Underpinning everything is the school motto “A wise woman shapes her own destiny.” Hamilton Girls’ High School

h.g.h.s JUNE 2013

photo credit: fairfax media

FORTUNAM FINGITSAPIENS S I B I

In the midst of a very busy term, the first placing of the T-Birds Barbershop Quartet and the Uptown Girls’ Chorus at the Regional Young Singers in Harmony Competition in the Waikato was an exceptional highlight for me. Watching our young women perform with a sense of pride and considerable enjoyment was rewarding in itself. They presented well, performed brilliantly and looked amazing. Being placed first was the

bonus to an enjoyable day. As with many of our co-curricular groups in school, considerable time and effort is given to preparing for competitions and I thank all those involved in providing direction, expertise and leadership in each of our activities.

At Hamilton Girls’ High School, we continue to provide opportunities for our young women to strive for excellence and to aspire to achieve her best both in or out of the classroom. As Principal, my vision for Hamilton Girls’ High School is to be the school of choice for girls’ education in the Waikato through offering programmes of excellence in Acadaemia, Sport, the Arts and Leadership. Our point of difference is that we understand how girls think, learn and interact. Girls are free to participate in class without the teacher’s attention being dominated by boys and can work through the challenges of adolescence without the fear of embarrassment or being harassed. From discussions with our staff and students, it is obvious we want to have a culture of academic rigour and high personal achievement at this school. We will begin the process of enrolment for 2014 shortly and invite Year 8 students and their parents to come and see what our school has to offer on our Information giving and Open Day tours, which will be held on August 13th at 3.30pm and 7.00pm. As I have spoken with our girls’, our students are the walking advertisments for our school and critical to establishing a positive public image.

Property at Hamilton Girls’ High School always continues to be a busy portfolio. We still continue to work with the contractors with Ngaa Puawaitanga and each activity we run presents us with some interesting challenges. Unfortunately, at the time of publishing the newsletter, the electronic copy of the gymnasium concept drawings were not available but we will endeavor to have them available shortly. Furthermore, in two weeks, our campus will again be busy as we have contractors in school to work on remediation work in the Malins Building. This work will be completed in three phases over the year. Unfortunately, this will prove to be disruptive for both students and staff and we do apologise in advance.

Furthermore, I would like to take the opportunity to thank our previous Board of Trustee’s for the time, commitment and dedication they gave to their positions. They had an exciting term with highlights such as the opening of Ngaa Puawaitanga and the Principals appointment process. It is also my pleasure to welcome the new Board of Trustee’s for the time they will serve on the Board. Many thanks to all those who put their names forward.

Finally, I continue to ask for your support in ensuring that we are consolidating my message of the “small things count” – wearing correct uniform, being in class on time and treating others with respect. We have seen a considerable reduction in lateness to class, incorrect uniform and litter around school through raising expectations of our students. However, it is my intention that these “small things” such as being on time and having school pride become a habit that will lead into positive educational outcomes. Noho ora mai.Marie Gordon, Principal

Principal’s Comment Ngā mihi nui ki a koutou.

Carly McIlroy - Year 9U16 Oceania Rock Climbing Champion

Kahu Haimona a Year 13 student is currently at a NZ National camp for Kyokushin Karakte in Wellington. This is a huge honour and you only get invited to attend this.

At this camp Kahu will be awarded her Shodan Belt (Black belt with gold tip). This will be awarded to her by Hanchi John Taylor who is the second highest ranked person in the world.

This is an absolute honour and rarely does he do this. At present Kahu is the current National and Australasian U18 Junior Heavy Weight champion. She was only 16 when she received her black belt and this in itself is a great achievement.

Kahu Haimona - Year 13 StudentU18 Junior Heavy Weight Karate Champion

Hamilton rock climber Carly McIlroy (pictured on cover) is still coming to terms with her latest achievement after claiming gold at the Oceania Championships in New Caledonia. Competing against the best indoor rock climbers in her age group from Australia, New Zealand and the host country, the 13-year-old edged out her rivals to win in the female under-16 grade.

“It was pretty cool, it was really good. “It was great to go up on the podium and hear the national anthem playing, it was quite overwhelming actually,” the Hamilton Girls’ High School student said of her accomplishment. Although it was nervous times during the competition McIlroy explained she had her doubts on how she had done. She recalled that her grade had the largest number of climbers competing, while the Australian competitors were all in top form throughout the championships.

“[When] I went through qualifying I was coming fourth. “And when I finished my final climb I thought I hadn’t done enough to win it or [gain] a placing even,” McIlroy said. She added that watching other contestants had made her feel a lot more at ease.

With the gold medal in hand and the Oceania Championships completed, McIlroy hopes to enjoy a break away from the wall but will be straight back into training with the National Cup Series kicking off next month in Rotorua. Initially the plan was to send McIlroy to the World Youth Championships in New Caledonia next year but on the back of her latest success she would like to compete in the same event in Canada in August.

However, funding and time remain the issue as the young teen and her family continue the search for additional support.

Source: Fairfax NZ News

FORTUNAM FINGIT

SAPIENS

S I B I

My name is Urmila Anand and I am married with two kids. For the past eleven years, I have taught science at Gisborne Girls’ High which has given me the invaluable experience of working with students who are academically and culturally diverse.I have also taught science for 3 years in Fiji before migrating to New Zealand. I moved to Hamilton last month as my husband (who is also a teacher) had started a new job and would like to be closer to my family and friends.

I firmly believe that every student can reach their full potential and you can receive good results through sound teaching practice but to receive great results you need a teacher that is able to bring the subject to life. If you go a step further and are able to ignite a passion for that subject within the student, outstanding results are possible. My professional objective is based on the later.

I am very fortunate to be joining Hamilton Girls’ High School where the focus is on attaining academic excellence and preparing and inspiring students to achieve their very best in a global society. I have no doubt that working in such an environment would contribute to a greater sense of job satisfaction.

Name: Urmila Anand Subject: Science

Introducing New Staff for 2013

Enrolments 2014 will open at the beginning of Term 3.

Open Day Tours: 13th August 2.00pm & 5.00pm All Year 8 students and parents meet in Ngā Puawaitanga.

Enrolments 2014

FORTUNAM FINGIT

SAPIENS

S I B I

Term 2 senior exams are over now and the Mathematics Department is gearing up students for external exams happening in Terms 3 and 4. Students are expected to continue to complete course /home work even though the pressure is off from the Week 4 exams. So keep working!

Year 10s are currently working on Achievement Standard 1.1 Numeric Reasoning, which is a Level 1 Achievement Standard worth 4 credits. This will be assessed in Week 6 this term. All students should bring their calculators to every Maths lesson to practice using them. It is an extremely useful tool in this assessment.

The Australian Mathematics Competition will be held on Thursday, 1st August, 2013 at school. Students in the extension classes, 9MXT, 10MXT, 11MXT and 12MXT, have the entry fees included in their school fees. All other students need to pay $8 (in a named envelope, labelled “Australian Mathematics Competition”) to the Finance Office by 30th June, 2013, if they wish to participate.

Mathematics Department

What’s happening with our Year 10s??

After Term 2 Senior Exams....

Scholarship TutorialsScholarship tutorials for Statistics and Calculus are on as follows:

Scholarship Statistics: 3.30pm to 5pm Thursdays in M12Scholarship Calculus: 3.30pm to 4.30pm Mondays (Y12) in M21 3.30pm to 4.30pm Fridays (Y13) in M21 Our very dedicated and experienced teachers, Ms Leong (Statistics) and Mrs Cross (Calculus), are running these tutorials and all intending students will benefit from these opportunities to advance themselves in these subjects. So don’t miss out, turn up!

Australian Mathematics Competition

Academic News

Languages Learning AreaThe annual “Language Perfect World Championships” was held from May 20th to May 30th, and many of our students took part again this year. A sleepover was held on Friday night for the extra keen students, with 24 students and 3 teachers spending part of their weekend frantically learning vocabulary on the Language Perfect website.

Final results included an impressive five Elite awards. These students, Emily Weiss, Ella Knox, Sunni Nasmith, Sapna Pandaram and Eden Poihipi each scored over 10 000 points. This in an amazing accomplishment, especially for Sapna and Eden who are Year 10 students.

Our students also gained 13 Gold Awards (3 000 points or more) 7 Silver Awards (2 000 points or more) and 17 Bronze Awards (1 000 points or more). A further 22 students earned a Credit Award for reaching 500 points or more.

Congratulations to Emily Weiss, who will be awarded the trophy for Language Perfect School Champion for 2013, after scoring a grand total of 12 773 points. Emily answered over 30 000 questions correctly in Spanish and other languages during the ten day period of the competition.

Overall our school came 5th in New Zealand for our category of 100-250 competing students, including 3rd in our category for Spanish.

Science Department

9H1 have been working on “That’s Life” in science. “We have been looking at plant and animal cells using the microscopes. Last lesson we then made model cells using Playdoh to help us understand the differences. We made a replica of the cells and then had to label them and write the functions of the different parts. We then moved around the class and explained our model cells to each other. We think ours turned out pretty good!”

9H1 “That’s Life”

“Carry out a practical investigation in a biology context”. At Hamilton Girls’ High School the Y12 students designed their own experiment to investigate the enzyme activity of an enzyme from vegetables on hydrogen peroxide. This standard is worth 4 credits and the students worked hard for three hours doing their practical work. This will be followed up by a three hour write up.

Y12 Biology Assessment

BP Business ChalleWell, what an exciting time we have had in the Business Studies Department!! Our biggest excitement, apart from the normal thrill involved in debits and credits, supply and demand, and how our judicial system works (be STILL my beating heart), has been the BP Business Challenge.

The BP Business Challenge is a three day, EOTC, business simulation run by the Young Enterprise Group not-for-profit organisation. This organisation goes to secondary schools all over New Zealand to run this extremely worthwhile, interesting and exciting course. Schools must apply to be accepted by Young Enterprise, and our school has been lucky enough this year to get the Business Challenge made available to us. Unfortunately, due to the arduous nature of securing the Business Challenge we had to accept a rather difficult timing for this years’ course. The Business Studies Department thanks all of the teachers, staff and students who were flexible around this time to allow our students to partake in this fabulous experience.

The students gathered together for the three days, and although they were mostly strangers at the beginning of the time, they quickly learnt to work together for the good of their “business” and to support each other through some pretty nerve-racking and exhilarating activities. The students were split into groups, they decided on a product or service that they felt met a need in the community. They learnt about research, SWOT analysis, marketing, management, communication, target markets, product specifications, cash flow projections, investment and had a fantastic time through it all.

The three days culminated with the groups presenting to a number of impartial judges brought in from our local commercial environment. These judges were all business people who know what it takes to survive in the “real world” and were able to give our students some clear pointers and feedback about their presentations, products/services and information.

But the positive feedback did not end there. The Young Enterprise facilitators also enthused about all aspects of Hamilton Girls’ High School. The facilities, especially Nga Puawaitanga, were indicated as being top notch. The girls’ behaviour and enthusiasm was beyond reproach, and the products that they described were considered to be remarkably practical and viable. The enthusiastic involvement of staff (and most specifically the personal interest shown by our Principal, Ms Gordon) was commented on frequently. And this facilitator was a senior member of staff, who had seen a lot of courses, and noted that Hamilton Girls’ High School’s was definitely one of the best she had ever seen. The girls who took part should be extremely proud of themselves. Well done!!!

It’s almost beside the point to note the winners, as all participants seemed to get so much out of the course. However, we did have a number of winners on the last day. The third place earnt a large block of Cadbury chocolate, the second place earnt a $10 ITunes voucher for each member of the team and the winners won a $20 warehouse voucher for each member of the team.

These judges were highly impressed by what they saw here at Hamilton Girls’ High School. A quote from one judge was “I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and if the young ladies that took part are an indication of the people who are going to run our country in the future, we are in safe hands.” Another judge noted that “I really did enjoy the experience and can say that KPMG will be keen to be involved again next year.” Thanks to our Business Studies students, Hamilton Girls’ High School is gaining an extremely good reputation in the local community. Well done girls!!!

BP Business Challenge 2013

I still remember it so good, 9th of July 2012, the day that I left my home, family and friends for a big adventure at the other side of the world and I had no idea what to expect. After 32 hours of travelling we finally arrived in New Zealand and I was quite nervous. Would my host family like me? How would the school be here? Will I make friends? With those questions in my mind I started my adventure in New Zealand.

Going to school here was actually really different for me, I had never seen people in school uniforms and I didn’t even know that girls’ schools still existed! Or that there are different blocks for different subjects all around the school ground, I was used to just one big school without walking outside to go to another class. Another thing I was not used to are houses, head girls, councils etc. Or that you could join all kind of sport teams in school. You could say that school in the Netherlands is quite boring compared to here but I have to say that they are more strict in the Netherlands though.

One of the things I did at HGHS was joining the football (soccer) team for half a year. It was a great experience and the team is amazing, actually way too good for me. We went to the nationals in Taupo and it was something I will never forget!

My host family, I couldn’t wish for a better one. Because of them I did stuff I would’ve never done before! They are crazy, but it is definitely a lot of fun!

They took me to beautiful places and different events and this year would have been quite boring without them. They are the best!

This year is one of the best years of my life for sure! I have seen the most beautiful places, made friends from all over the world, lived as a kiwi, experienced a different style of high school, had the chance to travel around New Zealand, did the most awesome stuff like bungee jumping in Queenstown or swimming with dolphins in Kaikoura and a lot more! Exchange is not a year in your life. It’s a life in one year.

Hey, my name is Mathilda and I’m an exchange student from Germany. Provided that I’ve been here for close to a year. I guess some of you have seen me around even though you probably haven’t talked to me. I’m not a very talkative person. Actually I don’t think I changed all that much in that respect.

Anyway, back on topic. What is it like to be an exchange student? A really good question (and one that I really hate to answer, by the way). Okay, it’s not that bad. But honestly, I don’t know how to describe what it is like. Maybe I could try with the metaphor Mrs. Tautari invented for me, an Alien. So being an exchange student feels like being an alien. Everyone stares at you (or so it feels) and wants to talk to you. When they do, you understand only half the things they’re saying. And when they realize that, they are talking in slow motion for weeks.

What’s it like to be an Exchange Student?Our international students share their experience

Bente AnvelinkNetherlandsPopulation: 16.69 millionOfficial language: Dutch

Mathilda StrahlGermanyPopulation: 81.8 million Official language: German

What’s it like to be an Exchange Student?Anyway, you come into a whole new culture, of which you understand basically nothing, so be prepared to do a lot of stuff that everyone but you finds funny. Of course, it’s also very interesting to explore this new culture. It was great being an exchange student at this school.

I loved all the different subjects I could choose (even if it was hard to actually do so), I made some friends, my English has improved a lot, and I have grown as a person (I think). And, above all, I have had a lot of fun. At the ball, at the social, at all the house events.... (we don’t have any of these back home).

What’s it like being an exchange student? Great. So, I can only tell you that, given the opportunity, you should definitely try it out. It doesn’t even have to be for so long, you can have a great time in a month or even two weeks. So, if you haven’t been on an exchange yet (or even if you have)... Go on an exchange! Before it is too late.

Hi! My name is Alice, I’m 17 years old, and I’m from France. I’m on a rotary exchange for a year. I’ve already been here for almost 11 months, which is crazy. Time flies when you’re on an exchange. You have to enjoy every minute.

I’ve been living here in Hamilton, where I’ve been attending HGHS. At the beginning I didn’t really like this school, but now I love it! I have loads of

friends, and I really enjoy being a year 13 (so much better than being a year 12!). During my year I got to travel a lot, I’ve been to so many places! I had the chance to go on the South Island with 15 other students for 19 days, I had an amazing time.

I learned alot about New Zealand, it really is my second home now. I know I will come back one day. I really don’t want to go home, back to my boring little town, back to my school, back to my life. My life has changed a lot in a year. I have changed a lot. I grew up. I beame independant. My life is here now.Exchange gave me everything; friends, a new family, memories... I speak english fluently now.

It’s going to be so hard to say goodbye to everyone. So many people made my year really special. I will never be able to thank them enough.

I am really proud to be a student at HGHS. It gave me so much. I had such a good time. It’s not over yet. I still have 41 days. Let’s enjoy them!

Our international students share their experience

Alice LemercierFrancePopulation: 65.43 million Official language: French

Rotary Australia/NZ Student Exchange for 2014: Applications for this exchange are due by June 30th – for students aged between 131/2 and 16 on 1 January 2014. Our students would spend 1 term in Australia attending school, and the daughter of that family would then return to HGHS for a term. There has been an information meeting about this at school already –further information is available from Mrs Steele in H1.5.

Other exchange information is also available from Mrs Steele.

11 APO TRAMP

HospitalityAtrium Recital Series

Our level 3 Hospitality class catered and served the ‘Atrium recital series’ which was held on Tuesday 21st May in our Atrium. A lot of effort was put forward by our girls to create a menu and then to adapt and produce over 600 pieces of finger food for guests and quality performers of exceptional musicians from the University of Waikato.

Whats Happening In Term 3?

Two level 2 classes will demonstrate their technical ability at each Tapas (annual) restaurant which is held in Anderson block. They will create dishes to cater for up to 60 family, friends and staff. They will have learnt the theory behind International foods, food safety and how to adapt and cost recipes. In August they will visit Wintec on Avalon, take a tour of their training restaurant and dine for lunch!

Rerehu lousi is serving Bloody Mary and Cream Cheese Cupcakes alongside Baby chicken dukkah filo parcels.

HospitalityAtrium Recital Series

Carmen Mataira Year 12 (pictured right) and Moana Hokinga Year 10 (pictured left) represented Hamilton Girls’ at the Tainui Waka Regional Nga Manu Korero Speech competition. This was held at the University of Waikato on Saturday 15th June. Both girls did extremely well and their hard work and efforts were evident. Carmen was very successful gaining 3rd place in both the prepared and impromptu speeches and was placed 3rd overall.

We also worked closely with the Boys High speakers and in the Junior English section Tane Te Aho was placed 1st and will represent Tainui at the National competition which will be held in Hamilton in September.

Picture Below: Waimarie Ruwhiu (left) and Devena Edmonds (right) with Mrs Gordon at the Tainui Matariki festival dinner on Friday June 14th.

Arts and Cultural Tainui Waka Regional Nga Manu Korero Speech competition

Papā te whaititiri, hikohiko te uira, rū ana te whenua i te takahi a Tāne Rore! Ngā mihi nui ki te roopu kapa haka o Te Maurea Whiritoi.

On Saturday 1st of June the Kapa Haka group competed at the Tainui Waka Regional competition. The weekend started off with the Pōwhiri at Hamilton Boys on Friday where we welcomed the other schools and helped set up the venue. The whole place was buzzing with excitement, from the whanau getting the hangi ready for the next day to the man putting up the lights. It was all go. Saturday morning the whole group got ready at Hamilton Girls and then headed over to boys high. As the hosts of the competition we were last on…..

With a packed house and people still wanting to get in to watch the group it was on! Te Maurea Whiritoi put on an amazing performance and did both schools very proud.

These are some words from our Tutor.

“Words could never explain how truly amazing the weekend was. From hosting the event to Te Maurea Whiritoi’s performance on Saturday, we can confidently say that we all performed with utmost integrity, professionalism and commitment”

The group were fortunate to come 3rd and have qualified for next year’s nationals which will be in Gisborne.

We would like to thank every person who helped out and supported the group. Special thanks to Mrs Gordon who made a lot of things run smoothly and supported us 100%, our whanau who have been there and two are amazing group of tutors.

Toti West, Frankie West, Te Wai and Sean this would all not have been possible without your hard work. Nga mihi.

Kapa Haka Group at the Tainui Waka Regional competition

Music Department

The Uptown Girls are a chorus with about 60 girls ranging from year 9-13. The girls have been working very hard in preperation for the Bay of Plenty Regional Competition. That competition took place today. It was very small in comparison to other years. We were up against 4 other very good girls chorus’s who had been working hard as well as all our rivals.

After a fabulous performance the results were announced and we took first place! It was finally our year! It was the greatest feeling winning! The girls had worked so hard and I am so proud of them all. This means that we will now work towards Nationals which is held in Hamilton this year in September.

As well as taking out the chorus competition one of our leading quartets from Hamilton Girls High School, the “T Birds”, are four cousins who all sing together and have a natural blend. They were amazing and won the girls quartet competition. It was so exciting to take out both competitions! HGHS were overall winners. 2013 is HGHS’s year! We are so proud and happy with our accomplishments and we couldn’t have done it with out every single person there today! We shall continue to work hard and put a lot of time and effort into ensuring that we do our very best in the National Competition in September. Thank you to all our supporters, our tutors and Mrs Dickinson for your wonderful support.

Brooke Mayall Arts Captain

Hamilton Girls High School have been competing in Barbershop competitions for the past 20 years and we were one of the first High School Barbershop groups in the Bay of Plenty to compete in regional competitions and then Nationals. Barbershop is a style of singing in four part harmony and is a separate boys and girls competition. In Barbershop you can have a quartet (4 people 1 singing each part) or a chorus with a balance of all 4 parts the chorus’s can rang from 12 people upwards. A lot of hours are spent listening to learning tracks and learning the notes and words, rehearsing, adding choreography and practicing the unique barbershop style.

The Uptown Girls Barbershop Group

Music students from all the years attended a performance and talk by the Royal New Zealand Navy Band at Founders Theatre on the 22 May. The concert was a fun, educational and entertaining experience, showcasing the versatility of the RNZ Navy Band. They played many interesting pieces from film and television. After the performance students got to interact with the band members and listened to a fascinating talk about the different sections of the band as well as being able to ask questions.

This was a fun and educational experience for all those who attended. Life in the Navy Band is certainly not dull! Many of the band members have travelled all over the world. One member even played on one of the barges in the Queens Jubilee!

Royal NZ navy band

On Saturday, May 25, the Hamilton Girls’ High School Pasifika group performed at the Pasifika By Nature festival at Hamilton’s Founders Theatre and at the final prizegiving we were awarded the trophy for Best Costumes. The students have been practising all year, with their dress rehearsal on the evening of Friday May 24 attracting a large number of teachers and other students as well as the students’ own families.

Their final performance was outstanding and a credit to the students who performed and also to their tutors, consisting of parents, old girls and and senior leaders, who have worked hard to ensure the girls were thoroughly prepared for the event. We started with the Tahitian stage, and then moved on to the Tongan.

The Hawaiian stage was next, and the presentation concluded with a Samoan performance. Students had selected to perform in their choice of Tahitian, Tongan and Hawaiian stages, but almost all of the group came together for the Samoan finale. This meant that each student was able to learn about and experience a dance style other than her own. The four genres are very different, and require different skills in their execution.

At the prizegiving at the conclusion, we were awarded the trophy for best costumes. We are very proud of our students and look forward to an even more stunning event in 2014.

Pasifika by NatureAloha e na ‘ohana.. Warm greetings to our HGHS family

Sport at HGHS

FORTUNAM FINGIT

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S I B I

Play for enjoyment • Play hard but fair • Play to the laws of the game. • Becommitted to your team. Attend all practices and matches. • Never argue with officials. Control your temper at all times. • Work equally hard for yourself and your team. • Be a good sport. Applaud all good play whether by your team or your opponent. • Remember the goals of the game are to have fun, improve your skills and feel good. • Use appropriate and acceptable language. • Thank the opposition and officials at the end of the game. • Respect the rights, dignity and worth of all participants regardless of their gender, ability, cultural • background or religion.

HGHS Player Code of Behaviour

Spectator/Parent Code of BehaviourApplaud the performance of both teams. • Be positive with the officials. • Acknowledge the efforts of the officials. • Let the players play their game, not your game. • Praise efforts, not results. • Set an example for the players. • Use appropriate and acceptable language. •

Our Senior Athletics Captain Mikaela Jefferson travelled to Papeete in Tahiti to represent New Zealand at the Oceania Area Championships as part of a 60 strong team.

She won Gold in the U18 100m sprint with a massive Personal Best, Her 4 x 100m relay team also won Gold and her 4 x 400m relay team won Silver. In her 100m hurdles she ended up coming 4th. She had been selected to compete in the 100m hurdles, 100m, 4x100m and 4x400m .

Mikaela JeffersonSenior Athletics Captain

Road Race ResultsSenior 1st Place: Tessa Leong 2nd Place: Rylee McMullen 3rd Place: Eileish Hayes Intermediate 1st Place: Meg Reid 2nd Place: Laura McNabb 3rd Place: Katrina Gaskill, Harriet Gaudin

Junior 1st Place: Renee Allan 2nd Place: Georgia Nixon 3rd Place: Katie Lush

This year at HGHS the rugby season started off with a home game against Te Awamutu. It was a good first game of the season with many players having their first ever game of rugby. The score was 87-5 to us. Our next game was away at Sacred Heart with a score of 35-0 to us. This week was our third game of the season against Tokoroa High School with a score of 65-0, another win. We are training hard in the early mornings twice a week with our trainer Zara and have skills sessions also twice a week with our coaches Crystal, Brent and Teresa. We are hoping for more wins in the Waikato Competition with the final early next term.

Hamilton Girls’ High School Rugby

Sport at HGHS

FORTUNAM FINGIT

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June 11th, 2013 marked the return of the “HGHS vs AGGS” sports exchange. The last time the two schools had met was in an exchange in 2009. Both schools are excited to have this exchange back in our annual calendar.

Three teams participated today: Netball, Basketball and Rugby. It was great to see Hamilton turn on the good weather for our Auckland visitors and to see fierce competition on the sporting field.

Results:

Netball AGGS won 44-26 MVP Kahu Kihi-SimonsBasketball HGHS won 60-37 MVP Chevahn MorrisRugby HGHS won 14-5 MVP Kennedy Simmons

HGHS won the trophy 2-1. Congratulations to all team members.

Special thanks to the umpires, coaches and staff for your contribution to the day. A reminder to all our sportswomen…“Do not let what you can not do interfere with what you can do.” – John Wooden

Sport Exchange with AGGS

Year 13 @ les mills The year 13 sport and outdoors classes have been completing an assessment (3.1) based around lifelong participation in physical activity and experiencing new activities. This has included a high intensity 30minute GRIT class at les mills, we highly recommend it to anyone who wants a great snappy workout that leaves you feeling very tired but refreshed!!

Year 10 sport ultimate frisbee On Thursday 27th June the year 10 sport classes compete head to head in an ultimate frisbee competition during period 5 and 6.

1APS Run the Huntly Half Marathon On a bright and sunny Sunday morning on 26th May 1APS arrived at Huntly Domain thankful that the rain from Saturday night had finally stopped! Everyone was excited to finally get the half marathon underway and 1APS lined up on the start line full of anticipation. The gun sounded and they saw Miss Hodgkinson and Mrs Whaanga sprint off into the distance. However, for 1APS this run was about grit, determination and achieving something they never thought possible back in January when they started training. An awesome effort from all runners, well done!

Physical Education

Careers and GatewayThe past few weeks has seen a number of senior students involved in specific career days. A group visited Ruakura Research Centre and explored the vast range of opportunities that studying science could lead into. A second group participated in an Engineering Action Day by visiting two local engineering firms and a mini expo hosted by Wintec. The third group attended Get Ahead Agricultural Careers Day which showcased the wide range of occupations that stem from agriculture – veterinary science to rural banking and many more. The fourth group spent the morning at the Waikato Hospital where they were exposed to the many health related careers available.

Coming Up • Auckland University – Parent information evening – 25th June • Studylink school presentation – Student loans & allowances – 2nd July • Victoria University – Parent information evening – 10th July

All these events will be advertised in the daily notices and students will be invited to register their interest in the Careers Room.

Shivani Rao at Military Prep CourseOver the past 3 months, myself and 4 other girls have been involved in a Gateway course at Military Prep course. Going every Monday joined by about 20 other students from different schools. From day 1 we were told that this was not school. It was a strict environment, where dress and attitude were set to a high standard. A place where even the rudeness and inefficiency of 1 person was punished by CT’s (Correctional Training) that was done by the whole squad in our break time with 1CT being equivalent to 1 push up. On the first day alone we earned 300 CT’s. Although it felt like hell it built teamwork and respect. Through drill we learnt self-discipline and with ABL’s (Adventure based learning games) we developed trust in one another. The physical training (PT) afternoons were beyond extremely challenging. We were pushed to our limits. Running, crawling, heaving tyres until we were both physically and mentally exhausted, to the point where moving the next day felt impossible. If there’s anything I’ve learnt over this course, I’ve learnt that we are capable of so much more than we can imagine and it is all in our attitude and mindset. Our instructors were tough, but inspiring, teaching us “excuses don’t get results”. Pushing us to come week after week, where soon dread of PT turned into pride and self confidence in our abilities. To me this course was more than an experience to see if we were cut out for a military lifestyle but an opportunity to define and develop our character and become respectable young adults. An experience I would advise everyone to have a go at.

We actively encourage students to bring their own devices to school and connect to the school’s secure wireless network. In 2014 we are planning to have all Year 9 students bring their own devices. “Immediacy” is the major driver, where students will no longer have to wait until their class can get a booking in a computer lab to access computers.

Student learning can be enhanced with more differentiation of the learning taking place when students can access resources from a wide variety of sources.

To support this change, we have invested in a robust wireless network and will also have a network upgrade for a number of our blocks this year under the Ministry of Education SNUP programme.

This year, Mrs Cooke and Miss Capil (currently on study leave) were creating the blended course on Moodle with two Year 10 DGT classes and Miss Capil decided to introduce them to the QR Code.

• The students were required to BYOD device to class and those students that had a tablet, ipod or smart phone could activate the QR Code by downloading the app and then scanning the QR Code which would take them to a useful link.

• They chose MobileTag as the app to download but there are others that can be used.

•They activated the QR Code on Moodle and discovered that it had a link to the school Newsletter

• The class discussed about where people used them and where they had seen and then discussed how or if we could use them at school.

• After discussion it was decided that it would be useful to have a QR Code that activated the school notices.

This would mean that students didn’t have to go to the office to see the notices on the board every morning, they could get them from various places around the school.

• Miss Capil set one up for them and they trialed it in the class for a week.

• They discovered that only students that had data on their phones could use them at the moment but as we got better connectivity around the school they would be able to activate the school notices easily.

• We have now put a few around the school to see if the students use them to get the daily notices.

E-Learning June 2013BYOD - Bring your own device

NZQA Fees are due to the Finance Office by the 28th June 2013

NZQA will charge an extra $50.00 fee for any late payment. They will also withhold student’s results until the fees are paid in full. This could cause problems for any student wishing to gain entry to courses, polytechnic, or university in 2014.

NZQA Fees for Domestic CandidatesEntry FeeEntry for all NZQF standards including Scholarship subjects $76.70

NZQA Fees for International Fee Paying CandidatesEntry FeeEntry for all NQF standards $383.30Entry for each Scholarship subject $102.20 per

subject

Financial Assistance To be eligible for financial assistance the applicant (normally the parent or guardian of the candidate) must be the fee payer and meet at least one of the following criteria:

Be receiving a Work and Income or Study Link benefit. (benefit-based applications)Have a joint family income that would entitle the applicant to receive a Community Services Card. (income-based applications)Have more than one child undertaking these qualifications in the same year, irrespective of income and the total fees to pay are higher than $200. (multiple candidate applications)

Applications are due to the Finance Office by the 28th JuneTo apply: Complete the “Application for Financial Assistance 2013” form enclosed. Alternatively, you can obtain a financial assistance form from the student finance office.

Eligible for beneficiary or income-based

assistance

Not eligible for beneficiary or income-based assistance

One child who is a candidate

$20.00 Full fees ($76.70 for NZQF and 3 Scholarship subjects)

More than one child who are candidates

A maximum of $30.00 per family

Where fees are payable for more than one candidate, a maximum of $100.00 per child and $200.00 per fee payer[1]

International fee paying students are not eligible for financial assistance.

NZQF = New Zealand Quantifications Framework

SCHOOL CONTACT

Mr Mitchell is the Principal’s Nominee (NZQA Liaison) at the school.You can contact him by:

E-mail: mitchellm@hghs.school.nzPhone: 07 839 1304 EXT 893Mail: Mr Mitchell Principal’s Nominee PO Box 4082, Hamilton

Declaration of Parent and Staff Election ResultsParent representative votes:

John Ahu 26Eleanor Baledrokadroka 159Chris Davis 138Robin Fletcher 30Paul Hansen 149Harry London 63Robert Macnab 29Lee Major 143Tamara Marsden 106Andrew McRae 156Michael Smith 150April Tauelangi 111Debbie White 169 Invalid Votes 22

I hereby declare the following duly elected:

Eleanor Baledrokadroka, Chris Davis, Paul Hansen, Lee Major, Andrew McRae, Michael Smith and Debbie White.

Staff representaive votes:

Vicki Sweet 42Jodi Tautari 39

Invalid Votes 5

I hereby declare Vicki Sweet duly elected. Kama ScuttsReturning Officer

Board of Trustees Election Results 2013

Old Girls’ Association Awards1. GUDEX MEMORIAL PRIZE. This was established by the HHSOG Assn in memory of Michael Gudex. He joined the staff of Hamilton High School in 1915, was a language teacher and First Assistant for two years. He returned to the staff in 1922 and became First Assistant again in 1937. He retired in 1953. The Cup and $100 award goes to a top student in Languages at Year 13

2. MAY ALLEN SCHOLARSHIP. May Allen (nee Beach) was the first President of the Old Girls? Assn. In 1921. At the 25th Anniversary of the formation of the Association it was decided to establish a Scholarship fund for the daughters of Old Girls. When Mrs Allen died in 1936 it was decided to name the Scholarship the May Allen Scholarship. Any Year 12 girl who is the daughter or grand-daughter of an Old Girl of the school is eligible to apply for the May Allen Scholarship. Criteria considered for this award are: High scholastic ability, wide spread of interests, going on to a higher level of education, someone who will make use of the Scholarship. $50 Book Token at Prizegiving, $150 in Feb.

3. EDITH COLLINS CENTENNIAL AWARD - CUP & BADGE. The Edith Collins Centennial Award, established by the Hamilton High School, Hamilton Girls’ High School Old Girls’ Association in 2012, celebrates the life and contribution of our First Lady Assistant. The award will be given to a student who has shown great service to the school, used her talents to add to the School’s history, research, or photographic record, contributed to the wider school community and/or Hamilton City, has demonstrated leadership, and service to others. Encourages others to be active in School life and in their own educational journey. The recipient will get the Edith Collins Centennial Cup and a silver badge to keep, which have been provided by the Old Girls’ Association Committee.

Thursday 20th June

Friday 21st June Saturday 22nd June

Sunday 23rd June Monday 24th June Tuesday 25th June

Wednesday 26th June

Thursday 27th June

Friday 28th June

Saturday 29th June Sunday 30th June

Monday 1st JulyTuesday 2nd July

Wednesday 3rd JulyThursday 4th July

Friday 5th July

Wednesday 10th JulyFriday 12th July

Tuesday 30th JulyWednesday 31st July

Equestrian Show Series 3 3LAW Field Trip Manu Korero BOT Property & Finance Meeting Stage Challenge Hostel Set Leave Hostel Set Leave Freedom Week Starts Stage Challenge Tauranga Exchange WSS Gym Sport2ACC Field Trip 2ECE Work Experience 3ECE Work Experience Y11-13 MUO Asmnt 12SCI Wintec Visit2ECE Work Experienc TKA Camp 2 BOT Board Meeting Freedom Week Ends 12SCI Wintec VisitTKA Camp 2 TKA Camp 2 NISS Show Champs2ENG/EXT AssessmentMufti Day2ENGA Assessment2ECE W/E3HOS Restaurant13APO/APS NZSS Tough Guy ChallengeSongfestSNR reports handed outFounders DayKenmei Girls’ Junior HighKenmei Girls’ Junior High0TEF Restaurant

Key Dates to note for June & July 2013

Change over to winter uniformPlease note that with the colder weather setting in students may wear jackets, scarves and gloves to and from school providing they are plain black and as per our school uniform guide. Students may be asked to remove these items in class. Any additional clothing worn underneath the uniform (e.g., thermal tee shirt) must not be visible.

Andrew McAlley Communications Manager Waikato Police District 07 834 9444 027 296 2396 andrew.mcalley@police.govt.nz

22 May 2013

Operation Dairy

During 2012 there were several complaints made to Police and the Ministry of Health about young people gaining access to Synthetic Cannabis products. The active component in these products comes from substances sprayed on to plant material and there is nothing natural or safe about them, in fact the potency or addictive potential can be many times higher than cannabis. On occasion’s students were buying these products in dairies and smoking them at school with the effects being similar to those from using cannabis, such as disorientation, lack of concentration, lethargy, paranoia, aggression and in some cases seizures. In 2011 the Minister of Health began issuing notices banning certain Synthetic Cannabis chemical formulas. These bans relate only to the chemical formulas involved and not particular brand names. The list of banned chemical formulas is constantly being updated as different products appear on the market. Synthetic Cannabis products are still being sold in dairies nationwide, including some in the Waikato, and include brands such as K2, Tai High, and Illusion to name a few. These products can be legally sold (if not subject to a ban) to a person over 18 years of age, however Police and Health staff are dealing with younger children than 18 years smoking it. Synthetic cannabis is usually sold in a small rectangular bag with a cardboard cover and the brand name written on it. There is usually no information on the packet about the ingredients or health warnings. The packets are kept behind the counter hidden from public view; however some dairies have prominent advertising. Therefore on Monday 27 May Police and the Waikato District Health Board will expand Operation Dairy and begin speaking with owners of dairies in Fairfield, Enderley and the north of the City to advise them of the harm synthetic cannabis causes in our community. This follows on from the launch earlier this month in Hamilton East and the programme is being rolled out Waikato-wide. Dairies supportive of our operation will display a poster in their store window stating "We choose not to sell synthetic cannabis", please support them in return. End