PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
Tēnā Koutou Katoa
Firstly I would like to thank staff, students and whanau for their manaakitanga of each other over the last few weeks. Unfortunately Covid has interrupted our learning programmes again, however staff and students have risen to this challenge. During lockdown we issued over 250 devices for students and 200 hard packs of work for students. Some of these hard packs were workbooks to support senior students with the work they were also doing online. This was a mammoth effort by a team of staff. I would like to thank whanau for being respectful of our health and safety procedures during this time.
Thank you to those students who have returned their devices so we can continue our learning programmes in school. We would appreciate that if your child has not returned their device they do so as soon as possible. As we have the signed forms for user agreements already, if we did go into lockdown we would be able to issue devices swiftly to those students that had one in this last lockdown.
Some senior students have School Derived Examinations coming up. These are very important because if we were to be in Lockdown Level 3 or 4 the Ministry of Education has said examinations will not go ahead. Therefore what students achieve in their School Derived Examinations will contribute as evidence towards a final grade. To support students studying Mrs Broomfield our Learning Support Coordinator is running study technique sessions on Tuesday lunchtimes for any interested students.
I have appointed some staff for next year. We are looking forward to having them join our team. They are:
Imogen Mickleson - teacher of English and Social Sciences
Hamish Hay - teacher of Mathematics and Economics
Joe McGregor has been made permanent and will be the Year 9 Dean in 2022
Morgana Nathan - teacher of Physical Education
Tom Rowley-Westwood - teacher of Physical Education and Employment Skills
Penny Gibson - Finance Officer
I am currently advertising for a Year 7&8 teacher and a Te Reo Maori teacher.
Due to the Health and Safety restrictions regarding Alert Levels we unfortunately had to postpone the Kapa Haka Festival until 2022. Instead schools have the opportunity to film what they have done and this will be made into one film of all schools and played at the inter-school Digital Film Festival next term. I would like to thank the staff and students for all the work they did in preparing for this event.
Ngā mihi nui
Mrs Jo-Anne Vennell
CORE VALUES
The following students were awarded this week for displaying one of our core values of:
Caring for each student (Manaakitanga),
Working together (Kotahitanga),
Respect (Whakamana),
and Resilience (Aumangea).
Orion Howard, Ngamanu Tai, Kyara Kaaho, Ahhaan Shah,
Zion Morrison, Lockie Morrell,
Kaya Keefe-Taeoalii, Kashya Ruwhiu & Tukaha Edwards
NEW CODING AND ROBOTICS LEARNING PACKS FOR DIGITAL TECHNOLOGIES
The Technology Faculty is very excited about our new Coding and Robotics learning packs we received from The Genesis School-gen Trust. The Trust invited schools all over NZ to apply for science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) and solar equipment and received applications from schools as far-a-field as Northland and all the way down to Bluff. Wairoa College’s submission was selected from almost 300 applications from schools throughout New Zealand.
Schools were able to select equipment packages to match their learning needs. We selected LEGO Education equipment. The first learning pack, LEGO® Education WeDo 2.0 Curriculum Pack will help to engage and motivate our junior students’ interest in programming and robotics. This is done through the use of motorised LEGO models and simple programming. This material does not tell students everything they need to know. Instead it makes them question what they know and explore what they do not yet understand.
The second learning pack, The LEGO® Education SPIKE™ Prime Set is combining colorful LEGO building elements, easy-to-use hardware, and an intuitive drag-and-drop coding language based on Scratch to engages students through playful learning activities to think critically and solve complex problems, regardless of their learning level. SPIKE Prime has easy-entry projects with limitless creative design possibilities, including the option to explore text-based coding with Python.
The new equipment will certainly help our Digital Technology students to learn the essential STEAM and 21st century skills needed to become the innovative minds of tomorrow... while having fun!
Getting Exam Fit
As we head towards the end of the year, preparing students for exams is a big focus. We are providing Study Skills Training for students during Tuesday lunchtimes and these will be repeated at the start of next term. If your child is unable to attend those sessions, ask them to email me and I will share the presentations with them to watch at home.
Whanau can support their child, particularly in getting organised and setting up routines. We encourage students to organise a study space with all the resources and materials they will need. Choosing a quiet place free from distractions and disruptions is critical. Students also need to work out a study routine, preferably the same time periods each day. Talk to your child about their routine and discuss ways in which whanau can support them, such as having the study routine shared with all household members and agreeing to avoid distractions during those times.
Breaking up study sessions into periods of 25 minutes of focussed attention followed by a five minute break to get up, have a drink and move about is far better than one large extended session. The TomatoTimer (tomato-timer.com) is a great tool that can be used on a device or phone to automatically time sessions without needing to watch the clock.
There are some great Study Skills lessons on My Mahi and lots of YouTube videos available; some better than others. I highly recommend How to Study Effectively: The Top Six Science-Based Study Skills https://youtu.be/CPxSzxylRCI for the latest researched strategies that ensure studying is effective and gets results.
Two great websites that students should explore are Fast and simple NCEA study - LearnCoach and StudyIt www.studyit.govt.nz. The websites are user friendly and provide useful information about NCEA standards; achievement criteria, advice and tips, samples, exemplars and past papers, and much more!
Keep an eye on your child’s wellbeing during this stressful time. Ensure they are exercising regularly, eating well, have a good sleep routine and are having some fun time too. Skipping healthy meals, sitting all day in front of a device, giving up the things they enjoy, and staying up late, especially cramming, all make studying very ineffective. Support your child in maintaining a healthy balance and making good choices.
If you have a concern about your child’s preparation for exams or have any concern about your child’s learning and would like to contact me, you can:
- Leave a message with our front office staff in person or by phone (06) 838 8303
- Email me direct on djb@wairoacollege.school.nz
I welcome the opportunity to meet, collaborate and work with whānau and caregivers.
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, engari he toa takitini
My strength is not that of a single warrior but that of many.
Ngā mihi
Diane Broomfield
Learning Support Coordinator
Contact Us
Email: info@wairoacollege.school.nz
Website: https://www.wairoacollege.school.nz/
Location: Wairoa College Lucknow Street, Wairoa 4108, New Zealand
Phone: +64 06 838 8303
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wairoacollege
