School News

Mystery Creek Fieldays Trip 2026

Last term the L1 Primary Industries  and Alt Ed classes travelled to Hamilton in order to attend the National Field Days at Mystery Creek. We arrived at Mystery Creek early afternoon and attended for around three hours during which time a number of students met Richie McCaw. That evening we had dinner in Cambridge and stayed the night at the Narrows Christian Park just two minutes drive from Mystery Creek. The next day, after an early 7am breakfast, we arrived at the gates to the Field Days shortly before opening, the temperature at this was point was 1 degree celsius (Mr Jarvis, in his Wellingtons, shorts and t-shirt felt right at home) and then became part of the 32 000 crowd visiting the more than 1 000 sites. Just after midday we assembled ready for the trip back to Otamatea and managed to negotiate the traffic back to OHS.
By all accounts everyone enjoyed themselves and learned a lot about what fuels the agriculture industry. Special thanks to Sam Phillips and Mike Jarvis for driving vans and looking after students. 

Author Visit - James Russell  

On the 23rd of July  all the Year 7's and Year 8's had the opportunity to listen to our visiting author - James Russell . James is an award-winning, self published Kiwi author writing books that are exciting and interesting to read. James has written the Dragon Hunters novels, the New Zealand based historical fiction novels - Children of the Rush, junior fiction Dragon Riders and his newly released : Marlon Foundling and the circus of the lost children. https://dragonbrothersbooks.com 

Afterwards he spent time with 'The Nook Writing Group' discussing how he builds his worlds, where he gets his ideas from and how to make writing more organic to read. The Library has been fortunate to purchase several sets of his books which has proved to be a popular decision. 

Northland Regional Chess Tournament 

On Friday the 31st of July four students participated in the Northland Regional Chess Tournament at Horahora Primary School.  They played 7 rounds of chess against players from all around Te Tai Tokerau. The top three of each year group have been invited to the nationwide Champions Chess Tournament (Individual)  in Hamilton at the end of October and the top 4 player team to the National Championship. 

Job Edmonds, Briar Close and Marina Djoulai played in the intermediate section. All players played as individuals but scores were used to collate team results.  The Intermediate Team received merit certificates and Briar had the best Ladies score and an invite to the Champions Tournament.  

Tyler Lorenzen received a merit certificate as sole player in the Ōtamatea Senior chess team and came second in the Individual standings thus also receiving an invitation to the Champions Tournament. 

Bay of Islands Beast

On Friday the 31st July, we took a bus, van and parents cars to Ohaeawai for the Bay of Islands Beast. We had a few showers but overall a great day. The students were amazing.

William Pike students take on the Challenge! 

Huge applause to the Y7 & 8 students! Tackling the whitewater courses and high-ropes climb at Wero on a freezing morning takes serious grit—exactly what the William Pike Challenge is all about.  
As part of the 2026 William Pike Challenge, our students headed to Wero Whitewater Park and Climb for an action-packed day of outdoor activities. A crisp, chilly morning was no match for their determination as everyone stepped far outside their comfort zones!

From navigating the freezing rapids to conquering the high ropes, their grit, teamwork, and positive energy were off the charts.

Highlights from the day:
Pure Resilience: Braving the cold water and heights head-on
Teamwork: Working together to master the whitewater courses
Courage: Pushing past fears and reaching new heights
We are so proud of the courage and spirit shown by every single student. Way to lead by example! 

Congratulations to Stevie on her amazing achievement

At the NZPCA pony club awards dinner.
Our amazing pony club nominated Stevie for another award but the selection committee decided she was a well deserving recipient of this award.
This is the young achievers award being one of the top national Pony Club awards for young people who excel, contribute, and represent Pony Club values.

Thanks Tina Ball

12 SPLD Tree Adventures 

The Year 12 Sports Leadership class enjoyed a fantastic day out at Tree Adventures in Woodhill Forest. With perfect weather and the entire park to ourselves, the trip focused on building effective teamwork and supporting one another through a challenging outdoor activity. The students stepped up to the challenge, with most completing the expert Level 9 & 10 courses!

A massive thank you to Alex Linnell for joining and supporting the trip. We would also like to extend our gratitude to Leanna Fishter and the Maungaturoto Op Shop for their generous grant, which helped make this activity possible.

2026 Quint Exchange

On Tuesday 21st July Otamatea had 4 neighbouring school’s visit to take part in the annual Quint Exchange - Dargaville, Ruawai, Bream Bay and Rodney.

The sports played on the day were boys basketball, girls netball, mixed 8 aside tag, mixed 6 aside hockey, mixed 7aside football and chess.
The weather was perfect for the day, with all students having a great time. The competition was tight but the attitudes from everyone were positive and supportive.
A huge thank you to our organisers and officials for each code on the day. Without their hard work, the day would not have been possible.
Team Top 3 Results
Sport 1st 2nd 3rd
Tag Dargaville Rodney Otamatea
Netball Otamatea Dargaville Bream Bay
Hockey Bream Bay Otamatea Dargaville
Basketball Rodney Dargaville Otamatea
Chess Dargaville Otamatea Rodney/Bream Bay
Football Bream Bay Otamatea Rodney

Chess also had an individual competition - Congratulations to Tyler Lorenzen who placed 4th overall.

At the end of the day a tug of war was held. This was the deciding event for school placings overall as there was a tie for 1st between Dargaville and Otamatea and a tie for 3rd between Rodney and Bream Bay.
Otamatea came away with the win which meant the Shield stayed in Otamatea's hands for another year. 2nd was Dargaville, 3rd Rodney, 4th Bream Bay and 5th Ruawai.

Reporoa Exchange 2026

34 students and 5 teachers, plus our Principal Mr. Malcolm Todd, embarked on an unforgettable journey to Reporoa for the 60th annual sports exchange, a testament to the power of friendship and possibly the longest lasting rural school exchange in the country.  Our two schools competed in fast five netball, futsal, volleyball, basketball, sevens rugby and debate. All games were tightly contested and the players were fueled on by the energetic cheers and unwavering support from both schools, creating an electric atmosphere. Otamatea emerged as the overall winners, bringing home the shield, but the true victory were the new friendships forged that will be cherished for years to come!   Reporoa, you were the perfect hosts, treating us to a magnificent dinner and a breathtaking 6-tier cake to celebrate 6 decades of this incredible exchange. We can't wait to return the favour and host Reporoa at Otamatea in 2027!  

A huge shout-out to our amazing staff—Mrs. Tina Holst, Mrs. Teresa Brown, Mr. Quentin Clough, Mr. Michael Jarvis, and Mrs. Nikola Kemp! Thank you for organising and attending the trip, and for giving up personal time with your families to support our OHS students.

Year 12/13 Geography - Bay of Islands Trip

On the 30th & 31st July, our senior Geography students spent 2 days in the Bay of Islands, exploring Paihia and Russell as part of their research internal assessment. Students were looking at tourism patterns in each location. A couple of highlights from the trip included the overnight stay in Russell, where students enjoyed listening to kiwi in the bush, along with an amazing excursion on the Fullers 360 to Urupukapuka Island and the Hole in the Rock. 

Collegiate Hockey team

This year the Collegiate Hockey team has been training hard and have managed to win 8 of their 14 games so far this season. With a small number of Monday night games left to play ; Ōtamatea Collegiate Mixed team is sitting at the Division 3 Top of the Table. It is their tenacity, enthusiasm, and hard work that has allowed them to come this far. 

Annette Berghan has been an exceptional Game Coach cheering the team on, making sure they are in the best position for their skill base and checking their play.  A big thank you goes to her for her time and passion to help the team improve throughout the season. 

There have been several moments when the games could have gone either way, with each game showing an improvement and better cohesion and skill.  Last Monday, the 24th of August, the team managed a 4 -1 win against Whangārei Boys High School and at the beginning of the month won 6 - 0 against Whangārei Girls High.

Ethan Cato and Paige Berghan are not only our team's top scorers, they are also in the top of the scoring Stats. With that said, they are exceptional at sharing the ball and the goals - with several players - Lienair Atkins, Liam Hosford, Zachary Scheepers, and Josh Bailey all having multiple goals to their names. Luke Rout with his powerful long hits have got the ball back up near the opposition's goal.  

Chloē Henley, Sophie Dale and Teela Knight have not only held the back lines, leaving Goalie Cooper Massey sometimes with not much to do, but have also put pressure on opposition forcing the game forward. Cooper is constantly cheering and rallying the team, whilst stopping some gnarly goals. Percy McLeod has been a willing all rounder, going into different positions, even as a substitute goalie! 

The next few games will be ones to watch...

Kaipara Landscapes

Big Shout Out to Kaipara Landscapes. Lij has been working with them using their awesome products to beautify the grounds which are looking so much better, and on the weekend they donated these Trellis Screens to us! These are a big help in completing the calming elements needed in the Sensory Room for our very high needs students. 

Thank you Kaipara Landscapes!

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