Newsletter - Term 3, Week 8

Tuesday 20 September: Year 10 Numeracy assessment

Wednesday 21 September: Year 12 Outdoor Education Cycle Tour

Thursday 22 September: Senior Subject Selection Evening (For this year's Yr10, 11 & 12s)

Wednesday 28 September: SMAC Maths competition Invercargill years 7-10

Wednesday 28 September: Level 1 English Derived Grade Exam

Wednesday 28 September: Board Meeting 7.00pm

Tēnā koutou katoa

Te Wiki o te Reo Māori

This week marked 50 years since the Māori Language Petition was presented to Parliament. The petition called for the active recognition and teaching of te reo Māori in schools. We celebrated this event at assembly this week with the Y9s leading us in singing the College's waiata and the Y13s leading a haka. Using and celebrating te reo Māori is a path that many of the staff and students are on. If you see me walking around town with my headphones on and looking like I'm talking to myself, you can assume that I'm listening to Scotty Morrison's awesome book, "Māori Made Easy" as I continue to improve my understanding and pronunciation. I would encourage you to be brave and learn some more te reo than you already know. It's not too scary to learn as it's phonetic and once you've got the vowel sounds sorted, you can pretty much tackle any Māori word. A massive thanks to Rebecca Wilson for all of the effort she put in to help make the week a success for all.

Wellbeing Day

We had a fantastic day of workshops and keynote speakers yesterday. At a personal level it was great to be inspired and entertained by Paul Nicholson, learn some new skills, share experiences with others, test myself in areas that make me uncomfortable and find some time to reflect and just be. The staff also worked with Anne Kenneally from Core Education at Monday's staff meeting. We were able to work with our colleagues from Mararoa and Te Anau schools to share kai, kōrero and get a brief introduction to the work we will be doing over the coming year(s). Shelley Wilson also deserves a huge thank you from all of us for the organisation and effort. It's a massive undertaking and we're all extremely appreciative.

Ngā mihi nui

Steven Mustor

Last Thursday a handful of us were able to head down to the beach to conduct a Litter Intelligence Survey. Litter Intelligence is a Citizen Science project run all across New Zealand. We collect rubbish and then audit it; the data provides insight on how much litter is washed up on New Zealand shores.

Here In Te Anau we have established the first Freshwater Beach survey site in all of New Zealand. A feat to be proud of! Data is also used by the Government to make decisions on how to control and minimise pollution of our waterways.

This is a really cool project to be involved in, your work counts towards a nationwide change! By contributing to the programme we can make a difference. Many opportunities come from being part of this project… like heading into Fiordland and exploring remote beaches.

This link leads to the latest survey:

https://litterintelligence.org/data/survey?id=1730

We are looking for more keen people to train as lead citizen scientists. Come and talk to us if you have any questions!

Ciao

Nina Menegatti Zink, Ianthe MacMillan-Armstrong and Gwylam MacMillan-Armstrong

(KRTK Litter Bugs)

On Wednesday we had two teams travel to Dunedin to compete against 22 other teams from a pool of 40 secondary schools.

Our teams were outstanding in terms of behaviour, attitude, tenacity and competitiveness. Their teamwork and ability to improvise and improve were noticeable.

The Year 10s finished in 2nd Place to a combined team from John McGlashan and Columba Colleges. Only two points behind in 3rd Place was our Year 9 team.

A reminder that voting closes on 21 September at 4 pm.