term. HEART Committee

SHS NORTHLAND NETBALL MYSTERY RAFFLE Thank you to all those who supported the netball mystery box raffle. The Northland netball team are grateful for your help. The winners of the mystery envelopes are: Week 1 – Angela Brady Week 2 – Brian Purkins Week 3 – Raeclelle Wells Week 4 – Leah Week 5 – Janette Harper Week 6 – Leah Week 7 – R A Lithgow Week 8 – Jeff Ansell Week 9 – G and K Peters Week 10 – Sanderson Family Week 11 – Laurel Caskey Week 12 – Karen Roberts Thank you to all those who supported this fundraiser. Denise Kay, Netball Coordinator

HOUSE LEADERS 2017 The 2017 house leaders have been appointed. These students are elected by the students to lead their house. We look forward to seeing them in action at the interhouse events encouraging and leading each ho use. The leaders are: Amess: Brooke Miller, Alexa Richards, Alex Baker, Isaac Smith McAllister: Dawson Austin, Joel Heine, Mya Turner, Macey Murray Trimble: Mendoza Haenga, Luke Ratu, Dale Stanners, Tori-Anne Harper Tyrer: Riley Mackintosh-Tairaki, Tyla van den Beuken, Veronica Lacerna, Olivia West Colin Franklyn, TIC House Events

Honest Excel Aroha Responsible Tolerant

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SHS CAREERS NEWS

Taranaki Educare Training Trust - Training Tomorrow’s Educators An information talk for those who are interested in training in pre-teaching and education support on Tuesday 7th March 2017 commencing at 10am at the Yellow Castle, 13 Dawson Street, New Plymouth. Phone 06 7584115 or 0276608058 to indicate your attendance.

SCHOLARSHIPS FOR MÃORI STUDENTS Information on scholarships for Māori students who are at secondary school is available on the scholarships page of the school website or see the posters on the school noticeboards. These are for year 9, 12 and 13 students and are due on Friday.

CAREERS LIAISON VISITS – TERM 1 & 2 Liaison visits are information sessions for senior students to attend. They will be advertised in the daily notices and on the careers boards throughout the school. Sign-up lists are located on the noticeboard opposite Mrs Gall’s office. You must put your name on the appropriate list before attending and get permission from your teacher first.

Date Time Provider Venue Wed, 22 Feb P 2 Waikato University: “Uni 101” – Talk on University in general for

students intending to go to any NZ Uni. Library

Mon, 27 Feb P2 Canterbury University Library Tues, 21 Mar P4 Victoria University Library Wed, 22 Mar P3 Massey University Library Thurs, 30 Mar P2 Waikato University Library Fri, 07 Apr P1 Auckland University Library Mon, 08 May P5 Otago University Library

REMEMBER TO SIGN UP ON THE APPROPRIATE LIST ON THE CAREERS NOTICEBOARD.

ROADSAFE TARANAKI Can you drive and hold a current Driver’s Licence?

Do you know how to brake correctly in an emergency or how to recover when you make a mistake while cornering. Young Taranaki drivers (16-25 years) have a high risk of being involved in car crashes. Roadsafe Taranaki wants to reduce that risk by helping them to develop better driving habits and learn to control their vehicle in an emergency. They are funding a free “Advanced Driving Course” in conjunction with NZ Advanced Driver Training at the Rimu Business Park, Strandon, New Plymouth on Saturday 4th and Sunday 5th March 2017. The course will take 1 to 2 hours AND, we supply the cars!

To book your spot, either email Marion Webby at roadsafetaranaki@stdc.govt.nz, text your name and preferred start time to 027 279 2662 (3 spots every half hour), or call 0800 111 323 and leave your contact details. The

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course includes computer simulations, interactive displays and practical driving. The driving sessions will cover braking, cornering and what to do if something goes wrong. Complete the course and be in to win one of 12 places on a full day Advanced Driver Training session at Manfeild Park Raceway in Feilding. Mrs Milner, Careers Advisor.

SPORTS 2017 Welcome to Stratford High School Sports for 2017. Term 1 is extremely busy with school swimming sports on Tuesday 21 Feb (reserve day 23 Feb) and athletics on Tuesday 28 Feb (reserve day 2 Mar). We have cricket boys and girls playing in the Gillette Cup knockout competition, along with tennis boys and mixed teams playing off in Taranaki for the chance to travel to Palmerston North to a regional tournament.

TSSSA news Taranaki Secondary School Sports Association (TSSSA) events have also started for Term 1 with the first one we attended being golf croquet in Hawera on Thursday 16 Feb. Beach Volleyball was on Sunday 19 th Feb at Ngamotu Beach in New Plymouth where the team of 28 students had a great day and some exciting wins. Other TSSSA Events for Term 1: Sun 26 February Senior Touch Wed 1 March Lawn Bowls Wed 15 March Rogaine Sun 19 March Triathlon Mon 20 March 3x3 Basketball Tue 21 March Golf Croquet Finals Thu 23 March Athletics Sun 26 March Girls Rugby League 9’s Fri 31 March Crossfit, Motorcross Wed 5 April Dressage

All events will be advertised in the daily notices for students to sign up. Please ensure you are actually available on the day of the event before signing up. Also listen to further notices for deadlines and meetings to get all the necessary information. In many instances I need to advise TSSSA of the number of students/teams so they can produce a draw. If we have students pull out at the last moment is can affect everyone else involved.

SPORTING SUCCESS Already this year we have had a number of students doing amazing things in their chosen sports. Congratulations to all these students on their successes. If you have, or know of other students who have, been representing Taranaki and beyond or doing great things in their sports please advise me so we can acknowledge their achievements in our next newsletter.

Swimming: Joshua Gilbert, Zarhn Collins and Eleanor Gilbert represented Taranaki with the Aquaknights in the 2017 New Zealand Zonal Swimming Champs.

Motorsport: Bradley Podjursky won 3rd Place in the New Zealand Youth Ministocks Competition last weekend

Basketball: Morgan Trott and Cameron Trethewey have been to training camps over the holidays and have retained places in the squads for their respective U17 and U18 New Zealand teams which are yet to be announced.

Woodchopping: Samuel Bellamy has been gathering points and last weekend received the U21 Champion Trophy for Woodchopping

Winter Sports Winter Sports codes are now starting to get organised with pre-season trainings in readiness for Term 2. Again listen to the Daily Notices for details. To catch up with upcoming sports events either log into our official school Facebook site: shstaranaki and “like” our page or check out the daily notices on the website. If you are interested in being involved in sport at Stratford High School in 2017 please contact Sports Coordinator Philippa Merson on 7656039 ext 736. Good luck to all students for 2017. Philippa Merson, Sports Coordinator

CALENDAR Please phone the school if you require more information about any events that are in the coming weeks.

Important dates for now 21 Feb - Day 2 SHS Swimming Sports 22 Feb - Day 3 Assembly 23 Feb - Day 4 SHS Swim Sports back-up, Kapa Haka pd 4, Poutama Form time, New Parents Evening 24 Feb - Day 5 TSSSA Tennis Finals, Garden with Jodie Sun 26 Feb TSSSA Snr Touch 27 Feb - Day 6 Sea Week, Canterbury Liaison visit pd2 28 Feb - Day 1 SHS Athletic Sports, PTA meeting 7.30 pm

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1 Mar - Day 2 Poutama Interviews 1.00-6.00pm, TSSSA Lawn Bowls 2 Mar - Day 3 SHS Athletics back-up, Kapa Haka pd4 3 Mar - Day 4 Garden with Jodie 6 Mar - Day 5 L3 Accounting F/T 7 Mar - Day 6 L3 Accounting F/T, L1

Ecoscience F/T, Assembly

8 Mar - Day 1 Class Photographs 9 Mar - Day 2 Northland Netball Tour

depart, L2 Biology F/T, Kapa Haka pd4, Deans Assemblies

10 Mar - Day 3 Northland Netball Tour, TPU F/T, L2 Biology F/T back-up, Garden with Jodie

11-12 Mar Northland Netball Tour 13-Mar Northland Netball Tour,

TARANAKI NNIVERSARY

14 Mar - Day 4 Whyora Workshop 1, Assembly, Northland Netball Tour retiurn

HYDRATION We want our students to get the most of their time here at Stratford High School. Good nutrition enhances a good education. This year with assistance from the THB we are focusing reducing the amount of sugary drinks consumed at school. The canteen is supporting us, fundraising groups are supporting the initiative and we would like parents to support us. Please don’t allow your child to bring sweetened carbonated drinks to school. These drinks have no nutritional value and interfere with learning. Students found with these drinks will have them confiscated. Thank you for your support and please encourage your child to bring water to school only. Wendy Walker, Assistant Principal

ARE YOU NEW TO SCHOOL? Are you a parent of a year 9 student? Welcome and warm greetings. Settling into a new school takes time and can be a bit daunting at first. However, we have a number of supportive initiatives in place to ensure that our students have a good day at school learning.

Peer support All year 9 students have a peer support person from year 13. They will meet regularly with this person in a group situation. Together they follow a programme to introduce them to a new school, to support them as they make new friends and a listening ear to ensure that they know what the expectations are at Stratford High School. The peer supporter is there as a friend to encourage, motivate and care.

Deans Each year level has two deans/staff who work alongside them. They are: Jocelyn Baldwin and Richard Armond (year9), Julia Radich and Daniel Woodd (year10), Christel Broadmore and Jeff Walker (year 11), Peta Apperley and Bill McGeoch (year 12) and Louise Goble and Colin Franklyn (year 13). If you have any concerns, please contact them. They are always happy to help.

Counsellor I am the new school counsellor at our school. I meet with students and parents to support them during times when there may be concerns or problems. I am here to help and support your child to have a really good day at school. I am also here to support you as you parent your child. Counselling is always confidential. Please feel free to contact me if there is anything you would like to discuss on 7656039 ext 722 Janice Vermeulen, Counsellor.