Rotorua Lakes High School

Rotorua Lakes High School

Māori: Mauria Te Pono
Keep Steadfastly to the Truth
Address
Porikapa Road,
Owhata,
Rotorua,
New Zealand
Coordinates 38°08′11″S 176°18′06″E / 38.13638°S 176.30161°E / -38.13638; 176.30161Coordinates: 38°08′11″S 176°18′06″E / 38.13638°S 176.30161°E / -38.13638; 176.30161
Information
Funding type State
Established 1971
Ministry of Education Institution no. 154
Principal P B Walker
Staff 75[1]
Years offered 9–13
Gender Co-educational
Houses
Colour(s) Navy, gold and teal             
School roll 653[2] (July 2016)
Socio-economic decile 5M[3]
Website www.rotorualakes.school.nz

Rotorua Lakes High School, commonly known as Lakes High, or simply Lakes is a state school educating boys and girls from Year 9 to Year 13. It is situated in Owhata, in the eastern suburbs of Rotorua, New Zealand, and draws many of its students from the eastern Rotorua urban area, and the semi-rural lakes communities to the south and east of Rotorua; this giving rise to the name Rotorua Lakes.

The school has a roll of 667 students from year 9 to 13 as of March 2016, including 9 international students. It offers the National Certificate of Educational Achievement qualification, alongside New Zealand Scholarship. Opened in 1971, the school is the youngest secondary school in Rotorua and is built in the "S68" style common for secondary schools in New Zealand in this period.[4] Special features of the school include a special needs unit, Astroturf, squash court and horticulture complex.[1]

About the School

Buildings

Much of the school is built in the "S68" style common for school buildings built in the period 1968 to 1974, featuring single-storey blocks of rooms with cinderblock concrete construction, low-pitched roofs and internal courtyards.[4]

Buildings in the school include standard classroom and administrative blocks, as well as blocks for science, technology, the library, and music. The school's hall is known as the D.C. Price Auditorium in honour of the school's foundation principal.

The school also has a wharenui, a purpose-built Health and Wellness Centre, a special needs education centre, gymnasium and netball courts, squash courts, and an Astroturf for hockey, tennis, netball and other sports.[1]

Symbols

The school colours of Rotorua Lakes High School are navy blue, teal and gold. The school logo is a stylised waha ika (traditional Maori weapon), which contains a map of all of the lakes in the Rotorua District. The school motto is in Maori, "Mauria Te Pono" which translates in English as "Keep Steadfastly to the Truth".

Uniform

As of 2011, all students at the school will be in uniform for the first time. Prior to this date, Year 13 students were exempt from wearing the school uniform. There are two uniforms, one Junior Uniform (for Year 9-11 students) and one Senior Uniform (Year 12-13). Primarily, all uniform items are various shades of blue and feature the school logo, though Senior Uniform shirts and blouses are white. School Prefects and House Captains may wear the school blazer to school.

Houses

Rotorua Lakes High School has four houses, each named after one of the many lakes in the Rotorua area. Each house has its own House Colour, as follows:

Each year the Houses compete for Championships in Athletic Sports, Swimming Sports, Interhouse Sports Day, as well as other competitions such as Volleyball, Library Quiz, Year 9 Day Out and Year 13 Camp. The overall House Championship, awarded at the end of each year, is fiercely contested.

Students

As of March 2016, the school has 667 students from years 9 to 13. The school has seen a general roll increase since 2011.[5] This number includes 9 international students, mostly from China.[6] The student body is currently around 47% Maori, 45% European, and 6% of other ethnic backgrounds including Pacific and Asian.[7]

Curricular and Co-Curricular

Academic

The school offers NCEA Levels 1, 2 and 3 at Year 11, 12 and 13 respectively, in a range of subjects. NZ Scholarship is offered to able Year 13 students in some subjects. Junior students participate in a varied programme, which follows the New Zealand Curriculum. The school has an annual academic exchange with Forest View High School, in Tokoroa, in the subjects of Debating, Mathematics, General Knowledge, Economics, Science and Visual Arts.

Achievement rates for NCEA Levels 1-3, for both Maori and non-Maori students, are broadly in line with national averages.[6]

Additionally, International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) exams are available for junior students in the subjects of English, Mathematics, Writing and Science. The Australian-based Assessment of Language Competence exam in Reading and Listening is offered to students of French and Japanese. Students from the school also participate in the National Bank Junior Mathematics Competition, University of Otago Senior Science Quiz, Australian Chemistry Quiz, and the Bay of Plenty Regional Science and Technology Fair.

Cultural

Rotorua Lakes High School is a regular participant in a number of cultural events. These include Kapa Haka, Stage Challenge, Shakespeare in Schools, Cyril Bassett-RSA Speech Competition, Manu Korero and others. The school also organises regular overseas trips for senior students who study particular subjects. In particular, the regular trip to Europe, usually including France and Italy runs every three or four years for senior students of French, History, Geography, Classics and Tourism.

Sport

The school fields individuals and teams in a wide range of sports. Individual sports on offer include athletics and cross country, swimming, mountain biking, cycling, and orienteering. The school has seen recent success in Waka Ama and rowing.

Popular team sports available to students at the school include netball, volleyball, rugby, hockey, basketball, softball, and football.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "About RLHS". Rotorua Lakes High School. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
  2. ↑ "Directory of Schools - as at 2 August 2016". New Zealand Ministry of Education. Retrieved 2016-08-16.
  3. ↑ "Decile Change 2014 to 2015 for State & State Integrated Schools". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
  4. 1 2 "Catalogue of Standard School Building Types" (PDF). Ministry of Education. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  5. ↑ "Trends". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  6. 1 2 "Rotorua Lakes High School ERO Report 05/06/2013". Education Review Office. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
  7. ↑ "Year Level". Ministry of Education. Retrieved 28 May 2016.
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