Piper Issue 53 October 2014

Preschool

It’s off to School we go!

For the children continuing onto our Saint Kentigern Schools, the ‘Transition to School’ programme for the full term before they start school is a major highlight. Whether on site at the girls’ School, or a trip in the School van with Preschool car seats to the Boys’ School, the visits are entered into with great enthusiasm.

Both the girls and boys spend time in the class they will join when they start school, meeting the teacher and the children they will be with. Preschool staff are involved in the programme and spend time with the children experiencing reading, writing, maths, library, music, sports, art, assembly, Chapel Service – in fact anything that their class is doing, they do. regular visits to both campuses while they are at Preschool ensures the opportunity to cement their place in the ‘big school.’

Can we be of Service?

Preschool is such a vibrant, busy and happy place that we have lots of students from the College, girls’ and Boys’ Schools willing to help with the children. each year the girls’ School elect two year 8 Preschool Leaders and year 7 who come and spend regular time at Preschool helping the staff and working alongside the children as often as their school timetable allows. The Boys’ School bring groups of year 8 boys over as part of their Service awards – and it is amazing to see the way the Preschoolers ‘play’ with the big boys and how gentle and caring the school boys are. one of the boys said, ‘I can’t believe how cute they are –especially in the Saint Kentigern uniform – I wish the Preschool had been here when i was little!’

We have had some fantastic Year 10 students from the College over on a Thursday and Friday after school as part of their Duke of edinburgh award. The College boys who have assisted

our 'Transition to School' programme has proved hugely successful and one that attracts many of our children to Preschool. regular visits from the new entrant teachers from both schools as well as Principals, Dr hastie and Mr Cassie, all support our programme and make the children feel confident as they graduate to school.

Parents continually comment about how the first day of school only means a change of uniform as they start school as confident inquisitive learners after such a positive and seamless transition.

Sue Nash, Director

have been outstanding and are a true testament to what being a Son of Kentigern truly means.

It is great to see all of the students gaining confidence, using initiative, being so friendly and willing and displaying all the Saint Kentigern Way and Values by their actions.

Sharing Matariki at Caughey Preston

As part of Matariki – Maori New Year - our Preschool children were invited to Caughey Preston rest home to sing some of our favourite Maori songs to the residents. Some of the children dressed in piupiu and headbands and all entered into the singing with great enthusiasm.

The highlight of the visit was spending time to meet the residents after the performance. The preschoolers were so confident and friendly, shaking their hands, giving them hugs and displaying amazing Saint Kentigern manners.

All the children really enjoy performing for the elderly and it has become a regular event, at least three times a year. A positive relationship has been built and the residents look forward to their special ‘little Saint Kentigern people’ coming along – and we enjoy giving them something special to enjoy!

Snow Adventures

The children arrived one sunny, winter’s morning to a very wintery scene. it had snowed! Well, to be precise, 6 tonnes of thick snow had arrived in two big trucks from Polar ice Supplies earlier that morning. PLonK in our sandpit area! The snow was ‘crunchy’, ‘salty’, ‘sticky’, ‘icey’ and very cold!

Warm winter clothes for the snow were much needed –especially gloves! The children made snow angels lying in the snow, snowballs were tossed in the air, there were sled rides with helper, harrison, and a very tiny snowman was built with carrots, blue button eyes and a Preschool beanie!

We all LOVED the snow and had so much fun – let’s hope it snows again next year at Preschool!

Igloo building extravaganza

After a few years of holding the dream of building an igloo at Preschool out of milk bottles, Director of Preschool, Sue nash’s idea became a reality! As part of our Snow Adventure week, an igloo was built!

Over 440 milk bottles were collected from local cafes by the parents and staff over three weeks –all needing to be well washed and dried before greg (Sue’s husband) came to engineer the construction!

With extra hot glue guns borrowed from Boys’ School and College, the children helped hand the milk bottles to greg as he glued each bottle one by one before securing it to the base. Layer upon layer of bottles – all with matching lids began to grow as the sides started getting higher and higher. The children loved having turns inside it while it was being constructed. greg was given lots of preschooler advice on how it should be built!

Clear milk bottles were added for layers of light before carefully moving the igloo to have the roof attached. More bottles were needed for the entrance and after a few days of construction – our Saint Kentigern Igloo was complete!

The excitement from the children (and teachers) when they got inside and saw the amazing construction was absolutely priceless!

it has been used not only outside for Snow Day but 6 weeks later it is still going strong with a shag pile mat inside and cushions for the children to enjoy reading books – up to 12 children at a time can fit in all snug and warm!

8

Wild But Friendly!

it is not every day that the children arrive at Preschool to discover a wild menagerie of animals! There was much anticipation and just a touch of fear from those children who haven’t had much experience with animals.

Run, run as fast as you can…

The smiles on their faces said it all at the Preschool Cross Country held at the Boys’ School. Nothing could stop the beaming smiles of the 3 and 4 year-olds as they ran across the finish line, whether they came in 1st, 2nd, 8th or 15th!

Joining together for the morning with the Year 1-3’s from the Boys’ and Girls’ Schools, the Preschoolers ran separate races for their age groups across the top field in perfect conditions. With a little help from their teachers, and some boasting a more competitive spirit than others, all of Saint Kentigern’s smallest members can be proud to have completed their course.

Congratulations to the following winners and to all 59 Preschoolers for taking part. Thank you also to the Junior School and for all the helpers who made it a successful day. September 17th saw the presentation of the certificates to our top 3 children for each age group at the Girls’ School Chapel Service. There were lots of very excited children and exceptionally proud parents and grandparents sharing the service with us.

3 YEAR OLD GIRLS

1st Amelia Hardie

2nd Olivia Lidstone

3rd Bella Davies

4 YEAR OLD GIRLS

1st Suri Zhong

2nd Isabella Lynn

3rd Elise Leport-Symonds

3 YEAR OLD BOYS

1st Ben Roberton

2nd Sebastian Hartel

3rd Boston Chester

4 YEAR OLD BOYS

1st Oliver Goodfellow

2nd Ben Cleaver

3rd Freddy Abeysekera

Bonjour Papa

Father’s Day morning is always a much anticipated event and this year proved another successful occasion with well over 80 gentlemen of varying ages here to spend time with their child/grandchild before heading down to the girl’s School Drawing room for some entertainment. There we were met by ‘JP the French Clown.’ The children were thrilled to be able to use their talents from learning French once a week at Preschool as they greeted JP, counted for him and told him the colours of his scarves all in French, while watching an amazing performance.

The surprise, as JP got some of the fathers up to be part of his show, was priceless! There were some very quiet dads as they tried very hard to sit and not be spotted to be the next target up front! From juggling balls to balancing acts, dancing with skirts, glasses and funny hats on – the fathers all got into the swing of it with great enthusiasm and even displayed some hidden talents!

Sally from the Animal Crew was amazing as she explained about each animal and its habitat, what it ate and how to care for it! everyone got fully involved and any child’s fear was soon forgotten as they came to handle the animals in a safe setting.

it was a very eventful morning. each child held a mouse before making a special mouse house for the 20 visiting mice to stay in during their time at Preschool, before holding guinea pigs and brushing them (as some were definitely having bad hair days!); touching the spikes on a bearded dragon; watching the blue tongued lizard eat worms with his very blue tongue; become a pirate with a rat on a shoulder; watch the chinchilla have a dust bath; hold the turtles and tortoises and finally be fascinated by the huge stick insect.

Amazing exploration was happening with some fantastic language from our children.

‘Did you know a chinchilla comes from South America?’ said Oscar.

‘When a guinea pig is happy it purrs like a cat’ said Suri.

‘The bearded dragon comes from Australia and when it runs fast its spikes stand up by its neck’ said Korbin.

‘A blue tongued lizard’s tongue is the same colour as a giraffe’s tongue’ said Oliver.

A BBQ lunch for everyone was well received before the children gave their Dads a personalised handprint with quotes about ‘Why i love my Dad’ and a Saint Kentigern keyring or pen. Trying to get the fathers to leave the fun of Preschool to return to work proved a bit of a challenge!

An amazingly popular day for all…

‘

I love my Dad because he snuggles me into my bed at night and gives me kisses’.

‘I love my Dad because he drops me to Preschool’.

‘I love my Dad because he makes me laugh and is quite clever!’

‘I love my Dad because he fixes things and is brave’.

Shark Teeth, Fish and Penguin Encounters

Kelly Tarlton’s was the destination for 60 excited children in support of our amazing Centre of Interest, ‘Underwater World and Antarctica.’ An underwater puppet show by the education officer started the morning where we learnt all about where fish live and the rocky shore and sang lots of fishy songs!

exploration of the rocky shore exhibit revealed octopus, sea dragons, piranhas and sea horses and an encounter with a stingray. They had a close up view of the amazing, waddling penguins and their icy world as they dived and squawked at each other and then entered the underwater tunnel to watch schools of snapper, very large sharks and many more fish swim over the top of us.

Such an exciting morning, where we consolidated so much of our previous learning and gained even more knowledge. The artwork that has been created is phenomenal from such young children and looks great displayed in our atelier room.

Mini Mungo Adventures

After a trip in the Saint Kentigern van to Mungo’s uniform Shop at the College, 100 little Saint Kentigern bears were purchased to sell to the Preschool children. however, one of the staff had an idea about letting the children have a turn to take one home for the weekend and then tell us about their time with the bear. This idea grew until our bear was called ‘Mini Mungo’ (being the smallest children in the Saint Kentigern community yet keeping with the history of Mungo) and he was off on adventures with the children.

Mini Mungo has travelled the world with the children, posing for photos everywhere! From Auckland Sky Tower to Spain, Waikiki to the Dead Sea, Fiji and ruapehu, rotorua to Sydney, Queenstown and new york, india and Kuala Lumpur, Brisbane and Taupo and many more – Mini Mungo has been on some amazing adventures!

each child brings in photos of their trip with Mini Mungo and a description of his travels, ready to be put into our growing book about ‘Mini Mungos Adventures’ for everyone to read and enjoy.

The Saint Kentigern Way with reverend hardie

The importance of the Saint Kentigern Way and our Values are reinforced throughout the Preschool programme each day. The children are encouraged to show kindness, friendship, respect and compassion with their friends and teachers. our Preschool children display these values in their play and can be heard saying, ‘That’s not the Saint Kentigern Way – we need to all play nicely.’

‘I am nice to my friends – that’s the Saint Kentigern Way’ says Charlotte

‘Did you know that when I went to the service at Easter time – I told Mummy not to be worried about Jesus dying because I learnt from Reverend Hardie that Jesus rose again on the 3rd day – so it is okay,’ said Chloe

‘We have to listen to our teachers and big people – because that is what we do at Saint Kentigern’ said elliot.

‘i like saying my Preschool grace when i go to my grandma and grandad’s house’ said Korbin.

grace is also said by all the children before lunch... ‘For our family, friends and food – we say thank you’

each Monday afternoon our day is highlighted with our weekly visit from reverend hardie. The childrens faces light up as he tells a story from the Bible and relates it to a real life situation in a fun and child friendly way. Songs are sung and he even brings his guitar to entertain us all.

The children love finishing their time with Reverend Hardie with his special prayer of putting their fingers together before reciting ‘Prayer is talking to God -Prayer is listening to God – Amen’. it is great to see the children acting the Saint Kentigern Way at such a young age and imparting the true Values that Saint Kentigern truly stands for.

Girls' School

often just a small brass plate on the side of a building marks the school entrance. Visitors are screened by armed security guards and have their identity checked and bags inspected! Parents have special iD swipe cards and no children are allowed to wait outside the school to be collected or dropped off!

Selection criteria: All prospective students (even at the youngest year levels) must sit an entrance test as part of the application process. The School at Columbia university used a ballot system - if your number was selected and you passed the entry requirements then you could attend. The other schools had a similar philosophy and there was no concession for family connections (i.e. a sibling already attending did not guarantee entry for younger family members). When i asked about children who struggled academically, i was told there were schools they could attend – just not these ones! It made me appreciate how special Saint Kentigern is in terms of the range of children we accept - we do not accept solely on academic results and i believe we are the richer for it.

Visiting Schools in New York and Boston

In June I attended Harvard Business School in Boston to complete a course on Strategic Management. i used this opportunity to visit some independent Schools in new york and Boston to look at their students’ educational experience and how it compared to new zealand. i was fortunate to visit three schools in new york and one in Boston:

• Marymount School – Girls’ Catholic Independent School K-12, 500 students. This school was built around three old houses and had the most amazing winding staircases. There was no outside play area at all and the classrooms were a collection of small rooms.

• Grace Church School – Co-educational, independent, 600 students, founded in 1894 as the first choir boarding school in New York City. The church is an integral part of this school.

• The School at Columbia University - Established in 2003. This is a coeducational, independent K-8 school affiliated with Columbia University and has a roll of 500 students. The school has the advantage of having access to the facilities at Columbia university. it is very new and modern.

• Riverdale School – Riverdale is one of the oldest country day schools in the United States. It has an enrolment of 1125 students, is co-educational and is in the riverdale section of the Bronx. of all the schools i visited, riverdale had the most beautiful grounds and some real grass!

• Shady Hill School – An independent, co-educational day school in Cambridge, pre-kindergarten to 8th grade, 500 students. It is a very progressive school and is known for its programmes of positive psychology. Shady hill reminded me very much of new zealand primary schools with large outdoor areas and separate classrooms with students able to move freely between inside and outside.

Security: Apart from Shady hills School in Boston, the high level of security was difficult and very foreign to me. The schools have discrete entrances,

Cost of Education: The cost to attend independent schools in new york is incredibly high. Tuition fees range from US$44,000 to over US$50,000 per student (and that is fees only!). Most schools do, however, have large endowment funds and are able to offer a substantial number of scholarships to their top students.

Outdoor Play Areas and Sport: Due to the nature of new york city, schools tended to have play areas either in the basement as a gymnasium or on the roof top where there were small, artificial surface areas. riverdale and Shady hills School were the only two campuses that had outdoor grass areas. At the primary school level, team sports (baseball, ice hockey and basketball) are played by students at their local clubs outside the school day. Physical education consists of lessons in their gymnasiums.

I reflected how fortunate primary school students are in New Zealand to have outdoor play areas and opportunities to play a range of sports within their school programmes. Many American students spend their entire day in a multi-storied building, not venturing outside until the end of the school day and then under adult supervision at all times.

Educational Programmes: educational programmes were similar to new zealand. The emphasis on inquiry learning, practical activities and differentiation are certainly in line with current practices in new zealand. The school day is also equivalent to us in terms of length. it was evident that we have greater subject specialisation, especially for our Junior and Middle School students in new zealand. There is a strong emphasis on students passing national testing and School League Tables are commonly published.

Overall Impressions: The school principals and their senior staff made me feel very welcome and were very willing to share their time with me. They hadn’t had a visitor from new zealand before so were fascinated to learn about our school system. one thing that we all have in common as school leaders is a passion for our own schools and the desire to provide the very best for our students in terms of educational opportunities.

i came away feeling very proud of the Saint Kentigern family of schools and the amazing opportunities that our young people have as well as the incredible learning environments they are part of. i think we sometimes take this for granted or consider it the ‘norm.’ new zealand children are very well served educationally.

Sandra Hastie, Head of Primary

Studying Political Science

As the election debate heated up in August, the girls’ School had a welltimed visit from children’s political author, Maria gill, writer of ‘running the Country: A Look inside new zealand’s government.’ Maria’s afternoon workshop, held in the library, was part of the year 7 & 8 Social Science unit that introduces parliament and elections.

Maria was able to share her knowledge with the students surrounding new zealand’s democratic political system, Mixed Member Proportional (MMP) voting system and discussed the history behind voting and how women got the vote. To demonstrate how the voting system works here in new zealand, Maria held a mock vote which the girls posted in their own ‘kids referendum ballot box.’

Before voting and to give the classes a grounding on MMP, the students took turns reading out loud the guiding principles of some of new zealand’s major electoral parties. After hearing these summaries, Maria then posed the questions to the girls, ‘What is it that you value and what is important to you?’ As she explained, ‘your answers will help you decide your two preferred candidates and party votes.’

The aims of the Parliament and elections enquiry topic are geared at students being able to understand how groups make and implement rules and laws, and how people make decisions about access to and use of resources. They will also gain knowledge on how the ways in which leadership of groups is acquired and exercised can have consequences for communities and societies, and will understand how formal and informal groups make decisions that impact on communities.

During this study, the girls worked in small groups which had a set of target questions to understand and present. each member had a role within the group; leader, recorder and creative director, and participated in the shared reading and interpretation of the material. At the end of the unit, the girls had a final presentation where they shared and explained their findings to the class.

The girls found Maria’s fun and interactive lesson helpful in piquing their interest in introductory politics. it was a great opportunity for the students to explore not only the politics of new zealand, but also to learn about and compare the political systems of a range of countries worldwide.

Adopting Mindfulness

‘A large part of everyday is not lived consciously.’ - Virginia Woolf

Saint Kentigern Girls’ School is the first all-girls school in New Zealand to introduce a mindfulness programme for its senior girls in years 7 and 8. The internationally run school programme, ‘.b’ [pronounced dot-be] stands for ‘Stop, Breathe and Be’ and teaches the girls how to embrace their thoughts and be fully present in the moment. Mindfulness is the latest buzz coming out of California where tech giants like Google, Twitter, intel and Facebook have embraced mindful meditation and are setting a standard for corporations around the world, building better support frameworks for the health and wellbeing of their staff.

The nine lesson programme is led by the only mindfulness teacher trained to teach .b in New Zealand, Dr Nick Penney, and began in Term 2. It was initiated by Principal, Dr Sandra hastie after hearing Dr Penney speak on the subject at an independent Schools conference. Dr hastie says at the most simple level, .b is an awareness raising exercise to give the year 7 and 8 students tools to use throughout their life to deal with stress and anxiety. She says the girls’ School is excited about the introduction of this programme into their school and believes that it will make a difference to the students as they transition into young women.

The year 7 and 8 students each have a weekly one hour session with Dr Penney. The classroom sessions are fully interactive and involve a combination of breathing exercises and class engagement through feedback and video clips. Additionally, staff at the girls' School have undertaken professional development with Dr Penney on how to use the tools of mindfulness and have reported the benefits that this approach has given them in their own everyday lives.

Dr Penney says the reason why mindfulness is important is because stress levels in society are running at an all-time high. he believes the art of this practice is likely to shape society over the next ten years. ‘The tools from the lessons teach them how to take control over whatever is happening in their life,’ he says. he also believes that resilience levels in young people have dropped. ‘resilience is the ability to bounce back when things go badly, and mindfulness can help to strengthen this part of the brain,’ he says.

Jammies in June

When 11 year-old Ava Beca decided to help out with Middlemore Foundation’s 'Jammies in June' drive, she really grabbed the bull by the horns. There was no ‘badgering mum to buy a pair,’ instead she grabbed a slot at school assembly to convince as many girls as she could to take part and help out Kidz First Children's Hospital.

Ava’s desire to help out came from visiting Middlemore hospital with her Mum and learning that giving warm PJs to children in winter could

School Council

‘It's not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.’

- Mother Teresa

The School Council is made up of representatives from Years 1-8 and acts for all age groups across the school. They meet regularly in the Boardroom with Deputy Principal, Mrs Judith Dobson to discuss ways that the School can work together as a family to demonstrate service action to community groups, both within our community and beyond.

As leader of the School Council, year 8 student, Charlotte Lindsay Smail felt that the students’ effort in 2014 needed to be geared towards supporting other children. So earlier in the year she put to the Council that the Starship Foundation would be a worthy charity to support. She researched the Foundation and wrote to the Chair of the Starship Fundraising Committee pledging the support of our School.

help them avoid getting sick and having more trips to the hospital.

And she must be a pretty convincing girl because Saint Kentigern mum, Kirsten Stanfield was soon helping Ava to get started along with other mums and friends who collected at work and other places. Ava got busy at lunchtimes gathering up the PJs her fellow students had bought in and before they knew it they had managed a staggering 73 pairs of girls' PJs and 52 pairs for boys.

But that's not all. They also managed 67 toothbrushes and 22 tubes of toothpaste, a couple of dressing gowns and 83 pairs of underwear! They might have pleased with all that but they were on a roll and also collected 14 singlets, 4 pairs of tights, 3 onesies, 44 pairs of socks and 2 pairs of gloves. That's when they realised that this mountain of clothes was all for children, so they managed 17 pairs of bootees, and 9 baby hats!

once they were all collected, Ava personally delivered the winter clothing donations to Middlemore hospital where she was thanked by the Foundation’s executive Director, Pam Tregonning. ‘it was a great feeling counting them all the night before and handing them over,’ Ava said. ‘We didn’t think we would collect as many as we did.’

The School has now received two letters from the Starship Foundation thanking them for the donations they have received.

$8,277.00raised!

The first letter thanked the parent community for their generosity in donating $850.40 from a Family Service. A similar letter of thanks was also received for raising $367.10 from the mufti day held at the end of Term 2. The School Council is thrilled to have been able to give these donations to the Starship Foundation so far this year.

World Vision

Our World Vision Organiser for the 40 Hour Famine this year was Chapel Leader, Fayth Doherty. Fayth, along with Terri-Jane Warner, worked tirelessly sending out information to the students, collecting their donations at lunchtimes and keeping all of the administration records accurate.

Year 7 Teacher, Mrs Jan Davidge said Fayth was ‘extremely reliable and responsible in her role for World Vision.’ The girls who participated all put in a fantastic effort in generating sponsors and our parent and overseas community supported them so well that we raised a total of $8,277.00 to help change the lives of children in Malawi living in poverty.

ruapotaka Marae Visit

For many New Zealanders, 31 December means celebrations to welcome in the new year. These celebrations are an important way of marking the passage of time as well as heralding new beginnings.

Maori also have their own new year, which is marked by the rise of Matariki, the group of stars also known as the Pleiades star cluster or the Seven Sisters, and the sighting of the next new moon. Like Chinese new year and the Christian festival of easter, its exact timing varies from year to year but it usually occurs during the month of June. In 2014, Matariki began on 28 June, so it was timely that the Year 4-6 students at the Girls’ School had the chance to visit the ruapotaka Community Marae in glen innes in the lead up to this celebration.

The visit provided the girls with hands-on experiences to support their classroom learning. As part of the Middle School’s Social Science unit, each class level had a different topic of enquiry. The Year 4 students were looking at the way Auckland has changed, the Year 5 students focused on myths and legends and the year 6 students were studying how Maori lived in preeuropean times.

As the girls waited at the gates, one of the elders, or kaumatua, gave them a brief explanation of the protocol involved so they knew what to expect. As a first visit to the marae, the powhiri ceremony would formally greet and welcome them, beginning with a karanga, or call, which would guide them onto the grounds and into the wharenui, or meeting house. once this formality was over and they had been formally invited in, the girls learnt that they were then welcome to come back at any time to visit.

The girls also heard the differences in the roles and responsibilities of males and females at a marae. only males are allowed to sit up the front in the wharenui and speak in the formal speeches at the powhiri. Mr Andrew Finn, the School’s only male teacher, was able to speak on behalf of the School and he extended the School’s appreciation of the Marae’s warm hospitality. The girls then offered their thanks by performing a beautifully practised two part Maori waiata followed by all of the guests exchanging the traditional Maori greeting of a hongi. The kaumatua explained to the girls that there is a deep and spiritual meaning behind the traditional Maori greeting which means ‘sharing of breath.’

After the formalities, the girls were intrigued to learn some history and interesting facts about remuera, before splitting into two groups to take part in some cultural activities. Flax weaving was challenging but the girls were all determined to create their own flax flower and the help they gave to one another was pleasing to see. in the wharenui, the second group was led through the words and actions of a Maori song before putting them all together to the strum of Mr Finn’s and the kaumatua’s guitars. At the end of their visit, a blessing was given to the visitors to go forth and be safe on their journey.

The trip was a very culturally enriching experience for the girls and they all enjoyed learning the history of Maori and their ancestors. And what did the girls think of their trip? Ka Pai! Thank you to the parents who took time out to join the girls on their trip to ruapotaka Marae.

NIWA Auckland City Science and Technology Fair Results:

Year 7-8

Highly Commended Sharon Susanto ‘A Miracle Water’ Material World

Year 7-8

Highly Commended

Kate Pennycuick ‘Produce Power’ Material World

Year 7-8

Highly Commended

Sharon hung ‘Wire Me up’ Physical World

Year 7-8

Highly Commended georgia roberts ‘is your Cat Fat?’ Living World

Year 7-8

Highly Commended zoe Spencer ‘is your Patty Fatty?’ Material World

Science roadshow Visit

In Term 2, the Year 7 and 8 girls had an exciting, interactive, learning experience at the Science roadshow mobile discovery centre enjoying live shows and interactive experiment exhibits. The visit to the travelling show, held at Dilworth Junior School, was the conclusion to the Girls’ School Science Week.

To explain the science behind each exhibit, the experiments included context boards with detailed information about how to use the exhibit and where this type of science occurs in everyday life. A number of the exhibits also had student ‘explainers’ - senior students from Dilworth Junior School, who were there to assist the girls so they could gain the most from their roadshow experience.

The girls were able to watch a number of shows put on by the roadshow staff, one of which focused on reactions and the gases in the air using liquid nitrogen and hydrogen bombs. The girls now know that when you fill a balloon with the right mix of hydrogen and oxygen, it will result in a very loud bang as the chemicals react! The Roadshow quiz also kept them challenged and tested their scientific knowledge with a task to discover the science at work behind three non-explained exhibits.

NIWA Science Fair

Five girls with a love of science saw Sharon Susanto, Sharon hung, Kate Pennycuick, georgia roberts and zoe Spencer from year 8 all receive placements at the niWA Auckland City Science and Technology Fair. The annual event celebrates the excellence in scientific and technological investigation carried out by students in Years 7-13 across Auckland city .

The girls’ ‘highly Commended’ winning entries were amongst ten year 8 projects entered into the competition that had been judged earlier in the term at the girls’ School Science Fair. A team of judges, including scientists, educators and industry representatives selected the winners at the 55th regional fair where the projects sat on display. Sharon Susanto’s project, ‘A Miracle Water’ entered in the year 7 & 8 Material World category, also claimed a Special Prize - a Bronze Sponsor’s Award by the NZIFST Award for Food Technology.

The girls all attended the NIWA Prize Giving Ceremony held at King’s School War Memorial hall in remuera. The main speaker for the evening was niWA meteorologist and forecaster, Chris Brandolino who spoke enthusiastically and was very encouraging of persevering with science and making a commitment to finding and discovering answers. He also encouraged students to keep working at getting the 'tools' for the great jobs in engineering and science and to 'be good at maths and science' to learn the skills. His final plea to the young students was for more women to be strong in science and continue to be good scientists.

Science Week at the girls’ School is a fantastic opportunity for the girls to observe and practise specialised science topics in an environment set outside the classroom. Science Teacher, Mrs Jess Francis said that the activity programme enables extended learning for the girls making their experience in the classroom richer. ‘it provides an extra layer to their learning and it’s fun,’ she said.

iCAS Science

Congratulations to the following girls who received letters of commendation for being awarded Distinction in the university of new South Wales iCAS Science examination. This places them in the top 10% of candidates. Commonly referred to as ICAS, the competitions are conducted annually in Australia and over 20 countries globally.

These are independent skills-based assessments in the key scientific areas of observing and measuring; interpreting; predicting and concluding; investigating; reasoning and problem solving.

Distinction

Year 4: Amy Bartlett

Year 8: Sharon hung Kate Pennycuick Sharon Susanto

Cooking with Words

Adding a dash of flavour to their English writing classes was top chef, Edward Paje who ran a couple of master cooking lessons for the Year 4 girls in Term 3. edward, whose daughter attends the girls’ School, is the owner of neptune Café and Bar in the Viaduct. During his visits he demonstrated how to prepare and cook a substantial dinner that the girls then made themselves.

The practical lessons were an introduction to the girls’ procedural writing classes where they used their time in the kitchen to succinctly describe the process of making and/or doing something. For their writing, the students watched edward model how to cook a particular dish, then in small groups they worked in collaboration following the recipe steps. Back in the classroom, the girls deconstructed edward’s instructions by writing them in a structured and ordered format.

On the menu for their first lesson was ‘En Papillote’ which is French for 'paper bag cooking'. The dish is unique in the way it cooks by steaming and baking inside tin foil and baking paper parcels. under the skilful guide of the culinary whizz, the girls prepared layers of chicken and vegetables and drizzled the dish with a herb and stock butter sauce before putting their folded pouches into a hot oven. The results were worth the wait as the delighted class of girls carefully opened their parcels and had the pleasure of eating!

in their second lesson, the girls were challenged with another of edward’s signature dishes - roast Latin rubbed chicken breast, roasted Portobello mushrooms, kumara mash with crusted feta and pistachio nuts served with a honey mustard sauce. in stages, edward talked the girls through preparing the chicken and vegetables and making the finishing sauce. For the presentation, he showed the class how to plate up the food in a stack like a professional.

Year 4 Teacher, Mr Andrew Finn, said the practical lessons for the writing classes started off simply by making bite-sized, hors d'oeuvre snacks earlier in the term, with the girls working their way up to more complex dishes. As the difficulty level of the recipes progressed, so did their writing.

Mr Finn said that aside from building on their cooking and writing techniques, there were other valuable attributes the girls were learning. ‘Communication skills, self-discipline and knowing your role are all very important when you’re cooking as part of a team,’ he said. ‘There has also been great parental support with a number of Year 4 and 5 parents coming along to help out.’ he said it was pleasing that some of the girls took the lessons a step further and extended themselves by making the dishes for their families at home.

The two lessons were highly successful with the girls enjoying learning new skills in the kitchen and turning these practical experiences into theory on paper.

Edward Paje – Owner/Head Chef, Neptune Café and Bar

Philippines-born Edward started out in the kitchen at the age of 14, cooking with his aunties, uncles and mother who was a chef for 27 years, so he knows how it feels to learn at a young age. ‘Cooking is now natural to me so i love passing on my knowledge,’ he said. ‘For me it’s all about that moment when i see the girls get inspired by the little things that i teach them.’

he said for him as a chef, food is life. ‘When you eat really good food it makes your soul happy and it brings everyone together. That’s why it’s important for children to learn how to cook when they’re young.’

Soiree

Just like the Sunday evening gatherings in Victorian times, the Girls’ School Musical Soiree featured a medley of songs and dance performances from different genres and showcased the talents of each and every one of our students. Involving over 190 girls across Years 0-8, the event was spread across two performance nights for the girls’ families and the school community. opening the entertainment for the evening, the whole school joined on stage to sing the uplifting ballad ‘Colour My World’, after which the 14 member strong orchestra played the classical piece, ‘Catavina’. The show tune ‘Sixteen Going on Seventeen’ from The Sound of Music followed, before Elton John’s ‘Can you Feel the Love Tonight’ wrapped up the orchestra’s trio of songs.

Choral harmony is one of the highlights of our Performers’ Choir who replicated their silver award winning performance from the Kids Sing Concert earlier this year with their delivery of ‘The Moon’ and ‘Three Little Fishes.’

Sharon Hung’s solo cello piece, ‘Cello Concerto No 1 (1st movement)’ was in preparation for her ATCL music exam next year, the next stage after having completed Grades 1-8. Sharon’s nimble-fingered talent for her age was incredible and this was evident in the depth of the emotion and skill that Sharon poured into her recital. With a nod of her head as her final bow was strung, the audience erupted into a thunderous applause that was well deserved.

A Gift of a Baby Grand Piano

In Term 2 the Girls’ School warmly welcomed Tyler Butler's parents and her grandmother, Anne Butler as special guest visitors to their assembly.

Mrs Butler had recently moved from her home and had gifted to the school a beautiful Kawai baby grand piano which is taking pride of place in the hall. Originating from Japan, Kawai baby grand pianos are renowned for their legacy of quality, craftsmanship and tone.

Director of Music, Mrs nicola Brown is enjoying playing this wonderful instrument which will be treasured and enjoyed for many years to come. our very special thanks to Mrs Butler for her wonderful gift to the school.

From classical music to pop, the year 6 dance troupe burst across the stage to the robust energy of pop artist Sia’s ‘Chandelier.’ Clearly enjoying the chance to perform, the girls mimicked each other making for a mirrored sequence of dance.

Playing one of the most challenging of instruments for the evening were year 8 students, Kate Pennycuick and Fayth Doherty. Walking slowly on to the stage, the sound of the bagpipes filled the Hall as they played the traditional Scottish tune, ‘The Barnyards of Delgaty.’ having previously learnt the chanter, the girls are now well on their way to becoming accomplished bagpipe players and can be congratulated on their sterling effort.

The giggle-worth entertainers’ piece, ‘Pots and Pans’ by the Year 5 girls awakened the senses as the girls banged kitchen instruments as props!

After the girls came together once more for the finale to sing the now familiar, ‘Saint Kentigern girls’ song, Dr hastie expressed to the audience just how special it was for them to all be on stage at once as a family and thanked her dedicated team of staff for all of their hard work that had gone into preparing for the evening. All the students can be proud of their polished performances and tremendous showmanship that made the evening such a success.

Silver at Kids Sing!

In their second year of entering the Kids Sing Festival, the Girls’ School Performers’ Choir was once again awarded Silver for their polished performance.

organised by the nz Choral Federation, the competition encourages primary and secondary school students to take part in regional festivals designed as an opportunity for children and conductors to perform in a supportive environment with constructive feedback.

This year, each school was required to sing three songs including a test piece, a piece by a new zealand composer and one ‘other’ song chosen by the school. The test piece for all schools this year was ‘The Moon,’ a lyrical piece by Andy Beck with wonderful long phrases and a lovely melody that the Choir performed beautifully.

All eyes were on the Choir’s conductor, Music Teacher, Mrs nicola Brown as the 31 girls opened their performance with their New Zealand piece, ‘May god Bless you’, a blessing especially written for the girls’ School with lyrics by rev reuben hardie and music by Chris Artley. Chris was the last Music Director of Corran School before it merged with Saint Kentigern and we thank him for collaborating with rev hardie on this special piece. The girls’ third piece was The Three Little Fishes, a Southern children’s song written in

1939. While it was a #1 hit in 1939, it has also been sung by the Andrews sisters and Madonna.

The adjudicator, Stephen rapana told the students that each time they walk on to a stage, to think about how much they love singing; it will make a difference to the way they perform. he said that in his judgement, he was looking for their dynamics, tempo changes and in particular, energised singing! he commented that the girls had ‘lovely tone and breath support’ in their ‘beautiful’ performance of The Moon and there was ‘lovely attention to dynamics and a good song choice’ for May god Bless you. Three Little Fishes was another great song choice, he said with lovely choralography and facial expression, and he appreciated the energy and diction in this piece. Stephen was also able to give the choir some really positive pointers about their performance which will help further develop their singing skills.

Exploring Signs and Symbols

our junior girls embarked on an enriching experience when they visited the Auckland Art gallery to explore the themes of signs and symbols in artwork. The morning programmes for the Year 0-3 girls included a guided gallery tour and studio art lesson where they learned some of the diverse ways that artists use symbols in their artworks and what these symbols tell us.

in the practical art session, the girls heard how we can use representations to tell people about ourselves. using a template, the girls were challenged to draw a picture of themselves without drawing any defining facial features or hair. instead, they were to identify things that were important to them and sketch these to use as clues. The girls were able to express their own ideas on paper on what defined them such as their favourite clothing, colours, food, jewellery, pets, activities and their homes and school.

out in the gallery, the girls explored the use of symbolic objects of identity and culture within portraits of Maori and Pakeha by prolific New Zealand painters, Charles goldie and gottfried Lindauer. The girls also enjoyed drawing lines and colours on paper to demonstrate signs of feelings and the meanings associated to these.

The purpose of the art gallery learning programme is to nurture the girls’ curiosity, awareness and understanding in the arts and develop critical thinking skills that are transferrable to other environments. Through the creation of opportunities for discussion through interaction with the arts, the students are enabled to articulate and share their own artistic insights with enthusiasm and confidence.

Poetry Competition

‘There are endless images and words to use when you write, but only the right combination will do.’ - Joy Cowley, Author

The girls’ School annual Poetry Competition proved once again to be a highly successful and entertaining morning full of laughs and some impressive original poetry. The competition was adjudicated by Paula green, an accomplished Auckland poet, who is now well known by the girls, having adjudicated on a number of previous occasions. She enthused about the high standard of poetry she heard and thought this year’s poetry was the best yet. As she kept saying to the audience when presenting her decisions, she found it very difficult to pick a winner in each age group.

Some of the highlights of the morning included a medley of nursery rhymes from a group of Year 1 students and descriptive animal poems from Year 1J. A selection of confident Year 2 students took to the stage to present their autumn leaves poems. Paula thought their language was ‘sizzling, simmering and hot!’

Congratulations to the winners:

Year 3: Lucy grant Leaves

Chloe Mcgregor Peaches the Pirate

Year 4: Cassandra Wood hillary’s ice Cracker

Year 5: Vivian Pettigrove Suvine my Cat

Year 6: nieve Campbell nature’s Autumn

Year 7: Kristen hansen if only

Year 8: Sophia Pettigrove The Snowy December Runner Up: Annie yu Kereru

Speech Competition

Wrapping up weeks of research, writing, practising and judging was the prepared Speech Competition held in front of staff and parents in the hall. The annual event is an opportunity for students from Year 3 up to refine their public speaking skills at a competitive level and is a continuation of the skills being developed in their Speech and Drama classes at school. each year level had an assigned general subject from which students were to choose a specific topic of their own.

The adjudicator, Mrs Anna Coleman, was impressed with the choice of topics, the way the younger students utilised their visual aids and the conviction with which the older students shared their persuasive speeches. She said the girls ‘chose subjects that you’re obviously passionate about and that showed in your convincing arguments.’

Amélie James Power, Year 5, spoke with enthusiasm about her once in a lifetime experience of being in the Auckland stage show ‘Annie’ and Alicia Lynn, year 6, convinced the audience that children should have the vote. Ava Beca, year 7, made the audience laugh with her reasons why children and parents should be treated as equals and Sharon Susanto, year 8, expressed why children should not base their aspirations in life on Walt Disney characters as they are flawed and do not make good choices.

The Year 4 competitors presented poems as objects from history, sharing their point of view on historical people and events. These included French impressionist artist, Claude Monet, South African politician and philanthropist, nelson Mandela and new zealand mountaineer and explorer, Sir edmund Hillary. Year 5 then presented purr-fect cat poems and shared their tales on mischievous cats.

Full of great detail, there were also a couple of powerful war poems and a poem about our native wood pigeon, the Kereru which Paula thought had stunning detail. The year 8 winner, Sophia Pettigrove drew us into a tale about one snowy December which Paula described as ‘haunting and mysterious.’

Kereru

By Annie Yu

he’s the deepest olive green. With his smooth, eggshell white chest exposed, he crashes clumsily through branches adorned by fresh morning rivulets.

his slow, heavy Wingbeats break

Through the stark silence. his eyes, Droplets of cranberry red wine. he picks on the last of the berries, Then, calling a soft farewell, ‘Coo-coo, coo-coo’ he escapes Winter’s grasp, A bird of serene hues, he is the Kereru.

That Snowy December

By Sophia Pettigrove

no-one believed me when i tried to tell

What happened when deep in the snow i fell.

They thought i was lying

And i went home crying.

But i still remember

That snowy December.

i walked to the well with a bucket in hand

Wishing i was on a beach with warm sand.

i looked into the distance at things non-existent.

i’ll always remember

That snowy December.

i’d reached the small well when i spotted a stream.

i followed the water, i walked in a dream.

Then i started falling

For something was calling.

oh, how i remember

That snowy December.

The rest of the story you’ll have to work out

you’d think i was mad if i told you, no doubt.

or think i was lying

And i would start crying

Perhaps you remember

That snowy December.

Congratulations to year 8 winner, Sharon Susanto who also won the impromptu section and Alicia Lynn, year 6 who represented the girls’ School at the Year 5/6 Remuera Zone Prepared Speech Competition and was awarded 1st place.

Well done to the winners from each year group:

year 3: Charlotte higgins

Year 4: Zoe Nel

Year 5: Amelie James-Power

year 6: Alicia Lynn

year 7: zara Smith

year 8: Sharon Susanto

AUT Sports Workshop

As an extension of our sports programme, 20 of our year 6-8 girls were selected to attend a full day workshop onsite at AuT Millennium as part of the Millenium Athlete Development programme. Three representatives from AuT Millennium worked with the girls to perform an ‘iPA’ (individual Performance Assessment); a personalised testing system specific to each individual and tuned to their favourite sport. The day’s workshop was fully tailored to the needs of Saint Kentigern girls’ School with the girls completing fitness assessments and learning new strength training exercises to help prevent injuries along with ways to lift their performance.

The girls really engaged and showed a great interest in the topic of Sports nutrition, learning that drinking liquid ‘up and go’ is not a good breakfast option! During the tests, Year 8 student, Nazanin Tuaa achieved an amazing result with her ‘forward squat jump’ of 2.10 metres!

After the workshop the parents joined the girls for the iPA results Seminar. here, AuT’s Programme Director gave an insight into what the girls’ results meant, the positives and negatives, and the necessary steps moving forward to ensure the girls can be the best they can be.

Director of Sport, Ms Kristie richards and Pe and Sports Teacher, Mrs Courtney rowson said they were both really impressed with the girls’ behaviour and the effort they put in to what was a hugely valuable day.

Raising Funds for Halberg

After weeks of training, the day of the annual Halberg Games finally arrived for the girls who were all ready to compete in this year's Skip off and Cross Fit Challenge! Dressed in their most fabulous and funky sports gear, the students had fun whilst raising money for the halberg Disability Sport Foundation. The Foundation works with physically disabled young people and their families to ensure they don’t miss out on health, wellness and social benefits that sport provides.

The girls were treated to a ViP visitor to inspire them before the big event, paralympic athlete, Stacey roche who shared a few words of wisdom about how to achieve success in sport. Stacey has represented new zealand to the highest level in Boccia and has attended a few Paralympics as Team Captain. After a quick Boccia demonstration, she also answered pupil's questions, leaving the girls with the determination that anyone can achieve anything if you work hard enough!

The girls had two ways they could raise money for halberg; by participating on Halberg Day in their most colourful or creative sporting outfit with a $2 gold coin donation or by collecting sponsorship for the games from family and friends. The timetable was split into three sessions and competitions across the day; the Year 0-3 Jump Off, Year 4-6 Crossfit Games followed by the Year 7-8 Crossfit Games.

We were pleased to welcome special guest and Chief executive of the halberg Foundation, Mr geoff Burgess who came to spectate and remind the girls of the good cause that their hard work was contributing to. With Dr hastie cheering on the side lines, the girls all tried their best and showed some impressive stamina. It was a fabulous, fun-filled day enjoyed by all and was a fantastic effort in raising funds to help change the lives of physically disabled new zealanders through sport and recreation.

Chalmers Wins girls’ School Cross Country

Weeks of long distance training was put to the test for the Year 4-6 girls as they joined together with the Boys’ School at the College to compete in their annual Cross Country.

Our Juniors joined the Juniors at the Boys’ School where they had a fast and dry run. The hilly course was mapped out across the Boys’ School, starting at the top field, looping up and down the driveway and around the rolling paddock of roselle Lawn.

Congratulations to the following students on their placings.

YEAR 0

YEAR 1

1st Sienna robertshaw Ch 1st Charlotte ray h

2nd Brooke rowntree Ca 2nd ella Taylor Ca

3rd Chloe Chester W 3rd Claudia Stewart Ch

YEAR 2

YEAR 3

1st endrica Dhani Ch 1st isabella hughes Ch

2nd Sophia Starrenburg Ch 2nd Frances revell-Devlin W

3rd Jing Jing Qiao Ca 3rd Audrey Lee Ca

YEAR 4

YEAR 5

1st Mary Stanfield Ca 1st Verity Ward Ch

2nd Bridget Dennis W 2nd Laura Lightfoot h

3rd Cassandra Wood h 3rd harriet Lightfoot h

YEAR 6

YEAR 7

1st ella grayson Ch 1st zara Smith W

2nd olivia Connolly W 2nd Ava Beca Ca

3rd rylie Cleaver h 3rd Mia Dobbe W

YEAR 8

1st zoe Spencer Ch

2nd georgia roberts h

3rd emerald Bendall W

HOUSE POInTS

1ST CHALMERS

2ND CARGILL

3rD HAMILTON

4TH WISHART

The College was pleased to welcome the year 7 and 8 girls who ran alongside their fellow College students at the end of Term 2. The track set off from the bottom field over the flat and hills, then once on the home straight, many runners managed to find it in their energy reserves to sprint the final leg. This made for a last burst of fierce competition between houses!

Sports round up

FLIPPA B ALL SUCCESS

With a continual growing interest in Flippa Ball, Saint Kentigern girls’ has three strong teams who have shown great commitment and determination each week. With only a few close losses early in the season, all three teams played for a top placing at the semi-final round. The finals saw all teams sitting in the top four for their division. Our newest Year 3/4 team, Leopard Seals played a strong win in the final Plate Division. Our stars for the season, were our Yr 5/6 Orcas who won 1st place in their division after a heart racing final against Saint Heliers Snappers. The girls demonstrated great skill work and determination and were the stronger team scoring the final goal to secure the win.

GYMNASTICS

Year 8 student, Kate Pennycuick scored 29.1 out of a potential 30, and placed 2nd at the Champion of Champions gymnastics competition held at Waitakere gymnasium in Term 3. Fantastic work Kate!

AIMS GAMES

Five year 7 and 8 girls joined with students from the Middle School at the College to compete in the annual AiMS games held in Tauranga. Congratulations on the fantastic effort and team work that these girls put into their netball and football games over the action-packed and challenging week. The full AIMS report can be read on page 75.

Mother and Daughter High Tea

The Mother and Daughter high Tea is a special afternoon dedicated to honouring the women and their mentoring role in the lives of our girls. once again, it was a hugely popular event with brisk ticket sales!

To accommodate the special visitors, the occasion was held offsite in the JC Chalmers Hall at the Boys’ School. The venue was decorated beautifully by a team from Parents and Friends, the tables laden with tasty afternoon fare, including Saint Kentigern branded cupcakes made by food technology students at the College. As the girls took their seats, they were excited to find gifts of craft activities and a jar of brownie ingredients to take home and bake.

Principal of the girls’ School, Dr Sandra hastie warmly welcomed all the guests and expressed how special it was to have her own surprise guest joining the occasion - her own mum! Mrs Sue nash, Director of the Preschool, had secretly arranged to bring her to tea - her first visit away from her rest home in two years!

head girl, emerald Bendall read out a fitting poem devoted to mothers and all that they do, which was followed by an accomplished cello performance from year 8 student, Sharon hung, who played a piece by Bach. explaining the history of afternoon tea, Dr hastie said that the British tradition is believed to come from Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford in the early 19th century. in subsequent years the names ‘Low Tea’ and ‘high Tea’ derived from the height of the tables on which the meals were served.

Before high Tea was served, Dr hastie shared a clip she found on youTube. ‘The Mum Song’- what a mum says in 24 hours condensed into two minutes and sung to the William Tell overture, was a humorous reminder to all mums and ladies that they are not alone!

our grateful thanks to the Parents and Friends Association and the team of volunteers, along with Vittoria Coffee, illumina Soy Candles and the old Collegians Association who generously donated food and other goods. our thanks is also extended to Food Technology teacher, Mrs Susanna Pattison, Year 13 College student, Shana Du Toit and the Boys’ School who contributed to the smooth and successful running of the event.

Father and Daughter Breakfast

it was a crisp, pre-dawn start to the day for the girls and their Dads who attended the girls’ School annual Father and Daughter Breakfast. Two hundred and eighty five Dads, Grandads and their daughters filled the ellerslie events Centre for an early morning, hearty breakfast.

Dr Sandra hastie, Principal of the girls’ School welcomed all guests to the special occasion that has steadily grown in number each year – now outgrowing two former venues! She reflected on the important role that Dads play in the girls’ lives and the importance of quality time spent together. head girl, emerald Bendall gave thanks with a grace dedicated to the Fathers before a tasty and nutritious breakfast was served. guest speaker, rod emmerson, an award winning cartoonist with the new zealand herald, then took the guests through the process of producing a cartoon, while divulging a little about life as a cartoonist. each girl was provided with a clipboard and pencil to create their own cartoons and doodles, sharing their creations with each other and their Dads during the course of breakfast.

At the conclusion, Dr hastie drew some lucky names out of a hat for the keenly awaited spot prizes, all donated from generous sponsors. There were even a few surprised and pleased Dads whose names were pulled outsome who walked away with baskets of skin care!

This year’s breakfast was again a wonderful opportunity for Dads to spend time at an event ‘just for them and their daughters’ with the chance meet and catch up with other parents.

The Saint Kentigern Parents and Friends Association would like to recognise and thank their event sponsors who gave generously to help make the

Father and Daughter Breakfast possible. Thanks are extended to impact Pr, The Khan Family, SW Morris, World Moving and Storage, Shelley horton, rebecca gadsdon-green and the Saint Kentigern old Collegians Association.

A huge thank you is also given to the three Year 1 mothers: Anna Avery, Barbara Chin and Julie Bolton who undertook the large-scale job of organising the event to ensure its success.

Boys' School

awareness of massive and ongoing social, economic and technological changes, and the exponentially increasing amount of human knowledge being generated as a result. International thinking began to seriously examine questions about the role and purposes of education in a world with an unprecedented degree of complexity, fluidity and uncertainty.

The information landscape has shifted with profound implications for learning

• Creating exciting new opportunities to enhance the learning environment

• Ubiquitous access to information

• Global connectivity

• Expectation of mobile and personalised learning environment

As we began the process of thinking about the redevelopment of Roselle House the decision to create a Learning Commons on the top floor was quite simple. The Learning Commons will provide an opportunity for all boys to benefit and returns the function of the building back to our core business of educating boys where Saint Kentigern Boys’ School first started. Moving our current library to Roselle House has allowed us to rethink a library’s purpose in today’s education. An opportunity to create a hub for learning that excites and motivates students.

Transformational Learning Opportunities

Built in the 1870s as the home for the Wilson Family, Roselle House was bequeathed to the Saint Kentigern Trust Board in 1949 ‘for the sole purpose of educating boys.’ The death of Mr John Martyn Wilson in 1958 saw the title and property transferred to the Trust Board with Saint Kentigern Boys’ School opening on 4 February 1959 with 200 boys and 10 staff under the leadership of Headmaster Mr Jack Chalmers.

From the beginning, Roselle House was used by the students as part of their teaching programme as classrooms for the Junior School, an art room and library as well as accommodating the staffroom and housing the Principal. Old Boys, who I regularly meet, speak of this fondly and enjoyed having lessons taught in Roselle House.

Over the course of time, as the school grew and new classroom blocks were added, Roselle House remained as the Principal’s residence on the top floor while the ground floor became the administrative centre of the school.

In 2012 the Board instituted a review of the utilisation of Roselle House in response to a number of issues, namely:

a. A need to upgrade and strengthen Roselle House to ensure its future

b. The retirement of the Principal at the time provided an opportunity to rethink the use of the upstairs facility for teaching and learning.

c. The need for the school to find a location for a modern Learning Commons to replace its existing library which is too heavily focussed on books and is technology poor. By contrast, a modern Learning Commons has a variety of interesting, flexible open spaces, which will support both individual and group learning.

d. The need for the School administration area to be reconfigured and upgraded.

Currently, although Roselle House is a very special place for the boys and an iconic landmark in our community, very rarely do they get an opportunity to be in the building yet you can sense the wonderment and awe when they venture through the doors. To bring the boys back into Roselle House so that we can reconnect our history with their future is exciting.

A paradigm shift in educational thinking

During the latter half of the 20th century, international thinking about education began to shift to a new paradigm. This shift was driven by an

Our Learning Commons will be a future focused library

• A place for end to end learning: consumption of information, digestion, creation of new knowledge and production and sharing of new knowledge

• Where multi-literacies are developed and promoted through access to print, digital and multimedia collections

• Where library staff and teachers actively collaborate to support and nurture confident transliterate students

• Creates, develops and encourages readers; and a passion for books and reading across formats

• Encourages and enables collaboration and creativity

• Is a vibrant and dynamic transformative learning centre

• A place of awe and enchantment, exploration and curiosity

• Will be a large , flexible learning space based on fluid design principles

• Will include print, e-resources, and multi-media; access to a range of ICT hardware and software; and fully supported by robust ICT infrastructure and support

• Will provide seamless access to information resources, apps, advice and support to the classroom, home and mobile devices 24/7

The Learning Commons will be a social place; a place for people, connection and communication, where reflection, discussion, and conversation are promoted and celebrated.

The Learning Commons staff will:

• Create readers - fostering the development of literacy skills and a passion for reading through its work developing a school wide reading culture that inspires and supports readers.

• Support the development of creativity, curiosity, imagination and cross cultural competency through the programmes, services and resources it provides and integrates into the library and wider learning environment.

• Foster transliteracy (the ability to read and write across any media) in our school by providing and guiding access to print, digital, multimedia collections, tools, resources for consumption and production by the students and wider school community

• Support and collaborate guided inquiry based learning, creating learning opportunities and deep engagement with ideas in and problem solving in any format.

Exciting times are ahead as we begin planning our new Learning area in the creation of a flexible learning space, technology rich, where boys will be inspired. We look forward to sharing our vision and plans.

Peter Cassie, Principal

Tug of War Resurrected!

‘Take the strain. Ready. PULL!’

It’s been some years since the Houses lined up in tug of war show of strength but after this year’s fantastic event, it’s destined to find a permanent place on the annual calendar!

The music was pumping, the cheers rang out and muscles were put to straining point as the boys lined up in the Jubilee Sports Centre to see which team could heave the hardest for House victory.

Aside from the raw muscle power needed for tug of war, it also required a little team planning. The cooperation or ‘rhythm’ of the team members played an important part in their victory, maybe even more than their sheer physical strength – they needed to pull together! Supporters also took on

a role, coaching from the sidelines and calling out ‘1, 2, 3, Heave’ to bring the teamwork into play.

Each year group had a representative team with the competition taking a knock-out format working through heats, to semi-finals and onto a final best of three. As the competition between sides became tense, the cheering grew louder creating an amazing atmosphere amongst the boys!

Pulling with all their might, Hamilton were crowned the winners with Chalmers in 2nd place and Cargill and Wishart on equal points came third. The sportsmanship and determination from all the boys was great to see. Roll on next year!

Inaugural House Spell-O-Rama

Spell ‘volcano’ backwards.

NYDIW - What do these mixed up letters spell?

How about OPELEP?

House colours, banners, chants and cheers filled JC Chalmers Hall as the top twelve spellers, three from each house, battled it out over three rounds to crown the House with the best ability to spell.

Representatives from the Junior, Middle and Senior Schools had been selected from earlier elimination heats to determine which three boys would represent their House to compete at each level on their day of the ‘Spell-O-Rama.’

Hosted by Head of Art, Mr Tom Barter, the competition took the style of a lively television game show as the boys were put through their paces. Unlike a traditional Spelling Bee where contestants take it in turns to spell a word, the twelve contestants listened to words, phrases and instructions from a soundtrack to quickly transcribe to a personal whiteboard. No pressure but - speed was of the essence!

There was also plenty of audience participation with extra points for speed spelling on offer spread between the Houses. Along with mixed up words, backwards spelling and three in a row, the trickiest section, ready to trip up the unwary, was the use of homophones – especially selecting the correct version of there, their and they’re!

After the Middle and Senior School rounds, Cargill were well in the lead and it was all down to the Junior School the following day to determine the outcome. The skill must run in Houses as the youngest members of Cargill also proved they, too, can win assuring Cargill 1st place in the inaugural House Spell-O-Rama!

P.S. If you haven’t worked out the mixed up words above, it’s ‘windy’ and ‘people!’

Emerging Leaders Conference

Jesus of Nazareth, Judas Iscariot, Cleopatra, Julius Caesar, Joan of Arc, Napoleon Bonaparte, Florence Nightingale, Charles Darwin, Emmeline Pankhurst, Adolf Hitler, Marie Curie, Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Fidel Castro, Eva Peron, Mahatma Ghandi, Mother Theresa, Mao Tse Tung, Benazir Bhutto, Nelson Mandela, Dame Whina Cooper, the Dalai Lama, Martin Luther King, Helen Clark, Steve Jobs, Malala Yousafzi, Dr Goodfellow, Mr Cole, Dr Hastie, Mr Cassie ….

At many points in history, the world has produced those who have shined brighter than others in their generation; those whose vision, beliefs and ideologies have guided mankind. These are the leaders who have been gifted with the exceptional ability to inspire, lead and motivate those around them - whether for good or bad; for leaders come in many guises.

Regardless of their ideology, there is one thing that they all have in common; they were all young once and learned from the experience of others.

In a first for the Boys’ School, a full day ‘Emerging Leaders Conference’ was held for the boys in Year 8, along with the Year 8 girls from the Girls’ School and two invited Year 8 representatives from each of the local schools.

The day offered the chance for all students to learn leadership skills with the hope that it would challenge the way they each see themselves and the world around them. It is hoped that they will be inspired to go on to make a difference to the communities in which they live and to other corners of the world. The students were challenged to take an idea from the day and turn it into something that would benefit others.

The School was grateful for the huge input by the team from World Vision to bring the day together, opening with words from their CEO, Chris Clarke. Referring to the huge fundraising efforts made by our students over the years, Mr Clarke told the students that Saint Kentigern is a school with a huge heart.

He went on to say that they could be the luckiest or unluckiest of generations yet to live. The luckiest because the big issues like child mortality and fatal disease are being addressed but the unluckiest because they have been bequeathed big challenges like climate change and the increasing disparity between the rich and the poor. He explained that they could choose to live their lives in ordinary or extraordinary ways but if they chose to ‘make the world a better place than the world they came into’ then there were five pointers that could help them on their way:

1. Passion. Find the one thing that you are so passionate about that you are inspired to drive change. This might be child poverty, the status of the ocean or animal welfarewhatever it is that interests you.

2. Get Knowledge. This is the first generation to have all the facts at the click of a button. Get online, read and learn about your cause.

3. Do Stuff. Leaders aren’t born, they are made. Get involved!

4. Do it as a Group. It is hard to change the world by yourself. Groups of like-minded people have power.

5. Shout loudly. You need to be heard. If you are outraged by injustice, let it be known!

Primed and ready for a day of learning, the girls and boys then headed to the Sports Centre for a ‘mass simulation’ game. They were divided into countries and tasked with developing their assigned communities on a local level by building houses and farms (to be cut out and origami folded!) on allocated squares of land.

The game started out quietly with only a little interaction amongst the students from the range of schools but when they were given the power to further develop on a global scale, things soon heated up and the natural leaders began to emerge as bargaining for land acquisition got underway. Arguments soon erupted over whether alliances or invasions were taking place! In debriefing, the idea was discussed that the game was more about ‘humanity’ than ‘leadership.’ Each country had been given sufficient to survive but avarice and power had taken hold and acquisition became a driving force – the root of so many conflicts around the world. The students had much to reflect on during shared morning tea.

Over the course of the rest of the day, the students were invited to listen to some amazing speakers, each with words of wisdom to offer.

Justice Patricia Courtney,

Isabella Denholm Chris Clarke

Justice Patricia Courtney, a High Court judge, explained that good leadership is all about learning to make sound decisions and having a good understanding of the impact those decisions can make.

Celebrity Cook, Allyson Gofton, is committed to working for charity and travels the country helping to raise funds for family-based causes. Her greatest passion is to mentor young people in her industry to help them to achieve their dreams. She encouraged the students to think of ways they, too, could help others.

Ken Youngson, CEO of Quantum Sport, explained that being an effective leader of others is dependent on how well they can lead themselves; that the choices they make will determine their actions. The better their sense of core values, the better the decisions they will make. He used the analogy of a thermometer or a thermostat. The students could choose to ‘read the temperature’ or take the initiative to ‘set the temperature.’

Following lunch, current College student, Isabella Denholm and 2013 College graduate, Letitia Puni, both World Vision Youth Ambassadors, spoke of their recent experiences in Africa. As Ambassadors, Isabella visited Tanzania and Letitia went to Malawi, and each made their mark with the

passion with which they spoke about the plight of others. They encouraged us to take the steps to help make a difference. Isabella told them to ‘Dream Big, Have Courage and Just Do It!’

As the students gathered to reflect on their day, they were left with the following questions to ponder on: What cause makes you be passionate or angry? What skills have you got that can change this? What changes can you start to put in place today that will make a difference? What kind of leadership do you want to follow? What kind of leadership to you plan to model?

The day was a fabulous opportunity for our senior students; one that is usually only available to a select few who are chosen to attend leadership gatherings beyond the school gates. We give particular thanks to Devon Davids and Danielle Aldridge and their team from World Vision for their help in bringing the day together.

Our sincere thanks also to Chris Clarke, Justice Patricia Courtney, Allyson Gofton, Ken Youngson, Letitia Puni and Isabella Denholm for taking the time to come and speak to our students.

Allyson Gofton

Ken Youngson

Letitia Puni

Year 6 Win Mathex

The best Year 5 and 6 mathematicians in the area pitted both mathematical knowledge and running speed at the Remuera Zone Mathex competition hosted by the Boys' School in the Jubilee Sports Centre - a fantastic venue for the event with plenty of seating for spectators. The competition was stiff but we are delighted that the Year 6 team comprising Nathan Bailey, David Allan, Akash Mudaliar and William King were the outright winners in their grade!

Mathex is an exciting night for the students and spectators where teams of four are posed 20 tricky mathematical questions in an attempt to gain a full score of 100 points. There is a twist in the competition! This is not is not a traditional sit down and write a test. Nor is it an online ‘choose the correct answer.’ Mathex not only requires quick team thinking and accurate calculations, it needs a team member who can run – fast!

The runner from the team must first complete a sprint loop around the stadium to collect the question, return to the team table for the team to answer it and then run back to the marker with the team’s answer. Phew! The next question isn’t handed out until a correct answer is achieved. If the answer was wrong, the runner has to go back to the team! So the teams are not only pitting their mental skills but also trying to beat the clock.

Nathan, David, Akash and William proved they had the right combination of quick thinking and quick feet to be winners on the night! Well done boys!

Top Scores in NZ!

Congratulations to Anthony Gu and Oliver Mitchell who have achieved the top score for Year 7 students across New Zealand in the ICAS Computer Skills assessment! Later in the year both Anthony and Oliver will attend a medal ceremony where they will receive a University of NSW medal and certificate. Well done!

ICAS (International Competitions and Assessments for Schools) are independent skills-based assessments with a competitive element, conducted annually in Australia and over 20 countries globally. These are independent skills-based assessments and tests for primary and secondary school students in English, Mathematics, Science, Computer Skills, Spelling and Writing. We have recently received the results for Computer Skills and Science and here we congratulate those students who were awarded High Distinction; an award for being placed in the top 1% of New Zealand entrants, and Distinction, given to those in the next 9% nationally.

Science Symposium

‘Building a community of scientifically literate students as we aim for excellence in science education.’

The Boys’ School welcomed three of New Zealand’s top scientists to speak at the 2014 Science Symposium, a first for the School. Students and their parents packed JC Chalmers Hall from wall to wall to hear from Sir Peter Gluckman, Chief Science Advisor to the Prime Minister; Sir Ray Avery, Founder and CEO of Medicine Mondiale; and Dr Daniel Hikuroa, Earth System Scientist and Research Director, Nga Pae o te Maramatanga, National Centre of Research Excellence. Our three guests were invited to share their thoughts and ideas with the boys and their families, adding inspiration and motivation for our future scientists and citizens of New Zealand.

Following our guest speakers, two of our own young scientists came forward to share their recent research in their own inimitable style! Our guests may have been a tough act to follow but Thom Pettit and Sam Looker gave bubbly presentations that captured the audience as much as their scientific elders!

The full story may be read online: http://saintkentigern.com/boys-school/news/boys-school-welcomes-threeeminent-scientists/

ICAS COMPUTER SKILLS AWARDS

High Distinction

Year 5: Jonathan Benjamin, Asher Matheson, William Tisdall

Year 6: Marcus Findlow

Year 7: Anthony Gu, Oliver Mitchell (Top Scores in NZ and Pacific)

Year 8: Steven Cho

Distinction

Year 4: Gabriel Lee

Year 5: Casey Carrington, Cormac Hodson, Ivan Ivanov

Year 6: Alex Facer, Ethan Ivanier, Leo Lindsay-Smail, James Stanfield

Year 7: Matthew Ball, George Barry, Hayden Joyce, Xavier Yin

Year 8: George Barton, David Bates, Gibson Nevill, Sawyer Tang, Thomas Woodfield

ICAS SCIENCE AWARDS

High Distinction

Year 4: Leo Fan

Year 6: Nathan Bailey

Year 7: Hugo du Temple, Fintan Wong

Year 8: Steven Cho, Joshua Wong

Distinction

Year 5: Cameron Adams, Campbell Joyce

Year 6: David Allan, Marcus Findlow, Thomas King, William King, Akash Mudaliar

Year 7: William Hadfield, James Harnett, Michael Hiddleston, Hayden Joyce, Lachlan Marshall, Oliver Mitchell, Xavier Yin

Year 8: David Bates, Samuel Cook, Hunter Deavoll, Jack Dufaur, Joshua Hawkesby-Lyne, Samuel Looker, Gibson Nevill, Jacob Raines, Sawyer Tang, Jordan Warren

Sir Ray Avery, Dr Daniel Hikuroa and Sir Peter Gluckman with students Sam Looker and Thom Pettit.

Anthony Gu

Oliver Mitchell

Special Awards at NIWA Science Fair

Following on from our Science Symposium, a select group of young scientists from our Senior School presented their science projects for judging at the 2014 Auckland NIWA Science and Technology Fair in August.

Their projects were put on display alongside top projects from over 30 schools within the central Auckland area. We are delighted that ten of our boys were recognised with awards, with three of the projects being singled out for special awards.

SpECIAL AWARdS

Sawyer Tang and David Bates were jointly awarded the Dairy New Zealand Special Award for Excellence in Biology in the Year 7-10 category. Entitled, ‘Noxious Nitrates,’ their project investigated nitrate development in soils from the application of cow urine.

Faculty of Engineering visit

As part of their study into the physics of aerodynamics, our Year 8 students had an amazing opportunity to visit the Faculty of Engineering at The University of Auckland; more specifically, they were hosted at the workshop of the Formula SAE Team.

The FSAE team comprises a group of 41 undergraduates studying for a Bachelor of Engineering who in their own time come together to conceive, design and manufacture small formula-style racing cars. The cars are built through team effort over the period of a year, with the older, more experienced students mentoring the younger ones. The cars go through a design, manufacture, test and adjustment phase before they are taken to the annual FSAE competition for judging and comparison with vehicles from colleges and universities throughout the world. The restrictions on the car frame and engine are limited so that the knowledge, creativity, and imagination of the students developing their own models are constantly challenged. The cars are all built from scratch.

Whilst the cost is partly offset by the university, the biggest input comes from sponsorship, largely in the form of goods in kind. Alongside practical engineering, the team also works hard at sponsor relationships, publicity, media and event management.

Jett Robertson was awarded the Year 7-8 'RIMU Auckland Council Award for 'Planet Earth and Beyond' special prize. His topical investigation, ‘How polluted is the air we breathe in Auckland?’ measured and compared air pollution around Auckland City.

Alex Collier’s project, ‘Hybrid Hazard,’ investigated the noise levels of Hybrid cars and their safety aspects. Selected from all projects in the Years 7-10 category, he was awarded the 'Transport Auckland Council Scientist for a Day' special award.

This is the second year in a row that this has been awarded to a Saint Kentigern student.

The following students also received Highly Commended awards:

Gabe Ross and Oscar Kingan for’ Fussy Fish.’

Joshua Druskovich for ‘Wicked Wifi.’

Henry Copley and Jonte Samuels for ‘Extracting Salt,’

Thomas Coulter for ‘Hot or Not, ‘

Congratulations to all these students!

Remarkably, this is a student led initiative without any input from lecturers and does not count towards their degree, yet the students acknowledge that the design, practical engineering and business skills they learn give them a definite advantage when they move on from university into the job market –the experience and industry networking sets them apart.

Our own boys were kept captivated by the two student presenters, Matthew Greenslade and Isaac Grigor who, at just 21 and 19 respectively, were incredibly knowledgeable and informative. In the simplest terms, they said that ‘the basic goal of a race car is to get around the track in the shortest possible time.’ The ability to achieve that goal is dependent on a number of factors from the reliability of the vehicle to the handling by the driver, taking in performance on the straight and in the corners. It is the ability to corner well that has the most impact on overall performance in Formula SAE. Our boys learnt about the importance of tyre traction and that to increase the normal force without making the car heavier involves improving the aerodynamics. As well as seeing cars that the team has developed in the past, they also saw elements of the manufacturing process underway for this year’s model, including composite moulding and machine shop welding.

This was a fantastic opportunity for our boys to see how science is drawn from many disciplines and to understand where their studies could take them. Our sincere thanks to Matthew and Isaac for taking the time to make this possible for our boys.

A Taste of Nsima

When Old Collegian and World Vision Youth Ambassador, Letitia Puni returned from a visit to Malawi, she told us how she had seen a typical day unfold for a Malawian family. They woke at 4.30am to walk for 30 minutes to collect the only water that is available to them - Letitia had visited that stream earlier and said it was filthy and almost defied belief that it was their only source of drinking water. The children she met then walked for two hours to school while their parents worked in the fields. The family’s first meal wasn’t until later once the children were home from school and they only ate what they could grow. Like most Malawian families, they grow maize which is ground into flour and cooked with hot water. Letitia said, ‘They call it nsima. We would call it play dough.’ The family then all work in the fields until around 8pm and if there is enough food they have dinner, if not they go to sleep.

At the launch for this year’s World Vision Famine weekend, our boys were each given a ‘Malawi Taster’ – a small amount of the staple diet, ‘nsima’ to see what it looked like, what it felt like and what it smelled and tasted like. It was hard for the boys to appreciate that this tasteless, crumbly, gluey paste could be the sole source of food for each and every day with little other variety in the diet for millions of people. It gave the boys an appreciation of what it is like for the families of Malawi who are the focus of this year’s Famine fundraising.

Each year our boys are encouraged to take part in either the 20 Hour or 40 Hour Famine. In the past, they have chosen to give up technology, sleep in cardboard boxes or eat only rice for the entire weekend. Whilst it may seem a

Trees for Survival

For the seventh year running, our Year 6 boys visited CUE Haven Farm near Helensville for ‘Trees for Survival,’ a fantastic day of tree planting,Waicare (invertebrate monitoring) and nature exploration.

The aim was to help the environment by studying the ecosystem and planting New Zealand native trees, which the boys had nurtured and cared for at school. The trees were transported from school to the site a few weeks earlier to help acclimatise the saplings before being planted.

CUE Haven is a 58 acre property on the Kaipara Harbour with a vision to develop the farmland into a New Zealand native forest creating a haven for plant and bird life, and a place for future generations to enjoy.The teacher who planted one of the original Pohutakawa Trees in the Saint Kentigern Grove, Mrs Denise Coleman, came back to assist the boys with this year’s work.The Grove was established a number of years ago to reflect the tree planting efforts by our boys.To date, they have planted well in excess of 2,500 trees.

small deprivation in the big scheme of things, it is a solid reminder for one weekend that conditions are very different in other parts of the world.

Each year we are blown away by our ability as a school to collectively raise money for World Vision and this year was no different – an amazing $24,739.50 was raised over one weekend.

This year, the funds raised by our students during the 40 Hour Famine will be split 60% to the ‘general’ World Vision fundraising and 40% to our own special project which is currently being set up by the College Service Coordinator, Mr Mark Robinson, after a recent scoping trip to Malawi. He, like Letitia, has seen first-hand the daily struggle for parents to provide enough food and a chance of an education for their children. Our efforts really will make a difference. He, like Letitia, has seen first-hand the daily struggle for parents to provide enough food and a chance of an education for their children. Our efforts really will make a difference.

$24,739.50 raised for World Vision!

Sixty-six eager boys had armed themselves with their shovels and energy reserves as they spent the morning working hard planting native New Zealand trees.This was followed by studies of the watercourse and forest in the afternoon.This year, the longer day reflected the additional environmental educational opportunities afforded by the site at Cue Haven.This was supported by Tom and Mahrukh Stazyk, the owners who welcome our students each year.

Our thanks are extended to Gail Farrell,Trees for Survival Field Officer and Planting Day Co-ordinator and Stephen Flemming, Auckland Rotary Worker from Waicare who led the complementary stream and forestry studies. Also thank you to the 16 parents who accompanied the boys and assisted with transport ensuring that the extended days programme was possible.

Bikes for Refugees

Second life for a Bike

Each year our boys in Year 7 undertake a Social Science inquiry about refugees. They learn a great deal about the plight of these people as they flee their homelands in search of a better life. They learn that refugees are ‘ordinary people facing extra-ordinary circumstances.’ They may have experienced war, persecution, discrimination, racism or oppression and been forced to flee their homeland for nothing more than their ethnicity, religion or beliefs.

The Mangere Refugee Centre in Auckland resettles up to 750 refugees each year. Many arrive in New Zealand with few or even no possessions. They do, however, bring great strength, resilience and many skills to contribute to their new communities. The Centre helps them to overcome the challenges of settling into a new country by helping them set personal goals and work towards making a contribution to their new home in Aotearoa.

The boys learnt of an initiative to give a second life to old bikes. A bicycle can make a huge difference for a refugee family giving a source of transport, independence and fun for both adults and children. Supported by Auckland

Supporting Foodbank

So often our boys may take part in fundraising events such as mufti days to raise money for a worthy cause without ever really seeing the outcome of their goodwill. With our food collections, it is now slightly different. Over the course of the year, our Year 8 tutor groups each have the opportunity to see first-hand the importance of their contribution when they visit the Presbyterian Foodbank as part of their service class and our on-going commitment to serve the community.

Presbyterian Support Northern operates a Foodbank located at St David’s Presbyterian Church in Grafton to distribute emergency food parcels to individuals and families in need in the Auckland region. Sadly, the need is great in our city and food parcels are distributed to thousands of families each year. Each family can be supplied food for four days no more than twice a year if they have run into financial difficulty. At the same time they are given budgeting advice. In that period of two weeks alone, 180 food parcels had been delivered, all supplied through the donation of goods such as ours or from businesses, or funds raised to purchase food items. Saint Kentigern has been a long-time supporter of this cause with food being regularly donated from each of our campuses.

Transport, old bikes are being collected by the humanitarian agency RASNZ (Refugees as Survivors NZ) to service and donate to families at the Mangere Centre. The recipients are given cycle lessons focusing on bike safety, including how to use hand signals and the importance of always wearing a helmet.

During Term 3, the School Council sent a request to Saint Kentigern families to donate old bikes no longer in use. Our boys were proud to deliver over 40 bicycles of all shapes and sizes to the Mangere Refugee Centre knowing that our donation could make a difference for 40 refugee families.

Each fortnight, one of our Boys’ School tutor groups visits the Foodbank to take along what has been collected by classes and to see how it is put to use. The boys learn about the service that their donation helps to provide to a sector of the community and then give assistance as required on the day. On this visit the students created a chain gang to fill the fridge with a large donation of cottage cheese from Fonterra before unpacking the School’s donated items and stacking them neatly in the correct place. Other groups have helped to make up food parcels from a list of the food requirements for a family of two adults and two children.

At the end of each session, the boys donate some baking to Miles, who supervises the Foodbank, for all the good work he does. Miles then tells them what their latest collection needs are. Last time it was cereal but this time he said that donations of dry pasta would be really helpful.

By the time the boys leave the centre, they have learned a little more about those whose needs are far greater than their own. On the return journey to school, there is much cause for reflection and the boys are inspired to think of other ways that they could be of service.

If you would like to donate to Presbyterian Support Northern, visit their website: https://northern.ps.org.nz/our-services/foodbank

Speech Competitions

‘Imagine a lump of coal. Who saw a dirty stone and who saw energy? Imagination is seeing the same thing as other people but seeing them in ways no one else would.’ Albert Einstein said, ’Imagination is more important than knowledge for knowledge is limited.’

Winner of the Elsie Moore Memorial Cup at this year’s Senior Speech competition, Year 7 student, Gabriel Ross took his audience on an energetic ride that was both funny, as he explored the limits of our imaginations, and thought-provoking as he referred to the words of John Lennon’s immortal song, ‘Imagine – You may say that I’m a dreamer but I’m not the only one, I hope someday you’ll join us and the world will live as one.’

This year’s adjudicator, Head of Middle School at the College, Mr Duncan McQueen marked the twelve finalists on speech construction, delivery and presentation, content and engagement, use of language and the overall impact. Gabriel ticked all the boxes!

Jack Duncan, also Year 7, was runner up with his speech about smart phones. The question could have been, ‘Whatever did we do before mobiles were invented?’ But Jack’s generation has only ever known a world of instant connectivity and, instead, he questioned what price this generation may be paying for this ‘modern miracle’. He reminded his peers that we could be in danger of losing our humanity and that with great power comes responsibility.

The variety and content of the speeches from phobias, procrastination and poetry, to joke political parties, first impressions and a look at the humble

100 Days of School!

There was much excitement in the Junior School on Monday 5 August, as a day of celebration got underway to mark the 100th day that our youngest boys have attended school! With ‘100 day’ hats on their heads, the day started with a maths quiz from Mr Cassie followed by the presentation of a 100 day certificate - along with a vigorous, ‘manly’ hand shake from the Principal to each and every boy!

The majority of the current Year 1s started at the beginning of the year and have been counting down to this day; a day filled with a range of literacy,

school sandal, provided a morning of great entertainment. The twelve finalists can be very proud.

Later in the term, the Middle School boys welcomed Mrs Kate Hawkesby as the adjudicator for the eight finalists in their competition. Confident in his delivery, Year 6 student, Jack Sandelin was the winner of the Elsie Moore Memorial Cup for Junior Speech with his speech about Heroes with Year 5 student, William Tisdall as runner up with his take on the vagaries of Pocket Money.

Senior School Speech Finalists

Adjudicator: Mr Duncan McQueen

1st Gabriel Ross Imagination

Runner Up Jack Duncan Smart Phones

Middle School Finalists

Adjudicator: Mrs Kate Hawkesby

1st Jack Sandelin Heroes

Runner up William Tisdall Pocket Money

Gabriel Ross continued his winning ways with his speech ‘Imagination.’ After placing first in the Senior Speech competition, he went on to be placed 2nd in the Remuera Zone prepared speech competition and followed that up with a win at the annual Remuera Lions Club competition. Well done Gabriel!

numeracy, art and musical activities, all based on the number 100, that was a mix of new learning opportunities and a bit of fun.

Boys made pictures with 100 stickers, completed charts of 100, carefully used a pipette to count 100 drops of coloured water into a jar, placed items on a 100s chart, made paper chains with 100 links and shared the containers of 100 ‘things’ that each boy had collected and brought to School. These were as diverse as a collection of 100 shells from a beach and 100 snowflakes from Coronet Peak – now melted!

The 100 party was a happy and meaningful learning experience for the boys as they explored place value, groups of ten and bigger numbers whilst celebrating their own special milestone!

Testing the Water

‘We’ve got a toe biter!’ … which was way more exciting than only finding rat-tailed maggots, bloodworms or caddis flies – all water bugs and indicators of the good health of a waterway!

Following on from their Term 1 studies into water - its physical states, behaviours and the particle theory underpinning these, the boys welcomed Sally Smith, Education Co-ordinator at Watercare to their classroom. Sally is a regular visitor to the Saint Kentigern campuses and brings with her a wealth of knowledge about the health of our waterways around Auckland.

In the build up to her first visit, the boys had been investigating the chemical composition of water, and its function as a habitat for macroinvertebrates. In laboratory based studies, they learnt how to test the turbidity, pH, nitrate content and dissolved oxygen levels in freshwater in preparation for their field trip. They also studied the physical appearance of macro-invertebrates to assist with the identification of these once out by the stream.

We’re thankful to 25 of our Year 7 parents who took the time to walk all 107 boys in groups to test the water quality of the local Waiata Stream that feeds down into Hobson Bay. The students undertook their tests for turbidity, pH and nitrates but it was classifying the bugs that most caught their imagination!

The results of the boys’ investigations indicated positive water quality in the stream and they were reassured that the recent Council work on the reserve has only served to improve the surrounding environment.

The world relies on clean water for life. It is our duty to play our part in keeping the waterways clean. The boys are certainly more aware that anything placed in a storm water drain will end up in our streams, rivers and eventually the sea.

Boys Explore Hidden Depths!

It was dark and damp, and under usual circumstances would be very, very quiet but with the descent of 58 Year 5 boys into the 28,000 year old lava caves under Landscape Road in Mt Eden, it became a place for noisy, exciting adventure – if a little scary for some.

The boys were studying the landforms of Auckland with a focus on the extensive volcanic network in our city. They had earlier visited Mangere Mountain and descended into the small lava cave there, but this experience was a very different undertaking.

We thank one of our parents, Mr John Foy, for arranging access to this extensive cave system on private land. The boys soon came to discover the extra-ordinary world just beneath the surface of a bustling city suburb! With helmets on and torches at hand, the group made their way into the mouth of the cave and into a huge, rock strewn cavern. As their eyes

adjusted to the darkness, using their torches to light the way, they gingerly worked their way downwards as the passage narrowed, wriggling their way through a constricted space that opened to another cave that required carefully negotiating a four metre drop away to the passage below! Here all torches were switched off and the boys discovered the true meaning of darkness.

Further exploration revealed a ‘squeeze’ at the far end of the passage as the cave system continued its descent towards the sea, but this was the point the boys turned back – much to the relief of the parent helpers who stood wondering how on earth they were going to fit!

There was much to learn beneath the surface as Mr Foy pointed out many of the features along the walls and roof of the cave. The boys emerged exhilarated and glad to see the daylight!

S RAT the Musical

Over three sold-out nights, a cast of more than 100 senior boys took to the stage for an exciting musical adaptation of the story of the Pied Piper of Hamelin; a show that was perfect for a cast of all boys!

Based on Robert Browning’s poetic version of The Pied Piper of Hamelin, and adapted by Nigel Hess, this hugely successful musical for children has been performed worldwide - including several performances every year in the town square of Hamelin in Germany; an event which has become a major tourist attraction. The musical show takes a new look at a familiar story with great music and witty lyrics. However, in a twist on the classic German tale, the rats who plagued the Saint Kentigern stage were pugnacious punks and the stranger to the town, the Pied Piper, had all the charisma of a rock star!

The show opened with a colourful scene as the townsfolk prepared for market day. With the arrival of the very self-important Mayor (Jack Duncan) and his Councillors (Finn Harford and Robson Snookes), it became clear that whilst they revelled in their own importance, they had not found favour with the citizens; there was a very major problem in the town that was not being addressed – a plague of vermin!

As the townsfolk dispersed, rats crept in from the cracks, gathering momentum until the stage was filled with a seething mass! Joshua Hawesby-Lyne played the loutish Rat Leader with swagger and menacing nonchalance – ‘I’m big, I’m horrid and I’m tough, and you ain’t been behaving unpleasantly enough. Now you blokes ain’t stupid, you’ve been to good schools, so let me hear you say that the rat race rules!’

The scene that followed was one of the best in the show as the boys who played the rats took on their intimidating characters through some superb dancing, self-accompanied with percussion on stage.

Fed up with the situation, the townsfolk invaded the Council Chambers demanding action from the Mayor. Ineffectual in the face of pressure,

HISTORY OF THE PIED PIPER

Folklore says it was the year 1284, a time of the Black Death and pestilence, when a strange and wondrous figure arrived in the German city of Hamelin and promised to free the town of their plague of rats and mice for a fixed sum of money. The citizens pledged to pay him his fee, so the visitor produced a pipe and began to play. Soon all the vermin followed the Piper out of town and plunged after him into the River Weser and drowned.

The townspeople, now freed of the plague, regretted their promise and refused to pay the Piper who left Hamelin in a bitter mood. On the 26th of June, in that same year, he returned and while the townsfolk were assembled in the church, he again played his pipe in the streets. This time it was the children who followed. A total of 130 children were lost.

he was relieved when a stranger paid a visit offering to rid the town of its problem rats. Beck Robson played the part of the Pied Piper who, in exchange for a promise of a thousand guilders, played his hypnotic tune on the pipe, leading the rats to drown in the River Weser.

Just as the rats disappeared, so did the Mayor’s promise to pay and the aggrieved Piped Piper once again struck up a tune. ‘As he played, to everyone’s surprise, the children followed as if hypnotised, from out the houses they gathered around and followed the Piper’s magical sound.’

One boy returned unable to keep up. Anthony Gu took on the role of the crippled child who couldn’t keep pace and his soulful song, ‘The Piper Just Played’ alerted the town to the new crisis. The Mayor’s pompous posturing turned on him when his avarice, in not paying the Piper in full, threatened to rob Hamelin of its future. A broken, pathetic figure, he feared the outcome of his dishonesty and pleaded, ‘Oh Piper, Piper wherever you roam, if you will just bring our children back home. We’ll give you silver and gold by the crate, Piper please come back, it can’t be too late.’

David Bates took the role of a very expressive and animated Narrator who kept pace with the action. ‘From far in the distance a faint sound was heard, it seemed to come closer until it was near, the sound that all Hamelin so longed to hear.’ And so, to great joyfulness, the children returned and a new law was decreed, ‘We’ll make Hamelin a town where honesty is heard and everyone residing here must always keep their word.’

Our thanks to Director, Mrs Janet Grierson; Producers, Rachel Gleeson and Richard Kirk; and Musical Director, Mr Edwin Randell; along with their team of staff and parent helpers who gave so freely of their time to work with the boys. A special thanks to parents, Mrs Leanne Campbell and Mrs Amanda Tomlins who worked tirelessly on the costumes. The cast spent weeks in rehearsal and the production team’s dedication to fine tuning paid off with another exceptional Boys’ School production!

The historical background of the Pied Piper’s legend cannot be proven yet among the various interpretations, reference to the colonisation of Eastern Europe, starting from Low Germany is the most plausible one.

In those days

The ‘Children of Hamelin’ would have been citizens who were willing to emigrate and were recruited by landowners to settle in Moravia, East Prussia, Pomerania or in the Teutonic Land. In past times, all people were referred to as ‘children of the town.’ The ‘legend of the children’s exodus’ was later connected to the ‘legend of expelling the rats.’ The latter most certainly refers to the rat plagues that brought great threat to the medieval milling town requiring the services of professional rat catchers.’

From the Brothers Grimm in the book ‘German Legends.’

Hamelin Town by Hanover City

Was once a township quaint and pretty

The river Weser deep and wide

Washed its wall on the southern side

But now it’s the smelliest town in the nation

Because of the vermin infestation

Our story begins years ago

When the townsfolk suffered so

From …… RATS!

Boys All A-spin!

Imagine the feel of slippery clay on your hands as you try to keep the ‘lump’ – your potential artwork - under control as it spins around quickly. The tension is high as your mates look on to see if you can handle the slippery mess at you finger tips. Will you gain control and watch a pot grow beneath your hands or will it wobble off-centre and collapse?

Well that’s exactly what the Year 6 and 8 boys have been experiencing in their art classes this term – initially a lot of collapses!

At the Arts Festival last year, specific fundraising was initiated to allow the purchase of four pottery wheels for the art room. It’s now 10 years since the kiln was installed by former Head of Art, Mrs Robyn Spooner, and in the ensuing years, our boys have been given ample opportunity to work with clay, building by hand. Current Head of Art, Mr Tom Barton saw the opportunity to take this skill to the next level. He said, ‘Using a pottery wheel it is truly awesome experience and makes the boys appreciate how pottery is made.’

Each boy has had a chance to try the wheel to see if they could achieve the basics of shaping - or as potters say, ‘throwing a pot down.’ It is not an easy task and can bamboozle adults let alone children! At the first pass, most of the boys struggled but even the failed result was a heap of fun, leaving the boys wanting another turn. There was a definite determination to achieve the skill!

The purchase of the wheels gives the arts programme the flexibility to teach the boys throwing techniques as well as to use the wheels for other projects. The first full production project was the making of a functional teapot.

We were all excited by the outcome of this project and already have some great ideas in the pipeline for the use of the pottery wheels by our boys.

Motat Discovery

Two classes of junior boys were transported to the home of New Zealand’s largest transport, technology and social history museum to learn about inventions over the years. The trip for the Year 0-3 boys saw them engaging in activities to support the work they had been doing in class in preparation to develop their own unique ideas. They had learnt that many different kinds of people create inventions for a variety of purposes and their inventions generally have an impact on people’s lives.

The boy set off on the MOTAT trail to visit the many exhibits in the park and learn about the machines, their development and uses. The boys were fascinated by the old cars, printing equipment, telephones and household items.

Next they visited the MOTAT classroom where they discovered significant inventions that have evolved over time with great examples of phones and cameras through their stages of development. They learned that inventions like the teabag were created by mistake, and they discussed issues of patents and prototype development.

The most exciting, and for some most challenging, activity was the Tactile Dome. This activity is for children only – no adults allowed! In small groups, the boys went into a completely darkened 28 metre passage. They had to use their senses of touch and hearing to negotiate obstacles and eventually exit out of the area. While in the Dome they could not see where they were going and had difficulty climbing stairs, sliding doors and even scrambling up a cargo net.

This was a most enjoyable and informative morning, which motivated the boys to go on and develop their own amazing inventions.

Gold and silver medals for musicians!

Whilst the formal learning of an instrument may not be the chosen path for everyone, for those boys who take on the challenge, the rewards in personal achievement can be great. This year has seen the Jazz Band being awarded Gold for a sixth year in a row at the recent Lewis Eady Junior Music Contest along with the Jazz Combo, the Recorder Minstrels and The Ligature Lads (five clarinet players) all receiving Silver. Since the inception of this competition in 2008, hosted by the Lewis Eady Charitable Trust, the Boys’ School has traditionally done well and were delighted to be recognised once again for the quality of their music programme.

This term has seen two major musical evenings – one for the Middle School followed by the Musical Extravaganza at the end of the term. The Jazz Band has also had further opportunities including a set at the Library during Music Month in May and playing at the Boys’ School SKOCA Dinner and the New Parents’ Dinner. The full articles can be read on the news channel of our website.

The road to putting on a show is not always easy. The Music Department comes alive at 7.00am most mornings of the week with further rehearsals taking place at lunchtime. As Principal, Mr Cassie has often said, the music groups are amongst the hardest working ‘teams’ in the school. Unlike the sports teams who train for a season, music is a year-round commitment. In the case of injury preventing play in a sports team, it’s generally easy to find someone to fill the spot – not always the case with music when your drummer breaks his shoulder and a clarinettist breaks a finger just before a show! Both shows were, however, outstanding evenings of entertainment!

Silver at Kids Sing!

Singing is an important part of school life and our boys enjoy being part of the choirs. After the experience of singing in the Aotea Centre and Town Hall at last year’s Kids Sing, this year’s Performers’ Choir were eager to return and improve on their score. There were some very happy faces at the end of the Gala Concert when Silver was awarded!

Each school was required to sing three songs: a test piece, a piece by a New Zealand composer and two songs chosen by the school. The test piece for all schools this year was ‘The Moon,’ a lyrical piece by Andy Beck with wonderful long phrases and a lovely melody that each of our choirs performed beautifully.

The Boys’ School were the first to perform in the morning, beginning with the lively ‘Shake the papaya down’, an adaption of a South American work song in three parts. This was delivered with actions and accompanied by a percussion group and talented Year 8 student, Anthony Gu on the piano. Their New Zealand piece was ‘Royals’ a recent hit for young singer/ songwriter, Lorde, a song that won a Grammy award last year.

Adjudicator, Steven Rapana noted that the ‘choir has a rich tone with some very nice phrasing and wonderful engagement on the boys’ faces.’ At the Gala Concert, each choir sang their two chosen pieces before all joining in a mass recital of the moving test piece. This was a glorious way to finish a fabulous day of choral singing.

Boys’ School Cross Country

In a show of grit and endurance, the Year 4-8 boys were put through their paces in long distance running at the annual Cross Country held at the College. Joining with students from the Girls’ School, the boys gathered on the banks outside Bruce House in front of the starting line, along with their parents and friends.

The day was really chilly and windy but that did not deter the boys who were raring to go! The Year 4-6 boys got off to an early start, all running two laps of the one kilometre, soggy track taped out across the fields. The Year 7 and 8 boys then stepped it up a notch and pushed themselves hard for their three kilometre, mud spattered run giving a final burst of energy to carry them up the hill to the finish line.

On a beautifully sunny day, the juniors ran a week later around a course at the Boys’ School giving their all to this early taste of competitive running. Congratulations to all participants on their stellar effort!

Year 1

Year 2

1st Max Trankels H 1st James Hiddleston H

2nd Scott Nel W 2nd Oliver Hardie W

3rd Angus Paterson CH 3rd Lachlan Hay C

Year 3

Year 4

1st Ethan Knox C 1st Brendan Meyer H

2nd Zach Freeland C 2nd Antony Gault C

3rd Reuben Thomas W 3rd Austin McKegg CH

Year 5

Year 6

1st George Beca C 1st Vinay Chichester H

2nd Isaac Wong H 2nd John Graham H

3rd Sebastian Hardie W 3rd Charles Swain C

Year 7

Year 8

1st Michael Hiddleston H 1st Liam Batts CH

2nd Isaac Chaytor C 2nd Ben Anderson W

3rd Nate Gilbertson CH 3rd Tom Moloney C

ZONeS

Congratulations to the boys who went on to compete in the zone competitions with great results!.

eaSTerN ZONe reMUera ZONe

Year 7 team 2nd Year 5 team 1st

Isaac Chaytor 1st George Beca 2nd

Year 8 team 2nd Isaac Wong 3rd

Liam Batts 3rd Year 6 team 1st

Vinay Chichester 1st

Charles Wilkes 3rd

NZST AIMS Games Bronze Medals for Waterpolo!

This year was the first time that the Boys’ School has entered the NZST AIMS Games in Tauranga. One of the largest sporting competitions in the world, this year it attracted 7,500 students from 228 schools competing in 17 different sports! To put it in perspective, this year’s Commonwealth Games had 4,950 athletes from 71 different nations and territories competing in 18 different sports.

As our own rugby and football teams had recently toured to Australia, the waterpolo and hockey teams were selected to represent the School. To compete in a competition of this scale and calibre was a fantastic opportunity for our boys and they acquitted themselves very well indeed with bronze medals for our waterpolo team!

However, it was not just about competing. The teams were away from home for a week discovering new found independence as they stayed in three separate houses, played matches, studied and completed school work, supported each other and represented their School with pride in all they did. They were a group of exceptional young men and the staff were very proud of their achievements both on and off the field. There is certainly a great deal of value gained from a week away playing at the very top of your game and competing on the 'big stage'.

BrONZe MedalS fOr WaTerpOlO TeaM

The Waterpolo team headed to Tauranga knowing that they had a chance to do well having recently competed for and won the coveted Winterfest Tournament in Auckland. In the final stages of this competition, they beat King’s 8-1 in the quarter-final, Northcross 4-3 in the semi-final and it was a 7-3 win over Sacred Heart to secure the Winterfest title.

In Tauranga, the boys were up against both new and familiar opposition beating Tauranga Intermediate 9-0, Murrays Bay 5-3, Mount Maunganui Intermediate 4-3, John Paul College 18-1, St Peter’s College 9-1 and Murray’s Bay in the play-off, 3-0. They only conceded to Kristin and Aquinas College with the nett result of placing 3rd out of 13 teams in the tournament. Well done boys!

Hockey Win Zones

The Hockey team began their season well in Auckland and were delighted to firstly win the Eastern Zone Tournament with five straight wins before going on to represent the Zone at the Inter-Zone Tournament. After a further five games they were placed 3rd in Auckland! Well done!

Like the Waterpolo team the 1st XI Hockey knew they could be facing stiffer as yet unknown opposition. Over the five days they played a range of schools with mixed results but were satisfied to finish in 6th place out of 19 teams.

Sports Tour to Australia

With thanks to student reporter, Thomas Jackson, Year 7

After weeks of fundraising bake-sales by their supportive parents, the Boys’ School 1st XV Rugby and 1st XI Football arrived at Auckland Airport bursting with anticipation. They were off to Brisbane, Australia on a sports tour.

For their first stop, they travelled to ‘Churchie’ (The Anglican Church Grammar School) and met their billets for the night. This is always a nervous time, travelling away from home and staying with someone you have only just met but the next morning when our boys regrouped they were full of stories about how the Churchie families had welcomed them into their homes. The boys spent the first morning as tourists sightseeing along the Southbank and then travelling to Mt Cootha, the highest point in Brisbane – ‘The view was extraordinary. We could see for miles!’

Then it was down to the real business as they returned to Churchie to get ready for their games. The boys reported that the school campus at Churchie ‘is amazing and really, really big!’ Our 1st XV stormed onto the field and won 46-0. It was much closer game for the 1st XI, who won a tight game 2-1. Both games were played in good spirit.

The following morning the boys said goodbye to their fantastic Churchie hosts and set off to BBC (Brisbane Boys College) for another strong contest. The rugby and football games were played side by side so the supporters could cheer on both games. Their opponents proved to be bigger than expected but they still put up a good fight! The play was tight with the soccer team losing 2-1 and the 1st XV also going down 29-19. Both games were played at a high intensity and were enjoyable even though it didn’t go our way.

The next day was the one the boys had really been looking forward to – a sunny day out at Dream World on the Gold Coast. In a rush of excitement, the boys leapt at the log flumes, rollercoasters and even the 120 metre giant drop. Then it was time to get back into ‘chapel gear’ and head off to meet their new billets from TSS – The Southport School.

As they warmed up for the games, you could tell the boys were nervous about playing the TSS rugby team! Word had got around that they had a big prop who weighed 114kg – twice as big as most of us! Then the starting whistle blew and it was straight into action for both teams. In the first half, one of our players unfortunately got a boot to his head and he had to go to hospital for stitches. The 1st XV lost 30 points to 10, 6 tries to 2, however, the 1st XI had a great game winning 7-0.

As they headed home there was much to reflect back on. With three wins and three losses, the boys had experienced some great games against new opposition. They had stayed with three sets of families who had welcomed them into their homes and made new friends in the process. They were also able to visit some of the sights…and take in the all-important shopping! All in all, it was a most enjoyable trip for all and the boys would like to thank all those who made this trip possible for them, especially the families from Churchie, BCC and TSS who made them so welcome.

A Whirlwind Year of Tennis!

Rising tennis player, Chris Zhang, Year 8, has had a whirlwind year of play since being selected as the youngest member of a team of three boys to represent New Zealand in the U14 team at the ITF World Junior Tennis Finals.

The Kiwi team reached the World Finals for the first time

since 2006, following their runner-up finish at the Asia/Oceania Final Round Qualifying Competition in Delhi earlier in year. They went on to perform admirably at the 2014 World Finals, narrowly missing out on an upset win over the third seeded Americans in pool play and beating a strong Spanish side on the clay courts in Prostejov, Czech Republic. There were 100+ nations that started the qualifying events across the globe earlier in 2014 and Chris’s team went on to finish 10th at the 2014 ITF World Junior Tennis World Finals.

Before the tournament, Tennis New Zealand has invited Chris to join the European Tour which included a training academy in the Netherlands and lead-in tournaments across Europe. We’ll watch Chris’s developing tennis career with interest!

Sharing Breakfast with Police Dogs!

It was an early start for the boys and their fathers over two consecutive mornings for the annual Father and Son breakfasts. It was an even earlier start for the volunteers from the Parents and Friends who set the tables and did a sterling job preparing and serving a delicious breakfast to suit the palate of all ages!

Mr Richard Beca and Mrs Laura Lane represented the Parents and Friends in welcoming our special guests for the two mornings.

Senior Constable Kelvin Roberts, Sergeant Scott Williams and Senior Constable Chris Harris from the Auckland District Police Dog Section, along with their four-legged companions, Flash and Quanto, joined the boys and their fathers In the JC Chalmers Hall to share breakfast. Table space was at a premium for this well attended event!

The boys and their fathers were given a fascinating insight into the life of police dog handlers around the country whose job often means the difference between whether or not a crime can be solved - often in situations that could compromise their own safety, if not for their professionalism and the incredible teamwork between man and dog. The dogs are primarily deployed in any incident where violence may be used against the police or members of the public and it was heartening to hear that Constable Harris has recently received a bravery award for this very reason.

The boys learned that dogs are trained for three principal roles; as allpurpose patrol dogs for tracking and search and rescue, and for drugs or bomb squad training. It was interesting to hear that the drug dogs are also trained to sniff large quantities of money!

The dogs used are primarily German Shepherds and there are over 100 tracking teams in New Zealand whose services are also called on overseas in situations such as the tsunami in Samoa and the bush fires in Australia. An interesting fact is that a German Shepherd has 220 million receptor cells for smell compared to only 5 million in a human – hence their amazing ability to follow a scent! One tip from the police is that a dog is trained to detect the most recent scent so in the case of a burglary or home invasion, don’t be tempted to walk around your property – wait for the police!

The moment the boys were really waiting for took place out on the field as Quanto was put through his paces. An unsuspecting mother had her handbag ripped away and the boys watched in awe as Quanto tracked down the offender and brought him to the ground! As the dog rushed forward, there were some very surprised faces on the boys, followed by relief when the dog stopped short!

We are grateful to the police team for spending time to share their stories and are especially grateful that we were blessed with two fantastically sunny, winter mornings for the outside display!

We offer our thanks to the Parents and Friends team who pour heart and soul into this event every year, in particular, Erica Hussona who has managed the event for a number of years, who, along with co-worker, Jessica O’Rourke is stepping down this year. To fellow parents, Kirsten Faulkner, Tanya Holyoak, Sally Barkman and Roz McLoughlin, thanks for joining Erica and Jessica for the early morning starts! We really appreciate the work you do! Not only was there preparation, but also a lot of cleaning up afterwards!

Our thanks to the following businesses who very kindly donated services and food: Nestle, Venluree, Gravity Coffee and Bell Tea.

College

Nelson, Ashiq and James are remembered as students who took every opportunity to be involved in the many facets of College life whilst striving for significant academic outcomes.

Just starting out, 2013 graduates, Matthew Lieshout and Rachel Swindell have both been awarded significant scholarships to study at a high academic level and continue their chosen sport in the USA. Matthew, a keen footballer has a $30,000 a year part academic/ part sport scholarship to Spring Hill College in Alabama whilst

Rachel, a tennis player, has been offered a 100% scholarship to Eastern Washington University. Current Year 13 student and tennis player, Edi Stoica, has already secured a 100% scholarship to Wichita State University next year.

Connecting with our Old Collegians

At this stage of the year, our senior students are thinking hard about which direction their path in life will take when they put their school days behind them and consider their options for tertiary study or entry into the work force. During their time at College, they have all been exposed to a wealth of academic options, co-curricular activities and opportunities to give service to others in the community – each activity contributing to the rich fabric of student life. It is always our hope that during their time at Saint Kentigern, our students will take every opportunity to fully explore their options, expand their horizons and set their sights high.

With the passage of time, we are always delighted when we receive news about our how our graduates have progressed after leaving College and to hear of their latest endeavours. Many go on to make their mark in society and it is humbling to know that the passion they carry was often ignited and initially nurtured during their Saint Kentigern days.

In every issue of Piper we share with our community news of our Old Collegians both in New Zealand and abroad. This time it includes inspiring stories about those who have been awarded prestigious international scholarships and others who have followed their dreams to achieve their goals.

We were thrilled to hear that Nelson Lam is one of three New Zealanders who has recently been awarded an incredible $300,000 Woolf Fisher Scholarship to study for his doctorate at the University of Cambridge. He received his award from Sir Noel Robinson, also an Old Collegian. Ashiq Hamid, another high achiever, has been selected as a Fulbright Scholar in Law to study at Ivy League university, Columbia.

After completing his degree at the University of Auckland, Old Collegian, James Ruddell was awarded two scholarships to further his studies at the University of Oxford. On completion at Oxford, he was awarded the impressive Vinerian Scholarship for the best overall performance in his year and now practises law in Auckland.

The paths our Old Collegians choose to take are many and varied and, again, a snapshot from this Piper sees former students who have dared to follow their dreams. David Bishop is a Commonwealth Games bronze medallist in Gymnastics; Anthony Allen has earned a silver world rowing medal; Nathanael Skelton has danced on the best stages of Europe and now returns to New Zealand to dance with the NZ Royal Ballet; Stella WilsonStaab has continued the passion developed on the Saint Kentigern stage to take lead roles in Auckland’s stage productions whilst studying Screen Production as a Post Graduate Honours student; Matthew McQueen has followed in the footsteps of other Old Collegians to represent and gain success for The University of Auckland Business School in an international competition; Albert Vete has carved a niche in professional rugby league while studying for a degree in Physical Education; Joe Edwards, Scott Grafton, TJ Faiane and Blake Gibson are all recent graduates who are starting to make their mark as ITM Cup players; Jonathan Moore is studying in Holland for his PhD focussed on a photosynthesis project; John Munro started out with a swimming scholarship to the USA and is now a criminal lawyer; Steve Armitage has had a varied career, once working for the NZ High Commission in London undertaking refugee selection missions before returning to New Zealand to become a political, corporate and strategic advisor; and Lawyer, Jessie Jarvie, has learnt to juggle the pressures of the workplace and motherhood and is now passing on her knowledge to help others.

With a strong sense of belonging developed during their College years, it is inevitable that when students, move on, there will always be those who retain a strong sense of allegiance to Saint Kentigern and are willing to share their experience, offer their time or simply return to say hello. Earlier in the year a large number of our former drama students returned to spend time together before attending the closing night of this year’s musical, ‘Blood Brothers.’ More recently, Sharnika Leleni, Sam Rich and Denelle Bhagwandhin returned to judge ‘SKC’s Got Talent’ whilst former Media Studies students, Jason Hoon, Cameron McColl, Ben Elias, Tallulah Watson and Calvin Sang judged The Kents and Lucas Cooney judged the inuagural Speakeasy competition.

These many connections are valuable for our current students as it gives them great insight as to where, given enough determination, their studies could take them.

Currently, the Parents and Friends Association, Old Collegians and the Trust Board, led by member, Vivienne Adair, are working towards creating a network of Old Collegians who are prepared to offer advice and mentorship to students and fellow Old Collegians. They would love to hear from others willing to offer their time. This is another stepping stone that builds on the service ethos that we value at Saint Kentigern.

Be assured that as former students, you know there will always be a place for you and you will always be made welcome when you pay a visit to College. We look forward to hearing from more of you.

Steve Cole, Head of College

Value of Holistic Education reinforced at Harvard

During the July holiday break, Deputy Principal and Head of Senior School, Mrs Suzanne Winthrop felt very privileged to attend a leadership course at Harvard University and came away from the experience thoroughly inspired by all she had seen and heard.

The first thing that struck me is that the city of Cambridge, where Harvard is located, is incredibly English. To compare it to New York, where I spent a few days on the way home, was like chalk and cheese. Yet I found Harvard University to be very different from what I have heard and imagine the leading British universities, Cambridge and Oxford to be.

Despite a number of our Harvard lecturers being in their sixties and seventies, they were excellent role models in terms of the relevant and upto-date content of their presentations, and the way in which they presented their material.

The lecturers talked about the UNLEARNING that had to happen at Harvard to ensure their teaching practice remained progressive and relevant in today’s rapidly changing world. They stressed that this ‘unlearning’ is also happening in the best schools worldwide in order for teachers to be able to relate to today’s teenagers and the ways that they learn best, both inside and outside the classroom. These older lecturers had certainly adapted their practice and were impressive and inspiring; as were the younger lecturers who, incidentally, were mainly female.

Apart from five days of inspiring lectures, the 197 participants from 13 countries (including 17 New Zealanders) also participated in a day of outdoor leadership and team building activities at Project Adventure. This was an amazing experience-based adventure facility on the outskirts of Boston. We were certainly challenged!

Another very positive learning experience for me was the smaller group meetings that were part of the programme. We met in teams of ten at the end of every day to review and discuss what we had heard and learned during the day.

The three major themes that arose from more than one presentation were:

1. CULTURE - A good culture is crucial to a school and it should be nurtured and regularly modelled by the leadership team with both staff and students. All new initiatives need to pass the test of ‘how will this enhance why we are here?’ The ‘why’ must always take us back to our Mission and Vision statements:

The Mission of the Saint Kentigern Trust Board is to provide education which inspires students to strive for excellence in all areas of life for the glory of God and the service of others (1953)

Saint Kentigern Vision Statement: Our Graduates will Serve and Lead with Distinction (2012)

2. TECHNOLOGY - That technology is such a crucial and natural part of our students’ world outside of school that we need to ensure it is not just an add-on in the classroom. The use of technology can hugely enhance the students’ learning when used effectively.

3. DEVELOPING PERSONAL SKILLS - Schools should no longer just focus on teaching cognitive skills (of or pertaining to the act or process of knowing, perceiving, remembering) as intra-personal and inter-personal skills are now recognised to be just as important for schools to be teaching students as they map out their future lives.

Cognitive skills Intra-personal skills Inter-personal skills

Gaining knowledge

Creativity

Critical thinking

Work ethic

Conscientiousness

Flexibility

Initiative

Appreciation of diversity

When reflecting on what I heard and learned at Harvard, I can confidently say that Saint Kentigern is certainly on the right track and keeping pace with change. Even though we did not know it was termed ‘unlearning,’ our teachers are constantly reviewing out-dated methods of teaching and are regularly upskilling (especially in ensuring technology enhances our students’ learning) through regular Professional Development, reflection and collaboration.

The ERO (Education Review Office) team who visited in August were incredibly impressed with the level of engagement at the College and the effective use of technology through the OLE and in our classrooms, together with the positive relationships they observed between the teachers and our students.

Our belief at Saint Kentigern, in the value of a holistic education, was thoroughly reinforced for me at Harvard. The level of excellence in our classrooms, along with the extensive co-curricular activities we offer, where students not only gain new knowledge and cognitive skills but also learn and develop so many of the intra- and inter-personal skills crucial to life, is second to none in New Zealand. This, along with our strong service ethic ensures that a Saint Kentigern education is undoubtedly amongst the very best in the world.

Peo P le to Peo P le Programme at Harvard

With thanks to Year 12 student, Valentine Pons

During the July holidays I spent a week at the Harvard Law School meeting students from over twenty different cultures. Through the lessons learned, with the help of motivational speakers, I evaluated many different morals and certainly expanded my view of life.

The People to People programme encouraged teamwork - a leader does not exist without a team and isn’t successful unless everyone in the team is content. Helping and working with many different people is an incredibly important life skill, as is knowing how to make those people feel involved and wanted. Another important skill is being able to carefully pick the words and opinions we express in order to create a positive atmosphere. The suggestions they provided were to help us refine our personalities, not change them, so that each student could be the best that they could possibly be.

Team work

Collaboration

Responsibility

Communication

To pass the programme, public speaking and behaviour throughout the week was assessed, as well assignments that prompted us to consider our communities and how we, as students, could help.

Personally this was an experience I will never forget as it allowed me to see life in different perspectives and pushed me to be more involved in my community. By not only taking but also giving, a community such as ours can be drawn together and strengthened.

Top ICAS Science Score in NZ

Congratulations to Andrew Chen who has achieved the top score in Year 9 for the New Zealand and Pacific International Competitions and Assessments for Schools (ICAS) Science Test! Well done Andrew!

ICAS, commonly referred to as the University of New South Wales competitions, is conducted annually in Australia and over 20 countries globally. These are independent skills-based assessments and school tests for primary and secondary school students in Computer Skills, English, Maths, Science, Spelling and Writing.

In the competition, Andrew’s science skills were assessed in the key scientific areas of measuring and observing, interpreting data, predicting/ concluding from data, investigating and reasoning/problem solving over the knowledge areas of Earth and Beyond, Energy and Change, Life and Living and Natural and Processed Materials.

Andrew’s top score achievement qualifies him for a medal from the University of New South Wales along with a medal winner’s certificate which he will receive at a presentation ceremony later in the year. This is the third ICAS medal for Andrew having been top in Maths in 2012 and top in Science in 2013!

ICAS RESULTS FOR SCIENCE AND COMPUTER SKILLS

Here we congratulate those students who were awarded High Distinction; an award for being placed in the top 1% of New Zealand entrants, and Distinction, given to the next top 9% nationally.

ICAS SCIENCE AWARDS

Year 7 Distinction

Joseph Chan

Samuel Ou

Year 8 Distinction

William Feng

Karl Jorgensen

Jann Kruiswijk

Isobel Merrie

Year 9 High Distinction

Noel Argoseputro

Andrew Chen

Jackson Cleaver

Olivia Dodd

Joy Han

Sam Scott

Benjamin Staite

Desmond Yong

Yunfan Yu

Year 9 Distinction

Conor Ansell

George Beggs

Ben Creemers

Michael Duncan

Matthew Farnell

Sam Fletcher

Natasha Humphries

Nicholas Kirk

COMPUTER SKILLS AWARDS

Year 7 High Distinction

David Liu

Year 7 Distinction

Joseph Chan

William Feng

Peter Gin

Karl Jorgensen

James Kroll

Callum Lee

Tommy Liu

Daniel Mar

Joshua Ng

Ebba Olsen

Hannah Williams

George Wu

Year 10 High Distinction

Joshua Looker

Crystal Sun

Becca Worthington

Bill Yang

Year 10 Distinction

Kane Cocker

Maxwell Danesh-Clough

Connor Hackney Smith

Hugo Hatherley

Emily Horning

Tate McGregor

Erin Meek

William Nathan

Krish Sethi

Timothy So

David Thibaud

Max Wang

Patrick Ye

Ling Kong

Nicholas Morrison

Adam Perry

Michael Wighton

Helen Yu

Year 8 Distinction

Jason Hatton

Students hear from medical Physics researcher

Year 13 Chemistry and Physics students and some enthusiastic Year 10 Science students had the opportunity to hear about Femtosecond Laser Orthopaedic Surgery, from Mr Simon Ashforth, a Medical Physics Masters student from Auckland University. Simon is the brother of Art teacher, Christopher Ashforth.

Mr Ashforth is currently researching Femtosecond Laser Orthopaedic Surgery as part of an independent research project for part of his Masters. He has a Bachelor of Technology specialising in Medical Physics and is currently researching a variety of possible applications for lasers in medical procedures.

When orthopaedic surgeons use traditional equipment to cut bone, a large amount of heat can be generated which can cause damage to the surrounding, healthy tissue. Mr Ashforth is currently investigating the possibility of using lasers to cut the bone without producing heat. Firstly, by using ultra short (femtosecond) bursts of laser energy, the bone immediately vaporises into a plasma and, as a result, the surrounding tissue doesn’t have time to heat up.

The second application involves micro-machining the surface of paper so that a single drop of blood can be made to spread out along pre-defined channels towards spots of test chemicals that have been impregnated onto the surface of the paper. Once the blood reaches the test chemicals, simple colour changes will instantly show whether the blood has any number of medical conditions. The vision is that a sample of blood can be tested for a range of potential illnesses, without the need for expensive equipment, simply by putting a single drop of blood onto an ordinary looking piece of paper.

Mr Ashforth demonstrated this process by getting students to add a drop of food colouring to a Saint Kentigern logo that had been micro-machined, to watch the outcome.

As part of the laboratory’s education outreach program, Mr Ashforth has invited science students to come and have a tour of the facility at Auckland University. This is part of a collaboration between the gifted programme and the science department. The aim is for students to see real world applications and the possible pathways for pursuing a career in science.

We accord our thanks to Mr Ashforth for the time he gave so willingly to our students. His insight was fascinating!

Liggins Institute Workshop

With thanks to Head of Biology, Mr Simon Walker

Our Year 13 IB Biology students were fortunate to be afforded a visit to the world famous Liggins Institute; a research unit for The University of Auckland with a focus on translational research on fetal and child health; the impact of nutrition on health throughout life; epigenetic regulation of growth and development; and evolutionary medicine.

The students attended a number of sessions over the course of day, each providing valuable insight into the working lives of professional research scientists and the contributions they make to society. Much of what is used in applied areas such as medicine and manufacturing are the result of meticulous and methodical research carried out in institutes such as this.

The day began with an introductory seminar on fetal development and how the maternal environment in particular can influence health in later years, with an emphasis on an area of increasing interest known as epigenetics which describes non-genetic changes to DNA and the subsequent expression of these genes and the associated effects. Laboratory work was undertaken, exploring DNA amplification using the Polymerase Chain Reaction and DNA profiling using Gel Electrophoresis. The final session was an opportunity to talk directly with research scientists about the requirements of a working scientist and their particular career pathways, while also outlining their current research projects.

The opportunity to visit the Liggins Institute was both insightful and stimulating for the students whose eyes were opened to the possibilities that could arise from their chosen academic pathway.

IB Students visit School of Medicine

With thanks to Head of Biology, Mr Simon Walker

During Term 3, the Year 12 IB Biology students visited the School of Medicine at the University of Auckland to attend a lecture on the respiratory system and carry out a laboratory in physiology similar to that taken at undergraduate level. Both the theoretical component and the practical work contributed to a greater understanding of applied biology as it relates to humans, whilst simultaneously introducing students to the tertiary environment in which many will study in the future.

The first session took place in the School of Medicine’s pathology theatre where an outline of the respiratory system was presented, detailing many of the structures which allow for efficient gas exchange and some of the problems which may arise from smoking, atmospheric pollution and asthma. The students were also allowed time to inspect the many and varied pathological samples showing healthy, unhealthy and physically damaged organs from bodies donated to medical science. These remains impressed upon the students the stark fact that medical science has gained its knowledge from the study of how life sometimes goes awry as much as from how it works.

The second session took place in a laboratory normally reserved for the teaching of undergraduate courses in Physiology. The students used spirometers to measure tidal volume and vital capacity of their own lungs to calculate the residual volume of air within the respiratory tract. These volumes vary considerably as a function of an individual’s size and fitness, as each needs to maintain a homeostatic oxygen balance within the body for overall function. This laboratory work took one and a half hours to complete, but represents only one small component of what is required at that higher level.

The opportunity to visit the School of Medicine proved to be both insightful and stimulating to Biology students who may now consider the further opportunities that can come from their continuing education.

NIWA Science Fair

It was a proud moment for Year 9 student, Zara Iqbal when she was awarded 1st place at the NIWA Manukau Region Science Fair. Zara’s winning entry, ‘Killer Mouthwash’ won the Year 9 to 13 Secondary Consumer Science category. She also received a Special Award for the Best Year 9 entry in the Innovation, Invention or Investigation category. This is all the more remarkable as Zara entered the competition on her own initiative, having conducted a smart and well-founded investigation based on her scientific knowledge and experiences.

Zara’s project investigated whether using mouthwash had any real benefit. Despite the marketing messages, attractive packaging and product promises of supermarket brands, do they really do what they claim? And which brand kills the most bacteria? Her analysis was undertaken under strict laboratory conditions where she grew and measured two types of live bacteria; Micrococcus sp. and Staphylococcus sp.

Zara’s results were surprising against her original hypothesis. Popular brands Listerine Zero and Pam’s proved to be the least effective mouthwashes against both bacteria - both inhibiting and killing zero bacteria. Zara also found the Pam’s product had no claims to its performance except to freshen breath! The most effective when tested against Micrococcus sp. was MacLeans and the least well known herbal brand, Sarakin, fought the most bacteria against Staphylococcus sp.

Zara’s thorough research and analytical thinking in her science projects has seen her win placings at the Manukau regional awards for the past three years. In 2012 she received 3rd place and in 2013 she won Highly Commended. She has a real passion for science and her career aspiration is to become a geologist. Congratulations Zara on your winning entry and to all the Year 7 and 8 winners who placed at the awards.

First Place

Years 9 to 13 Secondary Consumer Science

Zara Iqbal - ‘Killer Mouthwash’

Highly Commended

Years 7 & 8 Physical and material World

Alexandra Collinson - ‘Flaming Foods’

Years 7 & 8 living World

Elizabeth Lightfoot - ‘I Wish That I Had Duck Feet’

Years 7 & 8 Intermediate Consumer Science

Peter Gin - ‘Water Resistance of Fabrics’

College team Wins Mathex Again! 931

62 + (6*7) = 2,589

With 100 teams of the best Year 9 and 10 mathematical brains from schools around Auckland lined up at the ASB stadium for the annual Casio Auckland Mathematical Association Mathex Challenge, the competition was stiff but we are pleased to report that the College Year 9A team comprising Andrew Chen, Daniel Mar, Callum Lee, Ben Staite coached by James Yang were declared the winners!

625 + (6*7) = 2,589

Not only did they win, but they were the only team to complete all questions scoring 100% and led for the whole competition! This is the fifth time in the last eleven years that the College has won a Mathex cup, recording top three places on other occasions.

Two College students were given the honour of joining Rt Hon John Key at the prestigious 2014 New Zealand Business Hall of Fame induction award ceremony in August. Ayden Lamont and Merry Liu, both Year 12, were invited to present Don Rowlands and Sir David Henry to the Hall for their services to business and the community. The students attended the blacktie gala dinner and spoke in front of a 600-strong crowd of New Zealand’s top businessmen. They were selected after the laureates had requested Saint Kentigern College as their affiliated school.

Ayden, a 1st VIII rower at the College, was proud to take an active part in ex New Zealand rower and Commonwealth medallist, Don Rowlands’ induction. Mr Rowlands has led some of New Zealand’s iconic companies including Fisher & Paykel, Champion and Mainfreight. Ayden said he felt privileged to meet and spend time with men who helped shape New Zealand into what it is today.

Merry Liu presented Sir David Henry posthumously. Sir David led the establishment of New Zealand’s commercial forestry industry, created a scholarship for forestry students and was involved in a range of charitable organisations including Rotary and YMCA. Merry said she was very honoured to be selected as the student escort for the descendants of Sir David Henry; his two grandchildren, Trust Board member and Old Collegian, David McCullough and Mary Rutherford. Merry said, ‘I learnt that to be a truly successful businessman is not only about the connections you have and how much money you make but about the content of one’s character.’

Cheeky Request for a ‘Selfie!’

With thanks to student reporters, Amy Wang and Yitian Pang

Earlier this term, 44 delegates from schools around the North Island travelled to Wellington to participate in the annual Student Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (SCHOGM) hosted by the honourable Peter Dunne. Accompanied by Mrs Anitelea, the College sent two delegations to the conference comprising Aditya Arolkar and Arunabh Prakash, representing Kenya, and Amy Wang and Yitian Pang representing the small Caribbean country of Belize. With ‘consultation as its life blood’, the students adopted the roles of Heads of Government and Foreign Minister of their respective nations. The two day event, held in Parliament, simulates the real CHOGM and enables students to gain great insight into how this conference works in reality. With the theme of the 2014 Conference being ‘Hashtag Team Commonwealth’, delegates debated issues pertaining to the Commonwealth’s role in aid and health, sport and youth empowerment. Wider issues discussed at the conference included the granting of Scottish independence, the establishment of a human rights committee and youth unemployment. Both Saint Kentigern delegations engaged in strenuous debate, employing skills of diplomacy, lobbying and compromise.

Amidst all the debate on the first day of the conference, delegates were also addressed by various members of the New Zealand Commonwealth. The day concluded with a formal state dinner in the Banquet Hall of the Beehive.

Day Two saw intense lobbying and a crisis session regarding a border dispute between the fictitious Commonwealth countries of East and West Estoria, led by Colonel Marin Dransfield of the New Zealand Defence Force. It was an honour to have the Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. John Key, address SCHOGM delegates. Key spoke on a range of issues including the place of the Commonwealth and New Zealand’s position on the world stage. The Q & A session that followed concluded with Saint Kentigern students, Yitian Pang and Amy Wang appealing for a ‘selfie’ with the Prime Minister, to which he was very obliging!

Students attending SCHOGM left with a panoply of new knowledge and skills. For those who are politically inclined or have an interest in global issues, this is a brilliant experience in international diplomacy. Through participation in SCHOGM students meet likeminded people who want to change the world and, as this conference demonstrated, as the youth of today, we indeed have the power to do so.

A special thanks to Mrs Anitelea for accompanying the Saint Kentigern delegations and for allowing us to have this unique opportunity.

mUNa 2014

With thanks to student reporter, Hamish Clark.

Sponsored by Rotary International, MUNA 2014 (Model United Nations Assembly) aims to foster international awareness and respect amongst teenagers, The Conference replicates the actual United Nations Assembly where delegations from 192 countries meet to debate, discuss and potentially take action on significant global issues.

This year the College sent five delegations to the student conference including: Haiti (Max Bunting, Bryden Lloyd and Hamish Clark), Belgium (Callum Andrews, Liam Stewart and Sarah Courtney), Cambodia (Yitian Pang, Amy Wang and Eden Hawkins), Zambia (Vinayak Garg, Byron Lam, and Jeffrey Chan) and Lithuania (Arunabh Prakash, Becky Lane and Aditya Arolkar). The assigned Secretary Generals for this year’s MUNA were the Honourable Maryan Street and Assistant Speaker to Parliament, Ross Robertson.

The focus of the assembly was centred on international drug enforcement, environmental preservation, human rights abuses, sectarian violence and the

‘Speakeasy’ Competition

Facing off in the inaugural ‘Speakeasy’ speech competition was a selection of Middle and Senior School finalists, all competing for the winning title in their division. The competition was a new initiative for the English Department to showcase the students’ speech-making skills to family and friends.

As the students were encouraged to speak about something they are passionate about, the audience heard a range of engaging performances across controversial societal issues. From euthanasia, human trafficking, gender stereotyping and the environment, the content and their messages were at a level well beyond their years. Judging then took place on their ideas, presentation skills, structure and engagement with the audience.

The College welcomed back Old Collegian, Lucas Cooney as the external judge for the evening. Lucas currently works as a Solicitor for a specialist litigation firm and appears regularly in the Auckland High Court. Lucas said all of the speeches were of exceptional quality and the topics chosen by the students were current, incisive and in many cases, moving.

Congratulations to Middle School winner, Isabella Denholm whose speech on human trafficking won her the Middle School prize and to Becky Lane whose speech ’Not Your Average Damsel in Distress’ received the prize for the Senior School division.

Syrian crisis. There was much debate surrounding the remits which had been announced prior to the event . While delegates listened to remit speeches, a note passing system was in place allowing nations to negotiate and form alliances. These alliances were well tested on the first day as delegates headed off to ‘Block Meetings’ to elect leaders to represent each of the world’s major regions.

Our delegates are all noted for their sound public speaking skills and the College received a number of awards at the conclusion of the conference including: Belgium for ‘Best in Role for the Europe Bloc’ and Lithuania for ‘Best Contribution to the Security Council’. Cambodia was also awarded ‘Most Entertaining Team’ for the series of highly engaging musical performances they gave as they took to the stage to debate their selected remits!

All students involved gained invaluable insight into public debate, lobbying, diplomacy and international relations.

Middle School Winner: Isabella Denholm

Middle School Finalists: Tess Elliott, Braydon Robinson, Isabella Denholm, Ella Shirtcliffe, Matthew Farnell, Olivia Dodd and Fraser McOmish.

Senior School Winner: Becky Lane

Senior School Finalists: Sean Park, Becky Lane, Liam Stewart, Keshini Ketheeswaran and Ishara Dhambagolla.

literary great Welcomed

‘I think of writing a poem as putting oneself in the moment, at the momentan action more comprehensive, intuitive and mysterious than mere thinking’

C K Stead

Early this term, the students in our Year 13 Scholarship English class were privileged to welcome CK Stead; one of the country's most eminent writers and literary critics. The visit was linked to his recent win in the inaugural Sarah Broom Poetry Competition at the Auckland Writers' Festival in May; as the winner, he was requested to spend time at a school to share his expertise with students – the ‘writers of the future.’ Our students were fortunate to be recipients of his time and knowledge. Stead is a distinguished novelist, literary critic, poet, essayist and emeritus professor of English at the University of Auckland. He has won and been nominated for many prestigious awards and fellowships, including the Creative New Zealand Michael King Writers’ Fellowship in 2005.

Stead received a CBE in the Queen’s Honours List in 1985 and then, in 2007, he was awarded the highest honour New Zealand can bestow when he was made a Member of the Order of New Zealand; currently the only living New Zealand writer to hold the award since children’s author, Margaret Mahy passed away in 2012.

During his conversation with the students, he read aloud some of his own works, such as Funeral, a poem from the recent winning collection, along with other personal favourites by G.M Hopkins and John Donne. Hearing

Thinking Between the Lines

With the by-line, ‘Think between the lines,’ our Year 13 Scholarship English class, along with selected Middle School exceptional writers, had the opportunity to attend the Auckland Writers’ Festival. They were fortunate to hear Eleanor Catton, John Marsden, Cornelia Funke and Lloyd Jones –who all offered insights into the process and best practice of writing.

Eleanor Catton's advice about story writing was simply … not to be boring! She said that in order to make sure your reader stays engaged in the story, things must change. She encouraged students to keep in mind the many factors that come into play while considering those things that are both within and out of our control as the narrative is developed. She said, ‘Any time you get stuck or wonder what to do with the situation, consider asking yourself the reader's questions about what you have shared. Do they want to know how, why or what next?

the poetry read aloud by someone who confidently understood the rhythm and required stressed sounds was a thrill for all the listeners.

The ensuing discussions ranged from poetic form to an elegy for his black cat, Zack. Questions from the students about how to write and how to shape writing, and how to get works published were answered in good humour and with honesty by the seasoned writer.

One piece of advice that rang true for the students and English teachers was a comment he attributed to W.H Auden relating to how a poem or piece of writing feels 'never finished, merely abandoned’. This cohort has just completed their 6 credit Writing Portfolio Internal Assessment and many made the comment that they needed ‘just a little more time’ in order to make a few more adjustments.

We are very grateful to Mr Stead for the valuable time he spent with our students, enriching their understanding of the power of language.

Year 9 student, Ben Creemers commented that the key writing strategy he learned from Ms Catton, was that ‘Language is infinitely malleable, like plasticine, and a writer must have an even mix of accidents, deeds, discoveries and decisions to craft an interesting story.’

The students also enjoyed John Marsden's practical advice to always consider the status of their characters – ‘How do you portray that in your characters' dialogue and in the description of the action and their body language?’ He also told them to focus on nouns and verbs – a similar piece of advice that our students heard from Joe Bennett last term, who claimed, ‘nouns and verbs are where the muscles are in your piece of writing.’

From all the writers we heard at the Auckland Writers’ Festival, the students learned that writing must have energy!

Service abroad

Saint Kentigern College has a long history of supporting a wide range of community organisations and worthwhile charities both at home and abroad. There is a very real difference between organising activities to raise money to send to charities overseas, and actually making the trip to engage in charitable work. Both are equally valuable to the recipients of the cause, but for those who are able to offer their volunteer services in person, a new dimension is added. The opportunity to spend time with the people they are destined to help brings another level of understanding to the cause. The trip to Fiji, in particular, is not for the faint-hearted; a significant level of sustained hard work, often in trying conditions, is called for. But whether building a house in Fiji or helping in the classrooms and fields in Vanuatu, the sense of accomplishment for our students brings new meaning to the word ‘service’.

Habitat for Humanity

Each year a group of Year 13 students are selected to spend ten days in Fiji over the July holidays working as volunteers with Habitat for Humanity to construct a home for a needy Fijian family. It is service projects such as these, helping others less fortunate in a new community, that give our students rich and fulfulling life experiences and a sense of their place in society.

Year 13 students, Tessa Hunt and Rachel Goldstine report on their experience:

It took three flights and most of a day for the 14 of us to finally arrive in Labassa, the largest town located in the north-eastern part of the island of Vanua Levu. Under the guidence of Mr Robinson, Mrs Slade and Mr Hart, this was the 9th year that Saint Kentigern had sent a team to offer assistance and undertake this experience. We were about to make a huge and important impact on a Fijian family’s life - a family we had not even met yet!

From the start, it was clear this trip was no holiday, and for many it reshaped what Fiji meant to them. Under a tropical Fijian sun, the team were set to work for seven consecutive days on the building site, labouring for around 8-9 hours a day. As the week of construction went by, our building strengths improved and it was during this process, that we were able to learn quite a few life lessons.

There were six Fijian carpenters helping us on the site, this was fantastic - perhaps they never realised how inspirational they were to us. Knowing how little they had in the way of homes, assets and money, they showed up to work so happy just to be there, working, enjoying what they were doing and who they were with. This made us really appreciate the lifestyle we have at home.

The house we were builidng constisted of a large, single room with a small washing facility - it was not much, but to the family it meant everything. The smiles on the family’s faces as they watched their house progress out of the

ground would have made anyone’s day; it certainly made ours! Living in the equivalent of a garden shed with six family members would be tough for us, but by building them a new home, the size of a large double bedroom, this was going to give them a better lifestyle. It made us think, what do we actually do with all that space we have?

A combination of determination, resilience and co-operation resulted in impressive progress for the team and we were rewarded with a rest day for being ahead of schedule. We spent this day on a nearby island where we visited a local school and enjoyed picturesque beaches.

Initially, the basic living conditions that we experienced were shocking compared to what we are used to back at home in New Zealand. However, over the course of the trip we gained a new appreciation for the simple pleasures in life, causing us to reflect upon our own lives with a fresh and grateful perspective. Although they had few material posessions, the locals were vibrant with a strong sense of what is important in life. The trip enabled us to really submerse ourselves in grassroots Fijian life, well distanced from the glamorous tourist resorts, and each individual came away with real gratitude for all privileges available to us in New Zealand. Although challenging at times, ‘Habitat’ was not only memorable for being able to change a family’s future, but because over the ten days in Fiji, we have made some lifelong friends.

‘Habitat’ is humbling and rewarding experience of which we feel so privileged to have been a part of.

Service in Vanuatu

With thanks to student reporter, Anthony Grant ‘From when you wake up to when you go to bed, children’s laughter and happiness is something that will never bother anyone, especially when you know that it is you that is making them so happy.’

That could have probably been the most nerve-wracking five minutes of my life. A brief exchange of words and the longest walk from the door to the interview chair. It seemed like my interview for the Vanuatu service trip took a lifetime, but really ten metres and a comfortable chair is nothing compared to what we would experience in three weeks’ time. And three weeks later we were here, 14 students boarding our Air New Zealand flight, leaving our life of clean toilets and proper showers behind for a life of mosquito nets and DIY showers.

After venturing to tropical countries before, anyone who has been will remember that your first steps off the plane are like entering a sauna. Even though the humid air still hit our faces like a steam train, this trip was different. It could have been the 6.30am arrival time at the airport, or the strict 23kg limit as we all juggled our gifts between each other’s bags. But that wasn’t it. It was more that, we were entering a seven day trip with no idea what to expect with basically 13 other semi-strangers.

Greeted with flower leis and French tinged accents when we arrived, we jumped on a bus and headed off into the unknown part of Vanuatu, the part that the tourists don’t see. From English to Art, we were in the classroom at Erakor Bilingual School, like an ordinary school day except this time we were the ones writing on the board not copying off it. But the best part of the day was lunchtime! With the boys heading off down to the fields for the daily dose of no-rules football frenzy and the girls having fun with bracelets and games, this was the fastest hour I have ever experienced

in my life. There was never a time for a silent rest moment, it was always full on and this is what we all loved about it.

As the days ticked over our bonds with the children only grew stronger. There was always that one boy or girl who would be there at 6.30am in the morning to follow you to the bathroom and ten at night to watch the door of the makeshift bedroom shut close. After five days of new experiences, it was finally time to say our goodbyes. Songs were sung and gifts exchanged, yet nobody was ready to leave. The bucket of water called the shower and the concrete floor where we slept had become homely to us, and nobody wanted to say the goodbyes.

Just like that. Seven days gone, 500 students greeted and fare-welled and many tears shed. Pools swam in and the occasional dash of sickness. Cultural dancing and numerous games of skipping rope. As we boarded our Air New Zealand flight back to Auckland, the realisation that this was the end of our service experience was starting to sink in. As I stared at the screen on the back of my aeroplane chair, my mind would drift to the smiles that we put on the kids’ faces, and these will stay in my mind forever.

All the stories that we were told and all the advice given, even with that, nothing could prepare us for the ridiculous attraction of mosquitoes to white skin and the friendships and bonds we would make with the children and our fellow students. Each day presented new challenges in teaching and a mind shift about how happy these kids were with so little. It was an experience that I will never forget and it is truly something that has shaped the way that I approach life and the respect I have for the happiness of people with so little.

Market Day Aids Children’s Hospital

Approximately

Each year, our Year 10 enterprise studies students put marketing theory to the test when companies comprising small groups of students come together in the Jack Paine Centre to present their goods and services to fellow students. A Commerce Department initiative, the students form their own small businesses, culminating in a chance to sell their wares and show a profit.

At the first Market Day early in June, thirty percent of the profit made by the students was put aside to purchase a ‘mountain’ of winter pyjamas to donate to the Middlemore Foundation’s Kidz First Children’s Hospital as part of their ‘Jammies in June’ appeal. The appeal aims to decrease the high rates of preventable illnesses in young children by providing those in need with warm pyjamas during the cold winter months.

Working in teams, our Year 10 students worked though sales ideas, estimated their costs and purchased goods or services before marketing started in earnest to ensure that their goods would sell well on Market

Day. Over the course of a lunchtime, the Jack Paine Centre became a hive of activity as teams vied for the busy lunchtime trade in a competitive market – the hungry teen one! Whilst the nutritional value of some of their offerings could be put under the spotlight, there was no doubt on the day that fast food sells quickly in a teenage marketplace!

The young business groups thoroughly enjoy the practical experience while learning the key aspects of business, management, marketing and accounting skills. They were proud to invite Mr David Kemeys, Public Relations Officer at the Middlemore Foundation, to a Middle School assembly to present the pyjamas purchased through their efforts. It was gratifying to know that these will now be put to meaningful use in the hospital and community.

$83,127.00 raised for World vision!!

This year was a special 40 Hour Famine fundraiser for World Vision and the College as part of our continued partnership with the humanitarian organisation. World Vision celebrated their 40th anniversary and the College raised the largest amount they have ever donated, a total of $83,127.00!

The College has a long history of being one of the top fundraising schools in New Zealand. When added to the equally significant amounts raised by our Boys’ and Girls’ Schools, Saint Kentigern has been seen to truly pledge their support over the years. Many students contribute to the cause but there are those who go the extra mile and this year, over 50 students and two staff members individually raised more than $500.00 each. These students were honoured into the ‘$500.00 Club’ at a full school assembly, along with the top fundraising class, 7AML. The College Service Council, led by Emma Watson, were recognised for their tireless work promoting and encouraging our students with their fundraising efforts.

At the assembly, students presented a cheque for $83,127.27 to two World Vision representatives, Dan Mtgonga, Country Programme Manager and Danielle Aldridge, School Relationship Coordinator.

The area targeted this year for the funds raised was Malawi, Africa. Mr Mtgonga who hails from Malawi, was the travel companion to Service Coordinator, Mr Mark Robinson on his scoping trip to the country in April earlier this year. The money raised will be used to begin Saint Kentigern’s community to community project in Chagodi, supporting both the primary

The most recent Market Day is again looking at ways the profit can be used to purchase items that promote personal hygiene to young children. and secondary school. It will also provide water bores, agricultural support, livestock; chickens, goats and cows for farmers and assist with education.

Dan spoke to the audience on the difference that the College’s fundraising efforts had already made for the families in Malawi and the confidence and hope that they had now been given. Donations had helped enable families to be given training in small scale irrigation to grow crops in times of drought, gardens had been introduced to schools, and goats had been bought. Along with the $8,277.00 raised by the Girls’ School and $24,739.50 raised by the Boys’ School, a total of $116,143.77 was donated by Saint Kentigern to World Vision.

$83,127 raised

How many pairs of children’s pyjamas does $800.00 buy?

100!

our own Celebrity Chefs!

Riding the celebrity chef wave is the talented Saint Kentigern College cooking duo, Rebecca Roberts, Year 12 and Alex Southwick, Year 11 who recently cooked up a storm to win silver at the 2014 Secondary Schools Culinary Challenge.

The 90-minute MasterChef style Auckland regional competition held at the Manukau Institute of Technology saw students from eight Auckland secondary schools preparing and presenting artistically designed entrees with New Zealand-grown leeks as the principal component. The requirement for the main course was to contain at least three New Zealand-grown vegetables, one of which had to be a potato, and a chicken breast with the skin on and bone in.

No cooking competition would be complete without celebrity chef judge and restaurateur, Simon Gault who, along with chefs John Campbell, Jono Beattie and Jack Perry were at the ready to judge the variety of flavours, textures and presentation of the dishes.

Mr Gault said he was seriously impressed. ‘It was better than many make on MasterChef, you guys are on fire,’ he said.

As the minutes ticked by, Rebecca and Alex’s entrée of pan-seared scallops with crispy pancetta, served with cock-a-leekie sauce and braised leeks was completed well on time. For their main, they skilfully cooked up French roasted free range chicken with cauliflower puree, potato gratin, braised baby onions and pickled seasonal vegetables to impress the judges to award silver.

Young Baristas

The students’ Food Technology teacher, Mrs Susanna Pattison anxiously stood on the side-lines supporting the team of two and was very pleased with their overall result.

‘Rebecca and Alex were professional and competent and I was very proud of the effort they put in and how they performed on the day,’ she said. ‘They had not cooked

In a new venture for the Food Technology curriculum beginning last year, Year 10 students have the opportunity to take part in a junior barista course on how to make coffee! Not just coffee – good coffee!

Continuing on, this year’s students have picked up the reins and after much practice grinding, tapping, frothing and pouring they are on their way to making the perfect cup! The Saint Kentigern coffee cart is open for trading most lunchtimes in the Jack Paine Centre and at $2 for a hot beverage it’s a more than competitive prize for a caffeine fix!

They are also a regular fixture at many College events including The Kents and Jazz Café, and at all home game 1st XV matches, they sell from underneath the Sports Centre.

Last year the baristas raised nearly $1,000.00 dollars to donate to their charity of choice. Look out for them and try a great cup of coffee knowing you will be donating to a worthwhile cause.

together before but three practice sessions prior to the competition gave them the confidence to know they could do well.’

The National Secondary Schools Culinary Challenge was developed by industry leaders wanting to showcase the highly skilled profession and longterm career opportunities in the hospitality industry.

The hype and competitive spirit worked well towards encouraging students who have a flair for hospitality to seriously consider it as a profession at a much earlier stage in their academic career.

Food Technology at the College

The College has superb, industry-standard facilities for teaching Food Technology in the Jack Paine Art and Technology Centre. NCEA Levels 1-3 Food Technology is a demanding course structured to scaffold the learning and pressures that students can expect to experience during tertiary study. In Levels 1 and 2, students work with a food technologist to develop innovative new products that are fit for purpose as a result of extensive sensory analysis, market, consumer and technical research. During their final year, students synthesise their knowledge of food design and development in order to engage with an actual client. They are expected to solve problems with critical and original thinking, leaving the course with an extensive portfolio and basic industrial experience.

Artist in Residence

An exciting opportunity was made available to our senior fashion and photography students when freelance fashion photographer, Emily Hlavac Green spent time working in the Jack Paine Centre.

Emily graduated from Otago School of Art in 2009 and was named as a Top 10 Emerging Photographer in the Capture Magazine Annual in 2013. She creates work with a cinematic context in mind and draws the viewer in with images that evoke curiosity and intrigue. Emily’s work has taken her to places overseas such as China, Japan and the United States.

The on-going ‘Artist in Residence’ programme in the Jack Paine Centre aims to connect students with industry professionals, providing them with industry links, specialist knowledge and exposure to diverse approaches of creative practice.

Emily’s week long workshops and one-on-one critiques focused on collaboration, pre-visualisation and concept development, studio lighting and location shooting. Emily also provided a number of open workshops for all Jack Paine students that focused on analog and basic Photoshop editing for fashion and beauty.

The students enjoyed Emily’s innovative approach to photography, her personal tips and specialist knowledge towards light. Emily’s enthusiasm, skills and her ability to relate to the students have provided a relevant and contemporary extension of skills for the NCEA students of photography and fashion.

medal Haul for Robotics team!

The Old Collegians Sports Centre was a hive of activity over a weekend when 52 Robotics teams from around the region gathered to compete in this year’s Robocup Challenge. The competition involved quickly programming robots to navigate different challenges with marked paths and a variety of tasks to perform, or in the case of the soccer section, to play against an opposing team to kick an infrared transmitting ball into a designated goal!

Students who undertake robotics are challenged to be creative in their design of programs and to develop excellent problem solving skills. The competition encompasses not only engineering and IT skills but also encourages sportsmanship, the sharing of ideas and teamwork. We were delighted that our College teams claimed a significant number of awards on the day coming first, second and third in both the Senior Soccer and Senior Rescue categories, and first and third in the Junior Rescue and Premier Rescue categories.

The medals continued for the winning teams who travelled to Wellington for the Nationals with a first and three third places. Well done!

PremIer reSCUe:

Auckland 1st Place: Max Ballard, Alex Monk, Connor Mattson

National 3rd Place: Max Ballard, Alex Monk, Connor Mattson

Auckland 3rd Place: Norman Dines, Tom Pennycuick

SeNIor reSCUe:

Auckland 1st Place: Nicholas Scott, Desmond Yong, Daniel Mar

National 1st Place: Nicholas Scott, Desmond Yong, Daniel Mar

Auckland 2nd Place: Callum Lee, Andrew Chen

National 3rd Place: Callum Lee, Andrew Chen

Auckland 3rd Place: Gareth Lacey

SeNIor SoCCer:

Auckland 1st Place: Alex Smith, William Ning, Oscar Sims

National 3rd Place: Alex Smith, William Ning, Oscar Sims

Auckland 2nd Place: Jed Robertson, Ryan Stickland

Auckland 3rd Place: Alexander Maehl, Nikolai Siimes

JUNIor reSCUe:

Auckland 1st Place: Andrew Chen

Auckland 3rd Place: Sebastian Price, Alex Lombard

Royal New Zealand Ballet Workshop

Recently, dance students from Years 10 to 13 were privileged to welcome seven dancers from the Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) to their classes for a practical workshop. There was also plenty of opportunity for our students to ask questions about the life of a professional dancer.

Among the visitors was one special guest, former Saint Kentigern student, Nathanael Skelton who graduated in 2002. Nathanael currently dances with the RNZB having recently returned from Europe where he began his career as a professional ballet dancer based in the United Kingdom. (More information about Nathanael can be read in the Old Collegians’ section of this Piper.)

The afternoon workshops saw the seven visiting dancers work with small groups of students to develop a dance under the guidance of the RNZB educator. The focus was on the influence and development of neo-classical work, part of the students’ NCEA course work. The students engaged well with the visitors and really enjoyed the opportunity to dance with the professionals when they presented the work to their peers.

Head of Dance, Mr Geordan Wilcox, has moved on from his role as a professional ballet dancer with the RNZB to that of an educator. When studying towards his Master of Creative and Performing Arts in Dance Studies, his research was focused on mentoring and supporting male dancers. He is keen to see a greater number of boys join the dance programme. One of the current Year 12 boys enjoying dance is Wesley Tameifuna, best known for his skill on the field with the 1st XV. He was singled out early in the workshop for his ‘amazing poise’ and ‘natural ability’ as a dancer. Wesley would also encourage more boys to join him to study dance!

Earlier in the semester, the students also enjoyed working with Gareth Okan and Hannah Tasker-Poland from the New Zealand Dance Company whose work is dedicated to ‘changing the way New Zealanders see and experience contemporary dance; to stretch the boundaries of what dance can be and to share its power, beauty and humour with a broad audience.’ The pair put the students through their paces as they moved from warm up exercises through to a choreographed piece that gradually increased in complexity. The work was to prepare the Year 13’s for a later assessment.

We thank the members of the Royal New Zealand Ballet and New Zealand Dance Company for spending time to work with and dance alongside our students. It was greatly appreciated and the students really enjoyed and learnt a great deal from the experience.

auckland theatresports Champions

The College Premier Theatresports team, Team Squid,’ defeated Dilworth, Northcote and Epsom Girls Grammar in the Auckland Youth Theatresports Grand Final recently at Dilworth School. In a night of inspired comic genius, where they often dominated the games, they were finally crowned the 2014 Auckland Youth Theatresports Champions, a title that was so close last year.

Apart from Tate Steele’s excellent captaincy and superb wit as a ‘key moment’ player, Mitchell Fissenden, was a physical ‘impact’ player whose style of Theatresports is reminiscent of the classic Seinfield character, Cosmo Kramer. Cameron Teare was hilarious and Python-esque, playing a range of stunning characters, including a multiple personality husband and wife. Carlos Webster was a charming, clever and very generous team player; one of Carlos’ highlights was giving birth to Mitchell and Cameron (as twins) in the game of the night about ‘a day in the life of a midwife.’ This was a scene for which Team Squid scored 8+8+7 (out of a possible 10) from each of the three judges, virtually closing the other teams out of the competition before half time. The final scores were: Saint Kentigern 85, Dilworth 74, Epsom Girls and Northcote College 71.

Well done to the team and their coaches. They would like to accord their thanks to Mr Duncan McQueen who has been their most ardent supporter throughout the season.!

DANCE SHOWCASE

From contemporary dance to jazz, hip hop, ballet, tap and burlesque, on to Latino, Pacifica and even a gum boot dance, this year’s Dance Showcase was a superb display of talent from our young men and women that brought yet another dimension of student achievement to the Saint Kentigern stage.

The Showcase entailed 121 dancers from all year groups performing 30 linking pieces that had been carefully prepared by 30 student choreographers resulting in two fabulous performance nights. The pressure was on both the choreographers and the performers to get every last detail correct as their work was being assessed for NCEA.

Now in its third year, the Dance Showcase has become a permanent fixture on the calendar as interest in the dance programme has continued to grow; an interest that is reflected in the large number of students who elect to study Dance at NCEA examination level and who audition for our productions.

For those undertaking Dance as an examinable course of study at senior level, there are a number of objectives to be achieved. Achievement objectives at NCEA Level 2 (Year 12) and NCEA Level 3 (Year 13) each have a choreographic element. At Year 12, there is a requirement to ‘choreograph a group Dance to communicate an intention.’ At Year 13, the requirement is to ‘produce a dance for a performance.’ There is also a requirement to ‘perform a significant role in a group dance to an audience.’

The second act brought a wide variety of dance styles opening with the memorably, raunchy Latino Cell Block Tango, a musical theatre piece inspired by the show Chicago. Other pieces explored a range of difficult, emotional issues that were communicated skilfully though dance. One of the darker pieces explored the abuse of women through the medium of a circus with the Ringmaster taking control as a puppeteer of women.

To meet these objectives, the senior dance students have poured considerable energy into preparing for the Showcase in readiness to present their work for NCEA assessment. In addition, some of our drama (NCEA) and theatre arts (IB Diploma) students were involved with the technical and production aspects of the show.

In the first act, the Year 13 students collaborated to produce a 30 minute piece entitled, ‘Find Your Tempo,’ influenced by the life of Isadora Duncan (1877-1927), one of the pioneers of contemporary dance. The students used her life story as a stimulus for their choreography, adding in layers of their own personal experiences and thoughts about the future as they prepare to leave school. The story followed a central character, Laura, a graduating student who experiences the many trials and tribulations of life as she moves towards adulthood. Each of the nine pieces, choreographed by different students, flowed seamlessly into the next with the central character forming the link. Ashleigh Clark took on this character appearing throughout the first act and must be applauded for the enormity of her role.

The boys brought some levity to the evening, firstly performing a Tongan dance, Taufakaniua, representing soldiers confidently preparing for war. This was followed by an African gum boot dance with its origins among early African American mine workers who slapped out rhythms to communicate in the dark. The final piece from the boys entailed a number of them, who are better known for their exploits on the field as members of the 1st XV, hamming it up in a Polynesian Fafa dance as they took on feminine mannerisms!

To produce a show of this calibre is an enormous amount of work and it’s quite incredible that the rehearsals and performance were largely student led. Each year we see an improvement in technique and performance from our dancers but this year there was a noticeable, new level of sophistication brought to their work. The choreographers, performers and back stage crew from Years 12 and 13 are to be congratulated for their dedication to bring a show of this quality to the stage. Their themes explored difficult, emotional issues that had a real impact on the audience.

We offer our grateful thanks to the following staff for their work with the students and considerable input to ensure a quality performance:

Mr Geordan Wilcox, Miss Clare Jennings, Ms Suzie Tornquist and Mr Glen Mortensen.

Dancers to perform with APO

A number of our senior dance students are currently rehearsing for Te Manu Ahi (The Firebird) in conjunction with the Atimira Dance Company and the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra for a performance in October. The students will perform twice in the Aotea Centre on Wednesday 22 October. There is a concert for schools in the morning followed by a public performance at 1pm. Tickets are $20 for adults and $10 for students with tickets available from the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra website: http://apo.co.nz/concert-events/firebird

‘I am busy putting finishing touches to the costumes. The theme this year is military steampunk which requires costumes to have working mechanics that allude to the industrial era. Therefore, I am on the lookout for old broken bits of metal jewellery, broken clocks, cycle gears and cogs, compasses and watches, chains, belts and anything with a military feel to it. These will be de-constructed and taken apart so broken or unwanted is the key…..’

Ms Emma Bishop, Head of Drama

2014 marks the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth; the 16th century poet who is reputed to be the greatest playwright of all time. There are those who struggle with the notion of Shakespeare’s archaic English dialogue and his complex sentences but when stripped right back, Shakespearian plays are really quite simple; they're stories about human emotion, passion, ambition, jealousy, pride...emotions felt by men and women throughout the ages. Whether it be 1564 or 2014, the themes touch a chord and are as relevant today as the day that they were written.

The title, ‘Othello’, made it quite clear that this year’s College senior drama production was to be Shakespeare, but the request for unusual costume parts left no doubt that this was not ‘Shakespeare as we know it!’ Revised for a post-apocalyptic, steampunk world of techno-Victorian industrial design, the tragic tale of jealousy, racism and a misplaced lady’s handkerchief was given a unique twist. With an amazing set of interlocking scaffolding, awe-inspiring steampunk-styled costumes and fantastic performances from our students, this was an attention-grabbing show from beginning to end!

Often considered to be one of Shakespeare's greatest tragedies and one of his finest works, Othello tells the tale of a Moorish general and his ambitious friend, Iago, as he struggles with self- doubt, jealously and betrayed trust, which eventually lead to his downfall.

Cast in the titular role was the stalwart of recent stage productions, Lloyd David, striving to walk the fine line of noble general and jealous husband to Chloe Simpson’s Desdemona. Matching Lloyd for presence and significance was Ben Riedstra, cast in the much revered and reviled role of Iago, one of Shakespeare’s most complex villains. The role served as the audience's guide, as Iago shares his plot to drive Othello mad with jealousy while narrating the events of the play. As Iago, Ben must quickly switch from the clever schemer to the loyal soldier, sometimes multiple times in a scene –he did not miss a beat.Though Ben carried the weight of the script, both Lloyd and Ben deserve praise for their handling of the language through many, long monologues.

Becky Lane took the role of Iago’s wife, Emilia whose one dishonest act towards Desdemona – stealing her special handkerchief – turns out to have devastating consequences. It is the loss of the handkerchief that convinces Othello that Desdemona is guilty of infidelity, leading to a chain reaction in which first Desdemona, then Emilia and Othello lose their lives. Emilia, however, dies proud that she has unmasked Iago’s scheming and has set the record straight so that Desdemona’s name is cleared.

On this, the anniversary of his birth, Shakespeare may have been initially astonished at Saint Kentigern’s chosen setting for his play but he would have been well pleased with the fine cast of players assembled and undoubtedly proud of the outcome. In an inventive and engaging take on the ‘green-eyed monster,’ one of his greatest works was delivered true to word, with dynamic staging, passion and professionalism.

Saint Kentigern

STEAM PUNK

Originally coined in the 1980s, the term ‘steampunk’ refers to a genre of science-fiction literature that portrays the future the way people of the Victorian era would have envisioned it. The ‘steampunk’ genre is both future and past at once, rendering it ‘timeless.’

Taking place in the past in an alternate timeline in which many modern technologies exist but are powered by steam, futuristic gadgets are mainstays of the genre. Its plots typically include societal breakdowns and the formation of anarchistic or totalitarian governments.

lThe term ‘steampunk’ has also come to include styles of clothing, design and architecture, which often feature leather, brass and wooden elements. Head of Drama and show director, Ms Emma Bishop had a clear vision of how the costumes would look for this production. There was no ‘off the shelf’ purchase and she is thankful to former teacher, Mrs Rebecca O’Neil and parents, Mrs Rosie Lane, Mrs Brenda Devlin and Mrs Maureen Hayward for their unwavering support in preparing the costumes with their detailing.

Our thanks also to Mr Glen Mortensen for all technical aspects, Mrs Maia Freeman for leading the hair and makeup team, Ms Cathy Rood and Mr Chris Ashforth for securing the props, Mr Terry Haffern for leading the backstage crew and Mr Ian Thomas in the role of stage manager.

l

o

‘Please sir, I want some more!’

The story behind this year’s Middle School production is a familiar one - young Oliver, after escaping the workhouse, is befriended by the Artful Dodger and subsequently introduced to the criminal underbelly of Victorian London. The story remains true to its Dickensian roots, illuminating the hardships suffered by the working class of the time, yet as a musical, it unfolds as a heart-warming spectacle.

Evoking moody 19th Century London, the set opened up to invite us into a world of characters that were both familiar and yet new, as each of the leads brought their own special touch to their part. Opening to the well known chorus, ‘Food Glorious Food’, delivered with enthusiasm by a ragged band of workhouse orphans, the audience waited to see who would step forward to deliver the catch phrase, ‘Please Sir, I want some more,’ thus taking the lead role of Oliver. This was Year 9 student, Ben Buttle, who went on to tug at the heart strings with his delivery of ‘Where is Love?’

Having stepped over the mark in his request for more, Oliver is sold by a convincingly pompous Mr Bumble. This role was remarkably played by a very petite Ashley Potter (Year 10) who hammed up the male role brilliantly; her costume transforming her to a tubby, middle-aged man! Sold to the Sowerberry’s, we meet the down-trodden funeral director (William Luxton, Year 10) and his domineering wife, played with conviction by Lauren Aspoas (Year 9).

Escaping from the parlour and befriended by the supremely confident Artful Dodger (Luca Heard, Year 10), Oliver is invited to be ‘h’accommodated’ with Fagin and his gang. It is at this point that the show really opened up to reveal its heart. The set for Fagin’s kitchen was sparse, yet a homely riot of colour. Fagin’s gang of pickpockets were full of life and mischief, with their loot for the day strung up on lines across the set for added colour. Year 10 student, Sid Chand stooped and scurried in the miserly role of Fagin, giving us a convincing performance of an old man with dishonest, penny-pinching ways but with maybe just a touch of heart

for his young charges. Sid’s superb singing voice, added immeasurably to his performance of this role.

Nancy, played by Year 10 student, Jaymee Brearley, delivered a confident performance with her strong vocals, well able to deal with the contrasts of the upbeat, ‘It’s a Fine Life’ to the raucous ‘Oom Pah Pah’ and heart-rending ‘As Long as he Needs Me’. It was Nancy who bore the brunt of Bill Sike’s abuse. Played by Year 10 student, Braydon Robinson, Sikes was full of the bullying malevolence expected of the role, delivered with enough force to strike terror from the moment his shadow crossed the stage and he laid bare the consequences for anyone who dared use his name in vain.

The chorus was large and delivered their parts with energy with some very fine sequences from our dance students.

From the opening number to the closing chorus, there was no doubt that this team enjoyed every moment of bringing this show to the stage! Solo performances were self-assured and chorus numbers, in particular, a joy.

Talent may abound on the stage but the unseen commitment from those working behind the scenes is equally huge. A small group of Middle School musicians, with adult assistance, provided live accompaniment conducted by Mr Oliver Gimour. Lighting and sound, set design, stage crew, props crew, make-up artists and costume managers are seldom seen and rarely applauded but play an integral part in bringing a show to the stage. With Mr David Sheehan as Director, Mrs Katrina Farquharson as Producer and Miss Cathy Rood taking on the Choreography, it was teamwork and dedication from both the cast and crew that provided the hallmark for success of yet another Saint Kentigern polished performance.

Oliver will be remembered as an outstanding production from a team of outstanding students and staff that drew packed houses and appreciative applause every night.

Oliver 2006

Oliver was last brought to the Saint Kentigern stage eight years ago in 2006 when it was staged as a full College production. Stefan Katz played the role of Oliver with Sam Philips as the Artful Dodger. Both boys continued to be fully engaged with productions - and both went on to be Head Boys at the College. The miserly role of Fagin that year was played by Lachlan Craig who has returned to College as our Choral Director.

Wearable Arts Show

While WaS (Wearable arts Show) doesn’t have quite the same ring as the trademarked WoW (World of Wearable arts), this year’s WaS definitely had the WoW factor!

Handed an amazing programme (designed by students, Jessica Bardell, Caleb Hill and Helen Jarrett) with an amazing logo (designed by Katherine Chang) boldly emblazoned on the front, there was promise of an amazing show. As the house lights went down and the stage lights came up, the promise was delivered! With every single seat taken, proud parents of students in Years 7-10 were treated to an eye-popping evening of creative talent. The students’ enthusiasm for the event was infectious; it was a pleasure to be there!

The brainchild of Year 8 teacher, Mrs Leisha Slade, the evening showcased garment designs and supporting dance items from eight different categories: Preloved Avant Garde, Colour, Magic and the Love of Books, Man’s World, Weta Workshop, The Tutu, Kiwiana/Pacifica and Illusion/Glow in Dark. The dances were choreographed and staged for Year 7 and 8 by our Year 11 dance students as part of their NCEA assessments.

Whilst selecting the finalists was difficult, to name the two supreme winners was even more so. Winner for Year 7 and 8 came from a new section this year, The Tutu and was won by Tess Elliot who designed and modelled, ‘The Last Straw.’ An elegantly simple outfit with rigid, clean lines made entirely from drinking straws. Tess also had a second win with Read Between the Lines in the Love of Books section.

Year 9 and 10 Supreme Winner was Rebecca Funnell whose ‘Prismatic in Pink’ won the Avante Garde section. Made in shiny pink and white vinyl, this stylish piece was inspired by complex 3D shapes.

Our thanks to five special guests for the evening. Wendy Meyer as MC and the four judges: Ros Craw, Head of Visual Arts at Somerville Intermediate; Ann Skelly, a full time artist award winning World of Wearable Arts (WOW) contestant; Melody Brook, a local artist who has also been a finalist at WOW; and Anne Lohrentz who is a Design and Innovative Pattern Cutting lecturer at AUT.

A special thanks to ‘people mover,’ Kiri Whitford-Joynt from ‘ID with Style’ put our student models through their paces on the catwalk and organised the models and dancers on the night!

SUPREME WINNERS

Year 7 and 8 Tess Elliot The Last Straw

Year 9 and 10 Rebecca Funnell Prismatic in Pink

YEAR 7 and 8 FINALISTS

Kate Armstrong Cycle for Tutu (Avant Garde)

Campbell Jordan Egg Keeper ((Man’s World)

Monty Sholtens Cardboard Cutie (The Tutu)

Emma King Raindrops are falling on my head (Illumination)

Emma Sampson/ Shopping Spree Tagged (Avante Garde)

Claire Hollingworth

Kate Armstrong Marshmallow Pheobe (Colour)

Tess Elliot Read Between the Lines (Love of Books)

Emma King FAN-tastic Ray of Sunshine (Colour)

Dylan Mugglesford/ Kiwi Jelly Time (Kiwiana)

Tom Harford

YEAR 9 AND 10 FINALISTS

Emma Wong-Kam/ Melody (Avante Garde)

Leanne Shen

Lucy Scarborough ‘Fly by’

WoW artist visits

To inspire their creativity in the lead up to their Wearable Arts Show, our Year 7 and 8 students enjoyed a visit from local artist and Wellington World of Wearable Art (WOW) finalist, Melody Brook.

Well versed in designing, Melody has entered her extravagant garments in the national WOW awards for the last nine years.

She passed on valuable advice to the students on developing the concept and planning of their own garment entries and relayed what she finds helpful in the stages of creating her own works of art.

The students were also able to see one of Melody’s WOW Avante Garde designs first hand. Called ‘The Kea’, the elaborate garment, complete with a detailed head piece, was true to its Avante Garde category where ‘anything goes!’

The Kents

Weeks of painstaking work was on show in all its cinematic glory at The Kents; the annual short film festival that showcases work from our Year 12 and 13 Media Studies students. In a similar vein to the world famous ‘Oscars,’ our popular homegrown awards brought together a feature of artistic direction, filming, editing and acting talent in an entertaining evening for friends and family.

Included in the line-up was work from our Year 12 NCEA Level 2 students, who in groups created character-centric teaser episodes or webisodes to promote and engage the audience for the eventual launch of a television mystery drama. This year the drama was titled ‘Dare, Truth or Promise’ and the four nominated entries certainly hooked and intrigued the audience with their differing narratives!

At Level 3, the Year 13 students were tasked with a ‘48 hour filmstyle’challenge where every second counted. Armed with a genre, a character, a prop and a line of dialogue, the students had to meet the demands of the brief in order to make their short films. All creativity, writing, shooting, editing and adding a musical soundtrack had to be completed within the 48 hour ‘mayhem’ period!

On the judging panel, the College was pleased to welcome back Old Collegians and previous Media Studies students, Jason Hoon, Cameron McColl, Ben Elias, Tallulah Watson and Calvin Sang. These former students have all had their own personal involvement with The Kents in earlier years.

Judging by the amount of laughter erupting from the crowd, the evening was once again a very enjoyable success in celebration of our up-andcoming Peter Jacksons!

SKC’s Got Talent!

It was wall-to-wall standing room only at this year’s talent show when MC’s for the evening, Ben Riedstra and Hamish Clark, introduced the judges and ten finalists. We were promised an evening of great performances and talent in abundance – they were not wrong!

One of the highlights of Arts Week, this was a student-led initiative spearheaded by Jamie Hofer and Eden Hawkins from the Arts Council. The ten finalists for the evening had been selected by the students themselves from across the age range, after a number of auditions leading up to the night. Actors, singers and dancers gave it their all as they competed for the coveted titles.

A panel of Old Collegians was called on as judges; all former performing arts students themselves and all three well remembered for their own abundance of talent! Last year’s Head Girl, Sharnika Leleni was both a dancer and a singer. Sam Rich was introduced as a ‘percussion genius’; a talent well developed during his College years. The final judge was Pop vocalist, Denelle Bhagwandhin who had just released his latest single, ‘Tonight,’ Winner for the evening was aspiring singer/songwriter, Brodie MacDonald, Year 12 who performed her own original song about finding your 'spark' - the thing in life that you enjoy, are good at and gives you purpose. Brodie was inspired to write the song after attending a writing workshop to improve her skills. It clearly paid off! Brodie has been placed 3rd and 2nd in the past and was proud to be overall winner on the night.

Congratulations to the following award winners:

Judges’ Choice Best Film Year 12

Casey the Athlete (Jackson Calder, Jordan Campbell & Thomas Henderson)

Judges’ Choice Best Film Year 13

Fall Of Grace (Katie Edwards, Jake Latham, Libby Osborne)

People’s choice

How To Survive Your Teenage Years (Maddie Fenn, Cameron Teare and Jerry Wang)

Best Script: ‘Fall of Grace’ (Libby Osborne, Jake Latham, Katie Edwards)

Best Cinematography: Libby Osborne

Best Sound: Thomas Henderson

Best Editing: Jackson Calder

Best Music: Katie Edwards

Best Actress: Emma Watson

Best Actor: Jackson Calder In second place was Year 10 student, Ashley Potter, singing an upbeat ‘Riptide’ by Vance Joy, accompanying herself on the ukulele. In third place was Year 11 student, Isaac Samuels who sang and played his guitar to ‘Lemonade’ by Jeremy Passion. Crowned winner of the People’s Choice Award was Year 13 student, Harry Anyon with a cheeky rendition of a ‘Flight of the Conchords’ number that appealed to the student audience!

The evening was much enjoyed by all involved and the finalists were a strong cross section of the range of talent amongst our College performers. Our thanks to the Arts Council for all their work to make this happen.

Winners:

1st Brodie MacDonald

3rd Isaac Samuels

Other Finalists:

2nd Ashley Potter

People’s Choice Harry Anyon

Greer Ritchie, Sam Waldin, Ethan Jupe, Yi Wen Wong, Emily Young, Sophie Clarkson

House Music

House Choir

1st Bruce House

2nd Cargill

3rd Chalmers

House Ensemble

1st Cargill

2nd Chalmers

3rd Wishart

HOUSE POINTS

1ST CARGILL

2ND CHALMERS

3RD HAMILTON

On the eve of the concert, over 1000 tickets had been sold, showing just how popular this House event is on the College calendar. Now situated at the larger venue of the Vodafone Pacific Events Centre in Manukau, the arena allows for even greater student involvement and plenty of room for family and friends to experience a night of fabulous entertainment.

Fully student organised and directed, each year the four College Houses – Cargill, Chalmers, Wishart and Hamilton, along with the boarding house Bruce House, compete for the coveted title of House Music Champion. Each House presents a large choir as well as a small music ensemble, usually a rock band. The ten groups perform to a panel of judges to determine who will win the coveted House Music Cup. Wrap all of these ingredients up with the hilarious Billy T Award-winning comedienne, Jan Maree, presenting the show, and you’ve got a sure-fire recipe for a fantastic night of community fun!

Judges for the evening were well-known New Zealand entertainer, Jackie Clark and Head of Music at King’s College, Mr Paul West, who had the tough job of picking the winners.

The choirs, with up to 200 apiece, all put their best collective performance forward and the prefects did an outstanding job in leading from the stage. Opening the concert for the evening was Cargill’s House Choir who sang, ‘Eye of the Tiger’ by Survivor, which was followed by Chalmers singing another foot tapping classic, ‘Footloose’ by Kenny Logins. Hamilton’s House Choir included some creative signage in ‘Accidently in Love’ by Counting Crows, Wishart’s House Choir’s Grease Medley was compiled of ‘You’re The One That I Want,’ ‘Grease Lightning’ and ‘Summer Nights’ and the Bruce House Choir undertook the challenge of ‘Everbody’ by the Back Street Boys.

Several of the ensembles successfully managed to add the ‘wow factor’ to their singing and musical talent with amusing skits and surprise elements added to their shows! The final act for the evening saw teaching staff take to the stage to perform a collective version of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’, with Mr Ross Gerritsen on lead vocals. Upon inviting the students to come up to the front of the stage, Mr Gerritsen and his band broke out into a surprise act of Miley Cyrus’ ‘Wrecking Ball’, much to the delight of the young crowd!

And so it was left for the judges to announce the overall House Cup. With a 2nd in the House Choir and a 1st in the House Ensemble, Cargill were declared the overall winners for the second year running! And to the delight of the boarders, Bruce House Choir were announced as the winners of the House Choir for 2014.

Cargill Ensemble

Bruce House Ensemble

Hamilton Ensemble

Overall Winner - Cargill Ensemble Winner - Cargill

Choir Winner - Bruce House

Chalmers Choir

Chalmers Ensemble

Wishart Choir

Wishart Ensemble

Hamilton Choir

Silver and Bronze at National Big Sing!

Competing against 22 choirs from around the country, the College was one of only five schools nationwide to have two choirs represented at the Big Sing National Competition this year, having been selected from their performance at the Auckland competition.

For the 50 Saint Kentigern choristers, divided between the Premier Choir, Kentoris, and the all-boys choir, Menasing, it was a fantastic experience to be chosen to compete at this level, made all the richer for Menasing being awarded silver and Kentoris bronze after the three days of competition. This is the first year that two of our choirs have been selected at this level and we are proud of their achievement! Menasing is now recognised as one of the top four male choirs in the country.

Silver at Kids Sing!

It was smiles all round at the Gala Concert in the Town Hall at the conclusion of the NZ Choral Federation Kids Sing Festival when our Year 7&8 choir, A Minor, was awarded silver, an improvement on last year’s bronze!

This was the second time on stage that day for the choir. Earlier in the day, hours of practice were finally put to the test when they sang to a public audience and the professional ear of the adjudicator, Steven Rapana. Mr Rapana told the students that each time they walk on to a stage, to think about how much they love singing; it will make a difference to the way they perform. He said that in his judgement, he was looking for their dynamics, tempo changes and in particular, energised singing!

Organised by the NZ Choral Federation, each school was required to sing three songs: a test piece, a piece by a New Zealand composer and one ‘other’ song chosen by the school. The test piece for all schools this year was ‘The Moon,’ a lyrical piece by Andy Beck with wonderful long phrases and a lovely melody which the choir performed beautifully.

A Minor chose ‘Karu Karu’ for their New Zealand piece, a waiata that originated in the Cook Islands and tells of the quivering, trembling and rippling in the water just before a fish is caught. Their final piece was the

Over the course of three days, each choir performed two full recitals in front of the judges and then came together en masse for a Gala Concert and Award Ceremony on Saturday night in the spectacular back drop of the Town Hall.

During the festival, Menasing quickly proved to be one of the crowd favourites of the competition, the highlight being an acappella arrangement of a Pennsylvanian Dutch folk song, Johnny Schmoker. This had the audience in fits of laughter and the judges chose this piece to be performed at the Gala, which also featured Mr Craig bursting on to stage with his bagpipes! This, coupled with Menasing's high energy performance, drew one of the few standing ovations of the evening!

Kentoris also sang two recitals of challenging and exciting music which ranged from an Ogden Nash poem, 'The Panther,' with dramatic text set to dynamic choral writing, to a motet setting of an early Gregorian chant. Their first recital finished with 'There's No Earthly Way of Knowing' written for the choir by NZ Composer Andrew Baldwin. This featured a fiendishly difficult piano part married with Roald Dahl poetry that created a terrifyingly effective ending to Kentoris' first appearance.

The highlight of the second recital was from Johannes Brahms' Liebeslieder Waltzer’ which focussed attention on our impressive tenor section. This was also the piece the judges chose for Kentoris to sing at the Gala Concert on Saturday Evening. A fitting end for a great competition.

light-hearted children’s song, ‘I Bought Me a Cat’ by Aaron Copeland, featuring the strange noises animals may make!

At the Gala Concert, each choir sang their two chosen pieces before all joining in a mass recital of the moving test piece. This was a glorious way to finish a fabulous day of choral singing.

Gold and Silver for College Musicians

After compelling performances at this year’s Secondary School KBB Music Festival, the College’s premier music ensembles, the Symphony Orchestra and the Concert Band, were selected to take part as one of only four schools at the concluding Gala Concerts.

The Symphony Orchestra went on to win an outstanding Gold award in this annual secondary music competition.

The win is lauded as a remarkable achievement for our students, as this year was the first time for the College that the Symphony Orchestra had been picked as one of four regional orchestra ensembles to perform at the coveted final recital. Their selection came after a polished performance earlier in the week under the direction of Mr Timothy Carpenter and student concertmaster, Kimberly Tse. Led by an outstanding group of senior students, the Orchestra showed significant musical maturity to finish successfully with a rousing rendition of Bizet’s ‘Carmen’ which had all of the Spanish flair and tempo needed to execute it well.

At a separate Gala Concert earlier in the day, the College Concert Band also performed a fantastic and well-rehearsed repertoire for the adjudicators, their rousing performance securing them Silver at the awards ceremony.

The skills required to perform in ensembles of this nature require personal dedication and time to develop musical understanding through listening to and working with other musicians and musical directors.

These Gala concerts have developed a reputation as stirring evenings of outstanding music-making by Auckland’s finest young musicians and in recent years have been a highlight on the College music calendar.

Congratulations to both the College Symphony and Concert Band on their awards and to Head of Music, Mr Ross Gerritsen and Mr Timothy Carpenter for nurturing and guiding the students.

Solo Music Competition

Twelve finalists dressed in their finest gowns and suits to grace the stage and compete for the title of this year’s Solo Music Champion. The finalists performed in one of four categories; Strings, Voice, Wind or Piano in front of our guest judges: Nigel Weeks, Head of Music at Macleans College; James Tibbles, Head of Early Music at The University of Auckland; and Dr Morag Atchison, Voice Teacher at The University of Auckland.

Year 9 student, Ryan Tong won the String Section on the Violin with a classy performance of the famous Czardas by Monti while another Middle School student, Sid Chand, Year 10, won the Voice Section. Year 10 student, Ethan Blight’s skill on the clarinet was evident in his excellent performance to win the wind section.

Overall Winner: Ashley Chan

String Finalists

Shou Yang - Violin

Ryan Tong - Violin

Emily Young - Cello Winner: Ryan Tong

Voice Finalists

Lili Taylor

Sid Chand

Eden Hawkins Winner: Sid Chand

Wind Finalists

Ethan Blight - Clarinet

Hamish Clark - Clarinet

Thomas Scott - Trumpet

Winner: Ethan Blight

Piano Finalists

Ashley Chan

Sophia Chiang

Joanna Mao

Winner: Ashley Chan

the College Ball

With its stunning waterfront location, the Viaduct Events Centre in the reinvigorated Wynyard Quarter set the scene for a night of glamour and glitz for over 700 of our senior students and their guests at the 2014 College Ball. On the social calendar, the ball is the ultimate evening out for our Year 12 and 13 students.

As stretch limousines pulled up to Auckland’s newest waterfront venue, each student and their guest walked the red carpet to be warmly welcomed by Head Boy, Sam Dakin and Head Girl, Hannah Wood. The theme for the evening was an Enchanted Forest, and the grand venue with its impressive chandelier backdrop had been truly transformed. Hues of gold and green, trees, bowls of floating candles, ornate bird cages, twig lighting, candelabras and white lights wrapped around grapevine garlands and greenery all created a magical atmosphere for the senior students who had also been truly transformed!

Following a sumptuous buffet dinner, the students all mingled and enjoyed the fun and entertainment before joining together for their official group photos. Instant photos mean instant fun, so the photo booth kiosks brought in for the evening’s entertainment this year proved to be overwhelmingly popular. Then, before the dancing began, it was time for the much anticipated part of the evening, the awarding of the sashes, much to the delight of the following winners:

Cutest Couple – Maia Jean Watene and Tom Vyle

Best Dressed Girl – Rebecca Wilkinson

Most Outrageous Suit – Guy Beca

Prince and Princess – George Levin and Lily Carson

King and Queen – Sesimani Tupou and Amy Keighley

We thank Bijay Govind, Craig Milliner, Christie Stringer, Bayllee Vyle, Lucy King and Maddie Evans from the Student Council for the dedicated and detailed work they undertook along with Mrs Natalie Burridge in planning the Ball.

Saint Kentigern

Ready, Steady, Ceilidh!

It was a chance for the whole family to get up, dance and learn the secret of Scotland’s most famous shindig at the College’s annual Ceilidh. For those who gathered in Elliot Hall, all were prepared to be thrilled and exhausted at the traditional Gaelic social gathering.

Now in its 19th consecutive year, the evening is a chance for our Saint Kentigern community to come together and recognise our heritage and links to Scotland. It is also an opportunity to fundraise for our Pipes and Drums Band who will be making their pilgrimage to Scotland in 2016.

After guests had mingled over pre-dinner cocktails, the foyer of Elliot Hall rang out to the sound of Scotland’s national instruments as the Pipes and Drums band made their entrance into the foyer. Arm in arm, the guests followed the band in the Grand March into the hall which had been magnificently laid out in a medieval style.

Again this year, Wee Jock’s Ceilidh Band provided the folk music for the dancing, accompanied by two Middle School music students, Jason Seto and Ryan Tong on the violin. Introducing the country dances was Bev Young, whose expertise walked the guests through the dance steps before the music began and the hall came alive with keen partnered footwork.

Over the course of the evening, the audience was treated to a display of impressive and entertaining acts. The Drum Corps of the Pipes and Drums played their crisp and strident snare drums, Year 13 student Sarah McQueen’s presented two nimble and energetic Highland dance routines and Eden Hawkin’s sang an enchanting solo.

For the ‘main event’ of the evening, the guests were all upstanding as the haggis was piped in and addressed. This year, Ode Maker to the haggis was Pipe Major, Andre Mason who recited a dramatic Ode to the Haggis using his best Scottish accent. Trust Board General Manager and true Scot, Mr Eric Shiels then gave thanks for the buffet meal with the Selkirk Grace.

The evening continued with more entertainment and surprises in the door prize, live auctions, silent auctions and lucky dip. Included in these items was an original art work of the Glasgow Badge which depicts the symbols of the bird, the tree, the bell and the fish that embody the story of Saint Kentigern.

As the night drew to a close, the guests were called up into their sets for their final dances, many now mastering the step combinations! All stood to enjoy a sing along of Scottish patriotic songs, led by the Pipes and Drums band singers and then joined in a circle for a spirited ‘Auld Lang Syne’.

In the final act for the evening, four pipers stood on the mezzanine above the Scottish flags to perform a soul stirring ‘Amazing Grace’ to a motionless and silent crowd.

The 2014 Ceilidh once again had a fantastic party atmosphere, boundless energy and plenty of folk music and dancing. We give our grateful thanks to those who donated and bid for the items offered in both the live and silent auctions. The generosity of our community is greatly appreciated by the Pipes and Drums in their efforts to raise funds for their trip to Scotland in 2016.

Special thanks to the committee who have made this evening such a success:

Kim Walker, Meghann Stewart, Lee-Anne Lindsay, Jocelyn Eaddy, Georgina Sawyer, Shanlee Milner, Jo Jackson, Jean McQueen, Pat Baird, Andrew Lightfoot, Anne Clifford , the Maintenance Staff, the Lighting & Sound Team and our Old Collegians behind the bar.

We also give our thanks to those who provided their generous support and provision of the live and silent auction items: The Heritage Hotel, Graham Yan, Mark Davis, Yu Chen, McKenzie Family, Rod Milner Motors, Parents and Friends, Mungos, Jackson Family, Icon Fitness, Baird Family, Milner Family and the Pipes and Drums community members.

Wishart Win Cross Country

A huge turnout of long distance runners across eleven group categories were all trained, prepped and warmed up for the annual College cross country. All vying for their personal best time and placing, the students were also eager to earn valuable House points for their teams.

We were pleased to welcome the Year 7 & 8 girls from the Girls’ School to take part in the event, and the many family and friends who joined us on the side lines in support of the competitors.

In a day of mixed weather, the runners set off, pacing themselves for the flat, hills and distance. Once on the home straight, many runners managed to find it in their energy reserves to sprint the final leg. This made for a last burst of fierce competition between Houses!

In the Senior Boys event, the first two laps around the 6 km course saw the three strongest runners, Liam Ward, Ayden Lamont and Mathew McCullough each holding their own as they ran in a tight pack but in the final lap Liam managed to break ahead to gain a valuable distance advantage to cross the line first.

In the senior girls race, the place getters were well established not long after the starting gun had signalled. Winning champion, Isabella Richards was quick to secure her considerable lead, as 2nd place winner Grace Wood and 3rd place winner Madeline Evans fell in behind.

2014 CroSS CoUNtrY reSUltS

1st 2nd 3rd

YEAR 7 BOYS

Tom Downs CH Campbell Jordan CH

YEAR 7 GIRLS

Elizabeth Lightfoot HA

YEAR 8 BOYS

Benjamin Lowe HA

YEAR 8 GIRLS

Annabelle Waterworth CA

JUNIOR BOYS

Michael Wood CA

JUNIOR GIRLS

Claire Johnston WI

INTERMEDIATE BOYS

Matthew Manning WI

INTERMEDIATE GIRLS

Hannah Ward WI

SENIOR BOYS

Emma Hannan CH

Benjamin Shepherd HA

Olivia Montgomery CH

George Ellett CA

Kenya Ashcroft HA

Cameron Low WI

Melissa McNaughtan WI

Liam Ward CA Ayden Lamont WI

SENIOR GIRLS

Isabella Richards CA

Grace Wood CA

Christopher Manning WI

Alexandra Collinson CH

James Archibald HA

Olivia Overfield CH

Dylan McCullough HA

Caitlyn Hollis CA

Caleb Aoake HA

Katherine Chang HA

Mathew McCullough HA

Madeline Evans CA

aUCKlaNd SeCoNdarY SCHoolS CroSS CoUNtrY

Our top runners had the chance to pace themselves against Auckland’s best at the Auckland Secondary Schools Cross Country Championships and there were great results across all ages groups. Special congratulations to Year 12 student, Isabella Richards who won gold in the Senior Girls event and to Grace Wood for silver. Well done also to Matthew Manning, Year 11, who placed 2nd in the Senior Boys and George Ellett, Year 10, who finished 2nd in the Junior Boys.

Big congratulations to Isabella richards who went on to place 2nd in the National Senior girls event. Well done Isabella!

JUNIOR GIRLS

3 person team - 2nd: Kenya Ashcroft, Claire Johnston, Samantha Watson

6 person team - 2nd: Kenya Ashcroft, Claire Johnston, Samantha Watson, Caitlyn Hollis, Chelsea Simmons, Kate Romans

SENIOR GIRLS

Individual: Isabella Richards 1st, Grace Wood 2nd

3 person team - 1st: Isabella Richards, Grace Wood, Madeline Evans

6 man team - 1st: Isabella Richards, Grace Wood, Madeline Evans, Lauren Hendricksen, Jacqueline Chang, Charlotte Brown

JUNIOR BOYS

Individual: George Ellett 2nd

3 man team - 1st George Ellett, Michael Wood, Dylan McCullough

6 man team - 1st George Ellett, Michael Wood, Dylan McCullough, Matthew Faulconbridge, Benjamin Staite, Ryan Church

INTERMEDIATE BOYS

Individual: Matthew Manning - 2nd

3 man team - 3rd

6 man team - 3rd

Matthew Manning, Cameron Low, Fraser Hamilton

Matthew Manning, Cameron Low, Fraser Hamilton, Daniel Whitburn, Caleb Aoake, Edward Barry

taking on White Water!

With plenty of prior practice in the College pool, our Year 12 Outdoor Education students were as prepared as they could be to take on the second stage of their kayaking module - but it was still a huge leap from the quiet, still water of the familiar school pool to the boiling surf at Mt Maunganui and the raging white water currents of the Kaituna River!

Outdoor Education is a relatively new course at the College and is offered at NCEA Level 2 (Year 12) and Level 3 (Year 13). It is not for the faint hearted and prospective students must demonstrate a real passion for the outdoors and be prepared to meet the many challenges! The course aims for students to become actively knowledgeable, skilled and safe in selected activities, with care for the environment a paramount focus. The modules provide a range of outdoor challenges as diverse as sea and white water kayaking, bushcraft, mountaineering skills, mountain biking and scuba diving, along with the added challenge of a solo overnight experience. The students examine the concept of outdoor education as a worthwhile, lifelong interest as well as its potential for employment.

The Year 12 students had been working on NCEA Level 2 Achievement Standard 2.4 – ‘Performance standard.’ They had spent the prior four weeks learning to roll and right a kayak in the pool at College and having been assessed in their level of proficiency, now took on the challenge of the next stage - learning to control white-water kayaks in the surf, with the aim of successfully rolling in the rough sea conditions!

Over a few days at the end of May, they travelled first to Mt Maunganui. Once they saw the nature of the surf, the challenging task ahead overshadowed any negative thoughts about the temperature of the water in May! Over the course of two days, they practised their skills again and again building confidence, decision making and leadership skills in this new environment.

With a new sense of accomplishment and a growing confidence, the students travelled on to Rotorua to take on the white water conditions of the Kaituna River, which includes a seven metre high waterfall, the highest commercially rafted waterfall in the world! The river was in full flow for their white knuckle thrill ride that saw a few spills along the way!

In the coming weeks, Outdoor Education students will have the opportunity to take part in caving at Waitomo, a tramp and an optional dive at the Poor Knights. At Year 13 level, the concepts are developed further with a focus on the ability to cope in an emergency. To that end, the students also take on a CPR course.

All these activities are complemented with classroom assignments requiring the students to evaluate their physical activity, analyse issues in safety management and devise strategies for lifelong well-being. Now in its third year, this course has grown in popularity both for its challenges and the possibilities for future engagement in the activities undertaken. There is much to learn and much to enjoy!

It’s Freezing!

there were some hardy Year 13 outdoor education students in the pool over winter and despite the wetsuits, the universal opinion was ‘the water’s freezing’ as it seeped down the back of their necks! the students undertook practice sessions before being assessed on ‘rescue dives’ – their ability to bring a diver in trouble to the surface safely.

1st Xv rugby

After a 1A season that included only one loss in pool play, the final of the Auckland 1A Rugby competition was played in perfect conditions at Western Springs Stadium in front of a very colourful, vocal and supportive crowd from Auckland Grammar and Saint Kentigern College.

The game lived up to its billing as a highly skilful contest between the two best teams in the Auckland 1A for 2014. This was the third year in a row that these two teams had met in the 1A final; a game that featured six tries, three lead changes and a penalty try that determined the outcome.

All of the early running went Saint Kentigern College way but after 20 minutes, the score was only 6-3 in our favour as the resolute defence of Auckland Grammar held tight. A lapse in our own defence saw Auckland Grammar score a try on half time and we went to the break, down 11-9.

The second half was even more exciting with Sam Nock crossing the line for two tries and Saint Kentigern leading 16-11 at one stage. The turning point in the game was conceding a penalty try and playing with only 14 men for ten minutes straight after. We managed to get back into the contest late with a try to Wesley Tameifuna but came up short when the final whistle blew. The final score was Auckland Grammar 31, Saint Kentigern College 26.

When our Saint Kentigern team was beaten earlier in the season by Otahuhu College, the media reported that, ‘For the first time in 994 days, Saint Kentigern College 1st XV has suffered defeat.’ Our 1st XV has had an extra-ordinary winning streak unlikely to be matched by another school for a long time.

Between 2011 and 2014, the team has won 47 out of 52 matches in the 1A competition, touted as the toughest school boy rugby competition in the world. In that time, they have won a national title three times as well as a world title at the Sanix International competition in Japan last year.

While the final outcome was disappointing for the boys and their coaches, they can be proud of their record. Each year we have a number of players who have promising prospects at a professional level and captain, Sam Nock was cited in the media the day after the game.

‘On the subject of promising prospects Sam Nock is easily the best halfback in secondary school rugby. He was outstanding yesterday with his sharp passing and incisive running game causing Grammar real problems.’

Congratulations are due to the 2nd XV Rugby team who were the championship winners of the 2B division and the 5C team who also won their grade. The U15 team, 4A, 6A and 7A teams were all semi-finalists.

QUadraNgUlar toUrNameNt

During Tournament Week, the College welcomed fellow Presbyterian schools, St Andrew’s College from Christchurch and Lindisfarne College from Hastings, for the annual Quadrangular Rugby Tournament. Now in its 26th year, this annual encounter is usually a four-way competition that also includes Scots College from Wellington. Scots’ fortunes in their local 1A competition saw them unable to join the Quadrangular so our 2nd XV stepped into the breach at short notice.

After a round of pool play, the 1st XV beat St Andrew’s in the final, 86-5 with Sam Nock being named as player of the tournament. The 2nd XV had a good game with Lindisfarne 1st XV holding them to 0-0 at half time but the final result was 17-5 to Lindisfarne. Our thanks to all the families who hosted the visitors.

Netball teams auckland Champions!

Congratulations to all the College netball teams; the players, their coaches and managers! Saint Kentigern has been awarded the Carole Craighead Champion of Champions Netball Trophy for the school with the best overall results from all our teams combined, throughout all grades, in the Year 9- Senior sector at the Auckland Secondary Schools Netball competition this season.

The College has had a stellar netball season with a total of 29 teams representing Saint Kentigern.

Of the 21 teams in the Secondary Schools Netball Competition, who play on Saturday morning at the Auckland Netball Centre, eight teams won their grade, four teams were runners up and four teams were 3rd. Notably, the Premier Netball team won the Auckland Competition!

There are also eight Year 7 and 8 Netball teams who compete in the Intermediate Schools Competition on a Tuesday afternoon. These teams are formed from a combination of girls from the College and the Girls’ School. Two of these teams were runners up and two were 3rd.

Of our 29 teams in total, 20 teams finished in the top three of their Grade/ Section. Eight have won their grade, six were runners up and six were placed third.

PremIer NetB all aUCKlaNd CHamPIoNS

The most talked about game of the season, without a doubt, was the Premier Netball Auckland final. What a fantastic night! With amazing crowd support, our Premier Girls claimed their first ever Auckland Netball Premier Championship title, beating Mount Albert Grammar School (MAGS) 37-32. Buoyed on by very vocal supporters, including an awesome contingent of boys and girls from the boarding house, the girls went ahead early with a seven goal lead and never lost momentum. Ably led by captain, Amorangi Malesala, the girls kept the lead throughout the entire game. MAGS crept closer just prior to half-time, but never managed the crucial breakthrough. By the final quarter, sensing a win was within their grasp, our girls gave their all and were ecstatic when the final whistle blew.

The Bruce House boys gave a rousing, spine tingling haka in their honour. They created a huge buzz for the girls throughout the game, playing a vital part in spurring them on! Thank you boys, it worked!

In taking on MAGS at the final, our girls knew it would take a special effort to break MAGS’ dominion on the game in Auckland – they had been Auckland Champions for the past five years! Our team went through the Auckland season with only two losses, both times to MAGS so a victory at the final felt a great achievement.

Since the first few girls joined the College in 2003, the number of teams playing competitive netball each year has grown substantially. Coached by Andrea Leleni and Lianne Inkster, and managed by Leisha Slade, this year’s Premier team has been our strongest team to date. It was a proud moment for all who have been involved with girls’ netball at the College when the trophy was awarded.

2Nd IN UPPer NortH ISlaNd CHamPIoNSHIPS

The girls went on to play at the Upper North Island Secondary School (UNISS) competition competition against the very best teams from this region. Playing at the Waitakere Netball Courts, the girls started strongly with big wins over Hauraki Plains College 40-28, Waiuku College 48-16, Cambridge High School 37-19 and Massey High 41-22. On Day 3 the girls had to work a little harder but held off a strong Sacred Heart team 36-32 followed by Hillcrest High 40-30 to advance to the top 8.

The girls needed to win the next 2 games to confirm their inclusion in the National Championships in October and convincingly beat Westlake Girls 41-21 and Auckland Girls Grammar 41-28 to do so.

After nine wins, including beating Avondale College in the semi-final, the team was unfortunately unable to repeat their earlier defeat of MAGS, this time losing 42-32 in the UNISS final.

Congratulations to the following girls who were all named in the tournament team.

Amorangi Malesala, Christina Oscar, Mererangi Paul (overall best mid courter) and Sydney Frazer( overall best shooter).

Placing 2nd at UNISS qualified the team for the National competition taking place later in October while Piper magazine is away being printed. Good luck girls, play well!

NZ Top Three for Football Teams

After a season that saw plenty of winning games and strong team play from our Premier Girls’ and Boys’ Football teams, both teams went on to be third in New Zealand. A very pleasing outcome, especially for the girls who achieved the highest placing yet for Girls’ Football !

gIrlS’ FootB all

There was outstanding play from the College Girls’ 1st XI Football team this season! After qualifying to play in the semi-final of the Auckland Provincial Championship Knock Out Cup, the girls beat Takapuna Grammar by a convincing 4-0 to score a spot in the finals. This is the first time that our girls’ football team has progressed to this level and the girls were ecstatic with their win but realised that facing No 1 Seeds, Mount Albert Grammar (MAGS) in the final would be a tough game.

The girls pushed MAGS all the way but eventually lost the final by a single goal, 1-0.

Despite the disappointment of the loss, the girls were pleased to have achieved a 2nd place in Auckland and headed to Taupo for the Nationals during Tournament Week. With wins over Massey High, Gisborne Girls’

National Swimming Medals

High, Epsom Girls’ Grammar and Waimea College, and a draw against Whakatane High, the team made the top four but a loss to MAGS 3-0 in the semi-final saw them in in a play-off for 3rd and 4th. Beating Hutt Valley by 2-1, the Girls’ 1st XI placed 3rd in New Zealand. This was the best our Saint Kentigern girls have ever achieved at the National Tournament and credit must go to our Captain, Nikita Lieshout for her leadership on and off the field. Courtney Rowse was the top scorer for the team and Year 9 student, Hannah Blake was player of the tournament. Well done!

BoYS’ FootB all

The Boys Premier Football team lost a significant number of players last year as our Year 13’s moved on. After their win at National level in 2013, this year’s team knew the sights were set high. The 2014 Premier Auckland Competition was very close in points. The boys won 7, drew 5 and only lost to the eventual Auckland and NZ winners, Sacred Heart College, all year which was a top effort from the boys. This placed them in 3rd place in Auckland.

At the Lotto Premiership competition during Tournament Week, the Boys’ 1st Xl beat Macleans College 5-0, Hutt Valley High School 2-0, Hamilton Boys’ High School 4-0 and Mount Albert Grammar 4-3 to be placed in the top four. A loss to Sacred Heart 2-0 in the semi-final placed them in the play-off for 3rd and 4th. They faced Hamilton Boys’ High again, this time beating them 4-2 to be placed 3rd in New Zealand. Thomas Konusi was awarded the MVP for the team with 6 goals in the tournament. Well done!

A total of 322 swimmers from 100 secondary schools competed in the New Zealand Secondary School Swimming Championships at the end of August at Wellington's Aquatic Centre. Just three swimmers represented the College but despite the size of the team, they amassed 17 top ten places, a gold, four silvers and a bronze.

Chelsea Simmons and Ben Morrison gave some brilliant personal best performances with Ben scoring an impressive ten top ten placings. and a silver medal in the Age 13 Boys 100m freestyle and a bronze in the 200m freestyle.

Year 12 swimmer, Emma Hanley competed in just five events but achieved top five placings in each and gained medals in four of these. Emma won gold in the Girls 16-18 years 50m breaststroke and silver medals in the 100m and 200m breaststroke and 200m individual medley. Well done to these students!

a most Successful Cycling Season

Cycling is all about strength, speed and strong team dynamics. Our cyclists have had a fantastic season of racing with notable results in both individual and team events. It’s been particularly pleasing to see the medals spread across the age groups with some strong cyclists coming through the younger ranks.

Good luck to all our cyclists taking part in the NZSS Cycling Championships in the holidays while Piper magazine is away being printed. Go well!

New Zealand Individual Cycling Championships

Competing in three different events over two days, Saint Kentigern College recorded their best ever results at the New Zealand Individual Cycling Championships. Well represented across all age groups for both girls and boys, the weekend competition comprised an Individual Time Trial (ITT), a Hill Climb up Mt Wellington and a Criterium. Saint Kentigern gained podium spots across almost all events for both the boys and girls and was the most dominant school at the Championship.

Of particular note, in the U14 Boys category, Dylan McCullough broke the ITT course record and a rare feat was achieved in the U17 Boys with James Fouche winning all three events and beating the record in the ITT by 8 seconds. In the Criterium, James also rode in spectacular fashion and finished 35 seconds ahead of the second placed rider. Head Boy, Sam Dakin won the Senior Boys Criterium with a fantastic sprint finish to conclude the two day event and showcase Saint Kentigern riders in their most successful Individual Nationals ever.

U20 Boys

Samuel Dakin: 1st U20 Boys Criterium

U17 girls

Madeline Park: 1st U17 Girl Overall, 1st U17 Girls Individual Time Trial, 1st U17 Girls Criterium, 3rd U17 Girls Hill Climb

Elizabeth Mudford: 2nd U17 Girls Criterium Points Race

U17 Boys

James Fouche: 1st U17 Boy Overall, 1st U17 Boys Criterium, 1st U17 Boys Hill Climb, 1st U17 Boys Individual Time Trial – NEW RECORD

Connor Brown: 2nd U17 Boy Overall, 2nd U17 Boys Individual Time Trial, 3rd U17 Boys Criterium Points

Race

U16 Boys

Liam Cappell: 3rd U16 Boys Criterium Points Race

U14 Boys

Dylan McCullough: 1st U14

Boys Overall, 2nd U14 Boys Criterium, 1st U14 Boys Hill Climb, 1st U14 Boys Individual Time Trial

Callum Walsh: 2nd U14 Boys Overall, 1st U14 Boys Criterium, 2nd U14 Boys Hill Climb, 3rd U15 Boys Individual Time Trial

auckland team time trial Series

Senior a Boys: 1st Overall Series, 1st Race Day Championship, Winner of the James Faulding Memorial Trophy for the fastest time for the season

Senior a girls: 2nd Overall Series, 1st Race Day Championship,

Junior a Boys: 3rd Overall Series, Junior A Girls 2nd Overall Series, 3rd Race Day Championship

U14 girls: 1st Race Day Championship

U14 Boys: 1st Race Day Championship

North Island Secondary Schools Championships

team time trial: Year 7 & 8 Boys, silver; U16 Boys, bronze; U20 Boys, silver, U16 Girls, bronze.

road race: U13 Emma Hannan, bronze; U17 Madeleine, bronze; U14 Boys Callum Walsh, gold and Dylan McCullough, bronze.

Criterium: U14 Boys Callum Walsh silver and Dylan McCullough bronze; U20 Boys Sam Dakin, bronze.

Year 7 and 8 North Island Championships

gold medal: Year 8 A Boys’ team: Jacob Hannan, James Archibald, Cameron Manley and Caleb Atkinson

Silver medal: Year 8 Girls’ team: Sarah Cappel, Annabelle Waterworth, Olivia Overfield and Abigail Houghton

Silver medal: Year 8 Girls’ Road Race: Olivia Overfield

Silver medal: Year 8 Boys’ Road Race: James Archibald

Hockey Looking Ahead

gIrlS’ HoCKeY

After finishing the Auckland competition in 4th place and moving on to finish in 5th in the Super City, their best ranking yet, the 1st XI Girls Hockey Team attended the 2nd tier National tournament with the goal of promotion to the prestigious top ranked Federation Cup tournament for next year. The team achieved a 4th placing, qualifying to enter this tournament for the first time in 2015! Well done girls!

In pool play at the Nationals, the team finished top of their pool with solid wins against Hauraki Plains College 6-1, Nelson College 3-2 and Western Heights High School 3-2. The comprehensive 2-0 win over Otumoetai College in the quarter-final qualified them for the ‘Fed Cup.’ They faced Kristin in the semi, a very close game, which ended in a 1-1 draw and an eventual 4-3 loss in the penalty shootout resulting in a missed opportunity to play in the final. The final match of the tournament for the 3rd/4th playoff also ended in a draw after fulltime 2-2 and unfortunately the team lost the shoot-out 4-3 to be placed 4th. Captain, Lulu Tuilotolava had an outstanding tournament both in general field play and scoring six of the team’s 17 goals. Jess Speight, a talented midfielder and playmaker, also had an outstanding tournament. Other than Lulu, the majority of this young team will be together for another two years and have now set their sights on next year’s Federation Cup.

BoYS’ HoCKeY

After losing nine players from last year’s team, it was a largely young, fresh team that came together well to place 2nd in Auckland and 4th in the Supercity Competition. The Boys’ 1st XI hockey team then travelled to Palmerston North for the top tier Rankin Cup. The team, ably lead by Junior international, Richmond Lum faced a tough pool resulting in a series of losses against Wellington College, King’s and Hastings. The cross over match against Christ’s College was a thrilling game that ended at 1 – 1. Given this would dictate who would play off for places 9 -12, the match went to strokes that ended 3 – 3. Sudden death followed and with a great bit of skill from Bijay Govind in goal and a well slotted stroke from Lum, the team went through and cemented their place for next year’s title chase. Matthew Barlow, was the stand out player for the team and was awarded MVP.

Although the week proved frustrating week terms of leaked goals, the junior players certainly learnt a great deal and will lead a very young but now more experienced side into next year’s competition.

Basketball Girls

Qualify for Nationals

The College has seen a huge growth in the number of students choosing to play basketball in recent years and the Girls’ Premier team, in particular, is starting to show great strides. This year, for the first time, the team placed in the top 4 of the Premier Auckland Basketball competition meaning they qualified to play in the semi-finals held at North Shore Events Centre. This was a new level of competition for the girls and a loss to Rangitoto put the team in 3rd place in Auckland - the best result for the girls’ team to date.

The team travelled to Tauranga during tournament week to compete in the Regional Tournament at Bay Arena Stadium. They had won both pool games against Melville and Rotorua Girls to gain themselves a safe spot in the quarter finals against Tauranga Girls which they won convincingly, 84-65. Unfortunately, the Friday semi-final and Saturday play-off for third were not so successful and they lost against Frazer High and St Peter’s, Cambridge. Led by Captain, Maia Jean Watene, all of the girls played well, with some excellent court time for the less experienced players.

With a 4th placing, the girls have qualified for the National tournament in Palmerston North in the Term 3 holidays at the time this edition of Piper is being printed. Good luck girls – play well!

Silver and Bronze at NZCT AIMS Games!

The annual sporting championships held in Tauranga for students in Years 7 and 8 gives our youngest sports teams the chance to compete beyond the region against schools from around the country. It is a huge logistical undertaking for the organisers. This year the tournament played host to 7,500 students from 228 schools competing in 17 different sports.

To put it in perspective, this year’s Commonwealth Games had 4,950 athletes from 71 different nations and territories competing in 18 different sports. To compete in a competition of this scale and calibre is a fantastic opportunity for our emerging sports talent.

This year marks the 5th year of attendance for the College and the first year the Boys’ School has entered the competition. The girls’ teams included a mix of College and Girls’ School students to create the strongest teams. During the six days of intense competition, Saint Kentigern competed in both Boys’ and Girl’s Football, Boys’ Hockey, Mixed Hockey, Swimming, Golf, Netball, Cross Country, Waterpolo (BS only) and Badminton.

There were many highlights throughout the week across the codes as the teams notched up some great wins and reflected on their losses. The College was delighted to medal in three codes with a further set of medals going to the Boys’ School.

Thomas Hillier received a silver medal in the Badminton Singles competition and Karl Jorgensen, also received a silver medal in Golf. The College Boys’ Football had a great tournament and fought right to the end to receive a bronze medal – the last game requiring a sudden death penalty shootout against an equally matched Hutt Valley opponent!

The aim of taking our students to this event is to provide opportunities for emerging sports talent to compete at an elite level, be active, celebrate fair play and enjoy success and be resilient in the face of challenge.

Our students were provided the challenges and opportunities to perform to the highest standard and are to be commended for the outstanding attitude and efforts conducted both on and off the field. Many positive comments were exchanged about this from management, supporters, accommodation and restaurant staff and officials. A special thank you to all the staff and parent helpers for each of the teams; your help and support was invaluable!

We look forward to this time again next year!

SOUTH eASTerN ZONe WiNS

Both our Year 7 & 8 Hockey girls (a mix of College and Girls’ School players) and Year 8 Football boys won their Zone competitions earlier in the season. After 8 hard fought games, 3hrs 30min of play and 47 goals, our girls’ team did the College proud. With three teams finishing with the same points, it came down to goals. The girls won – by 20! The Football boys also made a clean sweep winning all 5 of their games including the final against Farm Cove, 3-0.

From the President of the Old Collegians

The London Reunion was held in mid July and was attended by Malcolm Cowie and also Rod Biel who were both holidaying in UK. This year they joined a small committed group of London based OC’s, led by Danny Gowan, to enjoy a Thursday shared dinner during what has been a tremendous UK summer.

Malcolm provided an update on the three campuses and coordinated the event with Danny, who has always been proactive in bringing the UK Based OC’s together. The 2015 reunion will be held in early October to coincide with the Rugby World Cup event, so if you are attending from outside UK, please note the event when the date is finalised later this year.

The Wellington and Otago ROC’s reunions were organised by committee members James Hackett and Bennett respectively and were well attended by Victoria and Otago university students, with Christchurch and Auckland being held in September and November. These gatherings of 18-26 year old OC’s is a great introduction for SKOCA members to experience the fun and camaraderie of being an OC and socialising with school friends from near and far.

The Boys’ School Decade Dinner for leavers from 1990-2009 was held in JC Chalmers Hall in mid August. The guest speaker was TV sports presenter Peter Lester, who had sons who had attended both the School and College. Peter provided some unseen, riveting video footage of the 34th America’s Cup, some filmed by Old Collegian, Hamish Hooper. His father, John, a Boys’ School foundation pupil was also at the dinner.

There was a good spread across the years for those attending as was evident when another Boys’ School foundation pupil, Peter Nelson led the roll-call.

Principal, Mr Peter Cassie provided an entertaining update of campus life today and an auction followed to raise funds for the SKOCA Scholarship Fund with funds raised on the night to be specifically directed for scholarships at the Boys’ School. The auction success was largely due to the lively performance and dogged determination of Mike Gowan, also a Boys’ School foundation lad, who worked hard to extract every penny from all participating bidders and others who made the slightest body movement! Mike will be remembered on the night for his skill in extracting all he could from a good-willed John Gilbert’s wallet, which left the College 1965 Head Boy reminding Mike several times that he wasn’t the only person present and was happy to share Mike’s attentions!

We have strong commitment for bookings for the Australian Reunion in Brisbane in mid-October to coincide with the third Bledisloe Test, and we look forwarded to catching up with many Australian-based OC’s at that event.

I hope the year is providing exciting challenges and rewards for all OC’s and families and we look forward to seeing you at a SKOCA event soon.

The committee welcomes feedback from members so please keep in touch via the website; skoca@saintkentigern.com

Fides Servanda Est

Andrew Morgan, President

skoC a Calendar

21 NOVEMBER - FRIDAY

AUCKLAND - ROC’S (RECENT OLD COLLEGIANS) COCKTAILS

Time: 7.15pm

Venue: Juice Bar, 144 Parnell Rd.

Contact: James Bennett/Thomas Steel

RSVP: skoca@saintkentigern.com, jamesb@brb.co.nz

14 DECEMBER - SUNDAY

BOYS’ SCHOOL - TOUCH RUGBY & BBQ FOR 2009 LEAVERS

Time: 3pm - 6pm

Venue: SKS Sports Centre & No 1 Field

RSVP: skoca@saintkentigern.com, sue.bowskill@saintkentigern.com

Cheque enclosed Payable

Boys’ school 1990-2008 skoC a reunion Dinner

Many old friendships were rekindled when ‘the boys from 1990-2008’ were welcomed back to the Boys’ School for a dinner in their honour in JC Chalmers Hall. During pre-dinner drinks, the guests took the time to peruse the archival material placed on display by former teacher and current archivist, Brian Matthews, and were treated to a set from the School Jazz Band. As is customary, the Old Collegians’ Pipe Band piped the guests to the table.

Principal, Mr Peter Cassie extended a warm welcome to the guests, including a special welcome for former Principal, Mr Geoff Burgess who joined his former students for dinner.

Mr Cassie told the guests that he has enjoyed his many years of teaching and has been happy with all his appointments but over the years he had said that if a position ever became available at Saint Kentigern he’d be the first to apply and feels honoured to have been granted the role. He explained that he believes Saint Kentigern to be the ‘jewel in the crown’ –the best Independent Boys’ School in New Zealand. He cited the strength of the values system and in so doing, acknowledged the work Geoff Burgess undertook in first developing the framework of the Saint Kentigern Way at the School. He also acknowledged all the old boys, as it was their willingness to live these values and actively get out into the community and make a difference that is part of the fabric and success of Saint Kentigern.

Mr Cassie continued on to say that such is the recognition for the strength of a Saint Kentigern education that he is proud to report that next year there are already sufficient applicants to create five classes at Year 7.

Roselle House holds a special place in the hearts of Saint Kentigern boys and guests were told that plans are afoot to ‘bring the boys back’ to Roselle

Guest Speaker, Peter Lester

Ashiq Hamid awarded a Fullbright Scholarship

Since leaving Saint Kentigern College at the end of 2003, I’ve always had the dream to eventually study at one of the world’s best universities. Almost ten years later, I am honored to be given an opportunity to make that dream come true!

I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to study after college, however, I managed to secure a place in a competitive science program at the University of Melbourne in Australia and a place at Ormond College, one of the oldest and most prestigious colleges at the University. Initially, I imagined that I would become a scientist and earn a PhD after my science degree, however, whilst questioning the natural world through my science degree, my participation in advocacy groups and political events in Australia made me question the law.

I decided to abandon further study in science and decided to earn a degree in law at the University of Waikato. Looking back at this decision six years ago, it was easily the best decision of my life. The support of faculty and the teaching at Waikato took me to a new level. I finished fourth overall in my class with a few class prizes and as the President of the Law Students Association.

My interests at Waikato were primarily in the area of public law and corporate law. I combined both interests in my role at the New Zealand

Jessie Jarvie, Lawyer

Since returning to the workforce from maternity leave early in 2014, lawyer Jessie Jarvie (nee Emerson) has launched a new consultancy business, proposed a now operating childcare centre where she is employed and assisted in starting up the ‘Ladies in the Law’ forum series on behalf of the New Zealand Law Society. Recently featured in the National Business Review, the former first Head Girl is undoubtedly ‘walking the talk’ in her advocacy for returning mothers to the workforce and women in the workplace.

Jessie’s consultancy business, ‘Loulamere’ - named after her middle name, Louise and ‘mother’ in French – is a service that assists mothers transitioning back into the workplace. The idea sprang from her own personal experience of looking into childcare options for her young son, George when going back to work four days a week as Legal Counsel at Orion Health. She says she found the process tricky and was surprised at the lack of information out there for working mums.

Through her research, Jessie compiled a database of information, namely advice, tips and tricks from other working mums and much loved products,

Takeovers Panel regulating the capital markets ensuring that all shareholders have a fair opportunity to participate in control-change transactions in certain companies.

Two years after starting at the Takeovers Panel, I anticipated that I was within or at least close to making my dream of studying at one of the world’s best universities come true, although you are never really sure because only 6-10% of applicants are accepted. Despite my hesitations, I decided to apply for a Master of Laws in the United Kingdom and the United States. To my surprise, I was accepted into Cambridge, Oxford, Columbia, New York University and the University of Pennsylvania.

At about the same time as I applied to study overseas, I also applied for the Fulbright Scholarship, one of the most competitive and prestigious scholarships in the world. I am honored to have been selected as a Fulbright Scholar in Law, probably my greatest career achievement.

Eventually, I decided to enroll for a Master of Laws focusing on financial regulation and corporate law at Columbia University, an Ivy League School and one of the world’s best universities. In addition, Columbia has a reputation as a giant in the area of corporate law and has an incredible reputation amongst law firms domestically in the United States and overseas. Then of course there is New York; a city which lives up to its reputation as the centre of the universe!

My advice to anyone thinking about studying overseas is to keep to that dream no matter how long it takes you to get there (and save money!). The rewards are great and the opportunities are amazing and looking out my window at the greatest city in the world, life will never be the same again!

and coached several of her acquaintences through the back-to-work transition using the model now used by Loulamere. The new consultancy service involves working closely with mum over three months, charting her personal and professional aspirations and compiling an ‘instruction manual’ for her, including a detailed transition plan and recommended childcare options to ease her back into the workplace. Jessie hopes she can help these women feel like successful mothers and successful career women.

As well as providing bespoke plans for each client, Loulamere works with corporate organisations to contribute to their workplace wellness programmes and to help them recruit and retain women with children.

Likewise, the onsite childcare centre for employees’ children at Orion Health stemmed from Jessie knowing that the best place for George when she returned to work was to be near her and, ideally in a childcare centre at her place of employment. This motivated Jessie to put a proposal forward to Orion Health management which was accepted and the centre, ‘Milky Way’ opened four months later and currently cares for 15 children.

Onsite childcare facilities are uncommon in New Zealand, and typically daytime visits are seen as disruptive to young children. However, Jessie says Milky Way is different to the traditional childcare model as it encourages parents to be able to come and go during the day. She says they anticipate that this will build a culture of resilience amongst the children and it feels like they are one step ahead of what will become a new childcare movement.

Source: The National Business Review, July 2014

Photo credit: Anna Kidman Photography

Nelson Lam awarded Woolf Fisher Scholarship

Old Collegian, Nelson Lam, is one of three young New Zealanders who has just been awarded a prestigious Woolf Fisher Trust Scholarship to study for his doctorate at the University of Cambridge. The Scholarship is worth around $300,000.

Nelson graduated from Saint Kentigern in 2009 as the Dux Medallist and returned to visit early in 2010 on learning that both he and fellow student, Asher Emanuel had been named as NZQA Premier Scholars; only eight had been awarded throughout New Zealand that year. Nelson was awarded four Outstanding Scholarships in English, Chemistry, Statistics and Calculus with a further scholarship for having the top mark in New Zealand for music. He was later awarded a further Scholarship with the announcement he was one of eight who had been selected to receive a NZST (NZ Educational Scholarship Trust) Award.

In addition to his academic prowess at College, Nelson was also fully involved with the cultural life of the school as a prefect, a member of the Chapel Band, Kentoris Choir and the Orchestra and Concert Band. He also appeared on stage in many College musicals, contributed to SKCTV and played badminton for the College.

Nelson, now aged 22, is currently studying towards his BSc Honours in Medicinal Chemistry at the University of Auckland. His PhD research topic with Cambridge University’s Department of Chemistry will be

catalyst-directed, programmable molecular assembly as a new paradigm for constructing chivosazoles and related natural products with potent anticancer activity.

We wish Nelson the very best as he pursues the next stage in his career. We are very proud of him!

the woolf fisher sCholarshiP

Sir Woolf Fisher (1912-1975), co-founder of Fisher and Paykel, set up his Trust in 1960 to recognise and reward excellence in education. Today it has become one of New Zealand’s largest education trusts. He was later knighted for his outstanding contribution to industry and education in New Zealand.

Sir Woolf’s nephew, Sir Noel Robinson is current Chairman of the Trust. He, too, is a former Saint Kentigern graduate. In acknowledging this year’s three recipients he said, ‘These young New Zealanders have been selected for their outstanding academic ability and leadership potential, as well as their integrity, boldness of vision and capacity for work – qualities which Sir Woolf valued. We are investing in these young New Zealanders who aspire to return to New Zealand and have the potential to become leaders in their field.’

• The Woolf Fisher Scholarship funds up to three young New Zealand graduates to study for up to four years for a doctorate at the University of Cambridge (initially it was either Oxford or Cambridge)

• This Scholarship is one of the most valuable post graduate scholarships in New Zealand–worth around $300,000 per recipient (including an allowance of £13,000 per annum, payment of University and College fees, and an annual return fare home to New Zealand)

• In any one year there are around 10–12 Woolf Fisher Scholars studying in the UK

• The Scholars are under 30 years of age, have attended a New Zealand secondary school for at least two years, and have or expect to graduate with a first-class honours degree from a New Zealand university

• The Scholarships Committee of Universities New Zealand – Te Pōkai Tara administers a wide range of nationally available undergraduate and postgraduate awards.

James Ruddell, Vinerian Scholar

After completing his Bachelor of Laws (Hons)/Bachelor of Arts degree, University of Auckland alumnus and Old Collegian, James Ruddell was awarded two scholarships to study at the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. James was the inaugural winner of the FMB Reynolds Scholarship, established last year to assist a New Zealander to pursue postgraduate study in law at Oxford, and was also awarded a Banking and Financial Services Law Association Scholarship. In his last year at Auckland Law School in 2012, James also received the Auckland District Law Society Prize for the best undergraduate student.

On his time spent at Oxford, James says that it was a fantastic year as ‘it presented opportunities to read and think about the law in wonderful

surroundings and discuss it with exceptional tutors and fellow students.’ On completion of his postgraduate degree, the high achieving scholar received the Vinerian Scholarship from Oxford University for the best overall performance in his year, and prizes for three of his subjects: Commercial Remedies, Conflict of Laws and Restitution of Unjust Enrichment.

James started at Saint Kentigern College in 2001, graduating in 2007 as Deputy Head Boy. At Senior School Prizegiving in his final year he was the recipient of a selection of prizes, including those for Classical Studies, English, Debating, Service and Music.

He was also awarded a University of Auckland Scholarship and NZQA Premier Scholar Award. His lasting words in his Year 13 Yearbook profile were that he will look back on years of enjoyment, growth and pride within Saint Kentigern and will not forget the College, its people and the incalculable impact it has had on his life.

James is currently working in the Wellington office of the New Zealand law firm Bell Gully in their litigation department.

Steve Armitage

strateGiC anD PolitiC al aDVisor

Steve is a former student who says he is extremely appreciative of the start in life he was given through his Saint Kentigern years and is one of a growing band of Old Collegians who has offered to ‘give back’ some time to the College as a role model for the upcoming generation preparing for tertiary education and the work force.

With experience in delivering fully integrated corporate communications, crisis management, political lobbying, the public policy process, speech writing and shaping media responses, he has much to offer.

Steve completed his 7th form year in 1996 during former Head, Nigel Toy’s years. He was a member of the 1st XI Cricket and Football teams and Chairman of the School Council.

He continues, ‘After completing an MA (Hons) in Political Science at Auckland University, I then went to work in the NZ High Commission in London. One of the roles I had there was undertaking refugee selection missions. Under our arrangements with the UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees),

John Munro CriMinal lawyer

Former student of both the Boys’ School and the College, John has fond memories of his time at Saint Kentigern. Growing up in Westmere, today he still lives in the area with his young family.

Swimming was a big part of John’s school memories, and during 1989 (his last year of College), he qualified for the Commonwealth Games and received the Saint Kentigern Dux Ludorum.

After leaving school, John was offered a swimming scholarship at the University of Southern California in 1991. Holding New Zealand records for the 400m individual medley for almost a decade, John competed in the 1990 and 1994 Commonwealth Games for New Zealand. After three years in the States, John returned to Auckland and began a law degree, graduating in 2000.

A natural interest in criminal law led John to open his own criminal law specialist chambers, Sentinel Chambers, in Auckland CBD in 2009.

Today the business employs three staff and is busy year-round, often representing high-profile people and cases. Representing clients across the full spectrum of criminal offences, John likens the experience of being in court to the competitive atmosphere he remembers from his swimming days. John particularly enjoys working with young defendants, where he has the ability to ‘help change their path in life, as it’s a good time to try and change their behaviour because they are still impressionable and they can learn and take on things.’

Law is a popular study path to travel down, as it leads to so many different avenues and vocations. John’s advice to others studying law who might be interested in the practice of criminal law, ‘be prepared to take the knocks, work late nights and under pressure with little thanks, but be passionate about the pursuit of justice and working in an area that is very challenging but incredibly rewarding when justice is served.’

New Zealand can take up to 750 refugees per year and it was my responsibility to travel to refugee camps to undertake interviews of those who had claimed refugee status and wanted to be resettled to New Zealand. This meant travelling to such places as Ethiopia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Nigeria, Ghana and other interesting locations.

Following the London bombings, I was seconded to work for the Minister of Immigration in Wellington, advising on policy and appeals to the Minister. Eventually I was attracted into the political arena, becoming a Political Strategist under the Clark government.

My understanding of diplomacy and engaging with stakeholders, as well as the political environment and process, has seen me fulfil a range of roles since my time in parliament, including advising Auckland leaders on the formation of the Auckland Council and the insurance industry in the wake of the Canterbury Earthquakes.

In my current role I work as Head of Corporate and Council Relations with ATEED (Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development). ATEED is the economic growth agency for the Auckland region and is one of seven Auckland Council-controlled organisations (CCOs). ATEED is tasked with driving innovation and transforming the local economy so that Auckland is a desirable place to visit, live, work, play, invest and do business. I lead a team responsible for providing high-level strategic and political advice to the business across stakeholder engagement, operational strategy, media and communications.

I fully appreciate the education and guidance I received as a student at the College and look forewrd to doing what I can to give back in return.’

Frazer MacDiarmid

Choral sCholarshiP to oxforD

A graduate of the Boys’ School and then King’s College, Frazer decided against diving straight into university, and chose to pursue his choral singing career by taking a gap year in the UK. Settling in Exeter, he was fully immersed in a Cathedral environment, singing eight services each week as a choral scholar in the Cathedral Choir, while also working as a gap student at the Cathedral School across the road. His role at the school opened Frazer’s eyes as to what a great joy working with children may be, and taught him countless life lessons.

On the choral front, Frazer experienced high-intensity and high-standard singing, which greatly improved aspects of his musicality such as sightsinging and ensemble work, setting him up brilliantly for the next stage in his journey. Having always imagined himself returning to New Zealand for university, he was initially caught off guard when recommended to apply for a choral scholarship to study at the University of Oxford. After undergoing a thorough series of auditions, he was delighted to that he had been awarded a choral scholarship to sing at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford, conditional on being accepted academically to study at the university, a process involving several interviews with masters, along with additional assessments.

Stemming no doubt from his religious education at primary level, Frazer has always been fascinated by the concept and nature of God and he feels fortunate to have been offered a place to study Theology at Christ Church in the heart of Oxford. Since then he has been overwhelmed by the experience that is Oxford. The city is simply overflowing with brilliant minds, innovative ideas, books, concerts and lectures. The choir is said to be worldclass, and has lived up to this reputation completely. Receiving a standing ovation at every one of their concerts in the US and Canada is a memory always to be cherished.

Frazer says owes a great deal to ‘St Kent’s;’ the love, mental nourishment and discipline he received there prepared the way for his every challenge and success.

Matthew McQueen

Business Case CoMPetition suCCess

Recently, Old Collegian, Matthew McQueen (2004-2010) was selected to participate in the University of Auckland Business School’s team in the HSBC Asia Pacific Business Case Competition hosted by the University of Hong Kong.

The team of four undergraduates travelled to Hong Kong as one of 24 Asia Pacific Universities participating in the intensive two day event. The team battled through in the ‘knock out’ competition, competing in three preliminary rounds, where they presented their views on case studies, involving analysis of such companies as Microsoft, KFC in China and an Indian Financial Institute. The final round involved preparing a business strategy to ‘develop the Asia e-commerce market for Toys-R-Us’. After only two and half hours of analysis and review, the team then presented to the panel of three judges, one of whom was a senior executive of Fung Retailing; the operator of Toys-R-Us stores in the Asia region, and a large audience in the HSBC Asia headquarters.

The team outlined their web strategy and its benefits in the 20 minute presentation before answering the judges questions. Their compelling agreement led to the team being placed second, behind the University of Hong Kong team and ahead of the University of Singapore in third place.

Matthew follows in the footsteps of other Saint Kentigern Old Collegians including Alex Jessep (2002-2008), Stefan Katz (2006-2010), Harry de Lacey (2006-2010) and Nelson Lam (2005-2009) who have previously represented The University of Auckland Business School in other case competitions in New Zealand and abroad. Clearly the economic and business understanding gained by Matthew and many others during their years at Saint Kentigern College has put them in good stead for the challenges and leadership in the study of the commercial world at a tertiary level and beyond.

Lucas Cooney soliCitor

The College recently welcomed back Old Collegian, Lucas Cooney (2001-2005) to judge the inaugural ‘Speakeasy’ speech competition.

After finishing College, Lucas went on to complete a Bachelor of Laws (Hon) and Bachelor of Arts from the University of Auckland and was admitted to the bar in 2012. He now practises as a solicitor for Grimshaw & Co, a specialist dispute resolution and litigation firm.

Lucas currently specialises in construction law and building disputes and is experienced in preparing for and attending hearings in the District and High Courts. In addition to Court appearances, Lucas also represents clients at mediation and other alternative dispute resolution processes.

Prior to joining Grimshaw & Co, Lucas was awarded a summer research scholarship at the University of Auckland, researching account of profits and equitable remedies. He also has experience as a research clerk in commercial litigation and experience in criminal law as a barrister’s assistant.

Lucas maintains an academic interest in the law, having written essays for various competitions, including the New Zealand Society of Construction Law essay competition and has provided research and contributed to the book Accounts of Profits by Peter Devonshire. This book is a leading text on account of profits, being the principal remedy for breach of fiduciary duty and breach of obligations of confidence.

Jonathan Moore

PhD stuDent in hollanD

After leaving Saint Kentigern, I moved to Dunedin to begin what initially was a Bachelor of Science with a double major in Biochemistry and Plant Biotechnology (a joint programme between the Biochemistry and Botany Departments). Among my subjects I had taken for university entrance at College were biology, horticulture and chemistry so Plant Biotechnology and Biochemistry seemed like a good fit to what I had been studying previously; and these did serve me well at Otago. At the end of my second year, I was granted entry to the honours programmes for Biochemistry, Genetics and Plant Biotechnology. Unlike a basic Bachelor degree, a double major at honours level requires spending an additional year (so doing the fourth year twice), so I was forced to choose, and I continued with Plant Biotechnology.

As a fourth year honours student, I began my research project working on photosynthesis in the cyanobacteria Synechocystis in the Biochemistry Department at Otago. This project focused more on the molecular level of photosynthesis. After I finished my honours, I continued to work in the same lab, at first as a summer student and then working towards a Master of Science (also in Plant Biotechnology). Although this was a similar project, I was working with different genes related to the function of the protein complex Photosystem II. During my Masters, I also did a lot of undergraduate teaching in the laboratory classes in both the Biochemistry and Botany Departments.

After Dunedin, it was time for that Kiwi tradition of the big O.E. I was lucky enough to get a position as a Marie Curie fellow in Wageningen, the Netherlands. This project, which forms the first few years of a PhD, is also on photosynthesis. The research is focused on a process called non-photochemical quenching, a process that plants use to dissipate excess energy not needed for photosynthesis harmlessly as heat. My research has moved away from the molecular approach that I had used at Otago to plant physiology using plants found in the wild. In this case I’m using epiphytes (plants that live in the branches of other trees) as these species show a large capacity for nonphotochemical quenching.

So why did I choose the Netherlands? Well admittedly there was a girl involved – while I was at Otago a girl, Melissa, from the Netherlands worked in the same lab. To cut a long story short, I followed her back to the Netherlands and we’re now engaged and planning a wedding for next year.

Of couse having a Dutch fiancée does help with the language, but really science is a very international industry. Most of my colleagues are other nationalities and most PhD students here don’t learn the language, particularly if they’re planning to return home after they have completed their studies.

One thing I’ve learnt about science over the years is that you never know where this road will take you in the world. I now have have colleagues in every corner of the world and after my PhD I don’t know where an opportunity will come from – maybe I’ll even find a way back to New Zealand.

Matthew lieshout

us$30,000 a year sCholarshiP to usa!

Matthew graduated in 2013. A talented sportsman, he was Deputy Head prefect and a Chalmers House Leader in his final year. Matthew is proud to have recently received a scholarship to university in the USA and reports on the journey:

‘Early in 2012, my father happened to come home with a list of people who were accepted into American universities on soccer scholarships. From that moment on, it became my dream to be one of those people. In order to get an athletic scholarship, it is important to achieve both academically and on the sporting field. They have strict GPA guidelines for student-athletes in order to qualify for and maintain academic and athletic scholarships. For the last two years, I have worked towards this goal and it is finally a reality.

rachel swindell and edi stoica

100% uniVersity sCholarshiPs to usa

Edi Stoica (a current Year 13 student) and Rachel Swindell (2013 graduate) are ecstatic to each receive 100% Scholarships to American Universities to continue their studies! Each of these scholarships is worth in excess of US$35,000 a year for four years of study!

Edi and Rachel have both been stalwarts of our top achieving Premier Tennis teams. Edi has been a member of the Boys’ Premier Tennis Team that has now won the National title for the past three years in a row. Rachel, who graduated last year, played for the Premier Girls’ Tennis team in 2013. The girls’ team have won the National title an incredible five years in row!

Both Edi and Rachel have had every opportunity to play top level tennis at College and this has gone on to pay dividends. Both students have been awarded fully funded university scholarships split between their academic studies, tennis representation and living expenses.

Rachel will be attending Eastern Washington University in Spokane in the west coast state of Washington. This is a NCAA (National Collegiate Athletic Association) Division 1 University. Rachel will be studying Sport Science, majoring in Chemistry whilst also playing top level tennis.

Edi is very fortunate to have secured his scholarship whilst still at College and will be attending Witchita State University about 45 minutes from Kansas City. This is another NCAA Division 1 University. Edi will be majoring in International Business whilst also pursuing top level tennis play.

Congratulations to both students. This is an incredible achievement. Whilst a number of our students over the years have succeeded in being awarded scholarships to overseas universities, it is not often that a full 100% scholarship of this ilk is offered. Edi and Rachel, like Matthew Lieshout, can be very proud of their achievement!

After sending over 400 emails to coaches all over America, I started sifting through replies. I worked the list of prospective universities down to those who focused on my intended course of study. After many phone calls with coaches over several months, I was finally awarded a US$30,000 a year scholarship to Spring Hill College. This consists of a part academic and part athletic scholarship.

Located in Mobile, Alabama twenty minutes from the coast, it is a small private college that was founded by the Jesuits in 1830. At Spring Hill College, 85% of students live on campus for their entire college life, first in dormitories and then in apartments in their final years. The eighteen hole golf course on campus was another added attraction!

I will be in America for five years studying towards a Bachelor of Science and a Bachelor of Engineering. My goal is now to consolidate my position in the Spring Hill College soccer team and work towards achieving the best possible GPA.

Congratulations! We wish Matthew well with his studies.

anthony allen

worlD rowinG silVer MeDal

Anthony was a keen rower at College and went on to continue his passion after leaving school. He firstly completed two club seasons with the Auckland Rowing Club and realising he wanted to take it further, he moved to Cambridge to train over winter at Karapiro with the aim of being selected for the Regional Performance Centre.

After being successful at selection, he trained with them throughout the summer and then raced at New Zealand Nationals getting a ‘red coat’ in the Premier Coxed Four, a gold in the U22 Pair, a silver in the U22 Eight and bronze in the U22 Men’s Quad.

By winning the U22 Pair, Anthony gained a trial for the U23 squad and after a week of trials, was selected for the Coxed Four. Following selection, he trained intensively for 14 weeks at Karapiro in preparation for the World Rowing Championships to be held in Italy in the northern summer.

The team travelled to Italy and trained at Lake Como for two weeks acclimatising in readiness for competition. They moved on to Lake Varesse for three days preparation before the Championships got underway. The team performed well gaining a place in finals where they missed out on gold to Canada by a mere .5 of a second! Although disappointing, they were pleased to medal and Anthony is proud to gain a silver medal of this status!

Back in New Zealand, Anthony is currently studying computing at Waikato to allow him to compete in the Ghallagher Great Race as well as studying sport science at Wintec.

David Bishop

CoMMonwealth GaMes MeDallist

Commonwealth Games Bronze medalist, David Bishop took up gymnastics as a seven-year-old and in Glasgow this year, lived out a 17-year-old dream when he claimed a bronze medal in the Men’s floor event. His win was New Zealand’s first gymnastics medal at the Games in 16 years.

Floor specialist David said, ‘It’s incredible. It’s been my ultimate goal and for it to happen is surreal really, I’m still waiting for it to settle in. My mouth dropped when I found out I had a medal. Things went my way and I’m incredibly proud to represent New Zealand and do well at the Games.’

David attended the College from 2003 to 2007. During his time at Saint Kentigern he was a keen dancer, taking the subject for four years. In his Year 13 Yearbook profile, David wrote that he counts ‘Stage Challenge’ as one of his highlights during his secondary years.

Nathanael Skelton

royal new ZealanD Ballet DanCer

Recently, the College Dance department welcomed members of the Royal New Zealand Ballet (RNZB) for a workshop with the students. Among the visitors was one special guest, Old Collegian, Nathanael Skelton who graduated in 2002. Nathanael currently dances with the RNZB having recently returned from Europe where he began his career as a professional ballet dancer based in the United Kingdom.

For Nathanael, the return to College was ‘coming full circle.’ When he attended Saint Kentigern, it was a boys-only College and dance was not a curriculum subject. He was pleased to be able to return and see the changes since his time, especially the inclusion of a dedicated dance studio in the Sports Centre complex and to see dance offered as a curriculum subject.

Nathanael told the students that dance was just one of the many activities he undertook growing up and that during his teenage years it even went on the back-burner for a while. It was about the time he graduated from College that he made a decision to make dancing his career.

The talented male gymnast was one of three New Zealand male gymnasts who competed in the individual all-around finals at the Games after making the top-24 cut. He competed in the floor, horizontal bar, parallel bars, pommel horse, rings, vault, and in the individual all-around and team competition.

Glasgow 2014 was the first Commonwealth Games for David. He has also competed at the 2013 World University Games in Kazan, Russia and the 2012 World Cup in Anadia, Spain where he placed 12th in the floor exercise and 13th in the high bar apparatus. David placed 4th overall and 1st on floor at the 2014 Australian National Championship, and is the current New Zealand National Champion.

The 24-year-old took a year off his mechanical engineering study at the University of Auckland to focus solely on the Games, training 30+ hours a week while working part-time. He plans to complete his degree next year, and in October will be attending the 2014 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Nanning, China.

Nathanael furthered his training at the International Ballet Academy in Christchurch before being awarded a scholarship to complete his final year at the Elmhurst School of Dance in Birmingham. He worked as an apprentice at Birmingham Royal Ballet (BRB) and was invited to dance at the Royal Opera House, Convent Garden, as part of a Young British Dancer of the Year gala.

In 2006, Nathanael joined the BRB and was often on tour with the company. He said he feels privileged to have danced on the stage of some of the greatest theatres in Europe but is now pleased to have returned to his roots to become part of the RNZB.

The students were keen to ask about the daily life of a professional dancer and were surprised to hear of the huge physical demands of a working day. A day for dancer may start with an hour and a half of stretching and pilates, before an hour and half dance class. This may be followed by a 10k conditioning run, time spent in the pool in a jumping programme that strengthens the leg muscles without putting strain on the body followed by an ice bath before heading into show rehearsals and then an evening performance. This is generally a six day week during performance time!

Nathanael said that whilst their performance on stage may appear a graceful, effortless art form, sports science is applied to their training and technique to ensure that they are at their peak, minimise stress on their bodies and stay injury free.

We thank Nathanael for spending time with our students and will follow his career with interest.

Albert Vete

a suCCessful sPortinG C areer

Former Junior Warrior, Junior Kiwi, NSW Cup Team player and Old Collegian, Albert Vete paid a back visit to the College to talk on the importance that the Cultural Group played in his life while he was a student.

The College Cultural Group was first set up in 2007 by Head of Drama, Ms Emma Bishop to give those students from a Maori and Pacific Island descent a place to come together to help them realise their identity within the College. Running for a few years before disestablishing, the group met once a week to share traditional lunches, listen to visiting guest speakers and learn cultural dances and songs to perform to their families at the College’s FiaFia Cultural nights. The group has now been reformed and Albert was invited back to meet its members.

At a relaxed get together, the students shared an Island style lunch before listening to ‘Albie’ reflect on his time at the College. His strong message to the students was to focus on their studies and to always do what makes

them happy. He said the cultural group was a special place for him where he felt a sense of belonging. He also highlighted the enormous benefits and support given to him by his mentor who was a strong role model, which he was able to return when he became a mentor himself in his senior years.

After captaining the 1st XV and leading the team to victory in the Auckland competition, Albert was scouted by the Warriors during his final year at school in 2011, switching codes from rugby union to league. He explained to the students that as well as having a successful sporting career, it is equally important to have an alternative option to fall back on. He now plays in the Reserve Grade in the NSW Cup team, and is in his third year of a four year Bachelor of Physical Education degree at the University of Auckland. After completing his tertiary studies, his plans for the future are to become a PE teacher and he hopes that this will lead him on to other sporting opportunities.

Plenty of time was allowed for questions from the students, and many focussed around Albert’s experience on juggling the high demands of school work and pursuing a professional sporting career. He was able to offer sage advice on unexpected injuries and upsets along the way, encouraging the students to finish their rehabilitation and to look after themselves because ‘if you work hard the results will come.’

When asked how his day was going, Albert told the students that morning he had been out in Henderson reading stories to school children for ‘League for Libraries’, an initiative that aims to improve the literacy levels among primary school children and make reading fun and enjoyable.

auckland itM team Cup players

Joe Edwards (2011), Scott Scrafton (2011) and T J Faiane (2013) and Blake Gibson (2013)

The College welcomed the Auckland ITM Cup Rugby team as they moved away from their usual training venue and chose Saint Kentigern College to have their final work out before their game against Tasman.

For Old Collegians, Joe Edwards (2011), Scott Scrafton (2011) and T J Faiane (2013) and Blake Gibson (2013), it was just like old times returning to the weights room and Number 1 rugby field where they developed their skills and worked towards rugby as a career while attending the College. All four players are now working full time on taking their rugby to the next level.

Joe played New Zealand Schools in 2012 and New Zealand U20’s in 2013. He is now part of the Auckland Blues Squad. This year he played his club rugby for Pakuranga.

T J Faiane also played for the Premier team at Pakuranga this year. T J was a New Zealand Schools player in 2013 and made the U20 New Zealand team that played in the U20 World Cup this year.

Scott Scrafton played for New Zealand Schools in 2012 and New Zealand U20’S in 2013. He plays his premier club rugby for Grammar Carlton. Blake Gibson has been playing premier club rugby for Ponsonby. Blake played New Zealand secondary schools in 2013.

When our four Old Collegians took to the field with the ITM Cup team to face Tasman, like old times, they wore their Saint Kentigern College 1st XV socks! Each team member wore their school socks to acknowledge where their rugby careers started.

Laugh A Minute!

olD ColleGians theatresPorts

‘Arguably the East Auckland cultural event of the year…’ quipped Saint Kentigern Theatresports Coach and MC, Mr Dave Sheehan, at the ‘U Night

For Malawi’ Theatresports event held in July. The College invited back some of Saint Kentigern’s best Theatresports players from the last ten years to compete against this year’s Premier Theatresports squad players in a night that certainly lived up to its’ ‘laugh a minute’ billing.

An audience of nearly 100 were treated to some inspired comic genius from Old Collegians: Ashton Brown, James Wenley, Jeremy Tant, Alex Leach, Reuben Bray and Callum Warner (with support from current student, Callum Andrews), who proved that they hadn’t lost the Theatresports touch and, if anything, had probably improved with age!

Judges for the night were stars in their own right. Head of Drama, Mrs Bishop, kept the players to task as the Technique Judge, along with Old Collegian, former Head Boy and star of TV1’s show, Nothing Trivial, Blair Strang, who was animated and witty as the Storyline judge. Will Hall, also of Nothing Trivial fame, kept the players on task.

The event had a twofold purpose; to unite past and current players for an evening of entertainment whilst also raising funds for a unique Saint Kentigern World Vision project, run by Service Co-ordinator, Mr Robinson, creating financial support for a school in Malawi.

For the reunited Old Collegians, this was their year! With a strong challenge from both the students and each other, it was the team comprising Jeremy, Alex, Reuben and Callum who were winners on the night – proving you’re never too old for a bag of lollies! The other Old Collegians team of Ashton and James, with support from student, Callum Andrews, followed in second place, having been pipped on the last game.

stella wilson staab

liVe on staGe

‘I started my journey at Saint Kentigern College in 2004 as a Year 7 and graduated with Honours in 2010 as Service Prefect and as part of the first class of International Baccalaureate students. In my time at the school, I involved myself in as many aspects of the College life as possible! The abundance of extracurricular activities that Saint Kentigern offers, and the huge array of support that surround these, have certainly helped me develop as a confident person.

I was fortunate to be recognised by the staff for awards in leadership, academics, service, music, film and drama and so I decided follow my passion and study Film and Drama at the University of Auckland. In 2013, I graduated with a BA and I’m now in my last few months studying Screen Production as a Post Graduate Honours student. I can definitely say that I’m happy with how my College life has influenced my decision to pursue these dreams beyond a mere ‘hobby’.

As well as studying, I currently work as a part-time drama tutor and casting assistant and have also been keeping busy playing the role of Penny Lou Pingleton in ‘Hairspray The Musical’, which opened at Sky City from August to September. I absolutely loved playing Penny; she’s so zany, a great contrast to my last role as the sassy Rizzo in Grease late last year!

Having spent the last few years bettering my skills as a director at university, it’s been great reliving the onstage experiences I loved so much during the College musicals and productions. Emma Bishop, Ross Gerritson and Robyn Kennerley played huge roles in helping fuel my love of the stage, having supported me through various roles such as Mina in ‘Dracula’, Mayzie la Bird in ‘Seussical’, Babette in ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and a handful of other wonderful productions.

where are you ? what Do you Do? eVer wonDereD what your olD ClassMates are uP to? eVer thouGht they May Be interesteD in what you Do?

These pages belong to you, our Old Collegians. We need your help to make these pages interesting and informative. Write a few lines to fill us in on what you’ve been doing since leaving school, or what you are about to do, a recent achievement, a momentous event or any other item of interest. Alternatively, we also welcome more in depth articles, as appear on these pages. Family and friends, tell us what our sons and daughters of Kentigern are up to nowadays. Pictures speak a thousand words! In this digital age, it’s really easy to provide a photo but please email all digital pictures at maximum resolution. We look forward to hearing from you.

Please direct all correspondence to the editor: jane.kneale@saintkentigern.com Communication Manager, saint kentigern trust Board