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Weekly Wrap Up

Weekly Wrap Up (Week 7, Term 2)

It’s International Languages week and we bring you highlights. We follow Science enrichment’s Space Place visit and their Zoom call with NASA’s Brandon Rodriguez. Congratulations to Brooke McCloy, selected to the national Shakespeare Schools production for 2021; Mira Patel, finalist for Capital Magazine Young Photographer of the Year and Julia Randerson profiled in Stuff for her Debating success.

Important Dates

  • Monday 21 June: Board meeting (6pm)
  • Friday 9 July: End of Term

Important Information

COVID-19 anti-vaccination misinformation

The Ministry of Education has informed us that they are aware that several schools have been targeted by an individual, or individuals, opposing the vaccination programme for COVID-19. As has been the case throughout the COVID-19 response, we encourage you to continue to refer to the following sources for accurate information:

If you see something about COVID-19 or the vaccine that doesn’t seem right or if it’s on social media you can report it to the platform. Anything else can be reported to CERT NZ.
Wellington High School strongly supports the Government’s vaccination programme for COVID-19.


What’s happening?

Help our Year 13 Geo students

They are examining the impact of COVID on the hospitality industry and public transport use.
 
Do you eat out in restaurants and cafes? Has this changed in the past year? Please complete the survey here: https://bit.ly/3wpgDJj
 
Or maybe you are a restaurant owner who has experienced the impact of COVID? Complete the survey here: https://bit.ly/3gv0Dz2
 
What about your public transport use? Has that changed? The survey can be found at: https://bit.ly/3xgFnDC
 
All responses are anonymous and will be treated confidentially.
 
Surveys take 5 minutes to complete and all data collected are anonymous and confidential. Surveys will be live until Wednesday 23 June. Please share this information with friends and whānau.

International Languages week

This week we celebrated the diverse languages and cultures here at WHS for International Languages Week, with the cafeteria including a range of international dishes on the menu, a quiz for rōpū classes, a Salsa dance class. Today during lunchbreak some students and staff shared songs, dances and traditional clothing from their culture with us.

Pictured (L-R): Yawshu Chwe, Miss Bai, Polina Beliaeva, Lizzie Vermeij and David Wang


Japanese Trivia Championships

Two teams of Year 10 Japanese students represented the school at the annual Wellington Regional Japanese Trivia Championships last Friday. Although neither team placed in the top three, everyone had a great time and learnt a few more cool facts about Japan!


Calling NASA

Year 9 Science enrichment’s focus this week has been on Mars exploration. On Tuesday the group visited Space Place for a workshop and planetarium show. They were hosted by Haritina Mogoşanu, Executive Director of the New Zealand Astrobiology Network. She described her experiences training for Mars missions, looking for life in Rotorua’s hot pools, and how her finds relate to the evidence of life that Mars missions will search for. 

On Thursday the group made a Zoom call to Brandon Rodriguez, an Education specialist at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena. He described his work as part of the team developing and testing the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter. The students were able to ask him a series of curly and thought-provoking questions. 

Pictured: Brandon Rodriguez (photo credit: NASA)


The Cullen Breakfast Club

WHS was invited to The Wellington Club for the Cullen Breakfast Club on the 17 June to a talk on China. The main focus of the talk was about how New Zealand handles trade with China and if that trading relationship might change with the issue of cultural genocide occurring within China.

John McKinnon (NZ Ambassador to China), Ford Hart (a retired U.S. diplomat) and Anna Fifield (Editor of the Dominion Post, previously the Beijing Bureau Chief for the Washington Post, reporting from across China) were the panelists at this special event, providing their expert opinion and knowledge on the topic. It was a whole new experience to be in a room with so many established people and with a delicious breakfast spread prepared and an interesting talk, it made for a very rewarding event.

Emily Rutledge, Y13 Journalism student


Library

NEWS FLASH: From Monday 21st we will be trialling an extension of library hours. On Mondays we’ll be open till 5.00pm and Tuesday to Friday we’ll close up at 4:30.  

We’re doing this so that students can stay in the library longer to study or read, but also because students have time to fill between school and Ngā Manaakitanga (Māori Mentoring) on Mondays, or extra-curricular activities.

On Tuesday we had a huge sale of Fiction books we’ve withdrawn from the library.  We are dedicated to keeping the collection fresh and valid, so regular “weeding” of items that are shabby or not so popular is essential.  There’s nothing like a .50c book however, so lots of these have been given a reprieve as students rummaged through the boxes and contributed generously to the Library Promotions and Chocolate Biscuit fund.  Thanks Book Lovers!


He Kākano

Our students have been engaged in a range of activities and classes this week. Two of our students regularly visit the ASB sports centre for handball. It is also the season to be planting daffodil bulbs in horticulture class.


Arts and Open Evening

Thirteen Year 10 Drama students performed and answered visitors’ questions over two hours of Open Evening shenanigans on Monday night. Well done to this team of students who took the event in their stride.


From the Garden

The Level 2 NCEA Horticulture students have been taking home pot plants that they propagated in class.

Winter greens ready to eat from the school garden. These vegetables were sown early April, pricked out and transplanted before the May holidays in order to be eaten in June


Achievements

National Shakespearean success

CONGRATULATIONS to Year 13’s Brooke McCloy (pictured left) who has been selected as one of the 48 students from across NZ chosen as members of the National Shakespeare Schools Production 2021.


Capital Magazine Youth Photographer finalist

Year 12 Art student, Mira Patel, has been selected as a  finalist in the Capital Magazine Youth Photographer of the Year 2021, with her photograph of a Wellington scene. Mira’s work will be exhibited alongside the other finalists on the 1 July-15 July at Te AuaHa , 65 Dixon Street , Te Aro , Wellington. Congratulations Mira!


National Debater featured in Stuff

Following our coverage of Julia Randerson (Year 13)’s success in the NZIER NZ School Debating Championships 2021 and her selection for the NZ Schools’ Debating Team, this week Julia was the subject of an article published in Stuff.

Julia will be joining Wellington Black team mate Tony Huang (Onslow College), Callum Hackson (Christ’s College), Emilie Horsfall (Havelock North High School) and Isaac Mellis-Glynn (Auckland Grammar School) in the Online World Schools Debating Championships later this year.

To read the Stuff article, click here

Photo credit: VNP/Phil Smith