DHS Dispatch March 27

ISSUE 3

Field of Remembrance Page 5

Mt Cook Geography Page 8

Shave for a Cure Page 12

Our Japanese Visitors Page 18

Athletics Day Page 21

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FRIDAY 27 MARCH

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2015

The Five Metre Rule!

Challenges at Craigieburn Ms Kelly, Jackson and I made up the tea m that would take these enthusiastic outdoor adventurers on a journey of themselves and the pursuits the ca mp offered.

Mr Gough

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Y ear 9s Face Their Fears

On Monday 16 March, a dreadfully bitter shower descended on Darfield which dampened the spirits of eager 9GOers as they prepared to depart for the first of the Year 9 camps. While it poured here, the information on the conditions inland was more favourable.

The class was divided into two groups once up at the first two activities: Cave Stream and Rock Climbing. These two tasks allowed the students to challenge their fears of enclosure and heights.

Amber Hammond stated that she was most challenged by the rock climbing

because she had a fear of heights.

However, she took the opportunity to attempt it. She made her way up both climbs and discovered that she could overcome obstacles.

Shay Gerrard-Smith loved the Cave adventure. He scurried through the Cave, exploring the hollows and undulating track as we moved towards the end.

However, he continued darting back to check on his group members as they came across difficult aspects of the stream walk, helping his classmates through these.

27 March 2015

On Day Two, the students tried kayaking at Lake Pearson and scurried over the mountain learning about New Zealand Mistletoe and the protection that DHS Outdoor Education class and Mr Dickens have put in place to remove the threats to these. Also, Ms Kelly, Jackson and I organised/rearranged the groups to tackle the Amazing DHS Race. The aim of these tasks was for the students to learn to trust each other, listen to ideas and co-operate to solve a task. They learned a lot about themselves and others in their class.

Day Three meant taking responsibility for cleaning up the Lodge. The students were placed into groups and showed the respect the experience was owed by leaving the place cleaner than they found it. The final activity was walking back to Castle Hill Village via the Hogs Back.

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As the form teacher of 9GO, I want to thank Nic Kelly for her wisdom and leadership knowledge that assisted our students’ learning from their outdoor experience. Also, Jackson (surname never supplied) was a fantastic asset to the activities the students undertook over the three days. They both made valuable contributions to the students’ experience.

Mikayla Jarvis: “I enjoyed Cave Stream because it was something different and I have never done it before.”

Jen Bell: “Cave Stream—because it was a new experience.”

Jackson Smith: “I enjoyed all the outdoor challenges.”

Ethan Taylor: “I enjoyed the Activity Tramp.”

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Principal’s Comments One of the criteria in the professional standards section of my job description is to “actively foster positive relationships with other schools and participate in appropriate education networks.” This could perhaps be the most important aspect of a Principal’s job. I believe that in our education system all schools must be successful schools. We can’t afford to have winners and losers: neither loser schools nor loser students. As a society, we benefit if all schools are doing a great job of educating their students. The only way that this can happen is if we all take responsibility for ensuring all schools do well. We need to look beyond the gates of our own school to work with other schools for the benefit of all.

Recently, the principals of all schools in the Malvern area reiterated their commitment to working together. The Malvern Learning Community Cluster (LCC) is an expression of this commitment.

One of the goals of the Malvern LCC is to improve the literacy skills of our students through a focus on writing skills. As part of this goal, last week two teachers from each of the Malvern schools attended a writing workshop facilitated by Waikato University. Teachers found this workshop of great value and have returned with enthusiasm to implement strategies

presented. Principals will meet next week to discuss how to further progress this project.

Next term, I will be travelling to Auckland with a large group of Canterbury secondary principals to visit schools and hold discussions focussing on the development of ‘Modern Learning Environments’. This goes beyond simply the built structure of the school and looks at the learning strategies and curricula that other schools are developing. With so much new building work underway in Canterbury, it is important that we work together to consider how our classrooms can be configured to best meet student learning needs.

Another type of network building happened on Wednesday when I went with our head students, James Cider and Emma Forbes, to meet with the head students of the other Selwyn secondary schools, Lincoln High School and Ellesmere College. At this meeting, students shared their goals for the year and discussed how their respective systems of student leadership work.

Conversation was open and enthusiastic with a commitment to meet again next term at a different school.

James Morris

These students

These students receive a receive a certifi cate and certifi and a $10cate voucher a $10 voucher

AL’S A AR NCCIIPPAL’S AW WARDS I R PRIN DS

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Ben Francis Eboni Lawrence Caitlin Warrington Crystal van Duinen Juliet Summerfield Monique St Clair Newman

Parents—we need your help!

We are trying to put together a wall of remembrance for relatives involved in WWI. Could you please help your child research any relatives who were affected by or participated in the WWI conflict. All stories are welcome— soldiers, nurses, consciencious objectors, etc. If you could put together a poster with a picture and some information that would be great. Many thanks.

Fire Drill

Above: Mr Adams conducts a fire drill at school recently to test the new alarms and systems

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27 March 2015

Honouring New Zealanders Who Fell During World War One During Period Three on Wednesday, Mr Hoy’s Year 8 class, Mr Hoy, Mr Gough and Mrs Ritchie gathered together under the big trees and set up a field of remembrance.

The thirty crosses made by Mrs Turner and student volunteers, are a silent reminder of New Zealand’s major contribution to freedom and the considerable sacrifice of what was then a very small nation. They bear the names of those who served.

Spam for Soldiers Today Mr Hoy treated his class to a sampling of the fare soldiers lived with day in and day out in the trenches and out on the field. Comparisons were made between the First World War and present day rations. The highlight would have to be the spam cooked up - delicious!

Throughout New Zealand, students will be doing this in advance of ANZAC Day.

Busking for

Blenheim Poppies for a Purpose

On 7 March, the Darfield Jazz Band and Holly Kimber spent the morning braving the rain and busking at the West Melton Market! The two acts performed for two hours and were very well received by the community. The band is currently fundraising and learning new repertoire for their trip to Blenheim in Term Three.

Emelia Todd-Lister, Shannon Griffiths, Ms Gallacher, Mr Morris and Ms Smith work on their poppies during lunchtime. This is one of a series of activities to highlight ANZAC Day and what it means within school.

Issue 3/ DHS Dispatch

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Technology Hard Materials Year 9 students have just about completed their rotation in the Technology classes and those in Hard Materials (Woodwork) were proud to display the fabulous clocks they have been working on this term. With their choice of design variations, students crafted their clocks and made easels to display them.

Below: Aaliyah Van der Heyden, Lexie Purvis, Emma Pennells, and Kyle Horn; Right: Sam Rowlands; Lily Gamble and Laura Ashworth; Cameron Hendriks, and Jesse Frew.

Environmental Study

On Monday 16 March, the Year 12 Science class went to Temple Basin to explore the extremities of weather and environmental factors.

Our walk up there took a little over an hour and a half. It was quite challenging because it was quite steep and some of the steps were large and hard to reach. It was colder the higher up we were, but we stayed pretty warm from the amount of exercise we were doing. Nearer to the top it was really cold and didn't take long to cool down when taking a break for lunch, although the Temple Basin lodge staff were very nice in offering us hot drinks and letting us stay in the warm lodge.

The walk down was surprisingly challenging as well because of how 6

steep it was and also the fact that our legs were jelly by that stage. So when we walked over loose gravel we would just fall straight over from our legs caving in.

We didn't stay as warm on the way down because the mountain was doing most of the moving for us. The loose gravel kind of acted as a natural escalator down. It certainly speed things up a bit.

Overall the trip was awesome because we got to see the way nature lives in extreme weather and also how our bodies react to extreme weather. it gave us an insight to how nature can be unforgiving and how weather can dramatically change.

Kyla Higgins 27 March 2015

A Day at the Museum Art trips are fun and sometimes highly productive. Our recent trip to the Canterbury Museum was both. The museum is a veritable treasure trove of artefacts, many pertinent to respective themes for 2015 of Local Histories (Year 11) and Vanitas (Year 12).

Undertaking visual research from varied sources is a valuable skill for students to develop. The opportunity to do so ‘off site’ is particularly important given our location. As expected, our students put their best foot forward, by making a concerted effort to collect ephemera, photograph objects, and complete a number of observational drawings. Students now have an image bank of relevant subject matter to work with.

In addition to impressing our host, our students proved to be an engaging attraction for swathes of cruise ship visitors during the afternoon: more engaging, I suspect, than some of the taxidermy birds on display. We’ve been invited back, with promises of a tactile investigation of objects from the collection. Watch this space!

Thank you to my wonderful art students for your engagement, hard work, and good cheer. I can’t think of a nicer bunch of people to eat pizza in the Botanic Gardens with! Thank you, also, to Miss Kidd for accompanying us and proving to be an excellent guide.

Ms Smith, HOD Art

Y ear 13s Geographical

Beach Study

On Thursday 12 March, the Year 13 Geography class spent the day at the beach. Our first stop was Taylor’s Mistake in Sumner, where after experiencing some interesting driving techniques from both Mr Quinn and Miss Petersen, we piled out of the vans to collect our first set of data using equipment supplied by the University of Canterbury.

After about an hour in the wind attempting to collect the data (and a few soakings in the water for some), we headed off to Sumner for a “brief” stop for lunch. Once everyone had their fair share of fish and chips, we set off for the next part of our “adventure” to New Brighton.

Arriving at New Brighton, we continued to collect our second set of data; with some having lost the energy and patience to deal with others, it was a very interesting experience to say the least. The final part of our adventure was navigating our way home, where our van got to experience Mr Quinn’s very unique set of driving and navigational skills—which did eventually get us back to school before the other van.

Savannah Sayer and Will Gross

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Glacial Geography At 8.00 am on Sunday 1 March, the first group of us started to gather at the bus bay, awaiting our departure to Mt Cook, planned for 8.30. At 8.30, Mr Quinn arrived and at 9.00 we eventually left for Geraldine—our first stop.

After our quick break, we headed on to Lake Tekapo for lunch, where a couple of the guys hired out Segways while the rest of us ate and took photos.

Once we got to Mt Cook, we settled into Glentanner Camp Ground, where we were staying, and then headed off to do our first research task at Lagoon Stream.

For this, we had to measure the depth of the stream and different points across the stream to draw a cross section. After we finished both the measurements for a straight and an s-bend in the stream, Daniel and Eric jumped into the deep part of the stream to cool off.

When we got back, we all went down to the edge of Lake Pukaki and looked at the turquoise water. For tea we had BBQ

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“

We got to see icebergs rebalancing, eat 600 year old ice …

and a salad which was both coleslaw and lettuce thanks to one of the boys.

After a talk from Ross, the owner of Glentanner, we had spare time and a pretty uneventful evening. With a 6.00 am wake up and after a rush getting ready, we hit the road to the base of the Red Tarns walk where we met Ranger Ray and started our torturous climb up the stairs to the scree slope that we would be studying.

With Mr Quinn telling us we had “not far to go, it only takes 20 minutes,” we soldiered on up the hill, eventually getting to the top after an hour. Ranger Ray and most of the class, who we presume are now part mountain goat, were hard at work measuring rocks on the scree slope. After undertaking our

Year 12s Travel to

Mt Cook

Chloe Fraser and Karta Hewitt

research, we started our descent of the million stairs.

After this, we went to Tasman Glacial Lake where we jumped aboard the small yellow boats to explore the lake. We got to see icebergs rebalancing, eat 600 year old ice and to see the actual Tasman Glacier, which was very dirty looking.

After this, we went to a 3D movie at Mt Cook and spent an hour and a half exploring the information centre. The next morning, with another early wake up call, we packed up our stuff and headed off for a talk about Glaciation before going to the Hooker Valley walk.

This walk was both beautiful and tiring.

We got to see the Hooker Glacier, Mueller Glacier and Mount Cook, along with other beautiful snowy slopes. At the end of the track, we had lunch before heading back to the vans and beginning our long drive home.

Thanks to Kim Ridgen, Mr Quinn, Mr Chalk, and Miss Petersen for their help.

27 March 2015

Above: on the Tasman Glacier Lake Below: (Back) Miss Petersen, Lucy Harrington, Breanna Hale, Emily de Rooy, Mr Quinn, Eric Maxted, Mr Chalk, Ben Weatherley, Courtney Townsend, Sam Dorsey, Kaitlin Feast, Ed Searle and Michael Ridgen.

(Front) Kristen Blaber-Hunt, Mikayla Mills, Ria Leimer, Chloe Fraser, Karta Hewitt, Daniel Roberts, Kyle Paterson, Emma Harding, Georgia Sutherland, Jess Lane, and Michael Campbell.

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Y ear 13 History Trip to Arrowtown Rosie Marchant and Lara Stevens

After dragging ourselves out of bed at a foreign hour, that I’m sure some of us couldn't recognise, the Year 13 History class left for Arrowtown at 7.00 am. After about ten U-turns and five phone calls later, the two Transit vans parted ways and eventually got to Arrowtown at 1.30 pm. We then prepared ourselves for the four wheel driving and jet boating. After having a near-death experience (only a slight exaggeration) on Skippers Road, we arrived at our first activity, jet boating.

It was absolutely exhilarating.

After this we visited an area full of goldmining equipment, including spades and pans, which miners used during the goldrush. These relics had all been found in and around the nearby river. We also partook in some goldpanning which was hard work, but worthwhile, after finding specks of gold. We then went back to the lodge for some AMAZING lasagna and then hopped into bed exhausted.

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Monday morning was again an early start. We went down to the Lakes District Museum at 9.00 am to begin our research. Lunch was well-earned and there were so many shops and places to see, but the Remarkables Sweet Shop was the one favoured by most! After a long day of finding useful information to help answer our focus questions (along with plenty of photocopying!) we went on a short walk to the Chinese village.

This showed us how the Chinese lived during the Central Otago Gold Rush, and also allowed us to get pictures to use as primary sources. After that long day, what could be more fun than testing out the sourest lollies any of us could have imagined? It was a great evening of laughs and we all went to bed feeling happy with our day’s work.

We woke on Tuesday morning to pack up all of our things and head back to the museum. After another two hours

of frantic copying, and cramming our folders with information, we went to have a quick last-minute look around the town. We saw the old jail, church and cemetery which, like the Chinese Village, was an amazing place to gather photos.

Finally it was to time to head home. We got into the Transit vans, and began the long journey back to Darfield. After driving forever (with some of us getting some sleep), a Maccas run was needed in Ashburton. We finally got back around 7.00 pm, unloaded the vans, and went home to our beds.

Unfortunately, some of us couldn’t quite make it out of bed for school the next morning! Overall, the entire class really enjoyed the trip, and gathered useful information that will facilitate excellenceworthy reports. A special thanks to Mrs Turner and Miss Kidd for making this trip possible, and we all agree that it was one of the best trips we have ever had!

27 March 2015

Counting Bugs!

One morning recently, Year 12 Biology and General Science classes ventured to the Selwyn River in order to count aquatic insect populations. However, it was not meant to be, as a poisonous algae population had bloomed overnight, taking control of the river and making it unsafe.

We then travelled to our second-choice location, the Waimakariri River. Here, we discovered conditions were perfect for our new-found favourite activity, counting bugs! Wow, it was to be a very exciting day. The majority of the school day was spent collecting, classifying and counting insects, recording environmental conditions and occasionally falling in.

Insects of all shapes and sizes were found, making for a good basis to write an ecological report.

All of this would not be possible without the help and support of Mr Baars, Dr McKenzie, Mrs Wilson and Ms Tijsen—even though they laughed at us when we accidentally chose the longest stretch of the river to measure from.

Kathryn Barnhill and Lilian Stott

New NCEA App for Students

The new student NCEA App should be officially released very soon. When the App is launched it can be downloaded for free from the Apple and Google Play stores by searching NCEA or NCEA Student.

The key purpose of the App? NZQA has developed a mobile App that allows students to plan their NCEA study programme, set goals and track their progress. The App complements the NCEA Guide App targeted to parents and employers launched in May 2014.

What does the App do?

It aims to do what other apps don’t. Students have been involved in the design of the App from the beginning, and chose the functions that were of most value to them.

Functionality within the App provides students with the ability to: • •

• • •

• •

Select and set their NCEA credit goals and targets (we believe this is important given the flexibility of NCEA).

See how they are tracking towards NCEA Levels one, two and three, including Literacy, Numeracy and University Entrance (UE) Set reminders for each standard such as when assignments are due Capture results as they are achieved and cross check with the school or NZQA Personalise with information such as NSN number or details about a course or standard (such as the teacher’s name or timetabled classroom) Customise with different colour coding options and the ability to add photos Use in English and Te Reo Māori.

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Other features of the App are: • • •

It is simple, clear, easy to use and responsive It provides a short description for each standard It has its own database, which includes all standards and unit standards, and which will be maintained and updated periodically by NZQA • It has a powerful search engine that makes it easy for students to find subjects and standards by “name” or “number” • It is an NZQA quality assured product • It makes NCEA easier to understand.

NZQA encourages students to look at all Apps and choose the one they feel best suits them.

Important points to note •

•

The student is responsible for the security of their own data – NZQA recommends a PIN number on the digital device (phone or tablet) being used as a minimum, and a password on the App (option provided within the App settings).

Responsibility for the accuracy of the information introducted to the App rests with the App user.It is their information and their data.

Minimum specifications •

Minimum operating systems : oiOS 7.1 and Android 4.0 and above - the newer the version the better the performance so; oAndroid 4.1,4.2,4.3 and 4.4 oiPhone 5,iPhone 6,iPad 4 and iPad mini.

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Pretty Irish

Why are we doing this?

Shave for a Cure: Thursday 2 April (Last day of the Term) Every day six Kiwis are diagnosed with a blood cancer or related condition.

‘Shave for a Cure’ is Leukemia and Blood Cancer New Zealand’s signature annual fundraising event. Each year thousands of Kiwis across the country shave their heads to help patients and their families and to point out that they are not alone or forgotten.

I ch ose to do sh ave for a cu re be ca us e it is a great op po rtu nity to he lp out pe op le wh o are suffe rin g fro m leu ka em ia an d I ha ve ne ve r do ne so meth ing lik e this be fore.

Ha rry Willi a ms on

I ch o s e t I wa nt e o s h a ve m y h e a d be ca d to do ch a rity u s t h at h e o m et hi n g fo r a s e lp s N e w a n d tha Z t A s a pa d oe s n't re ce ive ea la n d e rs re nt, if o f u n di n g we re t o n d e ve lop e o f m y chil d re . le u k a e m blood ca n t o k n ow ia, it wou ld be n ce r o r c d e ve lop t h at re s ea rch a ru s hi n g m e nt o f nd we re n o p h a rm a t t reat m e a va il a ble t o h e ce ut ica ls n lp f u n di n g t be ca u s e o f a t h e ir . la ck o f M r Gou gh

Last year we raised in excess of $8500 (this placed us in the top five schools in New Zealand).

This year, we have 18 students and three staff who have volunteered to be part of the Shave team: Ben Francis Jayden Fraser Callum Jones George Ridgen Kieran McKay Caleb Blackler Harry Williamson

to e ci d ed o r a C u re d e v a f e Ih wa s t Sh a v s u ppo r e m y m u m wit h s be ca u di a g n o s ed ly re ce nt r. e ca n c u ru Ms P

a nd I’ve ha d frie nd s ca ncer, by fa m ily af fe ct ed ti m e I it’ s a nd I fe el lik e fica nt ni sig d o so m et hi ng ort. pp to sh ow m y su Will G ro ss

t t o h e lp I ju st wa n a n. c t h e be st I es Ca ll u m Jo n

Cameron Mills Scott McKay William Gross Bailey Campbell Simon Seelen Jonathan Paxton Josh Cook Nathan Gunn Tane Nikora Harrison Buck

Be ca u s e i w h e lp (I did a nt t o y ea r a s we it la st ll)

K ie ra n

Alex Jones Mrs Ferguson-Brown Mr Gough Ms Puru Please come along to the hall at lunchtime, bring your donations and support our brave team. Alternatively, you can donate online.

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e fo r o Sh a v a nt d o t e I ch o s be ca u s e I w le e r u pe o p aC a ll t h e ce r. p l e h n to a ve ca t h at h y M cK a S co t t

it’s be ca u s e re u c a e so m e v in g fo r I’m s h a ppo rt u n ity t o ra is in g a g a in st t o a g reat h e lp t h o s e f ig h ce r. A lot o t a c y e d o n m on a n d blo e h ow b ra ve I ia m e a m k ee le u h a ve t o ld but t h e wa y I s le p o e p g of g in n v batt li e sh a a m t o b e op le out t h e re p ’m ju st I it, t h o s e re rea lly b ra ve, id, I a m a a dis ea s e h a ircut. T h at s wou ld be a it g ett in g t o f lock s, s o n ity cou ld lo u lo s in g a h e s ch oo l co m m kin g a t a if g reat his ca u s e by m a C u re r t s u ppo rt o n t h e Sh a ve fo re.co. n z / n u c io d o n at ww.s h a ve fo ra w we b s it e: wn u s o n-Bro rg e F rs M 27 March 2015

A hat for a head

Jasmine Nash and Samara Crosby

What you need: Around 92m of bright coloured 8 ply (self-striping yarn or make stripes from your stash) •

Pair of size 8 US (5.5 mm) knitting needles

•

Yarn needle for sewing up

Instructions: Cast on 74 sts Work in k1, p1 ribbing for 6 rows Work in stocking stitch (knit 1 row, purl 1 row) until piece measures 18 cm from cast on edge, ending with a purl row.

Next row, k2 tog across (37 stitches remain) P 1 row K2tog across, ending k1. 19 stitches.

Cut a 30 cm length of yarn and thread it on a yarn needle.

Carefully pull the last row of knitting from the needle and thread the needle through every stitch. Pull tightly then whip stitch the seam shut.

Add a pom pom or flower to the beanie if desired and it is complete.

e We encourage knitters to use a pattern they're comfortable with, and any variety we have with the hats will create interest.

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With A Hat for a Head we are giving people who don’t want to shave their hair off for Shave for a Cure another opportunity to get involved, as we believe that people who don’t shave their heads forget that there are other ways to support the cause.

We have gained a positive response to the project, with people offering to help and recommending people who could help, although we are always looking for more donations, whether they be of hats or yarn to make the hats. Any hat pattern is most welcome to create variety.

The A Hat for a Head project involves people from the school and community coming together to help make hats, which will be sold to make money to help with Shave for a Cure.

All the proceeds will go towards the cause, and any money we use to buy yarn for the hats will be our donation.

If anyone is interested in helping us, they need to contact either me (10nashj@ darfield.school.nz) or Samara Crosby (10crosbys@darfield.school.nz).

Above: Jasmine and Samara with a selection of hats. They would like to thank Mrs Paxton for her contribution.

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Canterbury Youth United Nations Conference What are the ethics involved in the use of ‘iron-man’ style suits in warfare?

How can we protect ourselves from a ‘Matrix’- or ‘Transcendence’-esque computer takeover?

What happens when robots can do everything humans can, and we become unemployable in every field?

These are just some of the questions that were debated recently at the Canterbury Model United Nations Conference. The event brought together students from around the Canterbury region to take on the role of diplomats, or representatives, of one of 193 member states of the United Nations, to debate and discuss these and other issues in the modern world. Seven Darfield High School Students took part in the conference and all found the experience valuable and educational (as well as a great opportunity to dress like VIPs).

The theme this year was the transition of modern society through the Automation Revolution, which is theorised to have a greater impact on the world than the Industrial Revolution. Although the automation revolution has already begun, the steps have been slow and fairly unnoticeable. However, it is predicted that this will change in the future and, without proper preparation, there could be a collapse of our society if we do not change the way that civilisations run.

We debated in the style of the United Nations, with each topic packaged into a ‘resolution’ that we could

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then modify with ‘amendments’ by gaining support from other countries and convincing them to vote in our favour. The resolutions were on topics such as mechanised warfare, globalised competition, widespread unemployment, decreasing natural resources and the ever-increasing role of artificial intelligence.

It wasn’t all serious, with a showing of Wall-E and a quiz night happening on the evening of the first day. There were many difficult and obscure questions asked in the quiz, but the Darfield Team (named “Lexi-less” owing to the temporary absence of Lexi) prevailed, earning us second place and some Whittaker's chocolate! Good work team!

Another more light-hearted aspect was the final resolution debated—the drones on Mars wanted sovereignty over Mars and every other place in the Solar System, apart from Earth. The resolution was quashed, however, as the plenary concluded that the drones should not be allowed to reject their human masters, and more strict control over them was recommended. It did make us wonder though—could there one day be a Robot State of Mars?

At the conclusion of the conference, I was fortunate enough to be awarded one of four Delegate Prizes for my contribution to the debate over the two days of the conference. All in all, the experience was a positive one. It gave us an insight into international politics and relations, allowed us to practise our debating skills, and challenged us to represent a

country that was not our own— even if we disagreed with its views.

If you have any interest in any model United Nations, Commonwealth, or European Union events, feel free to see Mrs Turner for more information.

They are fantastic opportunities to expand your world view, develop your debating skills, and learn about a range of relevant global issues. It’ll be a great experience—I highly recommend it.

George Watson

Celebrating

St Patrick’s Day

Last week, if you called into school on St Patrick’s Day, you will have been greeted at reception by Elaine dressed in her heritage colours and the sounds of Irish music ticking off a few memories from your teen years.

Elaine and other Waimakariri staff (Green House) prepared a delicious morning tea to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. Donations from this totalling over $40.00 will go to our school’s Shave for a Cure fundraising.

27 March 2015

Lake Lyndon Adventure Camp for Year 7s On 11 March, 7SJ headed off to Lake Lyndon on the school bus. Mr Jermyn was unable to make it, so Mrs Cartman came in and saved the day. When we arrived, we went for a three hour walk and three of us were unfortunate to be stung by a bee, one student more than once. We made it back to the lodge in just over two and a half hours, with a few stops along the way.

The next day, we had three activities to complete: mountain biking, kayaking and bush craft, and surprisingly later on that night we had camp triathlon.

The camp concert held on Thursday night was, shall we say, ‘original’. The camp was filled to the brim with excitement, fun and just one or two negatives—one student got sent to the hospital after a mountain biking incident.

I got the opportunity to sleep out in a

tent with my friend, plus the noisy keas who unfortunately liked to eat shoes, which was great… not!!

Alas, the last day was time for a huge clean up and orienteering which was super super fun (the orienteering not the clean up). The orienteering was also a bit challenging because of all the uphill walking we were to do. 7SJ are not 100% sure of our placings but, between us, I think my team did pretty well. I was also impressed with the food because of previous camp food situations. I had a ball as I’m sure the rest of the class did as well. It was an awesome camp and a great start to the year as it brought us all a little bit closer together. It was then time for us to say our final goodbyes to 2015 camp, and we were soon on our way back to The School Of Dreams.

On behalf of 7SJ, I would like to say a massive thank you to Emma Forbes and Ciara Rayne, and also to Mr Mac, Mrs Cartman, Miss Rooney, Jackson, and all the parents that came along as well. You were a huge help and we wouldn't have had such a great camp without you. Also a shout-out to the class for making it through three days without their devices.

Legends!!

Sophie Kingi

7CC was lucky enough to go on Year 7 camp on Wednesday to Friday of Week Six. When we arrived at camp, we went on a big three to four hour walk. We got to try tasting honeydew. It wasn’t till after we tasted it, that Jackson and Alan (the instructors) explained what it was.

YUCK! That night, we played some games with Mrs Cartman and Mr Adams, then we did a nightline—this was a lot of fun as the parents tried to scare us.

On the second day, we had three activities to complete: skiffing, mountain biking, and bush craft. During bush Issue 3/ DHS Dispatch

craft, we learnt about hypothermia and what to do if we were stuck in the bush overnight. We made a bivvy to get out of the southerly that was coming. When the teachers and adults threw water on us, we worked out pretty quickly which bivvies worked and which ones didn’t.

Gareth Lomas said his favourite part of camp was mountain biking. He enjoyed going down the four wheel drive track.

Hunter Jones said that he “enjoyed the orienteering the best.

When we were orienteering on the last

day, it was pouring with rain. We all got to slide down the big hills and we got very wet!”

A huge thank you to everyone who made the camp fun: our camp parents, Mr Alan Reid, Mrs Jenny Bassett, Mr Craig Robertson, and Mr Richard Lomas; instructors Alan and Jackson; camp teachers Mrs Cartman, Miss Clarke and Mr Adams, and the youth workers who came and joined in. Without you, camp wouldn’t have been as successful as it was.

7CC Students 15

a World Vision Leadership Day On Friday 6 March this year, Josh, Lois, Emily, Brock, Lexi and I set out for the Global Leadership Convention 2015, hosted at the La Vida Centre in Christchurch.

The convention began with a short introduction, followed with an experiment that taught us about how easily power has corrupted the world in the past. This went on to back up the statistics of how power and money are distributed in the world. It was shocking to discover how much many third world countries are suffering today, and certainly motivated us to provide as much help as possible.

We then learnt about the 2015 World Vision cause: the country of Bangladesh. Among many other things, we learned about the millions of people who suffer there from diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis, in addition to the malnourishment that people in Bangladesh experience. These factors contribute to the statistic that approximately one in seventeen children in Bangladesh do not make it to their fifth birthday.

The style of conference was interactive and engaging. We started off with a game where we were put into groups. Each group represented a country. We had to think fast and execute our origami skills in order to create resources for our country.

My country, China, ended up taking over all the countries in the game!

The day in general was very beneficial to the World Vision Leadership team: we learnt some strategies for running the 40 hour Famine at Darfield and set some goals for this year. Let's make Darfield High School number one this year!

Thanks to Poiema and Hannah for accompanying us to the event and to Mrs Watson for organising the day.

Josh Cook

We learnt so much from the convention, and aim to put our new knowledge and experience into getting as many people as possible involved with World Vision at Darfield High School. We would love you to sign up for the 40 Hour Famine—go to the DHS World Vision Disco, or simply donate a couple of dollars to a famine participant.

If you would like to know more, go to www.worldvision.org.nz, or talk to one of us.

Ciara Rayne

Your Leadership Tea m

Above: Lexi Sutherland, Emily de Rooy, Ciara Rayne, Lois Freemantle, and Josh Cook

Issue 3/ DHS Dispatch

The Darfield High School 40 Hour Famine will be underway next week. Sponsor books have now arrived! We have a fabulous team of seniors this year and five of them have recently attended a Leadership Day in Christchurch to prepare them for a successful Famine year here at school.

Juniors need to come to the Administration Office from next Monday to collect a permission slip and have it signed by a parent or caregiver, before collecting a sponsor book and wristband. Seniors may collect theirs from Mrs Watson. Every participant who returns their books and money on time will be eligible for prizes and will also collect points for their Houses.

16

PTSA News

The Darfield High School PTSA held its AGM on Tuesday 17 March. A big thanks to those who attended and a warm welcome to new members.

Nikki King was returned as the Chairperson, with Leanne Hughes taking on the role of Deputy Chairperson.

Megan Nikora continues in the role of Secretary, and Ann-Clare McGregor has accepted the role of Treasurer.

A huge thanks to Erin Lancaster who has been custodian of the PTSA finances for many years. The PTSA looks forward to working with its new student representative, Leanne McConchie, and extends its thanks to retiring members Lynn Meder, Robyn Gardener, Helen Humphreys and Courtney Hughes.

The PTSA welcomes any parents who would like to attend the meetings and support the work of the association. Our next meeting is on Tuesday 21 April at 7.45 pm in the DHS staffroom.

Farewell

Spirit of Adventure The DHS 2015 Spirit of Adventure team would like to thank the following for their contributions to our fundraising efforts:

Malvern Lions

The Hazelnut Factory

Malvern Butchery

SVS Vet Supplies

Darfield Pharmacy

Hazelnut Factory

Mason’s Drapery

Royal Buildings Ltd

Farmside

Gnomes Ski Shop

Wayne May

All the Sweatshirt Sponsors

We would also like to say a tremendous thank you to the parents of the Spirit team for their ongoing support, organising of fundraisers and assisting with the phone book drop. Thank you to DHS students who have supported us by buying chocolate.

The team has now reached it's $10,000 goal and this will enable our group of ten students to travel to Auckland at the beginning of May to compete against three other secondary schools. (We won’t know who our competitors are until we arrive on the boat.) Miss Walker will be accompanying the students and we wish them all the best for their challenge.

17

Farewell to Mrs Pollard, Year 8 Homeroom teacher, who will be leaving us at the end of this term.

We wish her all the best.

Last Friday, a Mufti Day was held to raise funds for KidsCan, which aims to provide food, clothing and basic health care in schools, so that all disadvantaged NZ children may reach their potential. We are happy to announce that students raised a grand

$776.30!

27 March 2015

International News It has been a busy week for the International Department, hosting students from Setagaya Gakuen School in Japan, and sharing with them many of the attractions Darfield and Canterbury has to offer. Participating in classes here at school is invaluable for them to gain cultural experience and see how students work in New Zealand.

Our relationship with Setagaya Gakuen began in 2000 and we look forward to their arrival every year. The group, accompanied by teachers, Mr Kabayana and Mr Suzuki, visited Willowbank (below), and Rubicon Farm, shopped at the Container Mall in Christchurch and spent time in classes.

Above: Year 13 Outdoor Ed students assist our visitors as they try out the rock climbing wall in the Gym - a totally new experience for them.

Above: Students paired with buddies in Mr Mac’s Physical Education class and had fun learning netball and touch.

18

27 March 2015

House Leaders and Points Update

7HB

Camp Snaps

Waimakariri Kikorangi Rawhiti Tawera

Athletics

Triathlon

Swimming

750

103

208

772

107

181

791

96

231

824

137

310

DHS Cross Country Thursday 2 April Darfield Domain Issue 3/ DHS Dispatch

Beginning at approximately 9.15 am (Periods 1 and 2). It is compulsory for all Years 7–10 students and optional for Years 11–13. Students must wear official DHS sports uniform and sports shoes.

Parents and caregivers are most welcome to attend.

19

Indoor Netball

SPORTS

patch

Summer Sport

Volleyball Senior A Girls v Amuri Area School: win to Darfield 2–1.

(Third in their grade) Junior A Girls v Hillview: loss to Darfield 2–0.

(Second in their grade)

Indoor Football Senior Boys v Kaiapoi (Final): win to Darfield 11–2

This is not the first time these girls have felt that ‘winning’ feeling Darfield High School’s only indoor netball team has yet to taste defeat after another successful summer season. This year,placed in the top division of the girls’ competition, we were one of the youngest teams to take the court. However, being one of the youngest teams didn’t matter, as we were able to beat our rivals in all of our round robin games.

five minutes into the game and never coughed up the lead for the rest of the match. Overall, the final match was by far our best game this season and each player in the team played to the best of their ability.

Our girls went into every game with confidence; we were determined to stay unbeaten until the final versus Avonside.

The whole team was very nervous leading into this game—especially after seeing a couple of tall players that were in the Avonside Senior A team the previous year. The pre-game nerves must have done the team some good as our start was outstanding. We led 7–1

The season’s results were:

Thank you to Mrs Armstrong and Lindsay Soal who allowed us the opportunity of playing together again in the Wednesday competition.

vs Hagley College

21–16

vs Cashmere High

25–14

vs Lincoln High

24–15

Final: vs Avonside High

27–19

Caitlin Soal and Eloise Dance

Indoor Netball Senior Girls v Avonside Girls (Final): win to Darfield 26–19

Touch No game: cancelled due to bad weather

Congratulations Stroke Play Golf Champs The Canterbury Secondary Schools’ Match Play Championships were held last Monday at the Waimairi Beach Golf Course.

Darfield team members: Hillary O’Connor, Mark Wilson and Jayden Hann.

Mark Wilson won the overall Net Championships (played 5 under his handicap) and the team won the Net Championship. Of the four prizes available, Darfield won two —an excellent effort!

20

Above: (Back) Maddy O’Callaghan, Tessa Mitchell, Eloise Dance, Caitlin Soal (Front) Emma May, Courtney O’Callaghan, Georgia Meyerhoff

Canterbury Secondary Schools’ Athletics Championships Results: For the first time in a number of years, we had three first placings: 1.

Under 14 Boys’ Javelin: Brodie Wanhalla First

2.

Under 14 Boys’ High Jump: Callum Murdoch First

3.

Senior Boys’ Javelin: Harry Pringle First

A number of other students participated and performed strongly. Brodie, Callum, Harry, plus Nathaniel Dysart and Caitlin Thistoll, will now represent Canterbury at the South Island Championships this weekend in Nelson.

27 March 2015

Athlet ics Day There is always a lot happening on Athletics Day, with many events spread over both fields, the courts and hockey turf. School photographer, Henry Oakley, (below with Mr Bell) was kept busy throughout the day recording races, high jump, javelin, discus, long jump, shot put, friends, and even teachers working to make the day a success. Mrs Morgan was his assistant and captured for us Henry at work and also trying out the Javelin.

l

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15 letics Sports 20 gh School Ath

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hletics gh School At The Darfield Hi February.

26 on ld he ere Sports 2015 w My events: Hunt ran s. Mrs Gregory I ran 60 metre with me. ng jump. so tried the lo It was fun. I al

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Centre the Learning

Issue 3/ DHS Dispatch

elly.

This is Mrs Peng ge of The ar ch in is e Sh tre.

Learning Cen

Left: Ewen Lalor really enjoyed putting together a page recording his day at the Athletic sports. A great day too for Mrs Gregory-Hunt, who ran the 60 m race. Well done, both of you.

21

22

27 March 2015

2015 Athletic Champions Age

Champion

Runner-Up

U12 Boys

Johny Hart

Harry Cookson/Tyler Tapa-Wither

U12 Girls

Scarlett Banks

Lucy Mitchell

U13 Boys

Cameron O’Donnell/Nik Hodgman

Jesse Sutherland

U13 Girls

Zoe Spinks

Stefanie McKenzie

U14 Boys

Samuel Manson/Callum Murdoch

George Brown/Rhys Clatworthy

U14 Girls

Emma Pennells

Penny Mitchell

U15 Boys Junior

Harry Bampton

Michael Dempsey/Matt Grigg

U15 Girls Junior

Molly Buist-Brown/Esther Blain

Ella Reeves

U16 Boys Intermediate

Isaac Proud

James Doherty/Nathaniel Dysart

U16 Girls Intermediate

Chelsea Wilson

Courtney O’Callaghan

O16 Boys Senior

Harry Pringle

Angus Wilson

O16 Girls Senior

Ciara Rayne

Cherry Dudley/Sheree Tomlinson

Records Broken

Old Record

New Record

Callum Murdoch

Under 14 Boys High Jump

1.595 m (set 2013)

29.34 m

Brodie Wanhalla

Under 14 Boys Javelin

28.81 m (set 2005)

29.34 m

William Brown

Under 12 Boys Shot Put

9.12 m (set 1986)

9.19 m

Issue 3/ DHS Dispatch

23

Equestrian News Horse of the Year 2015

Representing Canterbury

Farmlands Horse of the Year Show (HOY) is the largest equestrian event in the Southern Hemisphere and is hosted annually in March at the Hawke's Bay A & P Showgrounds.

The show has been held in Hawke's Bay for 16 years and has been growing at a phenomenal rate. This year, about 84,000 people visited the show, and around 2600 horses and 1800 riders competed. Fourteen of those riders were from Darfield.

The competing riders from Darfield were Molly Buist-Brown, Rosa Buist-Brown, Heather McConchie, Olivia Shinn, Georgia Shinn, Kaitlin Feast, Courtney Townsend, Sophie Townsend, Gus Thompson, Maddi Thompson, Georgia Thompson, Georgia Allison and McKenzie Alfeld. All these riders had a great show, with a couple taking out some of the biggest titles! Here are some of the results: •

Molly Buist-Brown won the Pony of the Year class; she was also in the winning Saba Sam Shield team from Canterbury. As well, she was in the Canterbury Pony Club team along with another Darfield student, Gus Thompson - the team placed second.

•

Rosa Buist-Brown was placed fifth out of 76 competitors in the 13 years and under.

•

Heather McConchie was named Champion Working Pony Hunter Rider of the Year, as well as having the Reserve Champion Working Pony Hunter of the Year. She also achieved 11th in the Category C Show Hunter of the Year.

•

Sophie Townsend was awarded fifth place in the Working Pony Hunter Rider of the Year and completed a very nice first round in the Big Pony of the Year class.

•

Courtney Townsend gained 10th in the Pony 1.15, as well as sixth in the Pony 1.20 championship.

•

Kaitlin Feast had a seventh in the Pony 1.10 championship.

•

Gus Thompson was placed third in the 1.110 championship and was also in the Canterbury Pony Club team that placed second.

•

McKenzie Alfeld was sixth in the Rider class and second in the Ridden Pinto Pony of the Year. Maddi Thompson placed second out of 52 riders in the Intermediate Rider of the Year.

•

Georgia Thompson finished 24th out of 86 competitors in the 15 years and under.

•

Georgia Shinn was 12th out of 86 riders in the 15 years and under.

•

Olivia Shinn came 10th in the 1.20 Speed Pony of the Year and was 24th out of 75 in the Pony 1.20.

•

Georgia Allison secured fifth place in the Category A Pony of the Year and fourth in the Level One Dressage Pony of the Year.

Ciara on Reggie (Photo:Annie Studholme Equine Photography)

Last weekend, Niamh and I trialled for the Canterbury Area Pony Club eventing team and were successful in making the team.

There are six riders in the team, which has two riders at each of the three heights (I was selected at 105 cm and Niamh at 95 cm). This means that we will be travelling up to Feilding, in the Manawatu, during April to represent Canterbury in the New Zealand Pony Club Eventing Championships.

So we're super excited about that!

Ciara Rayne

Above: Niamh on Summer; Below: The Area Championship Team

Overall, we had a fantastic time and comprehensively beat the North Islanders! We are all looking forward for next year and hope to win lots of titles again!

Molly Buist-Brown and Heather McConchie 24

27 March 2015

YEAR 100 Wednesday 1 April at Lunch

By Aeryn, Jd, Chloe and Renee

fudge

a

By Lucy, Emm and Kerryn

MINI PIZZAS

lollies

and

and

DRINKS

iced chocolates

By Grace and Ella

SHERBET BEST and

HOT CHIPS PRICE

BURGERS

By Harry and Jeroen

RICE BALLS

By Grace and McKenzie

By Olivia W and George T

WAFFLES AND

Jellybean Guess

By Katie, Natasha, Bridget and Emma

SNO CONES and hot chip chips

School and Community Notices Term Dates Term 1: • •

Tuesday 27 January–Thursday 2 April Friday 13 March: Staff Only Day

Term 2: • • •

Monday 20 April–Friday 3 July Monday 27 April: ANZAC Day Observed Monday 1 June: Queen’s Birthday

Term 3: •

Monday 20 July–Friday 25 September

TERM ONE WEEK TEN Monday 30 March • Canterbury PS Swimming Sports •

Canterbury SS Dressage

•

Year 13 Rock Climbing to Wanaka (to 1/4)

•

Years 9 & 10 Big Bash Junior Cricket (to 31/3)

Tuesday 31 March • House Meetings (Cross Country Prep) Wednesday 1 April • Canterbury SS Swimming Championships

Term 4:

•

Years 11–13 Big Bash Junior Cricket (to 2/4)

• • • •

•

First Data Upload to NZQA

•

Year 10 Enterprise Day

Monday 12 October–Thursday 10 December Monday 26 October: Labour Day Thursday 12 November: Staff Only Day Friday 13 November: Canterbury Anniversary Show Day

Thursday 2 April • Cross Country, Periods 1 & 2 at the Darfield Domain •

Shave for a Cure, Lunchtime in the Hall

•

Last Day of Term One

Friday 3 April • Good Friday

Contact Between Home and School We have found that up-to-date information is vital in case of an emergency but also for general day to day contact. Have you changed your address recently?

Changed cell phones? Place of work? Or would you like to update / change the emergency contact for your student? Also the second parent address for reports being sent.

If any of the above changes apply, please advise Jill, Student Administrator, by: phoning 318 8411 / ext 3; emailing jill@darfield.school.nz or write it down and ask your student to deliver it to the Student Office

DARFIELD HIGH SCHOOL WEBSITE

Saturday 18 April • SI SS Orienteering Championships, Christchurch

TERM TWO WEEK ONE Monday 20 April • Life Education Years 7 and 8 (to 29th) Tuesday 21 April • BOT Meeting, 7.00 pm •

PTSA Meeting, 7.45 pm

Wednesday 22 April • NCEA Credit Cards Issued Friday 24 April • Poetry Day •

Year 11 Rural College Practical Day

•

Darfield High School ANZAC Service

Saturday 25 April • ANZAC Day WEEK TWO Monday 27 April • ANZAC Day Observed Tuesday 28 April • School Photos

26

27 March 2015

Ties:

Remember to wear your ties during Terms Two and Three. Ties may be purchased from the Uniform Shop on Mondays and Thursdays at Interval.

Remember: If your student is not at school, or arrives late, please phone the school to explain

Reader/Writers Needed

i

We have a small number of volunteers who willingly give an hour of their time every so often to assist students requiring a Reader/Writer while they are sitting tests and exams. We would like to have more Reader/Writers, as often there are a number of students needing assistance at one time.

If you would be willing to help, please phone the school office and speak to Elaine Guy.

DHS DISPATCH welcomes any news or

photographs you have from events our students have attended outside of school.

We love to hear and share successes and interesting stories.

Please email sheryl@darfield.school.nz.

School Uniforms Darfield High School uniform items are available from The Warehouse Rolleston and the Uniform Shop here at school.

Uniform Shop at Darfield High School

Retraction In the last newsletter, on page 4, we quoted some students who said that Mrs Armstrong was going to slap Mr Jermyn. Mrs Armstrong did not say this and we apologise for the error.

School Photos Tuesday 28 April Please make sure you come to school clean and tidy, wearing correct uniform, including your blazers and ties.

Around School

Orders at Darfield High School are taken by appointment only, so contact Sue to arrange this. It is preferable parents refrain from coming to reception for uniform items from 8–9.30 am as this is a very busy time.

If you have second hand uniform for sale and would like it to be added to the database, please email sue@ darfield.school.nz.

Uniform Shop Hours for Students Monday: 11.00 –11.25am Thursday: 11.00 –11.25am

TEEN CAN L R E RVA : ORD BER AT INTE M E REM NCHES LU

CANDO CARDS Congratulations—you guys have won an Around School prize. See Mrs Watson next week.

Issue 3/ DHS Dispatch

Anyone wanting a CANDO Card for student identification and discounts needs to bring $6 to the student office. The last day for orders will be Thursday 23 April.

27

FAMILY Tourette’s Association of New Zealand with Kelly Sports

FUN RUN & GALA

NORTH HAGLEY PARK

SUNDAY 26TH APRIL, 10am START 3 DISTANCES: 2.5km, 5km & 10km EARLY BIRD ENTRY > $10 ADULT / $5 CHILD / $25 FAMILY IN ASSOCIATION WITH:

For more details visit

Mainland Football Age: 7-10 year olds / 11-14 year olds Dates 8, 9, 10 April and 13, 14, 15 April Time: 9.00am-3.00pm Venue: ASB Football Park Cost: $90.00 3 days, $35.00 1 day 10% discount of second child For more information: www.mainlandfootball.co.nz

The Leeston Business Association presents its 5th Annual Leeston Fete

Saturday 11 April 10.00 am until 3.00 pm.

Free admission

Sh ef fi el d

This has been recognised as a very successful event in the Selwyn District Events calendar. We welcome everyone to come and enjoy this fantastic family day out in the beautiful rural setting of the Leeston township. This event is getting bigger and bigger each year and 2015 is going to be of no exception with over 100 stalls displaying quality locally made handcraft, giftware, exquisite adult and childrens’ clothing, handmade jewellery, antiques and collectibles. Not to mention the wide variety of food stalls.

Saturday 28 March Sheffield Domain

There will be ongoing entertainment in the two stage areas together with activities for the children. The Vintage Car Club will have their cars on display and there will be plenty of areas to sit and take in the atmosphere.

A & P Show Address: 7 McLaughlins Road Email: admin@darfield.school.nz Web: darfield.school.nz

PO Box 5 Darfield 7541 New Zealand

Phone: +64 3 318 8411 Fax: +64 3 318 8543