THAMES HIGH SCHOOL Principal s Message Well, we ve come to the end of another school year and what a busy year it s been! NCEA examinations have all finished, Year 10 Camps and Junior Prizegiving have been successfully concluded, and students and staff are looking forward to their summer break. Last weekend a group of our students attended the New Zealand Secondary Schools Athletic Championships in Timaru. The Senior Girls Road Race Team of Michelle Hayes, Jessica Hayes and Danielle Goodall were particularly successful, finishing second in this event. Second place in a national event is an impressive achievement and especially two years in a row! Included in the newsletter is the programme for week 1 of term 1, 2016. We are looking to change the way that we start the year, by having the Year 13 camp the week prior to school starting. During the first week of school we will operate without the timetable, factoring in course confirmation for Year 12 and 13 students (and the attendant timetable changes). Coming Up.. Monday 25 January 2016 School Office re-opens Wednesday 27 to Friday 29 January Year 13 Camp Tuesday 2 February Year 9 & 13 Students at School. Powhiri at 9.00am Tuesday 16 February - Year 10 Vision Testing Tuesday 16 & Wednesday 17 February THS Athletics Wednesday 17 to Friday 19 February Year 13 Geography Trip The school calendar is now available online through the parent portal. An elective programme Setting Up Student Success will be run for year 10-13 students on Wednesday and Thursday of week 1, with all Year 9 students involved in the Roopū Day Out on Thursday. On Friday of week 1 the whole school will be involved in our annual swimming sports. The timetable will be operative from Tuesday 9 th February (the start of week 2). Best wishes for a safe and happy holiday break!
Beginning of the Year Programme 2016: Week 0: Office opens Monday 25th January (25 th to 29 th January) Monday 25th - 2016 Senior Leaders Training Tuesday 26th - New staff orientation Wednesday 27th - Year 13 camp begins (3 days) Thursday 28th Teacher Only Day with Parawai School - Learning Conference Friday 29th Teacher Only Day Week 1: Monday 1 st February Auckland Anniversary Day, school closed (1 st to 5 th February) Tuesday 2nd February - Year 9s and 13s at school 9am Powhiri and then ALL Year 9 students to roopu classes (Yr 13s to help) 10.30am - 11.30am Year 13s to do Course Confirmation 11.30am - 1.00pm Year 12s to do Course Confirmation Wednesday 3rd - All students at school - Setting up for Success 8:45am Assembly Period 1 with whanau/roopu teachers - students will choose workshops under guidance of the whanau/roopu teacher Period 2 & 3 - Year 9 start special programme / Years 10-13 workshops Thursday 4th - Year 9 and helpers (Senior Leaders, EARS students, Year 13 students) on Roopu Day Out with some staff All day - remainder of school doing workshops (as per Wednesday) Roopu/Whanau time as usual to check up on how workshops are going and re-schedule if required Friday 5th - All students at Swimming Sports Thames Centennial Pool Timetable changes to be completed on this day Week 2: Monday 8 th February - public holiday for Waitangi Day, school closed (8 th to 12 th February) Tuesday 9 th - Normal timetable begins Timetables to be collected from whanau teachers. Years 9 and 10 to Roopu. The Haurakian 2015 Thanks for your patience, printing of The Haurakian was delayed but it's finally here! If you are a student and have received an email about The Haurakian, come in and pick it up from the school office (from Monday 14 th to Friday 18 th December, the office will be open from 11am to 1.00pm). There are a limited number of extra copies so if you know anyone who missed out, it's not too late to get one! Anyone can view the magazine online at www.thehaurakian.weebly.com
School Uniform Donations Thank you to all the families that have donated their surplus uniforms back to the school. This has really assisted Hinu, our Student Support Officer, to help students and other families with uniform requirements. The school welcomes any donated item of the uniform; from clothing to shoes & sandals. We are also happy to advertise For Sale any pre-loved uniform items on your behalf. EARS (Education and Resources by Students) Update for 2015 It has been an exciting and busy year for EARS. We started the year with our camp at Matai Whetu Marae and training was also provided throughout the year. This proved to be very successful and welcomed by the students. Our EARS students have continued to provide support to the school community and this year we also started a new initiative of helping the Year 8 s with their transition to High School. We are currently in the process of recruiting students for next year, to join our enthusiastic, compassionate team of existing EARS students. We celebrated the end of a very successful year on Monday night with our EARS Christmas party. It was lovely to share the evening with the students and their families. I would like to thank Karen Mobberley from Te Korowai and Vorry Mahal from CAPS Hauraki for their assistance throughout the year, and their organisations for the support they provide to EARS. I look forward to 2016 with excitement and ambition to ensure that EARS remains a positive and successful support mechanism within Thames High School. From Susan McInnes, Guidance Counsellor and EARS Coordinator. 3
Stationery Lists for 2016 Stationery lists for all year levels are now available at the following places; Paper Power, Thames Warehouse Stationery, Thames On the school website under Curriculum: Junior School: Senior School Hard copies at the school office Thames High School is excited to be a part of the new version of Support Your School Programme with Warehouse Stationery. The new rebate scheme will help our School raise vital funds to purchase new resources for our children. All parents and members of the public can nominate our school at one of 66 nationwide stores, or you can enter our unique code BYSAFTO while shopping online. Summary of Options Order Online from the Thames High School 2016 Stationery Lists Click & Collect Thames High School 2016 Stationery Lists Visit any Warehouse Stationery Store New Zealand wide to buy your stationery Find a Store Print a WINZ quote from the Thames High School 2016 Stationery Lists Or visit any Warehouse Stationery Store New Zealand wide and one of their friendly staff can assist Order Online and delivered to your door. Free delivery on most orders with a combined value of over $50. The delivery fee for order under $50 is $6.90. Delivery takes up to 2 working days. See online for more information Click & Collect gives you the flexibility of ordering online from the comfort of your own home and the convenience of being able to pick up your order while you are out and about. They will notify you by email when your order is in store and ready to be collected (3-5 working days from date of order). There is a $4 delivery/ handling fee Warehouse Stationery Store shop at any of the 66 Warehouse Stationery stores New Zealand wide click here to Find A Store
If a WINZ quote is required, you may obtain the quote through the Thames High School 2016 Stationery Lists by going through the process of placing an order. Before you go to confirm the order, you can print a copy. Another option is to go into any Warehouse Stationery Store New Zealand wide and one of their friendly staff can assist with the quote for WINZ Student Story James Sykes, a student at Thames High School from 2010 to 2014, who recently graduated from the NZ Army 'All Arms Recruits Course, is now stationed at Trentham. After attending the WINTEC Trades Academy while a student at Thames High, he was determined to become a motor mechanic. James is now an 'Automotive Engineer in Army terms. Once fully trained he will be working on all manner of Army vehicles, quite possibly overseas and even in War Zones. Well done James! Animal Rescue Thames - Cats Christmas Garage Sale When: Saturday 19th December from 8.30 to noon Where: Grahamstown Hall, Pollen St, Thames What: Fundraising for the cats Christmas and funds for their care Donations of goods welcomed Ph Alice 07 868-2907 5
Sports News NZ Secondary Schools Athletics and Road Race Over the weekend our team of 17 students competed at the NZ Secondary Schools Athletics Championships and Road Race held in Timaru. They had an amazing weekend away and yet again showed how awesome our athletes are. Our Senior Girls Road Race team received a silver medal for placing second and this was the same team that placed second as juniors last year. On the podium from left to right: Michelle Hayes, Jessica Hayes and Danielle Goodall. Congratulations to all the members of our team who all did extremely well as you can see below: Athletics: Tui Kereopa Senior Boys Javelin 6th - distance of 48.81m Isaac Fisher Senior Boys Long Jump 13th - distance of 5.88m Jonathan Taylor Junior Boys Shot Put 5th - distance of 13.07m Sage Conner-Smith Junior Boys 200m 10th in Semi Finals
Road Race: 6 km - Senior Boys: Luke Horton Jaedyn Wilder Cole Edwards 4 km - Senior Girls: Danielle Goodall Michelle Hayes Jessica Hayes Devin Aitken 3 km - Year 9 Boys Dalton Broughton Ethan Taylor-Evans Ryan Danby 3 km - Year 9 Girls Angela Napier Tegan Foster Esther Schuchardt 22nd - time 20.03.60 78th - time 23.50.10 79th - time 23.51.30 10th - time 14.59.69 17th - time 15.52.32 23rd - time 16.44.56 dnf - due to injury 48th - time 10.44.58 67th - 12.07.00 dnf - due to injury 11th - time 11.23.11 15th - time 11.33.16 29th - time 12.47.64 Huge thank you to Mrs Fletcher and Mrs Bloom for giving our students the opportunity to compete in this event as a THS team and not just as individuals, and for all the hours of trainings they have put into our athletes. Isaac Fisher in action in the Long Jump event 7
Community News
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Where are all your quality goods going to? LAMP (Look After My People) is a local initiative spear headed by Kylie Gunn where she has provided a space and energy for the inter-church food bank operated from the Baptist Church. Anyone in need from our community can be nominated to receive a care package. There are criteria for anyone to be nominated and the less stock we have, the more stringent the criteria. Our goal is to ensure everyone in our community who needs a Care Package, gets one. Just before Christmas, a team of volunteers are assembling at the Baptist Church to put the care packages together and from there, the packages will be distributed both directly and through other agencies. Many thanks, Allana Gooder (Restaurant Manager, The Club, Café & Lounge Bar, Thames) 11