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Dear Parents and Caregivers
On Monday our leavers, 212 from Year 13 and 12 from Year 12, had their last day of school and they were suitably farewelled. It is a St Andrew’s College tradition that a series of events celebrate this significant milestone for them: Leavers’ Chapel, 13 Years On event (in Strowan House for the 12 students who had completed 13 years at St Andrew’s), Leavers’ Assembly, Leavers’ Dinner, and a Strowan gathering for Year 12 Leavers. These moments are an important time for us to show gratitude to whānau and together to celebrate the accomplished, considerate, well-rounded individuals our students have become.
Within the Leavers’ Assembly, we acknowledged the Academics 30s, Academic ‘Greatest Movers’, Tertiary Scholarship Awards, and two Year 13 musical groups performed. Deputy Heads of College, Lachlan Odlin and Poppy Rumble reflected on their time in the Secondary School, there was the Year 13 leavers song and the Head of Secondary School, Evert van Florenstein, paid tribute to the teaching staff leaving at the end of the year.
A very special item was a cello solo by outstanding musician Christine Jeon (Year 12) who is leaving at the end of this year to study performance music at Auckland University. Christine’s performance of Variations on a Theme by Rossini by N. Paganini was breathtaking, and those fortunate enough to hear this know they witnessed a very special performance from a remarkable talent.
Congratulations to the Year 13 leavers who were presented with the following awards:
The Leavers also acknowledged and thanked their Dean, Donna Jones, and presented the ‘Good Sort’ Award to our Cleaning Supervisor, Pam Darcy.
I congratulate our Year 13 leavers for the way they conducted themselves on their final day where emotions are running high. They have been a respectful cohesive group, who have contributed significantly to leadership, community service, and their many talents to co-curricular activities and shown gratitude to their teachers and staff who have guided them over the years.
In the afternoon the Year 11 students had their Convocation Assembly to acknowledge their transition from Middle School into the Senior College. This too is an important milestone at St Andrew’s.
Finally, I must congratulate the outstanding results from our Preparatory School Future Problem Solving students. The fourteen StAC teams and individuals who competed were rewarded with three first places, a second and a third place (see details below). 12 students have now qualified for the opportunity to compete on the global stage in the USA next year. Watch this space!
Best wishes to all for a good weekend.
Ngā mihi mahana
Christine Leighton
Rector
Last week, over 1000 guests were in awe of the amazing cast, orchestra and crew of Disney's The Little Mermaid. The challenges were immense, from an 18-piece live orchestra of mostly younger musicians, rehearsing in classrooms, performing in Gym 1, costumes that had to be created from scratch, a whole new crew, to a big cast, some of whom had never been on stage or danced before. The end result was an incredible show. We would like to extend enormous thanks to the parents and senior students who helped backstage, the entire creative team and the students.
FLICKR >
The 2023 Leavers’ Chapel was held on Sunday 29 October with the theme of ‘Finding your voice.’ Prayers by our Rector, Christine Leighton, and Heads of College were heard, as well as readings from Board Chair Felicity Odlin, Head of Secondary School Evert van Florenstein, and Head of Senior College John Ruge. The Year 13 Dean, Donna Jones, chose a reading from Dr Seuss to farewell her students.
Mia Walker (Year 13) sang Enlightenment, and Staccoro sang Till We Meet Again conducted by Sea-am Thompson (Year 12). Grace Burnett and Struan Gordon (Year 13), accompanied by Mia Fraser (Year 13) on acoustic guitar, sang From the Start. Rev. Paul Morrow’s message focused on the theme of finding your voice to enable others to find their voice.
FLICKR >On Monday morning, more than 200 Year 13 leavers, together with 11 students who are leaving from Year 12, enjoyed a beautiful breakfast of waffles, bacon, fruit compote and chocolate milk prepared by Catering Manager, Russell Gray, and his team in the Strowan House dining room. The event preceded the Leavers’ Assembly and was a great way for students to come together to start the day’s celebrations. Year 13 tutors helped with serving and clearing tables, and students enjoyed each other’s company before the flag-raising ceremony for the start of the assembly. Thank you to the catering team and the numerous staff members who made this a very successful event.
FLICKR >
Every year our Year 11 students are farewelled in the Centennial Chapel by Head of Middle School, Matt Parr, and effectively handed over to Senior College and its Head, John Ruge. The event celebrated the three years this cohort has spent in Middle School with a diverse range of photos and quick reflections by three of the students: Madeline Davidson – speaking about Year 9, Amber de Wit, speaking about Year 10, and Noah Fanene, who spoke about Year 11. Reflections included their very first day in Year 9 and the nerves rattling around, through to school camps, Te Waka Solos and the anticipation of what's to come with NCEA examinations. Year 11 Dean, Dayna Stirling, reflected on how proud she is of her cohort and how wonderful it will be to be part of the Senior College. Some students received the Whakatipu (Growth) Award and Whakapau Kaha (Effort/Endeavour) Award to acknowledge their efforts in class, while 30 students were recognised for making the greatest academic gains since the beginning of Year 9. The Middle School team will miss this group next year but know that they will embrace the step into their Senior College years.
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Year 12 students recently gave their time to support the Fife Foundation event, held for local charity Full Bellies who help families in need by providing children with nutritional food delivered into schools.
This week, some of our Pre-school children were invited to join a Year 5 Art class in the Preparatory School to make a clay Christmas decoration. The older students carefully guided those from the Pre-school and there was excitement all around as everyone had the chance to get a little creative. There was a wonderful sense of leadership, togetherness and kindness as the children all worked together in this creative space. Having the opportunity to strengthen connections within the wider school is so important and it feels really special to be part of such a connected community of learners.
On Thursday, the Year 9 students and their tutors had a fabulous couple of hours picking up rubbish along the New Brighton, Waimairi Beach coastline. The lack of rubbish was great to see, but 9S won the prize for picking up the most. Once the rubbish had been picked up, the students enjoyed sandcastle competitions, beach volleyball or hut building. Head Ranger of Coastal and Plains for Christchurch City Council, Robbie Hewson, gave a brief talk to the cohort before they headed out and gave a great overview of what is happening along our coast and why looking after it is so important.
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The Year 12 VETR class participated in a conservation action project over two days this week at Flock Hill Station, west of Castle Hill. They worked on a heavily infested wilding pine block and mitigated an impressive 1407 wilding pines. This action project was aligned with an Education for Sustainability Achievement Standard. We extend thanks to this group of students on behalf of the College for undertaking this project which contributes our whole school commitment to sustainability.
St Andrew’s College Preparatory School students experienced huge success last weekend in Auckland at the 2023 National Finals for Future Problem Solving, coming away with three first placings for New Zealand amongst other accolades:
The Australian Mathematics Competition results are in for the 80 St Andrew’s College students who participated. Worldwide 172,791 students from 2156 schools entered the world's largest mathematics competition for secondary school students.
Benjamin Yu (Year 7) and Cong (Zilong) Chen (Year 7) achieved perfect scores, receiving the prestigious Peter O’Halloran Awards. This is extremely rare – according to Wikipedia, the record for perfect scores was in 1998 when Australia (as a whole country) had 10 while Singapore had 23.
Full results:
The Girls’ futsal team claimed the Term 4 Mainland Championship title after playing five games. They came out of the tournament unbeaten, winning the final game against Rangi Ruru Girls’ School 12–0.
On Saturday, the Girls’ Sevens team competed at the MacKenzie Rugby Club in Fairlee for the Annual South Island Sevens Tournament. After a long week, where they secured a ticket to the Condor National Tournament, the girls were hoping to continue their growth and development as they build towards the pinnacle event in December. In a shortened competition, the girls faced Craighead Diocesan School and St Hilda’s Collegiate to qualify for the final. In the opening game, the girls beat Craighead with an outstanding last-play try from Sienna Stowers-Smith (Year 13). However, St Hilda’s proved to be a bridge too far for our girls after a few injuries and a few absentees. With nine girls left standing, the team took on rivals Columba College in the third/fourth place play-off, finishing fourth.
Charlotte Kyle (Year 10), Femke McLean (Year 9), Neve Aitken (Year 10), Tave Stuart (Year 11) and Siara Clark (Year 12), who were pre-selected from their Dance examinations as amongst the top in New Zealand, competed at the National Scholarship Awards in Wellington over the past weekend. Femke McLean and Tave Stuart progressed to the finals, with Tave achieving second place in the Ballet section.
Hayley Nolan (Year 13), along with Milly Christie, Brianna Sloper and Isla Miers (all OC 2022) all received their Diplomas for Highland and National Dancing at the New Zealand Academy of Highland and National Dancing conference held in Palmerston North recently. All four are now fully qualified to teach and adjudicate Highland Dancing.
At the recent Temuka Competition, Hayley won Most Points U18, Most Points on the Day and Most Points for the Year, she also competed in Ashburton where she won Most Points for Highland events U18 and Most Points local U18.
The second Vex Robotics Scrimmage for Term 4 was held at Burnside High School last Saturday. In the VEX VRC Competition (Secondary School) St Andrew’s fielded four teams into the VEX Over Under Competition. The competition was fierce with one of the four moving through into the finals. The finals match was a coalition of Team 88397B ‘The Mischievous Fellas’ and Ao Tawhiti, versus a coalition of two Burnside teams. The game was won in the last 10 seconds and the St Andrew’s/Ao Tawhiti coalition was pipped at the post 106–126, with one of the Burnside robots getting elevation at the end of the match, scoring 20 points. This was a great result for this team as it was the first time they have made the finals this year.
In the VEX IQ Competition (Preparatory School) St Andrew’s fielded two teams into the VEX Full Volume Competition. Team 88397E ‘Cinimiminim’ with their robot ‘Beetle’ finished in sixth place but were only four points from making the semi-finals. Team 88397D, with their robot ‘D-Jeff’ finished in seventh place. Although none of these teams made the finals, Teacher in Charge of Vex Robotics, Andy Kerrison, was impressed with the improvements both teams have made in both their robots, development, and game strategy.
Gemma Lewis (Year 13) competed at the Marlborough Dressage Championships in Blenheim over Labour weekend. She won Reserve Champion Level 1 riding LL Tyche and Reserve Champion Level 7 riding Ruanuku R.
At the 3x3 Basketball Cup this week, Kavanah Lene, Lauren Whittaker (both Year 13) and the Mainland Pouākai finished with bronze medals, and Tanae Lavery (OC 2021) and the Taranaki Airs finished 9th overall.
Spencer Menzies (Year 11) has achieved several climbing successes in recent months at the Climbing New Zealand National Championships. In September, he competed in the National Open Bouldering Championships, finishing sixth overall in a very strong field. This result led to the Climbing New Zealand Oceania selection to compete in Melbourne later this year, which is an Olympic qualifying event. In October, Spencer took part in the National Youth Bouldering Championships and secured third place in his age category.
Tom Rance (OC 2018) recently competed in Malaysia as part of the New Zealand National Flag Football Team in the Asia/Oceania Continental Championships. Unfortunately, they lost the tournament to Thailand in the dying seconds of the final. Tom's highlight was beating internationally ranked Japan in the semi-final. He scored an intercept touchdown on full time to seal the game and also led the competition in intercepts.
Joshua Guillemot-Rodgerson (OC 2013) is starring as the Witch in the Royal New Zealand Ballet's production of Hansel and Gretel, currently touring New Zealand.
Grant Walker (OC 2002) has recently completed the Moab 240 in Utah, an endurance race across the Utah Desert. Runners have 116 hours to make their way from Moab, back to Moab, with 240 miles (385km) and 31,564ft of elevation waiting for them along the way. Grant completed the race successfully, leaving behind 84 others who could not complete it in time.
Good luck to all students who are representing the College over the weekend in sports and cultural activities, including:
This year we present Trilogy, a triple bill showcasing three different performance presentations in one show! Kaleidoscope – a colourful fusion of dances developed over this year, creating a kaleidoscope of artistic endeavours. Peter and the Wolf – a delightful ballet that tells the story of Peter, his animal friends and a menacing wolf, with a score composed by Sergei Prokofiev in which each character is represented by a distinct musical theme. Winterscape – an original ballet, capturing the spirit and beauty of winter, journeying from a misty landscape to an enchanting skating party.
When: Friday 1 December – Saturday 2 December 2023
Where: Gym 1
Adult ticket: $35.00
Student ticket: $20.00
Our next StACTalk is a must-attend event designed to equip parents with essential knowledge and tools to navigate the digital landscape alongside their children. This is a hard-hitting, eye-opening and often hilarious in-person event presented by filmmaker, author and speaker, Rob Cope. Don't miss this opportunity to stay informed and engaged in your child's digital journey. The following topics will be covered: Cyberbullying, social media, gaming, online predators, pornography, smartphones, filters and boundaries. Please note: this event is aimed at supporting our parent/caregiver community and is not suitable for students to attend.
Date: Thursday 9 November 2023
Time: 6.30pm–8.30pm
Location: Centennial Chapel
The Community Service team is helping organise the College’s contribution to the Christchurch City Mission’s Christmas Appeal. Students and their families are invited to help disadvantaged children by donating gifts for children aged 3–14. The unwrapped purchased gifts can be taken and placed under the Christmas tree in the Centennial Chapel. This is a great opportunity to help our wider Christchurch community during the Christmas period, which can be a tough time for families, so we hope you all get involved. For more information, please contact communityservice@stac.school.nz.
Please bring in your donation by Wednesday 6 December.
Come along to a gathering in the Scottish Highland tradition. Hosted by St Andrew’s College in partnership with the Canterbury Caledonian Society Pipe Band, join us for this free event as we celebrate all things Scottish, with a hint of Christmas cheer! Featuring piping, drumming, Highland dancing, Scottish country dancing, and a Pipe Band contest. With a bouncy castle, food vendors and a licensed bar, there’s something for everyone to enjoy at this fun, family day out!
When: Sunday 3 December, 9.00am–5.00pm
Where: St Andrew’s College Field
This is a free, non-ticketed event, no bookings are required.
With senior students departing campus next week to prepare for external examinations, starting on Monda 30 October, the Sports Department will be offering an additional slot in the Fitness Centre, 11.00am– 1.00pm, to support student well-being. These slots will be fully supervised to help support our students.
Operating Hours
Monday – Friday: 6.30am – 8.00am, 11.00am – 1.00pm, 3.30pm – 5.45pm, 7.00pm – 9.30pm
Saturday: 9.00am – 11.00am
Sunday: 9.00am – 12.00pm
End Date: 28 November 2023
With international borders well and truly open and the movement of people across boarders back to normal. We have the privilege of having international students join us 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 Director of International Students and Exchanges, Pale Tauti at PTU@stac.school.nz.
All 2023 photographs are now available to purchase online:
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 >
Effective from 12.01am Tuesday 15 August, the seven-day mandatory isolation period for positive COVID-19 cases has been removed. The Ministry guidance is to stay at home for five days if you test positive for COVID-19, but this is not a requirement. However, for any illness, students should stay home if unwell. Any student should also feel free to wear a mask if they wish to do so while at school.
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.
