Lincoln High School Newsletter

Principal's Message

As we move through the final weeks of Term 3, there is a lot to celebrate and much for our students to focus on.

As we respond to the incoming junior curriculum changes and to the results of our recent curriculum review, our curriculum review group has worked hard to ensure that our timetable and curriculum structure will be well placed to meet these changes and provide the platform required for academic excellence and success. We are currently finalising improvements in this area, which will retain our strong focus on strengthening literacy and numeracy, ensuring continuity of instruction in the junior school, and maintain a breadth of option choices for our students.

With our CAA and derived grade examinations now approaching, this is an important time for our students. The message I keep returning to is a simple one: hard work pays off. The results our students achieve will reflect the effort they put in, and the best thing they can do now is make an early start on their revision and assessment tasks. In our recent full-school assembly, I highlighted that committing to getting started is often the hardest part, and I encourage all students to take that step so they give themselves the best possible chance of success.

It was also great to see so many of you last night at our Year 9 to 11 Whānau/Kaiako interviews. Thank you to the families who came along to discuss progress and next steps with our teachers, and I hope the feedback you received about your child's progress will assist them going forward.

I want to congratulate our sports teams on Winter Tournament Week. Their results across the South Island were excellent, and we should be proud of the way they represented Lincoln High School, both on and off the field.

Beyond sport, it has been a pleasure to see our students extending themselves in so many areas, from outstanding success in academic competitions such as the Brain Bee Challenge and Tournament of Minds, to achievement in the arts, music, and student leadership. The willingness of our students to challenge and extend themselves should be congratulated.

Again, I wish our students well for their upcoming CAA and derived grade exams, and I encourage them to continue working hard to secure their best possible academic qualification.

Click here to access the survey

Brain Bee - South Island Competition

This was held at UC at the end of last term. The day involved practical activities, research presentations, lab tours and the teams and individual finals of the brain bee South Island competition.

We had eight year 11 students invited that had put in a phenomenal effort over many months learning about neuroscience and achieved highly in round 1.

On the day, we achieved a high level of success. Max Davey, Ella Poxon, Oli Seifert, and Jonathan Searle made up the winning team, securing LHS's place as top South Island school.

Desandunie Sethma, Max Davey, and Jonathan Searle made it to the top 10 finalists, all competing to become the South Island Champion. Desandunie showed off her outstanding knowledge and placed second becoming the south Island runner-up champion which is a fantastic result and comes with an internship at Otago University over the coming holidays.

On Saturday 29 August, our school proudly hosted the regional Tournament of Minds competition. Tournament of Minds challenges students to work collaboratively over six weeks to develop creative solutions to complex, open-ended problems before presenting their work to judges. Teams are also assessed on their teamwork and problem-solving skills through an unseen spontaneous challenge.

This year, our school entered five teams: two in STEM and one team in each of the Language Literature, Social Sciences, and Arts disciplines. Over the six-week preparation period, students demonstrated outstanding creativity, commitment, and teamwork as they developed and presented their solutions.

All five teams performed exceptionally well, achieving outstanding results across their respective categories. The STEM competition was particularly exciting, with our two teams locked in a closely contested battle throughout the day. In the end, Phoenix 4.0 narrowly edged out The Scaled Lads to claim the regional STEM title, with both teams earning excellent scores.

We are especially proud to announce that four of our teams won their regional divisions and have qualified for the New Zealand National Finals in Wellington this weekend.

Congratulations to all students involved for their hard work, dedication, and success. We wish our national finalists the very best as they represent both our school and region on the national stage this weekend.

2026 Tournament of Minds teams

Wanted for Winning (Language Literature)

Caitlyn Cassidy, Celia Crombie, Caitlin Head, Ava Lynch, Amelia Privilege, Katherine Zhai

Pink Ladies (Social Studies)

Alifa Azzahra, Sophia Lee, Yue Li, Sofia McGregor, Evie Nicholls, Lucia Pellegrino Serra, Sofia Podolyan

Fantastic Fish (The Arts)

Olive Duncan, Charlotte Greer, Fern Harding-Stanley, Frankie Hindson, Anna Landreth, Olivia Tan, Abby Wilson

Phoenix 4.0 (STEM)

Jesse Dodgshun, Max Eberhard, James Hunter, Inian Meiyalaghan, Quinn Sullivan, Joseph Wheatley, Ternence Yao

Scaled Lads (STEM)

Nico Dando-Etchells, Leo Evetts, Bernard Gouws, Conrad Heenan, Romeo Li, Dylan Renwick

Work Makes Work

Year 11 Visual Arts Exhibition at Down by the Liffey Gallery
27 August to 6 September 2026

Last Sunday marked the successful conclusion of our Year 11 Visual Arts exhibition at the Down by the Liffey Gallery in Lincoln. The exhibition showcased an impressive range of student work, including sculpture, digital collage, printmaking, and photography.

Housed in the historic Coronation Library, the community-run gallery regularly features the work of local artists. For many of our Year 11 students, this exhibition was their first opportunity to publicly display their creative achievements, making the experience particularly meaningful.

The Visual Arts Department is incredibly proud of the dedication, skill, and creativity demonstrated by these young artists. Gallery volunteers have shared how impressed they were by the quality of the work on display and the promising future of the visual arts within our community.

Congratulations to the following students for their contribution to the exhibition:

Daniel Benison, Ciara Dickson, Clara Graham, Quin Johnson-Stark, Emma Kane, Yuanhan Liu, Fleur Maitland, Phoebe McMenamin, Freya Rendall, Bella Viljoen, and Jaz Yang.

Since its foundation in 1959, students and staff at Lincoln High School has been very proactive in pushing environmental issues, and producing leaders in this area.

2003 and 2004 were two quite remarkable years. The Lincoln Environmental Organisation (LEO) had been established, and the BOT had the goal of the school progressing towards a “zero waste to land fill” kura. A major piece of work though, was to plant 900 plants in the Mahoe Reserve, as part of the revegetation project started in 2002, in what had been an old shingle pit. Initially, around 100 students were involved with support from Motukarara Plant Nursery, Citycare and the Selwyn Council. The goal, moving forward, was to plant an additional 800 plants every year for the following three years.

In 2004, Lincoln received several awards. The Green Ribbon Award from the Ministry of the Environment for outstanding leadership and commitment to environmental. Teacher Dr. Sue Jarvis and student leader Steph Owens were flown to Wellington to receive the award. Lincoln also won the Selwyn District Council Environmental award for the mahi done at the Mahoe Reserve. Steph was also made the Future Environmentalist of the Year by ECan and the YHA/DOC Harakeke Award.

The Mahoe Reserve that you see and enjoy today is the result of the effort and support of the community. Students, Royal Forest and Bird, various families associated with the school, Lincoln Lions, the Lincoln Golf Club and many other groups and individuals have provided practical or financial assistance. It is a great resource for the school and the Lincoln community and needs our protection and care – now and for the future.

Student leadership is well underway as we look towards 2027. Our current Year 12 students have been involved in the Head Student selection process, with shortlisted candidates sharing their ideas and leadership vision before the final student vote. Alongside this, our Year 13 School Council is beginning to look at how we can make student leadership even more meaningful and representative across the school. Council members are working collaboratively to identify priorities for 2027 and consider how they can turn student voice into positive action across our kura.

Student Leaders in Action

A few weeks ago, 30 Year 12 students attended the Youth NZ Year 12 Leadership Summit, held at Lincoln University. Here’s what a participant had to say about the evet:

Going into the Youth NZ Leadership Summit I thought I knew it all. I thought I knew what it meant to be a leader, and I thought I knew what it takes to be one. But after the Summit I learnt I wasn't on the track I originally thought. I learnt a few things at the summit. That being a leader isn't being the loudest in the room or being able to please everyone. It's about being who you are and bringing your best foot forward. “You need to be true to yourself, trust your gut, go with it, and back it.” - Scott Barett.

I learnt that you need to be one percent better than the day before. And making a change can start whenever I want to. It starts with my voice and my actions. It’s about finding my purpose and leading what I can with that purpose. This Leadership Summit was eye opening, and not only did I get to learn the knowledge of great leaders I got to do it alongside students from out of Lincoln High wanting the same goals and aspirations as me. This brought me hope and pure intentions for my future as I want to be able to give back with what I have learnt. Overall, my highlight of the Summit was being able to get an in-depth insight of who I want to be as a leader and what the future holds for me. I look forward to being a future leader within our school and my community.

-Zoe Lancaster

STUDENT EXECUTIVE

The Student Executive is a group of Year 9 - 13 students working to gather student thoughts, ideas, and opinions within our school.

Earlier this term, the Student Executive ran a Clipboard Campaign. Members of the Student Executive walked around the school at break times and gathered student feedback. Three questions were asked: "If you could change one thing at LHS what would it be?”, “Do you feel you have adequate opportunities at LHS?” and “How do you feel about Linc?”. These questions provided the Student Executive with ideas to present for the upcoming Board of Trustees proposal.

The proposal is where the Student Executive presents one major idea or change, they would like to make to the Board. It will be based on the data collected from the Clipboard Campaign and a digital survey that has been sent out. With this information from the student body, the Student Executive filters through the ideas to use them for the proposal to the board.

Finally, the Student Executive is in the process of creating a PowerPoint summary, around a question senior leadership is interested in: “What do you think an outstanding all round education means to you? This will be presented to leadership late this term.

Evie Nicholls - Year 10

SEEK WINTER SPEAKER SERIES

This year, the Seek Winter Speaker Series gave students the opportunity to hear from a range of inspiring people and explore ideas, experiences and pathways beyond the classroom. Across the series, our speakers shared their stories, challenges, successes and advice, encouraging students to think about what is possible for their own futures.

Held before school each Thursday, the series created a space for students to listen, ask questions and engage with people from different backgrounds and areas of expertise. From leadership and careers to personal experiences and life lessons, each session offered something different and, we hope, sparked curiosity and encouraged students to consider new possibilities.

A huge thank you to all of our guest speakers for generously giving their time and sharing their stories with our students. We look forward to building on the series and bringing even more voices and perspectives to Lincoln High School in the future.

Here’s what a student had to say about the series:

The last three sessions of the Seek Winter Speaker Series were as amazing as the ones before. The Seek Winter Speaker Series is a series of talks from successful New Zealanders, giving us advice and showing us unique pathways for our future. Lydia Gliddon’s talk about her journey from small business to mayor showed that anyone can be a leader—if you appreciate the people and work hard to improve constantly. Josh Komen showed that asking for help and accepting change is crucial for moving forward. Zion Armstrong showed that one person can make a huge impact, and that it is always the time for inclusivity. All of them were inspiring. All of them were honest and supportive. And all of them showed that the little things matter—just like our Lincoln High School Tikanga. If you want to gain helpful insights into becoming a strong, confident leader, this is for you.

Yue Li - Year 10

Upcoming Events

Week 9 - Te Wiki o te reo Māori

Ongoing Activities

Study Lounge – Every Monday in Wai Tūhura from 2:45-4:30pm

Breakfast Club – Every Wednesday in Wai Ora from 8am-8:30am

Student Tutoring – contact tutor@lincoln.school.nz for more information

LHS on Socials!

Want to keep up with what’s happening around the school? Make sure you follow our school Instagram page! Run by our School Council, the page shares upcoming events, student achievements, sports results, reminders, and plenty of snapshots of school life. Give it a follow and stay connected with our school community!

On Friday the 28th of August during our lunch break, Mako proudly ran this year’s school Lip Sync competition, bringing plenty of dancing, music, energy, and amazing vibes! This year’s theme celebrated 90s boy bands, with performances inspired by Backstreet Boys, Insync, Boyzone, Westlife, Five, and Hanson.

There was so much happening throughout the lunchtime event, with students dressing up like their bands' singers while also representing their house colours. Each house brought something different to the stage, with every performance having its own unique dances, costumes, energy, and style. It was amazing to see how much effort everyone put into their performances!

With so many different and creative performances to watch, it must have been a very difficult job for the judges to choose their favourite!

Kūaka took out first place with 101 points, followed by Kāhu in second with 97 points. Mako and Kōtare came third with 94 points, Pātiki placed fourth with 92 points, and Īnaka came fifth with 82 points.

A huge thank you to everyone who performed, helped organise the event, and supported from the crowd. Mako did an awesome job running the event, creating a fun lunchtime full of school spirit, laughter, and great memories.

Congratulations to everyone who took part!

Grace Bunting (year 12)

Photo credit - Blake Wilson (year 11)

Months of dedication, regular rehearsals, and a commitment to continual improvement paid off for the LHS Jazz Band at this year's Aurora Festival. Throughout the year, students have worked hard to refine their ensemble sound, strengthen their improvisational skills, and develop the confidence and musicianship that jazz performance demands.

Their efforts culminated in a polished and engaging performance at the Aurora Centre, where they performed alongside some of the region's leading school ensembles. The band's preparation, teamwork, and musical growth were recognised with a Silver Award, an outstanding achievement at one of the major events on the school music calendar.

Following their performance, students participated in a workshop with experienced professional musicians, receiving valuable feedback and new ideas to support their continued development.

Congratulations to all members of the LHS Jazz Band. This result is a fitting recognition of the hard work, perseverance, and passion they have shown throughout the year.