YEAR 12 LOVES ME NOT Programme Returns to Ōtūmoetai College
The Loves-Me-Not Programme is a “whole-school approach” to prevent abusive behaviour in relationships. It is based on a student inquiry learning process, encouraging students to take personal action, act as effective bystanders, and engage in community action to prevent harm from relationship abuse affecting themselves or their friends.
This year’s programme started with Minette, Zara, and Annabelle, three Yr 13 students speaking to staff about the impact the program had on them in 2023. Over 20 staff volunteered to be facilitators for 2024.
On Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th of June, we welcomed a diverse team of facilitators: 7 Police officers, 6 staff members from Ngāti Ranginui, our Nurse Kate, and our amazing Counselling staff, alongside our teaching staff. The program ran successfully, empowering our Year 12 students during periods 1-4 on one of the allocated days.
Students engaged in critical conversations covering defining consent, understanding the importance and boundaries of consent, analysing how media shapes perceptions of relationships, exploring diverse perspectives on relationship issues, and highlighting the dynamics of abusive relationships through powerful videos on power and control.
The Sophie Elliott video impacted the students, eliciting stunned silence followed by a barrage of questions. The Police and teaching team answered these questions with raw honesty and sensitivity, fostering a deeper understanding of the issues.
Discussions also focused on stepping in, clarifying the legal consequences of abusive behavior, and emphasising the importance of reporting abuse to the Police.
The program concluded with brainstorming sessions on how to be change agents, empowering students to be proactive and responsible citizens.
Here’s what some students had to say…
Adam: Very strong positive messages about how to treat my peers and relationships.
Harry: Great, learned a lot, about how to treat a girl/woman right.
Marcus: It’s great for identifying abusive relationships in our age group to lower the statistics.
Luca: Great information and examples on Healthy vs. Unhealthy relationships. I learned a lot.
Caitlin: It was good because it made us aware of what was healthy and not healthy in a relationship.
Bella: Very informative, I loved that we learned about consent and how to treat others with respect of their boundaries.
Sofia: I think that it was very beneficial and we got to speak our opinions and I extended my knowledge on consent and healthy relationships.
A HUGE THANK YOU to our teaching staff, the Police, the team from Ngāti Ranginui, our Counselling team, and Nurse Kate. We couldn’t have done it without you.
Lastly, thank you to the Ōtūmoetai students who conducted themselves admirably and have taken valuable lessons to apply when needed.
Year 10 Health Expo
“On Monday 24th June, our annual Year 10 Health Expo took place in the PAC. This event was facilitated by Level Two Health students, who created stalls highlighting wellbeing issues relevant to young people in our community. Presenting alongside our thirteen student stalls were six community organisations and three school departments. Their input was much appreciated.
The issues highlighted ranged from consent, drug and alcohol abuse, healthy eating, self love, anxiety and toxic relationships. The feedback from the year 10 students and staff was overwhelmingly positive, with the students enjoying learning about the issues through practical activities and from students only a couple of years older than themselves.
Thank you to all staff and students who contributed to this positive event on our school calendar.” – Mr Loudon
TE RANGA 160th Commemoration
TE RANGA – TAUMATAIĀHUI – 160 YEARS
“On Friday 21st June, some of our tauira participated in the commemorative events at Te Ranga.
Following the Pakanga o Pukehinahina where Māori defeated the British troops that outnumbered them, British troops made their way to Te Ranga, where a new Pā was being established. Sadly, Māori suffered a huge loss, with many losing their lives.” – Mrs Veronese
The land where the Battle of Te Ranga took place will be restored to tell the story of what occurred and educate visitors about its importance.
Smokefree Rockquest Update
The Smokefree Rockquest Regional Finals were on at Totara St last Friday night. Great to see some Ōtūmoetai College staff there, representing!
The whole night was phenomenal and our bands were sensational.
Bloody Overalls – Mitchell Shannon, Fletcher Harbutt, Tyler Sainty. 1st Place – Next step is to qualify for the National Final.
Bla bla uh huh boo hoo – Zen Miyanami, Ryan Paxie, Lexey Walker (Musicianship Award), Lucy Dibble (Best Vocalist Award)
Quann – Enika Daisley, David Choi, Nathan Murray, Rhys Tinnion, William Dunn
Cool Beans – Byron Whitehead, Levi Shepherd, Damian Mazzuti
Bri Greig Merrett – Best Lyric Writer Award
