RONGOTAI COLLEGE PRINCIPAL’S NEWSLETTER Week 5, Term 2, 2018 COMING EVENTS Chem-Dry, had flowed into our short power outages Monday- basement classroom (A19), Wednesday this week as a result. We Monday 4 June basement corridor and storerooms, will phase turning heaters on before Queen’s Birthday holiday power switchboard and gas boilers school in the days ahead. and caused the problems we have Friday 8 June Rongotai Experience experienced. Classroom temperatures are now – no school for most students hovering between 12-17°, which while not ideal, does allow us to Tuesday 12 June keep the school open for instruction. Rongotai College Open Evening – no afternoon school for most students I certainly have appreciated the Wednesday 13 June goodwill of staff and students as St Patrick’s College Silverstream, sporting they are making do with this exchange at Silverstream situation. Thankfully, one of the gas Monday 18 June boilers is now working and it is Rongotai College Pasifika Parents’ Asosi at hoped the other will be by the end 6.30pm in the staffroom Water in A19 corridor of next week. Friday 22 June The water pipe was a relatively Winter Food Fair from 5.30pm in the Despite all of this, our boys seem to Renner Hall straightforward fix and electricity be coping well. For seniors, the into the school was reconnected on school year is more than one-third of Thursday 28 June Tuesday 22 May. It has taken about the way complete, and our deans, Board of Trustees’ meeting at 6pm in the a week for the basement to be dried Mackay Library academic mentors and classroom out. Wall linings should be replaced teachers are working hard to ensure Friday 6 July at some stage this week. that students meet their academic Last day Term 2 commitments and are as successful Monday 23 July as they can be. First day Term 3 As I have walked around the corridors of the school over the past few weeks, I have seen a number of senior students heavily involved in 2018 TERM DATES NCEA internal assessments. I have been impressed by their efforts. You Term 2 Monday 30 April to Friday should receive feedback from 6 July A19 on Wednesday this week teachers as part of our next reports, Term 3 Monday 23 July to Friday which are due to be posted with this 28 September However, the gas boilers are the newsletter. You can also check for Term 4 Monday 15 October to ongoing issue. They provide heated results on the Parent Portal. water to radiators in classrooms and Friday 7 December offices around the main building of RONGOTAI 90th ANNIVERSARY the school. With these not working, It is proving to be a hectic and disruptive we have had to rely on electric CELEBRATIONS start to Term 2, with floods, school heaters in our classrooms, and they The Rongotai College Old Boys closures, power outages and issues with are not efficient. The cold snap we Association has organised a heating, all distracting us from our have experienced this week has programme over Queen’s Birthday weekend to celebrate Rongotai purpose of boys being in class to learn. made the school seem even colder. th College’s 90 ‘Birthday’. The cause of these problems was a burst It is not as simple as just turning on joint on a water pipe under the additional electric heaters, as our The celebrations start with a special administration area of the main block. power system can’t deal with the ‘Old Boys’ assembly on Friday 1 The over 250,000 litres of water extra load placed on the system by June, followed by luncheon and pumped out by the NZ Fire Service and heaters in 36 classrooms all being tours of the school. That evening, turned on at once. We have had there is a function at the Roxy. On Saturday, there are 1st XI football College’. From here you are able to if your son is not required he will be (10.45am) and 1st XV (2.30pm) easily send attendance emails, view released from school at 12.30pm. games against Scots College, while newsletters, access the daily notices there is a basketball game in the (linked through the parent portal) If you require your son to stay at gymnasium. and in the event of an emergency, school for the afternoon he will be we are able to send a notification supervised. Please tell him to report If you are an old boy of Rongotai direct to your phone, as we did to the office at 1.30pm. College yourself and wish to be when we had to evacuate the school involved, you can find details of the due to the flooding that occurred If your friends would like further events on the RCOB Facebook page. recently. information subsequent to the above two events, please tell them UNIFORM to contact the college, and I will take While we have allowed boys to wear them on a tour of the college extra garments to keep them warm facilities. over the past week or so, after Queen’s Birthday weekend we will CANTEEN WINTER MENU be insisting that students wear the A new winter menu has been put in correct uniform, even on the coldest place in the school canteen. This is of days. The regulation jersey and available on our website for you to school jacket provide ample warmth, view. They have brought back the although we also allow students to ever popular butter chicken wrap, wear plain black or navy blue the sushi sandwich and the chicken jackets as part of the uniform. We wrap. have a uniform puffer jacket, and these have proven extremely popular. They can be purchased BREAKFAST from the college shop. Breakfast is the most important meal ENROLMENTS 2019 We are presently involved with of the day. Recently, we have noted a large number of boys not wearing enrolments for 2019. The first enrolment event is the RONGOTAI We understand that for a range of regulation shoes. Shoes should be reasons, boys may not come to black leather-look polishable dress EXPERIENCE when we invite Year 8 boys from our contributing schools school having had an appropriate shoes. Sports or ‘skate-type’ shoes breakfast. Consequently, we have are NOT part of the uniform. to Rongotai College to experience our school. This takes place on partnered with Fonterra and Sanitarium (as part of their ‘Kick We ask for your support in ensuring Friday 8 June. The Year 8 boys come into our school in two groups from Start Breakfast programme’) to that your child has the correct provide breakfasts for boys who uniform items, including the correct contributing schools and spend the morning or afternoon involved in require it in the Hospitality Room shoes. each morning. Boys are able to have various learning activities in different subject areas. There will be no breakfast from 7.45 each morning. We don’t wish to disrupt learning to Weet-Bix and milk are free, and boys get the uniform sorted but we do formal classes for your son(s) on this day although some of them will can purchase toast if they choose to. have a uniform that must be worn correctly. be asked to help with our Rongotai Experience. YEAR 10 DEAN If you require your son to attend Ms Esmee school on this day he will be McAuley has supervised. Contact the office We hope this allows all our students been appointed before the day if this is the case and to have a ‘Kick Start Breakfast’ each the Year 10 Dean, please tell him to report to the office day. taking over from at 8.55am. Mrs Sheridan Mackenzie, who The second important event is our ACADEMIC has left Rongotai OPEN EVENING which will be held on College to move back to her home- Tuesday 12 June. Please encourage NEWS town of Nelson. any of your friends who have a son in Year 7 or 8 to come into the college NZQA FEES Ms McAuley can be contacted by and experience the “Rongotai Way”. An invoice for NZQA fees is included email on The evening begins at 7pm and in this newsletter for Year 11-13 [email protected] concludes around 8.30pm. students. These fees are collected by the school on behalf of NZQA, Departments will be setting up and are not payments to the school SKOOL LOOP APP displays for the Open Evening from as such. They are a registration fee Parents are reminded to download 12.30pm onwards. Some students to have all NCEA credits earned this this app, then select ‘Rongotai will be required to help with this, but year recognised by NZQA. on the Miramar Peninsular and premierships. Both have started The last date the school will accept working alongside the penguin with wins in the opening rounds, NZQA fees is 24 August 2018, and house group. The students are able against Hutt Valley High School and fees not paid by this date must be to work towards gaining Level 2 and Wairarapa College respectively. paid directly to NZQA. Non-payment Level 3 Unit and Achievement of NZQA assessment fees will mean Standards as part of this programme. There are still a few boys who are that your son will not have any not wearing the correct sport credits gained this year recognised To this end we are looking for native uniform, especially evident in by NZQA and he will not receive any timber to build the gecko and weta football where boys are wearing qualifications that may result.