Welcome to Whītiki, our Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington student newsletter. 

Kia ora koutou,

I hope your assessments have been going well, and that you have a great break and are looking forward to next trimester. 

Make sure you sign up for your Trimester 2 courses now by using add/drop on Student Records. You can also talk to your faculty office if you need advice. The course add/drop tool is not available for some courses and you will need to contact your faculty office if this applies to you. You can also use myDegree to help plan your study path.

We are getting ready to welcome new students to our community with New Students' Orientation at the end of this month. If you’re on campus, and see others who look lost or unsure, please stop and see whether you can help, or advise them to visit one of the Info Ihonui teams.   

In the meantime, enjoy the break!

Ngā mihi,
Stuart

Professor Stuart Brock, Vice-Provost (Academic)

The Ministry of Health has information on their website about New Zealand’s rollout of the COVID-19 vaccination. You can find information on the vaccine rollout plan and when you might be likely to be offered a vaccine. 

If you are based in Wellington, Tū Ora Compass Health will contact you when you are eligible to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. They will contact all patients registered with Mauri Ora (Student Health). If you are not registered with either Mauri Ora or another local general practice, we recommend you register now to make sure you are contacted as part of the vaccination rollout.  

Vaccinations will take place at a number of locations throughout Wellington. For the majority of people in the Wellington region, vaccinations will take place at community-based centres. Mauri Ora will not be vaccinating students or staff.  

The vaccine will be free for everyone living in New Zealand, including international students. 

The Living Pā project enters its next stage 

The redevelopment of our marae precinct begins this month, as works begin to create space for the building of our Living Pā.  

The Living Pā builds on the kaupapa of Te Herenga Waka Marae and Te Kawa a Māui, creating a place where mātauranga Māori guides the way in a world-leading sustainable building. It will provide a multipurpose space for students, staff, and the wider community to come together and discuss how we can build a more equitable, fair, and sustainable society. 

This cutting-edge project is focused on ensuring people and the natural environment are protected and supported by taking on the world’s most rigorous sustainable building standard, the Living Building Challenge.  

To create space for the Living Pā, we will be deconstructing and relocating the buildings from 42–50 Kelburn Parade. Works for this begin this month and will run for the rest of the year. The impact on students will be minimal, with pedestrian traffic diverted to the east side of Kelburn Parade. 

The Living Pā team thanks you for your patience during this process and will continue to keep you updated on the project as it develops.  

For more information about the Living Pā visit the project website and contact the project team.  

A time for reflection and celebration 

At the start of July, the maramataka (lunar calendar) denotes the rising of Matariki—the star cluster also known as Pleiades. From 2–10 July, Matariki will be marked throughout Aotearoa New Zealand and is a time for whānau to come together and reflect on the past 12 months and look towards the year ahead. Next year Matariki becomes a new distinctly Aotearoa public holiday. Like Easter it will shift each year, but will fall between June and July.  

At a University Matariki and Living Pā celebration last year, Dr Rangi Matamua (winner of the 2019 Prime Minister’s Science Communication Prize and Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington alumnus) spoke about the nine stars of the Matariki constellation. If you’re interested in learning about Matariki, the names and meanings of each star and their relationships to each other, the maramataka and mātauranga Māori, then watch Dr Matamua’s presentation.  

Returning to Aotearoa New Zealand—my journey

Share your stories with us!
If you’d like to contribute to our student blog myView and share your experiences and stories, visit the website and read our submission guidelines, or get in touch at students@vuw.ac.nz.

Studying at Rutherford House  

Work is continuing to respond to the damage caused by a small fire on level 11 of Rutherford House on Wednesday 2 June which activated the building’s sprinklers. Students are able to access the study spaces and areas they normally use, but staff who normally work on levels 9, 10 and 11 will not be able to access their offices until the refurbishment of these floors has been fully completed. Other staff ordinarily based at the Wellington School of Business and Government (WSBG) may also be disrupted and temporarily working in different locations. Given this situation, please be patient if there is any delay in these staff responding to you or a change in staff availability.If you need to contact a staff member who usually works on these levels, please email them initially. Any further updates will be shared with students at the WSBG by email or on Blackboard.

Manawa Ora—Student Wellbeing creativity competition

Back to the Bubble submissions are still open. Use the holiday period to create an artwork that celebrates wellbeing and sustainability. Entries close on Sunday 4 July.

Sustainability photo competition

Capture the essence of how the University is contributing to a sustainable future and be in to win some great prizes. Entries close on Friday 13 August. 

Conference invitation

The Southeast Asia Centre of Asia-Pacific Excellence invites tertiary students, with an interest in Southeast Asia, from across Aotearoa to attend Standing in the Future: New Zealand and the Indo-Pacific Region. The event will be held at Te Papa on Wednesday 14 July. Find out more and apply.

We’re taking a break 

There will be no edition of Whītiki during the mid-trimester break. The next edition will be sent on Wednesday 7 July. Have a great break!

Whītiki

As a student, we want you to feel connected with your Te Herenga Waka—Victoria University of Wellington community. Whītiki is a Māori word that is often used in a phrase heard at the University: 'Whītiki mai tō waka ki te wharenui nei, ki Te Tumu Herenga Waka'—'tie or bind your canoe to this meeting house, to the hitching post of canoes'. This regular newsletter provides important information and updates from the University, resources to support your studies, and stories from our student community.