Important Dates
- Monday 11 August: Senior Parents Evening 2.00-5.30pm
- Monday 18 August: Board meeting 6.00pm
- Friday 22 August: Mid-term break
- Monday 25 August: Te Whānau a Taraika whānau hui 6.00pm
- Monday 25 – Friday 29 August: Winter Tournament week.
- Tuesday 2 September: Sports Awards
- Thursday 4 – Friday 5 September: Writing CAA exam.
- Monday 8 – Friday 12 September: Derived grade exam week. Numeracy and Literacy Reading CAAs and DCAT exams
- Monday 15 September: Board meeting 6.00pm
- Thursday 18 September: Music Evening
- Friday 19 September: Term 3 ends
Important Information
Provisional term dates for 2026
Are now online here.
What’s Happening?
ShadowTech
Seven of our students attended ShadowTech at Spark this week. They learned about Datacenters, e-waste, sales, service desk, network engineering, meeting room technology and cyber-security amongst other things.
Kapa Haka Te Whānau a Taraika performs for Rita Angus retirement residents
On Friday 1 August our rōpū were invited to perform for the residents of the Rita Angus Retirement Village that was organised by Kiri Cockburn Birch. It was explained to us before our performance that most of the residents were living with dementia and they are all at different stages, it was possible that we would get yelled at as to being too loud, or overcrowded.
This was not the case!, we were warmly welcomed by staff and residents, there were tears, laughter and enjoyment and we have been invited back for entertainment. This kaupapa was purely organised by our Kapa Haka students and a huge mihi to Kiri who decided to just walk in to Rita Angus Retirement Village and ask a simple question, “is it ok if our Kapa Haka come and perform for you?”
Ngā mihi to Eru, Manaia, Jet, Hawea, Sophia, Terina, Ivy, Yaya, Molly, Sophie, Willow, Kiri, Rosa, Natalie, L.A, Paula, Mereama, and to the staff and residents of Rita Angus.
Library week
We’ve had a great week of celebrations in the library with fun events including ‘Risk it for a Biscuit’, a fun Book Quiz and our very popular annual book sale, yes all these students were crowding around to buy books!
Y13 Drama Kills Monsters – A Wildly Fun, Fantastical Ride
Huge congratulations to the Year 13 production of She Kills Monsters, which lit up the stage for four nights with laughs, epic battles, and big-hearted storytelling. Set between school and the fantastical world of Dungeons & Dragons, the play followed a young woman’s journey through grief and connection, brought vividly to life with energy, joy, and commitment. The fight sequences, risqué laughs and emotional moments had the audience hooked from start to finish.
It was a huge team effort to create the ambitious world of the play. Students took on the responsibility of designing lighting, writing original music, and they sourced and built weapons and D&D costumes, including a show stopping full-sized dragon battle that ended each night!
The director, cast and crew (including a team of junior technicians) pulled it all off with style and precision, creating a clever, chaotic, production full of heart.
The next Year 13 show lands in Week 6 —don’t miss it.
Careers
Pathways Newsletter
Please read this week’s Pathways Newsletter!
Link to online newsletter via Careerwise
Contact Chuni Bhikha bac@whs.school.nz or drop into S502 if you require further information on the above events.
Career Expo
On Monday, the Careers and Pathways team hosted our annual Careers Expo. Senior students had the valuable opportunity to engage with representatives from local universities, regional providers such as Polytechnics and Industry Training Organisations (ITOs), exchange organisations, StudyLink, and other training and employment providers.
It was a fantastic event, and we hope it has inspired our Tauira to feel excited and empowered about the wide range of pathways available to them!
