ĀWHINA
SUPPORT FUND.

SUPPORTING ALL STUDENTS TO REACH FOR THEIR HEIGHTS

I don’t know how I would have provided school essentials for my daughter over the past 2 years without the incredible financial support that Awhina has given us. Being a single Mum of three, living in Queenstown is not easy. The initial cost of school uniform is huge, as is the cost of camps. I could not have afforded these without help from Awhina. My son starts WHS in 2020 and again, Awhina has come to the rescue and I am so grateful. Thank you.

THE ĀWHINA FUND'S PURPOSE

The purpose of the Āwhina Fund is to ensure equity of access to Wakatipu High School’s great all-round education and ensure that there are no financial barriers for students and families to be able to participate in the vast range of curricular and extracurricular opportunities that are on offer at school.

The fund is designed to assist families financially with all aspects of school life, including uniform, fees, laptops, camps and all other school-based and extracurricular activities.

Support the Āwhina Fund

ACCESS SUPPORT

We understand that on occasion, families may need assistance in meeting the costs of various aspects of school life. We want families to feel able to ask for help when they need it.

While some families feel embarrassed about asking for financial assistance, we aim to make them comfortable by ensuring a high degree of confidentiality.

Access Āwhina Support

The Awhina funding was very helpful in that it removed a sense of pressure I was feeling in relation to the payment of Branches. I knew it would likely be the only time I applied for the Awhi help and so I felt I would ask as we were encouraged to do so through the Principal. The team at WHS were very helpful and although I would have rather not needed to ask, they made me feel at ease about it. The funding helped because it allowed me to channel the $250 elsewhere. I am very grateful for it.

THE AWHI FUND IS MAKING A DIFFERENCE

I am writing this message to sincerely thank you for your ongoing support of me at WHS throughout the last two years. I am currently a year 10 student at WHS, and love taking part in the many opportunities presented to me through the school. Such a large variety of activities often come at a cost, which can often be a struggle for families to pay.

Queenstown, albeit being a beautiful place to live in, is a very expensive home, so many students may have to miss out on experiences because their families (including ours) would struggle to accommodate for them financially. This is why I am so incredibly grateful for the Āwhina fund’s continued support of myself and others throughout their time at WHS.

So far, Āwhina has supported my family through their sponsorship of academic and co-curricular opportunities (including music lessons, drama workshops, the ICAS exams and this year’s G&T field trip). One of the most iconic parts of Year 10 at WHS is Branches - the twelve-day outdoor camp. Branches provides countless unique opportunities for students, including an overnight rafting trip and the iconic three-day-hike to Lochnagar among many others.

Of course, these activities do come at a cost, despite the school’s best attempts to keep the price low, so Branches camp is an experience many students may have to miss due to financial restrictions. Āwhina's continued support of the camp, and students wishing to take part, is truly amazing, as without your support, it is likely that I (and many others) might have missed out on the camp. I believe this camp has helped me develop as a person, and Branches 2019 was nothing if not a story to tell.

I truly cannot express how thankful I am for your support, and how incredibly proud I am to live in a community with people who look out for one another in such an incredible way. I try to do my bit in this cycle of support - my mother and I regularly volunteer and try our best to help our community in any way we can. We are both incredibly thankful for all your support.

YEAR 10 STUDENT, WAKATIPU HIGH SCHOOL, 2020