News

As you know, there is a large and increasing measles outbreak in Auckland with over 800 confirmed cases and over 900 cases nationally. There have been 21 cases in the Wellington region this year. Measles is likely to continue in NZ for months with travel, school holidays, inter-school events and tournaments increasing the likelihood of further measles spread.

Safeguarding your children from measles by being fully vaccinated, keeping students and staff off school and excluding those who have been exposed but are not immune will all help protect others, especially those at risk of complications from disease. It will also help to ensure they don’t miss learning opportunities, NCEA school exams, arts and sports tournaments and school balls.

To protect your child and their school Regional Pubic Health recommends the following actions NOW

• If you are travelling to Auckland, especially South Auckland make sure you are vaccinated. This advice NOW includes babies aged 12-15 months who are recommended to have their first measles vaccine early before going to Auckland.
• If you are not vaccinated we advise you to check your medical centre’s website or phone to see when they will be able to vaccinate you. The current measles outbreak in Auckland has led to an increased demand for the MMR vaccine.
• Talk to your doctor if you are travelling overseas; especially if you have babies aged 6-12 months.
• Locate your child’s immunisation records, so that you can provide these if requested. This information can be found in their‘ Wellchild’ book or by asking your medical centre for a printout of your child’s immunisations. For children aged 0 to 14 years the parent can email RES-NIR@huttvalleydhb.org.nz and ask for a copy of your child’s National Immunisation Register record.

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Click here for all the information you need about where each examination is being held and who is supervising it.

Do you have something important to say? White Ribbon invites you to enter their first-ever spoken word poetry competition! It’s going to be a night of hot poetry, sizzling truths, and fiery performances.

The theme of the night is ‘Respectful Relationships’ so get ready for some amazing rhymes and inspired takes on ending men’s violence in New Zealand. This Spoken Word competition is open to all senior secondary school students and will be held on the evening of the 26th September at Wellington College. The event will be hosted by White Ribbon Ambassador Ete Eteuati (Laughing Samoans) with some high profile judges including the Justice – Parliamentary Under-Secretary Jan Logie, award-winning Poet Chris Tse, Kirsten Johnstone Host of Radio New Zealand's Song Crush and award winning comedian Cori Gonzalez-Macuer.

We have some decent prizes including $500 for first place and $200 for the runner up and $100 for third place.

So get creative and take action!

Hurry entries close on 16th September, 5pm.

Enter now using the online form here.

For more information, email contact@whiteribbon.org.nz

For rules and guidelines on this event please visit the White Ribbon website or check out the event on facebook.

This highly successful programme will be run by Knowledge Shop in the first week of the upcoming holidays from Monday 30 September to Friday 4 October. These focus on NCEA Level 1 and 2. Courses include English, science, mathematics, physics and study skills. Places are strictly limited. This is an excellent opportunity to revise some of the most important areas of the curriculum.  

Visit the Knowledge Shop website for the full programme, cost and further details. All bookings must be made online.

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The Black and Gold Awards Evening is the culmination of a successful year of extracurricular Sport and The Arts at Wellington College. It is a celebration of performance excellence, and awards are made to the students and teams performing at the very highest level.

Invitations will be sent out shortly to nominees and their families and to coaches, administrators, managers and directors.

Tickets will be $25 for all attendees including nominees.

Please click here for further information and to buy your tickets..

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'Eat My Lunch' is New Zealand’s largest social enterprise. It operates on a one-for-one model, which means that for every lunch you buy for yourself, 'Eat My Lunch' provide a lunch to a kiwi kid who would otherwise not have one.  An estimated that 25,000 children go to school without lunch in New Zealand each day. Last year 'Eat My Lunch' provided their one millionth meal to a child in New Zealand but there are still 60 schools on the 'Eat My Lunch' wait list.

A group of committed student leaders is coordinating Wellington College's involvement in 'Eat My Lunch'. Lunch orders will be available every Friday for the rest of the term. If you would like to order yourself a lunch and provide lunch for a kid in need at the same time, please order and pay online by 5pm on the Wednesday prior to the day you'd like to order for.

Click here to make your order for this Friday.

We have more than 150 students at Wellington College who qualify for special assessment conditions for exams.  We are looking for new volunteers to help us support these students.  Please email Saskia & Brenda if you can help - senco@wc.school.nz. You can find out more about what's involved by clicking here.

The use of e-cigarettes is growing rapidly among all age groups.  Manufacturers of these products employ aggressive advertising in an attempt to attract young people.  It seems that little is known about vaping among New Zealand addiction and health agencies.  To be fair, there is little long-term research worldwide and vaping is a recent phenomenon.

There is information available on-line of variable quality and use. The following bullet points are what we thought were the most useful:

- The biggest risks of vaping are the unknown risks.  The dangers will not be known for some time.

- Breathing any product into your lungs unnecessarily is not smart.

- Vaping was not designed to be taken up by non-smokers.

- Some young people start smoking after using e-cigarettes.  The spread of e-cigarettes is re-normalising smoking behaviour.

- A number of chemicals are added to vaping devices.  Of special concern are compounds not found in conventional cigarettes, e.g. propylene glycol.

- A common additive to e-cigarettes is nicotine, a highly addictive drug with known health risks. Young people may add very high amounts of nicotine to get a “buzz”.

- Nicotine can effect brain development and functioning in young people.

- Studies have found increased airway resistance after exposure to vaping.

- Research suggests that vaping damages the brain,heart and lungs.  It may lead to cancerous tumours, can account for stillbirths and that the harmful effects are exacerbated during foetal development and adolescence.

- There is little consistency across different products.

- There is no evidence that the aerosol used is safe.

- The general advice from experts is to steer clear of e-cigarettes and other vaping devices.

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Should you have any concern about your sons, please contact us:

Stuart Slater, Guidance Counsellor, s.slater@wc.school.nz, phone 802 2548.

Sarah Parker, Guidance Counsellor, s.parker@wc.school.nz, phone 803 0304

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We are very proud of the students in Chorale as they have continued to work hard and strive for excellence. For a number of years now, the Wellington College Chorale has been at the forefront of boys’ choirs in New Zealand, and it is great they have been selected as one of the top 24 choirs in the country to compete in the 2019 Big Sing national finals to be held in Dunedin, 29 - 31 August.

We wish them all the very best.

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We are delighted that you are considering joining the Wellington College community in 2020.

See our 2020 Prospectus with all 2020 Course and other information here.

You can view a short report about student achievement for qualifications at Wellington College in 2018 here.

Online Enrolment Links

Click here to complete your on-line enrolment application for Year 9 in 2020.

Click here to complete your on-line enrolment application for Year 10 to Year 13 in 2020.

In zone Year 9 students for 2020

In zone enrolment applications for 2020 may be made at any time during the year prior to the start of school (27 January, 2020).  However, we request that these be submitted on-line by Monday 29 July, 2019 to allow for curriculum planning and so that we can determine out of zone enrolment numbers.

Students should remain within the College zone for at least two years from the time the student starts at the College. The College must be immediately notified of any change of address, within the zone.

Out of zone Year 9 students for 2020

Out of Zone applications for Year 9 in 2020 have now closed.

Induction Day for Year 9

This will commence 21 November 9.00am in the Sports Centre.  This is an opportunity for new students to meet key people and become familiar with our campus and programmes.

In zone Years 10 - Year 13 students for 2020

In zone enrolment applications for 2020 may be made at any time during the year prior to the start of school (27 January, 2020), but should be submitted on-line by Tuesday, 15 October, 2019 to allow for curriculum planning and so that we can determine any out of zone enrolment numbers.

‍Out of zone Years 10 - 13 students for 2020

Out of zone applications for years 10 to 13 must be submitted on-line no later than 4.00pm on Tuesday, 15 October 2019.

The Out-of-Zone Ballot for Years 10 - 13, 2019 will be held on Monday, 4 November 2019.

All applications must have a copy of the student’s birth certificate (and passport if the student was born outside New Zealand).

In-zone applications must also provide a rates notice/tenancy agreement and a utility account to confirm in zone status.

Students should remain within the College zone for at least two years from the time the student starts at the College. The College must be immediately notified of any change of address, within the zone.

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We are delighted to introduce Katie Rawles to Wellington College as our new Deputy Principal - Teaching & Learning.

Katie is currently the Deputy Rector at St Pat's Silverstream and was previously the Head of the Music Department at Wellington College.

Katie is a nationally regarded educator, with particular interests in culturally responsive practice, student agency in learning, music education and digital citizenship.

Katie will be starting her new position on Monday 19th August.

Welcome back to Wellington College, Katie.

Nau mai! Haere mai!

I am pleased to report to the Wellington College community on student achievement for national qualifications in 2018.

At Wellington College, we have always used ‘roll-based’ data for both setting targets and reporting on results. This ensures that every single student who attends Wellington College in Years 11-13 is included in the statistics for their level (i.e. Year 11 – NCEA Level 1, Year 12 – NCEA Level 2and Year 13 – NCEA Level 3).

Achievement Highlights

One of the highlights of 2018 was the exceptional success of Wellington College students in the NZ Scholarship Awards.  Scholarships are reserved for the top 3% of Year 13 students across New Zealand in each subject area. Wellington College’s students gained a total of 108 awards. 50 individual students attained Scholarships in 18 different subjects. 8 awards were gained at ‘Outstanding’ level.  ‘Outstanding’ awards are given to the top 0.3% of Year 13 students in each subject area.  These results continue Wellington College’s remarkable record of success in these prestigious examinations.  Congratulations to all of the students and their teachers who experienced Scholarship success in 2018.

The 2018 overall results of Wellington College students in the National Certificate of Educational Achievement (NCEA) were also exceptional and significantly higher than the average for boys at all decile 10 schools.  91.4% of Wellington College’s Year 11 students gained NCEA Level 1 (compared with 77.8% for all boys in decile 10 schools); 95.7% of Wellington College’s Year 12 students gained NCEA Level 2 (compared with 82.8% for all boys in decile 10 schools); and 92.2% of Wellington College’s Year 13 students gained NCEA Level 3 (compared with 77.7% for all boys in decile 10 schools).

Wellington College’s Māori students gained each level of the NCEA at a rate in excess of the average for all boys in decile 10 schools, with 78.6% of Year 11 students gaining NCEA Level 1, 93.8% of Year 12 students gaining NCEA Level 2, and 91.4% of Year 13 students gaining NCEA Level 3.

92.3% of Wellington College’s Year 13 Pacific students gained NCEA Level 3.  This was higher than the average achievement rate for all boys in decile 10 schools. While the results of Year 11 and 12 Pacific students were slightly below the average for all boys in decile 10 schools, their achievement rate was significantly higher than the average for Pacific boys at other decile 10 schools, with 76.9% gaining Level 1 (compared with 62.3%) and 82.1% gaining NCEA Level 2 (compared with 68.9%).

78.8% of all Year 13 students gained University Entrance in 2018.  This compares very favourably with the average for boys in all decile 10 schools, which in 2018 was 66.2%.

Continued Areas of Focus

While at most levels of the NCEA, Wellington College’s Māori and Pacific students achieved at a level that is similar to students from all other ethnic groups, there remains an achievement gap when it comes to University Entrance.  In 2018, this was particularly the case for Pacific students, with 38.5% gaining University Entrance (compared with 78.8% for all students).  It was disappointing that we were unable to maintain or improve on the result from 2017 when 59.1% of Year 13 Pacific students gained University Entrance.  The closing of these gaps continues to be a major focus for Wellington College.  Our Māori and Pacific Achievement Plans outline our strategy for achieving equity in this and other areas.  You can view these plans here.

You can find out more about achievement at Wellington College via www.nzqa.govt.nz and www.educationcounts.govt.nz.  Our achievement targets for 2019 are contained within our Charter, which you can view here.

Gregor Fountain (Principal)

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Over the past 20 years, our students have raised more than $1 million for World Vision. Most of this money has been directed towards supporting projects in Ibwera in Tanzania.

Click here to read about how that money has changed the lives of large numbers of people!

Thanks for your ongoing support of Wellington College's community partner, World Vision New Zealand.

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As many of you may know, the World Vision Runathon took place earlier this year, and currently, we are in the process of collecting and counting all of the money coming in. We know that it's easy to get on board with fundraising when all the fun activities are taking place and we are working together, but in order to make a difference for the Chi Kreng community, it's time to buckle down and get those individual sponsorships in.

So far we have raised almost $10,000 from booklets alone. That's just over $5 each. Our aim is to raise a grand total of $100,000 this year, and if we want to reach our goal we are counting on everyone to keep putting in the hard work. If every student was able to raise $40 we will get there! As a small incentive to keep those booklets coming in, the tutor group that raises the most money will get a pizza lunch!

Thank you for your continued hard work and support of such an important cause.

2019 Super Six (World Vision Student Leadership Team)

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With the increase of influenza (flu) in the Wellington area the following steps are recommended by Regional Public Health to help reduce this virus spreading through our schools and the community

Influenza (flu) is a virus that spreads quickly from person to person. It can be spread through the air by coughing and sneezing as well as by hands, cups and other objects that have been in contact with an infected person’s mouth or nose.

The following information will help reduce the spread of influenza in our school:

1.      Make sure everyone covers their mouth and nose with tissues when coughing and sneezing.

2.      Encourage everyone to wash their hands regularly.

3.      Clean surfaces that are touched often (door handles, bench tops, toilets bathroom areas).

4.      Make sure students with symptoms stay at home until they are well and free of symptoms.

Symptoms Include:

·       A severe fever (over 38°C) lasting several days

·       A cough and sore chest.

·       Severe exhaustion and aches and pains.

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Please click here for further information.

One of our students was recently diagnosed with whooping cough.

Whooping cough is a highly infectious bacterial disease that spreads easily by coughing and sneezing.

Please ensure that every member of your family is up to date with their immunisations to best protect them.

Click here for a fact sheet about Whooping Cough

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We have a large group of international students arriving at the start of Term 3, mainly from Italy and Chile.  If you have a spare room, please consider becoming a homestay family. International students help us create a diverse and vibrant school community and provide a valuable global perspective in our classes.  Our programme also generates income for the school which supports the development of our programmes and facilities. International students need their own room and three meals each day.   Host families receive $300 each week.   Please email Kathi Scott - k.scott@wc.school.nz if you would like to explore this idea further.

We were delighted to host the Wellington Regional section of the Ngā Manu Kōrero speech competition on Thursday 16th May. Thank you to all the members of the school community - staff, parents, students and whānau who supported this event in a wide variety of ways. Congratulations to all the participants and especially to Wellington College's Tai Renner (Year 9) who took out the Sir Turi Carroll Award for the winning speech in the Junior English category.

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The Alan Gibbs Centre - our brand new Memorial Hall & Performing Arts Centre has won an award in the Education category in the Wellington Architecture Awards. The judges commented that:

"This hall, the third on the site, brings the original Memorial Window into a new light in the new school assembly building, a feature that showcases both heritage and functionality. A skin of metal, with brass and aluminium inserts as repeating patterns, wraps the building in a weatherproof cloak. An interweaving of spaces via a grand new stair provides grandeur, continuity and design flair, connecting the old to the new."

You can read more about this award and see photos of the building here.

You can view WCTV's beautiful film about the opening of the building here.

All the details you need to hire this award winning building for your function can be found here.

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The Collegian is the quarterly newsletter for the Wellington College community. Click here to read the April 2019 issue.

Wellington College Football require an organised and committed person to work in a part-time capacity. Previous administrative experience would be an advantage, along with the ability to work with both adults and students.

The position description and application pack are available from d.keat@wc.school.nz or by contacting 802.2547.

Applications close Tuesday 14 May. 

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Term One finished with the 2019 ANZAC Assembly. This was the first ANZAC Assembly in our new Memorial Hall & Performing Arts Centre. You can click here to read the speech given by the British High Commissioner to New Zealand, Her Excellency Ms Laura Clark.

The Uniform Shop will be open extended hours to give parents and caregivers the chance to purchase items before or after their parent/teacher interviews.

The shop will also be open 11am-7pm on Monday 6 May.

Further information about the Uniform Shop can be found here.

This year's combined Arts and Culture event is entitled Tiaho te Ao and will be held in the Alan Gibbs Centre.

We are seeking a student-designed poster  to advertise the event. The showcase will include a combined choir, jazz band, concert band, orchestra, kapa haka and Pasifika performance and the Showquest dances from both schools. There will also be an AV display of Art from both schools. 

Entries to be sent to k.hazledine@wc.school.nz by 10 May 

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Details for the poster are as follows:

            25 July, 7pm

            Alan Gibbs Centre, Wellington College

            Tickets:Adults $15, Students $ 10

            To purchase tickets, click here: (we will add a link when we have it)

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Wellington College is once again selling Entertainment Memberships as part of our fundraising for the Extra-Curricular Arts Programme. We receive $13 for each book or Digital Membership we sell. There are fantastic savings to be made at Wellington’s leading restaurants, cafes and attractions. Your membership is a great way to find exciting new places to visit, or a reminder to get back to those old favourites. There are also great offers for over 2000 hotels. theme parks, rentals cars, online shopping and so much more. We will be sending the books home, with Year 9 students, for you to look through on Thursday 11th April, or you can pre-order your copy on the link below to receive over $180 of bonus offers that can be used straight away!

They are available to order through the link below.  To order securely online go to: https://www.entertainmentbook.co.nz/orderbooks/10j4088

The Wellington College Premier A debating team won the regional title after an intense weekend of debating on the weekend of 23rd & 24th March. They defeated the talented Wellington College B team in the semi final before overcoming St Oran's College in the final. Jesse Richardson was named the outstanding debater of the tournament with both Jesse and Adam Muir being named in the regional representative team. Hugh O'Leary, from the Wellington College B team, was named as one of the tournament's most promising debaters.

Matthew Sutcliffe, Wellington College's 2018 Dux, has been awarded the prestigious 2019 Girdlers’ Scholarship, which will enable him to study Human, Social and Political Sciences at Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, starting in October 2019.

“This programme looks at the big social questions and political issues that confront us today,” says Matthew. “I think the way these are looked at—from anthropological, sociological and political perspectives—is profoundly valuable.

“The HSPS interdisciplinary approach, which combines the analytical reasoning of politics, the human insights of sociology and the historical methodology of anthropology, is something that not only sews these interests of mine together but extends and challenges them too.”

At Wellington College, Matthew achieved excellence endorsements in five NCEA Level 3 subjects across a wide spectrum of subjects, Scholarship in seven subjects, was a top performer in the Cambridge Mathematics examination, and among the top 1% of both the Australian Mathematics Competitions and the ICAS Science Competition.

See the full press release from Universities New Zealand here.

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Thank you to everyone in the Wellington College community that donated to the Christchurch Victims' Fund on Friday's Mufti Day. Together we raised $5935 to support families in Christchurch.

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Our team of Wellbeing Prefects is currently putting together the finishing touches to the 2019 Wellington College Wellbeing Day which we will be holding on Wednesday 15th May. This event is for all Year 12 and 13 students. On this day the normal timetable will be suspended to allow senior students the opportunity to take part in a series of wellbeing workshops and presentations.

The organising team is looking for people to present different workshops. The list below of possible workshops has been generated by the students. If you would like to take part or you know anyone who would be interested in presenting on this day we would love to hear from you.

Please contact Patrick Smith. His email is p.smith@wc.school.nz

Possible Workshops

1. Friendships & Relationships
2. Careers purpose - Aadirection of life after college
3. Managing Stress and other emotions
4. Financial Wellbeing - After school money management
5. Safe & Healthy Sex
6. Preparing to be independent after school
7. Future employment skills
8. Mindfulness and meditation
9. Yoga & pilates
10. Physical fitness - looking after yourself physically
11. Basic First Aid including CPR
12. Bike maintenance
13. Nutrition
14. Personal grooming

All other ideas will be considered.

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Wellington College's International Student Marketing Manager, Feng Yu, and International Director Mike Ellett, will be visiting the families of new international students throughout March. Feng will be in China visiting Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Qingdao, Beijing and Shanghai.  Mike will be in Vietnam visiting Ho Chi Minh City, Hai Phong and Hanoi. If your family is keen to host an international student in either our July intake or starting in Term 1 2020 please contact Kathi Scott on k.scott@wc.school.nz. International students require their own bedroom and three meals each day. Host families receive $290 each week.

The Police have requested that we postpone the World Vision Runathon events scheduled for Saturday 16th March. There is no specific threat. Wellington's Pride Parade has been canceled. We will schedule another day that we can complete the Runathon and continue to support World Vision's work in Cambodia.

As a result of the tragic events in Christchurch, we postponed the World Vision Runathon events which were scheduled for Saturday 16th March, so we'll be completing the second half of the Runathon on Friday 29th March between 6am and 10pm. 

This year's Runathon marks the beginning of a new partnership between Wellington College and the Chi Kreng community in Cambodia with funds raised supporting World Vision's work to create clean water supplies for the 25,000 people who live there

The Runathon is a fantastic opportunity to show school pride and to support those less fortunate then us, so please get involved.

The Board of Trustees has a new Strategic Plan. It's based on the COLL values which we developed last year. You can check out our plans for the next two years by clicking here.

The opening of the Alan Gibbs Centre was a highlight of 2018. The WCTV team captured the events in this beautiful 7 minute film.

The events which unfolded in Christchurch on Friday have shocked all of our school community.  Our thoughts are with the Christchurch and Wellington Muslim communities and we send our love to all who are suffering as a result of this terrible tragedy, including those within the Wellington College community.  

At 9am on Monday morning we gathered on the bottom field for a moment's silence and had a short ceremony in which we lowered our flag to half-mast.  We also started working with student and community leaders to organise a special assembly for Thursday to mark these tragic events and support people in our wider school community.

Starting on Monday morning, we made spaces and counsellors available at school for students who wanted to spend time in a quiet space, talk with a counsellor or access additional support.  

We are aware that many of our students have had access to the graphic online content which was available through social media platforms on Friday afternoon and evening.  Our counselling team is available to support these students should they wish to talk this through.  We have posted some advice from Netsafe which you might find useful if you are discussing this material with young people. Click here to access this advice.

If you have any specific concerns about your son or ideas for us to consider, please do not hesitate to contact your son's tutor teacher, dean, Guidance Counsellor, or any member of our senior leadership team.

The Ministry of Education has had advice for parents about supporting children and adolescents through the trauma of the incident translated into a range of languages. Click below to access this advice:

Malay

Farsi

Arabic

Urdu

Netsafe has some excellent advice for students, parents, staff & whānau who have encountered the online content associated with the Christchurch attacks. Click here for more information.

The Ministry of Health has some useful information for parents and others supporting children and young people who are dealing with trauma. Click here to access this advice.

We have advice for parents and caregivers about helping children and adolescents through trauma in Arabic, Urdu. Farsi and Malay available here.

Deputy Principal - Teaching & Learning (10 MUs)

We are looking for a new member of our Senior Leadership Team.

This vacancy has arisen due to the retirement of our deeply valued and long serving Deputy Principal, Robert Anderson.  Rob's departure provides an exciting opportunity for a new Deputy Principal to join our team and contribute to our school community in a wide variety of ways including the leadership of our learning programmes and pedagogical approaches outlined through our COLL Curriculum Framework.

Wellington College is committed to providing equal employment opportunities for all staff.

To apply for this position, please complete the application form (see below), and email it along with your curriculum vitae and a covering letter to:

‍principal.pa@wc.school.nz

Applications close at 5pm on Tuesday 4th June.

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Position Resources

An introductory letter from Gregor Fountain, including the timeline for the appointment, is available here.

You can view our 2019 School Charter here.

The Position Description is available here.

The Application Form for this position is available here. (If you would like an editable version of the application form, please email principal.pa@wc.school.nz)

A draft diagram outlining our proposed new Senior Leadership Team structure and the responsibilities of each member of our senior team is available here.

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More Information?

Thanks for your interest in this position. If you require any further information about Wellington College or this position, please call Gregor - 04 8022523 or email principal.pa@wc.school.nz.