Kia ora whānau

Apologies for not getting a newsletter out during the past 3 weeks. I have mostly been overseas doing marketing to attract international students. As I spoke to the boys about at assembly on Monday, having international students at schools adds not only cultural diversity but enables us to appreciate the world and all its people a lot better – this can only be a good thing. Currently for next year we have two small groups of students coming for short stays (2-3 weeks). The first is from Tokyo in mid-February and the second from Bangkok in early May. These groups will be based in the Lone Pine dormitory which is currently being upgraded but over weekends we are looking for homestay families for the boys to stay with. If you have any motivation or desire to be a homestay family, please contact Sue Robb in the school office.

It is always great to travel overseas, but it does also remind you how fortunate we are to live in our beautiful corner of the world with so much space and clean air. Never take this for granted! I would like to thank both the Board and Foundation for supporting our international marketing plan.

Speaking of our Foundation. Many of you may not be aware of the school’s Foundation. It was established in 1992 and was the brainchild of then Rector Rory Gollop who was supported passionately by a significant number of prominent old boys and staff most notably George Berry. Rory and George travelled the country at the time gaining sponsorship and establishing a ‘seed fund’ that has built up significantly over the years largely due to the ongoing growth of an investment portfolio. This oversight has been led in recent times by the chairperson Craig Stobo. The capital of the Foundation now sits at nearly $3 million and each year the school is able to access 50% of the annual interest which is approx. $46k. In recent years this money has been used mostly on the hostel to upgrade dormitories and ablutions blocks but also international marketing. Prior to this, investment was made to secure the future of the school pool and diving well. Over the past 30 odd years well over $1 million has been passed over to the school. As you can see the school owes the foundation and its members a huge debt of gratitude.

The names of all those members of the Foundation are engraved on a plaque in the school foyer.

As is customary at this time of the year, there has been a lot happening on the staffing front. Donovan Marshall has been appointed as the E-learning leader. Donovan’s key role initially is to help staff transition to the Google platform. Paegan Dalziel (who was a student teacher here in Term 2) and Finn Bloxsom (who is an old boy and returns from teaching overseas) have been appointed to teach both the English and Social Studies. Lauren Russell (will be PRT 1 graduating from the University of Auckland) has been appointed to teach Science. Greg Familton has been appointed to join the senior leadership team as Assistant Rector of School Operations. We congratulate them all on their appointments and look forward to them making our staff team even stronger in 2026.

It is a very busy time with many students involved in NCEA Exams (please refer the email below) and also next week our juniors sit their exams on Tuesday and Thursday. As we spoke about on Monday at assembly what are the exams for? They are for establishing positions in class and possibly pre-requisites for future courses but far more importantly they are about an individual’s ability to do their best (a skill that lasts a lifetime!) and an opportunity to be exposed to a tolerable moment of stress which in turn helps build resilience (another life skill). As parents/whānau could we please ask for your support in providing an environment at home where the boys can study over the coming days. Many thanks.

During the week I received an email from our exam centre manager Caron O’Sullivan which filled me with a great amount of pride. It went as follows.

“Kia ora Darryl, 

Once again it is my pleasure to manage the NCEA exams at WBHS.

As I have told you before the students are always so polite and respectful to all the supervisors and Exam Assistants. This year we, as a group, have commented daily on the number of students turning up for exams; I understand that entries need to be in by a July cut off so expect students may not at the end of the year need to, or choose to, sit exams. The absentee stickers have had very little use this year, well below 10%. In some exams, Level 1 especially, when the first 45 minutes is up there can be a veritable sea of hands waiting to be dismissed.  This year, we stand prepared, and no hands go up.  

A huge number of students are not only staying for longer than the minimum but are still working hard at the end of three hours.  Into week three there has only been one exam, of the thirty so far, where I have not had to read out the 'end of exam' instructions to say their 3 hours is over.  All the Exam Officers have discussed the high level of diligence shown, and I know from my own studies in Education this reflects a high level of engagement in their learning, especially noticeable in English, the Sciences and Maths. The school is to be commended on the pride these students are showing in the school, their manners and dedication to their studies".

To my staff team for providing the environment and the boys obviously for fulfilling these expectations – great job! Almost there.

Finally, please put this date in your diaries if your life or your son's life has in any way been touched by Stephen Hinds. As you will be aware, after 38 years of incredible service, Stephen is retiring at the end of the year. We are having a celebration concert for Stephen on Tuesday 9th December in the Auditorium at 7pm.

Thanks for your ongoing support and have a wonderful weekend.

He waka eke noa

Floreat Waitakia - We are Waitaki

Darryl Paterson

Rector