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Principal's Message

Dear Parents

Kia Ora Tena Koutou Katoa

I would like to talk with you a little in this letter about some of the challenges which have presented themselves to us so far this year. Hopefully this will help you appreciate the reason behind changes we have had to make – in many cases quite late - and encourage your assistance in the responses we are taking.

Firstly, and significantly, we have had many more students enrol this year than we had anticipated, and more than for a number of years. For instance, we had estimated the Year 9 group would by approximately 300. In fact, it is 332, something which did not become clear until late January when our timetable was well on the way to completion. The impact increases of this nature have, with the need for re-forming classes, appointing additional staffing, finding rooms and so on, have all contributed to disruptions to many classes which, while unfortunate and undesirable, were unavoidable.

Some of the changes have also resulted from staff promotions and other factors that unfortunately do not always fit conveniently into the school calendar year.

Secondly, the year started very late, but many of our deadlines remained the same on the calendar as they were in previous years. That has put a lot of pressure on staff in a wide variety of ways – certainly more than we had anticipated.

Thirdly, there has been a greater intrusion of outside negative influence into the school this year than I can ever remember. We read, with concern, of the difficulties caused by some who live in our city, and that has impacted within the school as well. It is a major concern for us, and I am sure most of our community, that there is a small minority of young people in this city who are to all intents and purposes living with no controls and no boundaries placed on them. That, for instance, we have so many 13 and 14 year olds wandering our streets at 2.00am and 3.00am, with nothing positive to do and absolutely no positive reasons to be where they are, must raise issues of what our society is prepared to accept in the minds of all of us.

I feel extremely sympathetic with the police who are charged with maintaining the peace, but who are seriously limited in the effectiveness with which they can deal with these young people – and when parents refuse to take responsibility, and there are no consequences for their failure to do so, it is an issue of some concern.

I have recently returned from overseas, and while away read in the newspapers of several countries about the measures they are taking to address similar issues. While some of their suggestions would not be acceptable to New Zealand, and often the behaviour described is more extreme than we are dealing with, the fact that it is also occurring in other countries is indicative of a trend which needs to be addressed.

Throughout my years in education I have had confirmed over and over again that where families are working positively and cooperatively with the school, most young people can be helped through their adolescence to become responsible young adults. Where the family fails to work with the school, or is in opposition to what the school is trying to achieve, the chances of that success are seriously reduced, and much more difficult, and more limited, where it is achieved.

CELLPHONES:

I wrote of cell-phones in the last newsletter, but would like to reiterate, and to an extent expand on what I said.

Students who bring cellphones to school create the potential for serious disruption. We believe it is important that seniors have the right to be allowed them - many work, have sport’s practices, or for other reasons need the security of being able to contact home after school. For that reason we allow seniors to have them. Juniors (Year 9 and 10) do not have automatic permission, but in special circumstances may be given a special pass. Parents need to write to the appropriate Dean to obtain that.

With the entitlement to carry a cellphone comes responsibilities. They must be left in bags, turned off, during class time. Young people with cell-phones should understand very clearly the dangers associated with them, and ensure they do nothing which may result in negative consequences. Cyber-bullying is all too common, and as a school we will respond as strongly to that as any other form of bullying. Group messages need to be used with caution. Spreading rumour or making sweeping accusations to individuals is serious enough. Obviously when this is done through group texting the consequences are potentially much more serious.

One of the difficulties most parents will have in understanding this is, like me, it is not something we were brought up with. We are therefore not as aware as our children of the potential for damage they have, nor have we had personal experience, as a young person, of what can be done with cellphones, and the effect that can have. I would encourage you to talk with your sons and daughters about their cellphones, where they have one, and ensure they know how to respond to the situations they may encounter in a way which maintains their safety and does not compromise the safety of others.

OFFICE REQUEST

I mentioned in the last newsletter how difficult it is for the office to locate students at short notice. Parents would not be aware of the significant demands it places on already very busy staff when parents ask for messages to be given to their sons or daughters. We are still finding that all too often parents expect us to do that, and while in emergencies clearly we are happy to do so, as a general rule it should not be necessary. Please ask your son or daughter to check with the office if there is a chance to need to communicate with them on something during the day.

NOTICE FOR PAST STUDENTS

Are you aware that there is a page on our web-site (www.kamohigh.school.nz) headed “Past Students” where you can register yourself, and look for others who have already registered? We are getting closer to the school’s fiftieth year, which will come in 2010, and it is intended to start planning for the celebrations that we will hold in that year in the near future. One of the first points of contact will be the names who have registered on our site – please put your name down. It would also be appreciated if you could pass this request on to others you know who may not receive this newsletter.

Richard L. Abel

Principal

6 April 2006

BOARD OF TRUSTEES

Term 1 2006 is proving to be a very busy time for the Board members.  The Principal's position has been advertised and by the time you receive this newsletter applications will have closed and the evaluation and interviewing process will have begun. 

There will be a formal school farewell for Mr Abel at the end of Term 2, and we will give you details as soon as they are finalised.

An exciting development in the last few weeks has been the updating of our school website - take time to have a look.  There are a number of useful documents including the current uniform policy and the school's Strategic Plan for instance, and it is also a handy place to find the school newsletter - www.kamohigh.school.nz. 

Claire Watts - Chairperson

 STUDENT NEWS

JUNIOR CORNER

Visual maps, Habits of Mind, authentic tasks, study skills, new timetables, changing classes every hour, loads of books to carry around. It has been a hectic eight weeks of learning so far. It doesn’t slow down either as we reach the end of the term. This week is our first ‘Green week’. During this time students will be doing, possibly, their first full assessment in many subjects. Many of the assessments are in the form of tests and students have been engaged in learning various revision techniques to help them achieve to their highest potential. It would be helpful for them if you, as parents and caregivers, could ask them how they have been learning to revise for tests to help them make connections.

Many students have received Merit certificates from their teachers so far this term. These are given to students for a raft of reasons and they recognise the many different facets of learning that make up what a good learner is. I hope you enjoy receiving the certificates and that your son/daughter is proud of their achievements. We certainly are.

The following quote is from our ‘Habits of Mind’ literature. (Posters highlighting these good learning habits can be found in virtually every classroom in the school and students are often referred to them.)

On persistence: “The secret of a leader lies in the tests he has faced over the whole course of his life and the habit of action he develops in meeting those tests."
Gail Sheehy

Ashley Hart - HoD Junior Learning Programme

QUALIFICATION MATTERS (All year 11, 12 and 13 students)

Every student received a student qualification guide at the beginning of the year. This document contains very important information on a range of matters relating to NCEA including: internal assessment; missing work; authentic work; how to appeal grades; etc.

The following are quotes from this document. These have been selected, as some students have already missed out on valuable credits because the correct procedures have not been followed.

“Extensions can only be granted in the case of internally assessed activities. These are entirely at the discretion of the Senior Manager - Curriculum who will determine whether or not an extension is warranted. The reasons for granted extensions will be kept by the subject teacher. If you are experiencing problems due to circumstances beyond your control you should:

- Apply for an extension at least 24 hours before the assignment is due, (where circumstances are beyond the student’s control a variation of this 24 hour rule will be considered); and

- Provide a written reason outlining why you need an extension and support this with medical or other documentary evidence.

If an extension is granted (by no means automatic) you must complete the work by the agreed date.”

“Late work -

Late work will result in a not-achieved result. ”

“Absence

The key word in regard to your absence from senior courses is COMMUNICATION.

Where a student is ill on the day of a test or the day an assignment is due the student or guardian should contact the school office to leave a message for the teacher concerned. If possible get someone to hand in an assignment to the school office. An “explained absence” is recorded in the roll book. A satisfactory written explanation is required on return to the school. A medical certificate may be required.”

Please take the time to go through this important booklet with your son / daughter. It is on our website (www.kamohigh.school.nz/curriculum), or you can obtain an extra copy through the school office.

Qualification Fees

Students will be receiving an invoice for their qualification fees very soon. Attached will be a publication from NZQA outlining a number of points relating to examinations and qualifications. Once again, please take time to read this publication.

Please do not hesitate to contact me if you require any information relating to qualifications.

Other Curriculum Matters

Early in Term 2 the Curriculum Committee meet to discuss new courses for the 2007 school year. We will also be discussing how we provide students with information on subjects available. The main method we use is through the production of Kamo High School’s Subject Handbook, which is available both on-line and in paper format.

If you have any suggestions on how we can improve the process of option selection, or how we organise our senior subjects, we would certainly value your comments.

Sue Holmes - Senior Manager – Curriculum

ENGLISH DEPARTMENT

Australian English Competitions have been renamed “International Competitions for Assessment in English (ICAS)”. We are pleased to advise that the school is continuing to facilitate these assessments.  Many of our Year 9 students will have taken part in these assessments at Intermediate School.

This year students may take part in three separate assessments; Writing, Spelling and English.

Students receive diagnostic reports highlighting strengths and weaknesses.  High Distinction, Distinction, Credit and Participation certificates are issued.

Entry forms are available from all English teachers.  Fees for the Writing and Spelling Assessments are due on 10 April and for English, 8 May. We strongly encourage participation.

 Julie McFarland (Teacher in charge)

 ENTERPRISE EDUCATION

We are pleased to confirm the Lion Business Experience will be in our school on the following dates:

Wednesday 17 May – Friday 19 May 2006

A world-class learning experience that excites and informs young New Zealanders about business and its potential as a life choice.

The basics:

• Students work and achieve in teams during the three-day programme that focuses on the fundamentals of business.

On the final day teams of students create an expo presenting their innovative business ideas to judges from the local business community.

• The three days are highly interactive, using music, team presentations and presenter-led discussions where students learn:
• How to present to a business audience
• Business fundamentals:
• Strategic planning – vision, values, financial planning

• Prizes are awarded for:
• The overall winning team
• Special team awards for:

What students can expect to be better at:

• Working in teams
• Knowing how a successful business works
• Understanding what it takes to be a leader in business
• How to put an effective expo display together
• How to effectively present business information to potential investors

So see Mr Bayly for an application to be part of this exciting event early next term.

Alan Bayly - Northpower Enterprise Co-ordinator

 STUDENT SUPPORT CENTRE

Congratulations to the SunSmart students who won prizes at the swimming and athletic sports. Thank you to Hawaiian Tropic and the Northland District Health Board for sponsoring these SunSmart awards. Remember the sun can still burn so always cover up.

Congratulations to the many students who took part in the 40 hour Techno Famine and raised money to help children much less fortunate than ourselves. Your dedication and commitment to this cause was awesome! Most of the books and money have been returned but there are a few still outstanding. Please check that your son/daughter has returned their book and money. Thanks.

Lynette Patterson – Student Support Centre

CAREERS

University Liaison visits are underway with large numbers of students attending their presentations. This culminates in a two day trip on 4 th and 5 th May to Massey University Albany, The University of Auckland, AUT and The University of Waikato. This is a great opportunity for students to experience first hand university life and culture.

Recently a group of students attended the ‘Window to Dairying’ day at Fonterra’s Kauri Dairy Farm. Topics covered included animal health, milk hygiene, feed management, culling and breeding, training opportunities, financial management and finding that first job. Students gained a great deal from this interactive day and an insight into opportunities available in the dairy industry.

Lester Rivers – Careers Adviser

ARTS DEPARTMENT

This month we welcome two new “recruits” to our department: Maria Satterfield, who will be assisting the students with Voice lessons, and Rob Wallace, who is also assisting in the Music Department with Drums and Bass. We wish them both well.

Music

The Smokefree Rockquest is on again with entries due on the 1 st May. Northland auditions for this event will be held on Saturday 24 th June at Tikipunga High School, so get your band tuned and be in.

The Choir is off to a great start, with a good number of participants who are practising twice a week. So watch this space…..

“Stars in their Eyes” is also on again next week with performances starting at lunchtime Monday 10 th April. This is always a popular event with a wide range of talent on show each day.

Photography/Art

2005 Level 3 Art Folios Exhibition was recently hosted by us. This consisted of folders from students around NZ. All Art students got a chance to peruse this work.

We will also be hosting the “Top Art” exhibition in August. This is an exhibition of the top 10 folios from Level 3 NZ students. The categories include Pottery, Printmaking, Sculpture, Design and Photography.

In the Arts Block at present we are exhibiting a selection of photographs by the senior students called “Closer”. Next term a new exhibition called “Land Patterns” will be up for viewing, which is a selection of work done by junior Art students who have been looking at the NZ artist, Don Binney as well as Pacific tapa cloth.

Year 11 Art classes visited the Whangarei Art Museum to view the exhibition “Kupe Sites”.

Photography student are invited to enter a competition called “The World as She Knows It”. If you are interested, please see the Arts Office for more information.

Dance

Last Friday a group of dance students went to the Auckland Polyfest held at the Veladrome. This was lots of fun and gave the students exposure to a multicultural environment, an opportunity for them to view other cultures’ styles of dance and enjoy the different ethnic foods.

Drama

Senior Drama students travelled to Auckland earlier in the term to see outdoor summer Shakespeare, “A Comedy of Errors”, in the Auckland University grounds. We all enjoyed this performance, which was very funny and performed with a New Zealand flavour. Senior students also have the opportunity in early April to see “Doubt”, an award-winning play being presented at the Maidment Theatre in Auckland. This production is receiving rave reviews and the students will be able to ask questions of the director and cast of four at a forum after the performance.

Drama students are working on presentations for their Shakespeare units of study, and we hope to present pieces from all year levels and a variety of plays at our Shakespeare Showcase on Wednesday in Week 2 in Term 2. This will be an evening performance and we hope to be able to produce it in the Drama and Dance suite.

Auditions have been held for this year’s school musical, “Smithy”, and we were surprised and delighted at the number of talented students we have at this school. The show will go on in Term 3, so we will be busy with rehearsals until then. The setting for the show is the ‘80s, and we would love to receive any donations of suitable clothing for costumes, particularly walk shorts and long socks, and clothing for staff members at Smithy’s school. Please contact me at the Arts Office if you can help us.

Kay Haigh – Arts Co-ordinator

SPORTS

The first term has had a very busy sporting calendar with our own school championships, Northland events and national events being held.

SCHOOL CHAMPS

Congratulations to our Champions and to all students who gave it their very best in the different events.

ATHLETICS

Our School Championship event was again held at Kensington Park with about 380 students participating, 15 staff members officiating and more than 20 student helpers involved. Highlights of the day were some very smart sprinting in the 100m by Junior Boy, Devron Pearce, and the performance by Simone Ackermann in breaking the 24 year old Intermediate Girls’ 1500m record. The Javelin proved to be the most popular event followed closely by the Long Jump.

The 4 x 100m relays were held at school during lunchtime and were very, very exciting with M9 being the fastest form class, the two staff teams just pipping the prefects, and Kaha being the whanau relay winner, followed closely by Rangi and Waima.

At the Northland Secondary Schools Athletic Champs we had some very good results:

Six of our athletes then went to Auckland to compete in the “Champion of Champions” competition between the two top place-getters of the Northland, North Harbour, Auckland and Counties-Manukau secondary schools. We came home with three medals: Simone Ackermann, silver in 1500m Intermediate and Senior Girls, Ian Hendricks, bronze in Junior Boys’ Discus, and Irene Kingi, 3 rd in Senior Girls’ Long Jump. Congratulations! Simone will be competing at the North Island Secondary Schools Champs in Napier early in April and we wish her well as she once again represents our school and Northland at this top level.

The Surfing Championship has been delayed until better weather and swell conditions prevail at Oceans Beach. We have 30 girls and boys entered, (im)patiently waiting!

TRIATHLON results at the Northland Secondary Schools’ Champs were:

Simone Ackermann - 2 nd Senior Girls

Rebecca Cox - 3 rd Senior Girls

Odette Ackermann - 5 th Senior Girls

Blair Walker - 3 rd Senior Boys

Joel Davies - 5 th Senior Boys

Eryn Lovell - 5 th Junior Girls

Brad Sworn - 6 th Junior Boys

Jono Lawson, Johnny Walker, Sam Palmer - 5 th Junior Boys Team

Tegan Nicholson, Curtis Cherrington, Duncan Brown - 2 nd Junior Mixed Team

Kelly Durham, Katie Rood, Troy Barrell - 3 rd Junior Mixed Team

CRICKET

The cricket season has recently finished for our Under 15’s and 1 st XI teams, and will resume again in September/October. Our thanks to the coaches and managers of the teams and congratulations to the 1 st XI who won the local Prem Reserve 2 day competition for the second year in a row, and to players Jamie Millar, a Northland Under 17’s representative and our top batter, and Curtis Cherrington and Aaron McIntosh, Northland Under 15’s representatives.

GOLF

At the Northland Secondary Schools Golf Champs held recently at The Northland Club, our team won the event with some great scores – Terry Lamb (72), Jamie Millar (74), Mark Ruddell and Carl Donaldson (76). These boys have qualified as the team to represent Northland at the New Zealand Champs to be played in Wellington later this year. Congratulations!

BOWLS

Year 11 students, Sarah Dufty and Cassie Riceman, recently won the Northland Secondary Schools’ Girls’ Pairs titles and will go on to represent Northland at the regional tournament later in the year.

WINTER TEAMS

Although we have not yet finished our summer sports it is time to get the winter teams organised for competitions which begin the first weekend of April. Rallies/trials have been keenly contested and teams are now being finalised for NETBALL (8 teams), RUGBY (1 st XV, JB9, JB8 and JB 7 teams) and HOCKEY (1 st XI boys’ team, 1 st , 2 nd and 3 rd XI girls’ teams, 2 Collegiate girls’ and 2 Collegiate boys’ teams). SOCCER rallies are currently being held for both girls and boys and teams will be sorted shortly (probably 4 or 5). The Wednesday competition starts the first week in Term 2. An interesting variation for soccer is that on College Day there will be a Futsal indoor competition instead of the usual 5-aside tournament.

With the large number of sports teams we are dealing with at Kamo High School, and the huge number of students involved (which is absolutely great) you will appreciate that much assistance and support is needed from parents/caregivers. We have some awesome parents who are volunteering their services and making ‘sporting things’ happen at our school, but more help is needed in the way of rugby team managers and parent helpers with after-match functions, collegiate hockey, girls rugby, basketball, netball and soccer coaches. There is no way our school could offer the wide range of sporting opportunities that we do without outside help – thank you! Any more volunteers please phone the Sports Office 435-1688 and talk to Gloria.

Our Girls’ 1 st XI Hockey Team had an awesome start to their season, winning the Massey High School Invitational Tournament held in Auckland last weekend and returning home with a magnificent trophy. The senior players were steady and played confidently, the younger players stepped up to a higher level, and the team combined well in all areas to take the title. Stacey Michelsen was selected as the “Player of the Tournament” receiving some very good hockey equipment and Carli Michelsen was an outstanding captain.

As this goes to print our Senior Boys’ Volleyball Team is competing at the New Zealand Schools’ Nationals in Christchurch. The boys have been seriously training for many weeks and their coach, Jason Woods, has been dedicated to the cause. We wish them well.

Some great shooting results for one of our students, Natasha Oakden. At the Northland Club Clay Target Championships Natasha was 1 st High Overall C Grade Single Rise, 1 st High Overall C Grade Point Score and 2 nd in Single Barrell. We have a growing number of shooters at school now and our school team should be very competitive at the Northland school events.

“Good luck” to Oliver Bone when he competes at the NZ Scholastic Surfing Champs in Dunedin on 18-22 April as a member of the Northland Team.

REMINDER:

Some students have not returned uniforms from events held earlier this year (athletics) and some uniforms are still outstanding from last year! These need to be handed in to the Sports Office urgently, please, as they are needed for teams NOW. Also some students have overdue sports fees which need to be cleared before this season's sports begin. The subs for our winter sports will be finalised and advertised in the next newsletter but meantime part payments can be made to the school office now.

Full results of our Swimming, Athletic, Triathlon and Tennis Champs can be found on our school website www.kamohigh.school.nz (link to Sports on the Home Page).

Gloria Miller - Sports Coordinator

RUGBY

Our goal is to provide pupils with the opportunity to play rugby for Kamo High School and we are delighted that a number of boys have expressed an interest in playing for the school.

It appears as though we have sufficient numbers to field teams in JB7, JB8, JB9 and under 18. We have in place coaches and managers, and a teacher liaison person for each team. Trainings have already started with most teams training twice a week starting at 3.30 pm and finishing at 5.00 pm.

The 7’s team is off to Taupo on Saturday 8 April and Sunday 9 April for the Condors National Sevens Tournament. Thanks to Mr Bill Griffin who will be managing the team.

We look forward to another successful rugby season, where our teams perform with pride and discipline, and each individual enjoys developing new and existing skills while playing to their potential.

Darryl Davies - Teacher in Charge Of Rugby

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