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MAGAZINE October 2020 Return to play Page 9 Contents 3 The Headmaster’s OLD BOYS’ NEWS 36 Robert Haldene Makgill Update 33 The President’s Report 37 The Lions of the Few 4 Report from the Board 34 2020 Augusta Awards 38 The 1948 Poliomyelitis 6 Effective practice for Epidemic online teaching 39 Vintage Luncheon 9 Return to play The Headmaster’s Update 40 Old Boys’ Events 11 A final year to remember JUST ONE YEAR AGO, THE WIDER GRAMMAR COMMUNITY JOINED TOGETHER UNDER THE BANNER ‘150 YEARS – A PAST TO CELEBRATE AND A FUTURE TO EMBRACE’. WW2 Malayan 41 ST 12 Academia Campaign OUR 151 YEAR HAS PROVEN TO BE ONE TO EMBRACE, TO INNOVATE, AND TO LEARN. 15 Sport 42 News As with other sectors across New • Advancing the way teachers, students there is evidence of an even stronger Zealand, the Covid-19 restrictions have and parents interacted within our community around us today. My thanks 11 affected how the School could operate learning management system, to the Grammar community who 18 Arts and Culture 44 From the Archives and, specifically, what we could share GrammarNet willingly followed our lead and worked to in person. For our young men, the • Advocating for our senior students to be understand the specificities of our online loss of face-to-face teaching time, the able to attend in-person tutorials, then approach to teaching, which aligned with 21 Thinking ahead 46 Grammar Families opportunity to compete across a variety of providing them within the Ministry of our School’s educational philosophies. You contexts, and the ritual of daily assembly Health’s guidelines supported the primary place education impacted the style of education they were takes in the lives of Grammar boys, • Providing wellbeing advice and online 22 Staff 48 Obituaries familiar with at Grammar. whether in person or online. programmes, such as GrammarFit, We, too, have had sympathy for our Finally, my special thanks to Grammar to support the welfare of students Form 7 cohort, who have had fewer masters who implemented the School’s Grammar Publications involved with distance learning. 24 International 50 opportunities to lead and enjoy special online teaching framework in such a Department moments that are forged through the We also learnt a lot, as we saw a growing manner that classes could continue relationships they develop with masters sense of gratitude for face-to-face seamlessly. The uncertain times we and each other in their final year. teaching and the components that make experienced saw our teachers embrace 26 Art House Tour 24 Guest editor: Amanda Harkness up quality teaching. That is, there has In times of uncertainty and considerable the circumstances and innovate, both been a greater student understanding of Ph 09 623 5400 ext 576 change, we are challenged to act as a learner and a teacher, to provide [email protected] the value a specialist teacher brings to a innovatively. In our context, with many our young men with exemplary distance 27 A heartfelt bequest School website: ags.school.nz classroom environment. unknowns, we built on the School’s learning. Feedback, comments and suggestions Learning Management System (for online We have been reminded of the Per Angusta Ad Augusta. are welcome. 28 Giving to Grammar teaching) and worked to promote learning motivation that many students get from With thanks to all contributors, especially online in a way that aligned with the being in a classroom with their peers Peter Stanes ‘58, Murray McKinnon ‘59, School’s educational philosophies. This and an understanding that learning does Jessica Betty and the Grammar Media included: take place through their interactions Tim O’Connor 30 The Commerce Group. And to designer PK Malkamaki with classmates – in particular, the Headmaster Department (Spawn) and proofreader Jim Espie ’38. • Further developing the Auckland critical thinking component of learning, Cover image: Tamiro Armstrong and Grammar School Online Teaching when an opinion can be tested and Thomas Jackson celebrate the 1st XV win Framework that held students 32 Gateway and Term 4 vs King’s College. Photograph by Hugo accountable for acquiring new validated in person. Calendar 38 Swinson, Grammar Media Group leader. knowledge by completing set work Auckland Grammar School has a strong Designed and produced by gardyneHOLT. online and/or submitting it foundation and, in our 151st year, 2 AD AUGUSTA OCTOBER 2020 OCTOBER 2020 AD AUGUSTA 3 Responding to a pandemic “IN THE DAYS, WEEKS AND MONTHS AHEAD, THERE WILL BE CHOICES FOR US TO MAKE AND THERE WILL BE CROSSROADS WHERE WE CAN TAKE THE EASIER ROUTE WITH JUSTIFICATION BECAUSE OF THESE TOUGH TIMES, OR, WE CAN ACCEPT THE CIRCUMSTANCES ARE BEYOND OUR CONTROL AND MOVE FORWARD WITH POSITIVITY AND PURPOSE.” - HEADMASTER TIM O’CONNOR, LOCKDOWN ASSEMBLY, WEDNESDAY 30 MAY, 2020 Report from the Board “GRAMMAR TEACHERS ARE AWESOME!” THIS WAS THE VIEW EXPRESSED TO ME BY A GROUP OF FORM 6 BOYS ABOUT COPING WITH LOCKDOWN, ONLINE LEARNING AND RETURNING Effective practice TO SCHOOL UNDER THE “NEW NORMAL”. Our young men have really appreciated and software. Our Heads of Department have always appreciated John’s cheery for online teaching the extra efforts that their teachers have worked tirelessly to coordinate their disposition as he greets us as teacher have made in these unusual times. It is teams from afar, to maintain the delivery librarian. I hope John enjoys his well- certainly a view shared by our Board. of teaching programmes throughout earned retirement. Mr Daniel Oram is the School. Again, I must acknowledge stepping down after six years as Director It has been a demanding year for all of the hard work of our Headmaster, Mr of Boarding at Tibbs House. Daniel has our staff and members of our School Tim O’Connor and the Leadership done a great job leading Tibbs House and Board, who have all been required to put Team. They have done a magnificent ensuring that Tibbs is a safe and happy in extra hours to focus on the demands job in coordinating the logistics and place for our boarders. Frank Haszard is that Covid-19 has imposed upon us all. communications to keep our entire taking over as Director of Boarding and Our teachers and support staff have community informed throughout the year. I know Frank will continue with the fine been incredible. Everyone has pulled work of Daniel and others before him. together to make sure that we deliver the As I walk about the School, I can see curriculum to all boys, at all levels. Whilst that teachers and support staff have Finally, I want to thank parents and the Return to play all staff have gone above and beyond given it everything they have this year. wider school community who have been the call of duty, I want to specifically They can be incredibly proud of what incredibly supportive of the School in acknowledge the work of Dr John Etty, they have achieved under very trying so many ways. Your ongoing support is who has driven the development of the circumstances indeed. greatly appreciated by our Board and our School’s online teaching framework. staff. Whatever 2021 serves up, I am Whilst the year has been challenging, This work is aligned with international confident that the Auckland Grammar there have also been occasions to research and we have delivered quality School community is ready. Our school celebrate. Our music groups managed teaching to our boys as we adopt the has faced tougher times in its history and to deliver two superb winter concerts to technology. Credit should also go to Mr not only survived but thrived. I have total rave reviews. Our much-anticipated staff Chris Dunn, who has led the professional confidence that we will continue in that versus prefects rugby match was played development and implementation of the positive manner moving forward. with the usual determination shown by School’s online learning management both sides and, as a Grammar Old Boy, I Per Angusta Ad Augusta. system over the past three years, to A final year was delighted to be at King’s College to ensure the School could support our watch our 1st XV triumph in what was young men in these unusual times. We our 134th win in the 210th game of this are fortunate indeed that we commenced fixture. to remember this work three years ago. Mr Cameron Mark Sandelin ‘75 Watt has led the development of the I also want to recognise long-serving Chairman, Board of Trustees School’s IT infrastructure to allow us to master John Warner, who retires after use the latest technology, programmes 30 years of service to the School. I 4 AD AUGUSTA OCTOBER 2020 OCTOBER 2020 AD AUGUSTA 5 Effective practice for online teaching IN THESE CHALLENGING TIMES, TEACHERS AND STUDENTS HAVE CONTINUED TO WORK IN NEW WAYS. Above: At left, Chris Dunn and Dr John Etty discuss online best practice and at right, a student taking lessons on GrammarNet. Having rapidly deployed online learning Did things change when the second online mechanisms to generate those via GrammerNet in response to the first closure was announced? effective teaching and learning practices, lockdown of the pandemic in late March, like reflection. content knowledge. Areas of How has the Grammar community the value of being in the classroom. Etty: We initially felt the second closure responded to online learning? But it has also forced us to think about the School continued to extend and technological knowledge are things like would be like the first time, and that Reflecting on practice might include how do I make a screencast? How do I things like sequencing and chunking and improve its work in this area during the Etty: I think in lockdown one, there was we could work in the same way, but it asking yourself: What have I provided for run a Zoom? How do I manage my class explanation.