Pō Whakanui
The celebration of success for our Māori students was held this term on the 3rd of November. With about 100 whānau members, students and staff there, it was a very pleasant evening.
Visit this articleKia ora Koutou
Today marks the end of the school year and this afternoon we come together after a particularly challenging 2020 to celebrate and acknowledge a large number of our junior students not only for their academic success and effort but also outstanding leadership, citizenship and service.
They have achieved remarkable things in the face of adversity.
It’s not just the prize winners who deserve the accolades however- as a school community we have displayed a tremendous amount of resiliency this year and for that reason I think that we are all winners!
There are many things which make me incredibly proud to be the Principal of Riccarton High School.
One of these is when I receive positive feedback from members of the public regarding the conduct of our young men and women.
Last week our junior girls and boys volleyball teams travelled to Invercargill to compete in the South Island Championships (you will find the results elsewhere in our newsletter).
The owners of the accommodation these players occupied for four days recently shared their absolute delight in the way in which our students behaved commenting that they were “by far the best school that they had ever hosted’” who left the facilities “spotlessly clean” when they departed.
To me, this speaks volumes about the team culture which has been created and the degree to which our students embrace our Riccarton Way values even outside of school. Well done to all involved including our coaching team.
My focus is now starting to turn to 2021 with a number of exciting elements already being planned for.
In terms of our Redevelopment Project, starting in late January we begin the process of preliminary design work which, as previously mentioned by our Board Chairperson, will see refurbishment of many of our older buildings and the construction not only of a new teaching block but also a new Whare.
The design phase is likely to take most of next year with actual construction work scheduled to start (in stages) in the second quarter of 2022. We look forward to finally entering the design phase and we will keep you up to date with progress.
Finally, can I wish you a happy and relaxing break over the festive season. I think we all deserve it! I look forward to catching up in 2021.
Mere Kirihimete!
Neil Haywood
Principal
Contents
Beginning of year dates and events 2021
We hope you had a safe and happy holiday season with whanau and friends. Below are some key dates and times to make the beginning of 2021 as seamless as possible.
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Junior Prizegiving
Congratulations to all our Junior prizewinners and the winners of our special awards:
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FREE BREAK-AWAY JANUARY HOLIDAY PROGRAMME
Youthtown want invite our students on a FREE Break-Away Holiday Programmes for the upcoming January Summer Holidays!
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Trade taster day
A small group of Year 10 students headed out to the Southern Institute of Technology for the day experiencing two trades each.
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Badminton
The South Island Secondary Schools Junior Badminton Tournament was held in Christchurch on Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 November.
Visit this articleCelebrating Success
Congratulations to George Grundy UBB, for winning first place in the CETA Flash Fiction Competition. Here is his entry:
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Orohaki
Junior Camps at Orohaki have now finished for the year. A huge thank you to the Orohaki camp staff for their dedication to a whole new programme this season.
Visit this articleMedia Project
A few weeks ago two of our students had the opportunity to work on a media project, where they created videos for the Ministry of Education. Rahil Uddin explains the project.
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Theatresports
On Sunday 22nd November one of our two junior Theatresports teams performed in the 2020 south island junior Theatresports final.
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Student success
Our Head Student Carmen Holdaway, was a keynote speaker at the National Women in Public Sector Summit 2020, where she presented her perspective on youth leadership in an online forum.
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MindPlus students have fun in Science lab
Recently students from MindPlus visited a Science Lab and completed some fun and fabulous chemistry experiments.
Visit this articleBadminton
Riccarton High School entered a boys and a girls team into the South Island Secondary Schools Junior Badminton Tournament, held in Christchurch on Tuesday 24 and Wednesday 25 November.
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Student hui
The final Māori student hui for this year was held on the 17th of November, led by our Mana Toroa ākonga, who took the junior students through a reflective process, then a very competitive and noisy game of Pukana.
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Marae Visits
Following the successful visits by Year 9 to Te Wheke, the marae at Rapaki, our Year 10s have all spent some time at Te Whatumanawa Māoritanga o Rehua Marae in Springfield Road.
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BYOD (Bring your own device)
All students are expected to bring their own BYOD device to school, fully charged and ready to use, every day.
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Uniform
We are proud of our uniform and wearing it correctly with pride demonstrates respect for our Riccarton Way. All students must wear the full and correct uniform, including footwear, at school, to and from school and when representing the school.
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