Merry Christmas

A happy new year to all from the Stratford High School family.

We would like to thank you for your support of the school in 2012. The support from parents, students and the community is invaluable to our school and enables our students to take part in many of the extra curricular activities and events.

We would like to acknowledge the support of the SHS Old Pupils Association, Tag Oil, Massey University, Maata Woman's Institute and the Mako family in supporting our students at the prizegivings. It was also pleasing to note the increased number of junior students who attended with families.

The Parent Teacher Association supports the school with assistance at functions and also with funds raised from locker hire and uniform sales to purchase extra items for the benefit of our students.

Another way of supporting the school is with your purchase of school stationery. By using either Stratford Paper Plus or Warehouse stationery you enable the school to purchase stationery items.

Many thanks to the many sponsors of our school. We have a number of firms who support the school by sponsoring the school magazine, adverts in the Stratford Press, sports and cultural teams, cultural activities and colour printing. Without them many school events would not be publicised or provided.

Once again, keep safe during the Christmas break and we look forward to seeing you back in 2013.
Important dates to be aware of:
Monday 21 Jan 2013: School office opens for new school year.
Wednesday 23 Jan: PTA uniform sale 12 noon to 2 pm. Assembly Hall.
Thursday 24 Jan: Course Confirmation Day for all year 12 students 10am to 2pm.
                             Year 13 students 9 to 10am and 2 to 3pm
                             Y13 Peer Support training – library 10.00 am start. Mufti
Monday 28 Jan: Year 9 and Year 13 students (8.45am to 3.15 pm.)
                            All other new students attend from 8.45 to 11am.
Tuesday 29 Jan: Year 9, 12 and 13 students only.
Wednesday 30 Jan: Year 9, 11, 12 and 13 students only
Thursday 31 Jan: All year levels

New enrolments:
Parents of new students who have not yet enrolled should phone the school office on 765 6039 from Monday 21 January 2013 to make an appointment to see the Principal Mr P Keenan.

Course confirmation Thursday 24th January 2013:
All year 12 and 13 students must confirm their course. Stationery lists are available to seniors at course confirmation or from the ultranet website. http://stratfordhigh.ultranet.school.nz/WebSpace/654/

Uniform lists are also available on the new ultranet website. SHS Uniform
P H Keenan
Principal

Last updates for 2011

Congratulations
Congratulations to Shane Jordan who was selected as the 2011 winner of the Heartland Scholarship. Shane will use this to continue his woodchopping. Shane spoke earlier in the year to the school as one of our 2011 Poutama speakers.

Activities Week
Junior students enjoyed the activities week with staff. The weather was fine enough that those choosing outdoor activities were able to continue. School based activities like electronics, film challenge and Masterchef had enough excitement to last the week while farm students at Taratahi tried lots of farm based jobs.

School magazine
The school magazine is available to be picked up. The school office will close on Thursday 16th December and reopen on Monday 23rd January, although staff may still be at school behind closed doors. Year 12 and 13 students are reminded that they need to come to course confirmation on Thursday 26 January with their record of learning to confirm their 2012 course. Peer support training will be held on this day from 10 am to 2 pm.

Second hand uniform sale

The New Caledonia French tour group are organising the second hand uniform sale. Items can be dropped off at school by Wednesday 25 January or contact Mrs S Terry at school or via email ts@stratfordhigh.school.nz to arrange drop offs. The sale will start at 12 noon on Thursday 26 January at the school.
P H Keenan
Principal

Congratulations to our students

It has been an exciting start to Term three with a number of our students being honoured in various forms.
• Tracy Kivell has been honoured by the Stratford Lions Club for their 2010 Youth Award.
• Josh Robins for his silver placing in the International Western Riding Championships during the holidays.
• Ashlee O'Hanlon for her 2009 design which has been used as the Methanex Maths Spectacular poster.
• Alex Patterson and Kieran Watt at the recent TSSSA Badminton competition. Alex won the senior boys title. As a pair they won the senior boys doubles title.
• Dylan Honeyfield who gained the highest score at the TSSSA Small-Bore Rifle Shooting competition.
• The Girls 10 pin bowling team who came second in the TSSSA 10 Pin Bowling competition.
• Get 2 Go team who were placed 5th after a fun filled day of competition which is the best score for our school.
• To the 3A and 4A Netball teams who participated in the Western Junior Development tournament at the weekend.
There will be more congratulations in the next newsletter as junior students were honoured with house badges at a recent assembly, the Fonterra Science Fair and Methanex Maths Spectacular have both occurred.

MoE Recognises Language Student
Melissa Watts has gained a Ministry of Education Language Immersion Award. Melissa was one of 15 students from all over NZ over all languages to be honoured. The award has a value of $11250 which will pay for her costs for spending six months overseas in a French speaking country (her chosen language). Melissa has chosen France, Belgium or Canada as her preferred destination for the six months of the award. The application process was online with Melissa having to supply 4 references, NCEA results and her personal writing. She was then selected for an interview in New Plymouth by representatives from the MoE. After a month she received a letter to say that she was one of the 15 recipients for 2011.

Junior graduation reports
These reports will be posted this week with an interview evening to be held on Thursday 19th August from 7.00 to 9.00 pm.

Te Reo Week

Ngā Whakataukī me Ngā Pānui:

Te Reo Language week is being celebrated at Stratford High School this week. Students have the opportunity to enter a competition each day via the daily notices and classes have been given a sheet with a proverb / saying about kai to discuss each day.
Kapa Haka will be performing in the canteen on Thursday at interval.
Rāhina:
Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora te iwi
With your food basket and my food basket, the people will be well cared for

Rātū:
Waiho mā te tangata e mihi
Let others praise you
Rāapa:
Ko te kai rapu, ko ia te kite
He who seeks will find
Rāpare:
He paua kainga tahi, auahi te kakara
The paua may be eaten in one mouthful, but the odour remains
Rāmere:
Kāore te kumara e korero mo tona reka
The kumara does not say how sweet it is

Newsletter
There will be a newsletter issued to students later this week.

High School Corner

Senior Dramatists on stage

Year 12 and 13 drama students will be presenting MMMbeth, a comedy version of “The Scottish Play” on Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd July (the last week of term 2). The performances will commence at 7.30 pm in the school hall, with admission $3 for students and $5 for adults. Come along and support the drama students in the NCEA assessment.

Cultural events
We have some exciting performances and visits coming to the school over the next few months including Aorere College – visit, tauranga Boys College visit and once again this year we will be having a visit from Excel. We also have the opportunity to take 90 of our students to the Sky Academy at G Taranaki. Keep an eye on the daily notices for more information.

Next Newsletter
A newsletter will be sent home with the Junior students second graduation report next week. Senior students will be receiving their mid-year reports the following week with an interview evening for parents on Wed 30th June from 4 - 7 pm in the school assembly hall.

Farewell to Mrs Potter

Senior students with Mrs Maria Potter in her new office as Principal of Opunake High School.

A very busy week

Pae Rangatahi 2010
To Roopu Kapa Haka o Te Amorangi performed last Friday at the 2010 regional Kapa Haka competition. Although it was a small event this year, Taranaki schools were well represented. Congratulations to our group for standing, although in the performance section the group did extremely well.
“Ko Te Amorangi ki mua, Ko Te Hapai o ki muri”
T O’Carroll, HoD Moari

 

Rockquest 2010
On Saturday, our rock band “Glasgow Smile” performed at the Smokefree Rockquest heats at NP Boys High School. 26 bands in all competed for the 14 spots in the finals. The band comprising of Jesse Smythe (bass), Dylan O'Neill (vocals), Zac Cole (drums) and Robert Self (lead guitar and composer) performed really well and even though not successful in making the finals, they were deserving of a final’s spot. Well done guys. To hear them play, come along to the Rock’n’Rave on Saturday night in the school hall.
C Trueman, TIC Music

 

TSSSA Netball
On Sunday 9th May six Stratford High School netball teams travelled to New Plymouth for the actual TSSSA netball tournament. Our boys team faced some very tough competition. They had wins against Spotswood, Waitara, Francis Douglas and had a draw with Boys High. Consequently they won their grade. Well done to all the boys who took part.
          School A team had one win and three loses against some very tough opposition. School B recorded one win and two losses. 3A had one win, a draw and two loses. 4A were runners up in their section and had three wins and a loss. Strikers had a tough netball day and came 2nd in all of their games.
        Thank you to all the players, coaches, managers, parents and supporters who made the effort to travel to New Plymouth to watch our teams. Thanks should also go to Summer Collins, Kyla May, Anjela Frost, Nicole Chadwick, Astyn Buckland, Savarna Wilton and Mikayla Brown (both from St Mary’s) who gave up their Sunday to umpire. Also to Miss Apperley who successfully coached the boys to victory. Thanks also to Mr Keenan, Zoe and Whaea Tina for turning up to watch.
D Kay, TIC Netball

Congratulations

• Cameron Johnson who qualified for the second round of the Brain Bee Quiz. Cameron will be travelling to the Neuro-Sciences dept at Auckland University to take part in this quiz.
• Jared Bevins (ex-pupil) for his inclusion in the NZ Wood Chopping team for the Trans-Tasman competitions later this year. This is the third year that Jared has been a team member.
• Kelly Bishop who has been selected for the Taranaki U19 Netball team.
• Tatiana Rhodes has been selected as a member of the Taranaki U15 Development team.
• Olya Albot and Anya Albot won the U18 second to highest division at the Taekwondo North Island Championships on the 1st of May.

Staff Changes

Changes at the Top!
Congratulations are in order to Mrs Maria Potter who has been appointed to the position of Principal at Opunake High School. Mrs Potter has been at SHS since January 2004 when she was appointed as Deputy Principal.
She is an avid supporter of student lead activities and has encouraged the student council to take the lead in improving student facilities. She will be missed by the community. Further information about a farewell for Mrs Potter will be via the school newsletter.

Mrs Barbara Gall has been appointed to the Deputy Principal vacancy, created when Mr Keenan was appointed as Principal. She will take up this position on 3rd May 2010. Mrs Gall was appointed HOD Mathematics at SHS in June 1999 and was appointed Assistant Principal in January 2004. She is looking forward to the challenges and changes that this appointment will bring.

 

Congratulations to the following students for their success over the past weeks;

Ryan Cooper selected by Swimming NZ for 2010 Age Development camp in Palmerston North.
To senior leaders who represented the school at the various ANZAC Day celebrations in Stratford and Eltham on Sunday. To the House leaders who devoted time to making the school wreaths on Friday. To Astyn Buckland, Melissa Watts, Alison Matthews, Brad Savage, Tim Stanners, Sian-Marie Utton for selling poppies during Friday in town.

New Principal Appointed

Press release
9th March 2010

The Stratford High School Board of Trustees would like to announce that after a thorough appointment process we have appointed Mr Philip Keenan to the position of Principal of Stratford High School. Board of Trustee’s Chairperson Alan Frost said that the appointment of Mr Keenan as Principal at Stratford High School is an exciting one for the school. He has been Acting Principal since the start of the year after Warren Purdy resigned to take a position in Qatar. Mr Keenan has been at Stratford High School for 17 years and brings a wealth of experience and enthusiasm to the position. Mr Keenan will commence as Principal on Monday 15th March.

Mr Frost also stated that the school is going through some exciting times with a new principal, a new Board of Trustee’s starting shortly, upgrades of two school blocks being completed and the opening of the Teen Parent Unit and Kindergarten on the school grounds in term two. We went through a very precise process to make sure we got the right person in the job and we are confident that the appointment is the correct one.

A Frost
BoT Chairperson

News of the Week

Athletics sports
Athletics sports will be run on Tuesday 2nd March on the school athletics track. Prelims have been held in a number of track and field events so parents come along for an exciting day of competition. students support your house – bring your colours along.

Beach volleyball success
Congratulations to the Junior Boys pair of Alec Tolland and Ryk Ferguson who won this section on Sunday 21st February. This is one of the biggest events in the TSSSA calendar and is held at Ngamotu beach each year.

Poutama – stairway to success
Once again this year, all students and staff will be involved in Poutama, “Stairway to Success”. The purpose of Poutama is to encourage all students to set realistic, manageable and attainable goals in their academic and personal lives. A major focus for SHS in 2010 is raising student achievement. The program involves all members of the SHS community: students, parents/caregivers and staff. Together, goals will be set and ways of reaching these goals will be explored.

On Thursday March 18 the day will be devoted to this program. Interviews will take place from 8.45 am to 3.30 pm. This week your student will be bringing a form home for you to complete and return detailing your preferred time for the interview. We look forward to meeting with you and working with you in supporting your child’s success and development at our school.

Newsletter
A newsletter will be given out to students and posted on the school website later this week. Also check out the school blog on www.shsinfo-centa.blogspot.com for weekly happenings.

SHS Triathlon
The school triathlon was run on Tuesday this week. The results will be on the school website next week and certificates presented at assembly later this term.

P H Keenan
Acting Principal

High School Corner

Newsletter
A newsletter went home to all junior students on Tuesday 9th February. It is available on the school website for viewing as it has a calendar of events for this term.

Kapa Haka
Nau mai, haere mai e te Whanau. Our school Kapa Haka group are having their first practice during a weekend live-inn on Friday 26th and Saturday 27th February. Whanau are welcome to attend and participate in the learning of Waiata. Please contact Whaea Tina at the school if you are wanting to come along.

Swimming and athletics sports
The annual swimming sports will be held on Wednesday 24th February at the school pool. Parents are welcome to attend from 9.30 am in the morning, to participate in this very colourful and entertaining day of competition at school.
Athletics heats are being held at the moment during lunchtimes. The finals day for athletics will be on Tuesday 2nd March on the school track. Parents are welcome to attend with competition starting at 9am in the morning.
On both days the Year 13 students will be running a sausage sizzle to raise funds for World Vision sponsorship.

P H Keenan
Acting Principal

Enrolment Process - 2010

Year 8 students should have received an enrolment from from their teacher at school. Please complete this form and return it to school. Mrs Butler, Guidance Counsellor and Year 8 intake Dean will collect these from the primary schools when she makes her visits in Term 4. New enrolment forms are able to be collected from the main school office if you need to.
Students will be invited to visit the school in December for an orientation visit and will be given a booklet at this time which will have all stationery, uniform and other essential information for the beginning of the school term. We ask that students / parents keep this booklet for the first term as it has a lot of useful information.
NB: on the enrolment form it asks for Poutama intentions - if you have read the Poutama brochure in the prospectus folder feel free to complete this, otherwise leave blank.

The RR Tyrer scholarship information sheets have been sent to referees and these are being returned to the school. They will be read by the Board members and a decision will be made at the Board meeting in October.
The BoT Scholarship Exams have been sat by students and these are currently being marked. The results will go to the board meeting in october and winners will be announced after that meeting. Good Luck to all students who sat this exam.

Kulcha Art Auction items

Some of the unsold items from the Kulcha Art Auction have been put onto Trademe - the new Zealand Auction site.

Following are photos of the items listed to date.

Administration Team

The Stratford High Administration team has had several changes of staff this year but we are pleased to welcome Mrs Ina Fouche and Mrs Penny Bloor to the Admin team.

Ina is our friendly receptionist and the person behind the desk in the main office. She will be in contact with parents as she is responsible for the pupil absence system.

Penny is the Staffroom and Administration Assistant. She provides much needed assistance to staff with photocopying, keeping our staff room humming and also assisting in the student office with student records and dealing with students while the School Secretary is out of the office.

Mrs Susan Terry is the Executive Officer for the school and as such is responsible for property and finance for the school. If you need to make a booking for school amenities please contact Mrs Terry.

Mrs Patricia Seator is the School Secretary. She is in charge of the Student Office, where you can pay for school items, students receive first aid and staff are able to get assistance with administration.

Miss Diane Lithgow is the Principal's PA. You need to contact Diane if you would like to make an appointment to see the principal, if you have a matter you would like brought before the SHS Board of Trustees or confidential information about a school issue.