Stratford High Times

Kia ora koutou katoa

Thank you to all those who were involved in the summer sports programme. We appreciate the time and effort it takes to support your child to participate in sport. Students who excelled in our summer sports programme will be acknowledged in the Summer Sports Assembly next week.

Our winter sports programme is underway, and it is great to see those students who are a part of a team, participating and contributing within that environment. Team sport provides learning opportunities that we don’t always get exposure to within the classroom and supports the development of important values such as fairness, teamwork, being disciplined, including others, perseverance and respect. Teams do not function without all participants giving their very best. Please encourage your child to be on time and at training each week. The most successful teams work together away from the game to hone their skills before game day.

Below are two important documents that outline the expectations we have as a student at Stratford High School; our Sports Code of Conduct and our School Expectations. Our Sports Code of Conduct ensures that sports participation at Stratford High School aligns with the school's values, promotes responsible behaviour, and fosters a culture of excellence and respect both on and off the field. The school expectations outline how we do things at Stratford High School. We would appreciate it if you read both documents and discussed these with your child also.

As the days get shorter and cooler, please ensure your child wears the correct uniform, keeping them warm during the winter. We start to see hoodies and other non-regulation clothing being worn. These are not school uniform items. If you are having difficulty getting the correct uniform for your child, please see our staff in the office who can support you with some of our uniforms available at school.

Our attendance continues to improve. Please keep this up. This term is an important one for all students academically. The higher one's attendance, the greater the academic and social outcomes.

Noho ora mai

Cameron Stone

Principal

Thanks to the generous funding from Team Hope, we are excited to welcome our new school nurse, Tanya Jackson, this term. Tanya comes to us with a wealth of experience in primary health and has worked both in New Plymouth and Stratford. With her extensive background in healthcare, Tanya brings a deep understanding of the needs and challenges that our students may face regarding their health and well-being. Her commitment to providing compassionate and comprehensive care makes her an invaluable asset to our school.

Tanya will be available to assist our students with their health needs from Monday to Thursday, between the hours of 9:00 AM and 12:30 PM. Tanya's office is located in the Clelland Block, where she will be equipped to address a variety of health concerns and provide necessary support to our students. Whether it's a minor ailment, guidance on healthy living, or simply a listening ear, Tanya is here to help.

Students can make an appointment with Tanya by emailing her at nurse@stratfordhigh.school.nz. If a student requires urgent assistance, they can also drop in to see her during her office hours.

We are confident that Tanya's presence will greatly benefit our school community, providing timely and professional healthcare support to our students. If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you for your continued support in ensuring the well-being of our students.

FRIDAY MAY 17th - $2.00 PER STUDENT

By celebrating Pink Shirt Day and raising money to support the kaupapa, our school/kura is part of a powerful movement to spread aroha and kindness and end bullying.

Every dollar raised helps the Mental Health Foundation to run Pink Shirt Day, raise awareness about bullying prevention and provide free resources to help make our schools safe and inclusive for everyone.

Celebrated annually around the globe, Pink Shirt Day began in Canada in 2007 when two students took a stand against homophobic bullying after a new year 10 student was harassed for wearing pink.

We encourage everyone to wear something pink on the day. For more information please access www.pinkshirtday.org.nz and www.bullyingfree.nz

As a school/kura we are continuing working towards changing the culture of bullying in our school, online and on our sports fields. Our students are learning how to be an upstander not a bystander.

We want to create an environment that is safe and inclusive for everyone here at Stratford High School. Ending bullying will take longer than one day or one year. By strengthening and building on our school HEART values we will encourage and support our students to speak up, stand together and stop bullying.

In term 1 seven senior students from Te Rangimārie completed a Supported Barista Course in New Plymouth. This is the second year our students have done this course which is run by John Hudson from Brittains Lifelong Choices. They learned how to make delicious café styled food and how to use a barista expresso machine to make hot chocolate drinks and coffee drinks. Their skills are utilised every second Wednesday when we host our Te Rangimārie café. Whānau, friends and past students come along and enjoy the delicious food, fancy drinks and great company.

Well done to all the students and staff who participated in this year's cross country and colour run. The colour run definitely added a fun element to the day.

We are currently organising our Year 8 open evening and are looking for sponsors for our advertisement in the Stratford Press as well as items for the door prizes and scavenger hunt prizes. Last year we were very well supported by our community with over 10 prize packs given out as well as a small gift for every year 8 student that attended.

If you would like to contribute, please contact Joe Mack at the school or email joe.mack@stratfordhigh.school.nz. Items can be left at the main school office as well.

Congratulations to Ethan Larsen for being selected into the 2024 Taranaki U18 Men's hockey team. This year the national tournament is being held in the Hawkes Bay in July. He is also going to be playing in the Taranaki Men's Intercity Team - this is a new competition that Taranaki Hockey is a part of. This is an opportunity for premier club players to develop and test themselves against some quality clubs from Manawatu, Hawkes Bay and Wellington. We wish Ethan all the best for his hockey campaign this season.

On Saturday 4th May Ethan competed at the Wellington & Central Powerlifting 2024 Regional Championships held in Kapiti.

He gained 1st place in the Sub Junior U83Kg category with a combined 3 lift total of 573Kg.

He also achieved a new provincial record in his category for Squat (218kg), Deadlift (230kg) and Overall Total Record (573kg).

Congratulations Ethan on your outstanding achievement.

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.

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, Anne Jonas on 027 204 1134 or email anne.jonas@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 17th May - Pink Shirt Day (Mufti Day)

Thursday 22nd May - Taranaki wide Paid Union Meeting -School finishes at 12.15pm

Friday 31st May - Teacher Only Day

Monday 3rd June - King's Birthday

Friday 28th June - Matariki

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