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Dear Parents and Caregivers
Kia ora koutou katoa.
What a perfect day it has been for our Secondary School Athletic Sports Day today. House Leaders have done a great job in generating enthusiastic House spirit and there was some impressive athletic talent on display. Also impressive was the participation in the events and the support students gave to each other and their Houses. The Old Collegians team gave an impressive run in the three-way relay (Prefects, staff and Old Collegians) to win this final and much-anticipated event. The team was Hugh Montgomery (Head Boy 2020), Harrison Jones-Park (OC 2018), Nikkita McIntyre (OC 2023), and Amiria Rule (current teacher and OC 2001). Thank you to the Teacher in Charge of History and Classics, Hamish Faulls for his relentless commentary, keeping the event on schedule, and ensuring the students were informed and entertained. Also thank you to all staff involved with running various events, Director of Sport & Co-curricular Activities Mark Lane for his organisation and our grounds staff for their preparation of the venue. Mrs Belinda Ranken, Mother of Hugo, this year’s Head Prefect, assisted with the trophy presentation at the end of the day. The great day concluded with the traditional Pipe Band March, a fitting end to another great StAC tradition. The winning House for Athletics was Rutherford, with Erwin second, Thompson third and MacGibbon fourth.
Sports are now well under way and this weekend both our volleyball and tennis teams compete in the South Island Secondary School tournaments here in Christchurch. Cultural groups are also in full swing, with the Choir Camp last weekend.
Yesterday lunchtime I took the opportunity to attend the Orchestra rehearsal and was astonished to find 55 students (including 15 from the Preparatory School) playing at a most impressive level for so early in the year. I believe we are in for a real treat this year from our musicians.
Board of Governors Meeting
Last evening was our first Board meeting for 2024. Board Chair, Felicity Odlin welcomed our six Heads of College to the Board meeting where they introduced themselves and explained their theme for the year “All for one, one for all”.
A second presentation was from Danny Kamo from Kamo Marsh Landscaping. Danny and his team have been assisting the College to develop a cultural integration plan for acknowledging mana whenua on our campus. The designs integrated into Ngā Toi (our new Performing Arts Centre) and the Gough Family Theatre are the beginning of this. Other matters before the Board at this meeting were:
Best wishes to all for a great weekend.
Ngā mihi nui
Christine Leighton
Rector
The day dawned a good one and weather conditions made it perfect for our 106th Secondary School Athletic Sports Day. The day started really well with House chants, some of the best chants staff had seen. Competition was fierce and the House spirit was superb – plenty of cheering and supporting of the athletes. By the end of the day everyone had showed what House culture is all about. Congratulations to Rutherford House for winning the House Cup for the third consecutive time.
FLICKR >
Pink, red, and white decorations adorned the Senior College building during Valentine’s Day last week. Along with the decorations, many students caught ‘the love bug’ and composed poems for the Student Council’s Valentine’s Day poem competition. Prizes were awarded for both the best overall poem and also the most “cringy” love poem. The winners’ poems were read, and prizes were awarded in the Deans’ meeting.
The annual New to StAC Orientation Camp took place on Friday 16 – Saturday 17 February, which saw 17 new students in Years 11–13 travel to Castle Hill to enjoy some of the sights, sounds and activities of the Castle Hill Outdoor Education Centre, including:
Students enjoyed meeting each other, talking through similar experiences they are going through with starting at St Andrew’s and sharing their backgrounds and experiences. Thank you to the Castle Hill Outdoor Education Centre team, Heads of College, Head of Senior College John Ruge and his wife Katherine, plus the Years 11 and 12 Deans, Lucy Curtis and Dayna Stirling.
FLICKR >
The 2024 Choir Camp was held onsite at the College last weekend. The students spent time in their choirs learning new material for their upcoming performances. The focus of the camp was creating an environment where students could connect with others across all the year levels, have fun and build the choral community. Year 13 students stepped up to take the lead in many group activities, including the Friday night concert, and the groups had lots of fun. On Saturday morning, the students participated in general musicianship and vocal workshops. The Staccoro Choir Director, Jared Corbett, worked on holding harmonies through a series of vocal games, while percussionist Doug Brush spent time playing creatively on a variety of drums improving the students’ sense of rhythm. Finally, Vocal tutor, Margot Button, created an interactive workshop about the physiology of singing, and how to care for their voice and get the best out of it. The group were entertained by the wonderful adult acapella crew from Voices Co, led by Julian Hay.
FLICKR >On Monday, our two Year 13 Geography classes conducted their geographic research at two Canterbury beaches (Birdlings Flat and Waimari Beach). The aim was for them to collect sufficient primary data to be able to complete their NCEA research assessment.
On Monday, all Year 11 Art students travelled to Ōtamahua/Quail Island as part of their internal assessment. Ōtamahua is a place rich in history and culture and has a number of historical sites for the students to explore. Students walked the island, stopping to reflect on the history they learnt in class and to sketch their observations in their visual diary. A highlight for all was exploring the shipwreck graveyard and spotting some dolphins on the boat ride home.
FLICKR >On Tuesday, 26 Year 13 Business Studies students attended a hui at Ara to find out about the Young Enterprise Scheme (YES) programme, including the structure YES offers around pitching, mentoring, market research guidance, promotional/sales challenges, and final reports at the end of the operational cycle. Students also learnt about the experiences on offer, for example, a trip to Mexico in April to explore business partnerships present and future that New Zealand has with Mexico. The group also listened to alumni experiences and used Design Dash to develop problem statements.
Yesterday, Year 7 students participated in Top Team, a challenge hosted on the Preparatory School field by Sport Canterbury. Students were split into 16 teams with a mix of students from different classes. Students then competed against one another to be the Top Team. Top Team is a series of interactive team-building challenges designed to promote problem-solving, communication and teamwork while being active and having fun. The Top Team activity was another part of the transition to Year 7 programme that aims to help students adjust to their new year level and make connections with a wide variety of students across the year group.
FLICKR >
Year 6 students recently enjoyed their annual camp in Wainui. The camp offered an array of exciting activities that pushed students out of their comfort zones while ensuring a safe and encouraging environment. Coasteering, archery, kayaking, abseiling, orienteering, and flying fox were just a few of the fun activities that our students participated in. However, it was the evening games that truly made camp special. Everyone gathered for a game on the first night called 'Diamond Smugglers’, showcasing teamwork and strategic thinking. Then on the second night, they had a campfire (without the fire), where the students were led through a variety of fun games and songs. Aside from the action-packed activities, the camp served as a platform for personal growth. Students discovered newfound confidence as they conquered challenges, and the supportive setting allowed them to build new friendships. The adult helpers and instructors played a crucial role, being fantastic mentors and guides throughout the entire adventure.
Last Tuesday, the Preparatory School gathered together for their first chapel service of the school year. Preparatory School Chaplain, Jillian Fenton, ran the annual Pancake Race which this year was won by teacher Annabelle Kerr. Following the race, Mrs Fenton spoke about the importance of kindness to others. She referred to the true events whereby a man called Nicholas Winton had shown great kindness in enabling the safe escape of 669 children from Czechoslovakia in 1939.
The Preparatory School Swimming Sports Day was held on Monday at the Wharenui Sports Complex, and it was pleasing to see a number of swimmers breaking College records. A special thank you to Charlie Gregg, Anthony Song, Isla Ratcliffe, Amanda Watkins and Lauren Exon for the exemplary Year 9 Leadership they demonstrated.
PREPARATORY SCHOOL SWIMMING RECORDS >
FLICKR >Josh Silcock (Year 13) took out the championship win in the 0–205cc Senior Class in the Canterbury Grass Kart Championships held last Saturday in Kirwee after the event was rained off last November. The event consisted of five rounds of racing against some very experienced drivers. Josh held a narrow one-point lead going into the last race and brought home the win. This was his first championship racing in this class after graduating from the Juniors in June 2023. Josh’s next challenge is the New Zealand Grass Kart Championships to be held in Timaru at Easter.
Two students competed in the Challenge Wanaka New Zealand Secondary School Triathlon Championships last Sunday.
Cohnor Walsh (Year 11) won the U16 Male category and Sophie Lampe (Year 10) won the U16 Female category.
Five students participated in the International Ethics Olympiad final this week – Jinyang (Yang) Zhang, Ellie Zhou, Daisy Huang, Matthew Bluck, and Sam Foote (all Year 11). Although the team did not place, they did receive an honourable commendation.
Holly Lyon (Year 11) has been selected to be a part of the New Zealand Secondary School Girls’ team that will be representing New Zealand when they tour Melbourne in April.
Football Co-ordinator and Head Football Coach, Juan Chang recently returned from coaching the Samoa Women’s National Team (his first time as Head Coach) in the Paris Olympic Qualifiers. Samoa finished third out of 11 countries, and this is the first time in history that Samoa has made it to the semi-finals of the Olympic Qualifiers.
Good luck to all students who are representing the College over the weekend in sports and cultural activities, including:
We’re having a whole school Non-Uniform Day to celebrate the launch of So They Can's 1 Human Race Challenge next Friday. Our student Community Service leaders have set an ambitious goal: each Secondary School tutor group will strive to raise $300. This amount covers half of the cost to support a girl in East Africa for an entire year of education.
Account number: BNZ 02-0800-0911793-00
Account name: St Andrew's College
Reference: 'So They Can 2024'
Particulars: Family name and tutor group code or class (e.g. Smith BCR or Smith 7S)
Thank you for your support of this worthy initiative.
Meet our teachers who make the difference at our upcoming Open Days. Please help spread the word for interested families to register online.
Secondary School Open Day: Wednesday 6 March, 9.00am–12.00pm
Last Tour Commences: 10.30am
Rector's Address: 11.00am
Boarding House Open Day: 12.00pm
Preparatory School and Pre-school Open Day: Thursday 8 March, 11.00am–12.30pm
Principal of Preparatory School Address: 11.45am
We are currently accepting enrolments for the Year 9 intake in 2025. Kindly note that the deadline for applications from siblings of current and past students, children of alumni and children of our current staff is Monday 18 March. The deadline for boarding applications is Friday 22 March.
To register your interest in a place at St Andrew’s College for students new to the College, complete our online application form by clicking here >
For further information please don’t hesitate to contact our Registrar, Lynn Smith, enrol@stac.school.nz.
Our Course Outlines, summarising the learning and assessment for each subject, are available on StACNet. Students will also have received an electronic or hard copy of each Outline, and we encourage you to read them and discuss them. Of additional importance in the Years 11–13 Outlines is the NCEA assessment programme information.
View Course Outlines by clicking here >
The official StAC App is a great way to stay up-to-date with the latest news and information from the College, including events, sports draws, cancellations and postponements. It enables you to receive alert notifications, as well as access the Community Portal, student timetables, term fixtures, contacts, resources, and report an absence all in one location. The App will also be one of the main communication platforms used in the unlikely event of an emergency. In these situations, alerts sent via the App are the quickest to go out and are very well received by parents/caregivers.
For all the information to download and use the StAC App, please visit our digital platforms information page on StACNet, where you can also view an instructional video, or download the PDF guide.
Further information >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).
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.
