Kia ora whanau

As Term 2 draws to a close it has been really nice over the past week to have the majority of both staff and students back at school. It has definitely given us all a boost.

At Monday’s school assembly we once again took great pride in awarding He Ara Tika badges to 32 of our students for continually reflecting our school values of Respect, Resilience and Motivation. In particular, I would like to highlight the achievement of – Rowan Blair (Year 10), Lachlan Evans (Year 10), Levi Ware (Year 10), Ian Tachinni (Year 11) and Rory McLeod (Year 13) for achieving their Gold award which is a considerable achievement that requires a minimum of 60 He Ara Tika cards. Well done boys.

On the sporting front congratulations to a number of boys for some exceptional performances recently. Year 9 student Eric Strachan who was a place getter in the 50m freestyle at the South Island schools swimming championships. Kyle Jenner (Year 11) who has been selected for the Otago/Southland schools surfing team and Andy Anderson (Year 11) who has been selected in the Dunedin Netball Centre Senior Men’s wider training squad.

Also, congratulations to our senior Basketball side who retained their Aoraki Basketball title last week in Timaru.

On the cultural front we have had Aidan Takiura-Mita (Year 13) represent the school with great mana at the Manu Korero speech contest in Invercargill a fortnight ago. An excerpt from Aidan’s korero can be seen on our facebook page and we look forward to hearing it in full at our assembly next Monday. Kia kaha Aidan.

A number of boys from the 10Ar class have been representing the school at the Model EU in Dunedin over the past two days and by all accounts are making quite an impression.

What an array of talent we have here at WBHS!

While we are talking about events cultural we are pleased to confirm that the Scrano cultural competition will now take place in Week 3 of next term. Ticketing details to follow asap. However, rest assured previously purchased tickets will be valid for either show.

Last week we welcomed our new Technology teacher Daniel Childerley to school. Daniel was previously Head of Technology at Anderson High School in the Shetland Islands. We are extremely fortunate to have secured a specialist Technology teacher of Daniel’s calibre and we wish him and his family all the best for their new venture in our part of the world.

This week we have finally had some Scrano sports competitions taking place on the new turf and it will be fitting that the finals take place next Monday to coincide with the official opening.

With regards to the opening of the multi-purpose turf. It will be taking place at 10.00am on Monday 4th July following a school assembly. We are extremely fortunate to have Scott Anderson joining us to open the turf. Scott was Head Boy in 1986 and won 114 caps for the New Zealand Hockey team from 1990 to 2000. We have a number of other special guests who have agreed to join us for this very significant occasion.

This assembly will be livestreamed onto our facebook page from 9.30am.

We are also looking forward to our annual exchange with St Kevin’s to finish the term. This is always a highlight of the year for the many boys involved and your support throughout the week would be much appreciated. The timetable for the weeks activities is publicised on our facebook page.

Finally - This coming September sees the triennial Board of Trustee elections. As we lead into this period, the Board is welcoming members of the school community to consider being involved in the governance of the school. While it may seem somewhat daunting, there is excellent support and training systems in place. If you are interested, please contact Board Chair – Andrea Ludemann – board@waitakibhs.school.nz or 027 65 96 800.

The next Board meeting is on the 26th July and you are more than welcome to attend.

Whakaohooho taitahake marohirohi

Inspiring young men of outstanding character.

Darryl Paterson

Rector