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Welcome to Aurora College's first e-newsletter which is being sent through our new website. Our updated website is designed for new and existing students and their whanau. The current enrolment form and our new prospectus are both available on the website. It has a number of features that we hope will streamline our school procedures including the reporting of an absent student. The website can be accessed anywhere by using your mobile phone. To download the app: 1. Go to the App Store or Google Play. 2. Search for “Sporty NZ”, download the app and open. 3. Click into the app and search for Aurora College. Other features include: - Whanau Portal, this is a direct link to Edge, where caregivers and students can check timetables, credits and attendance. - A “Contact Us” form for any general enquiries. - Sports registrations and “Education Outside the Classroom” or EOTC Forms can now be done online. - All current events and newsletters. - Curriculum and Extra Curricular information - Links to our Aurora College and Aurora College Sports Facebook pages. The website is extremely easy to navigate. If you need to return to the home page at any stage simply click on our school logo located in the upper left hand corner. To access our new website please click on the following link: https://www.auroracollege.school.nz/ |
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Tēnā Koutau As we navigate through this busy term, we are thrilled to share the remarkable accomplishments of our students. From exciting trips to remarkable achievements, it has been an eventful journey. Our senior students are working diligently to earn their credits for NCEA-level achievement. This phase demands perseverance; let's continue to support and encourage them, for the finish line is within sight. Meanwhile, our junior students continue to astound us with their incredible efforts. Their dedication to their work is truly inspiring, and we are proud of their growth and progress. A special shout-out goes to the stars of PolyFest, whose vibrant performances and exceptional artwork showcased the rich cultural tapestry of our college. To our Kapa Haka performers, your captivating display filled us with pride. As we march towards the year's end, let's not forget the multitude of opportunities our college provides. We encourage all students to seize these chances, to explore, learn, and grow. Remember, this is the time to make the most of every opportunity. Thank you for your unwavering support. Together, we will guide our students toward a future filled with success and fulfillment. Nāku iti noa, nā, Craig Taylor Principal, Aurora College |
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On Sunday 30 July, ten students from M7 were lucky enough to be invited to experience the Glow Worm Caves in Te Anau. We left school at 11 am and took to the road. A couple of toilet stops and two hours later we arrived in Te Anau. Having to be there 45 minutes before boarding the boat we passed our time by eating lunch, skimming stones, and sharing jokes. For some of us, it was our first time on a boat and on a lake. While it was windy on the deck, we headed up the western shores of the lake and got to see some amazing sites on the boat such as Dome Island and Patience Bay. Thankfully none of us were seasick. Once we docked, we made our way up a small track to Cavern House to learn a little about the caves we were about to explore. We learned the cave system is relatively young (12,000 years old) and is still being carved out by the force of the river that flows through them. We took much pride in knowing that we shared the same name as the Aurora Cave System which is 6.7km long and has 4 levels of interconnecting passages. This Tunnel Burn (stream) originates from Lake Orbell in the Murchison Mountains and flows through the Te Anau Glowworm Caves. Once in the cave, our adventure began and we were greeted by some overhanging limestone which required us to bend down low, walking on steel grate platforms where we saw water rushing beneath us and waterfalls overhead. Once we were on the small boat, we were pulled through a mini lake in the dark before they revealed themselves to us. Hundreds if not thousands of tiny luminous worms lit the cave as if they were stars in the skies. Unfortunately, photography was prohibited in the cave but we all have memories to last a lifetime. A big thank you to Anna, Mr Neylon and Real Journeys for allowing us this amazing experience. |
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Our Carbon Cycle Compost bins were installed in May and so far, they have been doing what they are meant to do - consuming all of our food waste. How well it is doing this will be answered in a couple of month's time. We are officially up to its 3rd rotation. This means that the first bin we filled, has been rotated through the 2 other bins and we need to move it into the last bin (bin 4). Once bin 1 is filled again, the contents in bin 4 (food waste from Term 2), should be beautiful compost. A group of Year 7 and 8 students have been our Compost Crusaders. They have been collecting the food scraps from our Year 7 - 10 classrooms daily, managing the compost bins, and sorting our leftover fruit at the end of the week. They have been champions in leading the way in creating a more circular economy in our school. We would not be able to manage the bins without the support of our Year 10 Horticulture and Agriculture students, along with the students from Services. They have been the muscle when it is time to rotate the bins. Not an easy job, but with their teamwork, the dream-work is achieved. |
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Our is team is growing from strength to strength and have lots to celebrate. On 18 June we had our tipping drill with our coaches from Ngā Kete. All the students who participated really enjoyed the opportunity to learn to right a capsized waka in a controlled environment at Splash Palace. Everyone left feeling even more confident about getting back out on the awa. Then in the July holidays, the team catered for an event and fundraised just over $1,000 to go towards uniforms. Not only do they work well together on the water, they are amazing in the kitchen! Our team also had some amazing results at their first sprint race on 23 July. It was a 500m sprint with one turn. Our Girl's team did it in 5.09min, our Boy's team in 5.10min and our mixed team in 4.43min! Well done everyone. Our next sprint race is on 17 September at the Oreti river if you would like to come and support us. The first race is at 10 am. This will be our last sprint race before the Ki Uta Ki Tai competition in Te Anau over Labour weekend. |
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We’ve just completed our third raranga wānanga for 2023. With just a small group present, our second-year tauira, who have parcticipated in the wānanga over 2022 and 2023, created a Kete Waikawa (Potato Basket). It was incredible to watch them take on learning new techniques with confidence. And wow, did they create some beautiful taonga. The remaining tauira created putiputi, kono and even konae. So lots of new skills learnt all round and some incredible taonga created. It was great to have Ms B’Divine and Ms Atkins join us, along with Rangimaria Suddaby. Our next raranga workshop will be learning how to dye the flax where students will have the opportunity to transform any of the taonga they have made over 2023. This is in Term 4 on 10 and 11 November. |
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More than 600 early childhood, primary, and high school-aged children from around Murihiku participated in this year's Murihiku Polyfest art competition. Check out the results in the link below to see how well Aurora College did. |
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