Nga mihi nui ki a koutou,

As we move closer to the end of Term 1, and the temperature starts to cool off, we have noticed an increase in illness within our community. It is important that our rangatahi get enough sleep, drink plenty of water and make sure they are resting when feeling unwell. Attendance has a significant impact on social and academic development, and we want our rangatahi coming through the gates every day at their best.

2024 sees a significant focus on attendance. We know that regular attendance at school provides greater opportunity for success. Our expectation is that our rangatahi attend school every day, whilst understanding that there may be the odd justified absence. Our goal for every one of our rangatahi is that they attend school at least 90% of the time (half a day on average away from school per week). If all rangatahi can achieve this then our school wide goal of 90% will also be achieved. Right now, our schoolwide attendance is 85%.

Form Teachers and Deans check student attendance daily and you will receive either a phone call or a letter should there be a concern with your child’s attendance. Last week you will have received the first attendance report that we will send out twice per term. This will give you a snapshot of your child's attendance, including their overall percentage. Please support your child in maintaining their attendance above 90%. NB: WITT and Gateway students' attendance can be dependent on the immediacy of the outside provider getting their attendance to us.

A student who misses 1 day a fortnight will miss 4 weeks of school in the year.

A student who misses 1 day a week will miss 8 weeks of school in the year (almost one term).

A student who misses 2 days a week will miss 16 weeks of school in the year.

A student who misses 3 days a week will miss 24 weeks of school in the year (more than two terms).

Personal presentation is an important part of attending school, anywhere in the world. Most schools hold strong values regarding uniforms and how they are worn. We are no different. Our deans have been doing spot checks on uniform, as has each form teacher during our morning form time. We are encouraging all rangatahi to arrive at school in the correct uniform. However, we do have a loan system in place should they require certain uniform items for the day. Boys are expected to be clean shaven and limited jewellery is permitted. We would be grateful if you could support us by ensuring your child leaves home with the correct uniform, worn with pride. The Stratford High School Uniform Guide can be downloaded from our website. Here is a link to this page https://stratfordhigh.school.nz/uniform/

Our NCEA results have now been confirmed for 2023 and for the second year in a row we have outperformed schools of our size and Equity Index Band (Decile Rating). Last year were the best results since 2016 (that is as far back as I have on record) and this year we matched these results again. We were well above the National Average and Equity Index Band at Level 1 and Level 3 and were above the Equity Index Band for our University Entrance (UE) pass rate. Our UE pass rate was the best on record. Our Level 1 Literacy and Numeracy results were also above the National Average. Our Maori student achievement across all our NCEA Levels has improved by 40% since 2019. We are proud of our rangatahi and their efforts. Attendance, a focus on quality teaching and learning, and strong relationships play a key part in this success.

Our Schools Athletics and Swimming Sports were marvellous events. House spirit was alive and well and it was heartening to see the school spirit in full force with the rendition of the ‘Y.M.C.A’ together at the pool. Our students drive our school culture, and it is the calibre of these events that stands us apart from others.

Many opportunities lie ahead for our rangatahi, with a number already underway. Relay for Life is complete, and Stratford High School has successfully fundraised $18,000 for this great cause. 81 students have signed up for Showquest (https://www.showquest.nz/), Aoteroa’s biggest performing arts competition, and winter sports teams are being allocated as we speak. Being a part of at least one extracurricular activity provides balance, whilst not forgetting the importance of staying up to date and connected to our schoolwork.

We have three new staff members who started with us last week. Mrs Divya Krishnan has joined the Science Department, arriving from Fiji. Mrs Krishnan will be picking up Mr Thornton-Pett's classes. Mrs Joe Mack has started as my PA. She takes over from Diane Lithgow, who moves part-time this year. Mrs Tanya Jackson has started as the school nurse. We were incredibly grateful to receive support from Team Hope to employ a nurse. Mrs Jackson is not currently available for appointments with students as we are preparing for this in the coming weeks.

Have a wonderful Easter break, and I hope you can get some time to relax and refresh.

Nga mihi nui

Cameron Stone

Principal

Our parent-teacher interviews are being held on Thursday 4th April 1.30pm-6pm

Parents/ Caregivers of students (Y9-13) are invited to make appointments through https://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/code/6kxsw

Please refer to the list of teacher codes to make an appointment with your child’s subject teachers. Your child’s timetable can be viewed on the kamar portal and display teacher codes if you are unsure. Interviews will take place in the hall.

Please contact reception on 765-6039 if you require any assistance.

Whilst we provide paracetamol to students in extreme cases, we are seeing quite a few students regularly coming straight from home asking for pain relief before the bell rings and also during the day. We don't provide paracetamol before form time or Period 1 and during period 5. If your child/ren are sick, please keep them at home. We are monitoring students who often come asking for pain relief.

Please ensure your child/ren bring a drink bottle to school to keep hydrated during the day.

Master Urbahn has presented Olivia Kerr with her Combined Martial Arts 1st Grade Black belt and certificate. Congratulations on your achievement Olivia, all your hard work has paid off.

The certificate was signed and certified by the Grand Master Wu all the way from the CMA headquarters in Korea.

Here are a few images from the very intense First Responder Health & Safety and Advanced First Aid courses which our gateway programme students and several other seniors successfully completed last month. Well done guys!

Thank you to our local employers who are providing our gateway programme students with their work experience placements this year:

Becks Helicopters

Brad & Jo Bielski, Mount Mattie Lands

Broadway Joinery

Central Kindergarten Stratford

Central Taranaki Automotive

Coffee Shack

Field Torque Taranaki

Findlays Flower Studio

Robinson Electrical

Stratford Community Childcare Centre

Stratford District and Centennial Library

Stylz Hairdressers

The Other Barber

Our Year 12 students attended the RYDA Course in Inglewood. Check out what it was all about in the link below and you can also find some handy tips and information available.

https://www.rse.org.nz/

Exciting news, we are gearing up for SHS's upcoming school football season! Scheduled to kick off in term 2, our games are set for 4pm after school, either on Tuesday nights for the boys or Wednesday nights for the girls. Team training sessions are marked for Thursday afternoons from 3:15pm to 4:15pm.

What makes this season even more accessible is that games won't interfere with Saturday commitments, allowing students to juggle school football alongside other sports or Saturday club football.

If your student is keen to join the action, please reach out to me at andrew.hunger@stratfordhigh.school.nz.

Due to a recent update to the Android system, the KAMAR app can no longer be downloaded to android devices. KAMAR at this time are working on a resolution to this by migrating to a mobile friendly website. Due to the complexity of resolving this issue however KAMAR do not expect the resolution to be available soon.

You can still access the parent portal via our school website.

If any students have medication stored at school, can you please make sure the school is up to date with current medicines. If you need to check please get in touch with Emma Bolger emma.bolger@stratfordhigh.school.nz

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.

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.

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)

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.

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

To book an appointment, see the school office reception or contact the Public Health Nurse, Steph Bakker on 027 406 4822 or email stephanie.bakker@tdhb.org.nz.

Please see the office staff if a hearing or vision test is required.

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: Mrs Joe Mack

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 2024

Year 9: Ms Kelly Rawcliffe

Year 10: Mr Jeff Walker

Year 11: Mr Bill McGeoch

Year 12: Mrs Lucy Gibbon

Year 13: Miss Heidi Seales

Guidance Counsellor: Ms. Liza Albers

Learning Support Coordinator: Mrs. Lisa Dent

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

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

Friday 29th March - Good Friday

Monday 1st April - Easter Monday

Tuesday 2nd April - Easter Tuesday

Thursday 4th April - Parent Teacher Interviews

Friday 12th April - Last day of school

CAPE EGMONT VIRTUAL HALF MARATHON 2024

Want to walk or run in your own time, but also be part of a fantastic event? Then we would love you to join us.

The Cape Egmont Virtual Half Marathon offers three distance options - 5 km, 10 km and 21 km. Which can be completed any time anywhere from the 1st to the 31st of July 2024. Simply record your time via Strava, Map my run, Fit Bit or screenshot and upload through our website. Every finisher receives a medal and all money raised goes to the Taranaki Cancer Society and the Taranaki Men Can Exercise Group. To help those in our province affected by cancer.

ENTER AT: www.capeegmonthalf.com ENQUIRES capeegmonthalf@gmail.com

Rubbish and recycling collection has changed across the country. What does it mean for Stratford district?

The government has standardised kerbside recycling across Aotearoa. From Kaitaia to Bluff and everywhere in between, only these items will now be accepted in recycling bins:

· Plastic bottles with lids removed, and containers and trays larger than 10cm x 10cm. All plastic must be numbered 1, 2 or 5 and rinsed clean.

· Food and drink tins and cans (rinsed and with lids inside the can)

· Paper and cardboard, including pizza boxes with food scraps removed

Clean glass jars and bottles without lids will continue to be the only glass recycling accepted.

So, what’s new for Stratford district? The main change is that aerosol cans need to go into your red-lid bin for general waste as they’re no longer recyclable.

Find out more about what can and can’t be recycled at https://www.stratford.govt.nz/Recycle

Quick recycling tips

· Batteries can’t go in your rubbish and recycling bins. Drop them off at the Transfer Station or a local organisation with a battery recycling service.

· Make sure you put all your small container lids in your rubbish bin as they can’t go through our sorting machine for recycling, or better yet, be creative and repurpose them.

· Please give your plastic and glass recycling a good wash.

If you've got any questions, please email WasteMinimisation@Stratford.govt.nz or call 06 765 6099.

For more information regarding Free Home Internet, please click on the link https://edos.kiwi/

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.

We are pleased to advise that Stratford High School has reached Ferns' Fuel for School programme's threshold for redemption.

The current total is $1043.58.

We are super excited to introduce our newest addition to the program: Vegepod's. At Fern, we believe in the power of connecting kids with nature. Hands-on gardening experiences not only teach crucial life skills but also creates social bonds and boosts well-being.

You can now redeem from a range of sports, technology, literacy, music and of course Vegepod 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 - Finnerty Road
• Cornwall Park Farms Limited - AGO
  
• G & M Collins Family Trust
• Makino Deer Limited
• Palmerdell Trust 91 Only
  
• Palmerdell Trust AGO only
• Palmerdell Trust
• Cornwall Park Farms Limited
• WE & JJ Craig
• GN & RL Smith Trusts Partnership

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