From the Senior Leadership Team

Senior Prizegiving: We hosted our 2023 senior prize-giving on Friday 3 November and it was a wonderful celebration of the outstanding achievements of our senior students, and an acknowledgement of the hard-work they have done this year. It was also an opportunity to farewell our year 13s for their last official day of school. Well done to our all prizewinners - especially to our Dux Charm Valenzuela and our proxime accessit Morgan Bull, and to our new head prefects Zander Groenewald and Leayah Buxton. First in Year 11 Olivia Papworth, First in Year 12 Sophie Lawson,  Victor Ludorum Jesse Goodfellows, Victrix Ludorum Caitlin Heke.

Well done to our year 10 classes who have started running weekly, fun, inter iwi competitions designed to promote tuakana teina relationships amongst our students. With our seniors having finished their timetabled classes for the year, this is a great opportunity for these students to develop their leadership and peer support skills. This is a fantastic initiative that is being managed by Mr Alison and his PE department and will see each year 10 class organise something different each week.

All year 9 and 10s should be preparing for their examinations which start on Monday. These exams not only assess how well students have retained and comprehended their coursework during the year, but they also encourage the development of critical skills such as time management, organisation, and the ability to handle pressure. These skills are valuable not just for academic success but also for future endeavors. Success in these exams usually mean students are well prepared for the step up in work expectations next year. As important as these exams are, it is important to recognise that they are also just one measure of a student's capabilities.

Congratulations to our chess player who competed recently in the chess nationals at Alfriston College. There were over 300 players competing with our team consisting of Max Bull, Jackson Wintle, Elliot Hartles and Matthew and Caleb Laurence-Goss playing in the senior division. It was tough competition and we were the only team from Northland, as well as the youngest team in the division with three intermediate aged students in our team. Our team collectively earned enough points to award them a Merit certificate and Jackson got top player for the school, with the highest number of wins. Our chess players also participated in the Northland Chess Championships in Kerikeri at the end of October. Power cuts on the day delayed the final results but all the players played some great chess. Well done boys! It certainly bodes well for the future of chess at Otamatea High School. 

A reminder that it is illegal to vape at school or on the school buses. We take a very strict approach to students who breach this law, which could result in stand-downs, or suspensions for repeat offenders. Many vapes contain nicotine, a highly addictive substance that can harm brain development in teenagers, affecting memory, attention, and the ability to learn. Students who vape are putting themselves at risk of lifelong serious health issues, including the long-lasting effect of exposing their developing brains to nicotine. Please ensure that your child is not bringing vaping devices to school. For more information on vaping, please see this link. 

NCEA exams started this week with Level 1 Japanese and L3 Te Reo Maori exams taking place here at school.  Today we had our largest exam session with over 100 candidates sitting Level 1 English and Media Studies.

A reminder that students must have their admission slips to enter the exam room, if they have lost their admission slip, they must email huia.coll@otamatea.school.nz to get a new one.
Students sitting digital exams must have also created an account with NZQA. If your child has not set up an account yet, please go to nzqa.govt.nz to do this.  They will need their nsn number which is on their admission slip, or, the NZQA card that they received earlier this term.

Year 9-10 end of year examinations will be held in the hall this week.  Please click THIS LINK for the exam timetable, which has already been emailed out to students and caregivers.  Year 9 are doing literacy and numeracy testing to gauge their readiness for similar exams done in Y10 to meet NCEA literacy and numeracy requirements. There is not a lot of preparation they can do for these, guidance will be given from their English and mathematics teachers.

Year 10 will complete four core class examinations over the week. Their subject teachers will have already been preparing them for these. However, they are also encouraged to do some extra study and practice at home. These exams shouldn't be a big cause of stress but they will be good practice for the students in preparation for their NCEA assessments next year. Please try to ensure that students attend school next week if they are well enough to do so.

Please ensure that Year 10 students bring their charged Chromebook to school every day as these will be needed for the examinations and for revision activities.  Junior students with exams attend their usual timetabled classes for the remainder of the day.

Please contact Mr Chris Gill via chris.gill@otamatea.school.nz if you have any questions about these exams.

Note: Small NCEA exams, at these times, will be moved to another location in the school and students will be informed of these changes.