South Otago High School Newsletter 9th August 2018 Nga mihi mahana ki a koutou katoa Warm greetings to you all

and to meet with HOD’s to ask any questions you may have. Our careers team will also be available to talk to. NCEA review I spent Monday this week in Wellington at a secondary Principals discussion group looking at the current review into NCEA. The Minister for Education Chris Hipkins spoke and was clear and convincing that this was genuine consultation and that all voiced would be listened to. In the next week you should get an email linked to a survey that asks 2 simple questions. What do you like about NCEA currently and what don’t you like about NCEA currently? Please do take the time to answer this survey as I will be collating this data and sending your responses to the ministry alongside student responses and staff responses. Mr Paul McDowall Acting Principal

Dear Parents/Caregivers Kia Ora Tatou Greetings Uniform A reminder to all students that despite some of the cold weather we are facing, hoodies are not part of the school uniform and should not be worn to school. The recent survey around hoodies being added to the official uniform has now closed and these results will be taken to the next BoT meeting. Until any decision is made please work with the school to ensure students wear the correct uniform. 2019 Option Selection It is a key time over the next three weeks for students in Years 10-12. Option booklets go out early next week. We follow that up with year level assemblies where we go over the options for students. In week 6 we have our NCEA evening where whanau are invited in to hear about NCEA

Upcoming Events Term 3

Monday 13th - Friday 17th August ................................... Clean up New Zealand Week

Tuesday 28th - Wednesday 29th August ............................ Talent Quest

Wednesday 29th August .................................................... NCEA Option Evening 6.00pm - 7.30pm School Hall

Monday 3rd - Friday 8th September ............................... Tournament Week

Monday 10th - Thursday 13th September ......................... Senior School Practice Exams*

* Y11 will be expected to be in school and do not get study leave. Y12 and Y13 will get study leave as in previous years.

Upcoming Events Term 4

Wednesday 7th - Friday 30th November ........................... NCEA Exams

The Office will be closed from 12.00pm on Friday 10th August.

Right: On Wednesday, explorer Brando Yelevich , spoke to our students and to lo-cal primary school students.

NCEA Fees & Entries Students were this week given copies of their NCEA invoice which includes a list of all the standards they have been entered into. Teachers will have checked these entries with students and signed that they are correct, or made changes to their entries if necessary. NCEA fees are due to be paid to the school by Wednesday 29 August. After this date the school will not be able to process fees and outstanding fees will need to be paid to NZQA directly. These fees cover the administrative costs of all assessments and are not exam fees, and must be paid for students to access their 2018 results and qualifications. Financial assistance is available and I encourage families to apply for this if applicable. Forms are available from myself, the office or tutor teachers. Students were also this week given the login details to register for NZQA access. They will need to use their NSN (printed on the card) to set up their login details. They are then able to check their personal data and the entry data on the NZQA database. It is important that students check the information which is recorded for them and notify me of any issues. Key dates: Final date for payment: 3:30pm Wednesday 29 August Internet banking due date: 2:30 Friday 24 August Applications for financial assistance due date: Friday 24 August Amanda Smith Principal's Nominee

SOHS Writing Competition and Anthology Entries for the SOHS Writing Competition and Anthology are due Friday 17 August. All forms of writing are welcome, including poetry, formal writing, opinion pieces and creative writing. All entries will be published in an electronic anthology which will be available free to students and the school community. Printed copies will also be available at cost. There are prizes for the best writing in junior and senior school. Writing can be emailed to any English teacher or directly to myself: asmith@sohs.school.nz. Amanda Smith HOD English

Year 13 future directions Year 13 students were given information this week about planning for next year. Students will be looking at different options when they leave school and planning for a successful transition is important. A useful website for further information is http:// schoolleaver.nz. Key dates have been shared with students and their parents/caregivers. All students received information about the online application process for applying for halls of residence, particularly the importance of completing the Common Confidential Reference Form http://www.ccrf.ac.nz/students . Tertiary Providers usually have free call numbers on their websites or email addresses and students were encouraged to contact them directly with any specific questions they may have. It is essential that students manage their time effectively to balance school, work and home commitments. This term will be a busy one and planning for transitioning to further studies or work whilst remaining focussed on Year 13 studies/ endorsements can feel quite overwhelming. A letter has been sent home to parents outlining arrangements for study leave so that this time is used wisely. There is a presentation in the school library by speaker Yvonne Godfrey ' 5 Things You Need to Know Before Leaving School' Wednesday 12th September at 10am, students who do not have examinations at this time are encouraged to attend. Cath Bloxham Year 13 Dean

Student Presentation

Wednesday 12th September 10am-11am South Otago High School Library 'Five Things You Need to Know

Before Leaving School'

Board of Trustees

Student Representative

Would you like to represent the

students on the Board of Trustees?

This is a 12 month position—you attend Board of

Trustee meetings in the evening, once a month (from

6.30pm onwards)

Monique Hewitt is the current

Student Representative

Nominations open

Monday, 13th August

and close 7th September

Voting for the student rep will

be held at the end of Term

Call at the office for a nomination form and job description after

11th August

New Zealand Spelling Bee On Monday night the New Zealand Spelling Bee semi-final was held to find the two representatives for the lower half of the South Island. Meg Albarico and Annie Schofield travelled to Dunedin to represent South Otago High School. With four students left to go both Meg and Annie remained which alone is a fantastic effort. Meg was then hit with one of the toughest words of the night: glabrous, and sadly an additional "o" meant she was out. The final word of the night was clarion which had Annie thinking for a moment before nailing it and booking herself a place in the final in Wellington. Well done to both girls who had a great afternoon. Rod Deverson English

Library News This week the library has been lucky enough to have a visit and workshop held by Brando Yelavich, the first person to circumnavigate New Zealand. Over 600 days Walking, Swimming and Kayaking he traveled over 8000 Km around New Zealand and raised $30,000 in a fund raising effort for Ronald McDonald House. Primary School students from around the district came into our Library and had a writing work shop with Brando. It was good to see the students asking questions and sounding interested in his achievements and lovely to see them here spending time in our Library. The book that has captured my eye this week is a book called After the lights go out by Lili Wilkinson and published by Allen & Unwin 2018. Set in the Australian Outback, Lili Palmer lives with her twin sisters and dad. They have become doomsday preppers and one day when all power to the town and the Mines is cut off their Bunker becomes their life line, their survival depends on it. They must tell no one or face the consequences, can they survive this? Katrina Pudney Librarian

Boys’ Football * Result: The Junior team was beaten 2-1 by Grants Braes last Saturday. This was a great result against a team that won all twelve of its league matches. Coach Dave said the team had plenty of opportunities to score, but was unable to capitalise on these. Still, a great effort. * This Saturday: The Junior team has a match against Maori Hill at the Balclutha Showgrounds. The players will need to be at the ground by 9:45. The Youth side kicks off its "cup" campaign with a trip to Green Island, and play-ers will need to be at the bus bay for an 8:40 departure. Both matches kick off at 10:30 Elliott Carroll TIC Boys’ Football

Rugby 2018 Unfortunately all three teams lost games last weekend. The First XV went down to St Kevins 20 – 5. St Kevins took an early lead and gained 17 of their points in the first half. We did well to stop them from scoring in the second half and at times we were close to their line, unfortunately we couldn’t get the ball down. The First XV have a weekend off now until Co-Ed cup starts on Tuesday the 14th where we play against Dunstan in Balclutha. The Colts travelled to Alexandra to take on Dunstan. Unfortunately Dunstan was too strong on this occasion and took the win 36 – 5. The U14 team asked for a game against Taieri. Taieri was too strong on the day taking the win 64 – 7. The season is now over for the Colts and U14 team. I would like to thank Regan Gillespie and Ken Campbell for looking after the U14 boys this season. I would also like to thank Tony Mallon for looking after the Colts. This weekend the U15 team are playing against Gore High School. At the stage, kick off is at 11am (SOHS #2), however, this is to be confirmed. Jason Palmer TIC Rugby

Girls’ Rugby South Otago girls 1st 15 played Columba at home on Wednesday night and had a great win 55-0 in the boggy conditions . The girls will be looking to end their season on another high with finals footy coming up next week . Hannah Sim TIC Girls’ Rugby