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Dear Parents and Caregivers
Kia ora koutou katoa.
The highlight of last weekend was the Senior Formal held for the first time at Te Pae. Formals have long been a rite of passage for senior students, and this was my 25th formal as a school Principal (Rector). I must say the demeanour of our students and those from visiting schools was outstanding. The respect shown to and engagement with the large number of staff who attended was notable and by all accounts, the students had a great time – and they looked amazing!
Congratulations to Christine Jeon (Year 12) who staged a solo cello performance in the Great Hall on Tuesday lunchtime this week. The challenging repertoire showcased her exceptional talent and can be viewed on the link below. For two of the items, Christine was accompanied by her brother Samuel on piano, currently studying at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music. How fortunate we are to have such talent to enjoy at St Andrew’s!
Christine Jeon's Performance >
There have been many activities this week as profiled in the newsletter, but I do want to mention the Year 7– 8 sports teams who took part in the Medbury Centenary celebration sports festival this week. There were great games played against Medbury School, Kings Preparatory School (from Auckland), and Waihi School.
Today has been an important day for one of our St Andrew’s community groups – The Ladies Circle. Sixty-five years ago today this group began, instigated by Betty Galloway the wife of the then Rector Ian Galloway (1962–1982). For 65 years this dedicated group has met in support of St Andrew’s College. The following words were added to the Ladies’ Circle poem – written by Val Wells – to mark this milestone.
St Andrew’s College Ladies’ Circle 65 Years
Who would have thought it we’re now 65.
Saphire, true blue and very much alive.
Between lockdowns through COVID, our meetings went on.
Proving the circle is still going strong.
Keep going strong circle, stay strong every day
The 70th anniversary is only five years away.
Our love for the College, always there, buried deep.
Commitment, friendship, forever we’ll keep.
Thank you to this group of women, mothers, grandmothers, ex-staff and wives of Old Collegians, who continue to serve the very best interests of St Andrew’s College.
This month’s guest speaker was Old Collegian Molly Spark who started at the College in 2016. Now aged 20, Molly is a passionate Adventure Racer, who has raced all over New Zealand and shows no signs of slowing down.
Yesterday, I hosted lunch with two ex-students from Robert Gordon’s College in Aberdeen as the Otaki Scholars. Anish Subramaniam and Matthew Cranfield spend six weeks touring New Zealand and visiting nine schools. They were great company and are enjoying being shown the sights of Christchurch and the friendship of our four Heads of College and two Heads of Boarding.
Best wishes to students who are going to the Years 9–10 school dance tonight, the jazz bands for their performances at JazzQuest this weekend and the Pipe Band for their StAC Attack concert on Sunday evening before they departure for Scotland the following Sunday.
Best wishes to all for a great weekend.
Ngā mihi nui.
Christine Leighton
Rector
Last Saturday night, amid the wild rain and wind, 550 excited students and a number of staff arrived in their finery at Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre for the 2023 Senior College Formal. The theme this year, chosen by the Senior College Council, was ‘Neon Paradise’, with innovative LED lighting rods providing a stunning interpretation of this idea. This was the first year that the Formal has been held at Te Pae, and feedback from students was highly complementary of the food, drink, DJ, five-star amenities and location of this beautiful new building.
Huge credit must go to the Senior College Council for their organisation of the event, with much of the behind-the-scenes planning done by Preparatory School Receptionist Kelsey Williams, Development Co-ordinator Mel Rissman, and Senior College Administrator Jocelyn Simmons. This team worked extremely hard liaising with suppliers and transferring our ticket sales to an online platform, and their help was invaluable. The Formal was a very successful event and one of the highlights of our Senior College year so far.
FLICKR >Recently the jazz students performed at Ara as part of the JazzQuest Combo Concert, which was a great warm-up for their tour to Nelson last week.
FLICKR >
The Music students who took part in last week’s Nelson Jazz Tour gave eight performances in total. The students were well received, and the musicians performed with wonderful style. The group enjoyed joining Nayland College and Waimea College and forming a surprise new trio at one of the events. The students also enjoyed laser tag, pedal bikes, a beach walk, and games.
FLICKR >On Thursday night, a group of 15 Year 13 Business Studies teams and two brave Year 10 teams participated in our annual Business Night Market in the Senior College. Our teams were also joined by three teams from Christchurch Girls’ High School, one team from St Margaret’s College, and five teams from Cashmere High School. The products/businesses needed to be sustainable and innovative and ranged from boxed brownie gift packs to homemade muesli. The level of thought and professionalism was admirable, and a fantastic night was enjoyed by the teams’ whānau and members of each team’s target market.
FLICKR >
The Year 12 Photography class took a break from the classroom on Thursday to visit the Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū. It was an opportunity to see some actual artwork and marvel at the range of mediums artists engage with. From historical work to contemporary New Zealand and Pasifika art, the highlights were the more modern work. It was encouraging to see a good representation of photography on display, the favourites being large format portraits.
Year 12 Agriscience students visited three very different farming systems on Thursday. Patoa Farms piggery’s grower manager, Rob, guided the group around his large outdoor piggery explaining precisely what the students have been learning in class – how do we keep pigs happy and productive in hot nor’ westers as well as freezing winter southerlies. There’s a lot of work Patoa does to manage temperature, high-quality feed, and careful monitoring.
The next stop was the Pegasus Bay Winery, where manager Jamie guided the group through the vital decisions that are made, even in winter, to ensure his vines stay healthy and productive. The difference between making poor wine and excellent wine starts years before in a lot of decisions related to plant health, and Jamie was happy to share many important factors he has used with the students.
Finally, the last stop was Zealandia Horticulture – an impressively busy and orderly seedling-growing business near Belfast. The large scale of this business has enabled owner Paul to invest in systems to keep the environment just right – temperature, humidity, nutrients, and logistics – all optimised in the way the students have been learning in the classroom.
This week the Preparatory School took part in the Medbury Centenary Tournament, a festival of sport to celebrate Medbury School’s centenary. Joined by Waihi School (Winchester), King’s School (Auckland) and St Andrew’s College, Medbury organised daily fixtures in football, hockey and rugby.
The poor weather saw the 1st XV only play King’s School in Dunsandel, kindly organised by one of our parents, where they proudly performed the school haka. Football was played over the three days and despite being on the wrong end of a one-sided score against a highly skilled King’s School, they bounced back to win the most eagerly anticipated game of the season against Medbury. The hockey Girls’ A team, shortly to travel to Tauranga for the AIMS games, took on the boys of Medbury, King’s and Waihi. They were skilful in all of their games, with the highlight being a 1–1 draw with King’s School.
FLICKR >On Wednesday, Waihi School travelled to Christchurch to play netball against the Preparatory School 7A team. Waihi held the lead throughout, until St Andrew’s College pulled ahead with a minute to go but were unable to hold on as Waihi levelled the score with seconds remaining and a 13–13 draw at the finish.
BASKETBALL
On Tuesday night, both Senior teams played games that had important ramifications for regular season seeding, as we approach the playoffs. Our Senior Girls played second-placed Rangiora High School and early fouls made for a close first quarter, with St Andrew’s taking a slim lead into the first break. Lauren Whittaker (Year 13) controlled the boards whilst Kavanah Lene (Year 13) and Ophelia Powell (Year 12) led the charge on offence, blitzing from the end of the second quarter onwards. A 20-point halftime lead extended to 50-points at one point, before settling for a convincing 85–40 win.
Our Senior Boys played Cashmere High School, with a win securing them the second seed and a guaranteed semi-final spot. Cashmere jumped out to an early lead, with some sloppy possessions leading to careless turnovers. After trailing at the half, a defensive run midway through the third quarter pushed St Andrew’s in front. Behind the defensive efforts of Carter Rhodes (Year 12) and Mitchell Corkery (Year 13), our boys managed to secure a 78–64 win.
HOCKEY
The Girls’ 1st XI played St Margaret’s College in their most recent SSP competition match. In the first half, St Andrew’s played steadily to be 1–0 up at halftime. After the break and in the third quarter, the team changed into top gear and played some very attractive hockey scoring four goals. They used great width and depth in the field and stretched the St Margaret’s team. The final score was 6–1 to St Andrew’s, which puts them in second place and one point behind Rangi Ruru Girls’ School, with a game in hand.
The Boys’ 1st XI played Cashmere High School on a very cold and wet night. Right from the start St Andrew’s dominated the match with some great movements down the flank. At the final whistle, the score was 9–1 to St Andrew’s, which puts the team into fourth place with their match this week against third-placed Christchurch Boys’ High School.
FOOTBALL
The Girls’ 1st XI remains unbeaten and top of the table after a competitive game against Lincoln High School. St Andrew’s started the game on the front foot when they created four chances in the first 18 minutes of the game. It was not until the 25th minute that Kyra Lazor (Year 13) unlocked the score, followed by Megan Simpson (Year 12) to win the game 2–0. The team remains top of the table and has kept the Connetics Shield. Congratulations to Isobel Forsey, Hannah Burnett (both Year 12) and Chloe MacDonald (Year 10) on their first cap with the 1st XI team.
Coming off the back of a disappointing result against Rangiora High School last week, the Boys’ 1st XI put their best foot forward to finish as high as possible in the championship group. Playing Middleton Grange School, both sides started strong, and after a flurry of chances from Callum Moores (Year 13), St Andrew’s took the lead through an 'Olympic goal' from Noah Cole (Year 11) who scored straight from a corner. Middleton Grange hit back straight away with some good play down the right to finish with a good team goal just before halftime. The second half started a lot like the first, with both teams having chances but a good finish from Callum Moores made it 2–1. St Andrew’s nearly made it a third when Callum was brought down by the keeper just outside the box, resulting in the keeper being sent off and Middleton Grange having to play the rest of the game with 10 men. The last 10 minutes of the game were a frenzy, with Middleton Grange scoring a goal for a 2–2 draw. The team now moves into the playoff next week.
NETBALL
The Premier 2 game this week was against Kia Toa B. When the Senior A team last played them, Kia Toa won by 19 goals so the team knew that this would be a challenging game and it would be important for them to work together as a team. The first quarter score saw St Andrew’s behind by one goal and by the third quarter, they were up by four goals, having won this quarter by eight goals. Naturally, both teams came out with great determination in the final quarter and despite St Andrew’s best efforts, the final score was 53–54.
Wednesday’s game was against Rangiora High School A. As each game in this round is important to determine who will be in the final, the Senior A team was keen to have a good start. While St Andrew’s was up by four goals at the end of the first quarter, it was clear the team would need to play with determination for the full game, fighting for every possible intercept. This tactic paid off in the third quarter when St Andrew’s was able to pull ahead to end with a win and a final score of 46–26.
The A team played a tough Lincoln High School team on Tuesday in their Division 2 match. The team started slowly losing their first three singles matches. However, Matthew Kenyon (Year 10) turned things around and won his final singles match 2–1. In the doubles part of the match, Daniel Robertson (Year 13) and Yuze (Austin) Zhao (Year 11) played very well to win. This left the other doubles pairing of Matthew and Harvey Cross (Year 11) needing to win by two matches to win the encounter overall. The boys played very well and gave their best. However, it was not to be and the St Andrew’s team lost the overall match 2–4
FLICKR >
On Saturday, the 1st XV played Christ’s College in a traditional fixture with the Deans-Anderson Shield on the line. With driving horizontal rain, a chilling wind factor, and very heavy conditions, even the spectators found it difficult trying to find a spot out of the conditions. It was a very hard-fought battle especially up front, with St Andrew’s winning the toss and electing to go into the wind. St Andrew’s started extremely well but couldn’t convert anything into points. College scored two unconverted tries, and just before half-time St Andrew’s scored under the posts to make it 7–10. The second half was a real arm wrestle, but St Andrew’s held their nerve (especially on defence) and scored midway through the half to make it 12–10, which they held onto to take the win. The cold conditions did impact a number of our boys, but our bench stepped up and did a sterling job in battling the conditions. The 1st XI displayed great character and commitment in brutal conditions in front of 80 Old Collegians celebrating reunions from 1953 to 2013. There were some very proud Old Collegians and a very relieved team that thoroughly deserved the win. The Deans-Anderson Shield remains at St Andrew’s College for another year!
FLICKR >A team of 11 St Andrew’s swimmers competed at the New Zealand Secondary Schools National Swimming Championships in Wellington at the end of last week, winning a total of 8 medals (individual 2 gold, 3 silver, 1 bronze and relays 2 bronze), with many swimmers achieving personal bests.
Individual medal winners:
Relay medal winners:
Alex and Luke Manson (both Year 10) competed in the South Island Finals of the New Zealand Physics and Mathematics Competition (NZPMC) on Saturday. In the Junior category (Years 9–11), Luke came first, and Alex came fourth.
On Thursday, St Andrew’s senior debating teams competed in Round 5 of the CSDC School Debating Competition. StAC White, consisting of Luke Wylie, Emily Keith (both Year 13) and James Hart (Year 12), beat Burnside 1. StAC Blue, Mia Fraser, Harry Anderson (both Year 13) and Liam Hackston (Year 12), were narrowly defeated by Rangi Ruru Girls’ School in their round. StAC Gold only had two team members, Jayden Okeroa (Year 12) and Katherine Simcock (Year 11), who did well to hold their own against St Margaret College’s top team, but unfortunately didn’t. Both the Blue and Gold teams were on the negating side, arguing that social media is an acceptable primary news source. Our senior teams have one round left before the semi-finals.
FLICKR >Today in the Senior College Assembly, Leon Dias and Jack Satterthwaite (both Year 12) were presented with their Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award. This now brings our total Silver Duke of Edinburgh recipients to 27 for the year to date.
James Anthony and Daniel Officer (both Year 11) participated in the 2023 South Island Brain Bee competition this week at Otago University. The two days included lectures provided by Otago University Neuroscience staff, participation in an animal brain dissection, the Brain Bee competition itself, and Otago Museum-related activities. Otago University offers a neuroscience mentoring programme and both James and Daniel are involved in this programme. Their composite team was placed third in the Group Competition.
Last Sunday the first VEX Robotics scrimmages were held, incorporating two new games this season. In the VEX IQ competition, the two teams were playing Full Volume. The competition was fierce with a coalition between a Hillmorton High School team and the St Andrew’s team 88397D ‘We are Cool’ winning the competition. This was an excellent result for this new Year 7 team which is made up of Jacob Brinch, Harry Sibson, Oliver Gibb and Alex O’Neill (absent due to illness).
In the senior competition playing Over Under, five teams were entered. The final was won by a coalition of a Burnside High School team and the St Andrew’s team, 88397V ‘Series’ – Oliver Murchison, Aki Hansen, Edison Pang (all Year 11) and Alexander Harbrow (Year 10).
In the New Zealand Poetry Society International Poetry Competition 2023, the following students have been awarded:
Haiku Junior Section:
Open Junior Section, Primary/Intermediate:
Alyssa Geddes (Year 8) recently competed at the South Island Ballet Awards at the Isaac Theatre Royal. This highly regarded competition is run biannually over several days. Alyssa competed against 58 11–14 year olds completing a technical class, classical set variation and own choice solo for a panel of distinguished adjudicators. As one of the younger dancers in her first year of major competition, Alyssa was delighted to be a semi-finalist and be awarded a training scholarship with the prestigious Melbourne Academy of Arts Dance School.
She was also successful in a smaller competition over King's Birthday Weekend, winning the Junior Neoclassical trophy.
Violet Winterbourn (Year 3) recently competed in six categories at the Christchurch Speech and Drama Competition, including dramatic extract, mime, own poetry and poetry recitals. Violet won gold in four Under 8-year-old categories and silver in two under 13-year-old categories. She was joint winner of the Trinity 125 Jubilee Cup for poetry recitals, and also won the Ann-Maree Bateman Cup for overall success in her age group.
Aiden Jia (Year 5) won gold at the recent H.C. Andersen International Art Exhibition in the junior group.
On Friday 21 July, the OCA Annual Dinner was hosted at the College, with a near-full house of 135 guests gathering for the special awards that are presented each year. The evening started with a rousing Address to a Haggis, delivered by Jonathan Wells (OC 1987) and ably assisted by John Reid (OC 1956) and Bruce Nell (OC 1967). The dinner was emceed by OCA President Sam Crosbie (OCA 2009), and we welcomed three very deserving award winners. The first of the night, The Alister Newton Cup for Service, went to Dr Hugh Wilson (OC 1962) for his services to botany and conservation in New Zealand, in particular his development and guardianship of Hinewai on the Banks Peninsula. Tainui Stephens (OC 1975) was awarded The Cockram Cultural Award for Excellence and Service to Culture. Tainui has been involved in Māori television and film production for many years, including producing the 2022 movie, Whina. Our final award, The Maginness Cup for Excellence in Sports, was awarded to Queensland-based Blair Stockwell (OC 1967). Blair’s distinguished career in cycling saw him competing in three Commonwealth Games and one Olympic Games, in various cycling disciplines. He won a bronze medal at all three Commonwealth Games and was appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1982 for services to cycling.
FLICKR >
On Saturday 22 July, a freezing, wet and bitterly cold Christchurch day, 80 Old Collegians gathered for our annual 1st XV Rugby Reunion. We welcomed teams from 1953, 1963, 1973, 1983, 1993, 2003 and 2013. It was a fantastic turnout for one of the most-anticipated games of the season against Christ’s College. We were delighted to have three of our 1953 team members, Euan Hilson (OC 1954), Don Sloss (OC 1955) and Geoff Millar (OC 1956) celebrating their 70 Years On. Before the game, Mike Johnston (OC 1974) took the Old Cols to present the 1st XV players with their jerseys. Don Sloss, Paul Le Lievre (OC 1963), Guy Gardiner (OC 1973), Duncan Anderson (OC 1983), Clark McLeod (OC 1993) and Mikae Tuu’u (OC 2003) all delivered powerful speeches to the players, sharing memories of their games against Christ’s College, and what that game had meant to them. Back in the Sports Pavilion, the guests were able to watch the match from the balcony, although many retreated inside by halftime due to the atrocious weather. It was a relief when the final whistle blew, and St Andrew’s secured a 12–10 win.
FLICKR >Rhys Mariu (OC 2019) has received the 16th Canterbury Men’s Domestic Contract from Canterbury Cricket.
Pippa Henderson (OC 2022) has joined Navarro College volleyball in Texas, USA.
Good luck to all students who are representing the College over the weekend in sports and cultural activities.
On 1 July the fares on Greater Christchurch public transport, buses and ferry, changed. The 50% fare discount funded by the government has now ceased. Environment Canterbury has now implemented a new fare structure with the following changes:
What do students need to know?
Join us for the StAC Agricultural Show on Wednesday 20 September. Students can enter a number of fun events, such as baking, art, flower arrangements, and Lego creations, with placings from first to third place receiving a ribbon, and all first-place winners will also receive a prize.
There is something for everyone at this A&P Show-inspired event. Come along to Gym 1 to experience all the art, baking and other pet entries as well as the petting zoo – get set for a day of Agricultural fun!
Entries: Cost: $3.00 per category entered (viewing the entries on the day is free). Entries close Friday 15 September 2023. To enter your child/ren into the StAC Agricultural Show, please click to complete the relevant entry form/s below:
Join us for an informative, free evening focused on how we can support our students with academic anxiety through this high-pressure time in their life. We know that teens experience stress due to the normal pressures of secondary school, but during academic assessment, this stress can increase.
Our guest speakers at this StACTalks session will include:
After the presentation there will be time to have a drink and talk to fellow parents, followed by a panel discussion where parents are free to ask questions and provide feedback.
Date: Tuesday 1 August
Time: 6.30pm–8.00pm
Location: Senior College Common Room
Experience the thrilling sounds of StAC Attack 2023! A St Andrew’s College Pipe Band event at the prestigious Christchurch Town Hall – James Hay Theatre, this highly anticipated showcase guarantees an unforgettable evening of traditional Scottish entertainment and an opportunity to see our A Band in action before they travel to Scotland to compete at the World Pipe Band Championships in August. Immerse yourself in the rich harmonics of the bagpipes, the infectious beat of the drums, and the flair of the Highland dancers as they take the stage. With talented St Andrew's College students from Years 4–13 showcasing their skills, StAC Attack promises to be an action-packed performance.
With special guests New Zealand Champion Pipe Band – Canterbury Caledonian Society.
When: Sunday 30 July, 5.00pm–7.00pm
Where: In the Christchurch Town Hall – James Hay Theatre
Tickets: Adults $49 | Children $29
Monday 21 August (Week 6 of Term 3) is a Teacher-Only Day set aside for staff to work on preparation for the new NCEA Level 1 programme to be implemented from the start of 2024. On that day, we will also be running a number of ‘advance’ Prelim examinations: Level 1 Mathematics, Level 2 English, Level 3 Biology. These examinations are compulsory for enrolled students, will be run formally (SAC entitlements will be provided as normal), and will provide the derived grades for NCEA and more information will be provided separately in a few weeks’ time. It will not be possible to run these particular examinations at any other time than on this day. More information can be found in this week’s NCEA Newsletter.
Two scholarships have been generously sponsored by an Old Collegian and are available for Year 11–12 students. The objective of these scholarships is to encourage personal discovery through experiential learning and develop leadership potential in young adults. Both scholarships provide 80% funding, with the remaining 20% and travel funded by the recipient.
Spirit of Adventure Scholarship (Year 11) – One scholarship provides support for one Year 11 student to participate in a 10-day sailing on the Spirit of Adventure (choice of dates). Further information on the sailing can be found on the Spirit of Adventure website by clicking here. Please also see further information on the College website by clicking here.
Outward Bound Scholarship (Year 12) – The Outward Bound scholarship provides support for one Year 12 student to experience an Outward Bound Mind, Body and Soul course from 5–25 January 2024. Further information on this course can be found on the Outward Bound website by clicking here. Please also see further information on the College website by clicking here.
All Year 11 and 12 students will be emailed a link to the online application forms, which open Monday 24 July and close Monday 14 August 2023. Please note only students can access and complete these forms. For further information, please contact Assistant Head of Secondary School (Academic), Helaina Coote, on HCE@stac.school.nz.
With international borders open and the movement of people across borders back to normal, we have the privilege of having international students join us once again at St Andrew’s College to enrich their learning journey. We are looking for families who are willing to host international students in their homes in the following three capacities:
For more information, please contact Director of International Students and Exchanges, Pale Tauti at PTU@stac.school.nz.
In support of the Boarders’ Assembly on Friday 4 August, the student Agriculture Committee will once again be holding Gumboot Day to support and raise money for youth mental health. Students are encouraged to wear (clean) gumboots to school and text BOOTS to 469 to donate $3.00. Thank you for your support.
The online sales for the following 2023 photographs are now available:
Details of how to order the photographs can be found on our website using the button below and you will need to log into StACNet using your St Andrew's College login.
If you have any questions relating to this service, please email photography@stac.school.nz.
ORDER PHOTOGRAPHS ONLINE >The Community Business Directory is on our website under Alumni & Community and represents over 100 parent businesses. Please take a look at how many businesses you can support locally.
The St Andrew's College Community Business Directory >
If you would still like to register your business, complete the following form.
Community Business Directory Registration >
Ākonga Absence and Ill-health
A polite reminder that any ākonga who are unwell should not attend school. For any absence, whether ill-health or otherwise, the College’s preferred platform for reporting this is via our online form below.
Recording a Student Absence >
If you are not able to report your child's absence using the online form, please report their absence via the relevant email address below. If you cannot get through to us via the form or email, please call our attendance line on +64 3 940 2031 (term time only).
For a full list of upcoming school events, please refer to the fixtures page on StACNet.
