Culture Fest 2019
A celebration of diversity and community came together to enjoy this year's Culture Fest at Riccarton High.
Visit this articleKia ora Koutou.
Welcome to our final newsletter for term 1 as we still come to grips with the horrific events of March 15. While we as a school community mourn the loss of three of our parents in the tragedy, I am also filled with immense pride after witnessing some wonderful examples of solidarity and compassion among our students and staff over recent weeks. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank our parent community for their messages of support and appreciation particularly after the lockdown. Friday 15 March changed our lives. However, one thing that hasn’t changed is our commitment to celebrating cultural diversity and embracing diverse ethnic communities as a key part of the Riccarton Way.
An 11-week term makes for a very long term, and yesterday in assembly I congratulated our students for the high levels of commitment and positive attitude that most have continued to display towards their studies, despite the many distractions and interruptions that have become a normal part of a school’s calendar. The results from our Fortnightly Reports reflect the fact that most of our students embrace the value of learning and are progressing well. Early next term parents will be given the opportunity to discuss this progress during our first Student Achievement Interview Day for 2019.
There is much to celebrate from the term and I continue to be amazed by the number of opportunities on offer for our students. A special mention must be made of the large group involved in recent tournaments either provincial, South Island or National including our volleyballers, softball players, ultimate frisbee players, mountain bikers and touch players - all who represented their school admirably.
Next Monday a group Social Scientists consisting of 21 students and two staff depart for a three-week tour of Vietnam. We look forward to hearing the stories upon their return. These are just two examples of the diverse range of opportunities on offer.
Finally, I wish you all a restful Easter/Holiday break with family and friends - an opportunity to ‘recharge’ before we head into those colder months!
Neil Haywood
Principal
Contents
Reminder: Year 9 2020 Open Evening: Thursday 16 May
A reminder - if you are considering Riccarton High School for Year 9 in 2020, don't miss our Open Evening: Thursday 16 May, from 5:00pm - 8:00pm.
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What it means to be a Teenager or a Parent of a Teenager
The 'Attitude' group will be visiting the school on Monday 20 May and presenting to the students their funny, yet insightful take on what it means to be a teenager and how to navigate this exciting time in their lives.
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Elliot Campbell Staff Profile
Mr. Elliott Campbell, head of History and Classics at RHS, completed his TESOL (Supporting English Language Learners) scholarship over the Christmas holidays and finished his Master of Teaching (with distinction) degree at the University of Otago at the end of last year.
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Softball
This year we have seen an increase in the numbers of students wanting to play softball for the school.
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Generous donation from local store
Our gratitude and appreciation goes to Shaun Farrell, from the Riccarton Shoe Clinic store, who generously donated a carton of sports shoes and a carton of sturdy school shoes to the school.
Visit this articleShorter lunchtimes
Due to Terms 2 and 3 having cooler and wetter weather, the lunchtimes on a Monday and Friday will be shortened to 45 mins. This means these days will end at 3 pm like Tuesdays and Thursdays.
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South Island Secondary Schools Mountain Biking Championships 2019
Over the weekend of 29th-31st March, around 400 of the best mountain bike riders from South Island High schools gathered at Mt Hutt for a weekend of racing. Riccarton High had 5 students competing over the three events of Enduro, Downhill (DH) and Cross Country (XC).
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Student and whānau hui
During this term the Māori students here at Riccarton have had some cool opportunities to whakawhāngatanga with each other, and have successfully settled in our year 9 Māori students in to our Riccarton whānau.
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Senior Māori Student Hui
On the 12th of February, the senior Māori students gathered together for a day of activities facilitated by a few year 13 students.
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Nikki Conyers Staff Profile
Nikki Conyers explains flip learning - a type of blended learning that reverses the traditional learning environment.
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Astronomy School
Congratulations to Leah Albrow has been awarded a place on the Elaine P. Snowden Astronomy School 2019.
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Student success
Library News
It has been a busy term one with a heap of research projects underway and book talking sessions.
Visit this articleStudent achievement interview days - 2019
In 2019, we will, once again be holding two of these days as opportunities for our teachers to discuss progress with parents/caregivers and students.
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New Uniform Provider – NZ Uniforms
From the beginning of term 2 (29 April) Riccarton High School will be using a new company to supply our school uniform.
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IMPORTANT DATES AND UPCOMING EVENTS
Did you know dental care is free until the age of 17?
If your son/daughter is aged between 13-17 and they register with Pathway Dental, they will get a FREE custom-made sports mouthguard.
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Dropping off in the school grounds is not permitted
We specifically ask that parents do not use the Main South Road driveway and the library carpark as a drop-off or pick-up point, or drive onto the school grounds through the main gate (entered from Vicki Street).
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