Newsletter to Parents, Caregivers & Friends of the School • 26 September, 2014 Orientation Day Term 3 is gone and we are racing towards the end of our school year. Term 3 is always a busy term and Term 4 even more so with school camps, senior exams and Prizegiving filling the calendar. Senior students should use the holiday break to study and revise in preparation for their NCEA exams. I wish you all a safe and relaxing term break and we look forward to seeing you refreshed, and ready to put your ‘personal best’ into the final few weeks of 2014. Governor General’s Visit We were privileged to have a visit from the Governor General Sir Jerry Mataparae and his wife Lady Janine Mataparae on Tuesday this week. An official welcome at Waikawa Marae was followed by the Governor General accompanying senior Aquaculture students on the QCC barge, skippered by Terry Schwass from Waikawa Marina to the Picton Marina. At the same time, Lady Janine took the opportunity to visit the Wet Lab and the Hospitality Suite at the College. Photo courtesy of Seaport Scene IMPORTANT DATES... Start Term 4 October 13th (Monday) Labour DayOctober 27th (Monday) Marlborough Anniversary November 3rd (Monday) Year 9 Camp October 20th-24th (Monday-Friday) Seniors Last Day November 7th Year 10 Camp November 24th-28th (Monday-Friday) Term Dates 2014 Term Four October 13th – December 12th Queen Charlotte College 173 Waikawa Road, PICTON 7220 Tel: 573 6558 • Fax 573 6559 Email: [email protected] Farewell to Dig and Welcome to Kevin After 20 years as Caretaker at Queen Charlotte College, we say farewell to Dig Knowles who begins a new adventure and a wellearned retirement. Dig has been a familiar sight around the school grounds and for many, he is a part of QCC folklore. The Board and staff have appreciated the way in which the College has been presented to all who pass by her gates and the time and energy required to ‘care take’ or ‘take care’ of a school this size. We wish Dig all the very best for the future. We welcome Kevin Haughey to the staff at QCC. Kevin is our new Property Manager and will be responsible for the pool, the bus fleet, the buildings and the grounds. Executive Officer - Name Change For your information, the Executive Officer, Kay Riwaka has changed her name and will now be known as Kay Severne. Geography Department On the 26th August, 14 fearless Year 13 Geographers undertook some practical field work to further understand the processes behind the formation of the Cloudy Bay coastline. We started off driving down the road to Rarangi where we saw evidence of the coastline being much further inland than it is today. The students took measurements of the beach to draw a beach profile, measured the stone size of the beach material and did an experiment to demonstrate the effect of longshore drift on the movement of stones and sediment. In the afternoon we drove over to Vernon Bluffs (thank you Mr Leedam for giving us permission to be on your land), and carried out another survey of the stone size on the beach to make comparisons to Rarangi. It was a great day with beautiful weather, and the wonderful Mr Boyce who accompanied us as our local expert (thanks again Mr Boyce, you are a legend!). These students will now be able to comfortably write about their case study in their exam with confidence. Good work guys! Teresa Besley Specialist Classroom Teacher and HOD Geography Careers Department Dear Year 13 Congratulations to those of you who know what you are doing next year. You have made the first positive step on the journey to the rest of your life. If you haven’t, I am worried about you. Why is that that almost half of you still have no real plans for when you leave school? Why is the default response “I am having a GAP year”? ‘’I am older than you, please listen….” There is absolutely no doubt that Education is the key to your future. It gives you choices for the rest of your life. Leaving school with NCEA Level 2 or 3 is not the end, it is just the beginning. It is the base upon which you build at Polytechnic, in an Apprenticeship or at University. The more time and effort you are prepared to commit, the greater your chances of always having a job, the higher your earning potential and the greater your ability to provide for children of your own. We are very lucky in NZ that Tertiary Education is available to all and that even without school qualifications it is possible to have a second chance. But why wait? Now, when you have no commitments, no mortgage, no family to support…NOW is the time to begin to set yourself up for life. Yes, Tertiary Education is expensive, but it is an investment in your life and that is beyond cost. Take the opportunities available. You and I have been talking about all these possibilities for the last seven years. You have asked me questions when I have been rushing across the quads, you have listened to me when I have visited your classes, you have made appointments with me and you have discovered what can be. Your teachers, your Form teachers, your Deans, your sports coaches have all given you the benefit of their knowledge and experience. Believe that there are exciting possibilities out there for you, because it is TRUE. Now, how about taking that positive step towards the rest of your life. Sincerely Ms Wood HOD Careers PS Dear Parents Please make sure your kids take all the opportunities they can. They need your direction and they need your example. Teach them that Education is a treasure, a taonga and don’t let them take the easy route. ART EXHIBITION Board Art 2014 Congratulations to all of the Queen Charlotte College students who had any role in the very well attended opening of the Marlborough Youth Council’s sixth Youth Art Exhibition at the Millenium Art Gallery. The opening last Sunday was very well attended and had a great vibe both inside the gallery and outside at the back of the gallery where skateboarding demonstrations, a sausage sizzle and great music set a festive scene in the sun. Our own Tamsin Woolf opened the exhibition speaking for the Youth Council alongside Marlborough Mayor, Mr Alistair Sowman. Over 70 skateboard art pieces fill the gallery and are a must see. Three students from QCC had artworks juried in to the exhibition. Congratulations go to Isis Harvey, Kate Overend and Caspian Harvey. Paula Somers HOD Visual Arts Isis Harvey Caspian Harvey Kate Overend Board Art 2014 is a Top of the South youth art initiative. Blank skateboard decks provided the canvases for the 2014 youth art exhibition, which features board art by both Nelson and Marlborough youth. 21 September – 19 October 2014 Toastmasters This year was the sixth graduation ceremony for students from the Toastmasters speechcraft course at Queen Charlotte College. These brave students committed an hour and a half after school every Friday during Term 3, planning, preparing and practicing a new speech to give to a group of equally nervous students. To add to this, they had to try and apply and incorporate various speechcraft techniques in order to develop their skills further. An awesome bunch of students this year made us laugh and made us cry with tears of laughter! Special mention must go to two students who embarked upon this course when English was not their second, but their third language. Kudos, to Sho and Akane Kamiyama. All the students performed admirably in their finale which was well supported by friends and whanau, although to see them beforehand you would be excused from thinking that these were students who were preparing for a major acting role as they paced up and down outside the library practicing their speeches. Good effort! Thank you to the graduate students from previous courses. Without the commitment of these students, all of whom are in their final year at school and busy preparing for the next stage in their lives, we would not be able to run such a successful and satisfying course. Thank you, Tamsin, Jackson, Leon, Braden, Tim, Dani and Emma. You are our (not so hidden) gems. So, next time you want someone to give an effective speech at a major event, just call on Tyler Sintes, Sho Kamiyama, Lachi McGuire, Metisse Wilson, Akane Kamiyama and Jack Foley. Teresa Besley Student Perspective From being nervous to talk in front of a small group of people, to delivering my English class mandatory speech each year, I was a no hoper in hiding my fear of public speaking. Participating in the Toastmasters course this term, helped not only my skills in public speaking, but my confidence level. People assume you are given tips such as ‘imagine the audience naked’ but you are taught that, to overcome ones fear, you should suck it up and get on with it. In the Toastmasters course you are comfortable to know not everyone (including yourself) takes everything so seriously. Table Topics is an excellent way to let loose in front of everyone and realise that you will have to speak publicly sometime in your life, but most of the time you can just wing it. I feel proud of myself and my fellow peers who attended this course; we have all come so far and all have great confidence now because of it. Metisse Wilson PaCT Queen Charlotte College is privileged to be one of 16 schools selected to trial the new PaCT for assessing students against the National Standards in Mathematics. Two of our Mathematics teachers have undergone the training on how to use the tool and will be supported to use it at the end of this year to gauge where our students sit against the National Standards. This tool allows for the integration of teacher judgement and observations of what the student is doing in class as well as what test results they get from standardised tests such as PAT and E-Astle. We look forward to PaCT assisting us to make more consistent judgements of our students. International Scene at QCC There is a wide diversity of cultures present at QCC in 2014. This year we have become an ‘ethnic mosaic’ with international students enrolled from Germany, Japan, Denmark, Singapore and China. In total we have nine international students together with ‘domestic’ students with international origins. It is a great opportunity for our students to be able to speak and mix with students from other countries and to learn others culture and life style, while at the same time, sharing their own. Photo courtesy of Seaport Scene Our Principal and Deputy Principal recently visited with International Exchange Agencies in Germany. These Agents were extremely impressed with what QCC, Picton and the wider Marlborough had to offer international students. If you are at all interested in hosting and international student, please contact Ray Fitzgerald on 5736558. Hi, my name is Mirano and my home is in Nirasaki City in the province of Yamanashi, Mainland Japan. It has a population of 35,000, so much larger than Picton. I have been studying at QCC for 2 years and intend to gain qualifications to enable me to attend University and to improve my English. Things I miss from my home country are yum foods, my family and my dog. What I like about Picton is the weather, the QCC teachers and skittles. Hello, my name is Dominic. My home is in Singapore in the province of Singapore in Mainland China. It has a population of 5 million. I have been studying at QCC for 9 months and intend to gain qualifications to enter University and improve my English. What I miss from home is my family and friends. What I like about Picton is the scenery, the people and the Marlborough Sounds. Gutentag! My name is Jost. My home is in Melle, in the district of Osnabruck, Lower Saxony in Northern Germany with a population of 80,000. I have been studying at QCC for 5 months and hope to improve my English. What I miss the most from my home country are my friends. What I like about Picton is the landscape, the people, living in a small town and the school. Hello, my name is Zigi (Crystal) and my home is in Chengdu in the province of Si Chuan in Mainland China. It has a population of 11 million!! I have been studying at QCC for 1 month and intend to gain University Entrance and to improve my English. What I miss from home are snacks and the shopping malls. What I like about Picton is the nice people and the beautiful scenery. Hi, our names are Sho and Akane. Our home is in Tokyo in the province of Nerima in Japan. We have been studying at QCC for 18 months and want to do well and qualify for University Entrance and we have already improved our English. We miss certain foods from home, family and friends but like living in Picton for the silence, the people and the weather. Hi, my name is Sherry and my home is in Shenshen in the province of Guong Dong in Mainland China. It has a population of 10.62 million people. I have been studying at QCC for nearly a month and intend to improve my English and gain qualifications to enter University. What I miss from my home country is my family, however, I am enjoying Picton because the people here are very nice, very good. Hi my name is Malte. My home is in Gistrup in the province of Aalborg in Denmark. Denmark has a population of 5 million. I have been studying at QCC for 3 months and I would like to improve my English and gain qualifications to help me enter University. I miss my family but I like living in Picton as it is so beautiful. Hi my name is Lena. My home is in Vaterstetten in the province of Munich in Germany. It has a population of 22,000. I have been at QCC for 2 and half months and hope to improve my English and gain qualifications to enter University. From home, I miss bread and speaking German. I love NZ, it is a beautiful country and Picton is just great with its harbour and small shops. Kaiarahi Teina We are very proud of our Junior Culture leaders who ran workshops on Raranga Weaving, Rakau Stick games and Haka for Waikawa Bay School on Thursday the 18th of September. They were awesome and the Waikawa Bay School staff were very grateful and full of praise for their expertise and their leadership skills. Surf Lifesaving On Saturday 13th and Sunday 14th September, Hannah Price, Nicholas Meiklejohn and Megan Cook competed in the Tasman Pool Champs against other surf clubs including Nelson, Waikuku, Spencer Park, New Brighton and Sumner. The results were: Hannah Price - 2 Firsts and 2 Thirds Nicholas Meiklejohn - 5 Firsts and 3 Seconds Megan Cook - 1 First, 2 Seconds and 2 Thirds The overall club points were: Rarangi 177, Nelson 102, Spencer Park 82, Waikuku 16, Sumner 12, New Brighton 4 Rugby Congratulations to Andre Hebberd, Alex Aldridge, Dylan McManaway, Ryan McLeod and Clayton Tautari who were part of the Marlborough U12 Rugby Rep team who won the Seddon Shield tournament in Nelson last weekend. Well done boys! EOTC Department Year 9/10 Camp Payments Time is running out!! Year 9 Camp is from Monday October 20th until Friday 24th and the Year 10 Camp is November 24th to the 28th. If you are not completing a one off payment, it is essential to put in place an automatic payment plan to cover the cost of the camps. Please contact Kay Riwaka at the College or make payment to the school bank account number Westpac 030599 0208587 000 identifying who you are and either Year 9 or Year 10 camp. Richard Hill HOD EOTC Marlborough Performing Arts Competitions The Marlborough Performing Arts Competitions will be held in the first week of the school holidays. There are many young people from Marlborough who will be competing in the different classes, including a large number from outside of the region. This competition is one of the largest performing arts competitions held in the South Island. The event culminates with a concert on the Friday night which will feature many of the best performers from the week’s competition. Mentors Needed Little people, not stats! Over the past year, 74 Marlborough children have been matched with Synergy youth mentors with 25 still on the waiting list and more referrals coming in weekly. Many of the current children are from Blenheim but also Renwick, Picton and Havelock, and we get referrals from Seddon and Ward as well. This is a call-out to people throughout Marlborough to have open eyes, minds, hearts and hands to help these kids. We all want a great community and as the age old saying goes, “if we are not part of the solution, we are part of the problem”. Since some of the children are boys from single parent families, it would be ideal if men would step up and volunteer but women are also welcome to join our mentoring team. Please think it over; could you spare even an hour a week to make a huge difference in a child’s life? Do you know anyone else who would make a good mentor? I look forward to hearing from you and answer any questions you may have. Mentor training: Sunday 19 October For more info / application form please contact: Nancy Sherwood 577 9005 (ext 709) [email protected] Picton Toy Library Spring Fair
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