TAWA COLLEGE
Issue 4
June 2019
Kia ora koutou We have now moved beyond the shortest day of the year and Term 2 is almost complete. For senior students this is a vital time to maximise achievement in all internal assessments offered. Tawa College is excelling in all areas of school life. At the highly competitive Regional Barbershop competitions the Tawa College Boys Chorus, Acafellas was placed 1st for the eighth consecutive year and the Girls Chorus, Maiden Tawa was also placed 1st. Our Boys Barbershop Quartet, Ladrigals were placed 1st and our Mixed Quartet, Rolling Tones were placed 2nd. Our Girls Quartet, Grace Notes were also placed 2nd. This is a particularly impressive effort considering that all four members of Grace Notes are Year 9 students. Three other Quartets also qualified for the Barbershop National Finals. At the Regional Big Sing event four Tawa College choirs, Dawn Chorus, Early Birds, Blue Notes and the Year 9 Choral Choir performed with distinction and gained five awards, the most of any school at the event. In sport the season is progressing well and we are grateful for the many parents, whānau members and past students who are coaching, managing, encouraging on the side lines and providing transport for our teams. Our Senior A Boys Basketball team have made a great start to their season and are currently placed 1st in the Premier 1 competition. Both Boys and Girls 1st XI Hockey teams have retained their Premier 1 status. Our Girls Rugby 1st XV have also made a promising start to the year and are currently unbeaten. Tawa College students are steadily working away at upcoming college events, including the Dance Showcase Mosaic, the 2019 Major Production, and Drama performances at various year levels. On Wednesday 19th June 2019 at approximately midday Tawa College held its first Lock Down Drill. This involved communication with students, staff, parents and community. The drill was a success and we took some learnings from the event and our processes. Thank you to parents, staff and students for working together on this important element of Health and Safety at our college.
A group of Tawa College parents have initiated planning for a Health and Wellbeing Youth Expo. It will be held in early 2020. A planning meeting is being held on Thursday 27th June 2019 in the Tawa College Staffroom. If you would like to attend this group would value your input. Congratulations to the following parents who were elected to the Tawa College Board of Trustees in the recent election- Sue Abraham, Christine Argyle, Stuart Marshall, Jason Plimmer and Jim Wiki and to Tyron Davies who was elected as the staff representative. Staffing At the end of Term 2 we will be saying goodbye to two teaching staff members. Mr Chris Pugh has been with us for five and a half years having begun his teaching career at Tawa College in January 2014. Chris leaves us to take a new position in Singapore and we wish him all the very best and thank him for his excellent contribution to the college. Mr Declan Rynne has been teaching Mathematics at Tawa College for the last three and a half years and has made an excellent contribution during this time. We are sad to see him go, but understand his wish to return home to live in Ireland with his young family. We have two new staff members filling these vacancies. Mr Pugh will be replaced by Mr Hamish Burke who had previously completed one of his teaching practicums at Tawa College. We will also be welcoming Mr Joe Bibby into the Mathematics Department. Joe is arriving from the UK and will commence with us in Week 2 of Term 3. One of Year 10 Deans, Miss Proctor will be on a leave of absence during Terms 3 and 4 and will be replaced on a fixed term basis by Ms Rebecca Chandler in the Social Sciences Department. Bereavement Sylvia Mann passed away on Wednesday 13th June. Sylvia worked as a Teacher Aide at Tawa College from 2010 to 2016. She was an avid follower of football and had a wicked sense of humour. In recent years she would scoot around the school on her mobility scooter. Sylvia will be fondly remembered for her love of English and for mentoring young Teacher Aides. Sylvia’s passing is a great and sad loss. Ngā mihi nui
Murray Lucas, Tumuaki
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Tawa region. It is hoped that out of this work graduate profiles for students from Years 1 to 10 may emerge.
TAWA KĀHUI AKO
Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toiroa. Let us keep close together, not wide apart. The Tawa Kāhui Ako continues to work collaboratively to plan and implement strategies to improve the outcomes of the students in our community. Late last month, all teaching staff from the eight schools met in various venues to look at different aspects of schooling in the community. The presenters put a large amount of work into the sessions and participants were willing. We feel if we increase the connection between the Kāhui Ako’s teaching staff we will create a smoother pathway for our students through our community.
Finally, the work that the Kāhui Ako is completing around Growth Mindset is exciting, yet challenging. It is clear that to be successful, students need to work toward taking a Growth Mindset into their learning. However, as teachers and mentors, we need to provide the steps and support needed to utilise the change in Mindset to increase the outcomes for the students. A change in Mindset alone doesn’t accelerate progress.
Other areas in which Kāhui Ako staff have connected and collaborated have been: Tawa Literacy cluster, Tawa Deputy Principals cluster, Māori Success group, Principals group, Oral Language cluster, Numeracy cluster and the Wellbeing cluster. The Kaitiaki Māori student group is made up of Māori students from Years 5 to 10 from all schools. It is such a delight to see students from all of the Kāhui schools talking and thinking about next steps for themselves and their schoolmates. Over the last three weeks, hui have taken place investigating the interplay of Oral Language, Māori Success and Local Curriculum. Planning is well underway to develop resources through the knowledge of iwi, local community groups, teachers, and even students, and use Pepeha as the basis of study around the History and Geography, both Māori and European, of the extended
ON LINE ENROLMENTS
Online enrolments are now accessible through the college website. All existing parents and caregivers of Tawa College students have been emailed with a link to the new online system. Online enrolments will be available to both in zone and out of zone applicants, and to all year levels. The system will require you to input information about the student, contact details, medical information etc. Particular items will need to be uploaded with the application including:
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Full birth certificate of student Proof of residency (power account only) for in zone applications Evidence of measles immunisation (2 doses)
NORTHERN REGIONAL POLYFEST
The Northern Regional Polyfest is returning to Te Rauparaha Arena on 28th June 2019. The competition features secondary school Pasifika groups and kapa haka groups from the Tawa and Porirua colleges. This year it is hosted by Tawa College, and will feature Porirua, Mana, Aotea and Bishop Viard colleges. Tickets cost $5 for under 12 year olds, $10 for over 12s and adults. Under 5s are free. You can purchase tickets from the Te Raupararaha Arena and Ticketek from 1st June. Doors open at 9.45am. The students have been putting in a lot of mahi, so we look forward to seeing you there to help us celebrate our Pasifika cultures in song and dance.
SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENTS
Congratulations to Year 9 student Lana Ritchie who sat her NCEA Level 3 in Musical Performance last year at the age of 12 and achieved a grade of Excellence. Additionally on Sunday 2nd June, Lana entered the Kapi Mana Music Festival and Competition, Senior Piano Solo Grade 7 and above section, and was awarded 1st place. Congratulations to Reuben Renner in Year 11 who has been selected to play cricket in a Wellington Under 16 team touring Sri Lanka from July10th until July 26th. Congratulations to Shyann Wairau in Year 11 who has been selected as a member of the NZ U15 Developing Sox Girls’ Team for 2019. Shyann is due to travel with the team to Brisbane in July and the USA in August. Japanese Regional Speech Competition Omedetou and congratulations to Cedar Porteous (Year 10) and Zoe Allen Maitland (Year 13) for achieving the Special Award and First place, respectively, in the recently held Japanese Regional Speech Competition. Photos below featuring the participants with the Japanese Ambassador Kiyohiko Hamada.
Congratulations to Fraser Pettigrew in Year 12 who has won the “Outstanding Young Volunteer” in the 2019 SPCA Purina Volunteer Awards! Fraser has fostered over 40 animals in two years, including taking on animals that many experienced fosterers would not feel comfortable with. SPCA National Training Manager Kirsty Grant says: “When Fraser began volunteering with SPCA, we needed bottle feeding fosterers. Fraser started during the school holidays and his first two kittens needed feeding every 3-4 hours. This is a big ask for adults, let alone a teenager like Fraser! He took it all in his stride, learning new skills and caring for very vulnerable animals. Without Fraser, these animals would not have had a second chance at life.” Fraser says he loves being able to educate others on the topic of fostering. He has even delivered a presentation about fostering to a SPCA holiday school programme, as well as representing SPCA fostering at the Westpac Home & Garden show. Fraser will be interviewed this week on Wellington Access Radio about his volunteer work.
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We also had a group of Year 12 Technology students construct a number of dog kennels, cubby holes and other
MUSIC DEPARTMENT
June Tunes Wednesday 26 June - 7pm Tawa College Hall Koha suggested $5 adults, gold coin students
items which were donated to the Wellington SPCA. Staff from Wellington SPCA were extremely grateful for this initiative and thankfully received the items which are being put to good use.
FOOD TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT The Year 13 Food and Society class are working towards reducing sugar in our school and promoting water and milk. Please encourage your child to drink water at school and provide them with a drink bottle as we have taps located around the school. We will trial selling milk in the canteen. If you have any feedback on this initiative please email our teacher, Ms Sonya Ford at sford@tawacollege.school.nz
Mosaic 2019 Performances will be held in the Tawa College Hall on July 2nd 3rd, and 4th at 6.30pm. Koha entry. Mosaic features dance students from Years 9 through to 13.
After recent successes at Regional Competitions, come along to hear our award winning choirs, choruses and quartets and watch our instrumental groups perform. You will want to hear them all!
TRANSITION AND CAREERS DEPARTMENT
Careers Update The Tawa College Careers Website can be accessed via e2learn by clicking on the CAREERS tab. The website includes a calendar of events, course information, future study options including both university and other providers, scholarships, gap year information and general careers information. This is a great place to start to explore future pathways or to identify potential areas of interest using one of the tools on the site. Students are also welcome to visit the T8 careers resource room at interval or lunch time to browse through brochures and collect information on a range of careers and tertiary providers. Students can make Careers Advice appointments with either Mrs Wiltshire or Mrs Rogers by emailing kwiltshire@tawacollege.school.nz or krogers@tawacollege.school.nz or by dropping into T block.
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Scholarships The July holidays is the best time to work on scholarship applications. A bit of time and effort can be very financially rewarding and make a big impact on the size of your student loan. Most University Scholarship applications are now open. See individual university websites for more information. Scholarship information and search engines can be found under the Careers tab on e2learn, click here for more information. Careers Events June 21 & 22
Wellington Careers Expo, TSB Arena
July 4
Victoria University Year 12 day (school trip: registrations due 21st June)
July 11
University of Canterbury information evening (offsite)
August 1
Engineering Futures Evening, Auckland University event in Wellington. Click here for more information and to register.
August 7
Massey University Open Day, Manawatu. Register via this link. Free buses from Wellington/Porirua are available and a form has been shared with students earlier this term.
August 8
Year 10 and 11 Careers Seminars, Tawa College. Information and seminar registration form will be issued in Week 9. Due end of Week 10.
August 23
Wellington Tertiary Open Day
August 29
Victoria University Year 10 Day
September 9
Auckland University Course Planning (Tawa College)
September 20 Victoria University Course Planning (Tawa College) September 24 Canterbury University Couse Planning Further information on these events can be found on the careers calendar on e2learn. Halls of Residence Applications for Halls of Residence open on 1st August. All applications require a CCRF (Common Confidential Reference Form) to be completed by 15th September. This
form is common across all NZ Universities and only needs to be completed once.
A reminder that the Career’s Department have their own Facebook page for all students and families to “Like”. This communication tool is great for the students to keep up to date with what is going on with short courses, career visit dates and open days etc.
STAR Short Courses The opportunity for students to explore their future options while still at college. There are a number of different taster courses running in Term 3. For information about the courses available please visit our Facebook page and read the Student Notices, or come and chat with Kath Gillum in T12 . TC Beanies/Barista Training One of the most popular short courses is barista training. At the beginning of the year Kath is bombarded with students registering their interest to go on the course. We get through as many students as we can and then have them attend TC Beanies – the coffee shop in the PTA Centre. They get to experience the reality of making espresso drinks under pressure for staff. Latte/Hot Chocolate/Cappuccino/Long Black/Flat White/Americano/Mocha – and add a shot of fun with Vanilla/Salted Caramel/Chai/Hazelnut/Caramel Come and see the students in action - $2.50 or add a shot for an extra 50 cents. Wednesday and Friday mornings 8am to 9am up in the PPTA Centre (behind the Canteen) all welcome – tell the community.
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WORLD CHALLENGE 2020
The World Challenge Trip to Malaysia (December 2020) deadline has been extended. If you are still interested please email the teacher in charge, Mrs Lodge on glodge@tawacollege.school.nz. If any students are still undecided and want more information they can attend the launch meeting on Tuesday 25th June at school 3.30pm to 5.30pm upstairs in the Gym. TAWA COLLEGE LIBRARY
Cards are non-transferable for money Students must redeem their free pizza in person, and by Tuesday 3 December 2019.
If you have any questions about the Hell Pizza Reading Challenge, please contact our Library Manager, Elaine Smith. We hope you will encourage your Year 9 / 10 student to participate in the challenge – It is free! Our school library has a great selection of books to choose from including the 2019 New Zealand Book Award nominees Our school library does not charge overdue fees The library is easily accessible for your child to visit when here at school And we have wonderful friendly staff who want to see your child reading and enjoying reading too! TAWA COLLEGE COMMUNITY EDUCATION
As Term 2 comes to a close the programme for Term 3 has now become available for registrations.
Dear Parents/ Caregivers Our school library is participating in the HELL Pizza Reading Challenge which is being run in conjunction with the 2019 New Zealand Book Awards for Children and Young Adults. The HELL Reading Challenge is a highly successful programme that gets students reading and enjoying the pleasures of books with free pizza rewards. How the Reading Challenge works: The Reading Challenge is open to all Year 9 and Year 10 students. Students wanting to participate can get their A6 pizza card from the Library. Every time they finish a book, the card gets clicked off and signed by Library Staff here at school. When they have finished seven books, they can take their completed pizza card to any HELL Pizza store and redeem it for a free Snack Pizza. Here are the rules: Each pizza card is good for one Snack Pizza from any HELL Pizza store nationwide The card must be signed by a librarian here at school, and stamped with our official school library stamp One pizza per visit per student
The course LANDLORDING WITHOUT FEAR introduced this term has been very popular and Jackie will be running another one in Term 3 (the last for the year). Jackie can provide you with valuable information if you have rental properties or are thinking about purchasing property for rental. Some of the topics covered will be inspections, maintenance, setting rents and developing successful relationships with tenants to keep your investment in top shape. Another popular new class in Term 2 was TEXTILE RECYCLING. This course will be offered again on Sunday 25th August. During the last course some of the changes made by students were a pair of jeans into a bag, a dress into a top and an adults dress into a child’s dress. This course provides you with some great ideas to recycle and repurpose items rather than throwing them out. Two interesting seminars offered will be BUILDING RESILIENCE IN CHILDREN & NAVIGATING DEMENTIA. Both are one night seminars on Tuesday 20th August and Monday 5th August respectively. BUILDING RESILIENCE IN CHILDREN Resilience is an important character we want our children to have and is particularly important for the fast-paced world we live in. Children who do well in the face of adversity and hardship will have developed various coping and stress-management skills. Learn how you can share some of these with children and young people around you.
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NAVIGATING DEMENTIA This two-hour session will cover: What is and isn’t dementia? What to do if you are concerned about changes in memory or thinking. How to support a family member or friend living with dementia? The support and resources available from Dementia Wellington and other organisations.
UNIFORM – PUFFER JACKETS
For these and all other classes please go to the web site www.tawacomed.co.nz
Tawa Squash Club Junior Club Night - Fridays
Judith Havill: comed@tawacollege.school.nz Community Education Coordinator
REPORTING STUDENT ABSENCES
If your child is going to be absent from college, please ring 232 8184 and push 1 for the absence line. Please state your child’s name, form class and the reason for the absence. Please also ring the college office if your child plans to sign out at any time during the school day for an appointment. An automated text message is sent by the Absence Manager each day after Period 1. There is a significant cost to the school sending these texts. To increase our accuracy and reduce costs please ensure that you notify the college as early as possible if your child is away for any reason. LEAVING SCHOOL GROUNDS YEARS 9-12 Some students are making their own arrangements with parents or caregivers to leave site and be collected during the day. If you make plans with your child, please ring the office to confirm in advance of their sign out. This saves the office doubling-up on calls and ensures students are not held up when wanting to sign out urgently.
We have a supply of puffer jackets at a reduced price. If you are interested in purchasing one, please contact the college office.
COMMUNITY EVENTS and NOTICES
67 Main Road, Tawa (next to St Francis Xavier School). Have fun, learn new skills and meet new friends. Small Nix 5 to 8 year olds 5pm to 5:30pm free; Others 5pm to 7pm $5 (first week free, members free). For more information go to info@tawasquash.co.nz or call us on 04 2328200 . Get your kids to learn to play "The Healthiest Sport in the World".
UPCOMING EVENTS (can be subject to change)
Please refer to the e2Learn website June 2019 Monday 24 Sports and Cultural Photos Wednesday 26 Paid Union Meeting Students released at 12.20pm Wednesday 26 June Tunes Concert 7pm, Hall Thursday 27 Manaaki Committee Meeting 7pm Tawa College Staffroom Friday 28 Northern Regional Polyfest
Saturday 29 July 2019 Tuesday 2 Wednesday 3 Thursday 4
Te Rauparaha Arena Tawa College Formal Mosaic Dance Showcase 6.30pm Mosaic Dance Showcase 6.30pm Mosaic Dance Showcase 6.30pm All performances in the college hall
LOST PROPERTY Friday 5 We have a number of lost property items that we would like to return to owners before the end of the term. If your child has misplaced any items, please ask them to call at the college office to check to see if we are holding it. We have a number of school jackets, hoodies and mufti items that we would like to see returned to their owners. At the end of each term, any unclaimed items will be disposed of or donated to charity.
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End of Term 2 students released at 1.20pm
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