Heads Up: Waiopehu College students enjoy their sports

Waiopehu College has 12 Year 11 students participating in the Puhoro, a programme run through Massey University to encourage students who whakapapa Māori to seek careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

By Guy Reichenbach, principal

Kia ora Koutou, talofa lava, greetings to everyone.

Term 1 has started with the usual flurry of beginning of year activities. Athletics day, always a term1 highlight, saw Blackwater dominate the track and field.

Well done to all our student leaders who worked hard to motivate their houses into events. Other interhouse competitions that have already been held are tug o’ war, and touch rugby. Currently Blackwater lead the points table, however with many competitions still on the horizon, it’s early days.

We look forward to the competitions that are planned before the end of the term (decorate your tutor group door, basketball, spelling bee, and cross-country).

Congratulations to our team of athletes who competed at Missa, the regional athletics competition held on Friday, March 8. All of our athletes showed sportsmanship and determination in their events. Congratulations to Messiah Murray who won his long jump event, and placed in high jump, and to Courtney Fitzgibbon who won the 3000m event.

Waiopehu College waka ama teams competed at regional competitions in the Wairarapa, where the boys J19 were narrowly pipped to earn second place, and our J19 girls came in third.

Last week also saw our waka ama teams compete at regional competitions in the Wairarapa. The boys J19 were narrowly pipped to earn second place, and our J19 girls came in third in turns. We wish them well in the upcoming national championships next week.

Also at the national summer tournament will be our volleyball teams, again best wishes for your competition. Further congratulations to Cole Campbell and Isabelle Paroli who are heading to London late July to take part in an international STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) Science programme. This is a huge honour and we look forward to hearing about their experiences.

It was a privilege to attend the pōwhiri for our students who have been accepted into another STEM initiative, Puhoro. This programme run through Massey University looks to encourage students who whakapapa Māori to seek careers in the STEM fields. We have 12 Year 11 students who are participating in the exciting opportunity.

Waiopehu College students took part in the Peace Run.

I was proud to see our students taking part in the Peace Run earlier in this term. The Peace Run aims to promote world peace, the torch has been carried by a number of important people over time, from Mother Teresa to Richie McCaw. Given current international tension the message that “peace begins with me” was pertinent to the students involved.

Over the weekend of March 23 and 24 we have a small group of staff and students involved in Relay for Life in Palmerston North. I wish this group well in their endeavour to raise money for the Cancer Society.