PRINCIPAL'S MESSAGE
As we come to the end of tournament week, let’s give a shout out to the mahi, commitment, perseverance, team spirit, collaboration, respect, courage and generosity of spirit exhibited by our teams in this important school week. We are, of course, thrilled with the performances of our teams - and our sports co-ordinator will provide all the details for next week’s newsletter - but most of all we celebrate the way that through our sports our students demonstrate their adherence to the school’s values and experience personal excellence in this cornerstone of school life. Congratulations to each and every team member for their participation this week!
We have students who travelled as far as Invercargill ( our Soccer boys with Mr Barr and Mr Stanhope) and in contrast a team who played a local tournament at the Whakatāne turf (our 2nd Xl Girls' Hockey). We had teams who narrowly missed out - our 1st Xl Boys’ Hockey (well done for today’s win which placed them 3rd) and teams who have made it through to Nationals - our Netballers who beat MAGS in their semi final 36-33, and are in the top 16 teams in the country. And for all of these teams it is the volunteer coaches, managers and Teachers in Charge who make this magic happen, so a huge thank you on behalf of our whole school community for the work you do for our teams!
Senior Benchmark Exams
Whānau and students have received the timetable for the senior benchmark exams and our seniors can start preparing for them with a revision programme which covers the content for all their exams. This is an important opportunity to identify where the gaps are before the November externals, and to practice performing under the pressure of a time limit and in exam conditions. Please ask your student to check carefully that there are no clashes with their exam programme and to come in and see Assistant Principal, Mr Garner, if there are any problems. Let us use the benchmarks to commit to personal excellence both in self-management and academic effort.
Academic Support Programme
For students with internal assessments to complete, or technology projects or art boards still underway, there is a programme throughout benchmarks to complete this work. There is a timetable for this programme too, and it is vital students make the most of this programme to complete their internal assessments and move towards achieving their NCEA certification.
Literacy and Numeracy Pilot Programme
This week we received the interim results for our first go at the pilot programmes in Literacy and Numeracy. These results help us to decide which students would benefit from a second go at the assessments this year and which students will be assessment ready in 2023. The experience of sitting a digital assessment in itself is a pretty impressive achievement and as I said in a previous email, we were extremely proud of the maturity and gravity with which our students approached the tasks. A pilot is by definition a test run and it is important that students who gave it a go understand that regardless of whether they achieved the assessments or not, they have contributed to the school’s ability to support all future students through the process and their practice attempt leaves them in a stronger position for a further attempt. Once again, huge thanks to our teachers for preparing them for this.
This weekend is a long weekend for students as we have a Staff Wellbeing TOD on Monday. Senior students can make the most of the opportunity to catch up on assessments and submit work on Monday and we look forward to having everyone back at school on Tuesday.
Have a safe and happy weekend with whānau,
Ngā mihi nui,
Adrienne Scott-Jones
B.A. (Hons), P.G.C.E
Principal
2023 YEAR 9 HANDBOOK
Our Year 9 Handbook is out now for perusal online and can be downloaded. Year 8 students will receive a copy with the Prospectus later this term. Click below to check it out.
YEAR 9 APEX HIT AUCKLAND FOR CROSS CURRICULAR OPPORTUNITY
Last Monday, our Year 9 APEX class, along with some Year 10 students travelled to Auckland to visit the Stardome, the Museum and went to the Auckland Writers Festival. The students also had the opportunity to see some of the sights of the city. Our Year 9 APEX programme is dedicated to enriching the learning opportunities for students to develop breadth and depth in their core subjects in and out of the classroom, this cross curriculum trip was a great opportunity for enrichment!
One of the highlights of the trip was getting to see one of the rarest, most complete Tyrannosaurus Rex fossils in the world at the museum, which has affectionately been named Peter. Peter is believed to be between 66 and 67 million years old!
At the Auckland Stardome the students learnt about rockets, the exploration of the Solar System and the impacts Space exploration has had on our everyday lives.
At the writers festival the students learned about the writing process and heard from some inspirational writers.
It was a fun trip with the students and teachers getting to know each other better. A huge thank you to teachers Katie Elliott and Sarah Shaw for taking the students and to the two parents that joined us Greg Ashton and Shelley Angell.
SOCIAL SCIENCE STUDENTS TE PUIA TRIP
On Friday 26th August two of our Year 11 classes - Community & Society Investigation and Geography, as well as several students from our Whakairo class traveled to Te Puia for the day. At Te Puia the group spent time exploring sustainable tourism with a strong focus on the kaitiakitanga of the geysers - Rotorua’s geothermal resources. It was a great experience for our students who were able to see first hand the environmental practices that are being put in place. These practices were discussed by the groups and supported the learning the students have been undertaking in the classroom. On the return to the classroom students will use their new understandings on sustainable tourism and look at the impact Covid19 has had on the tourism industry in Aotearoa. At Trident we know that hands-on learning is valuable to our students and we are proud to be able to offer rich learning experiences such as this. This topic is part of both the Geography and Community & Society Investigation classes and forms the basis for an Achievement Standard.
After visiting Te Puia’s geothermal park, the group spent time at the Institute of Arts and Crafts in Rotorua where they participated and watched young carvers working. Visiting the Institute and seeing first hand the whakairo that was being produced and displayed has led to some of our students wishing to explore the possibility of attending the institute themselves. Our whakairo students were enriched and inspired by the trip and we look forward to supporting them in their aspirations.
We thank our enthusiastic and dedicated teachers Mrs Farrell, Mrs Boyce and Matua Waaka who planned and executed this trip for our students.
CHESS SUCCESS
Last Friday Mr Williamson took eight of our Trident chess players to the BOP Schools Chess Tournament. Up for grabs were medals and a place to go to the Nationals in Christchurch, representing our region. Our players have been a team for a while now and are playing well together. We are proud of the team who got their best result yet - coming in a close 4th! Well done to you all!
PROPOSED JAPAN EDUCATIONAL TOUR 2024
We would like to invite our current Year 10 and Year 11 students studying Japanese and any current Year 9s considering studying Japanese in 2023 to be part of our Japan Educational Tour in 2024.
This tour forms part of a wider exchange with our sister city Kamagaya in Japan. Students will experience a homestay in Kamagaya and then travel to top tourist spots such as Kyoto, Nara, Osaka and Hiroshima.
We will hold an information evening on Wednesday the 21st Sept in the school library starting at 7pm and welcome students and their whānau.
If you are unable to attend but would like access to the information, please email Mrs Hilary Harison (harisonh@trident.school.nz) for a copy of the presentation and other details.
ARTS & CULTURE EUROPE TOUR 2025
We would like to invite our current Year 9 and Year 10 students on an overseas tour to Europe in 2025. The tour is designed to meet the needs of Senior students who wish to explore the Art, History and Culture of Greece, Italy, Spain and France. If you would like more information, we will be holding an information evening on Wednesday 14th September at 6 PM in the school library. If you are unable to attend the meeting, but would like more information, please email, Mr Barr barrg@trident.school.nz or Ms Deeley deeleys@trident.school.nz for a copy of the presentation and tour details.
Kei te pirangi matou ki te powhiri i a matou tauira Tau 9 me te Tau 10 o naianei ki te haerenga ki tawahi ki Uropi i te tau 2025. I hangaia te haerenga ki te whakatutuki i nga hiahia o nga tauira Kaumatua e hiahia ana ki te tuhura i te Toi, History and Culture of Greece, Italy, Spain and Parani. Mena kei te pirangi koe ki etahi atu korero, ka tu he ahiahi korero a te Wenerei te 14 o Mahuru a te ono i te ahiahi i te whare pukapuka o te kura. Ki te kore e taea e koe te haere ki te hui, engari e
barrg@trident.school.nz deeleys@trident.school.nz ranei mo te kape o te whakaaturanga me nga korero haerenga.
Contact Us
Email: office@trident.school.nz
Website: https://www.trident.school.nz/
Location: Arawa Road, Whakatāne, New Zealand
Phone: 64-7-308-8159
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Trident-High-School-News-420967477994039/