South Otago High School Newsletter, 1st May 2015 Nga mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa Warm greetings to you all

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1 South Otago High School Newsletter, 1st May 2015 Nga mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa Warm greetings to you all Tena Koutou Katoa ANZAC Last weekend, ANZAC weekend, showed us all how very seriously we take the remembrance of our young men lost in war. Our school remembrance assembly had the full school student body silent in the presence of the New Zealand Defence Force and RSA members. Year 13 students represented our 16 fallen former students and read out details of each man his name, age, place of death and service history. It was a very sad ceremony, with many tears in the eyes of both students and staff. Following this, the entire Student Council and 1 st XV rugby team represented us at the community Dawn Parade. Again, our students did us proud; our rugby men performed a meaningful haka before our head students spoke to the large crowd about what ANZAC day means to young people today. This respectful and meaningful contribution to our community was rounded off by students participating in the community parade on the Sunday. My grateful thanks go to the 1 st XV, the entire Student Council, in particular our Head Boy, Matt Whaanga and Head Girl, Stephanie-Anne Ross and to Sophie Mills, Henry Sly and Louie Sly for their personal efforts over this time of remembrance. To see our young become so involved in this service, this day of national remembrance, indicates that the future of our ANZAC day will be in safe and pro-active hands when my generation and my father s generation, are not here to drive this any longer. Stage Challenge We have been allowed a preview of our school s entry to the Otago Secondary Schools Stage Challenge event. We have around 100 students participating in the show. On Wednesday each class got to see exactly what they have been practicing for a term. It was fantastic! I encourage all of our school community to go through to Dunedin this coming Monday night to this special night, starting at 7.00pm. Tickets are available from: -stage-challenge174challenge174 Truancy and Absences There has been an Official Information Request by the Otago Daily Times regarding schools who have accessed the Ministry of Education Truancy Service. This school is in the Top 10. Some may perceive this as a negative statistic, which I ask that you do not follow. I reported to you last term that South Otago High School is one of two schools in Otago to have had significantly improved NCEA results over the last two years. The fact that we, as an entire staff, are following up on attendance, checking for medical certificates, communicating home to parents every term and sometimes every day, is us working very hard. A part of this process is us using the resourcing of the Ministry to help get our students in school. I will always use the services and resources that are available to me to insist that young people are held accountable for their attendance. This sometimes means that parents are the ones held accountable for their young person s attendance. On that note, I must apologise to a small number of parents/caregivers who received a letter from me regarding their child s absence, which was unnecessary as their son or daughter had over 90% attendance. Using technology to send letters requires the setting of a filter which, last term, I simply made an error in the setting. However, this is quite devastating when you receive a letter about attendance when there is no issue. My apologies. Weekend Sports We have a very big weekend of sport ahead rugby, netball, football. Please get out in the last of the warm autumn weather and enjoy watching the vigour of youth. They will love you for it. Ka Kite Ano Mrs Joanne Hutt Principal I am extremely grateful to Robyn Gardner for her expertise in this area and to all the staff who have volunteered considerable hours to help get this massive group into shape, line and time. Well done to all of you.

2 Stage Challenge The students have all worked very hard and have produced an excellent Stage Challenge entry with a really strong theme that looks at the issues brought to light by the skinny mannequins used by Glassons' last year. They are also very grateful for the help and guidance provided by Robyn Gardner. If any of you still want to get a ticket, please do it directly on the following website. It will be well worth the trip up. The bus will leave at 9:00am on Monday morning and return around 11:00pm that night. Students will need lunch and tea. They can bring their own meals or money to purchase them. There is food at the Edgar Centre but they will also have the opportunity to go to the fast food outlets in Andy Bay. All performers need to be vigilant in bringing their costumes and anything they need for the show. Jo Jory TIC Stage Challenge Girls Football The second games of the season were played yesterday. The 1st XI played St Hilda's in Dunedin.After going a goal down early in the game, the team fought back. Strong goal keeping from Abby Edwards and firm tackling by player of the game, Sophie Mills, in the centre of the field, pushing the opposition almost to the wire. Two goals from St Hilda's in the last five minutes made the score a little less flattering but the South Otago team can take a lot of heart from the game. Back at home, the 2nd XI came up against a strong Kavanagh first team and lost 7-1. For the second team, Olivia Clarke was named player of the game and Anne Buniag scored the team's only goal. Mike Beeby TIC Girls Football Library Winter is fast approaching and we are seeing more students in the library at interval and lunch time. This is great as we have purchased a new batch of books that will be arriving soon. We have some wonderful new titles and I am looking forward to hearing about what the students think about these. Immersing yourself in a book is a great way to spend a cold winter s day. Katrina Pudney Librarian PTA AGM The AGM of the SOHS PTA will be held on Wednesday, May 6 in the SOHS Staffroom at 7.30pm. Our numbers are dwindling and we are keen for any parent interested in joining to be at this meeting. You don t need to put your hand up for any specific roles, just be part of the general PTA Committee. Apologies can be left with the school office. Payment of School Accounts All payments, including the compulsory stationery payments, can be deposited by Internet banking. Our bank number is Please remember to annotate the payment with the student s name and what the payment is for. Regular payments of $10 - $15 per week for each student is ideal to cover most costs throughout the year. Please set up your own automatic payments. School trips must be paid for at the time, unless you have enough credit on your child s account. School Magazine 2015 This year those who want a school magazine will have to pre-order their copy at a cost of $20. This amount has been charged to your child s school account and, if paid by 1st September, a magazine will be ordered on your child s behalf. If you do not wish to purchase a magazine please advise us in writing ( ). All unpaid amounts for the magazine will be removed from your child s account after the 2nd September and NO further orders accepted. Students Late to School and/or Class Three lates will result in a lunchtime detention. Any further lates will result in an afterschool detention. These are held on Thursday and Friday afternoons from 3.15pm pm. Absence Line When you leave an absence message please speak clearly and slowly and give the full name of the student who will be absent and the reason for the absence. If you receive a text about your child being absent please phone the absence line with a reply as text replies are not coming through. Term Two Upcoming Events Monday 4th May... Stage Challenge Friday 22nd May... Pink Shirt Mufti Day Monday 1st June... Queen s Birthday (School closed)

3 Thai Students On Thursday the visiting Thai students learning some aspects of Māori culture. Rugby Newsletter Our teams have got off to a flying start for the season. The 1sts, 2nds, Junior Colts and U15s all registered good wins in round one, and the U14s had a narrow loss. The 2nds backed up during the week with a narrow win over Johnnies on Wednesday and the junior teams played West Otago yesterday in games brought forward due to duck shooting. That leaves two games for Saturday. 1 st XV v John McGlashan 1 st XV, Showgrounds #1, 1pm U15 v OBHS U15 Blue, Showgrounds #1, 11.15am Now that NZRU registrations have been completed for male players, subs have been loaded for 2015 season. The cost is $60 per player. The sub covers jersey washing and maintenance, equipment purchase and renewal, first aid kits, tape etc. This cost is exclusive of travel. The BOT are asking that this sub be paid ASAP. The two Girls teams have been sorted and registrations will be taken next week. Their sub will be $40, as they play around half the matches and for most, it is a second sport. Greg Heller (TIC Rugby)

4 Boys Football After losing its first two grading games, the Youth team won both of its matches last Sunday, beating teams from the Mosgiel and Northern clubs 3-0 and 2-1 respectively. As a result of its efforts, the team will play in Division 2 of its grade. Both our Youth and 14th grade teams will be in action from this weekend. Here is what's happening: This Saturday, the Youth team is playing against the Mosgiel Gunners at Memorial Park, Mosgiel (10:30am start). The boys will need to be at the bus bay by 8:45am. The 14th grade team is playing its first game here at SOHS (10:30am start). The boys will need to be at the ground by 9:45am. Subscriptions for the 2015 season are payable. The cost for the season is $80, which should be paid to Balclutha Junior Football Club. The account number is Alternatively, boys can give their payments to me and I will ensure that they make it to the club. The cost of transport for each away match will be $10 per player per game. Players can pay for each trip at the van or families can elect to have trips charged to their school account. I will be maintaining a spreadsheet to keep track of all payments. The season draw for both teams has come out and can be accessed on the Football South website. Click 'Fixtures/ Results/Standings' and either '14th Grade - Div 2' or 'Youth Grade - Div 2'. I am trying to assemble a roster for taking extra players to games (the van only takes 11). I have sent a Google doc to student s for families to write down the date(s) that they will be available to take extra players to games - if you cannot access this, please me. It is fair enough that any family that takes players more than once will receive a contribution to their fuel costs. That is all for this week. See you at the games! Elliott Carroll TIC Football Year 12 Outdoor Education Manapouri Tramp The 12 Outdoor Education class has enjoyed walking to the Hope Arm at Lake Manapouri this week. The weather was great and views enjoyed by everyone. Dave Thomas TIC Outdoor Education

5 ARTS WEEK We are very excited that the Exhibition and Programme for Arts Week 2015 is coming together well. Arts week is a biennial event, and this year it is the week beginning 25th May. The week involves an exhibition of visual art by Artists from SOHS and beyond. Often some of the work is for sale, at very reasonable prices. There will by options every lunchtime to get involved in workshops for visual art, and listening to and get involved in performing arts. We will have a "Celebration of the Arts" at SOHS, from 5pm on Monday 25th May, and we would love you to join us for a glass of wine or juice, as we share performing and visual arts with you. Please mark it in your diaries now. Rachel Heller Sports & Arts Coordinator Fees for Winter sports With the winter sports season now in full swing, it is timely that I remind you that subs to play for SOHS sports teams must be paid as soon as you have received the account, or earlier if you wish. The Board of Trustees has a policy that states that they must be paid in advance unless prior arrangements have been made. Winter sports subs are as follows: Football Boys $80 Football Girls $60 Hockey Senior $220 Hockey Development $220 Netball $80 Please contact myself ASAP if you need to discuss this. Many Thanks, Rachel Heller, Sports Coordinator Netball Premier Registration $130 Rugby Boys $60 Rugby Girls $40 Basketball $35 FIFA U20 World Cup The Balclutha Junior Football Club, has scored access to free buses from Balclutha to watch the double header at the Dunedin Stadium on the 31st May. Category A tickets are only $30 per adult and $15 per student/child. We must have final numbers in next Thursday 7th of May with payment. You can contact me for more information at: rheller@sohs.school.nz. Netball Trip to Australia 2016 We are tentatively looking at sending two netball teams to the International Netball Festival at Runaway Bay, Gold Coast, Australia. The itinerary I am currently looking at is for the 18th APRIL - 26th APRIL 2016, (this is 9 days/8 nights). If we decide to go and we have more than we need for two teams, trials will possibly be held. No final decision has been made yet, but we would like expressions of interest. Netballers can pick up a form to complete with more information from the office on Monday. Jo Jory - TIC Netball Invites you to join them on a bus trip to see some FIFA Under 20 World Cup Football games Sunday 31 st May- Forsyth Barr Stadium 1pm Mexico vs Mali 4pm Uruguay vs Serbia TOTAL PRICE INCLUDING TICKET IS ONLY.. - Category A: adult $30, child $15 - Category B: adult $20, child $10 Limited seats available Contact Rachel Heller to confirm your seats and arrange payment or rheller@sohs.school.nz Offer expires on Thursday 7 th May.