DEAR PAST AND PRESENT FAMILIES, OLD COLLEGIANS, FELLOWS AND FRIENDS OF ST
PAUL’S
CONTRIBUTORS
Karen Pickering, Kate Gibson, Monica Holt, Michelle Smith
PHOTOGRAPHERS
Mark Hamilton, Andrew Constable, St Paul’s Media Team
OLD COLLEGIANS’ ASSOCIATION
Deborah McRae 07 957 8805
MARKETING AND DEVELOPMENT
OFFICE
Michelle Smith 07 957 8818
Karen Pickering 07 957 8898
Kate Gibson 07 957 8899 ext 8706
ADDRESS
St Paul’s Collegiate School
Private Bag 3069
Waikato Mail Centre
Hamilton 3240
New Zealand
PRODUCTION
Spacific 09 309 6945
ADVERTISING
If you wish to advertise in Network, please contact with Kate Gibson on 07 957 8899 ext 8706 for a rate card.
COVER PHOTO
Kerry Allen, Agribusiness Project
Curriculum Director teaching Year 11 Agribusiness class
FROM THE HEADMASTER’S PEN
In recent times St Paul’s has been involved in a stimulating project of national importance – the Centre of Excellence for Agricultural Science and Business initiative. As you are aware agriculture is the backbone of New Zealand’s economy; contributing to roughly 70 percent of export earnings and 12 percent of GDP. However, in recent decades the subject area of AgHort Science has seen a serious decline in student numbers despite the fact the sector has experienced a major skills shortage.
Primary industries and government agencies have been desperate to secure the brightest and the best secondary school students, to achieve the ambitious target of doubling primary exports by 2025. St Paul’s itself was very interested in attracting more top quality students into this curriculum area. So in early 2013, we hosted a ‘think tank’ of influential industry leaders to discuss what we could do to turn the situation around, both in our own school and throughout the country. The result was the Centre of Excellence for Agricultural Science and Business initiative –a two-pronged strategy including:
• the construction of a state-of-the-art digital classroom, the Gallagher Agribusiness Centre of Excellence, which will double as a community resource for partners and rural sector community groups; and
• the introduction of a new subject into the New Zealand curriculum: Agribusiness at NCEA levels two and three and at Scholarship level.
Construction of the Gallagher Agribusiness Centre of Excellence building has commenced through the incredibly generous support of forward thinking and passionate rural advocates: Sir William and Lady Judi Gallagher, the Oliver family and many others committed to the health of the agricultural sector. We are very close to raising the $600,000 needed to complete this $1.3m regional facility.
Through the support of an enthusiastic and knowledgeable group of industry leaders on our Advisory Group, Assistant Headmaster of Curriculum Mr Peter Hampton has led the move to introduce Agribusiness as a new subject to New Zealand secondary schools. Seven lead schools, from as far south as Invercargill and north to Auckland, have been providing feedback on the new achievement standards developed by St Paul’s.
The way in which the industry has embraced the idea has been far beyond our expectations. Leaders in the sector – principal partners DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb NZ, supported by 10 prominent business partners – have provided $1.5m for subject development and the professional development of teachers nationwide. We are enjoying the opportunity of working with local and national corporates to achieve such a positive goal. They have proved very enthusiastic in their support of the initiative.
To be involved in something which is innovative and ground-breaking is both incredibly exciting and energising. I, like many involved, have felt this has been one of the most worthwhile projects I have been involved in within my career.
There have been many other highpoints for St Paul’s over the past six months – our 1st XI cricketers made the National Gillette Cup final; our rowing four won the prestigious Springbok Shield event at Maadi Cup; singers, musicians, sportsmen and scientists were selected for national/international representative honours; and we achieved record breaking results in 2014 NCEA. In December we farewelled Mr John Oehley who as a mathematician, housemaster, assistant headmaster and, latterly, careers advisor had given outstanding service over the past 20 years.
I have found to my personal benefit that we all belong to an incredibly supportive, school community. One where success is celebrated, innovation is fostered, but even more importantly, the individual is nurtured, encouraged and assisted. Hopefully you, like me, are proud of the achievements of our school and its members as outlined in this issue of Network
G W LANDER, HEADMASTER
2015 STUDENT LEADERS
JACK DAVIES, HEAD BOY
Jack Davies is a strong academic, athlete and highly competent leader of the St Paul’s student body. He plans to study premedical science, as a pathway to medicine, at Auckland or Otago universities in 2016. He completed NCEA Level 2 endorsed with excellence in 2014 as well as New Zealand Scholarship PE. In addition to his full academic work load, Jack was a member of the under-65kg rugby team that won the Waikato division last year. This year he is completing NCEA Level 3 Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English and Calculus and New Zealand Scholarship PE, Physics and Chemistry. Jack is also involved in cricket, athletics, cross-country and debating.
IF I COULD CHOOSE MY DREAM JOB IT WOULD BE… to be the doctor of a professional sports team like the All Blacks
CHRISTOPHER SWANSON, DEPUTY HEAD BOY
Christopher Swanson is a talented cricket player who currently captains St Paul’s 1st XI cricket team. Last year, under his leadership, the 1st XI won the Northern Districts Gillette Cup competition qualifying for the National Gillette Cup competition where St Paul’s placed fourth. Chris’ skills on the cricket pitch also landed him a spot on the Northern Districts under-19 team and next year he plans to continue his cricket success in Australia or England. In his final year at St Paul’s he is completing NCEA Level 3 Chemistry, Biology, Statistics, Agribusiness and Agricultural Science. He is also a member of the 1st XI football team.
IF I COULD CHOOSE MY DREAM JOB IT WOULD BE… to play cricket for New Zealand
ZOE LAPWOOD, HEAD GIRL
Zoe Lapwood is a natural born leader who is vice-captain of girls’ under-18 Waikato hockey team and captain of St Paul’s 1st XI hockey team and girls rowing. She is a talented sportswoman who won silver at the North Island rowing regatta and bronze at Maadi Cup. On the other side of the spectrum, Zoe has been presented with a number of awards for her singing/song writing talent and for her volunteer work. In 2014 she completed NCEA Level 2 with excellence and New Zealand Scholarship History. In her final year at St Paul’s Zoe will complete both NCEA Level 3 and NZ Scholarship in English, Statistics, Accounting, History and Music.
IF I COULD CHOOSE MY DREAM JOB IT WOULD BE… a Cadbury taste tester, musician, athlete or TV travel presenter
BETHANY LANGTON, DEPUTY HEAD GIRL
Bethany Langton loves all things science. She was offered scholarships to attend two major science forums in 2015 including the Rotary National Science and Technology Forum in Auckland and the International Youth Science Forum in London. Beth is aiming to study biomedical science as a pathway to medicine in which she will specialise as a paediatrician. This year she is completing NCEA Level 3 Chemistry, Biology, Physics, Statistics and English as well as New Zealand Scholarship in all of these subjects and PE. Beth also takes part in choir, singing, swimming, netball, surf-lifesaving and volunteer work for Waikato Hospital’s chapel services.
IF I COULD TRAVEL ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD IT WOULD BE… to Frankfurt in Germany to the snowy Christmas markets
EACH YEAR FALLEN ACORNS ARE COLLECTED FROM THE OAK TREES AND PROPAGATED INTO SEEDLINGS WHICH ARE PRESENTED TO SCHOOL LEAVERS.
GREEN FAMILY LEGACY
THE LAND ON WHICH ST PAUL’S COLLEGIATE SCHOOL WAS BUILT WAS ONCE A DAIRY AND CROP FARM. JEAN GREEN WAS ONE OF THE ORIGINAL OWNERS AND HAS CELEBRATED A VERY SPECIAL MILESTONE AT THE SCHOOL, HER 100TH BIRTHDAY.
Jean Green, along with her husband Bob, and his brother Logan and wife Nancy, owned the 50 acre farm which was sold to the Waikato Anglican Boys’ College Trust in 1958, for the creation of St Paul’s Collegiate School. The two brothers and their wives had purchased the farm, known as “Great Oaks,” from Wilfred Johnston, just four years earlier.
As the story goes, Mr Johnston sold the land conditional upon a “gentleman’s agreement” that the property’s magnificent trees were protected. “He said ‘I’ll sell it to you as long as you don’t cut the trees down’ and that was the same basis on which it was sold to St Paul’s,” says Jean’s son John Green.
At the time, Logan Green was a senior lecturer in Dairy Husbandry and manager of the Massey College dairy farms in Palmerston North. The two brothers intended to farm the land, but after Logan’s sudden death aged 41 in 1956, plans changed and the farm was put up for sale.
The Greens could have made more money subdividing the land, but by honouring the original promise to protect the trees, they left a legacy which led to the creation of rural school grounds in a city setting, enjoyed by many generations since.
GREAT OAKS FARMLAND, WITH GREAT OAK TREES
The Anglican Boys’ College Trust paid 21,987 pounds for the land, and St Paul’s opened in February 1959 with a roll of 60 boys.
Bob and Jean Green also owned the farm opposite, on the corner of Hukanui Rd and Crosby Roads, part of which became the city’s athletics ground, Porritt Stadium.
The Greens’ agreed for the Council, under land contribution rules, to take the more desirable elevated section when the farm was subdivided. “They did what they believed was right for all, even though that left them with the less valuable lower flat portion,” says John.
Jean, who lives in Hamilton rest home, St Joan’s, recalls those early days on the farms, raising their four children, Noelene, Geoffrey and twins John and Brian. Great Oaks was a dairy and crop farm. The cows were taken over the road to be milked. “It wasn’t a big farm, as far as dairy farms go. It was like city living and not too far out in the country. It was good land, and my sons helped out a bit looking after the animals. It was all good living. Now I have just had my 100th my memory is not as sharp as it used to be, but we enjoyed those early days.”
John Green, who lives in Tauranga, remembers helping his father work the land. “Dad cropped and grew maize, I remember growing turnips and whenever he did a crop he would put in a couple of furrows of potatoes. The city relations would come down from Auckland and car boots would get filled with farm produce.”
“It was always a beautiful property with the trees – the oak trees, huge camellia and the double flowering peach trees up the driveway. There was a huge walnut tree that used to have great big walnuts. I remember bagging them up and we used to sell them, as kids.”
John says researching the family history as part of preparations for Jean 100th birthday reinforced a sense of sadness at Logan’s premature death and what may have been. “It certainly wasn’t easy for them. When they came to the first farm before the war it was in such a run-down condition. The family abused them, especially mum’s side of the family, for taking her into the countryside into such appalling conditions. But those were the times.”
He says his parents have made a big contribution to the city. “It is a real treasure that we look at now as a family, the legacy that mum and dad have left to Hamilton regarding St Paul’s and Porritt Stadium. To see it not all whacked up into sections; not to see it covered in red tile rooftops is a real blessing.”
When the Greens sold “Great Oaks” they retained three sections on Kensington Place, near the school, and built their retirement home there in 1974. From there they looked out over the St Paul’s playing fields.
“It has always been good watching the school’s growth and it is a very good school. I have got a great-grandson going to the school this year so that is a bit of history for us,” Jean says.
Adam Jefferis is a boarder in his first year, and is the first family member to attend St Paul’s.
Jean retains ownership of the Kensington Place house and her son Geoff lives there.
Long-serving teacher and St Paul’s Fellow, Pat Plant, spoke at Jean’s 100th birthday celebration and knew Jean’s late husband Bob who died in 1996. “Bob loved to step over the boundary and watch the rugby. He did not just watch the First XV, but in fact I think he used to enjoy the house games in the middle of the week more than the big games, and he certainly picked out particular players and watched their progress through the school.”
With his vast experience in farming Bob assisted the school’s Young Farmer’s Club. “Bob and Jean watched the growth of the school with great interest and I am sure they will have taken great pride in its development.”
Pat also acknowledged the significance of the farm sale. “Bob and Jean could have made more money by subdividing rather than selling to the school Trust. Their decision has resulted in this lovely rural space and a great asset to the city.”
He said to Jean, “To achieve such a great age as Jean is one thing, and at the same time you can lay claim to being responsible for the presence of two major cultural assets to your city means you have left a legacy to future generations as a last memorial of your life.”
The interesting history of the land is reflected in different ways with the school shop named “Great Oaks” operated by the Great Oaks Trading Company. Each year fallen acorns are collected from the oak trees and propagated into seedlings which are presented to school leavers. The memory of “Great Oaks” lives on.
Jean says it was a wonderful party, held at St Paul’s on 14 March 2015. “Everyone enjoyed it. It was just a happy time for everyone, reminiscing.” The family organised a colourful display of memorabilia including many of Jean’s old formal dresses and her wedding dress which were also on show at another party held at The Link centre at Hamilton’s St Andrews Presbyterian church, where Bob and Jean were married on 18 February 1937.
MONICA HOLT
JEAN GREEN CELEBRATES HER 100TH BIRTHDAY SURROUNDED BY FAMILY
AGRIBUSINESS POISED TO BOOM
Aproposed Agribusiness subject at NCEA levels 2 and 3, which will be university entrance approved, is currently being trialled exclusively at St Paul’s Collegiate School and is on track to becoming available to all New Zealand secondary schools by 2017.
The drive for this new subject is a result of the primary industries need for 80 percent more tertiary qualified graduates to sustain the future of New Zealand’s largest export industry. DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb have estimated that 1200 graduates are required for the sector each year, but only 250 or so are coming out of New Zealand universities.
“St Paul’s, DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb have collaborated to develop and deliver an Agribusiness programme to New Zealand secondary schools that meets the long term needs of the primary industries for highly skilled and motivated young people,” Peter Hampton, St Paul’s Collegiate School’s Deputy Headmaster and Director of Agribusiness said. “This is a pioneering programme of national significance. It will ensure a sustainable future of the primary industries, stimulate careers in agricultural science and business and encourage tertiary capable young people to proactively select career pathways in the sector.”
The initiative couldn’t have come at a better time for the rural sector, which is struggling to attract skilled workers even though it lays claim to being New Zealand’s largest export industry. “There is a critical demand for a highly-skilled agribusiness workforce – if New Zealand is to retain its global competitiveness,” said Michael Spaans, Director of DairyNZ. “We need to develop our people capability; whether it’s in farming, or corporate farming, manufacturing or agribusiness – it doesn’t matter, as long as we’re capturing them in the industry.”
A pilot programme of Agribusiness started at St Paul’s in 2014 with 40 students taking part and 15 going on to study agribusiness at a tertiary level compared with two in the previous year. Now, in its second year, the pilot programme has doubled in numbers with 88 students seriously considering a career in the primary industries.
“I didn’t really think of agribusiness as a serious career option before. But now, after taking this subject, I know there are so many more opportunities out there in the agriculture sector and it’s made me reconsider my career choice,” Corban O’Connor-Harris, Year 13 at St Paul’s Collegiate School said.
Corban is taking classes for the new Agribusiness programme and is only one example of the positive change that this programme will make.
The issues behind the skills shortage starts in New Zealand secondary schools says Peter: “Little focus has been given to educating secondary school students about the career options that go beyond the farm gate.”
“We have an Agricultural and Horticultural Science subject that is educating students for farm-based roles, but we don’t have a subject that has a high-academic focus for students capable of becoming our future leaders.”
St Paul’s rich heritage of farming families was the catalyst behind the concept, with some of the school’s big farming families coming forward to support change in the school’s current curriculum.
St Paul’s approached farmers, industry leaders and tertiary institutes to develop an advisory group that would ensure the new subject met the needs of the industry while also complying with education standards.
A group of principal partners and business partners came on board to give sound advice on the course’s subject matter and to provide financial support to get the project off the ground.
DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb NZ have joined to become principal partners of the industry-led initiative along with ten business partners: BNZ, LIC, Zoetis, NZ National Fieldays Society, AGMARDT, Greenlea Premier Meats, Waikato Milking Systems, AGrowQuip, Waitomo Petroleum and Campbell Tyson.
“In years 12 and 13, students will now learn about the opportunities available in primary industries that go beyond the farm gate through subject matter deemed important by the advisory group,” Peter said.
Students taking part in the course will learn from four key strands including agri-science, agri-innovation, agrimarketing and agri-finance and management.
This ground-breaking industry-led curriculum isn’t just for St Paul’s students, it’s a nationwide project. “Obviously we want to create something good for our school and our students – but it’s bigger than that. Our school alone will never produce the sort of numbers the industry needs. To meet demand, it has to be rolled out across the country,” Peter said. “If we can pull this off – and I am
certain we will – it will be a real game changer for the primary industries.”
A nationwide rollout of the curriculum is planned for 2017 following approval from the Ministry of Education and NZQA. In preparation for this, seven lead schools have been selected by St Paul’s, DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb to trial the curriculum and provide feedback in 2016. “The feedback from these schools will guarantee we create a programme that will work within the secondary school environment.”
The schools are Southland Boys, Southland Girls, John McGlashan (Otago), Christchurch Boys, Feilding High, Lindisfarne (Hawke’s Bay) and Mt Albert (Auckland). The construction of a purpose-built facility at St Paul’s will house training sessions for the seven lead schools and Agribusiness classes for St Paul’s students.
The Gallagher Agribusiness Centre of Excellence is planned to be completed in August this year thanks to the support of donors and naming rights partner the Gallagher Group. Support from the Gallagher Group – an iconic business name in the rural sector with a great reputation for developing high quality, innovative solutions – marks the significance of this initiative and this new building.
KAREN PICKERING
THE GALLAGHER AGRIBUSINESS CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE BUILDING WILL BOAST TWO LARGE VIRTUAL CLASSROOMS THAT WILL DIGITALLY ENGAGE STUDENTS.
“IT’S GOING TO BE AN ABSOLUTE GAME CHANGER.”
FIELDAYS CHIEF BACKS INNOVATION
NEW ZEALAND NATIONAL FIELDAYS SOCIETY HAS MADE THE MOVE FOR MAJOR CHANGE WITH A 15-YEAR MASTER PLAN TO IMPROVE THE MYSTERY CREEK EVENT SITE.
Work on the master plan is currently underway along with a number of initiatives still in the pipeline to help the next generation of agricultural leaders step into the industry and possibly onto the world stage.
The man at the forefront of this major change is Jon Calder (Hall 1987–91) who took up the role of CEO for NZ National Fieldays Society in 2012. Since then he has helped the Board’s vision of a 15-year master plan come to life with two stages of building developments complete and a third underway.
Jon says that NZ National Fieldays Society are also investing in the future of the agriculture industry.
A new focus for the 2015 Fieldays, and future events, will be to help young innovators fast track their products to the commercial market.
The Fieldays Innovation Accelerator initiative will be launched this year as part of the Innovation Centre that is expected to attract more than 70 entrants. “Innovation and technology is a real core and key feature of Fieldays.
For the past three years we have been working on making the Innovation Centre more than just putting products on display to win a prize,” Jon said. “Innovation Accelerator is for companies that have participated in the Innovation Centre previously and have come back with a product ready to market. Our goal is to help them shorten up that path to market.”
Fieldays plans to build an ecosystem where other companies can help support young innovators to take their product to the next step whether it’s redesigning and refining, commercialising the product or taking a commercialised product and helping it grow in new markets.
“Last year we saw everything from a gumboot warmer to a revolutionary snap chiller that will take milk from cow temperature to four degrees in a few seconds and effluent management systems that strip waste from animal effluent to become clean water."
“We also saw a prototype design of a battery powered farm bike that won an innovation award and one of the prizes that they won was working with a research and design company called
Photo courtesy of NZ Agri
Locus Research. They helped these guys rebuild their product so it was reliable and easy to manufacture. It’s in production and will be on sale for the first time at Fieldays, this year.”
Other changes that event-goers can expect to see at this year’s Fieldays is the addition of 100 new exhibition sites which forms part of stage two of Fieldays 15-year master plan. “We just finished a 90 square cubic metre land moving project to realign, raconteur and level the site to give us more options and flexibility. We have created about 100 new sites that are ready for this year, 34 of which are in front of the Main Pavilion right in the heart of the event.”
Major earthworks and expansion project follow the $4m build of the Mystery Creek headquarters in 2014, bringing the investment total of site improvements so far to $5.6 million. Another $6m, jointly funded by NZ National Fieldays Society and partners, will be invested over the next five years. Part of this investment includes a new set of buildings to be constructed and in place for 2016.
Jon says the buildings will house three key customers for Fieldays and says the new facilities will be key to providing more opportunities for collaboration throughout the year; extending the relationship with Fieldays to more than four days in June.
“It’s about creating more opportunities throughout the year outside of Fieldays, whether it’s agriculture related events or some of the other events we own like Equidays, these buildings will provide us with the opportunity to do a lot more and we are quite excited about that.”
The NZ National Fieldays Society are also investing in the future of the primary industries, coming on board with an industry-led agribusiness programme that is being pioneered by St Paul’s Collegiate School in collaboration with DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb.
The two-year agribusiness programme is a New Zealand first and has been designed to expose and inspire tertiary capable students to the wide range of career opportunities available in pastoral agriculture. “When we took the proposal to our Board it was a five minute conversation, there was that much support and enthusiasm for the project.”
“It’s going to be an absolute game changer in terms of opening young people’s eyes and showing them the depth and breadth of career opportunities available in the agricultural industry.”
Jon says the programme offers students more than what just happens behind the farm gate and believes what St Paul’s is doing with the Agribusiness programme is going to make a
significant difference to the rural sector.
“You only have to look at the level of support and the people that the programme has drawn in to see that it’s really impressive.”
After being at the forefront of major change for Fieldays over the past three years, anyone would think Jon has deep heritage of agriculture but the driven CEO has only just made the switch to New Zealand's largest export industry.
Jon spent more than 15 years working in senior management roles in the transport sector, for Air New Zealand and NZ Bus in Auckland, and after finishing his MBA he decided to make the move back to the Waikato.
“I was fortunate enough that during my 12 years with Air New Zealand the company put me through an MBA and like anyone who goes through an intensive period of education you are always looking at how you can apply those skills. It was a role that took a little convincing to get me to throw my hat in the ring but now I genuinely tell people that I have one of the best jobs in New Zealand because of the people I get to interact with – from the Prime Minister to some of our hard working farmers who are making it happen. It’s a pretty cool job.”
KAREN
PICKERING
PROPOSED MYSTERY CREEK DEVELOPMENT TO BE IN PLACE IN 2016
OUR STUDENTS' 2014 ACADEMIC SUCCESS
NCEA
Level 1 (Year 11) – 99%
Level 2 (Year 12) – 94%
Level 3 (Year 13) – 92%
CAMBRIDGE INTERNATIONAL
IGCSE (Year 11) – 99% AS (Year 12) – 100%
NEW ZEALAND SCHOLARSHIP
21 Scholarship passes, two outstanding endorsements
TOP SCHOLARS (YEAR 13)
Tessa Whale (Dux) – 100%
Holly Ho – 97%
Sahil Patil – 94%
Youngmin Goo – 93%
Emma Walker – 92%
Taylor Deakin – 91%
Jordan Ogilvy – 90%
Jessica Chanwai – 88%
Aditya Sakalkale – 87%
Tim Fletcher – 86%
Daniel Johnson – 86%
* Percentages represent each student's grade average
FOURTEEN
TERTIARY SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED
• University of Waikato Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarship ($50k) and Berkshire Preparatory School football scholarship ($NZ75k)
– John Penyas
Auckland University Scholarship ($50k ea)
– Jessica Chanwai (Head Girl 2014) and Sahil Patil
• Lincoln University Netball Scholarship (full fee paid)
– Pare Gilmartin-Kara
• AUT University Significant Student Scholarship ($20k ea)
– Cameron Downey, Jasper Hankins, Daniel Johnson, Tessa Whale
• Lincoln University Leaders of Tomorrow Scholarship (one year of fees paid)
– Kendal Buchanan
• University of Waikato Vice Chancellor Scholarships ($5k ea)
– Sam Masterson and Emma Walker
• David Johnston Memorial Scholarship ($5k ea)
– Rachel Brandt and Holly Hardie
$75K USA SCHOLARSHIP
John Penyas, 2014 St Paul’s graduate and University of Waikato Sir Edmund Hillary Scholar, has been awarded a one-year fullfee scholarship to Berkshire Preparatory School in the United States valued at $NZ75,000.
Michael Groom, former All White and St Paul's 1st XI football coach says John was selected from a pool of talented footballers located worldwide: "Berkshire recruit from all over the world, so John’s selection as the top recruit and the scale of the scholarship reflect the contribution he will be able to bring to the school."
"He will be expected to play his part in the continued dominance of the Berkshire team. Berkshire has an impressive stature in American soccer and top universities actively recruit from this school. This opens up all sorts of possibilities for John in the future."
John will leave in August to take up the scholarship.
Image Courtesy of Fairfax Media
GRADUATES OF ST PAUL’S COLLEGIATE SCHOOL
Congratulations to St Paul’s Old Collegians whose degrees were conferred in the second half of 2014 and first half of 2015.
Please note that not all universities provide results and we do our best to source as much information as possible. Further results for the first half of 2015 will be released in the November edition of Network
GRADUATES FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF WAIKATO – 2014
Matthew Reid
Bachelor of Science
Victoria Lane Graduate Diploma in English Studies
Kaitlyn Glover Bachelor of Tourism
James Lord Bachelor of Science
Ming Hang (Henry) Tai Bachelor of Electronic Commerce
Malcolm Doo Master of Management Studies
Howard Norton Master of Education
Stephen Harlow Master of Education
George Liu Doctor of Philosophy
Matt Reid Postgraduate Diploma in Psychology
Donna Frederikson Graduate Diploma of Teaching (Primary)
Andrew Ho Bachelor of Communication Studies
Michaella Roess Master of Applied Psychology
Mark David Bachelor of Social Sciences
Yeh-Chen Lin Bachelor of Music (Hons)
Jonathan Hannam
Bachelor of Science
Kane Barry Bachelor of Sport and Leisure Studies
Aleesha Cliffe Bachelor of Science
Cyrano Embling
Bachelor of Management Studies
Ashley Fraser Bachelor of Science
Liam Hunt
Mickey Law
Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Computing and Mathematical Sciences (Hons)
Charlotte Atherton Bachelor of Arts
Chris Fletcher Bachelor of Science
Ariana Mariu
Bachelor of Business Analysis
GRADUATES FROM UNIVERSITY OF CANTERBURY – 2014/15
Anna Needham
Ben Holmes
David Kingham
David Thomas
Fraser Sherson
Liz Lawrence
Lucinda Needham
Nick Mellsop
Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Engineering (1st Hons)
Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Engineering (1st Hons)
Bachelor of Teaching and Learning (Primary)
Bachelor of Commerce
Bachelor of Science and Postgraduate Diploma in Engineering Geology (Distinction)
Robert Bennett Bachelor of Science and Bachelor of Laws
Sam Langlands Master of Engineering in Management
Stuart McCready Bachelor of Engineering with (2nd Hons) (Division One)
Stuart Nicholls Master of Engineering in Management
Todd Patterson Master of Engineering in Management
GRADUATES FROM UNIVERSITY OF OTAGO – 2014
Thomas Dawson Postgraduate Diploma in Obstetrics and Medical Gynaecology
Sarah Frazer Bachelor of Science
James Frick Bachelor of Applied Science
Julia Frick Bachelor of Science
Georgina Gibb Bachelor of Biomedical Sciences
Thomas Hobman Bachelor of Science
Jennifer Jin Bachelor of Dental Surgery
Lisa-Marie Miller Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Commerce
Emma Shaw Master of Science and Postgraduate Diploma in Wildlife Management
Bryony Wilson Bachelor of Applied Science
James Wyllie-Miln
Bachelor of Commerce
GRADUATES FROM LINCOLN UNIVERSITY – 2015
Luc Rodwell
Bachelor of Agricultural Science
Nathan Darling Bachelor of Agriculture
Edwin Haycock Bachelor of Viticulture and Oenology
Stuart Marr Bachelor of Commerce (Agriculture)
Geoffrey Beaumont Bachelor of Commerce (Valuation and Property Management)
GRADUATES FROM MASSEY UNIVERSITY – 2014
Benjamin Griffin Bachelor of Health Science in Sport and Exercise
Matthew Casey Certificate in Arts (College of Humanities and Social Science)
THREE NEW BOARD MEMBERS
Trustees of the Waikato Anglican College Trust board as pictured above: Reverend Peter Rickman, Mr Philip Morgan (QC), Mrs Megan Smith, Mr John Reeves, Dr Kevin Morris, Mr John Jackson (deputy chair), Headmaster Mr Grant Lander, Mr Gregg Brown (chair), Mr Andrew Johnson, Mr Richard Ludbrook, Mr Robert Mandeno and Mrs Sally Wooton. We welcome and introduce the recently appointed board members:
REV PETER RICKMAN
The Very Reverend Peter Rickman, Dean of Waikato, grew up in Hampshire in the United Kingdom. His childhood years were shaped by the Anglican Church and traditional family values. Rev Rickman worked as a chartered banker for Coutts and Co London and Lloyds Bank until 1994 when he enrolled at the University of Oxford to complete a Bachelor or Theology (Hons). He then started a four year appointment as assistant curate of Bitterne Park, Southampton. In 2001, Rev Rickman was appointed chaplain of St Paul’s before returning to the UK in 2004. After eight years, Rev Rickman returned to Hamilton, New Zealand, to take up the position of Dean of the Waikato Cathedral Church of St Peter. He is married to Jane and they have three children.
MRS MEGAN SMITH
Mrs Megan Smith is a registered nurse and has spent 18 years in sales and marketing management for leading multinational pharmaceutical firms. She is currently the head of global sales and marketing for Vega, a software platform designed for community groups and not-for-profit organisations to drive and manage income. She has excellent interpersonal and communication skills and expertise in several marketing, management and health disciplines that will support initiatives for both the WACT and St Paul’s Foundation. Megan is married to Old Collegian Peter Smith (Clark 1982–86), together they have three children: Year 10 day boy Harry (Fitchett) and George and William who will attend St Paul’s in the future.
MR ROBERT MANDENO
Old Collegian Robert Mandeno (Williams 1984–88) recently returned from the United Kingdom after 20 years in the investment banking industry. Rob attended the University of Canterbury where he completed a Bachelor of Engineering (1st Hons) and a Master of Commerce in Economics (1st Hons). He worked with Bankers Trust (1994–99) and Deutsche Bank A.G. (1999–2014) in various senior management roles specialising in the global markets. Rob’s skills to the Board are in the domain of financial and strategic decision making and operating within a strong governance framework. He is married to Pru and together they have three children Henry (Williams), Lottie and Will.
GURU GUIDES NEW AGRIBUSINESS SUBJECT
Aprimary industries and education guru has joined the team of experts building New Zealand’s first highly-academic Agribusiness subject for secondary school students.
Kerry Allen, Agribusiness Project Curriculum Director, joined St Paul’s Collegiate School at the end of 2014 bringing with her 20-plus years of primary industries experience.
Her goal? To help St Paul’s create an agribusiness programme that will develop students’ knowledge of agricultural science and business beyond the farm gate and encourage tertiary study in this sector to address the skills shortage of New Zealand’s biggest export industry. “The industry, Primary ITO and current secondary school Agricultural and Horticultural Science subject covers farm skills but we also need a subject that will cover the applied or academic needs of the industry,” Kerry said.
“The belief that students will simply come out of the pure sciences like biology and chemistry at the secondary school level into agricultural science at the tertiary level is not working. Very few young New Zealanders have any contact or awareness with rural New Zealand and what Agriculture or Horticulture is. We need to engage tertiary capable students at secondary school level who are the right talent with the right skills, vision, drive and passion to move into the tertiary agriculture.”
Kerry has witnessed the skills shortage first hand as the owner of two dairy farms and a part owner of AgFirst, an agricultural consulting company that provides competitive business solutions to the rural sector. She has also been heavily involved in the education sector for the past 18 years, specialising in AgHort as a teacher, regulator of NCEA exams and a curriculum and assessment writer.
With a great understanding of where the shortfalls are in primary industries education at the secondary school level
and her knowledge of the sector itself, Kerry will create an agribusiness curriculum that is relevant to the sector and engaging for academically-bright students.
She says collaboration with industry leaders, tertiary institutes and other secondary schools to create the Centre of Excellence for Agricultural Science and Business programme, will be the key to ensure it is engaging and relevant. “I will be working in conjunction with the programme’s principal partners DairyNZ and Beef + Lamb; our 10 business partners and leading universities,” Kerry said.
Kerry is also working with seven ‘lead schools’ that have been selected to trial a pilot curriculum in 2016: “The feedback provided by these schools will help us create a curriculum relevant to both the rural sector and the New Zealand secondary education system.”
“THE BELIEF THAT STUDENTS WILL SIMPLY COME OUT OF THE PURE SCIENCES LIKE BIOLOGY AND CHEMISTRY AT THE SECONDARY SCHOOL LEVEL INTO AGRICULTURAL SCIENCE AT THE TERTIARY LEVEL IS NOT WORKING.”
Delivery of the programme through the lead schools trial will mark the second stage of the programme. St Paul’s students have been taking part in a pilot since 2014.
Following the trials, Kerry will work with the Ministry of Education to have the new subject and achievement standards, NCEA approved.
KAREN PICKERING
PAT PLANT CELEBRATES 80 YEARS
Bay of Plenty 1 David Page, Kelvin Jeeves (School/Sargood 1960–63), Don Murray, Paul Campbell, Muray Illston (School 1959–60), Graham Highet (Sargood 1960–62) 2 Judy Shaw (staff 1975–2003), Amy Hayes nee Fox (Harington 1993–94), Mike Shaw (staff 1970–2003), Fred Wellacott (Sargood 1964–67), Kay Etheredge (Staff 1988–2002) 3 Pat Plant (staff 1961–98), Dennis Phillips (Sargood/Hamilton 1966–70), Chris Maclennan (Sargood 1964–67), Diana Plant, Ivan Posa (School 1966–70) 4 Peter Hellings (Sargood 1987–91), Andrew Primrose (Williams 1982–85) 5 Pat Plant (staff 1961–98), Evan McCulloch (staff 1961–2007) 6 & 10 Cutting of cake by Diana and Pat Plant (1961–98) at the Bay of Plenty and Auckland events 7 Quentin Dive (Sargood 1967–69), Peter Gilbert (current staff), Glenys Parton (staff 2008–11) Auckland 8 Paul Chapman (Hall 1977–81), Evan McCulloch (staff 1961–2007), Lex de Jong (Clark 1973–75) 9 Ivan Posa (School 1966–70), Harry Guitry (School/Clark 1965–68)
OLD COLLEGIANS
CELEBRATIONS TO MARK PAT PLANT'S 80TH BIRTHDAY WERE HELD AT WELL ATTENDED EVENTS IN
AUCKLAND, TAURANGA AND HAMILTON
11 David Walker (Sargood 1962–65), John Ormiston (Sargood/Williams 1962–65), Wally Smaill (Sargood 1959–63) 12 Mike Shaw (staff 1970–2003), Matt Robinson (Sargood 1985–88), Judy Shaw (Staff 1975–2003), Paul Robinson (Sargood 1980–84) 13 Diana Plant, Tim Plant (Sargood 1979–83), Lesley Read nee Hunt 14 Paul Chapman (Hall 1977–81), Sarah Bryant (Girls House 1988–89) 15 Ian McLaren (Sargood 1960–63), Brian Mackenzie (School/Williams 1960–64), Adam Bethell (Sargood 1959–63), Bruce Langley (Sargood 1961–64) 16 Rhys Lewis (Staff 1981–95), Pat Plant, Steve Burns (Hall 1976–80) 17 Phil Clemow (School 1960–61), Tim Brears (Sargood 1960–64), Brian Smaill (Sargood 1961–65) Hamilton 18 Matt Roach (Sargood 1996–2000), Pearce Watson (Williams 1997–2001), Aaron Fergusson (Hamilton 2000–02), Scott Neeley (Williams 1994–98) 19 Cutting of cake by Pat Plant 20 Deborah McRae (Old Collegians Executive Officer) Pat and Diana Plant 21 Marie Hampton, Peter Hampton (current staff), Craig Sanders (Williams 1985–87), Brendon Walsh (Williams 1985–89)
PROJECT SET TO REDUCE FARMING FOOTPRINT
After almost a decade of study that armed her with a bachelor’s degree and PhD, Anne-Maree Hill (Harington 2004–05) is now working on a $20 million dollar research project for Ballance Agri-Nutrients, one of New Zealand’s largest nutrient management companies.
Anne-Maree is working as a research associate managing the finance, administration and reporting for Ballance’s Clearview Innovations PGP programme.
The programme is a Primary Growth Partnership (PGP) through the Ministry of Primary Industries which aims to improve nitrogen and phosphorus fertiliser use and reduce losses (run-off) to the environment and water ways.
Adding nitrogen and phosphate to pasture is vital for growing grass at optimum levels to feed stock, but fertilising runs at an increasing cost yearon-year and has the potential to harm New Zealand’s environment.
As part of the project, Ballance is releasing a number of products to help famers improve efficiency of nitrogen fertiliser; reduce nitrogen run off; increase efficiency of fertiliser use; and decrease soil accumulation and/or plant uptake of fertiliser.
Anne-Maree says the first of four products was released to the commercial market last July, three years into the seven year project. N-Guru™ is a nitrogen monitoring system that helps farmers identify how much nitrogen the soil needs, if any at all.
“Farmers are required to get a total nitrogen soil test for each block on their farm. By inputting the results of this test into N-Guru™ a farmer can determine which areas of their farm could receive more nitrogen fertiliser.”
Two other successful PGP products are close to completion and commercial release, including a variable rate aircraft and a product called MitAgator™ which is a decision support tool similar to N-Guru™. “The variable rate aircraft is able to apply fertiliser to hill country at different rates depending on the requirements of farmers. This
is compared to the traditional blanket application of fertiliser at a single rate. The ability to do this means fertiliser may be used far more efficiently and effectively, potentially saving farmers money and helping the environment at the same time.”
Environmental sustainability in farming was a major draw card for Anne-Maree to enter the agricultural industry. The 27-year-old is passionate about science and says her PhD – which was fully funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment – was driven by her passion to reduce the environmental footprint of farming.
KAREN PICKERING
SNIPPETS
JOHN & BUNNY
MORTIMER
John Mortimer (Board chair 1973–76) and his wife Bunny made a surprise visit to Tihoi on 30 January 2015. Chris Wynn and Cyn Smith enjoyed showing them around and chatting about the days when Tihoi was a vision by the Board of Trustees. John and Bunny marvelled at the facilities that students now enjoy at Tihoi.
JOHN TEMPLER
John Templer (Sargood 1982–86) returned to Hamilton after 18 years in the UK in December 2013. He returned with his wife Leisa and six year old son Harrison. While in the UK John and Leisa were based in London and Surrey. They enjoyed many wonderful things that England has to offer. Back in NZ, John is now part of a start-up business providing online automation of paper based forms for audit, compliance and maintenance of plant and equipment (www.tatworks.co.nz). He and Leisa both help out with youth at Northgate Community Church.
THOMAS GORDON
Thomas Gordon (Clark 2010–14) has been named in the Scotland under-18 representative rugby team where he plays as an open-side flanker. Thomas was captain of St Paul’s 1st XV in 2014 and chose to travel to Scotland on a GAP year where his talents have been recognised at a national level. Thomas was selected for the Scotland under-18 team that competed in the 10 day Rugby Europe Tournament in Toulouse, France in March. He has also played games for Edinburgh under-20 and under-18 teams.
CAROLINE DAWSON
Caroline Dawson (Harington 2000–01), who competed in the England over-27 (age) touch rugby team’s recent victory in the European Cup in Cardiff, has been selected in the World Cup squad for the World Championships in Australia in April. Caroline was a Vet for Anexa for four years before moving to the UK where her husband completed his MBA. They got married in April 2014 in NZ. Caroline works as the Veterinary Adviser for Novartis Animal Health for Southern England, Wales and Ireland.
JACOB ROBB
Jacob Robb (Hall 2009–13), who is currently playing football for Worcester Academy USA, was voted Most Valuable Player by his teammates.
ELLIOT COLLIER
Elliot Collier (Hall 2011–12) is a freshman on the Loyola University Chicago men’s soccer team, Loyola Ramblers. He was named Offensive Player of the Week by the Missouri Valley Conference. Elliot has made an immediate impact for Loyola in his debut season in Rogers Park. He currently leads the team in goals scored (three) and shares the team lead in shots on goal (10). Elliot is also a regular fixture on the Rambler line-up, starting in 10 of the 12 games that he appeared in.
PAUL NEWTONJACKSON
Paul Newton-Jackson (Hamilton 2009–13) has spent his first few months at Cambridge University after winning The Girdlers’ Scholarship worth $NZ200k to study music composition. Paul is enjoying the challenge of creating new music and is adjusting to the intense workload; with between 14 to 16 hours of contact teaching time a week as the baseline. Paul who is staying at Corpus Christi College (founded 1352) is also relishing in the ancient buildings and being a part of campus life and Cambridge traditions. Paul intends to stay at Cambridge for three years and will finish with a Bachelor of Arts with Honours. That said, he is missing New Zealand – friends and family foremost.
DENIS GANLEY
Denis Ganley attended St Paul’s (School 1959) and went on to become one of the world’s celebrated Steel Yacht designers and builders. His boats had universal recognition and at last count there were over 1000 of them on the high seas worldwide. Denis received many accolades during his 35-year career and in 1986 Denis won the “Steel Award” for the best consumer product with the Pacemaker 40. Many of his designs have made remarkable passages offshore and have successfully competed in various regattas and other events. Denis and his wife Philomena were sadly killed in a car accident in 1997. However Denis’ legacy lives on with his designs and his daughter Denise continues his work from their old home in Greenhithe, Auckland.
BRETT AND RACHAEL GORDON
Brett (Williams 1991–95) and Rachael Gordon, 2014 Waikato Dairy Business of the Year winners, run 480 to 580 cows across two farms and have managed to get production costs per milk solid down to $2.87. The couple work a traditional pasture-based system, buy in as little feed as possible and have a low stocking rate. The pair achieved their success by questioning everything and not spending money unless they have to.
DAVID AND SUE FISH
David (School 1977–81) and Sue Fish have benchmarked their way to success after they were named 2014 Waikato Dairy Business of the Year winners. Their winning farm, Westmorland Estate, was bought in 2001. It milks 800 cows at peak and is 200 effective hectares. Their operation is extremely profitable; they are aware of costs and always nut out spending decisions to ensure some form of return.
KATIE BRIDGE
Katie Bridge (Harington 2004–05) graduated from the University of Waikato with a BMS. She is currently working as an assistant accountant (major projects) for Fulton Hogan and has been accepted as a member of the Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand. Katie is based in Auckland.
LES AND DAWN VARNEY
Les Varney (1988–2013), a past teacher and rowing coach, has recently returned from a trip to Europe with wife Dawn. Two weeks in France had them experiencing all the charms and history of Paris. Les and Dawn then spent time in Oxford, UK before travelling to the Henley Regatta to attend the 175th year of racing. Before coming home they visited London and rode the London Eye, which gave them an amazing view of an ever-changing city. Back in New Zealand they are now enjoying the tranquillity of Nelson and progressing with finishing their house. Les has said coaching rowing and teaching in the workshops became his entire life and with so many young people needing and depending on him for help and guidance it left a big hole when he retired. The trip to Henley was the very best leaving present he could have received and Les and Dawn are forever grateful for the generosity of the St Paul’s community which enabled them to take this trip.
JIM EVELEIGH
Jim Eveleigh, a respected teacher of physical education at St Paul’s (1973–88), passed away on 21 October from pancreatic cancer. Jim was a wonderful father of four and a devoted husband to wife Liz. Jim and Liz, who were married in December 1970 left for a two-year stint to New Zealand in 1973 with their daughters, Rachel and Lucy. The intended two years became fifteen years and they returned to England in 1988 with four children, Kate and Sam who were both born in New Zealand. Jim was an inspirational and talented man whose creativity and humour were known to all. He coached youngsters at St Paul’s to national titles in athletics. In his main sport, rugby, he coached a successful school team; one of the players he taught and coached called Geoff Hines became an All Black – the highest honour in New Zealand rugby. In that same team was also a boy called Vern Cotter who is now the coach to the Scotland national rugby union team. Vern described Jim as: “A great man in my eyes – he was responsible for kick starting my career such a long time ago. I owe him so much.” Jim led by example and will be sorely missed by all who were blessed to know him. RIP to a truly great gentleman.
A TRIBUTE TO TIM THORROLD
Tim Thorrold who was a valued member of St Paul’s community, passed away peacefully on 26 March 2015 aged 79 years. Tim was born in Ladysmith, Natal, South Africa in 1935 and was educated at Maritzburg College in Pietermaritzburg. Tim immigrated to New Zealand with his parents and family in 1953. On arriving in New Zealand Tim dairy farmed in Putaruru. He continued to be involved with dairy farming, first, as a share milker and then as a farm owner, farm advisor and arbitrator for his whole life. Tim first became involved with St Paul’s in 1973 when his eldest son, Bruce, started at the school (Williams 1973–77). Tim had four sons attend St Paul’s between 1973 and 1983. Along with Bruce there was Simon (Williams 1977–81), Craig (Hall 1979–83) and David (Hall 1979–83). In 1978 Tim was appointed to the St Paul’s Board of Trustees which he was a part of until 1987. Tim followed K W Tanner as finance committee chairman and rejoined the Board in 1989 for a year. Tim was also very involved in the establishment of the Tihoi Venture School where he was the inaugural chairman of the Tihoi Committee and viewed first-hand the outstanding contribution made by the Shaws to the establishment of Tihoi. Tim’s love of Tihoi led to the donation of the Mike and Judy Shaw Trophy for Bushcraft by himself and his wife Nan and will be presented to its inaugural recipient this year. “You had to see it for yourself and be very practically inclined to appreciate what effort these two put into the establishment of Tihoi. I am hoping that before long we will have the story of the establishment in chapter and verse.“ Tim said that without the skills, energy, determination and commitment the Shaws brought to Tihoi the venture could well have failed. Tihoi was a rundown mill site, and what Tim described as ‘feral’. Tim was made a Fellow of St Paul’s in 1987. Fellows are guardians of the school who hold great responsibility for the future of St Paul’s if the Board should ever have difficulty in functioning. Making Tim a Fellow was a great way to honour Tim’s contribution and dedication to St Paul’s community and he will always be remembered.
ROSALIE REID
Rosalie Reid (1988–95) a past staff member passed away peacefully on 6 July 2014 after a short illness. Rosalie worked in the school office and most of her time was as former headmaster Michael Lawrence’s secretary. Rosalie was a mother of two sons, Alistair and Cameron. Cameron attended St
Paul’s for his sixth form year (Hamilton 1989). Rosalie continued to keep an active interest in school life after she left and always looked forward to the Network arriving in the post. Rosalie also attended Mix and Mingle events in the Bay of Plenty keeping in touch with the St Paul’s community.
THE MIKE AND JUDY SHAW TROPHY FOR BUSHCRAFT DONATED BY TIM AND NAN THORROLD WILL BE PRESENTED TO ITS FIRST RECIPIENT THIS YEAR.
PAEDIATRICIAN HEADS UNICEF PROJECT
Amedical system that dates back 50 years by Western standards in the easternmost country of the Stan states, Kyrgyzstan, has drawn Dr Nick Woolfield (Sargood 1968 –72) to a retirement plan of service.
Nick and his wife Fay, a general practitioner, have been in Kyrgyzstan for more than two years. For the first few months Nick and Fay spent their time learning the basics of Russian and after about five months assisted with outreach clinics in remote regions to gain insight into the medical system.
“A child I saw with hydrocephalus at 12 months needed a shunt to stop the head growing and to allow for more normal development,” Nick said. The cost of a shunt is about $600 and although this is relatively cheap by Western standards it is “four months wages” for Kyrgyz people. The clinics where Nick treats these patients are third-world. Most lack running water and all have outside long drops. “The hospital has only recently had a septic system installed that has allowed for inside toilets and running water for washing hands and bathing with hot water.”
Working in these conditions and gaining an understanding of the country’s medical practise has prepared Nick for the project ahead of him.
UNICEF, the Ministry of Health of Kyrgyz Republic and the Science Technology and Language Institute (the NGO that Nick and Fay work for) have funded a national project that will be led by Nick, the only Western trained paediatrician in Kyrgyzstan.
“We are introducing Western practises for treating children living with a disability.” This form of practise requires a team of allied health professionals –physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech language therapists, orthotists, psychologists and social workers. “We work as teams, with therapists and doctors, to see improved function in children with disabilities and to see them manage as many of their daily activities with as much independence as possible.”
With no trained allied health professionals in Kyrgyzstan Nick will upskill the country’s current medical staff, training nurses who show an interest in the basics of physiotherapy, occupational therapy and in the skills of splinting of the lower limbs. “A team of therapists is due to visit from Australia in September for a month of intensive training in the basics of assessment, planning and implementation of therapies.”
A disability centre in Karakol has become home to the project and will eventually become the training ground for local practitioners. At present, the centre treats more than 100 children every two weeks
from all over the country. “Most of the children we see have cerebral palsy but about twenty percent have other disabilities.
My role is seeing them to assess and diagnose if there are any specific conditions that have been left undiagnosed and then work with them to assist in improving their child’s functional outcomes.”
On a broader scale he is developing guidelines for the management of children with cerebral palsy and in a resource poor country he will need to be creative and “think differently about what can and cannot be done.”
Developing treatment practises based on a Western system, which would usually utilise modern facilities and medicines, isn’t going to be easy. Nick also faces an uphill battle of changing the way locals think about people living with disabilities. “They are seen as a liability. Mothers are often divorced by the child’s father because of the belief that they are responsible for the disability.”
Despite the hurdles, Nick’s determination isn’t fading. “It is going to take a lot of work, people and time to get the guidelines passed and the project off the ground but this is a great opportunity to make a difference to the lives of Kyrgyz children.”
KAREN PICKERING
NICK WITH DR MAKSAT AT KYRGYZSTAN HOSPITAL
BOOKS MOVE KIDS INTO NEW CHAPTER
“RATHER THAN AN INDIVIDUAL BOOK WE DECIDED TO LOOK AT A SERIES BECAUSE THERE ARE A NUMBER OF THINGS THAT CAN BE VERY SCARY FOR PRE-SCHOOL AGED CHILDREN.”
On a mission to get her three year old daughter into a big bed, Tamsyn Rose (Harington 1995–96) turned her frustration at a lack of resources into a new business venture.
“I had real issues getting Sophia to make this change,” Tamsyn said.
“I went searching for a book about this transition and to my surprise there wasn't anything like it in New Zealand.” Tamsyn paired up with fellow author Fiona Williams to release a series of children’s books that help move pre-school aged children through major milestones.
The series of five books released in December 2013, cover toilet training, going to day care, going to school, moving to a big bed and going to the dentist.
“Rather than an individual book we decided to look at a series because there are a number of things that can be very scary for pre-school aged children.” Characters Sophia and Mason guide readers through each milestone in a step-by-step rhythmic story that children can relate to. “Children love to see the steps taken before a change like moving to a big bed; it makes the kids feel at ease.”
Tamsyn and Fiona are already working on another addition to the series with the books proving popular among readers.
The books retail for $12.99 each or $39.99 for the full series and are available at moomoopublishers.co.nz or participating retailers.
THE WESTERN AUSTRALIAN LANDSCAPE IS A “TOTALLY DIFFERENT BALLGAME” TO NEW ZEALAND
TREE PLANTING IN CHALLENGING SOIL
Bill Davey (Sargood 1975–79) has built a successful business helping farmers earn income off barren red soil in Western Australia.
His Perth company, Plantation and Landcare Services, employs 14 people and is the biggest revegetation contractor in Western Australia. Bill, 53, originally from Tauranga, has lived in Australia for 29 years. After school he studied forestry through a traineeship at the New Zealand Forest Service in Rotorua.
Years of experience has given him specialist knowledge about how to manage Western Australia’s unforgiving soil, by planting salt-resistant plants.
He describes salt as “a white cancer slowly eating away at production and good soil types” in vast areas of flat land. The Western Australian landscape is a “totally different ballgame” to New Zealand, he says. “Because it is so flat we don’t have good drainage like at home. We have these huge areas of nonproductive bare soil types that we try to make productive. In Western Australia the country is very flat and we have a lot of salt that comes up through the soil profile because of poor drainage. So we
are trying to stop the spread of salt by vegetating.”
Farmland has been degrading due to rising water tables since deforestation during the Second World War more than 60 years ago. “As soon as the salty water reaches the surface, the fresh water just evaporates and leaves the salt which just kills everything.” The company deals with big areas of flat land. “We are talking farms of 30,000 acres, so they are massive.”
Plantation and Landcare Services uses contractors and machinery to plant belts and blocks of trees. “We also plant a fodder crop for the sheep to eat. It is called Saltbush so we are turning something that is non-productive into a very productive soil type.”
“Saltbush is a fantastic supplement feed for stock through the summer months.”
The company plants more than 500,000 Saltbush plants per year. Specialist machinery is used to plant 10,000 trees per day and the machine creates a profile enabling what little rain there is to be caught in the trench. His clients include state and federal departments as well as national civil contractors and farmers.
Last year Bill completed the Sydney to Hobart Yacht Race and a leg in a roundthe-world yacht race. He lives in Perth with his wife Deryn and they have two children Cameron (23) and Sara (21).
He visits New Zealand about every five years and would love to attend a school reunion “to catch up with some of my vintage.” Bill says he would be happy to talk to St Paul’s old boys seeking work in Western Australia.
MONICA HOLT
FORMULA FORD TITLE
Taylor Cockerton won the 2014/15 New Zealand Formula Ford Championship title after a dominating performance in the second half of the competition.
The St Paul’s student had a shaky start to the season with three ‘did-not-finishes’ that left him with zero points after the first six races. “The title was almost beyond our grasp but we knew we had the speed and the confidence to keep going,” Taylor said.
The 17-year-old made a speedy comeback winning almost every race he entered after the third round of the series. He also scored maximum points in the final round by qualifying fastest and winning all three races including the Ron Frost Memorial Trophy feature race.
Taylor has since completed a highly successful test in the new Toyota Racing Series FT50 car with the aim of taking part in the 2016 Toyota Racing Series and the V8 Supercars in future years.
COXED FOUR DOMINATE MAADI
St Paul’s men’s under-18 coxed four dealt a stinging blow to their competitors at the Aon Maadi Cup regatta, winning the Springbok Shield by more than a boat length.
Henry Wills, James Ingham, Connor Gordon, Charles Christey and cox Kelly Ford dominated the race, finishing with a time of 6:30:22 followed by Hamilton Boys’ High School (6:33:09) and Christ’s College (6:34:25).
The convincing win that unpinned Boys’ High from a 15-year winning streak was no surprise to Head Coach Graham Oberlin-Brown.
“I knew the boys were capable of winning but nothing is guaranteed in sport. It was entirely up to them to cope with the pressure and to use tools they had learnt throughout the season.”
Following the event James Ingham, Henry Wills and Thomas Hislop were selected for New Zealand junior trials and Connor Gordon was selected for the North Island under-18 team.
TUES 30 JUNE TO FRI 3 JULY, 7.30PM Southwell School Performing Arts Centre
T I C K ETS ON S A L E N O W www stpauls.school.nz/tickets
Postlethwaite
WORLD YOUTHS FOR SHOT PUTTER
Athletics New Zealand has announced a team of six athletes for the IAAF World Youth Championships including St Paul’s student Ryan Ballantyne.
Ryan was added to the mix of athletes after his dominating performance in the domestic 2014/15 athletics season. The 16-year-old broke the Waikato BOP shot put record several times over the summer, a record previously held by 1994 Commonwealth Games medallist Courtney Ireland.
The first time Ryan broke the record he threw an impressive 19.08m at the Central Zone Athletics Championships in March, which catapulted him to number five in the world in the under-18 5kg category.
Ryan described his record breaking performance as “a bit surreal” saying he had only gained an extra three metres to his throw in the few weeks preceding the competition. The championships will be held in Cali, Colombia’s third largest city, from 15–19 July this year.
BRIGHT FUTURE FOR VIOLINIST
Emi Ng’s musical talent is getting attention among New Zealand’s orchestral music community. The young violinist was selected for the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Symphony Orchestra (NZSSSO) which is made up of roughly 100 musicians.
Michelle Flint, Director of Music at St Paul’s, said Emi’s selection for the NZSSSO was a promising step to one day becoming a member of the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra. “Emi will no doubt be gracing the stage for larger orchestral performances in a few more years,” Michelle said. “The fact that she was selected as a soloist for Trust Waikato Symphony Orchestra at only 16 years of age speaks volumes for her capabilities as an artist.”
Emi was also selected by Trust Waikato Symphony Orchestra to play a solo, Schindler’s List (John Williams and Itzhak Perlman), at an ANZAC day memorial concert held at the Founders Theatre in Hamilton.
CHEMISTRY WHIZ ON WORLD STAGE
Year 13 student Hugo Brown has been named a member of the New Zealand team that will compete in the International Chemistry Olympiad in Baku, Azerbaijan, in July.
The team, which will compete against 80 other countries, is made up of four students and two mentors. The 17-year-old was chosen from more than 200 of New Zealand’s best and brightest students.
Dr Jason McGrath, Hugo’s chemistry teacher at St Paul’s, says it is almost impossible to overstate the significance of Hugo’s selection for the New Zealand Chemistry Olympiad team: “The selection process for the New Zealand Chemistry Olympiad team is by far the most rigorous and in-depth examination of a secondary school student’s abilities in chemistry, going well beyond the standard curriculum both in scope and difficulty. The four students selected to represent New Zealand are without question the very best in the country."
Hugo’s selection speaks volumes of not only his current knowledge of the subject, but his ability to assimilate and understand new and advanced material. The chemistry whiz kid finished NCEA a year early, completing levels two and three (both with excellence endorsements) in 2014. He also passed three New Zealand Scholarship examinations, one with an outstanding endorsement.
“His ability to apply his knowledge of chemistry to unfamiliar problems or situations represents a key aspect of what makes a great scientist. Should he choose a career in science – and I certainly hope that he will – he has all the tools to become a leader and pioneer in the field of his choosing.”
Hugo was also selected as one of three New Zealand students to attend the National Youth Science Forum in Canberra held in January this year.
GRANDPARENTS OF OUR CURRENT STUDENTS TRAVELLED FAR AND WIDE TO BE HERE FOR OUR ANNUAL GRANDPARENTS DAY EVENT. THEY ENJOYED A CHAPEL SERVICE DELIVERED BY THEIR GRANDCHILDREN, TOURS OF THE SCHOOL AND AFTERNOON TEA.
WILLIAMS HOUSE UPGRADE COMPLETE
We are very grateful to have received an incredible amount of support from our St Paul’s family in order for the school to complete one of its four major capital projects. We asked our community to donate towards upgrading the last of the three boarding houses to ensure a safe environment, in terms of strengthening the building so that it was earthquake compliant and providing accommodation to enable more adult supervision. Thanks to the generosity of many, Williams House boarders now have a safe and modern space they proudly call home.
As you will be aware, given its low earthquake rating, the Waikato Anglican College Trust Board was faced with
the dilemma of whether to demolish Williams House; relocate the boarding house to a different site or strengthen, expand and upgrade the existing building. Through the generosity of Old Collegians and past and present families we were able to opt for the latter.
While we couldn’t afford to upgrade the entire boarding house, stages one and two of the upgrade have been completed. This includes:
• Earthquake strengthening the original Williams House building
• New Year 9 dormitory and Year 13 single-room accommodation
• New three-bedroom deputy housemaster’s residence and onebedroom assistant housemaster’s flat
• Renovated Year 10 and Year 11 accommodation and common room
In the next few years, we hope to renovate the Year 12 accommodation, students’ footlocker area and modernise the front of the building so that it aesthetically matches the newly developed section.
We are so grateful to the following individuals and families who have generously donated to make this project possible. Thank you.
Anonymous (11), Chris and Jill Grace, Andrew and Sarah Morton-Johnson, Gregg and Suzanne Brown, Chris and Liz Trower, Jon and Sue Tanner, Ben and Sam Corbin, John Rhodes Estate, John and Jenny Jackson, Annabel Cotton, Tom and Diane Ammann, Lex and Christina De Jong, Ken and Julie Williamson, Kerry and Susan Kirk, The Johnstone Trust, Great Oaks Trading Company, Grant and Judith Lander, Rodd and Jenny Carr, David Kidd, Leveson and Vicki Gower, Bryan and Gareth Sanson and Kylie and Michael Rameka, Spacific NZ, Wayne and Jan Doran, Giles Chanwai and Tammy Wong, Former Friends of St Paul’s Association, Lloyd and Karen Jones, Hugh Potter, Barry Galpan, Keith Sutton, Jefferis Family, Frances Blakely, Anthony Redmond, Gemmell Family, Colin and Fran Jackson, Trevor and Yok Hickmott and Campbell Ludbrook.
I would add, like many such projects, whilst largely complete it is by no means completely paid for and I would welcome other families and members of our school community to contribute where possible.
We feel sure that you and all involved will be proud of the end result.
JOHN JACKSON, CHAIR – ST PAUL’S FOUNDATION LTD
WILLIAMS HOUSE OPEN HOME
SATURDAY 27 JUNE –1.30PM
Come along and see the new extension and recently refurbished Williams House.
A welcome and blessing will start at 1.30pm followed by tours and finishing in the dining room with refreshments. All welcome.
For catering purposes, please RSVP by Friday 12 June to Kate Gibson on k.gibson@stpauls.school.nz or phone 07 957 8899 ext 8706.
WHY AREN’T HIGH SCHOOLS TEACHING AGRIBUSINESS?
John Oliver, a wellrespected and long standing farmer in the King Country, could see the need for more well educated young people in land based careers such as agriculture, forestry, horticulture, viticulture and aquaculture.
He had read stories about the demise of graduates who were leaving university with degrees but who were unable to find a job in the areas they had studied. John was disturbed to learn that where work was available, within the agricultural sector, only a handful of graduates were leaving university with agricultural related degrees.
He did some research. He visited local secondary schools and noticed that none of these schools offered any agricultural
The Centre of Excellence for Agricultural Science and Business programme is still very much in its infancy.
subjects. It seemed to him that schools were doing nothing to encourage bright young people to study in the sector that creates NZ’s largest export income.
“Farmers today are getting older and older and there are less qualified people to replace them to manage the land. I was concerned that there is no NCEA subject for young people to learn anything about agriculture,” says John.
“I had a dream. I dreamed that if we simply teach students what happens in the primary sector, we could attract more talented young people to consider studying land based careers at university.”
John wanted to make a difference. He wanted to see an academic agricultural subject being taught at secondary school level and he wanted St Paul’s to make this happen. John and Sarah Oliver made a significant donation to St Paul’s to create an agribusiness programme
If you would like more information about how you could become involved in this project, please email foundation@stpauls.school.nz
We
and to help the school construct a dedicated building for their best and brightest students. Three years on, John’s dream has very much become a reality.
The Oliver's contribution will help prepare tomorrow’s agribusiness leaders.
JOHN AND SARAH (CENTRE) WITH THEIR
GIFTING TO ST PAUL’S FOUNDATION
Adonation made to St Paul’s Foundation towards the school’s capital development projects is tax deductible. Below are examples of how tax effective giving over a period of 3 years can be managed, making full use of the 33.3% tax credit.
St Paul’s encourages all donors and supporters to seek independent professional advice on all matters relating to charitable taxation.
Home phone number: Mobile phone number: We will contact you to confirm your preferred payment options ie one-off payment, credit card, bank transfer. Yes
Name:
EVENTS CALENDAR 2015
JUNE
WED 10–SAT 13
FIELDAYS
Agribusiness at St Paul's. Come and visit us in the main pavilion – Site PD3 and PD5 at Mystery Creek
RUGBY DRAW
JUNE/JULY
TUE 30–FRI 3
BRASSED OFF
St Paul’s students present Brassed Off, an Amercian–British comedydrama based on the 1996 movie starring Ewan McGregor and Pete Postlethwaite
Southwell School, Performing Arts Centre, Hamilton Tickets on sale June 1, visit stpauls.school.nz/tickets
JUNE
SAT 27
WILLIAMS HOUSE OPEN HOME
We invite Williams House Old Collegians to a special function on Saturday 27 June, 2015 at 1.30pm to officially re-open the newly redeveloped Williams House.
For catering purposes please RSVP by Fri 19 June to Kate Gibson k.gibson@stpauls.school.nz or 07 957 8899 ext 8706.
1ST XV RUGBY HOME GAMES – 12PM
Sat 2 May St Paul’s vs Manurewa High
Sat 16 May St Paul’s vs Rotorua Boys High
Sat 6th June St Paul’s vs St John’s
Sat 13th June St Paul’s vs Rathkeale
Sat 27th June St Paul’s vs St Peter’s
Sat 4th July St Paul’s vs Fielding Semifinal and final game to be confirmed. All welcome.
SEPTEMBER SUN 13
TIHOI VENTURE SCHOOL OPEN DAY
A bus will leave St Paul's at 8am travel to Tihoi and return to Hamilton by 4pm. Morning tea and lunch are provided.
Booking esssential. Please RSVP to Kate Gibson k.gibson@stpauls.school.nz or 07 957 8899 ext 8706
Students will receive a 5% discount off specialist orthodontic treatment
Call us on (07) 855 9512 to make an appointment
AUGUST FRI 14
CELEBRATION OF MUSIC
Chapel of Christ the King. Tickets on sale Aug 1, visit stpauls.school.nz/tickets
SEPTEMBER SAT 5
OPEN DAY – 2PM
Please meet at the Chapel by 1.45pm for registration. A welcome from our head boy and head girl followed by an address from the Headmaster will start promptly at 2pm. Tours of the school begin at 2.30pm followed by afternoon tea in the dining room. All welcome.
OCTOBER TUE 13
NEW TERM STARTS
OCTOBER FRI 16–SAT 17
GISBORNE SHOW AND PARENTS EVENING
Dr Ali Ukra
BDS (Distinction), DClinDent (Otago)
Orthodontic Specialist
Available at: The Rototuna Dental Centre Rototuna Shopping Centre The Dentist 487 Anglesea Street
Gentle Dental Cambridge 33 Victoria Street
If you could invest in new equipment, would you?
BNZ Asset Finance could help fund up to 100% of new equipment for your business, or you could use your current equipment or vehicles as security for a loan. Speak to one of our specialists who understand business finance.
BNZ is a proud Business Partner of the Centre of Excellence for Agricultural Science and Business Programme.
