B I N D E R - Issue Three

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Strengthening the Bonds throughout the McGlashan Community Dear McGlashan Community, We hope that Term Two and our distance learning programme has been a success for you so far. We have been getting some great feedback and thank you for all your support.

The Government has decided that we will move to Alert Level 3 on 28 April. This means that we will be able to receive Year 7 - 10 students from Wednesday 29 April (after ANZAC weekend) but only under exceptional circumstances.

The key message for you is: If you can, you should keep your child at home. You should only send your child to school if you absolutely need to.

If your child has a health condition which means they are at risk of a severe illness, then you must keep them at home. If your child is sick, please keep them at home.

We will be operating with strict enforcement of health and safety measures.

If you wish to make arrangements for your son to be supervised at school please email me at: ngarry@mcglashan.school.nz For now, we will continue to support your son’s learning online.

Best regards Neil Garry Principal

Thanks for the photo Rev.

A REMINDER FROM REV’S DESK...

With the announcement from the PM, we have a little more certainty about our plan going forward. We are in no doubt now that our on line environment is the short term norm.

Therefore, I remind you of the information that was sent on day one: Rev and Mr Sheilds continue to be available for any boys or parents who would like a chat.

Our office doors at school might still be closed but we are responding to emails and phone calls, texts and Skypes on a daily basis.

We will listen and or chat about anything. It doesn’t have to be ‘bottom of the cliff’ stuff. We would much rather chat about issues before they grow out of proportion.

ANYTHING. We don’t mind; we don’t judge. barry@mcglashan.school.nz 0273755315 daryl@mcglashan.school.nz 0274811966

JMC LIBRARY RESOURCES If you are looking for information on ANZAC Day, the Year 8 Local History topic, the Year 9 Integrated Studies task or the Year 11 NZ History project, have a look at our library Web App. Mrs North and Mrs Gardiner have been busy adding lots of new resources. If you want to do your own research, you can use Epic or One Search, also from the web app. Instructions for logging on are provided here JMC Library Online Resources.

If you have any questions, please get in touch, we are only too happy to help you: library@mcglashan.school.nz

PREFECTS’ CHALLENGE The Week Two Art Challenge was hotly contested by some fantastic entries; it was a very hard and close decision. Congratulations Sam Schell with some great photography shots.

The Week Three Prefect Challenge is musical - the rules are set out below. Make sure you check out Facebook for the full video example.

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No proper instrument can be used e.g. guitars, drumsets Under 30 seconds - ideally do the chorus of a song or a jingle Does not have to be in one take - can be edited together Vocals not required, however, if you choose to use vocals no explicit lyrics.

Joe, Mitchell, Ned

YEAR 10 ENGLISH The Year 10 English classes have taken these moments in lockdown to ‘write like a writer’ without the usual restrictions of time and place that we usually have in the classroom. They were to write when they felt creative, in places that inspired them.

They were challenged to engage with their surroundings with a descriptive writing task that asked them to sit and observe different spaces within their home. To use their senses in a mindful way and then attempt to convey their observations to an audience. Each piece was intended to be short and as a ‘warm-up’ before they begin a more developed writing task. Here are some of the pieces that came from this task:

As I sit down, I can feel the warm, smooth wood on the arms of my chair. The lounge is quite quiet right now. The only sounds I can hear is Jacinda doing her daily press conference and Mya and Billy playing outside. There are big black clouds rolling over the Maungatuas now; they look like an army heading into a battle. My mood starts to change as I see that the clouds are about to fill the whole sky and that they’re going to turn the weather very quickly. The smell of the roast in the oven makes me hungry and I suddenly start looking forward to dinner. Now I can hear Mya and Billy starting to fight. I think it’s safe to say that this family is over Isolation, just like most are by now.

As you reach the old wooden door, you are struck with a certain curiosity as to what’s inside.

Pushing it open, a subtle creak escapes the door’s hinges. Now fully entering the room, you are met with a crisp sort of air that hurts your nose if you breathe too deeply. Warm light bathes this room in golds and yellows. A peaceful light.

It filters through the scratchy, cream-coloured curtains, illuminating the many books, waiting patiently to be read, on the wooden shelf. Now that you’re looking for it, you begin to notice that almost all the furniture here is made of old, intricately-carved wood. Letting your hand glide gracefully along the wood, soft dust gathers on your fingertips. What a calming sanctuary this room truly is. If you allow yourself to be still for a moment, the entrancing sing-song melodies of the birds outside fill your ears with soothing wonder. A myriad of birds, chirp gorgeously in unison. Oh, to be a bird, dancing between the lush trees on the other side of your window, feeling the air soaring past you. Cold, yet rejuvenating.

Returning your attention to the room, a faint sound can be heard underneath that of the birds.

Ah, yes: the constant tick-tocking of the clock.

What a pleasant, sleepy sound. It might be nice to doze here for a while, surrounded by comfort and beauty.

CREATIVITY THRIVING IN A TIME OF CRISIS Performing Arts teaching online has its obvious physical challenges... drama relies on social connection, collaboration, and a large drama space for performance, which is tricky when people are at home in their own home bubbles. Performing arts teachers, like the arts sector, have quickly adjusted to going digital, and rehearsals, lessons, play readings, and performances have all gone online. Sadly, a lot of touring performances have been cancelled this year and COVID-19 has hit the arts sector very hard. However, theatre companies are quickly adapting to this “new normal” and are now providing recorded digital productions online with resources, which is fantastic for senior students who are studying plays for external standards.

I have already taken part in numerous PD sessions with other Drama teachers across New Zealand, playreadings with professional actors, and watched live ZOOM performances of Shakespeare productions. This week in senior drama classes we tried our hand at drama warm-ups online using ZOOM (which was a lot of fun) and also giving “side-coaching” advice through online ZOOM rehearsals with smaller senior groups working on internal standards.

I’ve been really impressed with the way these senior students have quickly adapted to this way of working online while trying to remain positive and optimistic. Likewise, junior drama students have been flexing their creative muscles at home and creating lots of different performance products, from podcasts to short films, to trying their hand at costume design or reviewing online theatre productions.

Some people have said that the Coronavirus will lead to a spike in creativity because creativity thrives when control and routine go out the window. It is also fantastic for your wellbeing. Creativity reduces anxiety, depression, and stress. It can also help you process trauma.

In an article titled ‘Art in Times of Crisis’ from the UNSW Sydney Newsroom, it talked about people often thinking about prioritising art in a time of crisis as being counterintuitive. ARC Laureate Fellow and UNSW Professor of Experimental Arts, Professor Jill Bennett thinks it’s extremely important.

She says: “I think it’s exactly now that we need these kinds of tools”. “One of the things that art does well – and has done for hundreds of years – is to investigate challenging human experiences. This opens up the potential for reflecting on and understanding our own and others mental states and feelings of distress and anxiety.”

Times like this are certainly great for developing student resilience. Make sure you make time to be creative while you are in your bubbles!

Ngã manaakitanga, Kimberley Fridd

Year 13 Drama students try their hand at online drama warm-ups...

INTERNATIONAL DEPARTMENT

The International Students seem to have embraced ‘distance’ learning. It was great to see their cheerful faces at International Form time last Friday - we even had Bill from China and Cyrus from Hong Kong zooming in. Aside from meeting all of the online learning requirements, we challenged them to produce evidence of their daily fitness routine at home in whatever form that may be…

Yoko stacking firewood

Jim doing crunches on the exercise ball

Alpha doing pull ups on a tree

Ackery doing an Easter Egg hunt in Ross Creek Alpha doing gardening

Next, Joe Mu, International Prefect spoke to some of our international students about the pros & cons of distance learning and how it has affected them, in particular in the senior school. Here is what they had to say: “As term two began, students and teachers got back together, not physically but through online distance learning. We have heard some feedback from our International students and their opinions on the past week of distance learning. According to them, there are both pros and cons. The majority have commented on the benefit of the flexibility of distance learning.

Nath (Yr 12) said, “I think it’s great that we now have a lot more flexibility than actually being at school. I get a lot more work done more quickly.” Roy (Yr 13) said “There hasn’t been much change to the actual learning, but everything has become more flexible, and I can sleep in till 8.50am.” However, some students said it was easier to get distracted studying at home. And since for the seniors, a lot of content has to be learned individually, it makes learning new content harder.”

Joe Mu

BE IN TO WIN If you fancy yourself as budding author or are just keen to do some lockdown writing - then let’s face it, what better time than right now to ‘have a go’ and ‘be in to win!’

Get in amongst some awesome competitions! $$, pride and prestige to be won! There are a number of writing competitions open to all secondary students across the country right now!

Goi Peace essay contest “A Letter from Myself in 2030” Imagine what an ideal world ten years from now would be like. Write a letter from yourself in 2030 to your present (2020) self, in which you describe the state of the world, the way people are living, and what you, yourself, are doing in society. In addition, include any important message that you might wish to tell your present self.

School for Young Writers Write a monologue from the point of view of an interesting character.

They could be human, an animal, or perhaps even a monument or landmark.

Sargeson Prize - NZ’s richest short story prize.

Secondary school prize $5,000 Sponsored by the University of Waikato National Flash fiction competition.

Closes April 30th.

Can be a story, can be prose.

Free to enter the youth category.

Winner gets $100 and published in fingerscommatoes journal.

300 words.

Starling Literary Journal.

Writers under 25.

Accepting submissions now until October 20th for summer issue.

Prose or poetry.

NZ Poetry Society International poetry competition.

Youth entries $2.50 each.

Closes 31 May 2020.

Winner gets $200 runner up $100.

Plus published in anthology Stasis Online Journal Accepting submissions during lockdown.

Paying $100 Microfiction competition Open until 15 May. Up to 100 words 3 entries per person. Entry fee is free

REBECCA SIMPSON’S RECIPE OF THE WEEK What does the Catering Manager cook at home?

Pan-Fried Salmon, Pea Velouté, Roast Vine Tomato, green beans (serves two) Ingredients; 1 Shallot 40g Pouring Cream 40g Butter 80g Garden Peas 1 Vegetable Stock Cube 2 x small vine tomatoes 2 x 110g Salmon Fillets (Skinless) 1 cup green beans Olive oil Salt and pepper Preheat the oven to 200°C/ 180°C (fan) Cook the peas - add the garden peas to a pot, cover them with boiled water (just enough to cover them) with a pinch of salt, bring to the boil over a high heat and cook for 3-4 minutes or until they’re tender. Once tender, drain and set aside.

Roast the Tomato - place on an oven tray leaving the vine on the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper drizzle with olive oil and roast until tender and golden approx. 15-20mins.

Prepare the shallots and stock - re-boil a kettle. Peel and finely chop the shallots. Dissolve the 1/2 vegetable stock cube in 50ml boiled water.

Make the pea velouté - return the pot to a medium heat with 40gm butter. Once melted, add the chopped shallot and cook for 2-3 minutes or until softened. Once softened, add the vegetable stock and cream and cook for 1-2 minutes further or until starting to thicken. Add the drained peas, and creamy stock to a food processor and blend until smooth.

Blanch the green beans and set aside Cook the salmon fillets - heat a large, wide-based pan (preferably non-stick) with a drizzle of olive oil over a medium-high heat. Season the salmon fillets with a pinch of salt.

Once hot, add the salmon fillets and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side or until cooked through. Tip: your fish is cooked when it turns opaque and flakes easily.

Serve up!

Return the pea velouté to the pot over a medium-low heat and cook for 1-2 minutes or until warmed through. Reheat the green beans and tomato in a pan. Serve the pan-fried salmon over the pea velouté with the tomato and green beans to the side.

Tip: spread the velouté with the back of a spoon for fancy presentation!

WHAT’S BEEN HAPPENING DURING LOCKDOWN? Week two of online learning has gone very fast - and according to those I have been in contact with, it has been going very well. The biggest grumble in my bubble is the internet speed - especially as I write this with four of us trying to work!

Here are some updates from a few staff and students; Bryn Jones - I feel very fortunate to have been able to spend the last four weeks in lockdown at our place in Broad Bay. My bubble consists of my wife Philippa and our two adult university refugees, Gwyn and Alice. I have kept myself busy with making sculpture (the beginnings of a mermaid for a future exhibition in Sydney), and piecing together a horse skeleton for the art room (Jonah Coleman in Year 10 discovered the skull for this at Sandfly Bay and we recovered the rest). Other time has been spent reading (currently Dictator by Robert Harris), pruning trees, tidying up the property and doing all the jobs we never really seem to find time to do in normal daily life.

Pip from the Canteen has spent many hours finishing off some of her craft products - they look amazing. The downside to her lockdown (like many others), is not being able to see family, especially those who are unwell who live outside of their bubble. Take care Pip - we look forward to school being back so that our lunches are taken care of!

Riley Meason (Year 13) - G’day boys hope your bubbles are going well wherever you are in the country. My bubble has been quite interesting as we have been doing a lot of jobs around the house, especially fire wood, so it’s pretty fair to say my skills on the chain saw are pretty mint now.

Now that we have been running out of jobs to do, Mum and Dad came up with the idea of mowing a golf course into one of our paddocks. So now instead of working the chain saw, I’m busy trying to find golf balls that seem to fly off into the abyss of the long grass!

Dr P - What a lovely start to online teaching; seeing all the students in their natural habitats, natural attire and ‘natural’ hairstyles! So blessed we can still connect amidst the chaos outdoors. I’ve recruited my heading dog, Jake, to keep everyone together on the screen. Kia Kaha!

Oakland Young (Year 10) has been very busy on the farm. Over the last month of lockdown, I have been doing a lot of farm work such as dipping lambs, driving tractors fencing and harvesting grain, as well as a bit of school work.

And a last word from Rev - Kerry and I managed to get to the crib in Bannockburn within an hour of lockdown. We are able to be nearby elderly parents and autumn colours in Central yet still get Chapels out and teaching done. Win win. At Easter, we got to harvest, staying within our bubbles. I have missed face to face interactions with my colleagues and the lads. One boy said after an online chapel… “You miss having us to bounce off Rev.” He nailed it…..it’s very hard to get excited about talking to a camera.