Last week we spent 3 days up at Manawahe Eco Centre learning about outdoor education. We had our Y10’s, 8 Y12 leaders, 3 Trident teachers, 2 Manawahe Eco Teachers and a dog called Dexter. We were lucky with the weather and experienced blue skies, clear nights and a chilly start to both days. Pitching tents, cooking, learning about native species, playing outside games, learning about sustainable living, acting responsibly, and looking after gear created a rich authentic learning environment and our students thrived. We have an awesome group of tauira for the Great Barrier Island Camp later this year, we can't wait to go and see them in action. A special thanks go to our Y12 leaders who were amazing, as they inspired the Y10’s, to Mrs Shaw, Mr Steane and Helen Dobbin the Manawahe Eco Education Officer who taught our tauira about our taiao. Thoughts from Y10 Carli Burns Before the Manawahe camp I was quite nervous and stressed about going to GBI for five weeks. Now I am feeling a lot more confident.  When we are on Great Barrier Island the class will split into three groups which are Tui, Kereru and Taiko. When we arrived at Manahawe camp we got to find out what group we are in. During the camp we definitely got closer as a group and as a class. My favorite part of the camp was swinging on the vines with my group and playing spot light. I really liked the way the Yr 12’s helped us get closer as a class and gave us great activities to do. I have already made some great memories with my class and it was only three days, I’m really looking forward to making many more over the five weeks. Carli Burn

We have caught up with two of the students that have returned from the USA/ Canada 2019 Rugby Tour with a whole lot of stories and new experiences to share. The group spent the last part of the year in Canada and then USA, playing rugby and exploring new places and cultures.  The tour has been going for 30 years now, led by Chris Burns who, over the 30 years has taken 7 groups and made lifelong friendships and connections with people, schools and businesses in Canada and USA.  These relationships will see Trident host a school rugby game with a team that the boys played in USA this term. Ethan Forbes says he was nervous about heading overseas without family for his time.  Prior to leaving, he had only been overseas once before with family, so leaving as a junior with a group of mainly seniors put Ethan in a place where he was out of his comfort zone.  All the nerves he felt quickly turned into excitement and Ethan says the group was really close and he felt comfortable with them all quickly. Not having his mum to tell him what to do and look out for him was something he missed but Ethan and the younger tour members had Mr Moore and Ms Elliott look out for them and meant they felt well supported and they enjoyed the whole experience.  Ethan says he also valued the support of Kade Taylor and Arlen Harvey, senior students who had done the same tour as juniors, so they knew how out of their depth the younger boys felt and really looked out for them. Te IwiKino Kepa had never left New Zealand prior to the tour, so like Ethan, he was a bit nervous, mostly about flying. This nervousness quickly turned into more excitement than nerves though and now flying is not on his radar of something to worry about. While the fundraising was long and hard work, it paid off big time and Ethan would happily do it all again should the opportunity arise. He hopes other students will commit to doing an overseas trip with the school if they can as he has returned feeling a lot more responsible for himself now and has a new sense of confidence in managing himself which he thinks will translate into everything he does at school.  Te IwiKino echos Ethan and says he feels a lot more mature now, and humbled by the size of the world and how small we are here in little Whakatane. Ethan’s favourite experience was in LA where he says it felt a bit more like home with the warmer temperatures and the fact that the group got to stay together in a hotel, not billetted for the first time.  In LA they spent time at lots of theme parks and explored the city, with Disneyland being Ethan’s top pick. Te IwiKino can’t pinpoint a specific place as being his favourite, but says the best part of the tour was spending weeks with good people, having a good time and playing good rugby.  He did however especially enjoy Canada where he says it was more relaxed than the USA. Staying with billets meant they got to see another way of life and he says the houses were all really amazing and HUGE.  The group got to go to a few different houses as the billets organised parties to attend and meet up with the rest of the group. Playing rugby in different countries was a great experience and Ethan places the game against Yale Secondary School in Canada at the top.  Lots of the school came to watch the game and treated the Trident boys as celebrities as they played ‘real’ rugby! Something Ethan didn’t realise how unprepared for he was, was going to Breckenridge in Denver, where the -21 degrees day made for a shocking experience! Having 7 layers of clothes did little to ward of the chill of that temperature, but the group still had fun skiing and driving snowmobiles for a day. Te IwiKino quickly recollects the thing that amazed him the most on tour - the amount of homeless people in America.  Sights that will forever be with him - ‘suburbs’ of homeless people in a quantity he had never imagined. It made him grateful for where he is from and again, humbled by the poverty some people face. Both Te IwiKino and Ethan, along with all the students who travelled abroad and stepped out of their comfort zone are thankful for the opportunity that Mr Burn, Ms Elliott and Mr Moore supported them to take advantage of.  Trident thanks Mr Burns for all the fundraising and tours he has led students and other teachers through, making connections around the world and putting Trident on the map.

Continuing our strong history of gaining NCEA Academic Scholarships, Trident High School is proud to say 2019 was no exception.  We gained ten Scholarships across a range of subject areas and from both Year 12 and Year 13 students and one of those scholarships was Outstanding Scholarship. New Zealand Scholarship is an academic competition which asks students to be assessed against challenging standards and is demanding for the most able candidates in each subject. Assessment is by either a written/spoken examination or by the submission of a portfolio or report of work produced throughout the year. Scholarship candidates are expected to demonstrate high-level critical thinking, abstraction and generalisation, and to integrate, synthesise and apply knowledge, skills, understanding, and ideas to complex situations. New Zealand Scholarship provides recognition and monetary reward to top students in their last year of schooling. Each New Zealand Scholarship assessment carries two passing grades - Scholarship (S) and Outstanding Scholarship (O). Of the approx 3% nationwide who gain a Scholarship pass, a small number, equating to approximately 0.5% nationwide will be accorded an Outstanding Scholarship. Our scholarship students and their teachers share about their scholarship experiences and plans for this year. Mr Barr, Trident’s Painting teacher describes Art Scholarship poetically: ‘Art Scholarship is a very windy road with very little wind, sometimes there are peaks and sometimes troughs, the troughs are important, obstacles to overcome, personal obstacles, are outstanding.’ In Painting Trident is proud to have had two scholarship students.  Oliver Budd did exceptionally well to be awarded Outstanding Scholarship, which is a first at Trident for Painting. Oliver says he would like to start by “thanking Trident High School for providing me with the opportunities to succeed.  I would also like to thank all of the Trident Art Department staff who pushed me throughout my high school years, especially Mr Barr who I could never have achieved scholarship without.  My scholarship forms a great base for my 2020 plans, where I will begin studying fine arts at Massey College of Creative Arts.” Holland Power also gained Scholarship in Painting and is this year heading to AUT to study Spatial Design.  Holland would like to thank her art teachers Mr Barr and Mr Lee for both helping her throughout high school and Art Painting.  She also thanks Ms Coffey, her form teacher for always believing in her and encouraging her to do her best, for this Holland says, she will be forever grateful. Through the Art Department, the success continues.  Gabriel Barr gained Scholarship in Photography, where he was just one mark short of gaining Outstanding Scholarship.  Gabriel will study alongside Oliver at Massey University in Wellington where he will work towards a Bachelor of Design majoring in fashion design.  He would like to thank “Mr Tate for continuously accepting my confusing ideas and being there to plot and dissect my work throughout the year and Jack Oswald for being my involuntary canvas.”  Gabriel offers some advice for photography students “pick a topic which is pure and unsolved, one that does not become boring the more you look. Others perspectives and narratives can be useful for drafting work. Make sure that you can communicate your singular idea before venturing into a plane of broadening your chosen topic. Don’t talk about the furniture before you’ve opened the front door.” Our 2019 Dux, Linette Lengkeek is off to The Netherlands to commence her study this year.  “I am going to study Environmental Science and Technology at Wageningen University in The Netherlands. I am immensely grateful for Mrs Webster and Miss Nolan who have helped me gain scholarship and all of the inspirational, passionate and dedicated teachers I've been lucky enough to have throughout my time at Trident.”  Mrs Webster comments that “it is always a privilege to work with our hard working and curious Statistics scholarship students. I love their thirst for learning and connections they make with real life contexts. Congratulations to Linette, and I look forward to working with another fabulous crew of statistical thinkers this year.” Miss Nolan says she “was extremely pleased to hear that not one but TWO of my students had gained a scholarship in Earth and Space Science.  In 2019 we did some weekend classes while I was on maternity leave and then picked these up again during lunchtimes when I returned Term 3 last year.  The exam has three essays to write and has a resource booklet which students are to use to write their essays. The content of the exam comes from both Level 2 and 3 Earth and Space Science so our students need to be very familiar with the key concepts in those courses and then be able to apply them to an unknown context.  Linette and Bailey were very diligent in their preparation for this exam and would complete past scholarship exam essays so that I could mark it providing them with feedback. Both students were capable of achieving the scholarship, so it was amazing to hear that they had achieved it particularly with Bailey being a Year 12 student.” Bailey Rackham was Year 12 last year when she gained not one but two Scholarships - one in Earth Space Science and another in Geography.  Bailey says she would “ like to thank Mrs Farrell and Miss Nolan, my scholarship teachers for each of the subjects. I am planning on taking the same scholarship exams as well as trying some more science ones this year.  In 2021 I am planning on going to university and completing a Bachelors of Science.” Mrs Farrell says Bailey did exceptionally well to gain a scholarship in Geography as a Year 12 student. “She had to learn a lot about geopolitical issues and perspectives and apply these in a variety of ways as well as predicting what the likely impact of sea level rise on people and environments will be. She quite rightly should feel very proud of her scholarship.” Our 2020 Head Girl, Nicole Curtis, is demonstrating her leadership skills, leading by example.  In her Level 2 year Nicole gained Scholarship in PE and Health.  As she plans to become part of the Hillary Outdoors Team when she leaves school, this is a great area to already be excelling in.  “I want to thank Mr Stanhope for his time, encouragement, passion and dedication towards my study. I loved the enthusiasm he brought to each and every meeting, which enabled me to have the dedication to strive further!” Mr Stanhope is ecstatic about Nicole’s achievement “I am so very proud of Nicole gaining PE & Health Scholarship. Gaining scholarship is a long process that requires resilience, dedication, sacrifice of time as well as academic rigor. Nicole has demonstrated all these traits and then some. What is even more remarkable is that she was a Year 12 when she submitted the paper.  Well done Nicole, the whole PE & Health Department are extremely proud of you.” Jack Collis is another of our dedicated students who gained Scholarship in Calculus in his Year 12 year.  He says “getting a calculus scholarship makes me a lot more confident in my own ability in maths. I would have been happy with making double digits on the exam let alone scoring 25.  I went into the exam with a pretty relaxed state of mind because I had the opportunity to do it again this year if I wanted to. The exam itself wasn’t as hard as the previous years but that does not mean it was easy, I believe I exerted more brain-power into that exam than I would have in all of my others combined.  I’d like to thank Mr Carroll for his support and for running the scholarship sessions every Tuesday afternoon, there is no way I would have done quarter as well if it wasn’t for those, and my peers for continuously encouraging me.” Mr Carroll, Jack Collis’s teacher says that Calculus Scholarships are awarded to students who get high marks on a very difficult 3 hour mathematics exam. “The difficulty is such that getting about half of the marks is usually the cutoff for gaining a scholarship. The questions on the test are drawn broadly from the entire Level 3 mathematics curriculum, and students should expect to see material they've never seen before. Jack had to prepare by struggling through difficult problems and developing a broad set of strategies that he could use to approach unfamiliar mathematical situations. It's a big achievement (only the second such award in the school's history) and Jack should be very proud of his success.” Gaining scholarship music for 2019 was really the icing on the cake for Leo, says Mr Spence, Leo Read’s music teacher.  Leo had earlier that year won a major concerto competition in Tauranga, gained his licentiate diploma on performance piano and successfully auditioned for a place in the performance degree (Trombone) at the New Zealand School of Music at Victoria University. I am very pleased for Leo who has been home-schooled all his life but came to Trident late last year to enable him to be able to complete the scholarship. We thank all teachers who have worked hard to ensure our students are prepared for scholarship exams and portfolios and thank our students for dedicating time to put themselves into a position where their hard work can be recognised at the highest level.  We challenge our current senior students to continue the proud tradition we at Trident High School have of gaining NCEA scholarships.

Trident has four new members of our staff joining us this year. Please make them feel welcome and make sure to say hello when you see them around the school. Ms Hillary Hurst We welcome Ms Hurst who spent a year in Nelson working in various schools in order to be closer to her parents who have since passed away. Prior to this Ms Hurst spent 6 years teaching at Western Heights in Rotorua. Ms Hurst moving to our area was no coincidence - she says her favourite places are near water - the beach, fast flowing rivers and lakes, and her favourite sport is whitewater kayaking. She must have passed on a passion for adventure sports as she has a 26 year old daughter who is training for the Coast to Coast race in the South Island and she will be heading there soon to act as support crew. Ms Hurst's favourite concert was Soundsplash in Raglan and she has enjoyed various Kachafire gigs. Her current favourite band is Six60 and also enjoys solo artist Teeks. Ms Hurst's role model is a teacher she met a long time ago who mixed conversation, humour, culture and music into his teaching, and who managed to treat everyone as individuals with their own special ways. Speaking of her passion with teaching, Ms Hurst says she is passionate about developing confidence and finding the spark that lies within each person and to help them to make it grow. Matua Toko Waaka We welcome Matua Toko Waaka who has recently graduated as a new teacher. Prior to working at Trident Matua Waaka was working in Roading Works and studying towards his Bachelor of Education. Matua Waaka says his whanau are school teachers and lecturers, so the desire to educate must run in the family! Indeed education has played an important role for Matua Waaka as his role models consist of all of his teachers and coaches he has had in the 80s and 90s, "they have shaped me into the person I am today". Teaching for Matua Waaka is about giving back to the profession that has given him so much. He enjoys teaching and coaching students to inspire them to achieve their goals. Matua Waaka describes himself as a happy cheerful person and who can get along with anyone and always there as a parent figure or a shoulder to lean on or just a person who will listen. Please make sure you give Matua Waaka a Trident welcome when you see him around. We welcome Mrs Cathy Moore to Trident, Mrs Moore will be working in our Special Education Centre. Mrs Moore comes to us from Kea Street Specialist School Rotorua and she has previously worked at Kawerau South School and James Street Primary Specialist teacher. Mrs Moore takes inspiration for her teaching practice from her students independence and self-esteem, to hear it, see it, do it approach to learning & opportunities to make their own choices She has enjoyed seeing students using Numicon maths program to show steady progression and enjoyment of math. Mrs Moore says she is lucky to have many role models, mostly the amazing people she works alongside with in my job as a specialist teacher. Some fun facts about Mrs Moore that you might like to chat with her about when you see her around our school - "I like old Hollywood movies, salted caramel popcorn, history of our world, travelling - especially Egypt, where I toured a few years ago. learning and experiencing other cultures, Maori tikanga and art." Mrs Poihaere Knight We welcome Mrs Knight who comes to us from Otakiri School, having taught at Western Heights High School prior to that. Mrs Knight says that she is inspired in her teaching when students are open to different ways of learning and when something "clicks" in their learning. This 'clicking' makes for memorable teaching moments and Mrs Knight says she found joy when she has happened to overhear a student talk about a subject that they covered in class, and they were so confident in their opinion. Outside of school, Mrs Knight describes her role model- her mother. "My mother, Heenitehurihangatahi Hanna (nee Kereehi.) who had many challenges to face from growing up and raising a big whanau, to facing adversity to become the first female Maori Minister for the Waiapu Diocese, she kept her faith, her goal of bringing peace to Te Tairawhiti and she still found time to be an awesome Mummy. Students might like to know that Mrs Knight shares some of their likes - she also is a fan of Disney, movies, cartoons and theme parks.

Towards the end of the holidays, Shauna Gray and Lorena Kuchenbecker spent a week in Dunedin where they attended the Otago Advanced School Sciences Academy, or OUASSA for short.  The girls stayed at a residential college called Arana, which is where university students board and the camp was fully funded with everything paid for; accommodation, flights and food. Shauna says she was nervous about going at first, she wasn't sure what to expect and how complicated the projects would be, but says they were definitely more intriguing than difficult. “They weren't testing us, they just wanted to share their passion for science with us”. Both girls enjoyed meeting new like minded people at the camp as Lorena says they “all had a passion for science and where it could take us, which is what brought us closer. At first, all we really had in common was that passion for science and talked mostly about exam results, but it grew to something greater as the week progressed. It was awesome being surrounded by students that thrive off learning new things, it was exactly like being in a classroom with eager students that are all interested in what they're learning; that aspect is difficult to come by in a classroom of 30 at high school”.  Shauna found that every single person was positive and approachable and by the end of the camp they were almost like a family which was amazing as we everyone had only known each other for a week. Shauna and Lorena describe a normal day on camp like this: We had the option of going to the UniPol gym each morning. Breakfast was eaten, then we would meet as a group so we could have an outline of what our day will look like. We would leave to go to an hour morning seminar where professors and doctors would talk about their learning journeys, research and passions, and about specific pathways for careers in science that focused on biomedical, immunology, organic chemistry, scientific surveying, philosophy. . We would sit in a lecture room, and I think it would come close to how learning would look like at university. After the seminar, we would head off to our projects. Prior to the camp, we chose 2 projects and an elective. Shauna’s projects were anatomy and physiology, and exercise and sport science with her elective being psychology. Lorena chose  zoology and marine science.  For 5 hours, the girls would learn a lot about their subjects, and the majority of the projects were hands-on and barely any theory, “which is great to experience considering we only have limited time to access these kinds of facilities”. During Shauna’s projects, she dissected a deer knee and also swam in a Flume, which is basically a swimming treadmill and it is the same flume Michael Phelps swam in. After project time, the group would have options of what they wanted to do in their free time. During these times, Shauna went on a tiki tour around Dunedin and went to it's most popular 'landmarks' such as the steepest street in the world etc., and also when laser tagging aswell as having free time exploring Dunedin. The group would come back for dinner and after dinner go to their science communication groups. For science communication, the groups chose a topic and have to present a speech in front of the public in July when they go back for another week. Shauna says attending the camp has definitely helped her to understand how a University works and what student life is like. Her motivation to go to University has definitely increased as the camp opened her eyes to all the career options out there and how flexible a degree is if you decide you want to change course on what you are studying, there is never a fixed pathway you have to follow once you've started a degree. Attending the camp has made Lorena realise that she wants to focus more on school and enjoy the subjects she is interested in the most. Before the camp, she was scared about what next year has to hold, but after meeting all these new people, being given a deeper understanding of how University life works and being exposed to different aspects of science careers, she is no longer scared - in fact she is excited! Something that surprised me about attending this camp was how fast friendships actually formed, and the amount of exposure we were able to experience of a student's life at Otago. Staying at a students hall, attending short seminars and interacting with kids from all over New Zealand was merely a snippet of what's to come next year. Lorena wants to study Veterinary Science or Zoology next year, with a post-grad in Conservation of Wildlife as she hopes to work with endangered species, while Shauna is now considering pursuing a career in neurophysiotherapy, or something along those lines. Both Shauna and Lorena implore other students to have a go if they are interested in applying to this science camp in the future, “honestly do it!” says Shauna. “This has been the best experience, and the worst thing that could happen is you don't get in. However, the best thing that could happen is you get into a free camp, filled with students like yourself and you get a full week of science!”  Lorena agrees and says “it's one of the only camps that you go on twice a year so you are able to reconnect with the people you met in the January camp”. We congratulate both girls for their enthusiasm and how well they represented Trident High School and our Science Department.  Upon their return from the camp in July we will follow up with the girls to hear how the second part of the camp has gone for them.

Adelaide Roper has joined our Trident staff as our new Teacher in Charge of Health. She is from a small town in the Waikato and has come from Morrinsville College to take on the new role. "I love teaching PE and health and am really looking forward to working at Trident High School. I have three children, a son and two daughters. We all love the beach and enjoy most sports, hence the move to the Bay of Plenty. I became a teacher because I enjoy working with students and watching them grow and mature from young year 9s into young adults at yr 13 ready to head out into the big wide world. Teaching PE and Health is very rewarding and I am lucky enough to witness vast improvements in students' physical and academic abilities." Welcome Adelaide! Jo Galloway has joined our Trident team in the Office as an Administrator, so many of you will see her smiling face at the front door. Jo has been an Office administrator at Whakatane Mitre 10 before starting here at Trident.  She is looking forward to meeting lots of new people and being part of an awesome team and also looks forward to a new challenge and learning new things, we are all lifelong learners! She is a busy hockey mum who’s been involved with the Trident Boys Hockey team for four years - a highlight being winning the Mayhill Cup last year in Rotorua. She loves watching the Black Sticks and one day hopes to see some Trident boys playing at that level. Over summer she enjoys walking the bush walks around our area and on the beach. Welcome Jo!

At the end of term 3 and into the holidays, Tarn Reddish departed on the Spirit of New Zealand for 10 days of sailing from Auckland to Tauranga. On board were 39 students from Tarn - Year 11 (and the youngest of the group) to Year 13 and about 15 staff members. Sleeping in a hammock style bunk bed 3 high took a couple of nights to get used to, especially as his feet hung off the end of the bed, but then he settled in and slept fine. Tarn was lucky to not get seasick at all, so was able to enjoy the full experience. The weather was initially not good but got better as the journey went on and Tarn was able to fully participate in the working of the ship. The students were divided into specific areas and Tarn worked on the engineering side - working with generators and water supply lines. As well as this, he also put up sails, and helped with the cleaning of the ship. While Tarn cannot pinpoint a highlight as he said the whole experience was great, he really enjoyed meeting new people and making friends whom he is continuing to keep in touch with.  While at sea the group were treated to seeing a whale, a couple of pods of dolphins, a shark and orcas swimming near the boat. All students completed a challenge - to climb to the top of the highest mast which Tarn said was terrifying, but he is glad he did it.  Pushing through his safety zone and being in close proximity to so many people for 10 days gave Tarn an opportunity to manage practice his tolerance levels and find strategies to help himself.  Tarn recommends the adventure to any student and is thankful for the opportunity.

Year 13 Christian Cacace has recently returned from the trip of a lifetime when he spent a month volunteering in Namibia on a wildlife sanctuary. Christian, who wants to become a vet, heard about the sanctuary and volunteer programme from a vet friend and decided this was something he wanted to do. The Naankuse Sanctuary provides a lifeline to many of Africa’s in-need wildlife species, taking in a number of animals which have either become orphaned or injured as a result of the enduring human-animal conflict such as being killed by farmers as they predate upon livestock. The Sanctuary also helps to educate farmers on what they can do to protect livestock without needing to resort to killing the predators. The Sanctuary is a 500ha site that includes separate enclosures, enclosure being a loose word as the fences are often low enough for the animals to easily scale and the electric fencing is very low wattage given it runs on solar power. There is also a 7000ha reserve that neighbours the Sanctuary that is made available by a kind philanthropist who owns several reserves around the world. As a volunteer, Christian helped the sanctuary to provide a safe refuge for its animals - feeding and nurturing animals who were wounded or distressed. He worked to support the Sanctuary in their primary aim of releasing as many animals as possible into the safe reserve areas. But while the project’s mantra is to ‘return the wild to the wild’, some of the animals at the sanctuary are either too injured or habituated to survive on their own, meaning they will spend the rest of their days at the sanctuary. With hundreds of animals unable to be released, it is important that they are given a positive quality of life, and Christian spent time at the Sanctuary actively getting involved with a range of activities designed to do just that. Christian took cheetahs for walks around the reserve, side by side with the big cats. While this might seem like a dangerous activity with these large cats, Christian didn't feel afraid at all he says. Cheetahs rarely get re-released as they become habituated really quickly and will not survive in the wild once they have been in contact with humans. Indeed from the videos and photos they look to be fairly at ease with their human minders and vice versa. Christian spoke of many amazing animals and some sad stories. One of a mongoose who was addicted to sugar as it had been fed lollies, coke and other treats by its carers before being bought to the Sanctuary. When a can of coke was opened somewhere the Mongoose would go berserk as was so keen to have some of the drink! Spending time with leopards, hyena, lions, African wild dogs, cheetahs, baboons, meerkats, mongoose's, rhino, elephants and giraffes has cemented Christian's wish to study Vet and return to the Sanctuary as soon as he can. Thank you to Christian for sharing his stories, photos and videos of his time in Namibia!

Trident Geography students, Earth Ocean Space Science students, Youth Council, Enviro group and others with interest in Climate Change were lucky enough to have two of Whakatane's District Council staff members run a workshop on Climate Change for them on Monday. Glenn Cooper - Project Engineer - and Charlotte Haeusler - Strategic Policy Analyst - presented on The Paris Agreement and our Council’s Climate Change Project, introducing the draft Climate Change Principles (which they are seeking feedback on until 30 August). They then ran a workshop where they discussed the way forward with our students, asking for feedback and ideas. "The Paris Agreement's central aim is to strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change by keeping a global temperature rise in this century well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase even further to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Additionally, the agreement aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change. To reach these ambitious goals, appropriate financial flows, a new technology framework and an enhanced capacity building framework will be put in place, thus supporting action by developing countries and the most vulnerable countries, in line with their own national objectives. The Agreement also provides for enhanced transparency of action and support through a more robust transparency framework. Further information on key aspects of the Agreement can be found here." Some of the slides that Glenn Cooper discussed with our students. A very sobering presentation. Charlotte Haeusler pictured during her presentation. The workshop was particularly timely as the year 13 Geography students are researching the effects of climate change on sea level rise at a global scale and they will be completing an internal assessment looking at where sea level rise is occurring, what factors /processes have caused sea level rise and what are the consequences for people and economies. The main regions they will be looking at are Aotearoa and Pacific Islands, in light of the Pacific Islands Forum discussion last week. Social Science are collaborating with the Science department, sharing resources and discussions about how to teach students about the topic on a whole-school approach and the Council's input was a valuable resource. We thank Glenn and Charlotte for their time and energy in working with our students on a very important topic that we know we all need to act on.

Trident's Year 11 student Mokoia Savage - Kerei spent some of her school holidays in Wellington at a Science camp. We spoke to her to find out more about her adventure and congratulate her on her selection for the camp! Can you tell us what the camp was about? The camp was based on the STEM section which stands for Science-Technology-Engineering-Maths, this camp was originally designed for innovative young woman around New Zealand How did you get selected for this camp? While at school I received an email from my science teacher which basically informed me of the camp. I was quite interested, especially knowing that it was based on the STEM section, and knowing that it was an all girls trip I was intrigued to sign up.  Still, I was unsure if I really wanted to sign up, it took me about a week to decide whether I wanted to or not and with the help of family, I pushed myself to go for it. It was only 30 mins before the due time around 11:30pm, I gathered my courage to write a true and short essay on my interests and future. After a few months I had thought I didn’t make it in, but then out of nowhere I received an email saying I had made it in! I was in shock, yet super excited and I couldn’t wait to tell my family! How many other students were on the camp with you? There were 80 girls from all over NZ, including 2 other girls from Whakatane. We were split up into groups of 40 and went on the camp seperately (group 1 went for the first week in the holidays and I went with group 2 in the second week). The camp was Wellington, where did you stay? We stayed at a nice place called Silverstream Retreat, where the food was great and we also had our own bunk rooms which had at least 4 beds in each room, and decided on our own room mates. It was really cool because I was able to make new friends and share our similarities and differences. What is your specific area of interest in science? I would have to say Chemistry. I think Chemistry is fun because you get to experiment and do fun practical activities. What did you learn on the camp? I learnt a lot of new things, and visited heaps of places I never knew existed. I also learnt how to play mafia which is cool game to play with your friends, I also went to the beehive and met Chris Bishop too! On the American coin - if you see that tiny speck, it is actually a miniature boat!

Linette Lengkeek arrived back in New Zealand on Sunday after spending 10 days on the Asian Science Camp which she was selected for in April. Only 6 students from around New Zealand were selected to attend this prestigious camp which included funding for everything all bar some of the flights. Linette was one of four Trident students that were nominated to send an application form to the Royal Society of New Zealand to attend the Asian Science Camp. Linette and Ms Nolan (Linette’s Science teacher) wrote testimonials and Linette’s academic results as well as a CV were included in the application. Linette was rapt to have been selected from this process. During week 1 of Term 3, Linette flew to Hong Kong for 3 days, where along with the five other New Zealand senior high school students and a teacher, she went sight-seeing and got to know the other students before they all took a high speed train to the camp in Shantou, China. The group of 258 students from mainly Asia and the Pacific, but some from Europe also, stayed at Guandong Technion University for 7 days. The camp hoped to disseminate the spirit of science and enlighten more young people to explore the unknown world. While on camp, Linette attended lectures from Nobel Prize winners and other Professors including the inventor of artificial cells. One of the days was devoted to a ‘tourist excursion day’ where Linette went to Chen Cihong’s Residence and tried her hand at Chinese embroidery at a Chinese Culture Club. Linette enjoyed the experience of attending an International Science Camp and learning about Science, different perspectives and discussing ideas that she hadn’t previously explored. The experience in China has cemented the fact she wants to continue with her Science Studies when she leaves high school. At this stage, Linette is looking at studying Environmental Science and Technology in the Netherlands at Wageningen University & Research. Linette has a brother and sister studying at a different University, but also in The Netherlands, where she has a lot of other family members living.

Welcome to Brett Wharewera who has joined our team and is now teaching in the Learning Centre, Brett has already been a part of Trident prior to his appointment, as coach of our 1st XV Rugby team. Where have you come from prior to starting at Trident? I taught at Edgecumbe Primary School for the past 7 years. What inspires you in your teaching practice? I love being a teacher and am passionate about what I do. Helping, guiding and supporting youth to achieve their goals in a positive learning environment is what I enjoy doing. Most memorable teaching moment? After each year being able to sit back, reflect on the year, thinking of highlights, witnessing students grow, achieving their goals and the lifelong bond that we form together. Who is your role model and why? I've had a number of role models but the biggest influence has been my father Koona. Always caring to others, works harder than anybody and does everything he can to help those in need. What is a fun fact our students might like to know about you? I once worked for Vodafone as a business consultant. There I was the arm wrestle champion for two years before moving home and officially retiring from competitive arm wrestling in 2006. Tridents Tane the Tiger shouldn't feel bad about losing to me during our assembly. If he wants I can help him with his arm wrestling technique but also his dance moves. We welcome Katie to our official teaching staff, Katie is a familiar face as she has been working at Trident in a relieving role prior to accepting her current position as Teacher in Charge of Health. Where have you come from prior to starting to Trident? Over the past five years I have taught at Opotiki College and Mount Maunganui College where I taught a range of subjects including Physical Education and Health, Food Technology and Hospitality. What inspires you in your teaching practice? I am an enthusiastic and innovative teacher who is extremely passionate about making a difference to students lives. Nothing beats having one of my students realise their full potential. What is your most memorable teaching moment? My year 12 Food Technology class at Opotiki College created dishes for an assessment using local produce sourced from around the local community. The creativity and critical thinking from the students absolute blew me away. One of the things I love about teaching is what I learn in the process. Who is your role model and why? One of my closest friends - Alicia. She is the strongest person I know and has overcome many obstacles in her life. Alicia has Alopecia which is a medical condition that effects hair growth. It has been a huge drive towards her determination to live life to her full potential by not allowing this condition to define her. Despite many obstacles she faced she was the first family member to finish high school. She then went on to graduate from university as an accountant. She started travelling the world from a young age, from volunteering at orphanages in Thailand to working as an accountant in the Caribbean. She has also recently published a children book which focuses on educating children around Alopecia and is currently starting her own business. She lives by her motto "I live life to live not to exist". What is a fun fact we can share about you? I have traveled to 24 different countries around the world! We welcome Donna Huntington back to our Trident staff but while she is a familiar face for many staff, she is a new face to our students and is here teaching Mathematics. Where have you come from prior to starting to Trident? I came from the Salvation Army Education and Employment. I was last at Trident 10 years ago. A fact the students may not know is the I attended Trident as a student too. What inspires you in your teaching practice? The ahha moment when students "get it" is what inspires me. What is your most memorable teaching moment? Not sure I have a most memorable moment. I've been teaching for too long! What I do like though is catching up with ex students and seeing them do well. If you were an animal, what would you be?! If I was an animal I would be a tiger. Welcome to Stephen Loft who has moved to Whakatane from Nelson to take up a position teaching Mathematics. Where have you come from prior to starting to Trident? I have moved up from the sunniest place in New Zealand, Nelson. I had only lived in Nelson for 4 years, previously I was up in Auckland at One tree Hill College. I have also taught in New Plymouth, Hamilton and Tokoroa. I am looking forward to all that the Bay of Plenty has to offer, especially the best beach in New Zealand being so close by. I really enjoy the outdoors, and even though I will miss my kayaking and tramping in Abel Tasman National park, I am looking forward to exploring the Whakatane and districts out door opportunities. I am looking forward to teaching Mathematics here at Trident High School. What inspires you in your teaching practice? I think the best thing about teaching mathematics is, discovering different ways do doing the same thing. Often as you move up in mathematics classes you learn new techniques that solve similar problems in whole new ways, sometime more complex, but sometimes it’s even easier. What is a fun fact we can share about you? One of my passions is computing and robotics and I have, I mean my son has, lots of lego at home to create all sorts of robotic creations. Welcome to Gareth Vlotman, who has come all the way from South Africa with his family to teach here at Trident. Where have you come from prior to starting to Trident? I came from teaching in an all boys High School in South Africa. What inspires you in your teaching practice? It inspires me when I see learners excel and become the best that they can be. What is your most memorable teaching moment? The most memorable is definitely moving abroad to NZ to teach. Who is your role model and why? God is my role model as he makes me the best person that I can be with him anything is possible. What is a fun fact we can share about you? My favourite movie is Rocky!