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Dear Parents and Caregivers
Kia ora koutou katoa.
Waitangi Day on Tuesday has made this week fly by.
This morning a Middle School Assembly (Years 9–11) recognised our Middle School Leaders for 2024 and it was good to welcome whānau to this occasion.
Our College prefects were also presented to the Middle School. Two of the prefects were absent today as they are competing in the Kathmandu Coast to Coast event. Head Prefect Hugo Ranken and Head of Sustainability Elliot Graves are competing for St Andrew’s College in the three-person two-day team event along with Year 12 student Ethan Griffin.
Yesterday was an exciting day when students were notified of their NZQA Scholarship results. Scholarship examinations are sat mostly by Year 13 students. Some Year 12, or even Year 11 students, may take up this academic challenge.
We were delighted that St Andrew’s totalled 64 scholarships with six of these at the Outstanding level. Dux of the College and Deputy Head Prefect 2023, Lachlan Odlin was successful in gaining an incredible eight Scholarships (including two Outstanding). Joint Proxime Accessit Gemma Lewis gained five Scholarships (including one Outstanding) along with Annika MacDonald’s four Scholarship passes. Both Lachlan and Gemma received an Outstanding Scholar Award from NZQA, which is given to the top 60 scholarship students in the country. These impressive Scholarship results, along with Level 1, 2 and 3 Excellence endorsements, will be recognised at next week’s Academic Assembly and a full list of names will be published then.
The start of the new school year has seen part of our new Ngā Toi – Performing Arts Centre become available to students. Ballet Academy students are delighted with the two new Ballet and Dance Studios. The new look Cafeteria is also receiving the ‘thumbs up’ from students with a great variety of food available. We are hopeful the Gough Family Theatre and Black Box Drama Studio will be in use by the end of March.
Best wishes to boarders who are enjoying boarding activities this weekend as a community culture-building exercise.
Ngā mihi nui
Christine Leighton
Rector
Our first group of intrepid Year 9 campers have had their overnight camp and rafting journey on the Waimakariri River. Some of you may recognise the Coast-to-Coast river section in the photos. During the camp, teams worked together to get themselves through Cave Stream, as well as going rock climbing.
FLICKR >This week the children in Years 1–3 had the opportunity to attend a Beach Education Day at South Brighton Beach. The classes learnt about keeping safe in the water and what to do if they got caught in a rip. They also focused on the importance of sun safety. During the latter part of the day, the children enjoyed a variety of beach games and sandcastle building before heading into the water to put their water safety skills into practice.
FLICKR >
On Monday, Year 7 students spent a day at Sumner Beach learning to surf as part of the Preparatory School Transition to Year 7 programme. The students learnt the basics of board and body surfing with a strong emphasis on surf safety. The day was also an opportunity for students to get to know each other out of the classroom and form new friendships and connections.
On Thursday, our Year 7 students faced another challenge by testing their skills at Adrenalin Forest Aerial Park, participating in over 100 challenges across six different levels. They learnt to work cooperatively with others to assist them and to persist when the challenges became more difficult. Students also spent time at Spencer Park playing cooperative and team-building games.
FLICKR >Last Friday, the Middle Syndicate classes had their first kapa haka session with Matua Steve Reid and teacher Mary Leota. The Year 5–6 students shared their haka pōwhiri (Tōia Mai) to welcome the Year 4 and our new students to kapa haka, and the Year 4 tamariki shared what they had learned in Year 3.
In Kapa Haka lessons, tamariki learn various waiata, haka, games and traditional dances and activities such as rākau (stick games), poi and taiaha.
In Term 1, all students in Years 4–8 participate in kaka haka sessions, and we then build a team to perform in school events, sports tours, ceremonies, and in the Tūhono Kapa Haka Festival later in the year. Tamariki are also taught the tikanga (the rules and values) of kapa haka and learn karakia and waiata that can be sung in assemblies and in Chapel.
Our kaiako (teachers) join in enthusiastically and learn the waiata, so they can continue the learning in their classrooms. It is lovely to see the energy and joy that the tamariki bring to kapa haka. The menemene (smiles) are delightful!
The Pre-school commemorated Waitangi Day in a way both meaningful and engaging for our youngest ākonga. Over the past week, tamariki have been invited to participate in a number of learning experiences that remind us of how we can uphold the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi, and that shows our respect for te reo and te ao Māori, including working together to create our own classroom treaty; sharing pepeha; joining in waiata with each other; and creating clay pikorua (a powerful symbol for loyalty, friendship and love, signifying the strength and beauty of enduring friendships).
Hao Bo (Terence) Yang (Year 9) entered the National Concerto Competition last December and had a great music experience. Also in December, he entered the Trinity International Music Competition, coming away with a Gold Medal. Terence has most recently been selected for the New Zealand Secondary Schools Symphony Orchestra 2024 (for flute).
The Boys’ 1st XI cricket team redeemed themselves against Christ’s College with a gutsy batting performance on Saturday. Sent back into bat again, the task was to bat all day. A very good opening partnership between Jackson Hodgkinson (Year 13) and Spencer Hair (Year 11) set the tone as they blunted the opposition attack in the first session. The loss of Hodgkinson brought William Carrodus (Year 13) to the crease, who carried on with a 100-run partnership with Hair. When Carrodus 45 departed Jack O’Rourke (Year 12) carried on with a very confident 56 n.o. while Hair continued to display great composure and shot selection and went on to make an outstanding 109. The boys ended up 270/3 and drew the match.
Jack Christie (Year 12) took 5/38 for the 2nd XI against St Thomas of Canterbury College.
The Girls’ futsal team travelled to Wellington last weekend for two pre-season games. The girls lost 1–3 to national champions, Wellington East Girls’ College, and won 2–1 against Samba Futsal Academy.
FLICKR >With one week to go before Nationals in Auckland, students had their final VEX robotics regional scrimmage at the College last Saturday. Twelve local teams spent the day testing and modifying their robots, driver controls and autonomous programs before they meet the other 80 teams that will attend the national competition. The competition was fierce throughout the heats, with three St Andrew’s teams making it into the semi-finals: 88397V – Team Serious (Aki Hansen, Edison Pang (both Year 12), and Alexander Harbrow (Year 11)), 88397C with their robot Johnathan Senior (Matthew Bluck, Lee Patterson, and William MacIntyre (all Year 11)) and Team 88397B – The Mischievous Fellas (William Couper, Victor Sherborne, Owen Menzies, and Flynn Blackler (all Year 13)). The Mischievous Fellas went through into the finals but were beaten by the coalition of Team Maverick (the Ao Tawhiti team) and Burnside X.
Shaun Cooper (Year 13) and Madie Wallace (Year 12) have returned from their experiences on Outward Bound and The Spirit of Adventure over the summer break. Both were supported with a generous scholarship from an Old Collegian. Shaun reflected on his time on the course, commenting that the trust developed with his watch house, being surrounded by nature, and being disconnected from technology were the highlights. Madie’s voyage took her from Whakaraupō/Lyttelton to Bluff and Rakiura/Stewart Island, and highlights for her were developing new relationships with people from across the country, climbing to the top of the mast, and seeing bioluminescence in the ocean.
At the beginning of last year, Cong (Zilong) Chen (Year 8), along with his sister and two high school students, started a successful free weekly tutoring programme, The Study Hall, for the primary children in Christchurch.
Driven by their shared goal to give back to the community, they efficiently organised free weekly mathematics classes in which they provided stationery, teaching materials, and even snacks for students. Despite juggling various extracurricular activities, they dedicated four hours each week to both tutorial sessions and planning meetings and managed to exceed their expectations by attracting more students and even creating a waiting list. By the end of last year, there were 12 students from four different primary schools across Christchurch and another eight students on the waiting list.
The students, initially prone to distractions, showcased commendable personal growth by actively participating and improving their study habits. The year concluded with an exciting celebration where they funded rewards for each student, after making personalised end-of-year tests for each student. The Study Hall’s success has motivated Zilong and his friends to continue with it in 2024.
Georgia Lewis (Year 11) was selected into the U25 Canterbury teams for the equestrian sports of Dressage (riding Madison Grey) and Mounted Games (riding Patterns of Promise). These teams competed in the national competition in January in Gore and Auckland. Canterbury placed first in the South Island and first nationally in Dressage and Mounted Games. Georgia also placed fourth in New Zealand individually in her age group for Dressage.
Good luck to all students who are representing the College over the weekend in sports and cultural activities, including:
This is a reminder that the new College Cafeteria operates using a cashless electronic payment system. Cash payments will no longer be accepted, as we have gone fully electronic. This means students will need to have an EFTPOS or Debit card in order to purchase from the College Cafeteria. We thank you for your support and understanding of this initiative.
The Cafeteria is open at morning intervals and at lunchtime for all Secondary School students to purchase food and drink. Fair prices are charged, and profits are utilised to provide amenities for the College, making this an important service within the College.
What if my child doesn’t have an EFTPOS/Debit card?
For students who don’t have an EFTPOS or Debit card, we suggest parents/caregivers consider signing up for one if their child wants to make use of the Cafeteria. An alternative option to a traditional bank card, such as a Visa Prezzy card, may be preferred, which can be pre-loaded and topped up as required. The Prezzy Card can be loaded from $25 to $1000 (plus fees). Please note credit card payment surcharge fees apply if you choose to use this method. Read more about how the Prezzy card works by clicking here.
A reminder to parents parking in the streets around the College at drop-off and pick-up times, please do not park on yellow lines, especially when close to intersections. When parked cars are blocking the line of sight it makes it difficult for other drivers to turn safely onto the roads, causing them to have to move further into the road to see. This could be dangerous not only for drivers but also for pedestrians and cyclists.
We have also received reports that residents in Normans Road have been blocked from entering or leaving their homes by cars parked across their driveway and would like to remind parents/caregivers not to park across driveways and to be courteous to College neighbours.
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).
Exciting News! The Communications team, with the support of the ICT team, have been hard at work during the holidays, and are delighted to share that a revamped StACNet (school intranet) is now live for our current parents and students.
Explore the new look at stacnet.nz >
Updates include a Quick Links section at the top of StACNet, designed to streamline access to the pages parents visit most frequently.
Beneath the Quick Links, you'll find organised accordions (drop-down folders) with links to pages per topic area.
All existing links from the old site will redirect to the new one. If you encounter any issues or unexpected behaviour, please let us know by emailing comms@stac.school.nz. Please note you will be prompted to log in using your StAC parent login when accessing StACNet. This is to protect the privacy and security of our school and community.
If you wish to sign-up your child for one of the below co-curricular activities, please visit the link below.
PREPARATORY SCHOOL SIGN UP FORMS >
For further information about co-curricular groups, itinerant lesson options, and tutors, please contact one of the following:
SPEECH AND DRAMA TUITION SIGNUP >
PIPE BAND AND HIGHLAND DANCE SIGNUP >
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 a full list of upcoming school events, please refer to the fixtures page on StACNet.
