Stratford High Times

Tēnā koutou e whanau mā o te Kura Tuarua o Whakaahurangi

Naumai, haere mai koutou ki te kawepūrongo o Pipiri

The cold, wild weather of late has made for some uncomfortable days, particularly during break times. We often get asked by parents where students can go during lunch and interval on these types of days. The library is open every break time (unless there is an event) and this is a nice warm space with games and other activities to participate in. A5 and A6, Te Amorangi, T1 and T2 are classrooms that are open and available to stay warm and dry. Art students are welcome to continue their work in the Art room also and the stadium is often open in the winter months too.

We are noticing more of our students are not prepared for the cooler days and are wearing incorrect uniform, particularly non regulation jerseys and jackets, and incorrect socks. Our black uniform pants must be dress style and worn with black polishable shoes. Our school jackets, available from the school office, are superb quality jackets that are ideal for the cooler months. Come and see Anne-Marie in the office and she will happily support you with purchasing one for your child.

As we move into the business end of the year, particularly for our seniors, it is paramount that students make the most of their time at school. Having the right mindset and being ready to focus each day comes from a good daily routine. Getting enough sleep, limiting time on devices (including phones- keep these out of bedrooms), eating well and planning the week ahead on a Sunday night all contribute to this routine. Encouraging students to attend school every day and to be present in all of their classes will also optimise learning time. We get one shot at education, and it is important we (parents and school) support our ākonga to be at their best.

Social media is a wonderful tool for connecting with our friendship groups, both locally and internationally. Unfortunately, we frequently see the use of inappropriate online behaviour, which can often bring about problems within school. Finding opportunities to educate our teenagers is a good way to address some of this behaviour. Knowing what our teenagers are doing online and who they are talking to, provides an opportunity for these discussions and allows us to role model appropriate use when connected. For those who were unable to attend the online presentation from Rob Cope last week, he has a number of great resources worth reading online at https://www.ourkidsonline.info/

Keep warm!

Cam Stone

Principal

Dates:

Thursday 22 June - 6PM

Friday 23 June - 6PM

Saturday 24 June - 6PM

Tickets:

Adults - $15

Child/student - $10

Tickets on sale from the school office.

ABOUT THE SHOW

There’s mayhem in the mansion! When the greedy family of the recently deceased mystery author Byron Pembroke gathers on a dark and stormy evening (of course!) for the reading of his will, each family member can practically taste the dough! But his four adult children soon find out that the rich and famous author isn’t done creating mysteries. Instead of naming an heir, Byron instead condensed his fortune into one mysterious object and left it to... whoever finds it first!

The zany situation is only made more crazy when the mansion is overrun by a horde of strangers seeking shelter from the storm. From superfans to ghost hunters and from displaced high school thespians to bungling burglars and a family missing their beloved pet, all join in the frenetic hunt for the hidden treasure. Add in a nosy news team trying to create a sensational story and you have a madcap mystery that gives every actor a chance to be part of the madness!

On the 16th of May, students from the SADD team partnered up with our local police and our community officer, Phillippa Joblin, to thank drivers in our community for their safe driving and to spread awareness around road safety week.

Students helped by setting up a breath testing stop on Regan Street. When drivers passed their breath test, they drove to the side of the road to receive a lolly with a thank you note attached from the team for keeping our roads safe. The team is happy to report everyone was very well behaved and there was no need to bring out the handcuffs! Once we packed up, our students spent some time talking to our police about what would happen if our drivers made a bad decision, educating themselves further. We also had the pleasure of Bobbi from SADD join us.

Students in attendance were: Xanthe Maketoni, Ciara Staines-Hurley, Lara Abraham and Libby Kowalewski.

Xanthe Maketoni has been announced as a winner from Road Safety Education as a Student Road Safety Hero, nominated by Mrs. Gibbon. Xanthe will be receiving her award in the upcoming weeks.

Recently, our Kapa Haka roopu have been engaging with the community and have performed in the SHS Variety Show.

Kōru Kindergarten came to visit us with some of their tamariki. The roopu performed waiata and haka for them and sang waiata that the tamariki could interact with. The ākonga from Whaimana Ako were also able to join us to support their tamariki - ka mau to wehi!

Please celebrate with your rangatahi around the commitment and dedication they put into supporting their school kapa haka roopu.

Whaea Makere Gerrard

Kaiako o Te Reo Māori

The students of Te Rangimārie have opened a café in their classroom! Last term, six students; Emily Grant, Renee Eagar, Aidan Taylor, Levi Sherman, Deontae Gooch-Marr and Manny Munroe, participated in a six-day Café/Barista course - a STAR course run by Brittain’s Lifelong Choices. The students learned to use a barista machine and to cook food suitable for selling in a café.

On 7 June, past students, parents and whanau were invited to the café opening. As well as coffee and hot chocolate, the menu included macadamia nut & white chocolate brownie and bacon & egg slice.

The café provides an authentic opportunity for students to socialize with whanau and other students and use a range of skills including cooking, serving, and dealing with money. A highlight is reconnecting with students who have left school.

The café will be open on Wednesdays from 11.45 am in Te Rangimārie.

If you require your child to leave school early for any reason, please contact the front office or your child's Form Teacher or Dean as soon as possible. Only a parent or caregiver whose name appears on the student's school records can give permission for a student to leave school early. Photo ID will need to be shown to office staff at pick up time.

If you need to arrange for someone else to pick up your child, such as an aunty etc., this must be made clear to the office staff. We may call you to confirm if necessary. Photo ID will also need to be shown to office staff at pick up time.

On the day prior (if possible) to when you are requiring your child to leave school grounds during school hours, please contact the front office via phone or email or contact your child's Form Teacher providing the following information:

• Student name and form class
• Time that the student will need to leave school
• A brief description of the reason for early release e.g. dentist appointment etc.
• The name of the person collecting the student (if this is someone else other than you)
• Your contact details
• Your signature (if you are sending in a note)

If we receive an email or a handwritten note, you will receive a call from the front office to confirm the early release time and that the permission did indeed come from a parent or caregiver.

If a student is requesting to leave early and we have not received prior notification and we cannot get a hold of a parent or caregiver to confirm early release, the student will not be released from school.

Ms. Kelly Jennings

Deputy Principal/Pastoral Care

We strongly encourage students who have a device at home (other than a cellphone) to bring it to school on a daily basis. We are aware that some students are choosing not to bring devices which puts pressure on our internal loan system. Thank you for your support as we continue to embed the BYOD process at school. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact the school office who will put you in touch with the right people.

If there are any students who are unable to bring their own device, they can speak to classroom teachers to support them in acquiring a borrowed device from school.

Please inform the school office of any student achievements so that we can join in celebrating with them

There are a variety of ways that you can make payments to cover school costs. The main office receives cash and EFTPOS payments and you can also pay online via direct credit. Parents can also set up an automatic payment to cover schooling costs. When setting up the automatic payment, consider a minimum payment of $15.00 per week, which is sufficient to pay for all school, curriculum and sport costs for a student during the year.

Payments will be automatically applied to “required payments”. Subsequent payments will sit as a credit on the student’s account. If you would like to have payments allocated to the “voluntary payments”, please email ts@stratfordhigh.school.nz with the details.

You can set this up by either using your bank’s online banking services or downloading the Automatic Payment Authority form and taking this to your bank. Please remember to use the students’ name for any payments.

Check out this Facebook Page set up by our Ball Committee. Students can join the group to make the Ball experience more affordable https://www.facebook.com/groups/216675021146626/

As we progress through the year, remember to check your son's or daughter's results on the Kamar app or portal: https://stratfordhigh.school.kiwi/ If you have any questions, please contact the subject teacher in the first instance.

- Dr. Michael Taylor

Deputy Principal (Curriculum)

Preparations for our year 8 Open Evening are proceeding but we are still looking for items that may be put into prize packs. If you would like to donate any items, please drop them into the school office.

Our metal department are on the lookout for any scrap steel that can be donated to the school Anything will be considered; old horseshoes, angle iron, anything.

Please email Colin Franklyn fc@stratfordhigh.school.nz

• MoneyHub has published a guide to hundreds of scholarships for any student planning to start university in 2024.
• https://www.moneyhub.co.nz/scholarships-nz.html is the link.
• The comprehensive list includes scholarships offered by every university as well as those specifically available to local students.
• A list of privately-funded, Maori, Pacific and International university scholarships completes the list
• Applications close throughout the year, with tens of millions of dollars available.
• MoneyHub has also published a list of tips for scholarship success.

Our Charter is now available to view on our website. The charter sets the direction for our school and identifies our priorities as a school community.

The Stratford High School Policies and Procedures are managed online, through School Docs. To visit our School Docs, click here.

Our school username is: stratfordhigh

Our parent password is: swansearoad4332

You will find policies for review and more information about the review process under the "Current Review" tab. We welcome your feedback via this review process.

Rummage around for those unwanted mobile phones to donate!

We have a Mobile Phone Collection Box in our office.

The Mobile Phone Recycling Scheme has raised over $3 million for NZ charities thanks to the support of Businesses, Government Departments, Organisations and many thousands of individuals from all over NZ.

Phones received are graded, data wiped and sim/memory cards removed and destroyed. Phones that can still be used are sold by tender to off-shore businesses that specialise in the resale of second-hand mobile phones. They are refurbished and sold as low-cost handsets to places like Africa and Asia. Phones that have reached their end of life are broken down and recycled in an environmentally friendly way with up-to 95% of their materials being recycled into other products. Regardless of condition, working or non-working, make or model all mobile phones are accepted by the Mobile Phone Recycling Scheme.

Massey University Open Days

All campuses REGISTER NOW

Victoria University of Wellington

Friday 25 August REGISTER NOW

Auckland University

Saturday 26 August REGISTER NOW

Canterbury University

Wednesday 20 September REGISTER NOW

The Stratford Library has partnered with Ciena and the Spark Foundation to offer free broadband to students and whanau who currently do not have a broadband connection at home.

What does a family get on the Ciena fund?
• A free modem.
• 210GB of data every month until December 2023.
• Data is automatically loaded on the 1st of each month and does not roll over. Any unused data expires at the end of each calendar month. Once all the 210GB of data has been used up, the data will come to a complete stop until the next month.

Check that Jump is available at your home address at skinny.co.nz/jump

If your address is eligible, please fill in the following form for office staff to prepare an application form for you Free Broadband for eligible students

All year 9 students at Stratford High School are offered a free health and wellbeing check, with the Public Health Nurse or Youth Worker.

This is intended to identify any health needs that your child may have that may affect learning and behavior in the school environment. It is also an opportunity for your child to start the process of understanding and contributing to getting their own health needs met.

The assessment will include measurements of height, weight, and blood pressure as well as a basic assessment of your child’s hearing and vision.

Other topics will be discussed, such as:

· Enrolment with GP

· Health factors related to home, school and friends

· Nutrition and exercise

· Interests outside of school

· Drugs, alcohol and sexual health

The health assessments will be completed over the course of the year, commencing at the start of term one.

Consent will be presumed unless parent or caregiver chooses to opt out. If you wish to opt out of the health assessment, please contact the school office

- Public Health Nursing Team

The Public Health Nurse will be at school one day every week for any health needs. Clinic is confidential and free.

• Health and hauora (wellbeing checks)
• General health concerns
• Contraception
• Condoms and pregnancy tests
• STI checks and the morning after pill
• Vision and hearing

To book an appointment, see the school office reception or contact the Public Health Nurse, Bridget Powell on 027 263 4996 or 06 753 7790 or email bridget.powell@tdhb.org.nz.

Have you downloaded our school app yet? Moving forward, our app will be the one-stop-shop for communication between school and home. Download it and check out the features that are available!

I am a registered social worker, who has also studied Child Centred Play Therapy, as well as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. In addition, as a solo mother I have experienced the gauntlet in range of emotions a parent could face, and behaviours a child could exhibit. Probably the biggest lesson I have learned is how heartbreaking parenting can be if you don’t get it right. Hence my website www.nextchapterparenting.co.nz.

In addition to the resources on the website, I offer individual or group parenting classes for parents of preschool and school age, as well as a course for parents of teenagers.

Brigid Carkeek

Does your child require further support, over and above what can be offered at school?

Would your child benefit from bespoke and nurturing learning sessions from a highly experienced teacher designed to accelerate learning and boost confidence? We would love to help. We are a team of dedicated teachers, specialising in English and Maths support, for primary, intermediate and college students. Visit www.boostyourlearning.co.nz for more information or contact Jenny 021 223 3349 to book a free consultation.

I am an experienced singing teacher formerly from New Plymouth, now residing in Stratford. I am available to teach contemporary and musical theatre and vocal private lessons at the address below.

All enquiries please phone 0211905054

Mrs Mary WIlliams

38a Flint Road West

Stratford 4332

This course is available to youth aged 15 - 18 years. The focus of the programme is to prepare youth for their future, such as gaining confidence in the job application process, setting goals and learning how to budget and prepare various meals. Further information and enrolment forms can be picked up from the school office.

Advanced after-school coding lessons available for ages 9 - 18. To give your child the opportunity to learn how to programme technology apply now at codingnz.com/signup

Please find below key contacts for staff at school.

Senior Leadership Team

Principal: Mr Cameron Stone

Deputy Principal Curriculum: Dr Michael Taylor

Deputy Principal Pastoral and School Organisation: Ms Kelly Jennings

Assistant Principal/Academic achievement: Ms Allana George

Principal's PA: Miss Diane Lithgow

School Board Secretary: Mrs Amanda Hill

Principal's Nominee

For all enquiries regarding NZQA or Te Kura

Mr Dirk Vermeulen: extension 707 or email

Deans for 2023

Year 9: Mr Jeff Walker

Year 10: Miss Jodie Sullivan

Year 11: Miss Peta Apperley

Year 12: Mr Colin Franklyn

Year 13: Mr Bill McGeoch

Guidance Counsellor: Ms. Liza Albers

Learning Support Coordinator: Mrs. Lisa Dent

For all other enquires please contact the school office 06 765 6039

Have you moved recently? Have you changed your phone number or email address recently? Please fill out the following form to advise us of your new details. Also fill out this form if you have not been receiving emails from the school. There are a number of families who we don't currently have an email address for.

It is very important we have the correct information for your child in case there is an emergency and we need to contact you immediately. If any contact details change throughout the year please let the school office know.

Email: mail@stratfordhigh.school.nz
Website: www.stratfordhigh.school.nz
Location: Stratford High School Swansea Road, Stratford, New Zealand
Phone: 06-7656039
Facebook: facebook.com/SHSTaranaki

Instagram: @shstaranaki @heart_SHS @shs_SADD_team

We are delighted to advise Stratford High School are on the way to reaching the $1,000 threshold for redemption.

The current total is $740.

Once we have reached the $1,000 target we can redeem from a range of sports, technology, literacy, and music packages which will be hand delivered by your local Rural Sales Manager.

The Fuel for Schools sponsorship programme has helped put over $1.7 million dollars of resources into more than 600 rural schools in the last fifteen years.

Just a reminder of how SHS has received this donation...

SHS has been nominated by a local business/farm that receives bulk fuel deliveries from Fern, meaning that for every 100 litres of bulk fuel they purchase, 50 cents is donated to SHS. We would like to take the time to mention who those members of the community are that have contributed to SHS. They are listed as follows:

• Amberhay Limited
• Cornwall Park Farms Limited
• Cornwall Park Farms Limited - AGO
• G & M Collins Family Trust
• Makino Deer Limited
• Palmerdell Trust
• Palmerdell Trust 91 Only
• Palmerdell Trust AGO only

Rural communities and schools everywhere can enjoy the benefits of the Fuel for Schools programme. For more information about the programme, call 0800 99 99 89 or visit their website fernenergy.co.nz/community/fuel-for-schools