Otumoetai College is a high school in Tauranga

Tauranga

Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...

, New Zealand

New Zealand

New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...

, situated in the Bay of Plenty

Bay of Plenty

The Bay of Plenty , often abbreviated to BOP, is a region in the North Island of New Zealand situated around the body of water of the same name...

 province. Otumoetai College is a co-ed school revered for its strength in the sports of Volleyball

Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...

, Hockey

Hockey

Hockey is a family of sports in which two teams play against each other by trying to maneuver a ball or a puck into the opponent's goal using a hockey stick.-Etymology:...

, and Rowing

Rowing (sport)

Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...

. Otumoetai College was first opened and established in 1965 and had a student roll number of 206 students ranging from year 9 to year 13. Today the school roll is counted at approximately 1,970 students. “Otumoetai College is predominantly European with a significant Maori student population. Asians and others comprise 5% of the total student population.” (AA Education Network, 2008). The current Principal is Dave Randell who has been with Otumoetai College since 2001. Otumoetai College is the largest co-ed Secondary School in the Bay of Plenty district, other surrounding Secondary Schools in the Tauranga area include; Tauranga Girls College, Tauranga Boys College, Mount College, Aquinas College and Bethlehem College. Otumoetai is claimed to stand for “peaceful waters” implied by the peaceful surroundings and estuary within the Otumoetai area (Farthing, 2005 p1). Otumoetai College can be found on Windsor Road, Otumoetai, Tauranga

Tauranga

Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...

, within a 500 meter radius of both Otumoetai Intermediate

Otumoetai Intermediate

Otumoetai Intermediate is a co-ed Intermediate school situated in Tauranga, New Zealand. , it has a roll of 895 pupils....

 and Bellevue Primary School. At present the staffing numbers within Otumoetai College include 196 teachers, administration workers and caretakers. Senior Leadership within Otumoetai College is currently led by the Principal Dave Randell and the Deputy Principals, Bruce Farthing, Ricky Feutz, Phillipa Woodward, and Jude Brown (Otumoetai College, 2008a).

Mission Statement and Vision Statement

Otumoetai College has many aims and visions for the present as well as the future, in the way of education

Education

Education in its broadest, general sense is the means through which the aims and habits of a group of people lives on from one generation to the next. Generally, it occurs through any experience that has a formative effect on the way one thinks, feels, or acts...

, its staff as well as students. Otumoetai College’s mission statement is to “provide a quality broad-based, education that encourages high achievement, respects cultures and leads all students to experience personal and academic success” (Otumoetai College, 2008b, p3). The vision statement at Otumoetai College is to have an “environment where students are encouraged to take responsibility for their own independent learning and are motivated to be learners for life” (Otumoetai College, 2008b, p2).

History

Over the past 45 years Otumoetai College has seen many faces through its doors, including staff, past students and even their children today as the new era of students at Otumoetai College. Many things have changed at Otumoetai College within the past 45 years including the infrastructure, buildings, rules, teachers, styles and ways of teaching, classes and behaviors. Many rules or guidelines of the earlier days that have now changed include the idea that in previous years, as a sign of respect, “pupils are to stand when any staff member or visitor enters a room” (Farthing, 2005, p18). Other rules that have been changed over the years include the idea that no students are to arrive or be dropped off at the school before 8:15 every school morning also the rule that “lunch is to be eaten in specified lunch areas only” (Farthing, 2005, p18). The change in these and other rules has been brought about over the years due to the constant changing atmosphere and dynamics of not only the school but the staff members’ and students’ attitudes.

The history of the land that Otumoetai College resides on goes back many years to the turn of the 20th century, where the land was farmed by a young Englishman named Mr Tollemache (Farthing, 2005). From that day on Otumoetai College has under gone many changes in appearance, including the “opening of the swimming pool complex, which was a joint venture with the Tauranga City Council” in 1968 (Farthing, 2005, p26) as well as the long awaited completion of the library block in September 1968. 1977 was seen as a stressful year for Otumoetai College and especially Harold Webber who was apprehensive about the growing number of students at Otumoetai and the fact that the number of temporary on-site classrooms had risen to a deplorable twelve (Farthing, 2005).

Like numerous other schools around New Zealand 2002 was a big year in the way of changes to the educational standards. NCEA or National Certificate in Educational Achievement replaced School Certificate which led to a major disturbance with students, teachers and the unfamiliarity of the new concepts.

Today, Otumoetai College can be seen to prosper from the changes it has had in the past to become one of the top leading schools within New Zealand. Over the years it has seen its student roll increase to a colossal number, but has still managed to come out on top and continues to promote an environment in which “learning enlightens life” (Otumoetai College, 2008b, p1)

Otumoetai College Motto

The Otumoetai school motto is detailed within the school emblem which can be found not only on the uniform but within numerous places around the school. “It was designed by Mr F Graham and embodies three concepts” (Farthing, 2005, p1). The aphorism ‘Doctrina Vitam Illuminet’ means ‘let learning enlighten life’ and symbolises the idea that education is not only a process of gaining qualifications and going through your paces day by day in the effort to gain a job or career but “one which should bring us wisdom and so improve the quality of our lives and of the world in which we live” (Farthing, 2005, p1). The emblem entails three concepts or symbols; the torch with its red flame, the star beneath the torch and the silver waves on the dark blue background, each symbolising and holding its own meaning.

“The silver torch with its red flame standing on a forest green background, depicts the light of learning to be kept burning and handed on from generation to generation. The star beneath the torch is the heraldic recognition of Otumoetai as the third college in the community, and the silver waves on the dark blue background represent the quiet waters of the estuary near the college” (Farthing, 2005, p1).

Current Principal

In June 2000, Dave Randell was elected as the fourth Principal of Otumoetai College. Previously, he had been Principal at Taihape College in 1988 as well Melville High School in Hamilton

Hamilton, New Zealand

Hamilton is the centre of New Zealand's fourth largest urban area, and Hamilton City is the country's fourth largest territorial authority. Hamilton is in the Waikato Region of the North Island, approximately south of Auckland...

 from 1995 (Farthing, 2005). Therefore he brought with him a wealth of knowledge and skills which, when paired with the expertise of the already existing management team at Otumoetai College, has helped to ensure that the school has flourished into the vibrant, highly successful and ambitious school that it is today.

Past Principals

Harold Webber was the first Principal appointed at Otumoetai College in 1964. At that stage Otumoetai College was merely a piece of land waiting to become a complete collection of buildings and educational blocks, for the first roll of students arriving and starting in 1965. Previously Harold Webber had “been Principal at Paeroa College which left him in good shape for the task ahead” (Farthing, 2005, p5). Harold Webber remained Principal at Otumoetai College from 1964 until 1970.

The second Principal to grace Otumoetai College was Alastair Murray who took up the position in 1971. Similar to Harold Webber, Alastair Murray had had numerous years experience as not only a Deputy Principal in a city school but also the Principal of the Bay of Islands College. “It did not take long for Alastair to prove that he was in every way capable of continuing the strong leadership that the college had enjoyed” (Farthing, 2005, p9). Alastair Murray carried on the role of Principal for twelve years, finally leaving in 1983.

In June 1983, Peter Malcom was elected as the third Principal of Otumoetai College. Peter Malcom, like the other two past Principals, came from a strong experienced background within schools. Originally from Ashburton College, he was considered a great Mathematician. He brought numerous changes and great things to Otumoetai College and sadly retired in July 2000 “leaving behind him a very balanced school which provided opportunities for students of all abilities and learning programmes based on sound educational reasoning” (Farthing, 2005, p17).

Otumoetai Musical and Drama Productions

Over the past 45 years Otumoetai College has taken great pride in presenting numerous musical and drama productions to the Tauranga

Tauranga

Tauranga is the most populous city in the Bay of Plenty region, in the North Island of New Zealand.It was settled by Europeans in the early 19th century and was constituted as a city in 1963...

 community. Over the years thousands of students and teachers have dedicated many hours and been heavily involved in frequent productions staged by the school. “The first concert took place in the college hall on the evening of 18 August 1965 under the direction of Mrs Bartlett” (Farthing, 2005, p44). From that date on the school has flourished and expanded their growing ideas and passions for dance, drama and performing, leading to numerous presentations for the community at Bay Court, the local performance centre in Tauranga.

Musical productions

• 2011 Footloose
• 2009 Jekyll and Hyde
• 2008 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
• 2007 High School Musical
• 2005 Fame
• 2004 Return to the Forbidden Planet
• 2002 My Fair Lady
• 2001 Blood Brothers
• 2000 The Buddy Holly Story
• 1999 The Sound of Music
• 1996 Grease
• 1994 Chess
• 1993 Fiddler on the Roof
• 1992 Oliver

(Farthing, 2005, p49)

Drama productions

• 2010 The Golden Pathway Annual / Daisy's Disastrous Daydreams
• 2008 Charlie and the Chocolate Factory / Our Day Out
• 2006 Stepping Out
• 2002 An Evening with Molière
• 2001 Cosi
• 1999 The Diary of Anne Frank
• 1994 The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole
• 1993 Teachers
• 1992 Whose Life is it Anyway?

(Farthing, 2005, p50)

Sports Catered for by the School

Athletics, In-line Hockey, Rowing

Rowing (sport)

Rowing is a sport in which athletes race against each other on rivers, on lakes or on the ocean, depending upon the type of race and the discipline. The boats are propelled by the reaction forces on the oar blades as they are pushed against the water...

, Swimming

Swimming (sport)

Swimming is a sport governed by the Fédération Internationale de Natation .-History: Competitive swimming in Europe began around 1800 BCE, mostly in the form of the freestyle. In 1873 Steve Bowyer introduced the trudgen to Western swimming competitions, after copying the front crawl used by Native...

, Table tennis

Table tennis

Table tennis, also known as ping-pong, is a sport in which two or four players hit a lightweight, hollow ball back and forth using table tennis rackets. The game takes place on a hard table divided by a net...

, Tennis

Tennis

Tennis is a sport usually played between two players or between two teams of two players each . Each player uses a racket that is strung to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over a net into the opponent's court. Tennis is an Olympic sport and is played at all levels of society at all...

, Rugby

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

, Touch Rugby

Touch rugby

Touch rugby, Refers to games derived from rugby football in which players do not tackle in the traditional, highly physical way, but instead touch their opponents using their hands on any part of the body, clothing, or the ball....

, Triathlon

Triathlon

A triathlon is a multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances...

, Volleyball – Indoor, Volleyball – Beach, Water Polo

Water polo

Water polo is a team water sport. The playing team consists of six field players and one goalkeeper. The winner of the game is the team that scores more goals. Game play involves swimming, treading water , players passing the ball while being defended by opponents, and scoring by throwing into a...

, White-water Kayaking, Yachting

Yachting

Yachting refers to recreational sailing or boating, the specific act of sailing or using other water vessels for sporting purposes.-Competitive sailing:...

, Surfing

Surfing

Surfing' is a surface water sport in which the surfer rides a surfboard on the crest and face of a wave which is carrying the surfer towards the shore...

, Squash

Squash (sport)

Squash is a high-speed racquet sport played by two players in a four-walled court with a small, hollow rubber ball...

, Softball

Softball

Softball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of 10 to 14 players. It is a direct descendant of baseball although there are some key differences: softballs are larger than baseballs, and the pitches are thrown underhand rather than overhand...

, Soccer, Snowboarding

Snowboarding

Snowboarding is a sport that involves descending a slope that is covered with snow on a snowboard attached to a rider's feet using a special boot set onto mounted binding. The development of snowboarding was inspired by skateboarding, sledding, surfing and skiing. It was developed in the U.S.A...

, Skiing

Skiing

Skiing is a recreational activity using skis as equipment for traveling over snow. Skis are used in conjunction with boots that connect to the ski with use of a binding....

, Skateboarding

Skateboarding

Skateboarding is an action sport which involves riding and performing tricks using a skateboard.Skateboarding can be a recreational activity, an art form, a job, or a method of transportation. Skateboarding has been shaped and influenced by many skateboarders throughout the years. A 2002 report...

, Rugby Union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

, Rock Climbing

Rock Climbing

Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...

, Netball

Netball

Netball is a ball sport played between two teams of seven players. Its development, derived from early versions of basketball, began in England in the 1890s. By 1960 international playing rules had been standardised for the game, and the International Federation of Netball and Women's Basketball ...

, Motocross

Motocross

Motocross is a form of motorcycle sport or all-terrain vehicle racing held on enclosed off road circuits. It evolved from trials, and was called scrambles, and later motocross, combining the French moto with cross-country...

, Lawn Bowls, Karting, Indoor Bowls, Underwater Hockey

Underwater hockey

Underwater hockey is a global non-contact sport in which two teams compete to maneuver a puck across the bottom of a swimming pool into goals.-Play:...

, Hockey – Field, Gymnastics

Gymnastics

Gymnastics is a sport involving performance of exercises requiring physical strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, and balance. Internationally, all of the gymnastic sports are governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique with each country having its own national governing body...

, Golf

Golf

Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....

, Equestrian

Equestrianism

Equestrianism more often known as riding, horseback riding or horse riding refers to the skill of riding, driving, or vaulting with horses...

, Cross Country

Cross country running

Cross country running is a sport in which people run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open country, and include hills, flat ground and sometimes gravel road...

, Cycling

Cycling

Cycling, also called bicycling or biking, is the use of bicycles for transport, recreation, or for sport. Persons engaged in cycling are cyclists or bicyclists...

, Cricket

Cricket

Cricket is a bat-and-ball game played between two teams of 11 players on an oval-shaped field, at the centre of which is a rectangular 22-yard long pitch. One team bats, trying to score as many runs as possible while the other team bowls and fields, trying to dismiss the batsmen and thus limit the...

, Canoe Polo

Canoe polo

Canoe Polo is a competitive ball sport played on water, in a defined "field", between two teams of 5 players, each in a kayak...

, Basketball

Basketball

Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...

 and Badminton

Badminton

Badminton is a racquet sport played by either two opposing players or two opposing pairs , who take positions on opposite halves of a rectangular court that is divided by a net. Players score points by striking a shuttlecock with their racquet so that it passes over the net and lands in their...

.

Past Achieving Students

Throughout the years Otumoetai College has seen many students pass through its doors and go on to prosper and develop into either great athletes or achievers within their given fields. Ex-Otumoetai students who have made a mark in society include Jason Lochhead who paired with Kirk Pitmann to represent New Zealand in the World Beach Volleyball

Beach volleyball

Beach volleyball, or sand volleyball, is an Olympic team sport played by two teams of two players on a sand court divided by a net.Like volleyball, the object of the game is to send the ball over the net in order to ground it on the opponent’s court, and to prevent the same effort by the opponent....

 Championships. Currently Jason Lochhead and Kirk Pitman “are ranked 26th in the Olympic

Olympic Games

The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...

 Rankings, and need to make it in the top 23 to have any chance of qualifying for Beijing” (Volleyball New Zealand, 2007). Tony Lochhead, the older brother of Jason, is a professional soccer player for the Wellington Phoenix and a regular member of the All Whites soccer team. Tony is expected to represent New Zealand at the FIFA World Cup in South Africa, 2010. Others include Georgina Matthews, 2004 New Zealand's top female street skateboarder, Glen Jackson

Glen Jackson (rugby player)

Glen Warwick Jackson is a former New Zealand rugby union player who now serves as a referee in that sport...

, who was part of the 2004 Bay of Plenty Steamers team when they won the Ranfurly Shied and New Zealand NPC player. Vanessa Quinn, “New Zealands’ Downhill Mountain Bike World Champion in 2004” (NZ Girl online, 2007) is also an ex-Otumoetai student, also Natalie Hamilton who represented New Zealand at the World Rockclimbing Championships in 2004, Moss Burmester, who is a New Zealand Olympic Games representative and is a “Gold Medal winner in 200m Butterfly and a Bronze Medal winner in 100m Butterfly in the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006” (Pinnacle, 2007). Others who have walked through the College doors include Peter Stafford who won a Silver Medal for New Zealand in the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Hockey, Gary Braid

Gary Braid

Gary Braid is a New Zealand former rugby footballer who represented his country in rugby union. His two sons, Luke and Daniel, both play rugby union.-Rugby union career:...

who played in the All Blacks for two years, and Sheryl Dawson who has been involved with the Bay of Plenty Magic netball team since 2002 and who earlier was the president of New Zealand Netball Association. Jeni Pearce is also another past student of Otumoetai College who today “is one of New Zealand’s leading nutritionists and dietitians” (Raupo Publishing, 2007), she has also written seven books; Eat To Compete, Eat to Compete Cookbook, Healthy Muffin Cookbook, New Healthy Muffins, Eat Your Stress Away, Healthy Pasta Cookbook, New Healthy Pasta, and is currently working on three new titles. She was also the “Winner of a prestigious Watties food writers award” (Raupo Publishing, 2007).

In 2005 Sarah Viggiano and Joanne Taylor gained a New Zealand Scholarship Award by gaining three single Scholarship awards each. Sonja Farthing, Richard Higgins and Kate Johnston gained two single Scholarship awards each while eleven other students gained a single Scholarship pass. Four of these Scholarships were gained as Outstanding Scholarships by Megan de Luca, Kate Johnston, Rosanna Keam and Richard Higgins placing them in the top 40 students in their respective subjects in New Zealand. These 23 Scholarships gained by eight boys and eight girls earned Otumoetai College more Scholarships than any other Bay of Plenty secondary school.

Head Students

• 2011 Mark Perkins, Michael Wightman, Jess Noone, Janine Joyce
• 2010 Alex Liu, Sam Marmion, Charlotte McConnell, and Lydia Bennett
• 2009 Jed Misa, Simon Gyenge, Mikayla Zandstra, and Ashleigh Davidson
• 2008 Antony Jeffares, Sam Gouk, Jennifer Fellows and Sarah Munn
• 2007 Christiaan Drost, Liam Boyle, Hannah Croad and Alex Edge
• 2006 Paul Tietjens, Aric Thorn, Ash Davies and Anna McRae
• 2005 Richard Higgins, Robert Burley, Helen Mountfort and Monique Woods
• 2004 Fletcher Cranfield and Erika Henderson
• 2003 Andrew Tarr and Nicole Yardley
• 2002 Jonah van Dongen and Kelly Pratt
• 2001 Jonathan Robinson and Janine Speedy
• 2000 David Burley and Lexi Thorn
• 1999 Daniel O’Shea and Amy Coppen
• 1998 Jason Smith and Rachel Hart
• 1997 David Uren and Tracey Lochhead
• 1996 Peter Stafford and Jacqueline Byloo
• 1995 Titus Rahiri and Vicki Holmes
• 1994 Micheal Wallmannsberger and Melinka Berridge
• 1993 Rangi Tunui and Jennifer Malcom
• 1992 Simon Wheatley and Sharlene Atkins
• 1991 Colin MacKenzie and Maria Lawry
• 1990 David Cullen and Katie Busch

(Farthing, 2005, p94)

External links

• http://www.otc.co.nz/
• http://www.aa-education.com/otumoetai-college-tauranga/
• http://www.tki.org.nz/e/schools/display_school_info.php?school_id=120
• http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/providers/details.do?providerId=101108001
• http://www.volleyballnz.org.nz/