Stratford High Times

Kia ora koutou,

As the cooler weather arrives, it certainly feels like winter. Our winter sports programme is well underway. Winning is important—but never at the expense of sportsmanship. It is great to see so many of our students, parents, and coaches behaving as role models, giving their best, and coming off the field or court having enjoyed the experience.

We have a responsibility to address behaviour that doesn’t meet this expectation. We want all participants to come away having enjoyed their sporting experience—because that’s what keeps them in the game. Thank you to everyone supporting the winter sports programme.

I am currently reading a book about the concept of Learnership. At the heart of every thriving school is a simple but powerful question: “Are we solving a teaching problem or a learning problem?” This distinction, drawn from the book, has recently resonated with me—and I believe it has real implications for how we grow as a school community.

We often default to asking, “How can we teach this better?” We redesign the lesson, change the textbook, or add more scaffolding. While these are significant in a thriving school, they can miss the deeper issue. Instead, what if we asked, “How can we help students learn better?”

John Hattie, an influential New Zealand education researcher, once wrote that students account for 50% of the variance in achievement. What students bring to the table predicts success more than any other factor. It’s a subtle but profound shift—it encourages us to see students as active participants in their learning journey, not just recipients of knowledge.

We must value education, and we must show our students that we value it. School represents a small, yet significant, part of our lives—but if done right, it can set us up to excel in the world. Setting our children up for success every day matters. If they are ready to learn, higher achievement follows.

We are at a crucial stage in our school year. Students need to ensure they are demonstrating excellence in all they do.

At the end of Week 8, we farewell Ms Kelly Jennings, our Deputy Principal – Pastoral and School Organisation. We wish her well in her new role at Sacred Heart Girls’ College. Miss Kelly Rawcliffe has stepped into the Senior Leadership Team for the remainder of the year while we find a replacement.

We also wish Julie Bland, Jasmine Vincent, and Katie Jones all the best as they leave us at the end of the term. We look forward to welcoming Murray Elgar (Mathematics) and Gareth Campbell (Science) in Term 3.

Go and be great!

Cameron Stone

Principal

Regular school attendance is vital for learning, social development, and overall wellbeing. As we enter the winter, there will naturally be times when it is appropriate for tamariki to stay home and recover from illness.

However, minor symptoms do not always require time away from school. Below is a link to information that will help parents and caregivers decide when it is okay to send their child to school, when they should keep them at home, and when they should contact a health professional for advice.

Knowing if your child is well enough to go to school – Ministry of Education

In Week 3 the Year 12 and 13 Geography classes travelled to the Central North Island to collect some valuable data around vegetation in volcanic environments. Students travelled around Mt Ruapehu and measured plant height and type, as well as some factors which may have contributed to the differences they observed. An awesome few days with a great group of students.

As part of their current unit of work to help them learn about New Zealand, ESOL students went to Puke Ariki Museum for an interactive session Tangata Moana, Tangata Whenua - People of the ocean, people of the land. Students got to look at waka, hoe (paddles), hue (gourds), matau (fishhooks), and taonga pūoro (instruments) and learned about the significance of each item and their roles in daily life and cultural practices.

Justin Salisbury won a scholarship to go on a German Immersion Weekend at the Goethe Institut. He spoke German all weekend (Englisch war verboten!) and learned lots about German language and culture, while working with other German students from across New Zealand. Das war wunderbar!

The students from Te Rangimārie have been making the most of the lovely autumn weather to get out and about. In the past couple of weeks we have been to the Stratford Fire Station, the Pioneer Village and the library getting to explore our local community. One of our students, Manny goes to the Pioneer Village one day each week for work experience and we were all able to join him and have a ride on the train. Thanks to John Campbell from the Pioneer Village for making this possible. We have also had the wonderful experience of going to TSSSA bocce - which is a form of indoor bowls. It was great catching up with friends from other schools whom we had previously met at other TSSSA events. The trip to the fire station was an exciting opportunity to learn about fire safety and sit in the fire truck! Thanks to Mr Chris Linders from the Stratford Fire Brigade for this opportunity. Our students have been busy in our classroom too. Lots of learning has been taking place and when it is time for a break, students enjoy our new trampoline.

Congratulations to all the students who excelled in our summer sports programme! We recently acknowledged their achievements at our Summer Sports Assembly.

Four students—Cohen Jones, Silas Blance, Taryn Ranclaud, and Archie Hart—performed two original songs as the band Salt Upon Wounds at the Taranaki regional final of the national Rockquest competition on Friday, 23rd May, held at TSB Showplace in New Plymouth.

Some of our tauira Māori recently had the opportunity to take part in an education workshop alongside secondary students from around the rohe, held in Inglewood. The organisers were impressed by how engaged, motivated, and confident our Stratford High tauira were. They showed initiative, actively participated, and stepped up to take leadership roles across the various workshops.

We might be seeing some budding future teachers in the making!

If you're interested in exploring a career in education or other pathways, consider signing up for Whyora programs. These are designed to empower Māori career and employment aspirations, so our whānau can flourish.

👉 Learn more and register here: WhyORA | Empowering Māori career and employment aspirations

On Thursday 15th May, the Maori Future Student Advisor from Victora University came to speak to all of our tauira Maori about the Māori student experience at university, different scholarship and accommodation opportunities, the Māori specific support services available, and for them to get a taste of what university might look like. They key message for our tauira Maori was that there is a space for them at university. Our students were engaged and interested in the study opportunities and university life. The hope is that it ignites a spark inside our junior students to pursue a pathway towards university, and that our senior students who don’t intend to go straight to university know that the door is always open at a later date if they change their mind.

We had the pleasure of playing with Micro:Bits and Maqueen Robots in an interactive programming and robotics session run by Waikato University. Students learned about Microsoft Make Code and explored different blocks to make robots do a range of interactive actions using sensors and motors.

Students were introduced to engineering study options at Waikato University and explored a variety of careers in engineering. As part of the session, they worked in pairs to complete a hands-on task related to the field.

We’re excited to announce a new initiative in partnership with Ravensdown to support our students interested in agriculture.

A big thank you to Ravensdown and their local team for investing in the future of farming at Stratford High School. We’ll be sharing more updates on our Facebook page and in upcoming newsletters.

We’re thrilled to announce that Stratford High School has once again received generous funding from New Zealand Carbon Farming for 2025. The school has been granted $5,000 + GST to support students who face financial barriers to participating in sport.

This funding helps cover costs such as sports fees, equipment, travel, and other essential support—ensuring more of our students can stay active and involved. Special thanks to New Zealand Carbon Farming for their continued commitment to our young athletes.

We look forward to seeing the positive impact this support will have on our students in the year ahead!

Just letting you know about Ethan achievements over the past weekend.

Ethan competed at the National Powerlifting Age Group Championship held in Hamilton on the weekend of the 24-25 May.

He competed in the SubJunior U83kg category defending his title from last year and took 1st place with an impressive 645kg Total across the 3 lifts - squat, bench and deadlift.

He was also award the Best Overall Sub-junior Male for NZ.

Our talented Caleb White continues to achieve great things—he’s off to both the Oceania BMX Championships and the BMX World Championships in 2026. An amazing effort, Caleb—well done!

Congratulations to our Under-16 Taranaki Hockey representative players. This is an outstanding achievement and a testament to your commitment to being the best you can be — excellence!

Lucas Watson

Mitchell Walsh

Jacob Larsen

Georgia Payne

Lily Single

Leah Smith

Holly Topless

On Saturday, 24th May 2025, Clare and her pony Wendy competed in the loveracing.nz Pony Scurry Series—a fast-paced and exciting pony race held across New Zealand for young riders passionate about the horse racing community.

Clare and Wendy delivered an outstanding performance, placing 2nd in a competitive field of 7 horse-and-rider combinations. This marks their biggest achievement together, a milestone made even more special by their three-year partnership.

In a post-race interview, Clare shared her excitement and pride:

"I couldn't have asked for a better race. She put everything she had into it. She led most of the way but just didn't have enough speed at the end to catch the other horse. I'm so very proud of her—she’ll definitely be getting lots of treats tonight!"

Congratulations to Clare and Wendy on a fantastic result and for showcasing incredible teamwork, heart, and determination.

We are currently looking to expand and improve the resources available in our metal department, and we would greatly appreciate your support. If you have any old or unused tools at home—especially metalworking tools—you would be willing to donate, they could be put to excellent use by our students.

In particular, we are also on the lookout for a welding table, if anyone happens to have one they no longer need.

If anyone has any newspapers lying around home that is not needed, the science lab would love to take them off your hands.

Please be mindful and refrain from parking in the disability parking spaces unless you have a valid disability card. These spaces are reserved for those who need them most, ensuring accessibility for people with mobility challenges. Thank you for your understanding and cooperation.

The Kamar portal has been updated and can be accessed at https://stratfordhigh.school.kiwi/ This will be further developed this term and will eventually include features such as payments, course selection etc. More details will follow about this in due course.

Please inform the school office of any student achievements so that we can join in celebrating with them.

If your student has changed a subject please let Mrs Terry know via email so the statement can be adjusted to reflect the changes STerry@stratfordhigh.school.nz

There are a variety of ways that you can make payments to cover school costs. The main office receives cash and EFTPOS payments and you can also pay online via direct credit. Parents can also set up an automatic payment to cover schooling costs. When setting up the automatic payment, consider a minimum payment of $15.00 per week, which is sufficient to pay for all school, curriculum and sport costs for a student during the year.

Payments will be automatically applied to “required payments”. Subsequent payments will sit as a credit on the student’s account. If you would like to have payments allocated to the “voluntary payments”, please email ts@stratfordhigh.school.nz with the details.

You can set this up by either using your bank’s online banking services or downloading the Automatic Payment Authority form and taking this to your bank. Please remember to use the students’ name for any payments.

Have you moved recently? Have you changed your phone number or email address recently? Please fill out the following form to advise us of your new details. Also fill out this form if you have not been receiving emails from the school. There are a number of families who we don't currently have an email address for.

It is very important we have the correct information for your child in case there is an emergency and we need to contact you immediately. If any contact details change throughout the year please let the school office know.

See below for instructions to provide feedback on the Health and Safety Management policy.

1. Visit the website Stratford HS Policies and Procedures (schooldocs.co.nz)
2. Enter the username (stratfordhigh) and password (swansearoad4332)
3. Click on the tab for current review and it should show you the latest policies for review.
4. Read the policy.
5. Click the Policy Review button at the top right-hand corner of the page.
6. Select the reviewer type "Parent".
7. Enter your name (optional).
8. Submit your ratings and comments.
9. If you don't have internet access, school office staff can provide you with printed copies of the policy and a review form.

As we progress through the year, remember to check your son's or daughter's results on the Kamar app or portal: https://stratfordhigh.school.kiwi/ If you have any questions, please contact the subject teacher in the first instance.

- Dr. Michael Taylor

Deputy Principal (Curriculum)

Our Charter is now available to view on our website. The charter sets the direction for our school and identifies our priorities as a school community.

The Stratford High School Policies and Procedures are managed online, through School Docs. To visit our School Docs, click here.

Our school username is: stratfordhigh

Our parent password is: swansearoad4332

You will find policies for review and more information about the review process under the "Current Review" tab. We welcome your feedback via this review process.

The Public Health Nurse will be at school one day every week for any health needs. Clinic is confidential and free.

• Health and hauora (wellbeing checks)
• General health concerns
• Contraception
• Condoms and pregnancy tests
• STI checks and the morning after pill

To book an appointment, see the school office reception or contact the Public Health Nurse, Anne Jonas on 027 204 1134 or email anne.jonas@tdhb.org.nz

Please see the office staff if a hearing or vision test is required.

Please find below key contacts for staff at school.

Senior Leadership Team

Principal: Mr Cameron Stone

Deputy Principal Curriculum: Dr Michael Taylor

Deputy Principal Pastoral and School Organisation: Ms Kelly Jennings

Assistant Principal/Academic achievement: Ms Allana George

Principal's PA: Mrs Joe Mack

School Board Secretary: Mrs Amanda Hill

Principal's Nominee

For all enquiries regarding NZQA or Te Kura

Mr Dirk Vermeulen: extension 707 or email

Deans for 2025

Year 9: Mrs Alison Wright

Year 10: Ms Kelly Rawcliffe

Year 12: Mr Bill McGeoch

Year 13: Mrs Lucy Gibbon

Guidance Counsellor: Ms. Liza Albers

Learning Support Coordinator: Mrs. Lisa Dent

For all other enquires please contact the school office 06 765 6039

Email: mail@stratfordhigh.school.nz
Website: www.stratfordhigh.school.nz
Location: Stratford High School Swansea Road, Stratford, New Zealand
Phone: 06-7656039
Facebook: facebook.com/SHSTaranaki

Instagram: @shstaranaki @heart_SHS @shs_SADD_team

Thursday 19 June - Mufti Day - proceeds going to SHS Netball Touring Team

Friday 20 June - Matariki Holiday

Monday 23 June - Teacher Only Day
Thursday 26 June - Year 8 Open Evening 5-7pm

Friday 27 June - Last day of Term 2

Our uniquely designed sponsorship programme has provided over $2 million of resources to more than 700 rural schools in the last fifteen years.

We are pleased to advise that Stratford High School has reached Ferns' Fuel for School programme's threshold for redemption.

The current total is $1477.21.

Just a reminder of how SHS has received this donation - SHS has been nominated by a local business/farm that receives bulk fuel deliveries from Fern, meaning that for every 100 litres of bulk fuel they purchase, 50 cents is donated to SHS. We would like to take the time to mention who those members of the community are that have contributed to SHS. They are listed as follows:

• Amberhay Limited - Finnerty Road
• Western Heights Partnership
• G & M Collins Family Trust
• Makino Deer Limited
• Palmerdell Trust 91 Only
  
• Palmerdell Trust AGO only
• Palmerdell Trust
• Cornwall Park Farms Limited
• WE & JJ Craig
• GN & RL Smith Trusts Partnership
  

Rural communities and schools everywhere can enjoy the benefits of the Fuel for Schools programme. For more information about the programme, call 0800 99 99 89 or visit their website fernenergy.co.nz/community/fuel-for-schools