Languages

After all the cancellations that occurred in 2020, we were delighted to go ahead with the annual National Spanish Debate Competition hosted by the Spanish Teachers Association New Zealand Aotearoa (STANZA). As the most recent competition winner, Rangitoto College had the privilege of hosting this event, which saw a number of teams from other high schools visit for the day to compete in intense interschool debates on a wide range of topics—all in Spanish. The day began with a pōwhiri led by our school’s Kapa Haka group, which was a wonderful opportunity to see a range of cultures integrated in one place to welcome the guests to the competition. Year 10 languages student Cuba Rihari stunned our guests by welcoming them in both Te Reo Māori and in Spanish, transitioning between the two languages with confidence and fluidity.

Rangitoto College entered two teams made up of Year 12 and 13 students who both fought well and won a debate each against of the different schools. At the end of the day, there was also a Best Speaker competition where scores from the day were tallied to find a top four candidates who then competed in an impromptu speech competition. Year 13 student Sophia Hepper won second place overall after delivering an impressive speech on whether New Zealand should make electric cars mandatory. A big congratulations to the winning team from Auckland Grammar School who won the intensive final debate against Green Bay High School, and congratulations to our school teams who competed and did our school proud! We would also like to thank all of the teachers and student helpers who made this event possible and go as well as it did. ¡Qué genial!

Speech competitions were also a highlight in Chinese this year. Our talented students in the senior Chinese classes participated in the Chinese Bridge Speech Competition and Yujin Park, a Year 13 student, was awarded the second prize in the National Speech Competition and the first prize in the Auckland Regional Competition. Yujin will represent New Zealand to compete in the International Speech Competition in October. Congratulations Yujin!

Alex Jung, a Year 11 student, was awarded the second prize in the Auckland Regional Competition, and he also won the Best Creative Performance for his fantastic music video.

Our Year 11 students Eva Bennett, Chris Hewitt, and Sebastian Camus Rogers were awarded third prize and merit in the competition.

Thankfully, the Year 12 Chinese class was able to go on their restaurant trip right before Term 3’s lockdown. Learning a language is not only about the language itself; cultural understanding is essential, and food is an important aspect that enriches a student’s cultural knowledge. Málà tàng 麻辣烫 is a well-known Chinese food, similar to Huǒguō 火锅, but can be customized to individual tastes. Sadly, the senior French students had a restaurant trip planned for the week after lockdown struck. To make up for it, we held a French-themed virtual bake-off during online learning. This helped us to learn about some regional French delicacies, and our bubblemembers were more than happy to sample the goods!

The Languages Department has been so lucky to have our wonderful French and Spanish Language Assistants, Sandy Chassagne and Beatriz Blanco Regalado stay with us for a second year. Bea and Sandy enriched our language classes by providing an invaluable source of up-to-date linguistic and cultural input for our students, always with enthusiasm and energy! We have loved having them with us and we wish them all the best for their return to Europe.

As once said by Laini Taylor, “Peace is more than the absence of war. Peace is accord. Harmony.” I have had the pleasure of learning Japanese since Year 9, and I am grateful for taking this subject as I got the opportunity to expand my knowledge about another culture. Moreover, participation in traditional activities helped me increase my understanding of the language. Despite the unfortunate events happening around us, we are still able to celebrate Hiroshima’s Commemoration Day. Various activities such as watching Grave of the Fireflies gave us a sense of sympathy towards those who lived in Japan when war was happening. Through this, students from different year levels had the chance to fold a thousand cranes; sent to Hiroshima Peace Park. The thousand cranes symbolise our wish to keep the world a safe place. I am thankful for the amazing teachers that have taught me up to Year 12. Without a doubt, taking Japanese has been a pleasure thanks to my peers and teachers helping me. Taking up another language, especially Japanese, is something that will stick with me forever.

ありがとうございました！ - Lianne Marino, Year 12

Mātauranga Māori is celebrated at Rangitoto College through many academic options available to students. 2021, saw the greatest number of students yet enrolled in Te Reo Māori. Our Te Reo programme at Rangitoto College was recognised for its success in Te Reo teaching, named in Metro Magazine’s top 10 schools in Auckland for Level 1 Te Reo Māori. This year, two of our Te Reo learners, Calais Norman (Y10) and Tamati Kingi (Y12) successfully represented Rangitoto at the annual Manu Kōrero Speech Competition, held at Waiorea, Western Springs College. They both demonstrated such mana and courage, and their speeches were an inspiration to others, who have already expressed their intention to enter in 2022!

Rangitoto students have also studied Mātauranga Māori through the developing programme of Māori Practical Arts. These are practical art classes which focus on weaving together tikanga Māori through design and carving, constructing deep knowledge around language, symbols, and visual texts.

Students enrolled in Māori performing arts grew their knowledge of Te Reo and performance through waiata, mōteatea and haka. In 2022, these junior programmes are extending into NCEA courses through the senior school. It is an exciting time for Mātauranga Māori at Rangitoto College. Whaowhia te kete mātauranga! Tīhei Mauri Ora!

Māori carving is a fun practical arts subject that has taught me the meanings behind the designs of māori whakairo. Māori carving is a collaborative environment for us to be able to share our ideas. We learned how to tell a story through our artwork by carving wood to create depth and shape. In lockdown, it is a bit more challenging to do practical carving, so instead, Matua Terei got creative and we used soap to carve a Wheku. Māori carving is a subject that caters for everyone.

- Ngaawai Simpkins, Year 10