MANGAWHAI'S NO.1 NEWSPAPER
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Otamatea High School Open Day an interactive experience12 Aug, 2021 JULIA WADE With term three well on its way and Christmas coming in fast, parents of intermediate children are thinking ahead to the following year and which school in the district would best suit their child. To help with this sometimes difficult decision, Otamatea High School (OHS) recently held their annual Open Day, inviting parents and prospective students along on August 12 for an opportunity to preview all the school can offer and ‘see the school in action’. Nearly 250 parents and children from the surrounding area take advantage of the special day, to tour the large grounds, classrooms and facilities and talk to teachers. However the main focus says OHS principal Peter Chambers was to provide an interactive experience to inspire and excite the visiting Year 6 and 8 students for the coming year. “We’ve been fortunate that quite a lot of students want to come to our school, there were slightly higher numbers at our open day than we’ve had before.” One of three high schools in Maungaturoto, OHS was established in 1966 and is a secular, co-educational state college geared for Years 7 to 13. With a current expanding roll approaching 500, OHS is central for enrolments from primary and intermediate schools in Maungaturoto, Kaiwaka and Paparoa, as well as further afield from Mangawhai Beach and Waipu Primary. Students are aligned with four houses or ‘iwis’ – Maniapoto, Ngapuhi, Whatua and Arawa – and compete in inter-iwi sports and interesting academic competitions including haka and waiata, debating, maths week, chess and ‘tableau vivant’. “What has been embraced over the last few years is a kapa haka competition against the iwi, with 100 students assembled in the hall performing a haka and singing a waiata,” Chambers says. “It was incredible, a great way to finish the term.” Students personal, social and behavioural welfare is also well-supported with a head of pastoral care and four deans, a full-time and two part-time counsellors and visiting nurses. With the vision for all students to be ‘Ready for the World’ with academic success, personal wellbeing, perseverance and adaptability, OHS performs consistently high in NCEA, with over 90 per cent of Year 13s passing level 3 in 2020. The national average is 72 per cent. Chambers says they were worried at one time at the small number of male students enrolled in Year 13, however on investigation they realised the boys had only left to get into a trade. “In some ways we’ve been a victim of our own success with our technology class which is strong in this school, and a lot of boys leave at the end of Year 12 to go into apprenticeships. We have a few girls going into trades but they are a minority as there just aren’t as many apprenticeships available yet for girls. “However, we have more girls than boys in our Year 11 technology classes, which is metal and engineering like making motorbikes and go-carts, and wood and constructing such as the school cafe picnic tables and even an outhouse… we’re a rural school, relatively small but cater for all students and for the community we‘re in.”
Beginning in term 2, OHS introduced the Healthy Lunches programme. The Open Day offered parents and prospective students a chance to tour the grounds, view classrooms and see the school in action. The schools four ‘Iwi’ colourfully depicted - Maniapoto, Ngapuhi, Whatua and Arawa |