EVolocity Success
Well done to team Kartsino Royale who won the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Regional Finals with the racer they designed and built as part of their Technology course.
Congratulations to Harrison Dent, Jack Page & Hamish Boyt (pictured above, left to right)
They have put in a great many hours during the holidays, lunchtimes and after school to complete and refine their racer to the level needed to achieve this result.
Te Muka Miro – Wellbeing at Ōtūmoetai College
At Ōtūmoetai College, we believe that wellbeing is at the forefront of personal success and excellence.
If we are well, we make positive choices that support our values and contribute to a lifelong tool kit of self-care and integrity. At Ōtūmoetai College we have a model of wellbeing that supports not only our akonga but our whanau and community to reflect on their holistic hauora.
Te Muka Miro (our wellbeing model) is illustrated in the harakeke, showing us that wellbeing is not a single thing but a collection of things that contribute to the health and wellbeing of any living thing. There are many aspects that we need to pay equal attention to and often we can neglect one more than others. It’s important to be aware of the things that contribute to wellness and the steps that we can take to empower ourselves.
Jump on the website to explore Te Muka Miro here and various activities you can engage in to contribute to your wellbeing.
Graeme Dingle National Excellence Awards
This year the Graeme Dingle Foundation is celebrating several exceptional national award winners from the wider Western Bay of Plenty, a testament to the region’s commitment to empowering youth.
Congratulations to current students Akshita Saxena (Stars – Outstanding Contribution from a Peer Mentor) and Layla MacKenzie (Project K Excellence Award).
Congratulations also to past student Spencer McNeil (Sir Edmund Hillary Achievement Award).
HE RANGATAHI HE ANAMATA – Youth Leadership Summit
On Thursday 17th October, some of the students from Te Whare Māori took part in the He Rangatahi He Anamata event in Rotorua. This was a good opportunity for our rangatahi to learn more about leadership.
A special mihi to our very own Caylah-Marie Tapara who facilitated and lead the event along with the other members of the Rangatahi Advisory Group.
Also big mihi to Toi Kai Rawa who were the hosts. This event was well organised and the manaakitanga was next level.
BLAKE Inspire Programme Experience
Written by Zoe Armit – Year 12 student, October Holidays week 2.
I was motivated to apply for the BLAKE Inspire programme on a partially subsidised scholarship after my Earth and Ocean Science teacher (Mr Whaley) showed me what it was about and that applications were open to Yr’s 11-13 students. I was also emailed by Mr McCreary (head of environment committee) and Miss Lack (Assistant Principal).
I was extremely fortunate to be accepted for this opportunity. Everything that this scholarship offered me was extraordinary as I had never been to the places we visited prior to this programme. We got to stay at Tibb House accommodation which is a board house for the Auckland Grammar School for boys.
Practical activities included snorkelling at the Goat Island Marine Reserve while recording which type of marine life we saw along the transect; learning about the solar system, stars and Matariki at Stardome and Planetarium; freshwater and saltwater data collection at Matheson’s Bay; taking a day trip on a boat to Tiritiri Matangi to look at native plant and bird species on the predator free island. Alongside this we also visited a community garden in Orakei called Te Pourewa Garden to learn about their process of planting vegetables naturally. We even got to do a mock-parliament policy simulator with an election for Prime Minister and got a session with the virtual reality headsets to see some of the most remote ecosystems in and around New Zealand and Antarctica.
At the end of each day we had different workshops on topics including climate change, biodiversity, Matauranga Maori, freshwater, saltwater and more. Probably my favourite part of this trip, other than making new friends with like minded students from around New Zealand, would be learning different ways we could help protect New Zealand’s unique environment.
I would highly recommend this to other environmentally minded senior students to apply because in the five days on the BLAKE Inspire programme I learnt more than what I learnt in one year at school. You have the option to apply for a fully subsidised scholarship or the partially subsided scholarship.
2024 Ōtūmoetai College Album
Please find here a link to the Ōtūmoetai College Album for 2024. There are some fine songs on the album written by tremendous kids, please enjoy.
Many thanks to Mrs Shefferd and Ms Stephen for their support in the creation of this album. You made many dreams come true for these students and it is hugely appreciated.
TEINA DAY
The Year 9s and Year 10s in Te Whare Māori enjoyed an end of year Teina Day on Wednesday 16th October.
This was an opportunity to celebrate their learning of the Māori Language and Te Ao Māori. The students had lots of fun participating in a range of activities including Mau Rākau, Ki-o-rahi and Māori traditional games. Kia kaha te Reo Māori!
Young Enterprise Regional Awards Update
On Tuesday night the Young Enterprise Regional Awards were held at the Papamoa Surf Club.
There were 20 teams from the Western Bay of Plenty region that completed all the challenges for the year and the top 5 finalists (plus a Rotorua Region school) pitched for a place in the National Finals in December.
We had ReelClean (Harleen Bains, Jazmin Howan, Kaitlyn Napier, Gaia Bowers, Jake Sykes and Akshita Saxena) and Wandering Kiwi (Stevie Newton, Ella Griffin, Loralei Feist, Daniella Johnston, Eddie Couston and Holly Fitzgerald) both in the finals.
Both groups pitched extremely well and were unfortunate to not make the finals this year. Special mention to Wandering Kiwi as the only year 12 group to make the finals.
Other results for the evening:
Certificates of completion for all groups that completed the challenges:
Fruitfix
Whai Ako
Wise
ReelClean
Wandering Kiwi (Y12)
Bee-Wrapt (Y12)
Refuel Hydration (Y12)
Nutric Plus (Y12)
Best Product Presentation: Winner – T-Fusion (Whakatane High School)
Finalists: Whai Ako & Nutric Plus
Best Financials: Winner – Wandering Kiwi
Best Team Work: Winner – Tauranga Boys College & Finalists: Wandering Kiwi
Most Innovative: Winner – Bee-Wrapt
Community Benefit Award: Girls Pearls (Aquinas College)
Greatest Contributor: Winner – ReelClean & Finalists: Wandering Kiwi
Western Bay of Plenty Regional Winner: Flexibox (Aquinas College)
and lastly…
Western Bay of Plenty Regional Entrepreneur of the Year – STEVIE NEWTON (Y12)
Thank you to all of the staff who have helped and supported these students throughout the year. It has been greatly appreciated by all the staff and students involved.
