Otahuhu College Newsletter Friday 19 October 2019 From our Principal It has been a very good start to the final term at Otahuhu College. All students have settled into their classwork well, and in particular it is good to see the numbers staying behind for tutorials to help with preparation for exams. On Thursday I was talking to a father who said his son has started studying at home as well, this is great and must be encouraged. At this time of year extra sacrifices by the wider family which allows students to study has a long term benefit to the family and our community. This week we also found out that a number of our students have been awarded scholarships from various universities. Many of these are for substantial sums of money. So far over Otahuhu College students have been awarded over $140 000 worth of scholarships. It is important that families recognise that these scholarships are applied using Level 2 results and then confirmed by excellent Level 3 results. Important Dates 22 October Labour Day 23-26 October Tokelau Language Week 23 October Junior Boys Futsal Tournament 24-26 October Year 9&10 Leadership Camp 24 October Service Awards Evening 29 Oct – 2 Nov Smilecare Dentist 30 October Achievement Reports posted or emailed. Our Commitments Regular attendance means attending school at least ninety percent of the time. Like other top schools we expect all our students to be at school on time each day. Students who are late three times in a week will be given a detention. Students should be at school by 8:30am and it is their responsibility to be seated in the correct places for assembly. Your support in making sure your child is at school on time is appreciated. If your child is going to be late or absent please phone the office 9634000 or alternatively 0800 4 OTAHUHU to leave a message on the absence voice mail before 8:00 a.m. You can also email [email protected] Routines at Home for Success Family life can be very busy with a lot of commitments, so establishing routines together can make sure that your child is best prepared for success. Study every day, from the start of each year. This can be as simple as reviewing what was learnt during the day and coming up with good questions to ask the next day. Start studying with your difficult subjects first, then move onto your more enjoyable subjects. Study in 20-30 minute blocks having a break between each one. Phones and other devices should be charged in a common area, so they are not used to distract from study or late at night. Get a good night's sleep, teenagers generally need 8 –10 hours sleep a night. Getting into routines at home for study will help your child succeed. Curriculum and Study News ENGLISH DEPARTMENT Level 3 Visual English This week, students will be undertaking their final internal assessment for Oral Presentation. Students have been provided extended support for this standard, inclusive of the below additional tutorials and staff are available for further support and guidance at request. Please be encouraging of students at home over the weekend and throughout next week to be rehearsing their presentation skills and oral delivery. Level 3 English Literature The literature program has their final internal assessment due on Friday 26th October. This standard is worth 4 credits. Students need to be undergoing a large amount of time, outside of class, working towards the completion and success in this heavy research assignment. Please encourage attendance to after school tutorials. Exam Tutorials – Important information We want to ensure that your child gets access to as much support as possible in the run up to the exam period in November, and that we support them to gain their external exam credits in their chosen English courses. The English Department are offering weekly tutorials, and support, which will run through to the exam period in November. These workshops will be made compulsory to students who have low attendance or who need further support beyond the classroom. All students however, should be encouraged to attend to be assisted on a one to one basis by staff members to help them achieve. In addition to this, all students from Year 9 through to Year 13 are welcome to attend the English Help Centre, which runs in A6 3:15pm-4:15pm every Wednesday after school, for additional support with assessments and exams. Please encourage your child to attend. The dates and venue of the workshops are as follows: ꞏ TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY ENG1V Exam preparation Level 3 Exam preparation ENG2V Exam preparation 3:00pm – 4:30pm A6 3:00pm – 4:00pm 3:00pm – 4:00pm Ms Norgate Ms Duynhoven A5 (V and L Ms Norgate A6 courses) Ms Meagher A8 Mr Meikle A17 Ms Devi A7 ENG1U Exam preparation ENG1V Exam preparation ENG2U Exam preparation 3:00pm – 4:00pm 3:00pm – 4:00pm 3:00pm – 4:00pm A3 Ms Duynhoven and Mr Turner Ms Devi A7 Ms Garrett and/or Mr Martin A5 Ms Meagher A8 English General Help Centre 3:00pm – 4:15pm A6 English Teachers COMMERCE DEPARTMENT ACCOUNTING L3 TUTORIALS Saturday 20 October 9am to 12 Noon Room M13 TONGAN LANGUAGE WEEK Theme: “FAKAKOLOA ‘O E KOLISI OTAHUHU ‘AKI ‘A E ‘OFA FONUA.” ENRICH OTAHUHU COLLEGE WITH THE LOVE OF DUTY AND SERVICE TO OUR SCHOOL, OUR COUNTRY, OUR COMMUNITY AND OUR PEOPLE. Friday, 28th September, last day of Term 3. Kava Ceremony was held to portray the theme of “‘Of Fonua”. Kava is the ceremonial drink, a tradition which dates to the tenth century on the island of ‘Eueiki in Tonga. The king of Tonga at the time arrived in the island after fishing for so many days. They found the parents of a leprous daughter named Kava and asked for food. There was a drought on the island and no food was found. The parents loved and honored their king greatly so in order to show their respect, they sacrificed their daughter as an offering for the Tu’i Tonga. The king dreadfully appreciated the love and the sacrifice that the parents had made and told them to leave the ‘umu to become Kava’s grave and to honor her memory. After several months, two plants had grown, one at the head which was named Kava and the one at the feet was a sugarcane. They took the two plants to the King and since then, Kava had become the ceremonial drink. The name of their daughter, Kava lives forever in the lives of all Tongans, it is also well known in the Pacific islands and in this world. This act of sacrifice and offering illustrates the 4 Tongan virtues. 1. Fakaapaapa (Respect) 2. Lototō (Humility) 3. Mamahi’i me’a (Commitment) 4. Tauhi vaha’a (keeping good relations). Because our school has all ethnicities and diversities, our Kava ceremony was done to represent everyone in our school community. The principal, in the middle of the circle represents the head of all clans and to represent all palangis in the school, each teacher represents a chief of each clan, Tongans, Samoans, Maori, Asians. The students sitting beside the chiefs are the matapule (spokesperson) of the chiefs. Sports News DAYS TEAMS VS VENUE TIME TUESDAY SENIOR FUTSAL SENIOR FUTSAL AUCKLAND ALL DAY 16/10 ONE DAY ONE DAY NETBALL TOURNAMENT TOURNAMENT CENTRE THURSDAY JUNIOR GIRLS JAMES COOK MANGERE 4.45PM 18/10 VOLLEYBALL ALFRISTON 5.30PM JUNIOR BOYS MANGERE OTAHUHU 4.00PM VOLLEYBALL MANUREWA GYM 4.45PM FRIDAY SENIOR RUBGY 7S SENIOR RUBGY 7S WAITEMATA ALL DAY 19/10 TOURNAMENT TOURNAMENT RUGBY CLUB SPORTS DRAW FOR THE WEEK ENDING 21st OCTOBER 2018 Arts and Culture News The Annual Service Awards’ Evening will be held on Wednesday, 24th October. Students who will be receiving Service Awards will be informed by letter by the end of this week. MUSIC DEPARTMENT Our students were asked to perform at the Tongan League team’s training session at Mt Smart Stadium on Wednesday 17 October. Taufa Latu, Emily Latu, Teuila Tuibenau and Basim Kafoa had their beautiful melodic vocals soaring over the crowd with their 3 pieces and did the school proud. They received many compliments from appreciative listeners. Stem News Welcome back to the start of Term 4! Thank you to all the parents/caregivers who encouraged students to attend the holiday tutorials. These sessions allowed students to further their knowledge of each subject. Students reviews show that these tutorials really helped with the areas they were struggling in and how they could improve their grades from Achieved to Merit and Excellences. Also, a huge thank you to all the staff members who came in during the holidays to assist our students! Your hard work and determination for our pupils are much appreciated! Biology Olympiad Congratulations are in order for three of our biology students. Firstly, Shaneel Lal has received a Silver Award from the New Zealand Bio Olympiad Committee. This is the first time an Otahuhu College student has been a recipient of this prestigious award and is a testament to his hard work over the year. From the hundreds of students who completed the entrance exam, Shaneel was one of only 19 students who progressed through to the training camp for 2017/2018. This year Cassa-Dee O’Reilly and Nerissa Felise have received Bronze Awards and they will participate in online tutorials and assignments to prepare them for the next stage of the competition. If they are successful they too will be selected to attend the training camp.