Important Dates

Monday 18 August: Board meeting 6.00pm
Wednesday 20 August – PPTA industrial action
Friday 22 August: Mid-term break
Monday 25 – Friday 29 August: Winter Tournament week.
Tuesday 2 September: Sports Awards
Wednesday 3 September: Te Whānau a Taraika whānau hui 6.00pm
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

Principal’s message

Dominic’s Mid-Term 3 Principal’s message, focusing on the government’s proposed changes to NCEA is online and at: https://www.whs.school.nz/newsnotices/principals-message-mid-term-3-2025/

Proposed NCEA changes – opportunity to make a submission

The Government has invited schools, whānau and caregivers, and students to make submissions on the changes proposed. If you want to do that, you need to go to https://www.education.govt.nz/consultation-ncea where you will find more information and where you can have your say:

PPTA Industrial Action – Wednesday 20 August

The PPTA has advised the WHS Board that its member teachers at our school will be taking strike action on Wednesday 20 August 2025.

The Board has carefully considered the availability of non-union teaching staff and has made the decision that, although the school will remain open, only minimal supervision can be provided. Please email admin@whs.school.nz if your student(s) will need supervision on this day.

Metlink has confirmed that the school bus services will run as normal.

Partial Strikes

Partial strikes are scheduled between 15 and 18 September 2025. On these days PPTA members will not instruct or supervise students in certain year levels but will continue to teach other students. These will affect different year groups on different days:

Monday 15 September – Years 12 and 13

Tuesday 16 September – Year 11

Wednesday 17 September – Year 10

Thursday 18 September – Year 9

Board triennial elections

At the close of the nomination period, 31 nominations were confirmed for positions on the Wellington High School Board. With 5 vacancies available, the election will be continuing to a vote.

Voting information was sent to all on the electoral roll on Wednesday 13 August. This information was sent by Election Pilot. If you have not seen it in your inbox, please check the spam/junk folder.

Voting will close on 10 September at 4pm with postal votes accepted until Monday 15 September. Results of the election will be published on Tuesday 16 September.

Any questions that you may have about the election process should be directed to Election Pilot on 0800 VOTENZ (0800868369) or by email to election@electionpilot.nz

Timetable changes: 4 – 12 September

With CAA exams and the derived grade exam period running from Thursday 4 September – Friday 12 September, the timetable will change. Lunchtime and period 4 will swap with lunch running from 12.20-1.20 and period 4 running from 1.20-2.20. All other times are as usual.

What’s Happening

Fly on the Wall

Tune in to the new and improved Welly High radio station – ‘Fly on the Wall’
106.1 FM • Thursdays 6pm • Stream anytime afterwards.

‘Fly on the Wall’ is live, refreshed, re-energised, and ready to get our school community talking (and listening!). Broadcasting straight from Welly High, it’s where rangatahi share their voices, ideas, and music with the world.

Expect lively chats about what’s happening at school, the inside scoop on events and gigs (including those all-important under-18-friendly ones), student perspectives on life at WHS, plus a soundtrack of cool tunes and interviews.

Whether you’re a student, whānau, staff member, or friend of the school, this is your chance to tune in, connect, and celebrate the creativity and spirit of our community.

Listen live every Thursday at 6pm on 106.1 FM
Catch up anytime via the link we’ll share after each show

https://accessradio.org.nz/shows-podcasts/fly-on-the-wall/

Achievements

Play It Strange winner

Shout out to year 12 student Hannah Patterson who has been named as a prizewinner in the 2025 Play It Strange songwriters competition. This is a fantastic achievement as there were over 470 entries!

National Secondary Schools Case Competition

Two teams from WHS participated in the NSSCC. Students were given a case where they needed to respond to questions and formulate recommendations. They then had to submit a 4 – 5 page report which included a business plan. Both teams received positive feedback from the judges and one of our teams has gone through to the next round! Well done to Team LokTin!

Sports

2025 WHS Summer Sports – registration now open

Get ready for an exciting winter sports season! Registration is now open for all WHS summer sports.

How to Register: Visit the WHS Sports website for full details on each sport offered and to access the registration link: www.sporty.co.nz/whs/home

Important Information
Students will not be eligible to play if they have not registered by the 22 August deadline.
Parents and students must complete the online registration form together.
Sports fees must be paid prior to the start of the season, however, we recognise that for some families this may be challenging. Please email the Sports Department at sport@whs.school.nz if you would like to discuss support for your student’s participation in sport, and let us know if you might be in a position to support access to sport for another student at our kura.

Don’t miss out—register today and be part of the WHS sports community this summer!

Careers

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.

Gateway work experience

2026 applications for Gateway are now open for Year 12 and 13 students.

For information on the work experience programme you can find out more in the Gateway presentation (here)

And the Expression of Interest form to apply that needs to be signed by a parent or caregiver (here)

Gateway work experience is one day a week for a term/10 weeks or over a school holiday period. Being on Gateway, students will achieve a minimum of 10, up to 20 credits on a Health and Safety course, a Work Ready course, or Industry-based unit standards.

Gateway is not a timetabled class; successful students will have to catch up on the school work they miss due to the work placement. they can choose a day that works best for them and that least impacts their school timetable.

Some areas our students have completed their work experience in are:

Animal care
Aviation/Airport work
Baker
Beekeeping
Butcher
Cafe/barista
Chef
Childcare
Computer Repair
Corporate office work
Hairdressing
Horticulture (WCC)
Landscaping
Live sound, Event management
Physical fitness trainer
Predator control
Radio host
Retail
Police prep
Trades: building, electrician, plumber, mechanic, panel beating, metal fabrication & Joinery
Youth Services

Community

NZ Academy of Fine Arts Exhibition

The NZ Academy of Fine Arts Exhibition Store, held at the Tākina Exhibition Centre, showcases a beautifully curated selection of handcrafted works by emerging artists from across Aotearoa. From original prints and paintings to ceramics and jewellery. This is a fantastic chance to support local artists and discover something truly unique. We encourage parents and students to visit and enjoy the creativity on display. Open 7 August – 24 August daily 10am – 5pm.