Darfield High School Thursday 31 August Newsletter

Wisdom through learning : Akona to matauranga kia mōhio 31 AUGUST 2017

THREE OF THREE: DARFIELD BLUE WIN AGAIN!

AKITAKATA: CELEBRATING 20 YEARS

YEAR 10 STUDENTS' COUNCIL WITH MAYOR, SAM BROUGHTON

Principal’s Comments Recently, we celebrated the 20-year relationship between the Akitakata District in Japan and Darfield High School with a special assembly and the planting of a commemorative tree. At the assembly, we welcomed Mr Hamada, the Mayor of Akitakata, Mr Kelvin Coe, the Mayor of Selwyn up until last year, Mrs Allison Rosanowski who was the Principal of Darfield High School for 16 years from 1993–2008, Mr Sasaki the Principal of Takamiya Junior High School, and the Akitakata delegation of students.

On 20 September 1997, a sister school agreement was signed by Mr Yanagawa, Principal of Takamiya Junior High School and Mrs Rosanoswki, the Principal of Darfield High School. Since this time, it has been a very active relationship. We have had visits every year by groups visiting Darfield and, every two years, we have had a group visit Japan. We have visited each other's countries, visited local museums and landmarks, stayed in each other's homes, shared food and celebrated together. Many students, parents and teachers have had the opportunity to be part of this partnership.

Selwyn, part of Canterbury, is similar to Akitakata, part of Hiroshima Prefecture.

Akitakata is made up of many small towns close to the big city of Hiroshima. Selwyn is made up of many small towns (and a few big ones) close to the city of Christchurch.

However, whilst Selwyn is many towns on the flat of the Canterbury Plains, Akitakata is

made up of towns and villages tucked into many hills and valleys.

Akitakata is known for many things but in particular in the 1500s, it was the centre of the kingdom of the famous Samurai warrior, Mori Motonari, who ruled over a large area of Japan.

Akitakata is also known for the dramatic Kagura plays with their music and masks and dancing. Mostly, however, we know Akitakata for the friendship and welcome it has shown us over many years.

The motto of Darfield High School Disce ut intellegas is about becoming wise through learning.

AL’S AWAR NCIP DS PRI

Congratulations to the following students who have earned five Deans Awards. They are presented with a certificate in assembly and receive a $10 voucher.

Sophie Clarke Isabella Kennedy Emily Waters

The following is a quote by an Egyptian writer, Naguib Mahfouz, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1988: “You can tell if a person is clever by their answers. You can tell if a person is wise by their questions.”

I believe that our long relationship with Akitakata has helped our students to go beyond just answering questions correctly about Japan. Meeting people from another country, and experiencing another culture through visiting and living in each other’s homes, I believe has given our students wisdom. It has enabled our students to ask wise questions.

James Morris

Daffodil Day donations help fund vital research, education and a range of support services for the one in three New Zealanders affected by cancer. Rawhiti House staff held a morning tea and raised $175 adding to the Malvern total of just over $8200—awesome!

Cover page photos: Top right: Darfield Blue: Katherine, Charlotte, Sophie and Georgia (Photo credit: Pauline Jarvis) Middle: Front row: Benson Wong, Emily White, Katherine Hadler, Maya Paige, Alex Gerritsen, Rebecca Manifold, Mayor Sam Broughton, Ollie Sutton, George McIntosh, Jesse Gray, Harry Williamson; Front Row: Sophie Townsend, Casey Roessink, Stefanie McKenzie, Ella Roessink, Rozlyn Doherty, Monique St Clair-Newman Bottom:Sumi Hyakawa-Buist with Kelvin Coe, Mayor Hamada and students from Yubetsu

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Congratulations Todd Thomas has been selected for the Canterbury Country U48kg Rugby Team Jonty Kupe has been selected for the Canterbury Country U65kg Rugby Team.

Mitchell Longdin is in the Canterbury Country U16 Squad.

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Darfield Blue Win the Jane Sullivan Trophy!

Twenty one teams and 14 schools represented meant the Canterbury Secondary Schools One Day Event was going to be a huge event. Perhaps the most coveted prize in interschool equestrian competition, due to the popularity of eventing, winning this was going to be no mean feat.

The cross-country was more technical and challenging this year, and only 10 of the 21 teams finished with a ‘live’ score (three of each team needed to complete all three disciplines to be ‘live’ or competitive).

So…we did pretty well! Two of our three teams finished with a live score, a super effort considering that two of our teams had only three riders to begin with. Darfield Blue: Katherine Hadler, Charlotte Thomas, Sophie Jarvis and Georgia Allison were leading after the dressage and, after superb cross-country and showjumping rounds, won the event and with it the Jane Sullivan Trophy.

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Darfield Maroon: Jodie Rollings, Caitlin Rayne and Mikayla Jarvis also had a superb day, finishing fourth after their dressage, and fourth overall. Darfield White: Caitlin Aubrey, Cassandra Aubrey and Niamh Rayne had some super performances, with just a few errors meaning the team did not put up a live score. Special mention must go to Niamh Rayne: her horse was lame on Friday, so she had to borrow a horse which she had never ridden, and managed to complete the training course in style.

At the end of the day, the top six teams were handed their spoils, and Darfield High School took two of the six top positions. It was an impressive sight to see our team of ten riders enter the arena for Prizegiving wearing the school colours.

I am extremely proud of all of our riders.

Their polish, sportsmanship and pure love of their sport make being their Team Manager

a pleasure. A special mention must go to Georgia Allison for her contribution to this sport and her team. She continues to impress me in her role as Equestrian Captain.

A super big ‘shout out’ to all the mums, without whom this would not be possible.

They give up many weekends preparing horses, plaiting, driving horses around and helping at events as Fence Judges, Dressage Writers and any other of the myriad endless jobs. Also a big thank you to Pauline Jarvis and Sarah Kennedy for their awesome photographs of the event.

Well done, everyone!

Miss Nicky Voss Clockwise from top left: Darfield Blue: Katherine, Charlotte, Sophie and Georgia; Georgia; Jodie; Below: Niamh, Caitlin Aubury, Cassandra, Georgia (Equestrian Captain), Katherine, Charlotte, Nicky Voss, Sophie, Mikayla, Caitlin Rayne, and Jodie

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Student Volunteer Army Harriet Cottrell, Ella Roessink and Jessica Galletly, alongside the University of Canterbury Student Volunteer Army (SVA) and other Canterbury Year 10 students, held a working bee at Victoria Park on Tuesday 8 August.

The UCan programme encourages local secondary students to become leaders in their communities through volunteering.

I got to do this amazing course by applying through school and being picked by Mr Adams.

Year 8 Garden Project The weather is warmer now and the Year 8s are moving towards Spring with lots of plans in place for the next month. The students have been busy building the planter boxes with the timber kindly supplied by Mitre 10. The plans were drawn up in class and they all took turns making up each one with the pre-cut timber. This week the soil arrived which means the next job is wheelbarrowing it down to fill the boxes.

During the day that we volunteered, we went to Victoria Park in Christchurch and did some work with trees. We took off the cages around them so they could grow bigger. We had a BBQ lunch where we were able to make our own burgers. :) I really enjoyed working in a team as I ended up making some really cool new friends and it boosted my confidence around other people.

Jess Galletly

Students are watching their raspberries and other fruit plants for signs of new growth while they have been working on the site, clearing twigs and garden rubbish. There are plans to build benches to sit on which they are then going to paint, to plant their seeds and to put in the irrigation.

Mayor Sam Broughton, visited the garden area with students and Mr Morris (above) to discuss the overall plan and he also gave them some ideas to think about.

Cantamaths Several teams entered the Cantamaths Competition held at Burnside High School. All teams made a great effort and good start and they were great representatives for the school.

Year 7 Team Year 10 Team 1 Shimee Araguas Katherine Hadler Dylan Butler Hayley Murray Isla Blaber-Hunt Emily White Louis Aitken Sophie Palmer Year 9 Team 1 Issie Kennedy Jack Kennedy Amanda Jones Will Davidson

Year 10 Team 2 Rebecca Inch, Lewis Smith, Caitlin Warrington Caileigh Peaufa,

Selwyn Video Competition Caleb Blackler and Kohen Earl have produced a video for the upcoming Selwyn Environmental Video Competition. All are welcome to attend the Awards Ceremony and public viewing of all videos on Friday 8 September 2017 at 6.00 pm at the Lincoln Event Centre.

Hamish, Rhiannon, Hailey, Ava, Sophie and Sam check out the test plants.

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31 AUGUST 2017

Celebrating 20 Years:

Yubetsu Exchange

Recently I was lucky enough to be awarded a two-month scholarship to study in Japan. From 28 May–29 July, I stayed in a little town called Yubetsu, in northern Japan.

While I was there, I stayed with two different families, both of which were fishermen. Yubetsu is very similar to Darfield; it's a countryside town with roughly 9000 people. Its main attraction is a beautiful tulip park, modelled after those in Holland.

I attended the High School for one week, joining the Year 12 class. It was a bit different to ours as there are six periods in a day and only a lunch break, but there is a tenminute break in between each class and there are vending machines you can buy from. There are four classes, with 110 students in total, and the school building itself is three storeys high.

Our Friendship with Akitakata On Friday 18 August, Mayor Hamada of Akitakata City, accompanied by other adults and 20 students, celebrated 20 years of friendship with Darfield High School. It is 20 years since the Akitakata School and Darfield High School formed a sister school relationship and this was celebrated last Friday with Junior school students at Darfield High School. After a special assembly, we planted a cherry blossom tree as a symbol of peace and friendship.

The Chair of the Sister City Committee in Selwyn, Mrs Allison Rosanowski (former Darfield High School Principal), who signed the sister school agreement with Takamiya Junior High School in 1997) attended this ceremony along with a former Selwyn District Mayor, Kelvin Coe. Rachel Phillipson, our Head Girl, made a speech and planted a cherry tree with students from Akitakata School. We hope our relationship will continue well into the future.

After school most students attend a club, and I joined the volleyball club. The possible clubs to join are volleyball, basketball, baseball, track and field, and band, and they went every day after school til 7pm, as well as Saturday mornings.

I spent two days at the Primary School with the local English teacher, Oliver Hutchinson, who is also from Darfield. For the remainder of my time, I went to Junior High School, which had three classes with 90 students, ranging from age 12–15, and joined the track and field club. They also have six periods in a day with a lunch break, and clean the school at the end of the day. The school provides hot lunch for the students every day, and we ate at our desks in our classes. I was also lucky enough to get calligraphy, origami and craft lessons, and a lesson on traditional Japanese games.

Thank you very much to the Kudo family, and the Uchino family for having me. Thank you to Yubetsu Town Council for the Scholarship, and the school teachers and office staff for looking after me very well. Overall, it was an amazing experience, and if given the chance I would go back in an instant. I highly recommend it to everyone.

Cassie Hart

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Why Learn

Languages? ● LEARNING LANGUAGES PROVIDES A MEANS OF COMMUNICATING WITH PEOPLE FROM ANOTHER CULTURE AND EXPLORING ONE’S OWN PERSONAL WORLD ● LANGUAGES AND CULTURES PLAY A KEY ROLE IN DEFINING AND DEVELOPING OUR PERSONAL, GROUP, NATIONAL, AND HUMAN IDENTITIES ● EVERY LANGUAGE HAS ITS OWN WAYS OF EXPRESSING MEANING WHICH HOLDS INTRINSIC VALUE AND SPECIAL SIGNIFICANCE ● LANGUAGES LINK PEOPLE BOTH LOCALLY AND GLOBALLY ● INTERACTION IN A NEW LANGUAGE INTRODUCES YOU TO NEW WAYS OF THINKING ABOUT, QUESTIONING, AND INTERPRETING THE WORLD ● LEARNING A LANGUAGE PROVIDES THE COGNITIVE TOOLS AND STRATEGIES TO LEARN FURTHER LANGUAGES ● AS STUDENTS MOVE BETWEEN AND RESPOND TO DIFFERENT LANGUAGES AND DIFFERENT CULTURAL PRACTICES, THEY ARE CHALLENGED TO CONSIDER THEIR OWN IDENTITIES AND ASSUMPTIONS ● AS STUDENTS LEARN A NEW LANGUAGE, THEY DEVELOP THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF THE POWER OF LANGUAGE ● LEARNING LANGUAGES HELPS TO DEVELOP THE SELF-CONFIDENCE OF STUDENTS AND THEIR ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE EFFECTIVELY ● STUDENTS OF LANGUAGES ACQUIRE KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, AND ATTITUDES THAT EQUIP THEM FOR LIVING IN A WORLD OF DIVERSE PEOPLES, LANGUAGES, AND CULTURES ● LEARNING LANGUAGES IS IMPORTANT FOR THE SOCIAL, CULTURAL, ECONOMIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL WELLBEING AND GROWTH OF NEW ZEALAND ● DATA SHOWS THAT LEARNING ANOTHER LANGUAGE RESULTS IN IMPROVED COGNITIVE SKILLS AND HIGHER TEST SCORES ● LANGUAGES SKILLS ARE CONSIDERED A DESIREABLE ASSET BY EMPLOYERS IN MANY SECTORS ● LEARNING LANGUAGES WILL PREPARE YOU FOR A FUTURE IN WHICH ENGLISH IS NO LONGER THE DOMINANT GLOBAL LANGUAGE ●

GROWING LANGUAGE LEARNING IN NEW ZEALAND www.ilep.ac.nz 6

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International Languages Week The week included a food quiz that required the students to identify dishes and their ingredients from different countries, an international dress-up competition and a colouring competition. In addition, students also learned foreign language greetings to say to teachers while endeavouring to win lollies. These activities kept the students entertained throughout the week.

The International Languages Department would like to thank all the staff and students for their enthusiastic support throughout the week.

Also, thanks to Mrs Hayakawa-Buist, Mme Juhel, and Ms Williams for all their efforts in making International Languages Week a success.

Panos Tsavousis, HOD International Languages

Japanese Day On Friday 4 August, Year 10 Japanese attended the Japanese afternoon at Villa Maria College. Seven other Year 10 Japanese classes from other high schools attended as well.

We started off with a briefing from one of the senseis who arranged this afternoon. Shortly after this, we got to watch a kendo demonstration from the Christchurch Kendo Club who also gave us an opportunity to participate.

The next thing we did was get into a rotation with groups of us trying origami, kanji writing, kendama and a chance to wear traditional clothing, which is called Yukata. This also included a sushi break.

Once the afternoon finished, Sensei Hayakawa took us to an Asian supermarket where we got the chance to buy food to take home. I would like to thank Sensei Hayakawa for this opportunity as I believe my classmates and I learnt a lot about the Japanese culture and even some new phrases to use in class.

Saskia Jansen

DELF 2017: celebrating success!

Congratulations to Zara Woodward, Year 10 (left) and Michelle Bruce, Year 11 on their success in the DELF examinations this year.

The DELF (Diplôme d’études en langue française) is an official qualification awarded by the French Ministry of Education to certify the French language skills of non-French learners. One could say that the DELF is to French what the TOEFL is to the English language. DELF qualifications are recognised throughout the world as reliable proof of proficiency in the French language. There are six levels of proficiency. Holders of the B1 (3rd level) can apply for jobs in France and are exempted from language examinations when applying for citizenship, while holders of the B2 (4th level) are exempted from language entrance examinations in French universities.

This year, Zara sat the first level and Michelle the second; and both gained great results in these examinations. Well done, girls; you made us proud!

Language certifications such as the DELF are being increasingly introduced in many education systems, including outside Europe, as the importance of defining international standards in language proficiency is now widely recognised, particularly with a view to facilitating the mobility of students and professionals. For the last four years, Darfield High School has offered its students the opportunity to prepare for and sit these examinations. And over the past four years we are proud to say that we have maintained a 100% success rate. An outstanding result that the French Department is very proud of!

Mme Juhel

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Council with Sam This term in Year 10 Social Studies we have been learning about the Government. We now know how the government runs and what each function does. It has given us an insight to how our country operates. We learnt that, even though we have to be 18 to vote, we can still have input and make a difference to our community. To do this, we thought of ideas of how to improve the Selwyn Community. We then wrote submission letters, which a selected group then presented to the Mayor, Sam Broughton.

To many, Sam is still just part of our school; many know him from his position as Youth Worker here, or taking part in events like Shave for a Cure, or a book launch, but this time, he was here to listen to ideas the students had for the Selwyn District.

We were privileged to spend a lesson sharing our ideas and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Ideas included upgrading the Darfield swimming pool, upgrading the Darfield High School gym, a new BMX and motocross track, hosting a Spring festival, and improvements to the Recreation Centre.

There were also a few ideas presented which are already in the process of happening, such as improvements to the water schemes, and a new supermarket.

Sam gave us feedback on our ideas and told us how we could take them to the next step. At the end he asked us some general knowledge questions regarding the Selwyn District and those with the correct answers received a prize. On behalf of the Year 10s who attended, we really appreciated this opportunity to make a difference in our community.

Emily White and Stefanie McKenzie

Investigating Wainui Mrs Nicky Voss On 1and 2 August, 14 Year 13 Biology students travelled to Wainui to carry out their Animal Study Investigation. The students stayed at Wainui Park which had superb accommodation. Given that we were the only school there, we virtually had the run of the place.

Day One involved taking transects of different intertidal zones followed by collecting Half Crabs, which were needed for the experiment.

Some of the students were initially rather reluctant to touch the crabs, let alone catch them but, after the first hour they were fascinated by what they were finding and fully engrossed in their task. The students set up their experiments afterwards and spent the rest of the day collecting and interpreting data.

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Day Two began with a rather leisurely breakfast, followed by completion of experiments, releasing crabs, and the cleanup, and before we knew it we were heading home.

This activity reinforced ideas of experimental design, and gave the students an opportunity to make mistakes, work out solutions, and realise some of the difficulties in carrying out behavioural experiments on animals.

Back in class, they set about analysing their results and writing their reports. All of the students were fantastic on this trip and it was an absolute pleasure to take them to Wainui.

A big thank you to Miss Kerry Sulllivan who accompanied us on this trip.

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Balloons, Beads and Eyeballs Science classes are always pretty neat and the teachers work hard to make the subject fascinating for the students, preparing experiments and activities to better explain their topics.

Miss Voss has been teaching Year 7 students Expansion and Contraction in their Particle Model unit and they carried out a variety of experiments such as the one above right using balloons and candles and the one below that showing students how particle behave in hot and cold liquid.

Year 9 students in Miss Graham's class were paired up and given cow eyeballs to dissect and study. Looking at the surrounding tissues, they see how they work together to allow for sight. A cow eye is very similar to the eye of a human. By dissecting and examining the anatomy of a cow eye, students can learn how their own eye forms images of the world and sends these images to their brain.

Mrs Wilson's Year 11 class has been studying the make-up of DNA. To be able to understand this, they chose what they wanted to be, eg human, butterfly, brown trout, chimpanzee, and then by using four different coloured beads (A, T, G and C) arranged in a certain order, they could replicate the DNA of that creature in a bracelet. DNA is made up of molecules called nucleotides. Each nucleotide contains a phosphate group, a sugar group and a nitrogen base. The four types of nitrogen bases are adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G) and cytosine (C). The order of these bases is what determines DNA's instructions, or genetic code.

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Sausage Sizzle!

Selwyn Youth Council members, Jason Flewellen and Tyla Harrison-Hunt (above), cooked a lot of sausages last week! In return for filling out a questionaire, students were rewarded with sausages. The Council was wanting to know what they thought about public transport, whether they would use a bus service to Rolleston and when they might be likely to.

Got Talent?

The stage is waiting for YOU! Call in at Student Admin and collect your entry form for the DarďŹ eld High School Talent Quest. Heats will be held the week beginning Monday 18 September.

DARFIELD HIGH SCHOOL TALENT QUEST FINAL NIGHT: TUESDAY 26 SEPTEMBER, 7.00 PM 10

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What Do You Know?

Students test their knowledge in the annual House Quiz Another House event in our calendar is the House Quiz and this occurred recently over three lunchtimes. Students make up teams of four and answer a range of questions in different sections. Music, native birds, sports, and geography were a few of the topics and then there is a famous person to guess over several clues.

Points for the Quiz are awarded for each team's participation and placing for each year level Quiz. Mr Adams has tallied up all the scores and the winners this year are Tawera followed by Rawhiti, Kikorangi and Waimakariri. Well done to all those who took part and gained points for their House.

At the beginning of Term 4, 2016 we started the IMPACT GROUP. It was pitched to the Year 9s at a Dean's Assembly as a way to get informed about "How the world has an IMPACT on you, and how you can have an IMPACT on the world and, through this, be able to develop some good leadership skills." From there, a group of students applied and we started to meet and learn together.

Hannah Cossey, Youth Worker

The group requires high commitment; we meet for one hour weekly for an entire year. Each student who chooses to participate is responsible for turning up each week and making up for the class they miss in their own time. There are also projects throughout the year as we put what we learn into action.

We have learned about a whole range of topics, including Consumerism, Social Media, Global Citizenship, FairTrade, Climate Change, Sustainability, Waste and many others. Each week, we start with a quote that challenges us and gets us thinking. The great thing about this programme is that, even though we learn about a lot of different big issues, we are not challenged by them to be weighed down or feel like we have to solve those issues; we are challenged to learn and then choose our response once we are

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informed. None of us can solve the big issues by ourselves but each of us can make a difference if we choose to.

Hayley Murray and Emily White are two of the awesome students from this year's IMPACT group and they have their say about IMPACT here: "In Impact, I really enjoyed learning about being a global citizen and how what we do and buy affects the whole world. It was interesting looking into what brands have the best and worst Fairtrade rating. It was very surprising to find out that Kmart has one of the best Fairtrade ratings, whereas brands, such as Amazon, have the worst. I am also enjoying the topic we are doing at the moment—Purpose.

It is really enjoyable learning about how I, as a student of Darfield High School, can make a Positive Impact on other people’s lives."

"In Impact, I enjoyed learning about big issues and what they mean to us here in little old New Zealand. Learning about how we can fix these problems is a great contrast to just hearing about them and everything that’s going wrong."

Being a part of the IMPACT group is a really great opportunity and we strongly believe you should take the opportunity.

A new IMPACT group will start in Term 4 this year with a new group of Year 9s.

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Left: TJ Davis and Georgi Pander

Interested in a Career in the Snow Industry?

Ex-student, Jason Collins, left Darfield High over 20 years ago, having enjoyed the Wednesday afternoon ski sessions in Term 3.

He is now back where it all began—Porters, following his passion for adventure tourism. He did some work experience at Porters, organising the students into groups and teaching, and he hasn’t looked back.

Jason spent the first season running ski hire and teaching skiing.

He was working with a lot of instructors from overseas and there was no training for him. So he trained himself by taking the exams and then resitting them in the following years. It was a long and costly process.

After seven years of winters around the world, Jason has developed an easier, faster and higher quality pathway for others to get into the industry. He had always wanted to complete unfinished business at Porters and give back to the industry.

He was very keen to give other Kiwis the chance to get into the industry. Now, in the position of Head of Ski School, he has been

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able to train six Kiwis from the NMIT Polytechnic and offer support to two local lads sitting their Level 1 Instructor’s exam at Porters. He says it was “awesome to put the Kiwi back into it”. TJ and Georgi from Darfield High School are the two local lads who are now proudly sporting the NZSIA Level 1 badge as ski instructors. They now intend to come up to Porters on weekends and holidays and learn to teach alongside our instructors, with the aim of being on the payroll as parttimers next year. Jason is delighted to have them on board.

Now, Jason would like to develop a programme for Darfield High School students to develop the skiing and teaching skills to set them up for their Level 1 exam, which would be held at Porters. The programme would be held alongside the school’s ski programme and fees would be similar to the normal lesson rate. After that, Jason would be keen to keep the students progressing so that they can become employees of the Ski School.

Mor information and pre-entry requirements will be included in the next newsletter and queries will be responded to after that date.

31 AUGUST 2017

Canterbury P & I Championships at Mt Cheeseman Sunday 20 August

On Sunday 20 August, Mr Maude took a group of students up to the Cheeseman Canterbury Ski Race. It was a great day. The day began with about three hours of free time before our race started.

It was a long painful wait, just wondering how well you will do or if you might crash half-way down the course. They only way to pass the time was to ski and look over course getting to know it. As you waited in line, the start just crept closer and closer. You would be standing in the cold hearing "3... 2...1.. go!" over and over until it was your turn. When it comes to your turn you get ready to go. As you launch off the start pad, all you see is the flags fly by and it is a great feeling.

Monique Weber RESULTS POS NAME (#) 3 Mari Henderson (35) 5 Izak Derik-Westaway (9) 6 Tom Freeman (11) 7 Jordan Yaxley (45) 9 Monique Weber (14) 10 Will Cookson (52) 53 James Day (18)

TIME CATEG (POS) 00:00:49.2 Years 7 & 8 00:00:50.4 Years 7 & 8 00:00:50.8 Years 7 & 8 00:00:51.4 Years 7 & 8 00:00:53.6 Years 7 & 8 00:00:53.8 Years 7 & 8 00:01:02.6 Years 7 & 8

(2) (3) (4) (5) (3) (7) (38)

GENDER (POS) Female (2) Male (3) Male (4) Male (5) Female (3) Male (7) Male (38)

Above: Georgi, Mr Gavin Chalk and Viktoria

Canterbury School Ski Championships at Mt Hutt Congratulations to Georgi Pander who was first in his category.

Viktoria Derik-Westaway skied very well and came in 10th place.

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Silver Winds The wind howled around the house, sending cold gusts through cracks in the windows. It howled in the fir trees, blowing them back and forth.

The grey clouds rained snow and hail upon the farm.

Someone had left the barn door unlatched and it swung, creaking on the rusty hinges and banging against the wall.

The lake had frozen over completely, and the stream stood still.

Creative Writing

Araminta snuggled under her covers, shivering. The fire was long since out and her window was open. The latch had broken and it could not be closed. She reached out to Thunder, a grey tabby sleeping on the end of the bed.

A cold draught blew through the window as it banged against the frame. A cold chill went down her spine, sending shivers to her heart. Thunder purred and cuddled up next to her, wishing that the winter would end. Far from it, in fact. Araminta pulled up the covers, and hid her head in her pillow. It was a midwinter storm.

By Sophie Tiede

Down below, the fireplace was out, and the ashes flew in the wind that blew in.

Araminta reached a pale hand out and picked up her warm bathrobe. She pulled back the covers and slipped into her robe. She shut the window and jammed it into the frame.

Holding it with one hand, she grabbed a wooden plank and boarded the window. She stroked Thunder, who was now interested in what she was doing. He slipped under the covers where Araminta had once been, and watched with great curiosity.

Araminta sat down at her desk and opened a drawer. She pulled out a small stack of papers, tied up with twine. The paper on top was a letter, written in black ink, addressed to Miss Araminta Snow, signed by Quentin Thorne.

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Dear M

inty, How is the far m? I m it out h iss t ere. I w ill be co he wind in th e ming o How a ut whe firs, you don't re you n the r get and Th oads a under? re clea The sn r. ow ha s burie knee d d the h eep an ouses in d very for eve a thick cold. W ryone white b e have a nd pilin have b lanket been s g it up een pr , h o velling in e tendin m each m o snow u nds. Th g to be ound a e little mo s their up in w kids own. M untaineers a arm clo nd claim o t her alw thes, e myself ing ven th ays ha . ough I s me w tell her rap I can ju I can ma st pictu nage re the f snow is a r m a blan , a ll white a ket, tuc are tire nd asle king th d in au ep e world tumn, colour in to sle . The and in s and d s e p p. The r ance a trees ll summ ing they dres I hope s e in r . bright everyo ne is w mothe ell, and r and A send m unt Mil y best lie.

Warm wishes wishes to you to you r and I t Love, ruly ho pe I see Quent you so in on.

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What It Takes to be a Leader?

This term, the Year 7s are focusing on Leadership in Social Studies. Over the last four weeks, we have had a variety of different guest speakers talking to the students about this topic. During Week Two, we had our Head Prefects, Gus Thomas and Rachael Phillipson, speaking about their role, followed by our Board of Trustees Chairperson, Sue Robinson, then our Youth Workers, Mitch and Hannah, and this week, Mayor, Sam Broughton visited. They talked about how they became leaders in the position they are now, the consequences and things they have had to give up to be a leader, the qualities of a leader as well as messages to help the Year 7s.

Just some of the important messages have been: •

Speak up and don't be afraid to show your opinions

•

Don't make the wrong decision twice

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Team work—you have people to help you; you don't need to do it all yourself

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Where there is a will, there is a way

•

Leaders aren't always at the front; we can all be leaders

This has been a great experience for all the Year 7s.

Above: Year 7s with Gus and Rachael

Welcome Welcome to student teachers, Finn LeSueur and Katerina Papageorgiou. They will be with us until the end of Term Three on their final teacher placements.

Below left: Finn working with students making DNA bracelets in Mrs Wilson's Year 11 class Below right: Katarina challenging students to transfer from pose to pose

Finn is working with teachers and students in the Science and Maths Departments and Katerina in English and Drama.

quickly, depicting either knights or kings, in Mrs Hanson's class.

Fees and Financial Assistance for NZQF Qualifications Students must pay their fees to have their results recorded on their Record of Achievement, and to receive certificates. There are separate structures for domestic students and international students. Financial assistance is available for domestic students to help with the payment of entry fees. Financial assistance is not available to international fee-paying students. Entry fees are paid to the school.

How do I apply for financial assistance?

To get financial assistance, you need to fill in an Assistance form and give it to your school. You can get this form from Shona, in the school office, or by emailing ss@darfield.school.nz, or the NZQA website at www.nzqa.govt.nz/financialassistance.

Can I get help to pay?

Financial assistance can be applied for if your family cannot afford to pay the fees.

Who can apply for financial assistance?

To be eligible to apply, you must be the fee-payer and meet at least one of the following criteria: •

be currently receiving a Work and Income or Study Link benefit, or have a current Community Services Card (benefit-based applications)

•

are not currently receiving a Work and Income or Study Link benefit, or do not have a current Community Services Card, but do have a joint family income that would entitle you to receive a Community Services Card (income-based application)

•

have two or more children who are candidates, irrespective of family income, and the total fees you would have to pay would otherwise be more than the $200 multiple candidate maximum (multiple candidate applications).

How much does it cost?

Domestic student entry for all NCEA standards

$76.70

Domestic student entry for a Scholarship subject

$30.00

International student entry to NCEA standards

$383.30

International student entry to a Scholarship subject

$102.20

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Darfield High School 1st XV Season Report 2017 The School 1st XV Rugby team have had a very successful season. They have played 12, won eight, drawn two and lost two. The team has scored 370 points against opposition teams and others have scored 156 points against us. I believe this great success reflects our coaches' hard work, time and effort put into the team at all trainings, games and fixtures. The team has bonded very well over the season, with everyone having strong relationships, which also reflects our success.

After every game, a 3, 2, 1 point system is named and it is judged on three points for who played the best, down to two and then one. At the end of the season, these points were added up and prizes were given out. This competitiveness within the team environment meant everyone played better to win prizes. For the MVP point system rewards, Cole Spinks (right: on the attack against Buller) got first with nine points (1, 3, 3, 2). Sam Inch-Reed got second with seven points (3, 2, 2) and Toby Kars and Daniel Felipe got third with five points each. Toby scored (1, 1, 1, 2) and Daniel (2, 1, 2).

This season was very good compared with other seasons, because the three games that the 1st XV usually play against Ellesmere College, Mt Hutt College and Geraldine High School are part games all on the same day, but this year The Hazlet Rural Ltd Plains Cup tournament was introduced and this involved full games against each other over three weeks. This year, the competition applied with all the teams playing full games, as it was 30 years ago. We really enjoyed the season because there were so many games and a lot of rugby was played.

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The first pre-season game, vs Middleton Grange home (h), we won 26–10. Next was for the start of the Brockbank Graves Trophy, which is a tight battle between us and West Coast teams. This Trophy is played for in a tournament where West Coast teams come over here to play us and then we visit them.

The first game played for the trophy was against Westland High School away (a). We won 41–0. Next game was vs Buller High School (h).

It was a draw, 7–7. The third was vs Greymouth High School (h) and we won 45–42.

College Day, another of our competitions, was held at Burnside Park, with our opening game vs Christchurch Boys' High International; we won 14–12. Our next game was against Rangiora High School 2nd XV; we lost 0–5.

College Day ended with a game against our old rivals, Westland High, which we drew 5–5.

The Hazlet Rural Ltd Plains School Rugby Trophy's first game was against Ellesmere College (h). We won 41–7. We came up against Geraldine High School (a) next and we won 55–7. The final game was against Mt Hutt College (a); we won 32–23.

The Southern Tour was the last big trip and, I believe, the highlight of the season. I am

very grateful that I was able to go on the tour and be a part of the experience even though I didn't play. The team played against Timaru Boys' High School (a) and lost 20–26; a nailbiting game. That was in Timaru, where we stayed the night before refuelling for the next day with a game against King’s High School (a) in Dunedin, which we won 84–12. On Tour, we went out for dinner at Robbies in both Timaru and Dunedin. We went to the pools in Dunedin to recover from the last game.

During the trip, there were a lot of food stops, which were fun because it meant we visited a lot of townships we went through; there was a shop with a parrot outside that could repeat some words that you said.

Overall, it was a fun and compacted season for the 39-man squad which showed a lot of people were interested in playing for the 1st XV and, after this season, the team has two titles under their belt, The Brockbank Graves Trophy which we hold with Buller High School, and The Hazlet Rural Ltd Plains School Rugby Trophy, which the team won with the new competition this season.

I would like to say "thank you" to everyone involved in managing the team, especially our two coaches, forwards Coach, Mr MacDonald, and backs Coach, Mr Bell. I would also like to say thank you to the school for offering this opportunity and all the work that is put into the team.

Ged Roessink, Team Captain 2017

Below: The full squad with the two trophies won

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Ki o Rahi On Friday 4 August we took part in the last Ki o Rahi tournament of the year, held at Lincoln High School. This tournament comprised 16 teams from the Canterbury region and was run by Ara. Our first game was against Christchurch Boys' High School; we lost by one point with a score of 9–8, after being in the lead for most of the game. Due to this loss we needed to win our next two games to progress into quarter finals. We then beat Avonside by 13 points with a score of 19–6 and Riccarton by 11, with a score of 13–2. Our next game was against Shirley Boys in the quarterfinals; we won 10–6. In the semi-final, we lost 6–14 to Lincoln High who then went on to win the tournament. We then had a penalty shoot-out against Haeata, which we lost.

Overall, it was a successful day with Darfield placing fourth and everyone enjoyed themselves. Well done to Isaac Proud for winning 'Fairest player in the tournament'.

We wish seniors all the best for their exams, which have been on this week.

Left: students wait outside the hall, some doing last-minute revision, at the beginning of the day for their exam

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31 AUGUST 2017

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31 AUGUST 2017

School and Community Notices Visit our website https://darfield.school.nz/

Term Dates 2017

Term 3: Monday 24 July to Friday 29 September

for general school information, newsletters, and our photo gallery.

Term 4: Monday 16 October to Thursday 14 December

Monday 23 October: Labour Day

Thursday 16 November: Staff Only Day

Friday 17 November: Canterbury Anniversary

TERM THREE WEEK SEVEN

Start-up dates for 2018 Office opens: Monday 22 January (skeleton staff ) Staff Only : Monday 29 January Year 7:

Tuesday 30 January

Lost Property There is a large number of unclaimed items from last year. Please can you get your students to come and take a look if they know something has been misplaced. Parents: you are most welcome to come and check the clothing and items at Student Administration.

If you have changed addresses or phone numbers, please tell the Student Administrator, Mrs Hill. Ph 3188 411

Monday 4 September • Secondary Schools' Winter Tournament Week Thursday 7 September • HPV Vaccine No 2 Friday 8 September • Year 11 Rural College Practical Day WEEK EIGHT Monday 11 September • Year 8 Camps to Mt Hutt (to 15th) Tuesday 12 September • Board of Trustees Meeting, 7.00 pm Friday 15 September • Year 13 Rural College Practical Day • Year 10 Pre Formal WEEK NINE Monday 18 September • Talent Quest Heats Begin at Lunchtimes

Visitors to the School

Tuesday 19 September • House Meetings: Voting for Captains • PTSA Meeting, 7.45 pm

If you are visiting our school during the school day please visit reception on arrival at our campus. Our friendly office staff will then assist you from there.

Wednesday 20 September • Year 12 Science Trip

Payments for Activities and School Fees Bank Account: All payments to school (school fees, activity fees, NCEA fees, etc) can be made by direct credit to the following bank account. Please include the student’s name and the reason for the payment, eg Camp Fees.

Darfield High School, ASB Bank Limited, Riccarton, 12-3147-0207317-00 Remember: If your student is not at school, or arrives late, please phone the school to explain the absence

Uniform Shop Hours for Students

Thursday 21 September • Supporters' Evening, 5.30 pm Friday 22 September • Year 11 Rural College Practical Day Saturday 23 September • Year 13 Outdoor Ed Tramp (to 25th) WEEK TEN Monday 25 September • Canterbury Secondary Schools' Golf Championships (to 26th) Tuesday 26 September • Talent Quest Final, 7.00 pm • Endemetriosis Information Afternoon for Year 10s Thursday 28 September • Newsletter • Year 11 Drama, 7.00 pm Friday 29 September • Last Day Term 3

Monday: 11.00 –11.25 am Thursday: 11.00 –11.25 am ISSUE 10 / DHS DISPATCH

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Uniform Reminders Blazers: Blazers are to be worn on Tuesdays.

Parents, please remind your students to bring their blazers on Tuesdays for Assemblies.

You need to know this information regarding uniform: •

•

•

•

The regulation shoes for boys and girls are black, LEATHER shoes.

Boys choices are lace-up or slipon. Girls may wear lace-up, t-bar or d-bar.

In terms of keeping warm, you may wear regulation DHS school jersey, DHS blazer, or a plain navy, or black, fully zipped jacket. The jacket must be shower proof.

Free Health Clinic for students Public Health Nurse: Pa m Eaden Pam Eaden, our Public Health Nurse, is available every second Monday during lunchtime in the Counsellor's Office, commencing Monday 6 March. Pam is available to discuss confidentially any health concerns, physical, mental and sexual health. This is a drop-in service or you can make an appointment with Ms Mallinder or Mrs Townsend.

Parents with concerns regarding their child's health are able to refer to the Public Health Nursing service on www.cdhb.health.nz/phns.

Thermals may NOT be seen at the neck or below the sleeves of school shirts. Be aware that both short sleeved and long sleeve shirts are available for purchase at The Warehouse in Rolleston School Ties: from Term 2 you will be required to wear the school tie with your uniform.

•

Students are permitted to wear a plain navy beanie or the DHS beanie with crest. This is for outdoor wear only.

•

The only jewellery permitted is a wristwatch and one gold or silver stud in each ear. No other jewellery is to be worn.

•

Ensure that your child is wearing the correct socks to school. For both girls and boys, knee-high black socks are required. If your student is playing a winter sport in the following codes, they will need a pair of Darfield High School socks: Rugby and Hockey.

These are available from the school office only.

DHS DISPATCH welcomes any news or photographs you have from events our students have attended outside of school.

We love to hear about and share successes and interesting stories.

Please email: sheryl@darfield.school.nz

Supporting our Teens in their

Health and Wellbeing There has been a lot of public discussion about youth mental health recently. The Ministry of Education has asked all schools to let parents know where to find information to support the mental health and wellbeing of their children.

Parents are encouraged to regularly check in with their child about how they are doing and the things going on in their lives.

You’ll find links to organisations you can contact for help and advice if you are concerned about your child: www.parents.education.govt.nz/ mental-health/

PARKING OUTSIDE THE SCHOOL Outside the school on McLaughlins Road, is a no stopping zone. We need parents to observe the ‘No Parking or Stopping Zone’ between the School’s front gate and bus bay.

To keep students safe, we need this area clear before and after school. There are signs indicating the restrictions.

Opposite Darfield High School on McLaughlins Road, car parks are marked out and broken yellow lines are painted outside residents' driveways. Please ensure you park within the allocated carparks and not in front of residents’ driveways. The carparks outside the school hall are reserved for staff and visitors coming into the school.

Your co-operation in this matter is appreciated. There is usually plenty of space around the bend towards Bangor Road, or south-west on McLaughlins Road.

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Black and white paper copies are available from reception or Student Administration.

Colour and back copies can be ordered by emailing the above address. Please enquire for cost.

Advertising: If you would like to advertise in our newsletter, please email for more information.

7 McLaughlins Road PO Box 5 Darfield 7541 New Zealand admin@darfield.school.nz www.darfield.school.nz Phone: +64 3 318 8411 Fax: +64 3 318 8543 Copyright: You are welcome to reproduce material from the newsletter after gaining permission from the school.

All reproduced material must be appropriately acknowledged.

Photos of school events can be found on our website and may be downloaded for personal use only. There is a download icon at the right of each photo.

NCEA FEES DUE Friday 1 September 31 AUGUST 2017

LIFEGUARD STAFF WANTED! Darfield and Sheffield community pool require part time Lifeguard Staff for the upcoming summer season.

Great customer service skills, reliability, good swimming skills are required and a minimum age of 16. Training for lifeguard qualification will be offered.

For more information and to apply please follow this link or copy paste into your search engine. http://sdcjobs.co.nz/ Vacancies/3699563/title/ Community-Pools-Lifeguards

Ellesmere Teenage Girls Rugby Academy To all Ellesmere Rugby Clubs, High Schools, Parents and Female Rugby players currently U13 – U16.

Next Season the Canterbury Rugby Union are wanting to start a new grade for Teenage Girls. Ellesmere Rugby would like to have a team participating in this grade. We have a proud history of girls being involved in our JAB Rep teams.

With the recent changes in the eligibility rules there is now a gap for players between the ages of 13 – 16. We are very keen to keep female players connected to the sub union and provide coaching, development and a pathway to senior woman’s rugby.

In preparation for the 2018 Rugby season we would like expressions of interest from all U16 Female Rugby Players interested in playing Saturday Club Rugby.

Please see the attached link to register players. Please share the link to anyone that may be interested in taking part.

Could we have all players interested registered by Friday 15 September.

We would like to conduct a meeting with all potential players and parents before the October School Holidays.

Any questions, please contact Phil Thomas Ellesmere JAB President 021 0629554. http://www.sporty.co.nz/viewform/53846

Darfield Scout Group needs more Leaders so we can get kids off a wait list!

No experience needed, just your life skills and enjoyment for the great outdoors!

Scouts NZ provide a national programme.

If you’ve ever thought of volunteering and want to give back to your community, give being a Leader a go!

Get in touch with Rhonda (Group Leader) for more info darfieldscouts@gmail.com

WOMENSWEAR • MENSWEAR • CHILDRENSWEAR • HOMEWARE

School Uniform

The next DHS Dispatch deadline for sending in articles and photos is

If you need to buy or sell good conditioned second hand Darfield High School Uniform then let Polkadotcom make it easy for you.

We can take orders and sell on behalf, taking the hassle out of school uniform.

Dont hesitate to contact us.

Friday 22 September We welcome your contributions

PTSA Meeting Tuesday 19 September

7.45 pm

All Welcome ISSUE 10 / DHS DISPATCH

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TRY THE TRACK

DENTON OVAL HORNBY

Selwyn Athletic Club

Registration and Open Day Sunday 3 September 2017 Brookside Park, Rolleston 10 am-2 pm

Canterbury Track Cycling will hold their Try the Track days on; • Wednesday 27 September 1pm to 3pm and • Sunday O1 October 4pm to 6pm • Wednesday 04 October 4pm to 6pm Bring your road bike!

Come along and experience the fun of riding on a velodrome.

Is this for you? Then join our world famous in Canterbury Junior Development Programme.

We offer; • 5 weeks of coaching

Everyone welcome - come and have a go Juniors (age 4 -14), Seniors and Masters For athletes and those keen to assist and coach If you would like to know more and/or are unable to make it to Registration Day and would like to receive an electronic registration form, please email selwyn.athletics@gmail.com Registrations after 3rd September will be accepted

• Tailor made development racing all season with ongoing coaching • Runs from 8th of October 2017 thru to 4th of March 2018 • Cost: $150.00 including track bike hire for the season

Text my Lunch is coming to Darfield High School Soon!

For more information and contact details please go to our website WWW.CANTERBURYTRACK.CO.NZ or our Facebook page with the same title.

We're pleased to let you know that we will be running a Defence Careers Experience (DCE) in October of this year. This will be a five day residential experience held at Burnham Military Camp and will cater to Secondary School Students that are interested in a career in the Navy, Army or Air Force. This will be held from 01 - 05 October 2017.

We're looking for smart, active and team minded students who are interested in joining the NZDF once they leave school. This is ideally suited for Yr 12 students, but Yr 11 and Yr 13 students can also apply.

Once we receive applications we will be asking Career Advisors for recommendations / comments regarding students from their schools in order to assist with selections.

Applications can be made online through the Defence Careers Experience Event on our Christchurch Defence Careers Facebook page. https://www.facebook.com/events/1645722735469635/ Applications Close: Thursday 24 August For further enquiries regarding the DCE, please contact us at DefenceCareersSouthern@nzdf.mil.nz

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31 AUGUST 2017

Street Talk Defensive driving Courses Cost $175(includes driving session) Enrol: www.fusiontrust.co.nz txt: 027229 8018 e:office@fusiontrust.co.nz Held at Rewi Alley Riccarton 6-8pm Sept Mon 11, Wed 13, Mon 18, Wed 20 Held at St Bedes College Mondays 3-5pm Sept Mon 4, 11,18, 25th Held at Christchurch Girls 3.15-5.15pm Sept Mon 11, Thur 14, Mon 18, Thur 21

Monday 2nd and Tuesday 3rd October from 9.00 am–3.00 pm in the Term 3 school holidays at Marshland Domain. This is a great chance for students to learn the skills of American Football while also trailing for one of two Canterbury squads. Enquiries, please contact: shaw@marshland.school.nz or 0273913287

Thank you to McKinlays for sponsoring shoes for some of our students.

Their support has been very much appreciated!

Thank you very much Hunter Glass! The Year 9 Science students appreciate your donation of mirror glass to make their periscopes.

In mid-August we’re holding an information session regarding the nursing programmes offered at Ara Institute of Canterbury.

The Bright Awards is a celebration of secondary school students across Aotearoa in Years 11–13 who are bringing their creative craft to life.

Win $1000 for you and $3000 for your school!

Categories: Graphic Design, Web and Interactive, Photography, Animation, and Games. https://brightawards.co.nz/

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For students considering a career in nursing, the session is a great opportunity to get an overview of the Bachelor of Nursing and to gain an understanding of what nursing study involves. The session will also discuss the career opportunities and further study options available to nursing graduates.

Nursing information session: 5.30 pm–6.30 pm, Thursday 17 August TL104, Timaru campus, Grey Road

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SELWYN’S

GOT TALENT SATURDAY 14th OCTOBER OSBOURNE STAGE - ELLESMERE SHOWGROUNDS, LEESTON

NNNNNN

2017

SPRING SHOW TALENT QUEST

10.00am until MID DAY

This is a fun talent quest where you can have the chance to win cash prizes, have fun, shine and show your talent!

JUNIOR SECTION SENIOR SECTION OPEN to individual Entrants 14 years and under as of 14th of October 2017.

Entrants 15 years and over

or group entries.

as of 14th of October 2017.

Dance, singing, music, poetry/prose, comedy...

Registration Deadline: Monday 25th September Visit the Ellesmere show web page www.ellesmereshow.co.nz to down load registration forms. Send all regisrations or communications to selwynsgottalent@gmail.com Address: 7 McLaughlins Road

PO Box 5

Email: admin@darfield.school.nz

Darfield 7541

Web: darfield.school.nz

New Zealand

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