Ngaruawahia High School
Encyclopedia
Ngaruawahia High School is a state co-educational school situated in Ngaruawahia, New Zealand. The school was opened in 1963 and, as of Term 4 2009, the current principal is Whaea Robyn Roa.

The school typically hosts a Year 9-13 roll which fluctuates between 300 and 400 students each year and also provides learning opportunities to adult students.

Academic

The school offers NCEA
National Certificate of Educational Achievement
The National Certificate of Educational Achievement is, since 2004, the official secondary school qualification in New Zealand.It has three levels, corresponding to the levels within the National Qualifications Framework, and these are generally studied in each of the three final years of...

 courses to senior students and allows some students to study certain subjects by enrolling with The Correspondence School
The Correspondence School
Te Aho o Te Kura Pounamu or Te Kura is New Zealand's largest school with around 25,000 students enrolled each year, from early childhood to secondary level. It is headquartered in Portland Crescent in Thorndon, Wellington...

. The school is also affiliated with foreign student exchange programs
Student exchange program
A student exchange program generally could be defined as a program where students from secondary school or university choose to study abroad in partner institutions...

.

Ngaruawahia High School has signed up to the Te Kotahitanga programme, intended to improve the academic performance of Maori students.

Sports

The New Zealand football club Ngaruawahia United
Ngaruawahia United
Ngaruawahia United AFC is a semi-professional football club in Ngaruawahia, New Zealand. They are competing in the Lotto Sport Italia NRFL Division 2.Ngaruawahia United AFC play their home matches at Centennial Park.-Club history:...

 was formed in 1968 and is made up primarily of the teenagers attending the secondary school.

Ngaruawahia regatta

The school embraces the local regatta, a traditional preservance of New Zealand's history and Māori culture
Maori culture
Māori culture is the culture of the Māori of New Zealand, an Eastern Polynesian people, and forms a distinctive part of New Zealand culture. Within the Māori community, and to a lesser extent throughout New Zealand as a whole, the word Māoritanga is often used as an approximate synonym for Māori...

. An event is held every year in March on the Waikato River
Waikato River
The Waikato River is the longest river in New Zealand. In the North Island, it runs for 425 kilometres from the eastern slopes of Mount Ruapehu, joining the Tongariro River system and emptying into Lake Taupo, New Zealand's largest lake. It drains Taupo at the lake's northeastern edge, creates the...

.

Controversies

In March 2010, a 14 year old student at the school, Bronwyn Ormbsy-Ward, was assaulted by at least three girls. The attack happened outside school grounds, and video footage was wildly circulated. After viewing the footage, Bronwyn's mother laid a complaint with police.

In August 2011, a 17 year old and her friend were refused use of school toilets at interval
Interval
Interval may refer to:* Interval , a range of numbers * Interval measurements or interval variables in statistics is a level of measurement...

, after finding all other toilets in the school locked. They were also denied use of staff room
Staff room
A staff room is a room in a primary school, middle school, high school, college and/or university where the teachers and/or school staff talk to each other, discuss work, eat, drink and socialise...

 toilets. Upon returning to the staff room to 'beg' to use the toilets, they were told "there's a bush out there."
Principal Robyn Roa, who introduced the strict policy, later apologised. The girl's mother, who is writing a complaint to the school's board, said that an apology was not enough, calling the staff 'immature' and 'pathetic'.

2011 Electronic devices ban

In March 2011, mainly in response to the attack of former student Bronwyn Ormbsy-Ward, of which a video was widely circulated, principal Robyn Roa introduced a ban on all electronic devices, which includes cellphones and iPods.

She also said the prevalence of violence among young girls was a worrying trend and was unsure whether it was because they were prone to gossip or whether it was a cultural shift.

Notable alumni

  • Shaun Kenny-Dowall
    Shaun Kenny-Dowall
    Shaun Kenny-Dowall is a professional rugby league footballer for the Sydney Roosters in the National Rugby League competition. He primarily plays in the centres.-Early years:...

     - Sydney Roosters
    Sydney Roosters
    The Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Eastern Suburbs of Sydney. The club competes in the National Rugby League and is one of the oldest and most successful clubs in Australian rugby league history, having won twelve New South Wales Rugby League...

     and New Zealand Kiwis
  • Jacinda MacDonald - Royal NZ Army Medical Corps, member of the New Zealand Order of Merit
    New Zealand Order of Merit
    The New Zealand Order of Merit is an order established in 1996 "for those persons who in any field of endeavour, have rendered meritorious service to the Crown and nation or who have become distinguished by their eminence, talents, contributions or other merits."The order includes five...


External links

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