 Term 3 Issue 3 |
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Kia ora e te whānau ō Whangaparāoa
Our school is a hive of activity at the moment, with learners engaged in numerous activities inside and outside the classroom. From engineering competitions, to sports, to performance on stage, the accomplishments of our learners in the last few weeks have been immense. As parents, I strongly encourage you to have conversations with your young person about taking up the opportunities on offer. It doesn't have to be after school or a financial cost, as we have in excess of 30 clubs and activities happening during the school day.
Our recent visit from the Education Review Office (ERO) was an incredibly proud moment in the life of our school. Whilst we eagerly await the formal report, the initial feedback was that our school is Excelling in at least half of the key measures, placing us at the top end of school performance across the country. Specifically noted were the excellence in Governance and Leadership, our Learner Support offerings, the clear curriculum pathways for all learners, and that every learner has access to sound pastoral care systems. It is only appropriate that I acknowledge the work of our entire staff, not only for the ERO visit, but for the work they do to support our community on a daily basis.
Our performing artists have been representing us so well recently. The HIWA Dance Showcase was a ‘full house’ in our Auditorium, and our Bronze Medal winning Concert and Big Bands performed exceptionally well at the KBB Music Festival. Congratulations to you all. They continue next week with the MusicFest next Thursday. If you haven't seen a music performance of our learners, I strongly encourage you to get along to this one.
We also wish our Kapa Haka learners all the best as they participate in the Tū Māiā Festival at Ōrewa Beach School on 29 September.
Sport continues to excel also. Our Senior Girls Hockey team has completed their season winning their league, and this weekend our Youth 15 Rugby team plays in their final at North Harbour Stadium. Good luck to them. Next week our Premier Netball team and Senior Rugby League team compete at the National Secondary Schools tournaments while our Senior Football team also competes at their tournament. We wish them all the best of luck.
Our Juniors are also in action in the upcoming weeks, with our largest ever contingent of teams and individuals heading to Tauranga to compete in AIMS games. With over 120 learners heading away to represent us, we know that you will play hard and play fair. A huge thank you to coaches, Managers, and volunteers for the fundraising and support you do to make this a reality for our learners.
We must not forget the main reason our learners are here, and that's to get their academic results. Our senior learners have their Derived Grade Exams in the next few weeks, and our learners sitting the Co-requisite Literacy and Numeracy exams are finishing off their preparations. For all learners, though, they must continue to be engaged in all of their learning and be revising thoroughly in their own time, as this is now the real pointy end of the year.
Ngātahi, Whakapono, Tutuki - Together, Believe, Achieve
Steve McCracken
Tumuaki | Principal |
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August21 Photolife - Sports / Groups
22 Photolife - Sports / Groups
Book Character Dress-up Day
26 Full School House Day
28 MusicFest Concert September01 Numeracy Co-Requisite
03 Literacy Co-Requisites
04 - 12 Whangaparāoa College Derived Exam Week (Seniors)
10 Wig Wednesday
15 Year 12 & 13 rostered home
16 Year 11 rostered home
17 Year 10 rostered home
18 Year 9 rostered home
19 Term 3 Ends |
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Recent News
Partial Strike DaysLast Wednesday, we were advised between 15 September and 18 September there will be a series of partial strikes.
The partial strikes have rotating year levels required to stay home.
Monday, 15 September - Year 12 & 13
Tuesday, 16 September - Year 11
Wednesday, 17 September - Year 10
Thursday, 18 September - Year 9 | |  |
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Book Character Dress-up DayLearners are encourages to come to school dressed as their favourite book character this Friday, 22 August.
Learners not dressing up as a book character must be in full school uniform. | |  |
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Whangaparāoa College Exam TimelineTo help you and your child prepare, here is the upcoming exam timeline for Whangaparāoa College.
Monday, 1 September
NCEA Numeracy Co-requisite Exam- Learners who are sitting this exam will receive an email this week with more details.
- All other learners will attend their regular, timetabled classes.
Tuesday, 2 September
Regular Classes- All learners will attend their normal, timetabled classes.
Wednesday, 3 September
NCEA Literacy Co-requisite Exams- This includes two separate exams: one for Reading and one for Writing.
- Learners who are sitting these exams will receive an email this week with more details.
- All other learners will attend their regular, timetabled classes.
Thursday, 4 – Friday, 12 September
Derived Exams- This applies to all learners in Years 11–13.
- Learners only need to come to school in their full school uniform for their scheduled exams or to complete portfolios.
- On days they do not have an exam, learners should stay home to study
Click here to view the live Exam schedule. Please check this document on a regular basis as this may change.
Year 11 - 13 learners and their whānau will receive an email this week with more detail.
Goodluck to all our learners! | |  |
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Photolife |
EnviroGroupAnother massive planting effort a couple of weekends ago in the wetland below the school resulted in 2100 native plants planted by over 60 amazing volunteers. So, that’s over 5000 native trees and shrubs planted this year at the college that will go on to create healthy habitats for our native taonga, and a beautiful natural space for the community. After the mahi, we enjoyed an awesome barbeque and coffee made by the L3 Food learners and donated by Restore Hibiscus and Bays.
HUGE thanks to Rural Design and Restore Hibiscus and Bays for the plants and spades, Mrs van Achterburgh and her team of learners for the kai, Mr Graham and Kiwi Scaffolding for the planks for the bridge, the team of Conservation Volunteers who gave up their Sunday morning to help out, and anyone who planted 1 or 100 trees.
If you missed out this time, we meet every month (first Sunday) from 9am-11am to weed the plantings, tackle invasive plants, and get ready for future plantings.
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Welcome to our new Careers AdvisorWe are delighted to introduce Tara Heta, our new Careers Advisor!
Tara brings over 20 years of experience in education and is passionate about helping students discover their strengths and navigate their future career paths. She joins us at Whangaparāoa College as our new Careers Advisor.
Her extensive background includes roles as Head of Department – Careers at a large Auckland secondary school, where she has developed and led comprehensive career education programmes, implemented digital platforms such as Career Central and CareerWise, and championed initiatives supporting Māori and Pasifika learners. She has successfully managed STAR, Gateway, and Trades Academy programmes, while also supporting students through one-on-one and group counselling.
A committed lifelong learner, she holds a Diploma in Career Guidance (Distinction) and is a member of CDANZ, CATE, and ACATE, where she also serves as the North Shore Representative. Her recent professional development includes micro-credentials in AI in Careers Advising, Digital Skills for the Workplace, and ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy).
Please join us in giving Tara a warm welcome! | |  |
Careers UpdateHere to help!
The Careers Department is available to help learners with questions about life after school. Our new team has a wide range of expertise to help with whatever direction a student may be considering. Use SchoolBridge to make an appointment, we look forward to helping our learners navigate their future!
Leaving School Magazine
A free guide to study and career options for senior high school students.
Check out the July 2025 online issue
Thinking about studying at AUT or UoA
Year 13 learners considering university in 2026 or 2027 should check out the open days on Saturday, 30 August.
Click here for more details
We also have course planning sessions next week:
AUT on Monday 25th &
University of Auckland on Wednesday 26th.
More details in the daily notices. | |  |
SavYOur Year 7 learners had an exciting and practical experience this week at a financial literacy workshop. The session, run by SavY, a fantastic charity led by University of Auckland students, was all about building smart money skills.
Learners dived into the world of personal finance by learning how to budget to save up for something they really want, like a concert. They also got a better understanding of how interest works and discovered the different types of bank accounts available to them.
The SavY team was enthusiastic and knowledgeable, making the workshop an engaging way for our learners to learn these valuable, real-world skills. | |   |
Te Whare Hauora Tips |
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KBB Music FestivalAt this year's KBB Music Festival, held from 11 to 16 August 2025 at Holy Trinity Cathedral in Auckland, young musicians from across the region came together to showcase their talents in secondary school orchestras, concert bands, jazz ensembles, and more.
In a remarkable display of skill and dedication, both our Concert Band and Big Band earned Bronze awards. This is a significant achievement—demonstrating not just musical competence, but also the hard work, perseverance, and teamwork required to excel in such a competitive and prestigious festival.
Well done to both ensembles for proudly representing our school and earning well-deserved recognition.
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