School news

Drop Off & Pick Up Term 2

Our much anticipated renovations to H Block are due to start during the holidays, as part of this we will need to close off parking by H Block and move the drop off and pick up zone to one side.
Below is a plan showing the temporary setup.

Attendance

Relay for Life

On Saturday the 29th of March, the Ōtamatea High School Year 13's and some staff, participated in the Relay for Life, held in Whangarei. 

This event is to fundraise money and raise awareness for the Cancer Society, NZ. This was the 13th year the school has participated in the event, with the Late Dave Burnell starting it. He participated most years and this year was most poignant, with his passing at the start of the year. 

Leading up to the day, fundraising efforts such as mufti day, bake sale, bunnings sausage sizzle, secondhand clothing sale and an EPIC concert, as well as online donations contributed to a massive total of $22,060 being raised from our team! 

The day was fun filled, emotional and showcased our Year 13 students in such a positive light - they never gave up, they interacted with other school students and the community and created a really fun vibe at the event. They went through their own discomfort; sore, tiredness and pushed through, all to contribute to the fundraising for the cancer society. Our team took out the tug of war challenge, Maggie won the talent quest with playing the guitar and singing, Eileen Parsons was the best dressed in her fantastic fully pink outfit and we were crowned Top school fundraiser and Top fundraiser overall in Northland!

We are so proud of the efforts from the Year 13’s who took part. 2025 Otamatea relay for life - an epic event, bring on 2026! Click here for the Relay for Life NZ Herald article.

This is Sienna Burkill who was our top fundraiser on $1918.She received flowers from the cancer society in recognition of her efforts. 

Baylee Makes History at King of the North

Over the weekend, Baylee made history by becoming the first and only girl to ever win King of the North in the Junior 12-16 85cc class at Makarau. She dominated the competition, securing first place in all three races and taking the overall win. This is an incredible achievement and a testament to her dedication, skill, and hard mahi.

Ava Jade also had a fantastic performance, competing in the Junior 12-16 125cc class and finishing 5th overall. She placed 5th, 5th, and 6th in her races, showing determination and perseverance against strong competition.

Both Baylee and Ava Jade will now set their sights on an even bigger challenge as they compete for a New Zealand title at the Harrisville MX track in Tuakau from April 11-13. We are incredibly proud of their achievements and the hard work they continue to put in.

Best of luck to both girls – we can’t wait to see them represent Otamatea High School on the national stage!

North Island Showjumping Champs

Ayla England and Stevie-Raye Rawaho-Ball were named in the Wellsford District Showjumping team who competed at Kihikihi on the 17th and 18th January 
Ayla received a 10th place jumping at 90cm and Stevie-Raye a 1st, 2nd, 6th and 7th jumping in the 100cm.
Stevie-Raye was 4th individual best rider of all the heights and the Wellsford team came 4th overall.

Paparoa A&P Show Equestrian

A number of students attended the Paparoa A &P show on the 1st February and all came home with plenty of placings and champion ribbons
In the Leisure ring
Pearl Sheppard received Champion Hunter
Zoe Prinsloo received reserve Champion on the flat and Reserve Champion Hunter
Genevieve Donn Received Champion on the flat

Stevie-Raye Rawaho-Ball entered the pony section receiving a number of placings including best local rider, Champion Working hunter and Reserve Champion Hunter

Northland Secondary Schools

Otamatea put in 2 teams this year. There has been a huge improvement with our riders and everyone had a great day.
Our Riders were Stevie-Raye Rawaho-Ball, Ayla England, Zoe Prinsloo, Pearl Sheppard, and Genevieve Donn.
Ayla riding Tango in the 90cm section got 1st and 5th.
Stevie-Raye riding Million Dollar Bill in the 1.05cm section got a 3rd and 4th.
Overall our teams got 7th and 12th placing.

Senior Boys Sevens Rugby

On Wednesday the 5th of March the OHS Senior Boys Sevens Rugby team entered the Northland Condors Sevens qualifying tournament held in Kerikeri. The boys showed great dedication in leaving at 7.15am travelling 2 1⁄4 hours to the tournament. Over the day the boys played 4 games, winning 2 including the plate final against Kamo High School. The team improved with every game and with 13 boys participating strongly things are looking good for the 1st XV this year. Many thanks to Paul Greig for helping with transport and first aid as well as to Mike Jarvis for stepping up and doing a great job coaching the team at late notice.
Team members. Luke Weber, Hira Taurua, Nathan Allen, Kadeyn Asuncion, Jakob Buxton, Ash Campbell, Keidis de Ridder, Leyton Greig, Tyler Kaye, Alistair Martin, Jack Smith, Luca Troost, Junior Ulisala.

Marco Troost

Northland Athletics

We took up 25 students to represent our school. Everyone represented the school with pride cheering each other on. A huge congratulations to Denika Clooney winning the 3000m, 1500m, 800m, Leo Fenney 3000m, Liam Brennan HJ and Pyper Buxton Shot put. Also a huge congratulations to Denika Clooney and Pyper Buxton who were selected to represent Northland at the North Island Athletics Champs held in Hamilton on the 4th, 5th and 6th April.

NZ Track and Field Championships 6th - 9th March

A huge congratulations to Denika Clooney who competed at the NZ Track and Field Championships that were held in Dunedin. Please see her results below.
1500m:   Denika placed 4th in the women's under 18 age group with a time of 4.36.72 minutes. 
3000m:   Denika placed 2nd in the women's under 18 age group with a time of  5.58.62 minutes. Denika took 15 seconds off her previous personal best time which is a huge achievement.

Paddle Boarding held in Waipapa

Congratulations to all the students and a special congratulations to Manu Martin for finishing 2nd in the year 8 boys.

Kiwi Tag

Kiwi Tag yr 9-10 Girls played in Whangarei on Tuesday 4th. The weather was perfect and the girls did really well. They started with some skills training and then got into games. They finished 2nd in their pool and 6th overall. Well done girls.

Top Art Trip

Our Level 3 Art-Design, Painting, and Photography students recently had the exciting opportunity to visit the Hundertwasser Art Centre, where they explored the vibrant and thought-provoking works of Friedensreich Hundertwasser alongside an incredible Māori art exhibition. The students found both collections deeply engaging, gaining insight into Hundertwasser’s unique artistic philosophy and the powerful narratives embedded in contemporary Māori art.

Following this, they visited a selection of last year’s top art folios, showcasing some of the best student work from around the country. Seeing the high level of skill and creativity from students their own age left them inspired, providing fresh motivation for their own projects.

Hopefully, this experience will encourage our students to push their creative boundaries and strive for excellence in their personal art practice. We look forward to seeing how this newfound inspiration translates into their work in the coming months!

Mathematics Department

The Mathematics Department held a "Digits of Pi" competition last Friday for Pi Day. Students were challenged to remember as many digits of pi as possible. Well done to everyone who gave our competition a go!
Our top three winners were
Ava Jade Morrison - 131 digits of pi
Zariah Webster - 41 digits of pi
Aaron Teixiera - 16 digits of pi

Pictured from left to right (Ava Jade, Zariah).

Futsal Senior Boys

Futsal Senior Boys played on Tuesday 25th and the Yr9-10 boys and mixed teams played on Monday 3rd March. They played well and had heaps of fun and learnt a few skills.

Paddle Boarding Kaiwaka Monday 17th and Tuesday 18th March

On Monday morning we took a group of Yr 7-8 and afternoon a group of Yr9's to Kaiwaka where they learnt skills and did some racing. Unfortunately the weather was not the best but they still managed to have a lot of fun.
Tuesday morning we had the Yr 10's and in the afternoon the Yr 11-13's, most of them already had some skills so after a few practises and skills they managed to get one race in as the weather was extremely heavy.
It was a great couple of days. A huge thanks to Bill and Helena for taking a couple of days to run this.

Northern Wairoa swimming champs

We headed to Dargaville for the yr 7-8 Northern Wairoa swimming champs. All the students did well and represented our school with pride. 
Congratulations to all the students involved.

Kiwi Tag Open

Kiwi Tag Open Girls was held in Whangarei. The girls had 6 games all up, finishing 4th. The team played so well, especially the two that had never played before. Awesome sportsmanship had by all. Congratulations to O'Shana Crane-Lima for outstanding player.

2025 School Triathlon

A perfect windless sunny day set the scene for the triathlon. Congratulations to all the students who participated. A huge thankyou to all the students, staff and community individuals who helped with setting up for the day and marshalling during the races. The inter iwi competition was very closely fought.

1 st Whatua, 2 nd Maniapoto, 3 rd Ngapuhi, 4 th Arawa
Year 7 and 8 – 200 m swim/3 km bike/1.5km run
Girls
1st India Fenney 31.43s
Boys
1st Cameron McCarthny 27.48s
Teams Girls
1st Niwa Kawana-Pool, Milly Lowe, Tiaki Worsfold 26.58s
2nd Ellisa Mackenzie, Aaliah Mackenzie, Marley Sheppard 30.30s
Teams Boys
1st Jaxson Sheppard, Sefa Tovine, Leo Hampshire 21.44s
2 nd Hunter Gardner, Heath Lusty, Van Walker 22.07s
3 rd Riley Kemp, Ollie Weber 23.13s
Year 9 – 13 Triathlon – 300 m swim/3 km bike/3 km run
Girls
1st Denika Clooney 27.59s
Teams Girls
1 st Jade Fox, Jessica Cowpland, Aimee Harrison 32.46s
2 nd Olivia Alcock, Amy Weber, Tennessee Brewer 33.03s
3 rd Madi Radd, Alyanna Hodgson, Paige Berghan 39.02s
Teams Boys
1 st Luke Weber, Ash Campbell 26.12s
2 nd Brooklyn Hemara, Lachie Maher, Nikau Phillips 29.34s
3 rd Mason Forsyth-Hall, Oscar Curtin, Allistair Martin 30.59s

DOE Gold Ceremony

On Saturday 5th April at St Kentigern's College, Auckland the first Gold  Award Ceremony for 2025 was held.There were 80 recipients who were presented their Gold Award ,which is the culmination of four to five years of working through the bronze, silver and gold award levels. Each section consists of a recreation, skill, service, adventurous journey and an extra Residential section at the gold level.

Otamatea High School was very proud to have Sophie Van Harlingen, Zander Groenewald, Tennessee Brewer and Bella Allen receive their award from Sarah Hillary (daughter of Sir Edmund Hillary)
The students had very proud family members in attendance, along with Todd Malcolm (principal), Robyn Bruce(Award Leader),  Ken Hames (National Chair of the Duke Of Edinburgh's Hillary Award) and Sharlene McCormick (Board Member).

The students are amongst the few who manage to attain the Gold Award. They can be very proud of such an exceptional achievement which has involved lots of dedication, time management, hours of fundraising along with the many wonderful memories and friendships formed (not to mention the blisters, sore muscles, heavy packs and competitive games of five crowns) while tramping through some of New Zealand's North and South Island Great Outdoors.

Following are the student's citations from the Award Ceremony:

Bella Allen "The Duke Of Edinburgh's Award has taught me so many new skills, helped me gain so much more confidence and built up my leadership skills. I've met so many awesome people and gained new relationships. This programme has had such a positive impact on my life and I am very grateful to have been given the opportunity to participate in it."

Tennessee Brewer "The Duke Of Edinburgh's Award has not only allowed me to expand my skill set and knowledge of the outdoors, but it has also allowed me to create an abundant amount of memories that I will forever cherish. It has also let me step out of my comfort zone and allowed me to find a new found interest and passion in the outdoors, along with an appreciation for what New Zealand has to offer."

Zander Groenewald "Participating in The Duke Of Edinburgh's Hillary Award has impacted my life with many new skills, memories and opportunities. Skills which taught me how to work in a team and how to problem solve. Memories that consisted of laughter, struggle and awe. Opportunities which arrived in many shapes, from meeting new friends to experiencing New Zealand."

Sophie Van Harlingen "The Duke Of Ed was utterly traumatic in many ways, but I loved every second and I would do it all again in a heartbeat. The award taught me a huge amount of self growth and the ability to persevere. I don't think I would be where I am if I had not completed it."

We wish you all the best for the future and hope that you keep having lots of adventures in the Great Outdoors and in life!

The Library

It has been a busy start to the year in the library. Not only have we had a bunch of new books, thanks to a donation from Mangawhai Taxis but we have also some new board games and have started the non-fiction upgrade. It has been a pleasure to have more classes regularly come to the library as part of their timetable. One of the biggest steps to reading is regular access to books and having time to explore different types of materials. The Wings of fire series, our new transport books and the “I survived” series have been popular this term. Along with these, Burn by Patrick Ness ( our ‘Spotlight on’ author) and the new Suzanne Collins are in the top requests. 

We have implemented a ‘Whisper Wednesday’ in alignment with student requests. This offers a period of silence in the library, which can become quite loud otherwise. Students are also interested in learning more about sign-language. Next Term, Week 2 is sign-language week where we will focus more on this and hopefully have an opportunity to learn more words and practice. 

Thursdays we have started a board game “club”, with a different board game the focus each week. Scrabble, Rummikub and Monopoly have been popular. There is a comradery that comes with playing games. If you have a game you would like to loan/teach us, we would love to hear from you. 

Ms McMath has started “Knit Happens” - a knitting group that meets on Fridays to learn to knit and on Tuesdays to knit together. This has been very popular ( and a previously unfulfilled student request). Students have also been bringing in their crochet  and there is much discussion and teaching between students. A big thank you to the  Maungaturoto Op Shop for the support of needles and wool. We are planning to do a few weaving sessions at the end of next term. 

Along with everything else happening this term Aunty Bosch read (and dressed up) for our ever popular Dr Suess day.  The Kids Lit Team and the Readers Cup team have been meeting and getting ready for next term's competitions. There is also the Northland Inter-Schools Chess competition coming up next term. This is not just limited to the members of the chess club. 

In the final 2 weeks of term 1 our year 7 and senior photography class exhibited their work in the library. In week 10, the year 7s displayed their fantastic black and white bird portrait sketches. These have now been assessed and returned to students to bring home. The year 7 students were proud of their efforts, as they should be!
In week 11, a selection of photographs from each senior photography student was curated for display. Each student has decided on a theme to work with this year, and have generated their initials visual ideas to build on in future months.
There has been a positive response to these mini exhibitions from both students and staff. A special mention must be made to Imogen, our awesome librarian who is always keen to help us in hosting artwork.
Next term we hope to see some year 10 work appear in there, as they have made some fantastic paintings this term.

Some descriptive language

8T have been looking at figurative language this term. Here are some awesome examples to share.

Junior Syndicate Speech Competition – A Celebration of Courage, Creativity, and Mana

This week, our Year 7 and 8 students took to the stage for the much-anticipated Junior Syndicate Speech Competition – and what an incredible showcase it was! Each and every student who stood up to speak demonstrated not only confidence and creativity, but also the true meaning of courage and mana. Public speaking is no easy feat, and our students should be extremely proud of their efforts.

It was inspiring to hear the wide range of topics that students were passionate about – from the importance of well-being and the impact of social media, to strong cases for a new school playground and why country living might just outshine city life. The originality and thoughtfulness behind each speech made it a truly memorable event.

Congratulations to our Year 7 speech winners:

3rd Place: Marina Djoulai – Students should vote which teachers keep their jobs
2nd Place: Maisy Freeman – Sunita Williams
1st Place: Jed Holland – Hong Kong
And a huge shoutout to our Year 8 winners:

3rd Place: Ellise Mackenzie – Be positive
2nd Place: Mitchell Donn – Our playground
1st Place: Tiaki Worsfold – Why getting old sucks

A heartfelt ngā mihi to all our brave presenters – you lit up the stage with your passion and poise. Thank you to our wonderful whānau for coming to support, and to our judges Mr Malcolm, Mrs Antunovich, and Mr George for their thoughtful deliberations.

Lastly, a massive thank you to our junior syndicate students for being such a respectful and encouraging audience – your energy helped make the event such a success.

Ka mau te wehi – what an awesome way to celebrate student voice!

Report an absence

You can notify the school of an absence using the school parent portal, by phone at 0800 682 628, option 1, or by emailing attendance@otamatea.school.nz
If you need help with accessing the parent portal please email Mrs Cadman alison.cadman@otamatea.school.nz