From the Principal's Desk
Tēnā koutou e whanau mā o te Kura Tuarua o Whakaahurangi
As I look back on the last two terms and reflect on the challenges that we have been presented with, I am extremely proud of how our staff have continued to provide opportunities within sport, The Arts, and within the classroom. The Covid wave of Term Two has had an impact on staff and student attendance at school but TSSSA, winter sport, Sheila Winn Shakespeare, Moana Production and Variety Concert are just a few of the opportunities that have allowed our students to be at their best.
Our Variety Concert on the 15th of June, after having been postponed, was a brilliant night. The 300 plus crowd contributed to an atmosphere within the hall that added to a superb event. The talent we have within our school is exceptional and we were lucky to have had a diverse range of performers throughout the evening. Thanks must go to Mr Orr (Head of Music), Mrs Hansen (Arts Coordinator), our Arts Captains, Sereima Lum and Elysse Kerr and all those other staff and students who helped pull the concert together. We are grateful to have the support from our community and thank you for your attendance on the evening. All proceeds are donated to Team Hope.
Matariki this year was significant, with this being the first year of the Matariki Public Holiday. Our shared kai and celebration on the Thursday before the long weekend was a special occasion for us as a school. The hall was full of staff and students, and we engaged in waiata together before we ate. A big thank you must go to Whaea Makere, Matua Dan and our Kaitataki Rouruina Gerrard. We look forward to this becoming an annual celebration within our school.
As we move into the holidays, it is important to be having conversations around our attendance for Term 3. Attendance has a direct impact on academic achievement and development. It also significantly impacts social development. The MOE expects students' attendance to be above 90%. This means students are missing a maximum of 5 days per term. In Term 2 our summary of attendance across our whole school was 68%. We need to make attendance a priority as a school and as a community. We do only get one shot at high school. Please support us and your child by encouraging them to attend school every day.
In staffing news, the end of Term 2 sees the departure of Erin MacDonald. Erin attended Stratford High School as a student, completed a practicum here as a student teacher and has been with us now for almost 12 years as a Science, Home Economics and, most recently, a Te Reo teacher. Erin cares a lot about this community, and we thank her for her contribution over many years.
Fiona Putt joins us as our new Agriculture teacher from Term 3. Fiona has spent the past few years at Hawera High School and, along with her husband, farms at the back of Midhirst. We look forward to having Fiona as a part of our team. Jim Park has been appointed to a Maths teaching role in our school. He is currently based in the UK. Jim will be with us halfway through Term 3, all things going well, and brings with him significant experience in leading others in the teaching profession.
Have a safe and enjoyable holiday and I will look forward to seeing you all again in Term 3.
Ngā mihi nui
Cameron Stone
Principal
Cellphones at SHS
We have clear rules around cell phone use at Stratford High School. Cell phones can be used in the classroom as a learning tool with teacher permission. The rationale is to teach our students about self-regulation and moderation of their phones. Some students become dependent on social media, and other platforms on their phones. We have found that phones are a distraction for some of our students.
Below are some important messages around phone use.
1. Students are not allowed cell phones in class or break times unless the teacher has given permission as a tool for their learning. Otherwise they remain in school bags, either on silent or turned off.
2. A first warning is given when a student brings out their cell phone during class time without teacher permission. The teacher will ask them to put it away in their bag. The teacher will remind them of the school wide expectations.
3. If a student refuses to do this or has the phone out for a second time, the teacher will ask for the phone and keep it until the end of the lesson. They will speak with the student about expectations and record this infringement.
If the student does not hand over the phone, they will be sent to the dean, SLT for further discussion. The phone will be put in the student office for safe keeping and a parent will be asked to come and collect it.
4. Repeated phone offences: The Dean or DP Pastoral will then discuss next steps with the parent and student.
If you have any queries regarding uniform, attendance or cellphones, please contact Karla Ralph at kralph@stratfordhigh.school.nz
Positive Behaviour for Learning - HEART Ticker Rewards
We are excited to announce that our school rewards system has been launched. Heart tickers will be given to all students who promote our school values and school expectations. These can be given in subject classes, during EOTC activities, field trips, sports, cultural, arts, practices and events. Other ways of receiving a heart ticker are as follows: being an upstander, helping another student, picking up rubbish, etc.
In Week 6 and 7 of this term, our students were introduced to our new school based MyMahi reward system. Teachers have been upskilling in the last 5 weeks and practicing distributing these to their classes.
All students have been registered and have a MyMahi account and login. They can monitor how many rewards they have and whether they would like to redeem these for prizes. We have an abundance of amazing prizes. Some students have already been given between 5-15 Heart tickers and will be able to collect prizes next term. School notices and posters will direct them to where to do this and their form teacher will help them.
Students who meet 30, 50, 75, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300 milestones for heart tickers will have a KAMAR email sent home to whanau acknowledging their efforts. More information will follow in Term 3 and on our school website.
for any further information please contact Karla Ralph, kralph@stratfordhigh.school.nz
Karakia before the Matariki shared Kai.
A tasty selection of treats for our lunch
Sharing food and fellowship while celebrating a new year.
Sheliah Winn Competition
Congratulations to Jack Linton and Charlotte Frazier for winning the 5-minute division at the Regional Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Competition!
Charlotte and Jack performed as Iago and Roderigo from Shakespeare's tragedy Othello. They represented Taranaki at the National Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Competition in Wellington during Queen's Birthday weekend. As part of this weekend they had the chance to win a trip to the Globe Theatre in London! Both of the students enjoyed their time in Wellington and it was wonderful to see their performance at the variety concert.
Rockquest Success
We had 2x solo acts and one band competing on Saturday at the regional heat of the Rockquest competition. Bryan Adams and Ephriam Ingram both performed fantastic solo songs - Ephraim's especially was noted as something a bit different - however there were only 2 places in the regional final from about 12 or 14 soloists, and competition was strong so they have not made it further.
Our band 'The Crawlers' (Coby van Pelt, Chrissy Manuel-Isaacs, Kauby Ngatai-Northcott, Reuben Barker, Elysse Kerr) performed a really great original song, only written within the past couple of weeks, and were noted as some of the more engaging performers at the competition. From 14 bands at the heat, the top 12 go through to the regional final. So our guys were never going to miss out on making that cut! They now have to do a video submission for the regional final and a chance at the national semifinal (made up of the top 30 acts nationally).
Please congratulate these students - they represented our school very well all day and really put everything into their performances.
Moana Jr Production - 3 to 6 August, TET Kings Theatre, Stratford.
Ticket Sales
Tickets are available at the theatre or online - see the posters around the school and at the TET Kings Theatre.
Moana Jr rehearsals happening in the hall.
Props and staging are being added to rehearsals
The cast learning to work with the props as well.
Kamar Access
We have been having a number of calls regarding access to KAMAR. Below is a step by step instruction to access the KAMAR website:
- Go to SHS (Stratford High School) website
- Click on KAMAR blue button at bottom of front page
- This will take you to website - stratfordhigh.school.kiwi
- Logon at top right hand corner using your Kamar login
- Click on Details - this is a drop-down box which has various options (including financials)
You can go directly to the website without going through SHS website.
By using the website portal you will have access to financials, reports, subject selection, and other important information. The app will only give basic contact information.
Stratford High School
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