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Dear Parents and Caregivers
Kia ora koutou.
For the next two days, 11 Board and Senior staff from St Andrew’s College are attending the ISNZ National Conference here in Ōtautahi at Te Pae. 265 conference attendees from all around New Zealand are gathering to hear from keynote speakers and workshop presenters about the “Shifting Tides” in education. We were proud to have had our kapa haka perform at the opening mihi whakatau. Their performance was truly beautiful and uplifting. Ngā mihi koutou! Yesterday, delegates also enjoyed a tour of our campus, and our impressive learning facilities, and beautiful grounds.
This week has seen a number of exciting sports finals with the rest to be played this weekend. Congratulations to four Senior girls A teams placing in the top 3 of the Canterbury Schools’ competition, (see full details below).
This is an outstanding result for our first teams. Many other teams have also done very well in their various grades and represented our school with courage and respect in the spirit of our Sports Framework.
Next week 16 teams will represent St Andrew’s in winter sports tournaments across the country – kia waimarie!
This week in other events, the Rock Band House competition held in The Gough Family Theatre was a big hit at lunch time on Tuesday, with McGibbon winning first place.
This morning Head of Well-being, Kerry Larby and students from the Well-being Committee organised a Well-being Assembly. A highlight of the assembly was the presentation of our prestigious Mahia te Aroha Character Awards, which recognise students who exemplify our school’s core value of inclusivity. This year, the awards honoured students for their kindness, social intelligence, and ability to support and uplift others. The deserving recipients were Lucas Jemmet, Jessica Armstrong (both in Year 9), Lachlan Hackston, Vanessa Li (both Year 10), Max Bell, Scarlett Ryan (both Year 11), Oliver Cotter, Meg Matthews (both Year 12), Hamish Paton, and Grace Vincent Parr (both Year 13). Their strength of character sets a powerful example for us all.
Our well-being initiatives continue to support our students in the inevitable challenges throughout their teenage years. Our guidance team, pastoral care network, well-being staff, and student committees continue to work together to design constructive programmes and tools for students. It certainly is a complex world for our young people to navigate and we are committed to working alongside parents to help them in their choices and decision making.
Ngā mihi mahana
Christine Leighton
Rector
This morning, the Well-being Committee, led by Heads of Well-being Olivia Bloom (Year 12) and Aria Wilke (Year 13), hosted our annual Well-being Assembly. Milla Smith and Katherine Simcock (Year 12) delivered an engaging presentation on the vital role that friendship plays in student well-being. Their message considered how friendships are created in the small, everyday actions that we take to build trust and respect. The Well-being Committee celebrated the work that Deans do to support student well-being by setting a ‘Dean of the Week challenge.’ The assembly hall was full of laughter and encouragement as the Deans took on the challenge of creating a portrait of a student in their year group.
A highlight of the assembly was the presentation of our prestigious Mahia te Aroha Character Awards, which recognise students who exemplify our school’s core value of inclusivity. This year, the awards honoured students for their kindness, social intelligence, and ability to support and uplift others. The deserving recipients were Lucas Jemmet, Jessica Armstrong (both Year 9), Lachlan Hackston, Vanessa Li (both Year 10), Max Bell, Scarlett Ryan (both Year 11), Oliver Cotter, Meg Matthews (both Year 12), Hamish Paton, and Grace Vincent-Parr (both Year 13). Their strength of character sets a powerful example for us all.
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Recently in the media there has been a lot of discussion around the Literacy and Numeracy co-requisites for NCEA. For both Numeracy and Reading, we are delighted with our results. Overall, 91% of our students in Year 11 gained the Numeracy requirement (against 46% nationally), 92% gained the Literacy–Reading requirement (against 59% nationally) and 67% gained the Literacy–Writing requirement (against 56% nationally). All students have been provided with feedback and/or teachers have reviewed their programmes where necessary.
All Year 11 students who have not yet gained the requirements have another opportunity to do so in September. We are also working with those students to identify where they may be able to use certain tagged achievement standards which substitute for the LitNum standards.
On Tuesday, the House Rock Competition was held in the Gough Family Theatre, and the winners were MacGibbon. This was a great initiative of the Cultural Captains as part of Cultural Week, deferred from last week.
Today, a group of students joined Jessica Armstrong (Year 9) for her book launch. In 9ACEE, Jessica wrote, and self-published a children’s book focused on psychology, titled A small book on psychology for younger readers.
Toby Kane, father of Harriet (Year 4), Olive (Year 5) and Margot (Year 1), came to speak to the students about the Paralympic Games that he competed in as a skier. He was so humble sharing his stories and how it is about being enabled rather than disabled to compete in these games. The students were enthralled and loved his passion, humility, and ‘can-do’ attitude.
The Years 7–8 Future Problem Solving students are gearing up for their upcoming qualifying competition next week, where the focus will be on Antarctica. On Monday, they visited the Antarctic Centre to gain insights into the pressing issues facing the continent and the challenges we may encounter in the future. These young problem solvers will soon apply their knowledge to identify and address potential future issues related to Antarctica in the qualifying round. If successful, they will move on to represent the College at the Future Problem Solving nationals in Auckland this November.
The Serenade Trio, comprising of Hao Bo (Terence) Yang (Year 9) – flute, Cong (Zilong) Chen (Year 8) – oboe, and Ethan Waines (Year 8) – piano, performed at the Nutpoint Centre on Saturday 10 August as guest performers at the Christchurch School of Music's Chamber Groups concert. They performed the complete Trio-sérénade by Anselme Vinée.
You might have spotted the Junior Department students arriving at school in their pyjamas this morning. Lots of excited students enjoyed wearing their pyjamas, oodies, onesies, or their comfiest clothing to school for Pyjama Day. A wonderful collection of soft toys also got to join their owners for a day at school where we farewelled winter and welcomed spring. What a cosy day everyone had in the Junior Department!
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Today the Pre-school celebrated Daffodil Day. Given that so many are impacted by cancer, the Pre-school’s Daffodil Day is as an opportunity to gently introduce, in age-appropriate ways, ideas about how we can support those affected by this disease. The Pre-school used its hui time this morning to talk about how scientists are working to combat cancer, and how doctors and nurses help look after people who are unwell with cancer. The children also had a ‘Wear Yellow’ dress up day, did face painting, made a lemonade stand, created lots of daffodil inspired art, and tamariki were able to bring a gold coin donation for the Cancer Society.
Flickr >The Girls’ 1st XI celebrated a remarkable achievement on Wednesday, becoming four-time Canterbury Premier Champions after a commanding 4–0 victory over Avonside Girls’ High School at English Park. The win, witnessed by a large crowd of enthusiastic supporters, underscores the team’s dominance in local school football, having lost only one match in the last four years. This is the fifth championship the girls have secured in the last six years. Amber de Wit (Year 12) led the charge with two goals, becoming the top Canterbury goal scorer, while Addison Pilkington and Odette Lieshout (both Year 13) each added a goal to seal the win.
This was particularly special as it marked a farewell to the Year 13 girls, who have been instrumental in the team's success over the past four years. Their leadership, dedication, and talent have been pivotal in shaping the team’s legacy, and this week's win serves as a fitting tribute to their incredible contributions. The entire community is immensely proud of these girls, who leave behind a legacy of excellence and a standard of success that will inspire future generations of players.
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On Tuesday, our Senior Girls’ team travelled to Cowles Stadium to participate in the Whelan Trophy basketball final for 2024. Storming out of the gate, our girls built an early 20-point lead and never looked back. Ophelia Powell (Year 13) was sublime, going for 27 points in being awarded Finals MVP. Congratulations to the ladies who, with this win, secured their fifth consecutive regional title.
flickr >HOCKEY
Last Friday, the hockey girls faced a challenging start in their semi-final against Christchurch Girls’ High School. They were trailing 1–2 after the first quarter, with Girls’ High putting early pressure on and scored two goals within the first eight minutes of the game. Despite the early setback, the girls steadily gained momentum each quarter and Ella O’Brien (Year 12) scored two crucial goals, to tie the score 2–2. The girls went from strength to strength, with the captain Henrietta Nation (Year 13) scoring the final goal securing third place for St Andrew’s. Their disciplined play and teamwork were instrumental in turning the game around and finishing the season on a high.
NETBALL
In the semi-final against Christchurch Girls’ High School on Saturday, it was crucial for the St Andrew’s team to win to avoid playing off for seventh and eighth place. The game was intense, with the girls leading by a couple of goals at half-time. By the end of the fourth quarter, the score was tied, forcing extra time of three minutes each way. After these six minutes it was still tied. Those sitting on the bench were nervous, but the team remained calm and focused, scoring the necessary two-goal lead to secure the victory. This win ensures the team’s position in Premier 2 for next year.
This year, 5200 Year 9–11 students from around New Zealand took part in the Otago Junior Mathematics Competition. The following students placed in the top 30 of their year level:
In the Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook 2024 student competition, Ellie Zhou won first place in the Year 11 category for her poem, 50c lemonade. In the Year 12 category, Penny Dai was placed second for her poem, Ceramics. Isobel Forsey was Highly Commended in the Year 13 category for her poem, Primary school disco.
Thomas Ambury (Year 9) had a piece selected for an installation at The Crossing as part of the Word Festival's ‘Ōtautahi is Flash' writing competition. Entrants had to share a memory of Christchurch in 100 words or fewer.
VEX in Canterbury continues to grow, with more schools and groups joining this season. At the scrimmage on Sunday 18 August, there were enough teams with working robots to run competitions in both VRC and IQ grades for the first time this season. This allowed students to see if their planning and building was on track. The new challenges are proving quite complex and there was a lot of learning for students and teachers about rules and the best strategies to use to score points.
In VEX IQ, three Preparatory School teams worked hard to make great progress with their builds and should be ready to compete next time. The following Secondary School teams: ‘The Rack Dealers’ and ‘Fish,’ qualified for the finals of the VRC competition, where they were beaten by a strong Ao Tawhiti/Hillmorton High School Alliance. Kiwibots National Operations Manager, Michelle Hazelger-Mollard was visiting for the day and had prizes for all of them.
Shey Doerner-Corson (Year 11) rode in the final round of the South Island Dirt Sprint Series this Weekend and placed first overall in the Junior class. This is a five-round series.
Eleven of the Preparatory School’s chess club representatives attended the recent Canterbury Interschool Individual Chess Tournament. The Years 6–8 students played five gruelling matches each against Canterbury’s finest young chess players. Many of our players enjoyed success – Samuel Rijpma was awarded second overall for Year 6, Jack Blyde came fifth, and Ethan Waines came seventh in the Year 8 category.
Raymen Dai (Year 5) achieved a Distinction in his Cello Grade 5 examination with Trinity College of London.
Alongside the announcement of the Canterbury representatives in last week’s newsletter, Ricco Peauafi Symonds (Year 11) has been named in the Canterbury Under 16 Metro Black rugby team.
Seb Calder (OC 2019) has secured his first full-time contract with the Crusaders. Seb made his debut for the Crusaders in 2022 and has since earned 13 caps, contributing to two championship-winning squads. Now, he is committed to the team for at least two more seasons, through to 2026.
Jenny Zhu (OC 2019) has been recognised as one of New Zealand’s top young entrepreneurs, making it to the finals of the prestigious KiwiNet Research Commercialisation Awards. As a talented badminton player, Jenny is developing ‘Line Buddy,’ a phone app that brings professional analysis technology to everyday players, both amateur and competitive. A recent Mechatronics Engineering graduate from the University of Canterbury, Jenny’s innovative idea was born during a computer vision course in her final year. The KiwiNet winners will be announced on Wednesday 9 October.
Head of English, Rebecca Ball, had the following piece of writing selected as part of the Word Festival's 'Ōtautahi is Flash' writing competition. Entrants had to share a memory of Christchurch in 100 words or fewer.
This brown this blue
From up here you can see how tenderly blue sky holds brown hills, how Te Moana-nui-a-Kiwa lies like a silk scarf in the harbour. Spring of tussock under your feet. All around, bouncing gorse bushes, woven spiderwebs waving like white flags in the Nor'wester. Hay and coconut. Does it taste as good as it smells, you ask, and father empties his backpack so you can fill it with golden slips of sun and nibbling green shark teeth. Later you will mix them with water and yeast. To stir to steep to sip. This brown this blue this golden coconut wind.
Good luck to all students who are representing the College over the weekend in sports and cultural activities, including:
Step back in time with us for a delightful twist on the classic Hans Christian Andersen fairy tale, The Princess and the Pea. First gracing Broadway in 1959, Once Upon a Mattress has charmed audiences for decades. In a distant kingdom, Queen Aggravain has decreed that no one may marry until her son, Prince Dauntless, finds a suitable bride. Many princesses have tried and failed to pass the Queen’s rigorous tests. But everything changes with the arrival of Princess Winnifred the Woebegone. Will she succeed where others have failed…? Join us for an evening of laughter, music, and enchantment as we bring this beloved story to life!
When: Wednesday 30 October – Saturday 2 November, four shows, all 7.00pm–9.00pm
Where: St Andrew's College, Gough Family Theatre, Ngā Toi Performing Arts Centre
Tickets: Adults $35.00 | Students $17.50 | Staff $17.50
Academic Conferences are scheduled for the final two afternoons of Term 3, Thursday 26 September 3.20pm–6.00pm (Year 11–13 day students) and Friday 27 September 1.30pm–3.30pm (Year 11–13 day students and boarders).
These conferences will provide your child with an important opportunity to discuss their Preliminary Examination results and their next steps in preparation for the NCEA examinations in November. Prior to the conferences, students will receive feedback from their teachers and be supported in interpreting this to plan their next steps.
As we move into Preliminary Examinations for Year 11–13 students in Weeks 8 and 9, we would like to encourage you to also read the Effective Learning and Study resources for parents/caregivers now available on StACNet by clicking here. Students also have access to resources specific to them at the same link.
Please note, on these days Secondary School students will finish school as below:
Thursday 26 September at 2.30pm
Friday 27 September at 12.35pm
An email with instructions on how to book an Academic Conference with your child’s tutor will be sent out in Week 8.
The St Andrew’s College annual Dance Revue is back! Containing an eclectic range of dance styles including Jazz, Hip Hop, Ballet, Musical Theatre and Contemporary, this fast-paced evening of dance will have something for all to enjoy. Performances will come from St Andrew’s College Ballet Academy, StAC Dance, soloists, and groups. Come celebrate dance!
When: Friday 13 September, 7.00pm–8.30pm | Saturday 14 September, 7.00pm–8.30pm (two shows)
Where: Gough Family Theatre – Ngā Toi Performing Arts Centre
Tickets: $15.00
Join us for the StAC Ag Show on Thursday 26 September. Students at all year levels can enter a number of fun events, such as baking, art, flower arrangements, and Lego creations, with placings from first to third place receiving a ribbon, and all first-place winners will also receive a prize. Some incredible grand prizes are up for grabs including an animal care package from Rangiora Vet Centre for the animal categories, a Willowbank Family pass for the plant and food categories, and a Willowbank Family pass for the art and photography categories.
There is something for everyone at this A&P Show-inspired event. Come along to Gym 1 to experience all the art, baking and other pet entries as well as the petting zoo – get set for a day of agricultural fun!
The Year 12 Agribusiness students will be selling their food and animal products at the show, including deer velvet dog treats, rocky road, and lolly packs. Eftpos will be available, and a pre-order form will be sent out a week before the show.
Entries: Cost: $3.00 per category entered (viewing the entries on the day is free). Entries close 4.00pm Friday 20 September. To enter your child/ren into the StAC Agricultural Show, please complete the relevant entry form/s below:
Complete Pre-school Entry Form here >
Complete Preparatory Entry Form here >
Complete Secondary School Entry Form here >
The online sales for the following 2024 photographs are now available:
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
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.
