Takapuna Grammar

Young composer shines in national contest

Year 12 Takapuna Grammar student Matthew Spooner has been picked as one of the top five in the country in a young composers competition run by the New Zealand Choral Federation.

His work, I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud, will be workshopped by the New Zealand Voices choir at the federation’s annual conference, Choral Connect, this week. Matt was up against students nationwide, as well as some entries submitted by school choir teachers. They were judged by leading composer David Hamilton. “This is a wonderful win for him,” said the school’s head of music, Lauren Raby. The same composition won third-equal at the The Big Sing composition competition.

It has been a busy time for Matt, who sings in both TGS’s Chorale and the Sultans of Swing choirs. He also accompanies the Leonessa choir on piano.

Matthew Spooner.

Environmental Group clean up St Leonard's Beach and plant Kawerau Reserve

During this winter 15 students from the Environmental Club went to do a beach clean-up on our beloved St Leonard’s Beach. It was the coldest day of the year with the thermometer showing three degrees at dawn. But our students did not let the cold air defeat their burning passion to make a difference in our community.

We wandered down to the beach, along the coast and filled our bucket with things that don’t belong in our ocean. Wipes and pieces of plastic were the common items we picked up. It reminded us that we all have to reduce the use of these items in our life. As we made our way to the rock pool, we saw a couple members of the public also cleaning up the beach. It was great to meet some like-minded people doing the same.

Earlier in the term, 33 students from the club made their way down to Kawerau Reserve to plant native trees along the coastal fringe ecosystem of Ngātaringa Bay which is of special ecological importance. These mangrove areas provide important habitat for wading birds such as the poaka (pied stilt). Participation in this sort of planting is critical to the restoration of this habitat and is part of the wider Ngātaringa Eco-Corridor project.

IB Students present their Theories of Knowledge

Our students completed their Theory of Knowledge (TOK) presentations at the end of Term 2. As part of this IB component, each student chooses a knowledge question and delivers a presentation where they explore all relevant aspects of theories and philosophies they have learnt and apply them to a real-life situation.

In the Theory of Knowledge course our students are able to showcase their critical thinking skills and familiarise themselves with philosophy and metacognitive concepts that they can then apply to all areas of learning. The topics for their presentations included ethical and religious considerations around the Covid-19 vaccine, the role of artificial intelligence, and the genetic engineering of human embryos.

Leo Sbai, TGS IB2 student, delivering his TOK Presentation.