School news

Senior Options Expo - 9 Sept

On the afternoon of Monday the 9th September, year 10-12 students will visit subject displays in the hall and have the chance to talk to the head of departments and other teachers about their possible option choices for 2025.
Parents and caregivers are welcome to attend between 1-4pm on this day to find out more about Year 11-13 subjects.  There will also be a link to the 2025 course directory emailed out next week with details of the senior option choice process.  
Please note: Year 9-10 option choices do not occur until at least the middle of term 4.

Olla Podriga 

Olla Podriga was held just over a week ago on Thursday 22nd of August. We are so glad to have had another successful show with 22 students performing on stage. An encouraging crowd experienced outstanding acts that showcased the talent and potential of our young people. A special congratulations is given to Albert Ulisala and Maggie Burke for taking out first and second place respectively in the singing competition.
In the open category, acts of all kinds were judged based on their stage presence, skill, and interpretation of the item.
First place went to a band led by Margaret Dunn and second place was awarded to Aliyah Connelly-Richards for her poi performance. At the end of the evening, audiences voted for their favourite item.
The results were announced at assembly this week and the year 11 band, Royal Rats, received the prize. It was fantastic to see the wide range of talents active in our school, from spoken word, to piano and violin performances. We look forward to seeing what students bring to the stage in 2025. 

School Ball

Tickets are still available for our school ball on September the 14th.  
Tickets cost $90 and can be purchased from the front office.  All Year 11,12 and 13 students are welcome to attend.  `Year 12 and 13 students can bring outside partners.  
If you are wanting to bring a partner that does not attend Otamatea High School please complete an outside partner approval form which is available from the  front office.

Parent help required for the school ball Saturday 14th September - 6.30pm -11.30pm

We require help with setting up the food for supper, washing dishes, making drinks and any other jobs that will come up.
If you are able to help please email nikola.kemp@otamatea.school.nz for further information.  If you are only available for certain times that is fine.

The Nook Creative Writing Flash Fiction Competition 2024

During Term 2, members of The Nook took part in a Flash Fiction writing competition. Members were asked to write a short story of no more than 300 words that included some challenges. They were to include a staircase in their story, the colour red, a character named Percy, and to begin their story with a sound.

Our judge for this competition was Claire Mabey, the book editor for The Spinoff website. She was highly impressed by the calibre of writing she received for this competition, commenting on the high level of creativity and storytelling devices submitted by students.

Overall, there were 4 prize winners
1st place - Mollie Cato (y12)
2nd place - Denika Clooney (y11)
3rd place - Orna Leng (y10)
Highly commended - Renee Canton (y12)

Congratulations to all our winners!

Year 9 and 10 students on Work Exploration

On Thursday the year 9 and 10 students were not at school but out in the community engaging with people from all walks of life to find out what they do in their jobs.
The school really appreciate the way parents took this opportunity to help their students find a worthwhile experience and we offer our thanks to the many business in the area who opened their doors for our students.
Just mentioning a few of the places students went to: beauty shops, cafes, farms, construction sites, schools, an airfield, an op-shop and the community house, chocolate factory, men’s shed, physio, photographer and sign installation site.
We are looking forward to the feedback from these students and hope to have more photos to show you in the next newsletter.

Bay of Island Beast

Bay of Island Beast was held on Friday 23rd August in Paihia. We had a staggering 104 students participate (2 Buses). We had some very excited and nervous bunch of students, especially the 1st timers. Jason Roux ran with the kids and came 2nd in the teachers. Denika Clooney won the race overall beating 860 other students from other schools all around Northland. There were some very muddy students who had huge smiles on their faces coming over the finish line. All participants received a medal.
Congratulations to Denika and Jason.

Pet Day 2024

This year Pet Day will be Saturday October 19th to tie in with the Maungaturoto Primary School 150th celebrations.  Otamatea students are invited to compete with a lamb, calf or chicken. 
For entries and a copy of the rules please register with Pepe ewenequine@gmail.com

Report an absence

You can notify the school of an absence using the portal, by phone at 0800 682 628, option 1, or by email at absence@otamatea.school.nz.
The old google form is no longer in use, our school website will take you to the portal if you click on 'Report an Absence'.
Our school portal has been updated and the new address is https://otamatea.school.kiwi/
If you need help with accessing this please email Mrs Cadman alison.cadman@otamatea.school.nz

For any bus passes, after school arrangements, student needs or requests, please email studentcentre@otamatea.school.nz

Te Manawa Tahi Community Hubs

Wednesday 11th September 2024 - 9am until 12pm
Otamatea St Johns Ambulance Hall (172 Hurndall Street) 

If you have a concern about your child's language development, learning progress, social and emotional wellbeing, or behaviour, Te Manawa Tahi have specialists available so you can discuss your concerns directly with them.

This is a free service and each site will be identified by a Te Manawa Tahi sign or flag. Drop into a hub or make an appointment by phoning 0800 524 842 or emailing TT.Support@education.govt.nz.

APPEAL TO THE OTAMATEA HIGH SCHOOL COMMUNITY

We are fast approaching the "business end" of the school year - especially for our senior NCEA students.
In preparation for these our seniors will be sitting their mock exams in week 10 of term 3 - 23rd - 27th Sept.

As we have always done in the past, we are putting out an appeal to the community to help our students with special assessment conditions (SAC's) during the sitting of their exams, especially their NCEA finals.

This could be as a reader/writer or it may be to supervise a group of students who need separate accommodation or breaks or extra time.
You will be remunerated for any time spent at school in this capacity.

My thanks to those people who have done this in the past and have gotten in touch to let us know you are available again this year. You will also need to make sure that your police vetting check is up to date.Please spread the word and get in touch. It could also really suit some grandparents who have grandchildren here. They would have vested interest, plus are usually very patient.

Please get in touch if you can help. Please call me on  0800 682 628 Ext 236

Kind regards

Paddy Hallissey
(Learning Support Services Manager)