He Pito Mata

20 May 2022

From the Principal:

Key information for whānau ... read here.

College Notices:

Important Dates to Diary

Full details are available on the school website calendar. The following are important dates to note:

Friday 3 June Teacher Only Day CANCELLED - College is OPEN

Monday 6 June Public Holiday - Queen's Birthday

Thursday 9 June Photo Day

IMPORTANT CHANGE TO CHROMEBOOK ACCESS OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL HOURS - This change will be made week beginning Monday 23 May

WHAT: YOUR CHILD'S CHROMEBOOK SECURITY SETTING WILL BE CHANGED TO ENABLE GUEST ACCESS FOR OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL HOURS

WHY: To enable whānau to utilise Chromebooks in the home and have access to the internet on their child's Chromebook when they may otherwise be unable to, if there are not other devices in the house.

WHEN: Week beginning Monday 23 May.

WHAT CHANGES WILL STUDENTS SEE: Students logged on as their school identity will retain the same filters they have had at home previously but if they too sign in as a guest, this will open the internet to them, unless their home wifi internet has filters in place.

USEFUL SUPPORT and INFORMATION SITES CAN BE FOUND HERE

Whānau Assistance Requested: help us reduce Incorrect Uniform, Inappropriate Cellphone Use and Late Arrival

We will be addressing ongoing issues around these matters in the coming weeks. Please help us to instill Rangatira Te Tū/OC Pride in our students - we ask you to read about the strategies we will be taking and reinforce these messages at home.

ŌC

VARIETY CONCERT

Coming soon!

Wednesday 22nd June

7-9pm

Skits, mime, dance, song, music

Make sure you save the date!

Relievers Wanted

Ōtaki College

is currently seeking fully registered teachers

for our relief pool.

Please contact Assistant Principal, Jarrad Porima,

at jpr@otakicollege.school.nz if you think this

may be you.

Board of Trustees Elections

The Triennial Board Elections are being held in September this year. The current Board would like to encourage whānau to consider joining the team.

"Board members are entrusted by the community to ensure the success of our schools and a bright future for our children. We need an education system where all children are expected to succeed and one where we all take shared responsibility in ensuring this happens. As a member of a school board you can make things happen - you can make a difference."

- Lorraine Kerr, NZSTA President

If you are interested in learning more about what the Board does, please do not hesitate to contact Board Chair, Penny Gaylor, on penny.gaylor@hotmail.com to arrange a chat. Details on the role of a board member are available on the NZSTA website: https://www.schoolboardelections.org.nz/becoming-a-board-member/

Photo Day is on 9 June. You can pre-order photos on-line from L C Scott via this link.

Te Kāreti o Ōtaki Whare Tapawhā | Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L)

Theme for the term - ŌC Pride; New Student App Introduced - Read more ...

News and Events

Congratulations:-

To Tia Brown and Jessica Thomsen, who join Max McHugo as Kākākura (Heads of School). Our previous Kākākura, Pounamu MacKay, has commenced her sports scholarship and is now playing Rugby in Japan.

Students enthralled by Tang Dynasty Ensemble

Congratulations to Jayda

Jayda Cummings-Maihi graduated on 19th May from basic training and now commences in her role as a combat driver in the New Zealand Army. We wish her well with her career in the forces.

Junior Mathematics Success

The first round of the Junior Mathematics Competition run by the University of Otago was held on April the 6th. This is a national problem solving competition that, in 2022, 25 of our students elected to participate in. Congratulations to all of our students who chose to put themselves out there. The first part of the competition online. All of the students do this part of the competition and from their results, a small portion are invited to participate in the final. Two of our students made the final this year. Well done Giorgio Bevan and JT Byrne. The final was a paper based assessment that was held on May the 11th. We now have to wait until October for their final results.

Coline Diver, Curriculum Leader, Mathematics

Global sustainability the focus of Rotary student evening

Student Organised 3v3 Basketball Comp

Zero waste education at Ōtaki College

Read KCDC's write-up here ...

Tukaha Wānanga Kāpiti College

Ten students have been selected to attend the first of three Kāpiti Kura Wānanga "Tukaha" Wānanga which is being held at Kāpiti College.

The wānanga is from Saturday 21- Monday 23 May. Ākonga will travel to Paraparaumu by school van, leaving at 2.30 pm and will return on Monday by 3.00pm. The Tukaha Programme is a programme that was devised by Marcus Akuhata Brown, and started about 7 years ago.

Students who attended the previous wānanga have themselves become leaders of the programme and they continue to work with ākonga, engaging them in meaningful learning opportunities and activities.

The kaupapa for the wānanga are :1. No hea koe? Who are you from ? 2. Ko wai koe? Who are you?3. E haere ana koe ki hea? Where are you going to? As in previous years all attendees will return with a new kete of knowledge that will be useful in their everyday and future living.

Na Whaea Mereana

Pink Shirt Day

This is Bullying Free NZ week culminating in our annual pink shirt day. The message from the Mental Health Foundation is Kōrero Mai, Kōrero Atu, Mauri Ora- Speak Up, Stand Together, Stop Bullying. As a college we try to promote positive messages about manaakitanga throughout the year so that students can feel safe at college.