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Highlights from 2024
ACADEMIC HIGHLIGHTS
- Our literacy and numeracy end of year results - 86% of students achieving at or above expected levels for mathematics compared with 84% of students in 2023, 91% of students achieving at or above expected levels for reading compared with 87% of students in 2023 and 77% of students achieving at or above expected levels for writing which is the same as 2023
- 98% of students achieving at or above expected levels for science focused inquiries
- Continued production of the Otatara School News broadcasts planned and filmed by the very talented Mānuka roving reporters
- 10 students attended the one day gifted school - enrich@ILT
- 12 students participated in the Chess Power NZ chess tournament at Waihopai School
- 13 students participated in the Chess Power tournament at Salford School
- Pride Awards earned this year – 18 bronze, 16 silver, 5 gold and 5 teal
- Science Awards earned this year - 2 Science Explorer and 2 Advanced Science Explorer
- Strengthening our connection with our local environment through weekly visits to the reserve, nature journaling and utilising opportunities to be involved with and contribute to our local area such as junior school planting in conjunction with the Otatara Landcare at Bushy Point
- NZAS Southland Science and Technology Fair - the senior team entered 13 different projects and earned 14 awards
- Four Year 5 and four Year 6 students competing in the EIS Technology Challenge
- Rachel Thompson from Kids Greening Taupō visited and worked with teachers and students over a week inspiring exploration in the Scenic Reserve
SPORTING AND CULTURAL HIGHLIGHTS
- Year 6 Beach Education Safety day at Oreti Beach
- Whole school Matariki Celebration with our community – classrooms opened for us to share ngā toi, kemu and pūrākau with whanau
- Whole school performed in Murihiku Polyfest at ILT Stadium Southland
- Choir performance in the ILT Sing Out production “Stage and Screen”
- 12 students represented the school at the Southland Orienteering championships at Fosbender Park
- Classes took part in the Waihopaitaka (learning about local pūrākau/stories through games) programme with our Waihopaitaka leaders
- NZ Playhouse Theatre performed The Reluctant Dragon
- Musician Bob Bickerton retold a number of pūrakau with taonga pouro - traditional Māori musical instruments
- Visit from NZ Storylines authors Des Hunt and Katie Furze
- Year 4 students were guests of Invercargill Books Alive for the New Zealand Book Award Tour
- Some students engaged in a poetry workshop with poet Cilla McQueen
- Lunch clubs with dance, drama, art, physics, drawing as some of the options
- School cross country with 39 students qualifying for the Kiwi Zones and 8 going on to participate in the Southland Cross Country
- Senior School Athletics – 50 students qualified for the Kiwi Zone with 19 of these students representing Kiwi Zone at the Southland Athletics
- 3 students competed in the Southland Swimming Champs
- Two teams entered in the Top Bike competition
- Senior school triathlon
- Physical Activity Leaders Programme (PALs) involving leaders from Years 4-6
- Whole school aquatics - seniors at Splash Palace and juniors in our swimming pool
- 8 students participated in Daniel’s lunchtime band
- 32 students were members of our school choir
- 18 students were members of our school dance group
- Music lessons were again offered by Daniel Monteath and drum, keyboard and guitar lessons by the Kennedy School of Music
- Levi Goodall performed mountain bike stunts at school for the students
- 14 different sporting codes were offered across the school for after school sport, coached and managed by parents and some secondary students or older students
- Kahikatea learning about local skinks and creating a safe lizard garden, and successfully attracting lizards to our kura
- Junior Sports Day
OTHER SCHOOL HIGHLIGHTS
- Building of our new outdoor stage kindly donated by the parent group
- 10 students participated in the Growing Stars Programme run by Chris Cole from Unique Minds (Lifting Literacy Aotearoa)
- Dr Cody Sanders from the USA came to work with the TPSR (Teaching Personal and Social Responsibility) group as a part of her research into our TPSR leadership programme
- Pōkākā and Tarata students conducted litter surveys of Noki Kaik beach, collecting 488 pieces in a 100 metre length area. An alarming 68% of the rubbish was plastic
- Donation of $750 to the school by Dr Johri, ex parent of the school
- Our Year 6 students who support the school in myriad of ways - before school reading, road patrol, sports shed, librarians, peer mediation
- Hato Hone St John’s Therapy Pet programme with Karen and Kobi
- Year 5/6 Leadership programme with 43 Level 1 leaders, 16 Level 2 Leader and 5 Level 3 Leaders
- Weekly outdoor classroom time in the reserve with teachers
- Tī Kōuka had 2 visits to view the South Sea Spray murals in the city centre as part of their Street Art inquiry which culminated in a collaboration with DEOW to create a beautiful mural on Pōkākā - Room 13
- Senior Team students visited the the Invercargill Working Mens Club to view the Science Fair entries
- Marine Metre Squared Survey completed by Tī Kōuka students
- Mrs Seager and Akapuka’s mahi with the school vegetable garden
- Support with our inquiries and investigations from Maurice Rodway, Bronwyn Graham, Jason Whyte (ILT elearning facilitator), Ben Febery, Lloyd Esler, DEOW, STEM facilitators - Mark and Andrew, Freshwater scientists and Rachel from Greening Taupo
- Cyber safety with John Parsons and Jason Whyte
- Ti Kōuka raising and releasing salmon and Kahikatea chicken and quail hatching
- Working with Constable Katie, our Police Education Officer on Keeping Ourselves Safe
- Participated in the National Earthquake Shake Out drill and visit from Civil Defence Earthquake Simulator
- Another successful Scholastic Book Fair with $5575 raised for library resources
- Mufti day - Brightest Outfit fundraiser for Embracing Hearts raised $400
- Mufti celebration fundraiser raised $345.70 for St John’s ‘Light the Way’
- $405 raised for Child Cancer with a Wacky Hair and Wig fundraiser
- $456 raised by students selling baking for KidsCan
- Visit from Harold and the Life Education Trust for the whole school
- Parent Support Group involvement in a range of initiatives, kai for special assemblies, Year 6 camp, sausage sizzles, calendar art, hot cross bun sales, pizza fundraiser, school uniform sales, movie night, school discos, playground upgrade fundraising
- Tremendous parent support with before school reading, classroom help, road patrol, school trips etc
- St John’s educator working in classes exploring first aid responses including the stable side position - previously known as the recovery position
- All teachers and classes continued to engage in mathematics learning supported by ongoing professional development facilitated by Rob Profitt- White
- We welcomed Hannah Winder a Wellbeing and Support volunteer to our school
- Kennedy School of Music lessons available to students
- School wide Outreach Singing and whole school participation in the Sing Thing event at ILT Stadium Southland
- Miles our Chatbus counsellor visiting our school once a week
- All classes engaged in the Sir John Kirwan Foundation mental wellbeing programme Mitey
- School haka competition - Ponga and Tarata the winners!
- Year 6 road patrol students participated in Orange Parade to celebrate their role in the School Patrol
- Year 6 students participated in the Mitre 10 Mega Invercargill Tough Kids day
- PETS and PASSIONS Day, with 115 pets, 346 passion’s and 50 gold medals presented
- White Ribbon Riders visited with their motorbikes to spread the message of being kind
- School News article - we featured in the School News magazine celebrating the special place that we all learn and play in
- Second Year Otago University College of Education students visited to teach students in Tī Kōuka science
- Some students shared their scientific knowledge with a group of visiting delegates from the New Zealand Biosecurity Conference
- Pool Party to celebrate the new cladding and refurbishment of our school pool
- Allan Brodie a grandparent of the school visiting from Nelson taught volleyball skills to the senior students
- We celebrated our mahi with Book Week, Maths Week, NZ Music Month and Māori language week
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