INSIGHTS
A newsletter brought to you by Southland Girls’ High School
VOL. 8,
7 AUGUST 2015
Stories in this newsletter
Kumagaya Visitors
Youthmark Awards
Senior Exams
Tena Koutou
Exciting things happen as part of every day at SGHS. Girls continue to
achieve in so many ways. This newsletter, I’d like to highlight the
achievements of two of the adults in our community.
Firstly, Karen Purdue, a current Board Member.
Karen was recently appointed as the Rotary District Governor for the lower
South Island (Waimate South). To be in this role is indeed a great
achievement and a real credit to Karen herself. At a special luncheon in
her honour, the other Board Members, the Deputy Principal and I listened in awe as Karen
spoke passionately and articulately of the importance of the need to genuinely care for all
New Zealanders; and of her desire to ensure that child poverty and abuse, youth suicide,
domestic violence and the demise of the family, and New Zealand’s unhealthy drinking
culture, are eliminated. She is indeed a Rotarian with a strong social conscience and a
commitment to make a difference in the lives of people. We are very proud of Karen and
wish her well in her new role.
Another special person in our school community is Miss Erin Pickering.
Recently Miss Pickering performed in the New Zealand Opera Madam Butterfly in
Christchurch.
Her beautiful Mezzo-soprano voice is well known locally. However it is a rare achievement
for someone to be selected for a role at the New Zealand level. Mrs Melvin and I flew to
Christchurch last weekend to hear Miss Pickering sing. It was a breath-taking and beautiful
performance in Italian, and which can only be described as one of life’s memorable
moments. So, well done to you Miss Pickering. We are all very proud of you.
Yvonne Browning
Principal
INSIGHTS
PG 2
PG
Parenting Teenagers and
Living to Tell the Tale!
Lead by Margaret Ross, Adolescent Behaviour Consultant.
Come to a two hour workshop on practical skill training with
discussion opportunities in a teenage free environment, and
leave wishing you were going home to double the number of
teenagers in your house!!
 Spot the difference between normal and worrying
teenager behaviour
 Learn to negotiate, to problem solve, set and carry
out consequences with those in your house who either
shout at you or are not talking to you any more!!
 Experience the opportunity to network with other
parents
Monday 10th August 2015, 7.00-9.00pm
SGHS Staffroom
To book your place:
Email [email protected]
$5 Entry
INSIGHTS
PG 3
Learning Languages @ SGHS
Southland Japanese Speech Competition
On Thursday 2nd July Southland Girls’ hosted the annual Southland Interschool Japanese
Speech Competition. 63 students from Years 7-13 took part in the competition with the
younger students performing role-plays in Japanese, whilst the older students gave
speeches. Speech topics were set for Years 10-12 whilst Year 13 had an open topic.
Year 13 student Cara Leung gave a speech discussing the various reasons why Japanese
people wear face masks!
Akiko Harada, the National Japanese Advisor from Auckland came down to be the special
guest judge for the senior section of the competition. She was very impressed with the
quality of the speeches that she heard and the competition as a whole.
At the end of the competition, all of the participants got together and recorded a rendition
of the theme song to the Japanese animated movie ‘Ponyo’ which was a bit of fun for
everyone.
Special congratulations go to the following students who gained places in the competition.
Jessie Wynne First place in the Year 12 section
Shinal Chand Third equal in the Year 12 section
Cara Leung Third place in the Year 13 section
SGHS Participants in the 2015 Southland Interschool Japanese Speech Competition
Japanese Senior Interaction Afternoon
On the afternoon following the Japanese Speech Competition, senior students of
Japanese from throughout Invercargill got together to share lunch (kindly sponsored by the
Sawakawa Fellowship Fund) and spend the afternoon recording interactions
(conversations) for their NCEA Portfolios. This was an invaluable experience for everyone
to put their learning from Semester One into practice and take part in genuine
conversations with other Japanese learners.
INSIGHTS
PG 4
Ngā Manu Korero – By Teriwa Te Kani
On the 12th of June, we had the privilege of travelling up to Dunedin for the day to attend the
Ngā Manu Korero Speech competitions!
This year we had three speakers participating. They were Cheyenne McRae in the Junior
English Section, Aaliyah Te Whata in the Senior English Section and Katrina Pekepo in the
Senior Maori Section!
The first speeches of the day were the senior impromptus where Katrina and Aaliyah went
away and were put into a room before their speech. They were then given 5 minutes with a
pen and paper along with five different topics to choose from! They were then put on stage
and had to give a two minute speech.
The prepared speeches were much more relaxed where each girl performed their speech
that they had written!
Aaliyah’s topic was ‘Dream it, Believe it, Achieve it.’ This speech was a very good speech
encouraging us to believe in our dreams in order for us to achieve them.
Cheyenne’s topic was ‘The bucket list of an Adolescent.’ This was an amazing speech about
things that were on her bucket list, and the meaning behind each one.
Katrina’s topic was ‘Whakamanatia te reo tukua kia mate hauwarea noa ranei’. This speech
was about the value of the Māori language and how we could lose it if we don't use it.
A big massive congratulations to Cheyenne McRae who placed a close second in the Junior
English Section! Also congratulations to Aaliyah and Katrina who stood and delivered their
speeches, as it was a very close competition this year!
Japanese Trivia Champs
On Friday the 19th of June, the Inaugural
National Japanese Trivia Champs were
held at James Hargest College. This
event was organised by the New Zealand
Association of Japanese Language
Teachers especially for younger students
who are interested in Japan and its
culture. The competition was run with six
different sections each with ten questions
about Japanese daily life, customs and
culture. Southland Girls’ entered three
teams who all had lots of fun dressing up in Japanese costume and taking part in the quiz.
Term 3 Dates on the Languages Calendar:
27 July – 5 August
Kumagaya Girls’ High School Visit to SGHS
27 July – 3 August
Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori
16 - 22 August
International Languages Week
INSIGHTS
PG 5
SENIOR SCHOOL EXAMS
These are very important for your daughter. Not only will they help her understand where
she is at with her learning for NCEA exams, but they also are necessary if there is a reason
she cannot sit end of year exams. They will decide her grades if she misses an exam from
illness or family catastrophe.
Please encourage your daughter to set a study timetable and help her to stick with
it. Ensure she has a place to study which is quiet, cell phone, iPod, computer free...and
remind her that study is not reading over notes. She needs to be making notes, diagrams,
pictures from her school notes. Ask if you can help by listening to or testing her.
For help in study techniques your daughter can see her tutor teacher, her YLC or her
subject teachers. She can also access old exam papers and exemplars online. Again get
her to ask her teachers if she doesn't know how.
“There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, learning from
failure”. ~ General Colin Powell
SCHOOL EXAM TIMETABLE - MON 7TH TO FRI 11TH SEPTEMBER 2015
NCEA FEES are due to the office by
Friday 28 August
INSIGHTS
PG 6
COMMUNITY KOROWAI/
CLOAK PROJECT
There will be displays around the CBD
during the month of August.
Southland Girls’ students have a cloak made by Avante Garde students in Zookeepers
on Tay Street, and one from 7CW Language and Culture in Julie Bryce on Don
Street.
NOW is the time to try this sport. Basketball and netball have finished - well almostand the days are longer. If you give it a go now, you can be ready for the new
season. See Mrs Everett for details. A Sunday morning group has been set up
already.
We are waiting to hear how Michaela Townshend’s quad goes at the Junior World
Championships in Rio this week. They left with excellent prognostics and are expecting
to impress. Let us hope they beat the other 12 countries in that event.
Library
We have conducted a survey regarding the
use of our magazines. As very few of
them are being read or issued we are
reconsidering what we purchase.
Try the Mana magazine for articles. It is
excellent. We have a couple of copies
of Frankie for those who requested it and
we will continue with a Fashion magazine
and the NZ Geographic. Remember these
can all be issued and are valuable and
interesting resources.
INSIGHTS
PG 7
Talk @ Ten
It’s been a busy start to the term for our Year 10 students. Those students participating in the
International Cambridge classes have exams in the near future and are studying hard
preparing for these.
Many students have new classes for the semester. We have had a number of students
requesting to change classes/subjects due to no other reason than to be with friends. This is a
poor decision at best, and we would discourage this at all times. Should your daughter wish to
change classes, please ask her why. As year Level Co-ordinators, we are always here to help,
therefore please feel free to contact us regarding this type of issue.
At our recent assembly, we were pleased to award certificates in two areas: Principal’s
Awards for exemplary results and Whakatupu Ki Ti Hiranga Awards for striving towards
excellence. The names of those recipients are listed below:
Principal’s Awards
Bethan Madoc
Alex Whitney
Bree Thomas
Katelyn Sutton
Maison Gray
Mubashirah Nazia
Karen Roberts
Maegan Blom
McKenzie Smith
MacKenzie Flannery
Laura Dennis
Ella Smith
Paige Honeybone
Abby Gough
Rebecca peseta
Molly Haywood
Larni Farquharson
Charlotte Hopcroft
Abigail Lawrence
Grace Milne
Grace Parsons
Claudia Gilkison
Rebecca Reid
Amanda Robertson
Molly Donnelly
Whakatupu Ki te Hiranga Awards
Nataliah-Gypsy Drummond
Maiya Duthie
Amanda Robinson
Devon McKnight
Georgia McNaughton
Merean Herman
Shannarah Stronach
Reagan Waihape
We occasionally have students who are thinking of leaving our school for a co-ed educational
environment for their senior years at school. Researcher Victor Lavy at the Hebrew University
in Jerusalem and Analía Schlosser of Princeton University, studied results from eight cohorts
in 280 Israeli high schools, some 425,138 students and found the following. No matter which
way they measured it, they found that the higher the proportion of girls in a class, the better
the results for everyone.
"The positive female peer effect is related to a lower level of classroom disruption and
violence, improved inter-student and student-teacher relationships, as well as to an increase
in students' overall satisfaction with their school”. Research worth thinking about.
Brenda Goodwill and Carl Ereckson
Year 10 Year Level Co-ordinators
INSIGHTS
Sayonara
PG 8
During the last two weeks we have had the pleasure of a visit from
our Sister School— Kumagaya Saitama Girls’ High School.
Twenty students and two staff were hosted by our SGHS community for 10 days while
the girls experienced life as a Kiwi student, attended classes with their host sisters, and
had a day of adventure in Queenstown, capping off their stay with a visit to Mayor
Tim Shadboult.
Welcome Assembly
Track Cycling at the
Velodrome
Lessons with their Host Sisters
Mayoral Reception
Learning a Waiata with the
Senior Maori students,
which they performed at
the Farewell Assembly
INSIGHTS
PG 9
Our Netball Finals have come to an end and we have had another successful season.
This year we had 39 teams, 28 going through to the Semi Finals with all 5 Year 10 teams
making the Semi Finals. We then had 15 teams play in the final with the following results:
SGHS Senior B 47 St Marys All Stars 54
SGHS 9A Hargest Bronze 21
SGHS 10B 30 Verdon 10A 28
SGHS 9 B 27 JHC 9 A 22
SGHS 8 A 26 SGHS Diamonds 19
SGHS Dynamite 23 JHC 9 Red 19
SGHS 10 White 25 JHC Snr Green 20
SGHS 9 Lions 19 SGHS Twisters 16
SGHS 9 Dragons 8 JHC 9 Fushia 24
SGHS 8 Swifts 15 Woodlands A 8
SGHS 8 Magic 6 Aurora Mixed Yr 7/8 20
SGHS Steel 13 JHC 7 Yellow 4
SGHS 7 White 7 Bluff Rua 12
Thank you to all our coaches for your time and commitment to our teams this year.
Jacquelyn Bathurst taking a shot for 8 Steel
Taylor Roderick-Turnbull in action for 8 Swifts
During the July School Holidays our 9A and 10A Teams competed in the South Island Junior
Netball Championships
9A Results
v Kaiapoi SGHS won 26-21
v Rangi Ruru SGHS won 32-22
v Waitaki Girls SGHS won 32-30
v Columba SGHS won 30-23
v Ashburton SGHS lost 25-17
v Rangiora SGHS lost 27-18
v Craighead Diocesan SGHS won 16-13
Play off for 5th and 6th and lost to St Hildas 27-23
Congratulations to Emma Dermody who was selected in the Year 9 Talented players - only 10
were selected from 320 girls so that is a fantastic achievement.
10A Results
v St Andrew's SGHS won 49-23
v St Hilda's SGHS won 39-28
v Nelson Girls SGHS lost 30-28
v Christchurch Girls SGHS lost 25-19
v Ashburton SGHS won 33-29
v St Kevin's SGHS won 47-27
Play off for 9th and 10th and beat Cashmere 29-15
Great efforts from both teams with 32 teams in each grade
INSIGHTS
PG 10
We have two students who are preparing for World Junior Events and as Sports
Co-ordinator I have followed up with the girls in their preparation for their major
event. This is a fantastic achievement to represent your country at such a young
age. We wish both girls all the best. Natalie Avellino
A week in the life of Emma Cumming – World Junior Track Cycling Championships
Preparation
Over the past 9 days I’ve been up in
Cambridge Waikato, I would say sunny
Waikato but its feels like an Invercargill winter
up here at the moment.
I have been training with seven other cyclists
who are part of the 2015 Junior Track Cycling
Team heading to Astana, Kazakhstan.
Throughout this camp we are putting in the
final preparations for the World
Championships, we have done the block of our
training in our own home based centres. This
camp is all about putting the icing on the cake
and being together as a big family in such an
awesome team environment.
Throughout this camp we train twice daily, plus
recovery every night and team meeting
reflection on the days sessions, assessing tomorrow’s session plans. Every second night
we have a team activity where it’s Master Chef, Coaches Fear Factor or even just a team
movie.
Our training usually consists of in the morning we will either be out on the roads of
Cambridge doing a road ride or in the High Performance Gym lifting -doing our own
personal strength and condition program. In the afternoon from 1-4 we have our daily track
sessions, when we are given specific reps and sets from our Cycling New Zealand
coaches, with every session focusing on different aspects from speed, to power, to speed
endurance, to strength etc. We don’t just train, we have sessions with Nutritionists,
Physios, Masseurs, Drug Free Sport New Zealand, and a Sports Psychologist. We even
managed to have a day in sunny Mount Manganui where we had a relaxing time looking at
the amazing beach, enjoying great food, then we went tenpin bowling just for a little bit of
fun... let’s just say none of us will be becoming a professional tenpin bowler anytime soon.
With one more week left of camp in Cambridge before we head off to Kazakhstan it’s
getting to that serious time, time to knuckle down and focus. This camp has been very full
on so far and it’s been hard to balance everything from school work, training, to being in
contact with family and friends at home. But I can personally say I’m growing as a person
and doing what I love while looking forward to the awesome experiences and learning to
come. Not to mention fun times with best team mates I could ever ask for.
INSIGHTS
PG 11
A week in the life of Michaela Townshend, this was prepared two weeks ago and now
Michaela has departed for the World Junior Rowing Championships in Rio.
This is an average week that Michaela has had in her preparation.
Monday
6:30am-8:30 on the water training
We leave for school at 9:30am after showers and breakfast and get back to the lake for a
quick change and food by 2:40pm.
3:00-4:15pm in the gym doing weights
4:30-6:00pm on the water again
Then core strength and stretching.
Tuesday, Wednesday & Friday
6:30am till 8:30am on the water
School 9:30am till 2:30pm
3:00-5:30pm on the water
Core strength and stretching.
Thursday
School starts at 8:30am
Then gym for weights 3:00-4:15pm
4:00-6:00pm on the water
Core Strength and stretching.
Saturday
8:30-11:00am on the water- toughest and longest session of the week!!!
12:30-1:30pm sprint session on water
Sunday- SLEEP-REST-RECOVER
The workload is definitely a challenge, you have to be careful with your recovery so you can
be ready for the next session, and I think the brilliance of the program is that every training is
monitored, all distances and times are recorded.
We do a lot of set distance work and the times are used to compare us constantly to the world
best times, so we are constantly fighting for the inches to get the best prognostic time
possible, it helps to show progress and to keep us on our toes!
School work has also been challenging. The school day is short so it’s important to stay
focused, which is hard when you're tired! It's also a bit tricky because it's all self directed,
there are no teachers around, just the team in a classroom working on their own thing from
their own schools. We have had the opportunity to sit down with some teachers from
St Peter's and ask questions.
Upcoming Events—August
Thursday 6th
8A & 8B Netball Southland Tournament
Tuesday 11th
7A & 7B Netball Southland Tournament
Wednesday 19th
Triangular Exchange Otago Girls hosting SGHS and Waitaki Girls
Saturday 22nd
South Island Rugby Final – Christchurch
Monday 24th
Balmacewen Exchange Year 7 & 8 SGHS to host
31st – 4 Sept
Winter Tournament Week – Senior A Netball in Timaru, Senior A Hockey
in Invercargill, Senior A Football in Taupo
INSIGHTS
PG 12
To Our Youthmark Recipients for 2015
Hinewai
Collins
Jennifer
Forrest
Michaela
Townshend
Emma
Cumming
Amy
Strang
Lilly
Tomlins
Shreya
Bir
Sammy
Murrell