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Dear Parents and Caregivers
Kia ora koutou katoa.
You will see from this week’s bumper issue things haven’t slowed down at St Andrew’s College over the last two weeks. While the campus is quieter without our NCEA students, there has been plenty to keep our Preparatory School and Year 9–10 students engaged with learning, but also enjoying some end-of-year fun and activities.
Last week we held a special small celebration for Year 12 leavers and their parents, please click here to view photos. A 10 Years On reunion (leavers of 2013) highlighted the diverse paths our leavers follow beyond school, and it seemed a real celebration of diversity. What struck me was the connection between these 27-year-old young adults, some of whom hadn’t seen each other since their Leavers’ Assembly in 2013.
Also, at the end of last week was the St Andrew’s representation at the A&P Show, an annual day out for our Year 8 students and the spectacle of the Pipe Band marching in the arena on Thursday afternoon. It is always a proud moment to see the band, several of whom experienced their first outing either at this event or at the Hororata Highland Games a couple of weeks ago.
Last weekend was a memorable time for some of our Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Gold Award students. This year, StAC students have clocked up an impressive 16 Gold awards between them. Congratulations to our Head of Values and Culture, Mr Hamish Bell, who was recognised at Government House in Wellington at a special ceremony. Hamish was presented with an Exceptional Service Award for his contribution to the Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award Scheme. Over 125 students have received their Duke of Edinburgh award under Hamish’s watch in the last 12 years. The new Duke of Edinburgh, His Royal Highness Prince Edward, presented Hamish with his award along with six other recipients from across New Zealand.
On Sunday, Prince Edward then socialised with recent Duke of Edinburgh Gold recipients from across Ōtautahi at South Shore Brighton. Congratulations to all our students who go from Bronze in Year 10 to become Silver and Gold recipients of this valuable award.
This week a highlight was the Preparatory School Arts Showcase in the Centennial Chapel where a display of kapa haka, song, dance, music, art and speech entertained an enthusiastic audience, keen to see what their children had learned in the area of the creative arts. Student activities this week have included Year 10 Te Waka and Duke of Edinburgh camps at Castle Hill, a Rugby 7s tournament for boys and girls, a Junior volleyball tournament and a tennis tournament. Last weekend a Year 9–10 team came first in the South Island Ethics Olympiad competition.
Good luck to the Preparatory School kapa haka performing at the Tūhono Festival on Saturday morning. This talented group of around 90 students gave an impressive performance at the Arts Festival sharing great pride and passion for their school culture of Aotearoa.
Today one of our community groups has concluded its year with their annual Christmas Service in the Centennial Chapel followed by a Christmas lunch. The St Andrew’s College Ladies’ Circle began in 1958 and has been meeting ever since, promoting fellowship, and support for our school and each other. It is always a highlight to meet with this wonderful group of women who have been mothers, wives of Old Collegians or previous staff members. It is obvious many lasting friendships are made through StAC connections!
Ladies Circle Christmas Luncheon Flickr >
Best wishes for the weekend and I look forward to sharing our end-of-year Prizegiving celebration with many of you at the Wolfbrook Arena (previously known as the Christchurch Arena).
Ngā mihi mahana
Christine Leighton
Rector
The first of our Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Adventurous Journeys set off last week, with students from 10A split up into three groups to complete their overnight qualifying journey, before returning to Castle Hill for their Te Waka Solo reflection. The remaining eight classes are now in the process of completing their overnight journeys and solo reflections.
On Saturday 11 November, the St Andrew’s rowing squad had its first paddle out of the year at the Kerrs Reach Pennant Regatta held on the Avon River. Rowers from all year groups got into the action which was a great way to reconnect the rowing community back together for the 2023/2024 season. Our rowers enjoyed navigating the turns and bends of the Avon (where they train every day) in the heat of competition, certainly something they are less familiar with. The squad raced hard in quads, fours and eights on a calm but warm afternoon. The squad is looking forward to their first trip to Twizel for the Otago Rowing Championships and camp in December.
Last weekend marked 60 years since the Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award first started in New Zealand. St Andrew’s College was one of the first schools to adopt the Award a year later in 1964. The Bronze Award has been offered to all Year 10 students for many years, most of whom complete Bronze within the year. 205 students have also gone on to complete the prestigious Gold Award.
The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward has been in New Zealand to mark the occasion, with His Royal Highness joining a large number of participants from a dozen schools and organisations, including St Andrew’s College, last weekend at the South Shore Spit Reserve in Christchurch. Representing St Andrew’s were recent Gold Award recipients Grace Burnett, Naomi Dana, Mia Fraser, Gabriella Kenton-Smith, and Campbell Searle (all Year 13), along with Head of Values and Culture, Hamish Bell, and Commerce teacher, Jo-Bigford-Fleming. The Duke of Edinburgh was interested to learn what our Year 13 students were doing next year and what they had learnt and enjoyed from completing their Gold Award.
Close to 400 second-hand children’s books were donated to Christchurch charity, Full Bellies, after staff and students, led by Year 13 Dean, Donna Jones, put out a request for books to send with the charity’s last lunch delivery for the year. The books will go to local Years 1–6 children in need.
On Wednesday evening, a group of Preparatory School students and staff were involved in an Arts in Action Showcase. The welcome waiata and haka set the tone with a strong and inspirational performance. This was followed by several items from our Arts programmes – dance, art, music, speeches, films, orchestra and much more. Much of the sharing was from class work at various stages of completion.
Flickr >
The Pre-school is fortunate to belong to the Waimairi-iri Kāhui Ako or Community of Learning – a group of ECE settings, kura/schools and training providers that work together to help ākonga/students reach their full potential.
Yesterday, the Pre-school children were visited by Mel Scarlett from Wairakei School and Sue Pageot from Burnside Primary School. Mel and Sue shared a pūrakau (story) that told the story of how Aoraki (Mount Cook) was formed, and then taught the children a paki-whitu, a clapping game based around a seven-beat count. The Pre-school children then drew Aoraki and his teina (brothers) paddling their waka, before they had the misfortune to upturn their waka and turn to stone, creating Kā Tiritiri o te Moana – the Southern Alps. We are very grateful to Mel and Sue sharing their knowledge with us, and look forward to them visiting again.
Flickr >Two Year 7 students have been awarded with the prestigious Gold ICAS Awards this year.
Chantelle Xiong (Year 12) was shortlisted in the Michael King Writers Centre Signals Young Writers Awards 2023.
Holly Maraki (Year 12) has been selected as one of 15 players to attend the Mainland Secondary School Development Camp in January. This is a step in the selection process for the New Zealand Secondary School Netball team.
Last Thursday was the annual Programming Contest for Girls. This is a national contest and this year there were 42 teams of Year 10 students competing in Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin.
Two teams from St Andrew’s College spent the day at the University of Canterbury Computer Science Department. Warm up activities included hearing from some young women in STEM, currently studying at UC, as well as some practice coding tasks. After lunch, the students settled in for two hours of intense coding. A live leaderboard showed results from around the country.
Both teams did extremely well, showing perseverance to solve some pretty tricky problems, with only one solved problem separating the gold, silver and bronze medallists. Hannah Withers and Ellie Zhou placed second in New Zealand to get silver, and Daisy Huang and Katie Chan placed sixth, earning them a bronze medal. By placing in the top six teams in New Zealand, the girls have been invited to a training camp for potential Informatics Olympiad competitors.
The Hororata Highland Games signals the start of the pipe band season for the St Andrew’s College Pipe Band. It is the first opportunity for many of our students to compete with the pipe band. This year, we experienced amazing weather and some great results for our bands and for individuals in their solo events. Particularly pleasing was that the B Band competed in Grade 4 with 10 bands entered.
Flickr >
The Junior Girls’ and Junior Boys’ rugby sevens teams showcased their skill and talent at the Canterbury Rugby Union Junior 7s Festival AT Hoon Hay Park on Monday.
The Girls’ team were impressive in their first outing with many players taking part in full contact rugby for the first time. The group started with a loss to Rangiora 10–27 but took some positive learnings from the fixture. They then beat an impressive Rangi Ruru Girls’ School team 22–7 in a high-paced encounter. Making tackles then moving the ball to space saw them control the possession and win the game. This victory helped boost confidence leading into the next game where the team beat Christchurch Girls’ High School B team 15–5. Qualifying for the semi-finals the team took on the dominant Girls’ High A team who are a powerhouse of girls’ rugby in Christchurch. The team went down 0–29 but put in a proud performance. It was an excellent day of fun, learning and rugby action for these players.
The Boys’ team emerged as Grand Champions after five tough games across the day. This was an excellent achievement from this group of players who were well motivated and committed. They dominated pool played with some disciplined rugby 7s play, where they controlled possession and displayed great composure with the ball in hand.
The team then met a tough Rangiora High School team in the semi-final and won 24–5 in a tight game and then faced a dominant St Thomas A team in the Grand Final. The game was a tight, physical contest, but St Andrew’s demonstrated better ball control and better fitness levels to win 32–26.
This week saw eight Year 9–10 tennis players take to the courts for the Canterbury Junior Tennis Championships at Wilding Park.
Gemma Lewis (Year 13) competed at the Otago Dressage Championships in Mosgiel last weekend. She won Champion Level 7 riding Ruanuku R, and Reserve Champion Level 1 riding LL Tyche. She also won the McCrostie Memorial trophy for the highest Musical Freestyle score across all grades, and the Brampton Gigolo trophy for the best Young Rider (U25). Gemma also competed at the South Canterbury North Otago area Premier League dressage competition last weekend and won both Champion Level 7 on Ruanuku R and Champion Level 1 on LL Tyche.
Georgia Lewis (Year 10) competed at the Canterbury Mounted Games Individual Championships last weekend, winning Champion in the U15 class riding Oki Doki. Georgia also competed at the Canterbury A&P Show last week in Dressage and Show Jumping. She won a first and a second in her two dressage classes and won the 1M show jumping class.
Shey Doerner-Corson (Year 10) had a successful weekend winning third place in the New Zealand EnduroX Championships at the Christchurch A&P Show last Friday. Then on Saturday at the final round of the South Island and New Zealand Hard Enduro Championships, he placed second in both competitions.
Canterbury United Youth won the National Youth Championship for the second year in a row after beating Fencibles United 1–0 in the last round of the National Youth League competition. The students involved were Kyra Lazor, Amelia McAllister, Shannan Delany (all Year 13), Scarlett Gray and Amber de Wit (both Year 11).
The 1st XI hosted Christ’s College on Saturday. Batting first, St Andrew’s got away to a slow start but Jack O'Rourke (Year 11) 53 and Jackson Hodgkinson (Year 12) put on a good partnership, but the rest of the batsman, apart from Alex Rippin (Year 13) 45 n.o., were unable to dominant the Christ’s College bowling attack and made 203 off the 50 overs. Having Christ’s College three down early had us in the game but our bowlers were unable to apply pressure and they got the runs five down in the 42nd over.
A couple of highlights from the weekend included Jock Sidey (Year 10) with a magnificent 144 for the Colts White team against Christchurch Boys’ High School, and Oliver Kirk (Year 9) a very impressive 96 against Christ’s College.
On Tuesday the Year 9 team played Christ’s College in an NZCT Cup game at home. Batting first, Zach Hoshek 48 and George Suter 42 put on 103 for the opening wicket. Unfortunately, the loss of wickets at regular intervals put the brakes on the scoring and only Gus Aldridge 35 n.o. got us to a competitive score of 182. Christ’s College got away to a good start and always maintained control of the game. The boys had their chances especially in the field but were unable to maintain pressure and Christ’s College got the runs in the 37th over.
Tamaroa Connelly (Year 12) has just had the national release of his track that made it on the Play It Strange Peace song competition album. This was professionally produced as part of being a national finalist and it has come out sounding fantastic.
On Wednesday last week, St Andrew’s College welcomed the St Margaret’s College cricket and touch teams for the annual Summer Sports exchange. A very close touch rugby game saw St Margaret’s eventually winning by one. The cricket game was a step up from the two-day tournament that the St Andrew’s team played a couple of weeks ago. St Margaret’s posted a very good score of 175 runs for St Andrew’s to chase, which they were unable to chase down, but gave their best effort. Sportsmanship was the winner on the day as all teams showed great respect for the opposition.
FLICKR >On Wednesday 22 November, the Preparatory School welcomed The Cathedral Grammar School for the annual Summer Sports Exchange. For the first time in Preparatory School history, it was great to have both the Preparatory Cricket 1st XI and Girls 1st XI playing at the same venue at the same time. The Preparatory tennis A team recorded a comprehensive 9–3 defeat of Cathedral Grammar, winning three doubles matches and six singles. The Preparatory 1st XI defeated Cathedral Grammar, Joshua Stewart (Year 7) scoring a wonderful unbeaten 113 n.o. in St Andrew’s total of 234 from 30 overs. The team bowled and fielded exceptionally well to complete the victory. The Girls’ 1st XI also recorded a great victory as they scored 142, with Cathedral Grammar scoring 97 in reply.
The following Preparatory School athletics records were broken in 2023 at the Athletics Sports Day:
Two students attended the 2023 Apollo Projects Junior Festival – Makos swimming competition in Timaru, which is the biggest junior swimming meet in New Zealand across four venues.
Yunze Li (Year 6) 10 & Under:
Chloe Wang (Year 5) 12 & Under:
Holly Hembry (Year 8) competed in the Aotearoa New Zealand Championships in Auckland last weekend in 17 events. Holly came away with 12 national titles, three second placings, one third place, and a fourth place against tough competition. This was a fantastic way to finish off her time in the Juvenile age group.
Frank McHarg (Year 6) won the Canterbury Primary Schools Tennis Championships in both Singles and Doubles over the weekend. Next week he is off to the South Island Championships in Timaru.
Ethan Waines (Year 7) and his brother, Caleb had their Piano Recital as part of the Rising Stars Concert Series. The concert had over 100 attendees and it was a great success. The boys performed very well and received a standing ovation.
Ethan Zhao (Year 7) has earned Distinction in both ABRSM Piano Grade 7 and Trinity Violin Grade 7.
Congratulations to the following representative touch players:
Sophia Clark (OC 2022) and Zee Hammond (OC 2017) were presented with their Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award, by HRH The Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Edward at a reception in Government-House hosted by the Governor-General. This very special ceremony was hosted by Wellington College, in which 80 recipients from across New Zealand were presented with their Award. Sophia completed her Gold Award in Year 13, while Zee continued on with her award after leaving St Andrew’s, eventually completing her Gold through Bushworks, a local provider.
On Thursday 16 November, more than 50 alumni and their partners from the Class of 2013, along with some of their beloved teachers, assembled at the College to celebrate their 10 Years On reunion. Following a tour of the College, they were piped into the Centennial Chapel, where many marvelled at its beauty for the first time. Their Leaver's Gift, the Memorial Chapel Model, took pride of place at the entrance, much to their delight. Rector Christine Leighton extended a warm welcome to the group, reminiscing about their time at St Andrew's and sharing memories, including the viewing of the music video 'This is Us’, created by the group during their final year. Annie Stevenson, Head Girl 2013, also addressed the gathering and acknowledged those unable to attend. The Cocktail Party followed in Strowan House and provided our Old Collegians with the opportunity to reconnect with their former teachers, including their Dean, John Quealy.
Flickr >
Monique Rees (OC 2018) made her debut for the Wellington Blaze on Saturday as part of the New Zealand Cricket Women’s One-day Competition.
Joanna Bennett (OC 1999) and Preparatory School mother of three, placed second in the Ladies Class of the Nutbuster Hard Enduro competition in Hurunui last weekend. The course was run in open grassy hill country, mud and rocks, matagouri bushes with steep technical ascent and long technical descents.
Head of Values and Culture, Hamish Bell, is one of the inaugural 2023 Exceptional Service Award recipients, in recognition of his contributions. Hamish been instrumental in supporting St Andrew’s College students to participate in the Duke of Edinburgh Award. His enthusiasm and positivity have inspired the school community to fully engage in and celebrate their successes.
College Custodian, Mike (Scrump) Johnston (OC 1974), represented New Zealand in the Veterans Cricket Australia National Championships in Perth last week.
Good luck to all students who are representing the College over the weekend in sports and cultural activities, including:
Following the College Prizegiving this Sunday 26 November, Year 9–10 students will not be required to be at school until 9.30am on Monday 27 November. Parents/caregivers are welcome to drop-off students at the normal time, if required. There will be staff on campus to supervise.
10S and 10E Bronze Duke of Edinburgh/Solo camps will depart school at 9.00am (please note the later departure time).
Last day of Term: School will formally finish for all Secondary School students at 11.45am on Wednesday 6 December.
The College has been working with SchoolDocs to create a website for our policies and procedures. We are excited to announce that the site is now live and available to our school community.
The College works on a subscription basis with SchoolDocs to maintain, update, and review our policies. SchoolDocs provides us with a comprehensive core set of policies, which have been well researched and align with the National Education and Learning Priorities. The policies and procedures have been tailored to the College, and the College supplies specific information such as our values, and procedures for behaviour management, reporting to parents/caregivers, etc.
SchoolDocs updates, modifies, or creates policies in response to changes in legislation or Ministry guidelines, significant events, reviews/requests from schools, and regular reviewing from the SchoolDocs team. Our Board of Governors has the opportunity to view changes/additions and comment on them before they are implemented. We will advise you when policies are up for review and how you can take part in the review.
College Policies >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
Please note: Seating allocation will be on a first-come, first-served basis.
PURCHASE TICKETS >
For those who placed a PTA Christmas Goodies order, there will be several opportunities to collect your order from the Second-hand Uniform Shop, on the following dates and times:
COLLECTION DATES/TIMES
Please note unless arranged directly with the PTA, these are the only collection times available.
You can reach out to PTA member, Rachel Gunn, on email by clicking here if you need to arrange an alternative.
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 >
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.
For any absence, whether ill-health (including COVID-19) or otherwise, the College’s preferred platform for reporting this is via our online form which can be found at the button below:
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.
