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Dear Parents and Caregivers
Kia ora koutou katoa.
College Prizegiving
This time of the year is a time of much celebration. Our major event, the College Prizegiving, was the culmination of the year’s effort from classroom teachers, co-curricular tutors and coaches, guidance and support staff. Prize winners are to be congratulated for their achievements and so too are all those who have given their best efforts throughout the year and achieved their personal goals.
Top academic awards were presented to:
(Please note: A full list of awards will be included with our final newsletter 'From the Rector' which will be published around 15 December).
A memorable part of a St Andrew's Prizegiving is the Valedictory Address from the Head Prefects. Lily Champion Smith and Torin Ward reflected upon 'Life lessons learned from a Rubik’s cube'. Their message emphasised the importance of the process of life and joy in the moment, rather than focus on the final destination.
Another highlight of Prizegiving is the entertainment. The 2023 Prizegiving did not disappoint in this regard and the choirs – Staccoro and Stacchorus – StAC Jazz Band, Orchestra and Ballet all contributed moments of pleasure and amazement at the talent of our singers and musicians and dancers. But it was the finale, 'Stairway to Heaven' which astounded the packed auditorium of around 3,500. Featuring around 120 singers and musicians (rockband and orchestra) this ambitious performance, together with an impressive light show, took school student entertainment to the next level. Congratulations to Head of Music, Duncan Ferguson, Music Teacher Mark Hodgkinson, lead singer Grace Burnett (Year 13), lead guitar Mia Fraser (Year 13), acoustic guitar James McIver (Year 12) and a number of other music tutors and all students involved with this most exceptional performance.
View 'Stairway to Heaven' Prizegiving video here >
Thank you to parents, caregivers, and whānau who supported this special occasion and the many staff and contractors who contributed to the success of the event. I must also acknowledge the hundreds of students in attendance whose behaviour was exemplary in support of our prize winners.
Leavers’ Dinner
Another major event this week was last night’s Leavers’ Dinner held at Te Pae. The 212 Year 13 Leavers and their parents/caregivers enjoyed a wonderful evening which also featured some of our talented Year 13 musicians, acknowledgement of the year group from their Dean, Ms Donna Jones, and a stunning address from Year 13 Leaver Kyri Spenner. The departing Year 13 group have impressed with not only achievements but also their display of gratitude, respect for staff, positive demeanour and support for each other.
Year 0 students' visit to the Rector
In stark contrast to our Leavers, on Tuesday I was delighted to host 16 of our youngest students in my study. These delightful new entrants at five-years-old made me marvel at the incredible growth and development in young ones over 13 years. What a collective effort it is from teachers, parents, extended whānau, communities and friends to nurture and create the graduates each year. It will be the turn of our littlest ākonga in 2036!
Also featured this week is a successful two days of cricket for Preparatory School 1st XI, a Year 9 and 10 Awards Assembly, the completion of Year 10 Te Waka and Duke of Edinburgh camps and of course the much anticipated Year 8 Independent Schools' Dance.
Strowan Club Christmas
On Tuesday evening our major donors to the College, members of the Strowan Club, were hosted at the annual Christmas event. Entertainment was provided by Year 8 student Hao Bo (Terence) Yang who gave a stunning performance on flute of “Carmen Fantasy”.
As I write this comment, our Senior Girls' sevens rugby team is on their way to compete at the Nationals in Tauranga, and the Ballet Academy is about to perform the first of their four performances of this year’s Ballet production, 'Trilogy'. The Preparatory School Advent Chapel is on at 5.00pm on Sunday evening and I encourage everyone who would like to see our Pipe Bands in action to come along to The Strowan Gathering event here on the front field at St Andrew's on Sunday. The bands are playing at the following times:
This will be the last Rector’s Comment for this year. A final newsletter “From the Rector” will be emailed to all families around 15 December.
Best wishes to all for the final few days.
Ngā mihi mahana
Christine Leighton
Rector
Rector, Christine Leighton hosted the exchange students from Presbyterian Ladies' College, Sydney (PLC) with their exchange partners this week. The girls (Year 10) have thoroughly enjoyed this reciprocal experience and our Australian visitors have loved experiencing the difference of a co-ed school, a visit to the West Coast, and a day visiting the sights of Ōtautahi. Thank you to our St Andrew’s families who are hosting the four exchange students.
Our Middle School assembly today was a wonderful opportunity for several students to receive awards for sports and academic achievements, as well as community work. It was particularly inspiring to see students be rewarded for making the biggest positive shift in their Fortnightly Feedback scores. The Year 10 students who are applying for the role of Middle School Leaders helped contribute to our assembly by doing the reading and leading the singing. There was also a lovely piano performance by Emily Watt (Year 10).
FLICKR >
On Tuesday 7 November, our Year 5 students set off for a two-night camping adventure at Living Springs. The children enjoyed their time at the camp, participating in activities such as archery, riflery, and bouldering as well as learning about our land and native animals. One of the highlights of the camp was a visit to the farm park, where the children had the opportunity to learn about different animals and interact with them.
FLICKR >This week a group of Year 7 students travelled to Living Springs to take part in a team-building camp. First, students tested their courage and dexterity in a tree-climbing task, before speeding down an obstacle course on specially designed ‘Mountainboards.’ Then their teamwork was tested in a high-octane game of archery tag. After dinner, and a short time to relax, teachers and students played Build-up and Sardines before a late snack and bedtime. The following day students took part in a rogaine course, which saw them solving aptitude tests, firing at archery and air rifle targets, scrambling up climbing walls and running from one end of the valley to the other.
The spirit of the trip was outstanding and there was an infinite supply of eager young people willing to step up and complete the less savoury camp tasks like dishes, mopping, cleaning and vacuuming. Teachers were impressed by excellent manners, good humour and energy shown by the student group and the camp was thoroughly enjoyable.
FLICKR >
Over the last three weeks, the Year 10 students have embarked on their overnight Solos for the Rite Journey/Te Waka programme which was one of their challenges this year. The students demonstrated resilience and never complained, despite some adverse weather, embracing the adapted programme that was provided for them. Students experienced challenge on a variety of levels, from setting up a bivy, to problem-solving ways to keep themselves entertained without technology. Students were able to reflect on their year and themselves as individuals and were able to realise and write down the changes they feel they need to make going forward to become responsible, resilient, and kind young men and women. This programme continues to provide students with unique opportunities to build better connections with others, appreciate what they have and recognise their potential.
10ACEE are working on four projects that positively influence social, environmental, economic and cultural aspects of sustainability. Four students are involved in a native garden rejuvenation project on campus, that aims to rejuvenate the native planting bordering the Arts and Technology blocks. The students are supported by Head Groundsperson Michael Seaward, Facilities Manager Mark McGregor, and Art Preuss, our new Health and Safety Manager. The students are also concept planning a water feature for this area, along with additional planting and maintenance. Another 10ACEE group has designed a green wall element which will fit seamlessly into this native planting area.
Two Year 10 teams entered in the Middle School Ethics Olympiad South Island Regional Competition, with the StAC White team winning first place and will now compete in the international virtual event in February next year. The StAC Blue team received an honourable mention.
Junior Girls – Last week, the Junior A Girls’ volleyball team competed in the South Island Secondary Schools Junior Volleyball Championships in Dunedin, playing eight games across the week including finals.
On the first day the team went through unbeaten beating St Kevin’s High School, Rangi Ruru Girls’ High School, and defending champions Nayland College A. With these three wins on day one, the team qualified for the top eight, which included Christchurch Girls’ High School A, Marlborough Girls’ College A, and Upwey High School from Australia. The team won all three games, setting up a semi-final against Columba College. After a close battle, the team came through victorious winning 20–25, 25–15, 15–10. The final against Waimea College came down to execution and composure in the third set, and saw Waimea come out on top 15–13. Hannah Papali'i Taimalelagi Malietoa (Year 10) was named in the tournament team.
The Junior Girls’ B team qualified for Division 2 which consisted of predominantly A teams from throughout the South Island region. The team had many close sets throughout the week reaching the 20s against Cashmere High School A, Middleton Grange School A, and Bayfield High School A. The team finished in 16th place.
Junior Boys – The Junior A Boys’ team had multiple close encounters during their journey at tournament week. In the very first game the boys came across Canterbury Championship finalists Te Whanau Tahi A. After winning the first set 25–18, the boys went down in the second 25–12. Despite losing the second the set, the boys bounced back to take a 9–5 lead in the third but went down 13–15 at the final whistle. The boys won one of the final two games on day one to narrowly miss out on top eight, finishing 14th in Division 1.
The Mixed touch team won the Wednesday Supertouch competition with a 7–3 win over Lincoln High School. The team had drawn 7–7 with Lincoln in the first game of the competition but has made great progress with their teamwork and defence. This competition has been great preparation for the National Secondary School Tournament that the team is competing in next weekend in Rotorua.
The 1st XI played Christchurch Boys’ High School on Saturday in a must-win match to qualify for the final. Boys’ High batted first and St Andrew’s had them 61 for two at the 17 over mark, but they formed a good partnership and ran exceptionally well between the wickets plus had wickets in hand in the last 10 overs and accumulated a score of 250/6. St Andrew’s got away to a good start with Tom Turner (Year 12) making a quickfire 44, but unfortunately, the team were unable to create any positive partnerships to keep the scoreboard pressure on and were restricted to 152. This Saturday the team will play St Bede’s at St Andrew’s for the third and fourth play-off match.
Other highlights from the weekend:
Kurt Lilly (Year 10) competed at the New Zealand Skeet Shooting National Competition last weekend, coming in second place in the C grade 20-gauge skeet. He was also the first-placed New Zealand Junior in the 20-gauge skeet, coming second to the top Australian Junior. Kurt was also named first reserve in the New Zealand Junior Skeet team.
Shey Doerner-Corson (Year 10) won the South Island Dirt Spring a 4 round series last weekend.
On Monday and Tuesday this week, the Preparatory School 1st XI took part in the annual Canterbury Junior Cricket Association (CJCA) Boys’ Cricket Festival. Over the two days they played four games of 20/20 cricket. In the first game, the 1st XI defeated Cobham Intermediate School, successfully chasing down 148 runs in 18 overs. In the second game against Heaton Intermediate 2, the 1st XI set an imposing total of 215 runs with Heaton scoring 136 in reply. On day two, the team started the day with a game against St Thomas of Canterbury College. St Thomas scored 143 runs from their 20 overs, but an impressive half century in 26 balls from Hunter Morrow (Year 8) helped the team to chase down the total within 12 overs.
The festival culminated with a game against the very strong Heaton 1. Losing the toss and fielding first, St Andrew’s had Heaton on the back foot, taking five wickets inside the first five overs, four wickets for spin bowler Felix O’Byrne (Year 8). Heaton had previous scored big runs against their opposition, but a polished bowling and fielding performance restricted Heaton to 97 runs. St Andrew’s continued their performance and chased down the total within eight overs.
On Wednesday 29 November, 13 students from St Andrew’s Preparatory School represented our zone for athletics. Getting through the final round of qualification and through to the Canterbury Championships is an excellent achievement and one for the athletes to be very proud of.
The Girls’ relay team finished the best in Canterbury. A fantastic display of teamwork, smooth transitions and excellent runners. Well done to all of our athletes for their effort and determination regarding their achievements in athletics this year. This year has shown positive growth for all of them.
For Speech and Drama, Jessica Whitehead (Year 5) won the Jones Family Scholarship (8 and Under 10) and the Barbara Sugden Challenge Cup (Girls 8 and Under 10), plus 2 gold, 2 silver and a bronze.
The annual Preparatory School Singles and Doubles Tennis Tournament was held on Thursday 23 November. Frank McHarg (Year 6) and Toby Lang (Year 8) were in the final for the boys’ champion, with Frankie being named the Boys’ Singles Champion. The girls’ final was between Billie Feaver-Banks and Mia McHarg (both Year 8) and Mia emerged as the Girls’ Singles Champion. Toby Lang (Year 8) and Frankie McHarg (Year 6) won the Boys’ Doubles and Mia McHarg (Year 8) and Sabine Waghorn (Year 7) proved to be an unbeatable combination to win the Girls’ Doubles.
At the South Island Primary School Tennis Championships, Billie Feaver-Banks (Year 8) came third in the Singles, Frank McHarg (Year 6) also came third, and Mia McHarg (Year 8) came second in Doubles.
The following students have been selected for the Touch Canterbury U16 and U18 representative teams.
The following students have been selected to attend Rowing New Zealand development camps at Lake Ruataniwha in December:
Amelie Clark (Year 10) and Frank Roberts (Year 12) were selected into the Canterbury surf team to represent Canterbury at the National Scholastic Surf Championships in Gisborne. The team won second place and Amelie made the final in the U14 Girls’ event.
Good luck to all students who are representing the College over the weekend in sports and cultural activities, including:
The Christmas Eve Chapel Service will take place on Sunday 24 December at 6.00pm in the Centennial Chapel. Everyone is welcome to this family-friendly service.
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
Tuesday 5 December, 2.00pm–4.30pm
Please note: 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 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.
