On Strowan Volume 11 Issue 6 / 19 August 2016
347 Papanui Road, Christchurch 8052, New Zealand Ph +64 3 940 2000 Fax +64 3 940 2060 www.stac.school.nz
“We all have our part to play in ensuring our young people have the kind of attitude that creates respected champions of the future; they then take their turn in positively influencing future generations.”
Dear Parents and Caregivers Armchair critics have had an action packed couple of weeks watching the Olympics and there is no lack of opinion on how athletes could have performed better. It always amazes me how people who have not played sport at an elite level can suddenly presume to become experts across a number of disciplines. I watch in awe of any athletes who have made it to the Olympic level and, like many of us, get that wonderful feeling when New Zealand wins a medal. It profiles New Zealand on the world stage and makes us feel proud, but more importantly because of the joyous feeling it must be for these athletes who have trained so incredibly hard to achieve their dream. The flip side is the empathy one feels in watching the gut wrenching disappointment of a dream shattered. The heartbreak of the men’s Black Sticks team was certainly felt by all supporters who watched the game and of course we all felt especially for our own StAC teacher, Brad Shaw. Our wonderful Valerie Adams shared her star qualities in her graciousness in losing the gold medal at the last minute – it is so important for our students to see these strong role models and to notice how they conduct themselves in moments of elation or devastation.
Here in our school community, while not the Olympics, we too experience our share of emotional moments, ecstatic victories and devastating disappointments. Many of our students set high expectations and train exceptionally hard, doing everything right in their lead up to critical moments and sometimes it goes well and other times it doesn’t. They will get over the disappointments and the losses. What they will remember is the responses we made, the words of encouragement we gave, and how we made them feel when the chips were down. We all have our part to play in ensuring our young people have the kind of attitude that creates respected champions of the future; they then take their turn in positively influencing future generations.
With kind regards,
Christine Leighton Rector
And then there have been those magic moments as when Nikki Hamblin and Abbey D’Agostino aided each other after a fall in the 5000m heats. What a great news story of humanity and sportsmanship this was.
Next issue: 16 September 2016 1
From the Head of Secondary School
Roland Burrows
parents. Please remember that you are able, at any time, to contact a staff member directly should you have a concern or wish to share some information about a student. However, we will continue to review and develop our reporting processes to ensure that both the purpose of the report is clear and that it is timely and appropriately delivered.
Roland Burrows Head of Secondary School Deputy for Rector
As you will be aware, Term 3 is a short term at only eight weeks and consequently a very busy time for all students – especially for Years 11, 12 and 13 students with internal NCEA Standards to be completed in addition to the learning and preparation for external Standards. Winter Tournament also takes a large number of students out of class. Consequently, as a way of making this more manageable for staff and students and anticipating this situation, a decision was made last year to move the College ‘preliminary exams’ into Term 4. By doing this, Standards assessed internally will be completed within Term 3, and the teaching of the course material to be assessed by the school preliminary exams and the NCEA exams that follow, completed. The preliminary exams continue to be significant for students as they remain the source of any ‘derived grades’ for NCEA and of course, once marked, will be the source of valuable teacher feedback.
The Senior College Formal was a great success. The Senior College Council who, with the guidance of Mr John Ruge organised the event, once again did an amazing job transforming the space at the Wigram Air Force Museum with a ‘Garden of Lights’ theme. It was very well attended and all the students looked stunning and enjoyed a great evening dancing and socialising.
The demands on teachers are constant, varied and continuing to increase. All work places seem to be expecting more of people and a feeling of being under constant pressure and experiencing anxiety and stress is often the outcome. And yet some people cope well and others less so or not at all. Our staff ‘wellness week’ is an opportunity for staff to focus on those things that can support and promote their individual well-being. I am aware of the links that have been established between emotional well-being and reduced levels of sick leave. States of well-being have also been found to affect the quality of teacher/student relationships.
We began the term with a second round of Parent/ Student/Tutor Conferences. I was pleased that so many parents took advantage of the opportunity to have a follow-up conversation with their son or daughter’s tutor and in doing so were able to quickly gather an overall sense of just how the year was going. Goals set at the beginning of the year were revisited, progress discussed and any issues shared.
Student well-being is a core value of the College because it clearly influences their overall involvement, relationships and classroom progress and achievement. It follows that we should also value teacher wellness and support all attempts to understand and manage it. Ultimately, it is committed and positive teachers that drive student success.
I believe that the addition of the Fortnightly Notes and these conferences to our existing written formal reports and parent/teacher meetings has improved both the quantity and quality of College reporting of student academic progress and their well-being to
I recently attended a Visible Learning workshop conducted by Professor John Hattie which focused on how students learn. John Hattie, who is currently teaching at Melbourne University, is a highly regarded educationalist and is well known for his analytical work on identifying the factors that have the biggest impact on student learning. 2
From the Head of Secondary School He presented a ‘model of learning’ that, in his view, should be used by all teachers to guide their planning and practice. The model was not transformative but rather was the outcome of a question that has been the focus for his research for the last 20 years – what is the key to effective learning? His latest research supports the conclusion that “it’s not just what you know, it’s what you know about what you know – and it’s what you know about how you know it”. Put more simply, effective learning (for all students), requires both the knowledge about the subject/task in hand and also knowledge about how learning works. His model will provide valuable structure for the current professional practice of our teachers at the College and some further insights into exactly how students learn and the strategies and tools that are essential for this to be maximised.
Kind regards,
Roland Burrows
Roland Burrows
YEAR 9 DEAN 2017 It is with much pleasure that I announce that Miss Liz Gormack has been appointed dean of Year 9 for 2017. Liz joined the staff three years ago from Christchurch Boys’ High School, where she taught English and had the pastoral role of a tutor in the boarding hostel. Liz will certainly provide the care and guidance required to this group of students.
YEAR 12 DEAN 2017 The current Year 11 dean, Mr Matt Nicoll, has been appointed to a position at the new school in Rolleston and will be leaving the College at the end of the term. Mr John Anderson will manage the year group through to the end of the year. It is with much pleasure that I announce that Mrs Natasha Derry has been appointed to the role of Year 12 dean for next year. There will be opportunities for her to work with Matt and John to get to know the students before the end of the year.
Head of Secondary School Deputy for Rector
KEY DATES AUGUST 21
Senior College chapel service, St Andrew’s at Rangi Ruru Presbyterian Church, 7.00pm
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Last day for 2017 course selection forms
29–4
Winter Tournament Week
SEPTEMBER 6–7
Dance Revue, Theatre, 7.00pm
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Staff meet with parents of Year 10 day students, Gym 1, 7.00pm
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Film Festival, Theatre, 5.00pm; Year 11 reports posted
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Ceilidh, Gym 1, 7.00pm
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Year 11 confirmation chapel service, 7.00pm
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Year 11 UCANDO parent evening; Senior College lounge, 7.00pm – 9.00pm Staff meet with parents of Year 9 day students, Gym 1, 7.00pm
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Centenary launch; Year 13 reports posted; staff meet with parents of boarders, Gym 1, 1.30pm–3.00pm Check the Fixtures on the College intranet for more upcoming events. The intranet is updated daily. ( intranet.stac.school.nz )
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From the Chaplain Paul Morrow, College Chaplain 1. Social connections are really good for us and loneliness kills. People connected to friends, family and community live longer, healthier lives. 2. It is not the number of friends you have or whether you are in a committed relationship, but the quality of the close relationships that matter. It cited that living in the midst of conflict is really bad for our health. It also found that those who were in the most satisfying relationships at 50 were the healthiest at age 80. Good healthy relationships seem to buffer us from some of the health related issues with getting old.
Paul Morrow College Chaplain
This term our ‘Developing Positive Relationships’ value is Hope and I have been talking to our students and staff about the hope we have in relationships. With our own growing families, my siblings and I have made relationships a focus; with a desire to connect with each other regularly despite distance. A tradition has developed where, as an extended family, we meet together each year in Tekapo for five days. Five siblings – all very strong-minded, along with their equally strong-minded spouses, and all the cousins – with their individual and uniquely different personalities. It certainly makes for interesting, energetic, sometimes testing, but certainly life-giving interactions. Robert Waldinger is the Director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development, one of the most comprehensive longitudinal studies in history. New Zealand’s equivalent is the research based on the continuing study of 1037 children born in Dunedin from1972–1973. This study is also the subject of a television series, Why Am I?, on TV One. For the past 75 years Harvard’s study has been tracking 724 men, of which 60 are still alive today. The research has involved interviewing the men, their partners, and their families every year. It has involved taking blood samples and reviewing their medical records. What might you suggest that they have learnt from such a comprehensive study? Robert Waldinger mentions in his TED talk ‘What makes a good life?’ that the research from this study has found ‘Good relationships keep us happier and healthier – period!’ There are three lessons to be learnt about relationships from this research.
3. Good relationships don’t just protect our bodies, they protect our brains. People in protected healthy relationships showed signs of their brain having greater memory.
The people who fared the best in this study were those who didn’t go after money and fame, but those who developed healthy relationships. Jesus gives us an insight into developing meaningful, committed and loving relationships. Jesus calls his closest friends, people he had committed to despite their huge failures to act as he had taught, to love others. He demonstrates what this love looks like in an extreme act of love, by washing the feet of his disciples. This is an act of total vulnerability and relational love, an act that cries foul of a culture that demands you serve those in authority to you and those above you in the society’s hierarchy. It is a most beautiful picture of what it means to love another – even those we struggle with. This a challenge for me, one that I often fail to live up to. The great hope though is that every day we have the opportunity to live in God’s forgiving love, and this spurs me on to a Christ-like love. Think about the people in your world. Do you have one person with whom your ‘contract’ is non-negotiable? Where your commitment to them runs deeper than their performance? Catholic priest Richard Rohr asks this wonderful question with a truly hopeful response: “Is there a least one place in your life where you are giving and receiving love? If it happens in one place, it can happen everywhere. If you are truly capable of loving one person, you’re capable of loving more than one, and eventually even your enemy, and finally all.”
Blessings, Paul Morrow College Chaplain
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Middle School
John Anderson, Head of Middle School
In summary, the remainder of this term is about looking after your health, personal planning and organisation, and lifting academic performance leading up to the preliminary exams for the Year 11s and preparing for Term 4 and end-of-year external exams.
TERM 3 CHAPEL SERVICES Year 11 Chapel Service – Sunday 11 September
John Anderson Head of Middle School
Welcome back to a full on Term 3. This term is important for a number of reasons. Years 9–11 now have their Curriculum Book and Course Selection form for 2017. It is important that this is very carefully thought through and that families access the deans, subject teachers and anyone else who may help the decision-making process. There will be a number of deadlines that will need to be met so students need to be alert to this planning. These forms must be returned to the Middle School office if your student is currently in Years 9 or 10, and the Senior College office if they are in Year 11, by Friday 26 August. Accessing the daily student notices is critical for every student as these contain important information – to miss this could mean a critical lost opportunity. Families are reminded that the school does set expected Standards of Achievement before allowing students to study at the next level. Year 11 examinations will take place early in Term 4. These are opportunities for students to prepare and get feedback on progress for the end-of-year externals. These provide critical benchmarking for the teacher and student. They are a very powerful test for ensuring end of year success. A reminder that National Certificates with endorsements (Merit and Excellence) are becoming more critical with tertiary organisations using them for entry. Many students will be preparing for Winter Tournament week and winter sports finals. This is a challenging time for many as the rigours of end-of-season competition, winter ills and an increasing pressure on academic work start to mount. Eating well, good sleep patterns and good time management are essential to help through this time.
The Term 3 Year 11 chapel service will be held at St Andrew’s at Rangi Ruru Presbyterian Church, at 7.00pm. It will include Holy Communion and a service for Senior College students who have chosen to be confirmed. Year 11 students will be given this choice next year. Years 9 and 10 students who have ‘catch up’ services to complete are required to attend at 6.45pm and report to the Chaplain. The remainder of the Years 9 and 10 students do not have a Sunday chapel this term. There is also a ‘catch up’ service this Sunday 21 August at St Andrew’s at Rangi Ruru Presbyterian Church at 7.00pm.
BRONZE DUKE OF EDINBURGH’S HILLARY AWARD By now all Year 10 will have had a Bronze progress check and completed their first aid course. The first aid course can be used to account for six hours of service, meaning that students need to complete an additional six hours of service before the end of next term. Typically students count their tutor group soup kitchen (three hours) and volunteer for the three remaining hours by assisting people other than family members with service activities like childminding or coaching sports team. Most students should have completed the physical recreation section by now, either accounting for three months from their summer sport or six months by accounting for both summer and winter sports. The skills section should also be well underway if not completed. Students need to spend regular time participating in a hobby for a minimum of three months and up to six months. At the end of Term 4 all Year 10 students should have completed the above three sections, before their final Adventurous Journey, which is completed at end-of-year camp. Completing the Bronze Award is an important part of Year 10 and graduating from the Te Waka programme. For more information about the award and the requirements click here.
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Middle School
John Anderson, Head of Middle School
COMMUNITY CAUSE DAY This term’s mufti day organised for the College by the Middle School Leaders is on Thursday 15 September. The Middle School Leaders decided to contribute to LifePod (https://thelifepod.co.nz). There will be a collection taken in tutor groups on the day. Thank you for your support.
SPECIAL LEAVE
from the College intranet and should be submitted to the Head of Middle School not less than ten days in advance. Parents or caregivers will be advised of the outcome of such applications. College holidays are well advertised, so requests for family holidays during term time or early departures/late returns from holidays are not encouraged and such applications may be declined. The College’s reluctance to grant such leave is due to the additional pressure placed on both students and teachers, especially in NCEA years.
Special leave is generally granted for compassionate reasons affecting immediate family, or participation in a recognised event (sports, cultural, seminar, conference). Application forms for special leave can be downloaded
Years 9 and 10 Production ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’
Register at www.stac100.co.nz for our Centenary gala weekend
17–19 March 2017.
Come celebrate
100 years Centenary partners: Konica
Minolta CSG and Caxton
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Senior College
John Ruge, Head of Senior College
In the last school holidays a group of 13 students and two staff travelled to Singapore and Vietnam for the Year 12 and 13 History trip. Grayson Milligan (Year 13) was one of the lucky group:
John Ruge Head of Senior College
For this edition of On Strowan I decided to ask a diverse group of students to contribute a short reflection on something they have been involved with over the last few weeks. I wanted to highlight both the rich diversity of opportunities here in the Senior College as well as just a few of the amazing young men and women who are in our student body. I have included a few words of my own by way of introduction to each contribution.
William Muir (Year 13) Finn van Dorsser (Year 11) and Selena Sun (Burnside High School) recently competed in the New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest in Auckland. The team gave two stunning performances, finishing in the top six nationally. William writes: “At the end of last year I formed the Herzog Klaviertrio. This is a piano concerto consisting of myself, Selena Sun and Finn van Dorsser. We have performed the Schubert Piano Sonata in B flat a number of times through the year. As a trio, we picked the Schubert as we felt it reflected our personalities well and we had a connection with the piece. We competed in the chamber music competitions and progressed through the district round to the regional, and then finally to the semi-final and final. This was an amazing privilege as we finished in the top six secondary school chamber groups in the country. It was interesting to see how much our interpretation of the piece changed over the time we played it. In the beginning we played it with a very romantic interpretation, however by the time we performed it in August we had gone back to the roots of the piece and were playing in a very classical style.”
“The St Andrew’s College History trip to Singapore and Vietnam was a trip of a lifetime. We were able to visit a host of amazing places, but the place I found most amazing was Ha Long Bay in Vietnam. Ha Long Bay is one of the eight natural wonders of the world and to be able to visit such a place was an experience none on the trip will forget any time soon. While Ha Long Bay was the standout part of the trip for myself and many others we also went to some other great places with historical significance including the Dien Bien Phu Tunnels and the My Lai Massacre Museum. While at these places I gained a more personal insight into the Vietnam War and its effect on the actual people of Vietnam rather than my original more detached view on the war I had before visiting these places. I was able to learn so much about Vietnamese history and culture that I will never forget.”
The StAC Second XV have had a mixed season, but one which has clearly developed some character and resilience in the team. Their captain is William Methven (year 13): “The mighty Second XV have had an extremely tough season with many ups and down. The season started with the first round of the competition and the team having some extremely close losses where the games were decided in the last minutes of the match. We finished the round with lots to work on but managing to stay in Grade 2. The second round was a completely different story for the boys, experiencing some great victories even against a First XV side. This meant that the team qualified for the semi-finals against an extremely strong Christchurch Boys’ High School side. Unfortunately we lost this match in a hard-fought battle in wet conditions. Another highlight for the team was playing Merchiston Castle School, a Scottish First XV team touring New Zealand. Overall it has been a great season for the mighty Seconds and we have all enjoyed playing and training together as a unit.”
Another student who faced some significant trials recently was Ellena Black (Year 13). She travelled to Georgia, in Eastern Europe, to compete in the International Chemistry Olympiad, but was hospitalised with food poisoning not long after arriving. There will be a full account of Ellena’s trip in the next issue of Regulus: “Last month, I had the amazing opportunity to travel to Tbilisi, Georgia, to compete in the International Chemistry Olympiad. I hadn’t travelled much before this, so it was
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Senior College
John Ruge, Head of Senior College
a new experience for me. Something else I had not experienced previously was being hospitalised. However, I was the second of the students to get food poisoning, and was taken to hospital in a desperate attempt to make me well enough for the practical exam the next day. It was daunting, sitting on a bed in a hospital room while 10 strangers argued about me in a language I didn’t understand. But the treatment I got was very nice, and the nurses, who spoke no English, loved it when I thanked them in Georgian. Overnight, my 38.9°C temperature dropped and the pain lessened, but I was still recovering during the exam. It’s disappointing to think I may not have done my best because of this. However, the rest of the experience was incredible, especially making friends with Chemistry students from around the world.”
Finally, the Senior College Formal for 2016, held on Saturday 6 August was a resounding success. Samsara Guillemot-Mene (Year 13) is one of the heads of the organising committee, the Senior College Council: “The Senior College Council, a group of 14 students, alongside Head of Senior College, Mr John Ruge, planned and organised this wonderful experience for over 500 Year 12 and 13 students. The Council began
their planning in Term 2 this year and have been working since then to create the Senior College Formal for 2016. Our first challenge was determining the theme. After much deliberation, and surveying our peers, ‘Garden of Lights’ was decided on. We created a vision for our formal, which was executed perfectly. The Council would like to thank our set designer, Patricia Proctor, the lighting team at Hang Up Entertainment, and the team at VBase for the effort they also put in bringing our vision to life. The main highlight for us as a Council was definitely the moment that we walked into the venue and saw our ideas come to life. It was a very special experience for us, and what made it even better was the reactions and comments from our peers and teachers.”
TOURNAMENT WEEK There are a large number of students involved in Winter Tournament which begins on Monday 29 August. Staff and parents are also heavily involved with coaching, managing and supporting our teams. We wish all of you safe travels and success in your competitions.
COURSE SELECTION FOR 2017 A reminder that course selection forms for 2017 are now available and must be returned by Friday 26 August. It is vital that students meet this deadline, as priority will be given to those who have their choices handed in on or before this date. If you have any questions or concerns about course choices for next year, there are a number of staff who are available to help and advise you and your son/ daughter. Please feel free to contact relevant subject teachers, heads of departments, deans or me if you would like to discuss anything to do with the process.
SENIOR COLLEGE CHAPEL SERVICE The next Senior College chapel service is on Sunday 21 August at 7.00pm at St Andrew’s at Rangi Ruru Presbyterian Church. We look forward to a wonderful event, with the usual high standard of behaviour from students. This service is compulsory for all members of the Senior College, and students should aim to arrive no later than 6.45pm so that they can have their names recorded by their tutor.
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Sports & Cultural
Denley Jones, Head of Co-curricular
BASKETBALL
Denley Jones Head of Co-curricular
Samuel Jenkins (Year 9) and Harrison Peckham (Year 9) represented Canterbury in the U15A Boys’ basketball team at the national championships, placing fifth overall. Flynn McGuinness (Year 9) represented the Canterbury U15B team and they placed 11th overall. Georgia Hollings (Year 10) represented the Canterbury U15A Girls’ team and they placed fourth overall. William Hollings (Year 11) represented the Canterbury U17 team, placing third, which is Canterbury’s highest finish in recent years.
This winter sports season does seem to have gone very quickly and it has been pleasing to see such a large number of sporting and cultural teams representing the College this year. At our last assembly we again profiled some of our top teams and it was pleasing to have three guests join us to congratulate the students. Gary Ogilvie, our Football Co-ordinator and current Canterbury United player, congratulated the First XI Boys’ and Girls’ football team on their selection and wished them well for tournament. Former student and current Tactix player Charlotte Elley (2014) congratulated the netball girls, and former student and New Zealand U20 representative Hamish Dalzell (2013) congratulated the First XV Boys’. For our top sports teams the focus will move towards Winter Tournament. We have 10 teams away during Winter Tournament week attending tournaments from Auckland right down to Dunedin. This year all of the tournaments are outside of Christchurch so there has been a large amount of planning and organisation involved from the staff in charge. We wish them all well as we reflect on some pleasing recent successes across our co-curricular programme.
CLIMBING Judith Jewell (Year 11) competed in the National Cup series for lead climbing and bouldering. She won both disciplines at that event, and was awarded the overall National Cup.
FUTSAL Britney-Lee Nicholson (Year 12) won the Golden Boot scoring nine goals for the Mainland U19 futsal team which won the National Youth Futsal Championships. A number of other students represented Mainland at the Futsal National Youth Championships. Oliver Drew (U16) won the Golden Gloves trophy. Jake Brunton (Year 13) attended as a referee. Results: U19 Boys – Fourth U19 Girls – First U16 Boys – First U15 Girls – First U14 Boys – Third
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Sports & Cultural
Denley Jones, Head of Co-curricular
HOCKEY
ORIENTEERING
A number of students have been selected for Canterbury hockey representative teams:
The St Andrew’s orienteering team attended the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships held over three days in the last week of the holidays near Cambridge. Congratulations to the team of Oliver Egan (Year 12), Isaac Egan (Year 11), Dougal Shepherd (Year 11), Ayrton Shadbolt (Year 10) and Clayton Shadbolt (Year 8) who won the boys’ small team overall competition (five or less competitors).
U15A – Isabella Ambrosius (Year 10), Samuel Armitage (Year 11), Harrison Darling (Year 10), Lewis Edmond (Year 10), Victor Gan (Year 10), Jamie Garbett (Year 10), and Etienne Harrington-Watt (Year 10). U15B – Henry Crump (Year 9), George McCallum-Clark (Year 9), and Aleisha Davis (Year 9).
NETBALL The 9A netball team finished third at the South Island Junior Secondary Schools Netball Tournament in the holidays. This is the College’s highest ever finish at this age grade. Congratulations to the team and coach Janine Laney and manager Mrs Poulter. The girls have also achieved some pleasing results in recent weeks against visiting school teams alongside the 10A team. Both teams beat Queen Margaret College, Wellington and St Peter’s School, Alice Springs.
Isaac Egan Third in the Intermediate Boys’ long event Second in the Intermediate Boys relay event Ayrton Shadbolt Second in the Intermediate Boys’ relay event Clayton Shadbolt First in the Year 7/8 Boys’ long event Dougal Shepherd Second in the Intermediate Boys’ relay event Isaac Egan has been selected into the New Zealand Secondary Schools Orienteering team after trials at Queen’s Birthday weekend and at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships. The New Zealand team will be competing for the Southern Cross Trophy in Queensland, Australia over nine days in September.
Congratulations to Emily Allan and Kate Allan (both Year 9) who were both named in the tournament team based on their performances at the South Island tournament.
Kelera Nawai (Year 13) played for the Christchurch U19 netball team, which placed third at the national U19 tournament. Jessica Allan (Year 12), Samantha Molloy (Year 12) and Olivia Clark (Year 12) played for Canterbury in the U17 team and Jessica Allan was named in the New Zealand U17 tournament team. 10
Sports & Cultural
Denley Jones, Head of Co-curricular
TRAMPOLINING
NATIONAL REPRESENTATION
Kirsty Shields (Year 11) has been selected into the New Zealand trampoline team to compete at the Indo-Pacific championships in Napier in October.
Best wishes to Ari Graham and Mitchell Small (both Year 13) who will represent the New Zealand Secondary Schools team in cross country at the Australian Nationals this weekend. Best wishes also to Thomas Russel (Year 12) who is competing at the World Youth Rowing Championships in Rotterdam.
TRAPSHOOTING A team of five students competed in the North Island Secondary Schools Clay Target Championships over the first weekend of the July holidays. As a consequence of some excellent shooting in the points score event the boys won the five person team event and also won the two person skeet team event! Many thanks to Mr Wright and Mr Field who managed the team at the event. James Field (Year 13) was awarded the ‘High Gun’ for the championships as the top scorer across the three events.
VOLLEYBALL Holly Matson (Year 12) has been selected for the South Island Volleyball team to travel to the Gold Coast in September.
St Andrew's College Dance Presents
GYMNASTICS Isabella Drew (Year 9) represented New Zealand at the Australian National Gymnastics Championships in Melbourne. She competed very well and came away with a personal best score to place 12th overall. This is an amazing achievement for her first international competition, and it sets her up well for the Indo-Pacific Gymnastics Championships which she has qualified for, and will be held in October. Isabella will also be competing in the international category at the New Zealand Nationals in September.
DANCE REVUE 2016 tuesday 6 – wednesday 7 SEPTEMBER 7.30PM ST ANDREW’S COLLEGE THEATRE STUDENTS $10, ADULTS $15 TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM STROWAN HOUSE RECEPTION OR ONLINE AT WWW.STAC.SCHOOL.NZ
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Sports & Cultural
Ginnie Thorner, Arts Co-ordinator
‘A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM’ Congratulations to the Years 9 and 10 students on a very successful season of this famous play. Creating a piece of Shakespeare can be tricky and these students certainly rose to the challenge. The design team created a visually magical world of a fairy forest for the Athenians to explore. Old Collegian William Buffham (2014) composed music and was the Musical Director, working with a great quintet. Thank you to the parent team for their fantastic support with this production.
All three StAC jazz groups performed very well on the evening. The Jazz Orchestra played very well with a challenging set. The big band and jazz combo both gained Gold Awards. Congratulations to Cameron McHugh who won Best Trombone.
MARLBOROUGH SOUTHERN JAM YOUTH JAZZ FESTIVAL
CHAMBER MUSIC COMPETITION The Herzog Klaviertrio comprising William Muir (Year 13) and Finn van Dorsser (Year 11), together with Selena Sun from Burnside High School performed incredibly well to make it to the national finals of the New Zealand Community Trust Chamber Music Contest. It was a great honour for the trio to be part of the finals, which showcased the top six groups out of around 500 chamber groups competing from right across New Zealand. Well done!
The second event was a successful trip away to Southern Jam, which is held annually in Blenheim. This is a competition that the 37 StAC jazz students look forward to each year. During the five days away they played gigs in cafés and schools in Blenheim and Picton, took part in competition, listened to jazz and attended instrument specific workshops. Gold awards were awarded to the big band and soul band; a silver award for the jazz orchestra; and Cameron McHugh received best trombone. Both the big band and the soul band were runners-up in their categories. Cameron McHugh (Year 13), Sam Verdellen (Year 13), Benjamin Lang (Year 13), Angus Rainey (Year 10) and Serge Beaton (Year 10) were all selected for the All Stars Band. This group plays with other musicians at the gala concert on the final night of the festival.
JAZZQUEST Jazz music has had another successful year of growth with a strong focus on all players developing their improvisation skills. In addition to performing at the Jazz and Blues Festival, jazz students have been working towards two big competitions, the first of which was Ara JazzQuest.
The soul band jumped from a bronze category award last year to runner-up, which is an amazing achievement. St Andrew’s jazz had two groups selected to play in the gala concert. Congratulations to all musicians who rehearsed very hard to get there. A big thank you to Trish Rainey, who organises, prepares and cooks for the entire tour. Thanks to Trish and Tom for giving their time so generously to this event. Thanks to Duncan Ferguson for his continual commitment to developing musicians. 12
Sports & Cultural
Ginnie Thorner, Arts Co-ordinator
CHRISTCHURCH VOCAL COMPETITIONS
WINTER MUSIC FESTIVAL
Congratulations to all the StAC students who competed in the 2016 Christchurch Vocal Competitions. All students did extremely well. Of particular note was Iona Taylor (Year 10), who was awarded the Ashley White Trophy for the Most Promising Singer aged over 12 and U16.
This week we celebrated our Winter Music Festival, which involved three evenings to showcase some of our music groups.
Iona Taylor (Year 10): Ashley White Trophy Folk/Traditional – First Novice Solo – First Music Theatre in Costume – Second Mounsey Memorial – First Archie Milligan (Year 9): Sacred – First Folk/Traditional – Second Isabella Ford (Year 11): Novice Solo – Second Mounsey Memorial – Third
Celebrating Song was held at a brand new venue, The Piano, and featured StAC choirs, barbershop and soloists, including some special guests. Studio Set – Singer/Songwriters. This year the singer/ songwriters had an event just for them. We created a lounge feel in MS01 to give audiences the opportunity to hear new work from emerging musicians. Jazz Club was held in the newly renovated Great Hall at the Arts Centre. Last year was very successful and this year it was another fantastic way to spend an evening with our talented musicians.
UPCOMING EVENTS SPEECH AND DRAMA St Andrew’s had 31 students competing at the Christchurch Competitions Society Speech and Drama Competitions, with all gaining a ribbon in at least one event. There were some impressive performances and great results. Congratulations to Secondary School students Xavier Dickason, James Tavendale (both Year 9), Danielle Smith (Year 10), and Haotian Yu (Year 12) who won first places, special trophies and prizes.
Dance Revue Head of Dance, Courtney Johnson, is doing a fantastic job of leading the creation of Dance Revue for 2016. Each year the standard of this event improves and more and more students are taking this opportunity to develop their ability in dance. This is always a great evening of entertainment showcasing StAC dance groups, and small group and individual choreography. Remember to check out our Facebook page for photos and updates of events. https://www.facebook.com/stacmusic
UPCOMING DATES FOR THE MUSIC DEPARTMENT SEPTEMBER 4–5 6–7
Dance Revue dress rehearsals Dance Revue
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Performance Evening One; NCEA solo
9
Film Festival
12–13 14
Orchestra Festival Performance Evening Two
PLEASE DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUR STAC CULTURAL CALENDAR ON THE SCHOOL INTRANET ON A REGULAR BASIS FOR UPDATES.
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