Edition 3 June 2013

Dear Parents and Guardians

It is with pleasure that I bring you the third newsletter of the year, in my role as Acting Headmaster for the term, while Mr Lander is overseas on sabbatical leave. We are through eight weeks of the term and what a busy eight weeks it has been.

While, as always, the main focus is an academic one, we have successfully navigated our winter sports exchanges, the Road Relay, Arts Week, Fieldays, junior exams, R48 Hour film festival and the Cross Country.

Our choir performed well in the ‘Big Sing’ and we gained two top awards in the Chamber Music competition. Arts Week was again a tremendous success and the students will soon begin preparation for the inter-house music competition.

2013 Year 13 Construction class project takes shape – replacement of Rose Cottage

Our sporting codes are having great success in their respective winter competitions. The 1st XV, as I write, are unbeaten in the Central North Island competition; while our first Netball team has beaten Wanganui Collegiate, Bethlehem College and the touring All Hallows School team from Brisbane in recent weeks. St Paul’s won the overall fixtures against Wanganui Collegiate; lost narrowly to Tauranga Boys’; won the Lindisfarne College exchange and the Bethlehem College exchange.

Our top teams are preparing well for the National Tournament Week to be held in Term 3.

1 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School The first Tihoi intake for 2013 graduated last weekend. Proud parents applauded their sons as they regaled us with their accomplishments. The boys that went to Tihoi in February return as young men and we welcome them back.

Because of the nature of the school terms this year, we are over half way through the academic year. Benchmark exams, key indicators for NCEA external examination success, are five weeks into Term 3, so it is important that our students maintain their focus and work ethic over the coming break in order to be well prepared for them. Hard work in the next few weeks will reap rich rewards later in November.

The students and staff have worked hard over a difficult term and I would like to thank them for supporting me in my role as Acting Headmaster. In particular, my senior leadership team: Mr Rowlands, Mr Gilbert, Mrs Bradford and my Personal Assistant, Miss Purvis, deserve special mention. We look forward to Mr Lander’s return in Term 3 and to the arrival of Mr Robson, our new Deputy Headmaster.

Finally, a plug for our production, “Little Shop of Horrors” – Come along and support our talented students in what promises to be yet another outstanding show.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE

CHRISTOPHER WHITELEY SELECTED FOR LONDON INTERNATIONAL YOUTH SCIENCE FORUM

St Paul’s Collegiate School Year 13 student, Christopher Whiteley, has been awarded the Talented School Students’ Travel Award, which will fund his attendance at the two-week London International Youth Science Forum (LIYSF) this coming July.

Christopher was selected for the award, which is funded by the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment and administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand, following his high academic achievements and passion for Science.

Thanks to the Royal Society of New Zealand and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment Christopher will be able to build on his academic strength by attending LIYSF and CERN. The Talented School Students’ Travel Award covers 80 per cent of the cost needed for the trip, which includes attendance at LIYSF, a few days in Paris discovering world famous attractions and a visit to CERN, the laboratory that discovered the ‘God particle’.

At CERN, Christopher will have the opportunity to be a scientist for the day, gaining hands-on experience with advanced equipment that is used to unveil more information about the ‘God particle.’ He will also have the opportunity to work with some of the world’s leading scientists who have just had a breakthrough in cancer research, developing an alternative cancer treatment to radiotherapy.

2 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School Opportunities like attending the LIYSF and CERN are once in a lifetime openings that extend students’ opportunities in their field. Acting Headmaster, Mr Hampton said, “By the end of his trip Chris could have a clearer understanding of what type of scientist he wants to be and, if he utilises this opportunity correctly, he will have a number of connections that could put him at an advantage for his university and working careers.”

An additional four students were also chosen to attend the forum by the Royal Society of New Zealand (from a pool of 200 students). In total, the forum will attract 300 of the world’s leading young scientists from 60 countries.

The other four students, based across the whole of New Zealand, include:  Sonja Bimler, 17, Wellington East Girls’ College  Lixing Wei, 17, Westlake Girls’ High School, Auckland  Charles Norton, 17, Nelson College, Nelson  Phoebe Scherer, 17, Aquinas College, Tauranga

LOVELY DIZON TO ATTEND UNITED NATIONS CONFERENCE IN WELLINGTON

The New Zealand Model United Nations Conference (NZ Model UN) is the premier Model UN event for high school students in New Zealand. It is a four-day conference where students simulate a real UN assembly and debate issues of actual global relevance. Each year, it attracts some of the countries most motivated and committed young global citizens. NZ Model UN is an event filled with leading keynote speakers and politicians, workshops, engaging debate, as well as an incredible social atmosphere including a formal ball.

This year's conference theme is: Looking beyond the Millennium Development Goals. In 2000, the UN set goals that were to be achieved by 2015. With the deadline steadily approaching, it is clear the UN will need to look beyond 2015, and prioritise for the future. NZ Model UN 2013 will have a unique focus on global issues. Delegates will come away from the conference more aware of the issues facing the planet, and with an idea of how youth ingenuity can help solve those issues. NZ Model UN will provide an opportunity for delegates to develop their public speaking skills and fill the shoes of a diplomat.

St Paul’s student, Lovely Dizon (Year 13) is one of 240 students chosen to attend this year’s conference to be held in Wellington from 5th – 8th July. Lovely can be proud of her selection.

LANGUAGE PERFECT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS 2013

Our French language students competed in the online ‘Language Perfect World Championships’ and achieved the following excellent results:

 69th overall in NZ (out of 230 schools)  143rd overall in French (out of 833 schools)  34th for French in NZ (out of 194 schools)

Four students gained Gold Awards (3000+ points) i.e. top 2% of 225,000 French candidates  Alex Jackson (8200 points)  Non Seehamart (3001 points)  Craig Stocker (7000 points)  Fiona Thorp (3300 points)

3 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School Two students gained Silver Awards (2000+ points) i.e. top 5% of 225,000 French candidates  Armarni Irwin (2,046 points)  Craig Scott (2151 points)

Eight students gained Bronze Awards (1000+ points) i.e. top 10% of 225,000 French candidates  Tully Dickson (1533 points)  Callum Herbert (1023)  Joshua McClay (1019)  Jacob Nelson (1025)  Harrison Newdick (1011)  Ariki Thomson (1234)  Daniel Wheeler (1032)  Tom Wilson (1031)

17 Students received Credit Awards (500+ points) Jamie Carlson (853) Suvarn Naidoo (538) Jimmy Christey (522) Ben Negus (528) Fintan Cooper (908) Aaron Parkinson (890) Shay Dickson (738) Callum Skelton (555) Connor Egan (555) Hamish Tapp (953) Harri Draper-Kidd (728) Benjamin Wheeler (863) Cameron Fleming (502) Tom Yarrall (622) Jack Gordon (630) Joshua Yee (579) James Hay (519)

Students in the Ag Hort class help

prepare the garden around the 2011 Leavers’ Gift (water feature) located in the quad

4 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School WARM AND MODERN ACCOMMODATION FOR TUTORS BUILT BY THE CONSTRUCTION CLASS

This year’s Building and Construction class project at St Paul’s is to build a new house on its Hamilton campus to accommodate four Boarding House tutors. The previous accommodation was very old, draughty and not overly spacious. Demolition of their old living quarters took place late last year. The new house will be comfortable, well insulated and have more space. It will have four bedrooms, two bathrooms and a combined dining, lounge and kitchen area. Ten Year 13 boys and two Year 12 boys have formed St Paul’s construction team this year to take on the build of this house. The boys work just as a building gang would on a building construction site, from the hours of 8am-4pm every Tuesday and Thursday, learning practical building skills and a better understanding of life outside of school.

Each boy has been equipped with a new set of tools and apron that they are responsible for and will take them with them when they leave. When they are not on site, the boys are working through the BCITO (Building and Construction Industry Training Organisation) workbooks completing some of the theory required to finish an apprenticeship, along with small practical projects in the workshop to further develop their skills.

Building the house from scratch is very much a project completed by the Year 12 and 13 boys under the watchful eye of mentoring building experts within the industry. These experts are made up of St Paul’s Old Collegians, the School’s current and past parents and local companies. Without the tremendous support of these companies and individuals who have generously given time, labour, product and supplies for this project, this valuable programme would not be possible.

Sincere thanks to the following:  Bunnings Hamilton  Central Rent-a-Fence  Central Scaffolding – Geoff Hines  Gavin Loye Plumbing  Les Harrison Transport  Livingstone Builders  Mark May Builders  Murray Charteris Flooring  Richard Hull Builders  The House Movers – Dean and Jo Namana  Tranda Construction Ltd – Trent Andrew  Urbo Homes – Martin Dobbe  Waikato Electrical – Tangi Glassie

Work started on 5th February this year and is progressing well, with the roof framing and eaves stage almost complete. The roof will be placed by end of Term Two. Completion date is scheduled On the job training! for the end of November.

The School would love to continue offering this construction programme beyond 2013. If you are in the building industry and would like to contribute in anyway, we would be grateful to hear from you. We require qualified builders to volunteer one day every four or five weeks to mentor and supervise up to six boys in the Construction class while they build the house. If you can help, please contact the project manager Gavin Jakes on 021 127 5216.

5 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School MERIT AWARDS – TERM ONE 2013

Year 9 Year 10

Reon Bruce Fintan Cooper Amit Chatrath Tully Dickson Sam Cooper Benjamin Negus Shay Dickson Craig Scott Michael Turnbull Craig Stocker Benjamin Wheeler Thomas Yarrall

Year 11 Year 12

Daniel Davis Leon Chiew Connor Gyde Benjamin Clark Kieran Hitchcock Qiwen Fan Dillon Kelliher Yang (Max) Meng Simon Morbey Jordan Ogilvy Nonthiwat Seehamart Dedao (Daniel) Zhuang Christopher Swanson

Year 13

Scott Finlayson Mitchell O’Connell Dominic Scott-Jones Pat Srisa-An Guy Wilkins Callum Windley

UNIVERSITY OF WAIKATO SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDED TO ST PAUL’S LEAVERS

The University of Waikato recently sent St Paul’s confirmation of the names of past students who, in 2013, are the recipients of significant scholarships for school leavers who have enrolled to attend the University. They are:

Sir Edmund Hillary Scholarships are awarded to students who have excelled academically and also in a sporting field or creative/performing arts:  Aaron Keppler (Hamilton House, 2008-2012)  Jonathan Eyers (School House, 2008-2012)  Scott Hilliar (Clark House, 2011-2012)

The University of Waikato Academic Merit School Leaver Scholarships awarded to students in their first year of study who gain NCEA Level 3 Certificate with a Merit endorsement. Scholars receive $3000 towards their fees or accommodation:  Harrietanne Embling (Harington House, 2010-2012)  Daniel Ford (Sargood House, 2009-2010)  Louise Ford (Harington House, 2011-2012)  Jim Law (Hall House, 2008-2012)

6 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School Bachelor of Engineering Fees – Half Scholarship was awarded to:  Alexandra Wilson (Harington House, 2010-2011)

Energy Education Trust Undergraduate Scholarship for $5000 was awarded to:  Timothy Ng (School House, 2005-2009)

CULTURAL PARTICIPATION

SUCCESS FOR ST PAUL’S MUSICIANS AT DISTRICT CHAMBER MUSIC COMPETITION

On Wednesday, 12th June, two groups of St Paul’s Collegiate School students performed at the NZCT District Chamber Music Competition. The groups were as follows:

Echoes: Paul Newton-Jackson, Fiona Thorp and Michael Torrance Ripon: Jessica Chanwai, John Penyas of St Paul’s and Daniel Ng and Simon Miles of Hamilton Boys’ High School Jessica Chanwai perfecting her The two groups competed against groups from Thames craft High School, Te Awamutu College, Sacred Heart Girls’ College, Waikato Diocesan, Hillcrest High School and Home Schooled students. There were 14 groups entered in the Chamber Music Competition in total. The adjudicator can name up to four groups, other than the overall winning group, to receive a Highly Commended Award. Ripon and Echoes both received Highly Commended. In addition to this Echoes won two extra awards: The Statham Award for the Best Performance of a New Zealand Work in association with SOUNZ and the Original Composition Performance Award in association with SOUNZ and CANZ. This is where a composition is entered in the Senior Composition Section and this composition is played as part of the District Contest. Paul Newton-Jackson entered his composition, and this was performed by Echoes, winning them the two additional awards.

ARTS WEEK 2013 – REPORT FROM MRS SAUNDERS

Arts Week 2013 was another successful House competition event with students from all areas becoming fully immersed in the Arts for a day or two, which for many was out of their comfort zones. The aim of Arts Week is for each House to work as a team, it is a chance for new students to emerge as leaders and for many students to try things that they might not necessarily do on any other day of the year. It is a chance for creative thinking and finding enjoyment in something new.

This year the Arts Week student committee selected “Inspiration” as the theme for the week, which was well received by the students and staff. This theme was applied to all activities ranging from Thursday’s Chapel service, (sermon was presented by Jasper Hankins and Ezekiel Crawford) to the fun-filled Friday, House Arts Activity Day.

7 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School The week was kicked off with the ever-entertaining Theatre Sports. Each House had to provide four thespians to engage in a friendly, but fierce competition to test their improvisatory skills. Overall, Theatre Sports created a lot of great laughs and was enjoyable for everyone, with Sargood once again placing first (now two years running as champions!).

Next was Friday’s “Arts Activity Day”, which was a mufti day and a full school activity. There were two standout highlights for me this year: Short Film and the Lip Syncs.

The quality of the short films surpassed previous years. The task was for each House to create a music video with a link to “Inspiration”. Many of the films were not only entertaining but technically slick, making the job of judging a tough one. But in the end the top two couldn’t be separated with Hall and Hamilton tying for first place.

The other highlight of the day was once again the very entertaining Lip Syncs. The Houses selected a song, which had to link to the theme, create an original Lip Sync performance and was judged on: use of the theme – inspirational song, enjoyment value, technical skills (lip-sync skill, movement / choreography, use of stage area) and costumes. Clark House took out the top spot with their polished and entertaining performance and eye-catching costumes with Sargood close behind at second place with their stunning choreography.

There were four new activities this year: T- Shirt Art, Mug Art, Written Art (poem or rap) and Wearable Art. The students enthusiastically participated in the new activities – pushing their creativity to their limits.

Clay sculpture, chalk art, canvas painting (mixed media and typography based art), digital photography, short film and debating were other competitions on the day. These were great opportunities for students to flex their creative muscles in an enthusiastic environment. The Harington Fashion Show, which took place in Term 1, was also a part of the Arts Week competition this year.

8 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School

The final top placing’s for the arts activities were:  Theatre Sports – Sargood  Harington Fashion Show – Hall  Painting – Williams  Wearable Arts – Hamilton  Chalk Art – Sargood  Clay Sculpture – Fitchett  Digital Photography (scavenger hunt) – Williams  Written Art (poem or rap) – Sargood and Hall (tie)  Short Film – Hall and Hamilton (tie)  Lip-sync – Clark  Debating – School

The overall winner of Arts Week 2013 – winner of the ‘Marty Wong Trophy’ – was: Hamilton House!

Overall, Arts Week was a huge success, which is only due to all of the students letting their imaginations run wild and everyone being totally absorbed in the theme. I would like to thank the students, and staff alike, for stepping outside of their comfort zones and unleashing their creativity for a day.

2013 SCHOOL PRODUCTION – “LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS”

Have you ever been menaced by an anthropomorphic cross between a Venus flytrap and an avocado?

Would you like to be?

Have you ever felt that the world was against you?

That everyone else was playing and you were the only person spectating?

That you just want to break out of the normal humdrum existence?

Well does St Paul’s Collegiate School have the opportunity for you!

A brilliant group of performers has been rehearsing for a production of “Little Shop of Horrors” since the beginning of this year. A small cast, in contrast to last year, they have been doing an amazing job of bringing this hilarious and musically difficult show to the boards.

Geeky florist assistant Seymour finds his chance for love and success via a strange and extraordinary exotic plant. Can he cater to the demands of this rapacious man-eating plant and still win the affections of sweet bubble-headed Audrey? This is one of the longest running and most successful off-Broadway shows of all time, featuring songs such as Somewhere That's Green, Downtown, Feed Me and Suddenly Seymour.

9 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School "With its wonderfully geeky hero, a demented dentist, a goofy girl and a singing plant, “Little Shop of Horrors” was the first major success for multiple Academy Award-winning creative duo Howard Ashman and Alan Menken. It's a delightful, toe tapping experience which has spread its tentacles of pleasure and scariness far from its off-Broadway origins."

Our cast:

 Seymour Krelborn — Cameron Downey  Audrey — Jess Reilly  Mr Mushnik — Jasper Hankins  Chiffon — Zoe Lapwood  Crystal — Brianna O’Donoghue  Ronette — Evie McHugh  Sapphire — Jessica Peart  Audrey II (voice) — Peter Winkelmann  Audrey II (manipulation) — Mark Swarbrick  Orin Scrivello DDS — Daniel Johnson

48 HOUR FILM FESTIVAL – ST PAUL’S ENTERS TWO TEAMS OF FILM MAKERS

48HOURS is New Zealand’s #1 Limited-Time filmmaking contest. Hundreds of teams write, shoot, cut and hopefully survive making a short film in one weekend. Then over a million view the shorts in cinemas, online and on network television. The event is open to anyone with a camera and a passion for film making to join.

Film-makers do not know what genre they will be shooting until the start of the competition. All creativity (writing, shooting and editing) must be produced within 48 hours, beginning the Friday evening and ending on the Sunday evening at 7pm.

48HOURS is a serious challenge for both first time filmmakers through to experienced directors.

2013 was the third year that St Paul’s have entered teams in the competition. This year the school entered two teams: Insomnia Films and Grasshopper Studios. Both teams contained members returning from last year’s competition as David Tharratt working on the well as students competing for the first time. The Storyboard (Insomnia Films) teams both had to include the following elements into their film: a card, an insomniac named Vic Mayer, a point of view shot, the line “Did you hear that?” and a random genre.

GRASSHOPPER STUDIOS Grasshopper Studios is St Paul’s team for developing talent, it is made up predominantly of junior students and was led very capably by co-directors Sam Goodey and Taylor Deakin. Despite a small pool of resources to draw on, the team went into the competition with a lot of optimism. At the launch they were given ‘Converging Storylines’ as a genre to work with. The team came up with the idea of a murder mystery in which a conspiracy theorist pieced

10 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School together elements of a series of murders, unlocking the identity of the murderers, his investigation however brought him to their attention, making him their next target.

The team faced a number of challenges over the weekend, not least of which was watching the footage at 3.00am Sunday morning, only to realise that there was something missing out of the story and they needed to film some additional night shots before the sun came up. The film starred Jonathan Mayer, John Deroles and Joe Bradly-Arthur, with all of the others having smaller roles.

In the end the team made a film entitled “The Last Hand”, which they managed to hand in with 1 hour and 20 minutes to spare.

Here is the link to the YouTube clip: Grasshopper Studios – The Last Hand: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fEPTPkMpRJI

Insomnia Films Insomnia Films is made up largely of senior students, many of whom have competed in 48HOURS in the past. This year they were led by Sean Vartiainen as the Creative Director, and David Tharratt as the Technical Director. They worked together as a great team, utilising each other’s strengths, and to create a high quality short film. The team were given ‘Horror’ as their genre, something they were very excited to tackle, and they quickly went into creative mode to develop their story.

Insomnia Films short film was called ‘Pendulum’. It is about a student who was already on edge due to insomnia. After a particularly hard day at school he takes an unknown drug, changes into an alter ego who goes on a rampage, ending with the death of his teacher and another student. The lead character was played by Jasper Hankins and Peter Winkelmann. The short film also starred Jessica Peart, Evie McHugh, Hamish Malins and Jordan Davies.

‘Pendulum’ has had a number of reviews since being shown in the Hamilton heats. These all praised the team for their beautiful camerawork and the creative use of original music, which was created by Paul Newton-Jackson and Chris Whiteley.

Here is the link to the YouTube clip: Insomnia Films – Pendulum: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BW3mX_q9vCg

Aidan Phillips summed up the experience for the students well when he said, “On that weekend we were a family. Not dysfunctional, not fighting, but a close knit group of people working together”. The students are already planning for next year’s event, and are also very keen to be involved in other film competitions throughout the year.

OTHER CULTURAL HIGHLIGHTS

 Jonathan Eyers (School House 2008-2012) entered into the University of Waikato Aria competition held at the Academy of Performing Arts on Friday, 31st May. All university vocal students can compete and therefore first year students are up against third year and post graduate students. Nevertheless, Jonathan won the competition. This is a wonderful achievement for a first year voice student. Jonathan sang two Arias, one from Donizetti’s ‘The Elixir of Love’ and the second from Gounod’s Faust.

11 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School SPORTING ENDEAVOURS

PRESEASON TOURNAMENT RESULTS IMPRESSIVE

ANZAC Hockey Tournament Auckland Grammar School on May 1st – May 3rd.

The 1st XI team made the journey up to Auckland Grammar at 7.00am on Wednesday morning with boys wearing their No. 1’s and the management looking very smart in their suits. A number of coaches complimented the management on their dress sense and sharpness.

A number of quality hockey schools from Rankin Cup to India Shield attended the preseason ANZAC Hockey Tournament held at Auckland Grammar over the dates of 1st – 3rd May, including our own boys’ 1st XI team. All schools had large squad numbers which provided lots of opportunity for coaches to watch their players perform against quality opposition. The weather conditions were good which enabled the players and team to show off their hockey skills.

The teams that attended and results at Rankin Cup and India Shield in 2012  St Andrew’s College 5th Rankin Cup No. 1 Boys’ Tournament in NZ  Auckland Grammar 6th Rankin Cup  Christ’s College 7th Rankin Cup  Palmerston North Boys’ HS 11th Rankin Cup  Wellington College 3rd India Shield No. 2 Boys’ Tournament in NZ  St Paul’s Collegiate 4th India Shield  Mt Albert Grammar 5th India Shield  New Plymouth Boys’ HS 8th India Shield

Therefore six of the eight teams will be attending Rankin Cup this year in Wellington.

In the first game against New Plymouth Boys’ High School, St Paul’s controlled the game and took their opportunities by scoring four goals in the first half. NPBHS came back in the second half, however strong defensive game from the back four kept New Plymouth scoreless. St Paul’s finished up by winning 5 – 0. Conor Shalloe was named player of the game, he scored two goals and showed good commitment and skills both on attack and defence.

In the second game St Paul’s again took control of the game early by scoring two goals from accurate passing and good communication. In the second half St Paul’s struggled with their passing game and patience with the ball. The score line did not reflect St Paul’s dominance of the game; however St Paul’s were happy with their second win of the tournament against Auckland Grammar, a traditionally very strong hockey school. Player of the game: Jonathan Bloor

12 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School On the Thursday day St Paul’s played Palmerston North Boys’ High school. St Paul’s started slowly and found themselves under immense pressure from making too many mistakes from poor decisions when passing the ball, a lack communication and supporting the player with the ball. PNBHS scored two soft goals. At half time the coaching staff spoke of these problems. The players followed the coach’s instructions and St Paul’s started to exert greater pressure on to the opposition. Unfortunately, St Paul’s failed to take their opportunities in the circle, and they lost the game 2-1. Player of the game: Sam Holmes

In the afternoon, St Paul’s played Wellington College. St Paul’s played extremely well by dominating field position and the ball. St Paul’s scored some sublime goals, firstly from Daniel Scanlon and then by Sean Henley-Smith after receiving a ball from Daniel Scanlon. It did not stop there, with Ezekiel Crawford and Kobi Nicholson scoring from a PC. The half time score 4 – 0 to St Paul’s. In the second half Wellington lifted their efforts and came back into the game by scoring three goals. However, St Paul’s followed up with another goal to put the game out of Wellington College’s reach. St Paul’s finally won 5 -3. A very good win considering we had lost 6-2 to Wellington at India Shield in 2012.

On Thursday night the boys attended the Tournament dinner at the AGS Sport Pavilion, where special guest speaker, NHL player, James Biddick (a past NHL player and Lawyer) talked about the importance of goal setting, education and team sports.

On Friday morning the team were up at 6.20am for a walk and talk with Coach Hardman to alleviate some of the soreness from the past two days. The final game was against St Andrew’s College a very strong side with a number of senior players. They showed their maturity and composure in the first half as they pounced on our mistakes by scoring two goals in five minutes of each other. At half time the coaches made some strategic changes to the formation of players and pointed out the problems that needed to be sorted. St Paul’s did play well in the second half and were very unlucky to have been denied two goals. Final score 2- 0 loss. Player for Tournament: Sam Holmes

The 1st XI team were very well supported by a number of parents who made the journey up or stayed in Auckland. A special thank you to our camp mothers: Belinda, Gina and Caroline who worked tirelessly washing and drying clothes, making lunches and after game drinks and food for the boys and coaching staff.

It was a great three days of hockey action, team bonding, team coaching and understanding of individual and team responsibilities for the season. Thank you to Messrs Henley-Smith and Hardman who accompanied the boys to Auckland for this tournament held in the second week of the holiday break.

TRANS-TASMAN NETBALL QUAD HELD IN ADELAIDE

At 1:45am on the last day of Term 1, our netball squad of 22 girls travelled to Adelaide via Melbourne.

The venue for the 2013 tournament was the beautiful Scotch College.

Over the three days, both St Paul’s teams played a total of eight games each with nearly two hours of fast five on the first night. Every single girl showed the Australians what we were made of - persistence and dedication. We had a rough time with the numbers on the score board but we took every opportunity to develop new skills – on and off the court.

Meg Skilton won overall best player of the tournament which was voted on by other teams and coaches

13 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School

A few girls were also recognised for their work throughout the tournament.

Team 1:  Leadership went to Libby Sutcliffe with her outstanding job as captain.  Jessica Crow won the skill award by over ten points; she was fantastic at rolling away from her player.  Deanna Morse won the most improved award.  The most valuable player went to Meg Skilton with her accurate shooting and thousands of intercepts in the defense.

Team 2:  Leadership went to Danielle McGregor with her amazing job of being captain.  Most improved went to Abby Helm who showed how aggressive she is underneath her usually calm demeanour.  Kaitlyn Thompson won the award of being the toughest player, as despite carrying an injury throughout the tournament, she continued to play the games.  Most valuable player went to Ngaire Osborne with her accurate shooting and bubbly attitude.

Roxanne Dow won a special award; she was injured and was unable to play before we even left for Australia, but she was always there to help and encourage the teachers and girls.

The tour ended smoothly with Brielle O'Connor leading us in the Haka, where all the Australians had their phones out to video with horrified looks on their faces.

The following day we had a wakeup call of 5.00am, as we were to walk to a local park to attend an ANZAC service, with Danielle McGregor and Deanna Morse laying the wreath on behalf of St Paul’s. It was wonderful to be able to be ambassadors for our School and our country on such an important day for both nations.

Lastly, this would not have been possible without the amazing staff that were involved:  Mrs Hannah Munn was an outstanding coach to Team 1; she ensured her girls remained excited and enthusiastic for every game with her inspirational stories and bubbly personality.  Mrs Jackie Lock and Mrs Helen Bradford were both super encouraging and smiles never left their faces while coaching Team 2.  Mrs Jan Kilmister and Mrs Raewyn Keene kept the girls feeling at home with their kind personalities, perfect shoulder massages and accurate organisation skills.

ST PAUL’S ROWING CLUB ANNUAL PRIZEGIVING

At the St Paul’s Rowing Club end of season dinner held on Friday 10th May, trophies were awarded the following rowers:

Les Varney Trophy Most Improved Novice rower Hinehou Te Ua

Coxswains Cup Best Coxswain Marcus Ground

Veterans Trophy Best support from a rowing member Callum Windley

14 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School St Paul’s Shield Most improved rower-all age groups Matt Husband-Dravitzki

School Oar Most successful Team of the Year Boys U18 4+ of Logan Birt (cox), Connor Gordon, Cameron Smale, Andre Eksteen, Angus Kelly

The “ERG” Trophy Alex Hargreaves Highest erg score in a season 6 mins 19.3 secs

Women’s ERG Trophy Brittany Smith Highest score for women in a season 7 mins 53.0 secs

1x Trophy Best Sculler in all grades Matt Husband-Dravitzki

The Arkell Cup Best Lightweight Jack Schicker

Seath Cup Best rower in all Grades Cam Bartley/ Alex Hargreaves

Presidents Cup For outstanding leadership from the boys Matt Husband-Dravitzki

Steiner Trophy For outstanding leadership from the girls Brittany Smith

2013 Rowing Awards Dinner

15 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School CAPS: Caps may be awarded to rowers involved in the school’s premier, senior rowing teams, (this is not easy in rowing because there are so many divisions that could be considered premier (E.g. U18, U18 Lightweight, U 18 Novice) Caps are also at the discretion of the coaches. Like, with the rest of the sporting disciplines within the school, they are intended to acknowledge not only outstanding achievement but also regular participation. The minimum participation for boys is three seasons and for girls is two seasons. Those awarded caps for the 2012/2013 season were:  Matt Husband-Dravitzki , Jackson Brown

SCHOOL CROSS COUNTRY

For the first time in a number of years St Paul’s students had pleasant conditions to contend with while running in this annual event. It was once again very pleasing to see the level of commitment and effort displayed by our students. It should be noted that the course set for everyone to run is quite demanding, as not many national secondary school cross country courses have hill climbs as tough as ours. Thus our students should be proud of what they have achieved by completing their respective races.

Junior Boys Intermediate Boys 1st Connor Gordon Cup 1st Adam McCarthy Cup 2nd John Richardson 2nd Jack Davies 3rd Jack Gordon 3rd Hamish Black

Senior Boys Girls 1st Toby Way Cup 1st Meg Skilton Cup 2nd William Guest 2nd Georgia Burke 3rd Fransois Eksteen 3rd Geraldine Fish

Kibby Cup (A cup based on Top 30 place getters in each race.) Williams House

House Points from Cross Country based on everybody that competed 1st Williams 5th Sargood 2nd Clark 6th Hall 3rd Hamilton 7th Fitchett 4th School

WAIKATO BAY OF PLENTY SECONDARY SCHOOLS’ CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS

St Paul’s was represented by eleven students in four races at this event held in Kihikihi on Wednesday 5th June. The standard of competition was high and the distances run were tougher than our School Cross Country, with the senior boys racing over 6km and senior girls 4km as examples.

Top individual performance of the day went to Meg Skilton in the intermediate girls’ race where she placed 7th. Toby Way also demonstrated his liking for the longer distances by placing 8th in the senior boys’ event. Jack Davies was the best performed of our runners in the intermediate boys’ race placing 12th and John Richardson finished as our best place getter in the junior boys’ race in 25th.

Other runners to compete on the day were:  Carne Lincoln 62nd junior boys  Hamish Black 15th intermediate boys  Adam McCarthy 29th intermediate boys

16 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School  William Guest 20th senior boys  Fransois Eksteen 23rd senior boys  Geraldine Fish 18th senior girls  Jessica Chanwai 19th senior girls

GRACE NAMANA BECOMES A NEW ZEALAND REPRESENTATIVE NETBALLER

On 27th June 2013, Grace Namana (Year 13) represented her country playing Netball for the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ team. The girls selected for this team are the top 12 Netball players in the country for their age group. Grace has been training since December 2012 in Grace Namana celebrates order to meet the her team’s success and requirements for her selection to represent selection. Grace New Zealand attended a National camp where 60 girls came together and later made the cut for the final 24. However, she did not make the initial team of 12, but did make the reserves. The night before the Tournament began, Grace received the call to come and play for the team. The team played very well, which saw them playing in the semi-final game against Malaysia, whom they beat 43-26. This took the team to the final match against the Aotearoa Maori squad (for whom Grace had previously been selected, along with our own Pare Gilmartin-Kara). The New Zealand Secondary Schools’ team won the final 42-15.

1ST XV PLAYS IN THE CHIEF’S COMPETITION

As a lead in to their participation in the 1st XV Central North Island (CNI) Rugby Competition, the boys in the team played in the 1st XV Chief’s Competition against some of the top secondary schools from the region. We played strong teams from Hamilton Boys’ High School, Wesley College, Tauranga Boys’ College and St John’s College. While they only won their final match against St John’s, they played with great heart and passion in all the matches and these games gave them a good platform to build on for their participation in the CNI Competition. The following is a brief summary of the games played:

Vs Hamilton Boys’ High School (Saturday, 11th May) St Paul’s played Hamilton Boys’ High School in the first round - arguably one of the best teams in the country. We started well, building good phases of play, but were unable to score. St Paul’s lineout functioned well against a tall opposition pack with accurate throwing to the line out by Samisoni Taukei’aho, good line out support and well won ball by Jaden Verryt. Caleb Lingman and Hamish Burt produced strong close quarter running. Conner Fullerton and his replacement, Corban Morison at half back distributed accurately throughout the game. Hamilton Boys’ defended well and counter-attacked with good speed and accuracy. They had an ability to commit defenders, develop overlaps out wide and score.

17 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School Rhodri Mackenzie and James Hunt executed some excellent spot tackles but were often out numbered. Final score: Hamilton Boys’ High School 64 - St Paul’s Collegiate School nil.

st The 2013 1 XV perform the Haka before their match against HBHS

Vs Wesley College (Saturday, 18th May) The overall target for this match was to play to win with skill, determination, heart and pride. Field conditions were heavy with occasional showers overhead. St Paul’s started well over the first 15 minutes with organised attack and defense. Persistence and pressure lead to a Wesley infringement. Arjun Singh converted the penalty for St Paul’s to go up 3 – 0. Wesley came back with a fast physical game. Moving the ball left and right, changing the point of attack with good rucks, cleaning out effectively and passing to large quick forwards placed in midfield. St Paul’s defense was organised and resolute. A real team effort, but unable to capitalize on the opportunities created and Wesley went into the break with a 10- 3 lead. At half time coaches asked for a change of tactics; yet more improvement in defense, passion and ownership in the contact area and that’s what the team delivered. St Paul’s looked after the ball with pick and go plays and produced long periods of attack. The boys improved their individual and team skills. Our scrum and line outs worked well and rucks improved greatly. From half back, Conner Fullerton directed our attack with tight uncompromising play by Sam Bowley, Taylor Hayes, Samisoni Taukie’aho and Caleb Lingman. Moving of the ball to our outside backs was difficult in the conditions and close marking by Wesley. Aaron Crow’s handling was steady. His attack and defense was committed. Wesley produced a second half long range try and won 17 – 3.

Vs Tauranga Boys’ College (Saturday, 25th May) Tauranga Boys’ are a well drilled rugby team. They produced a comeback display against Hamilton Boys’ High the week before. The scene was set for St Paul’s to host a top performing team. The St Paul’s players were aware of the need to continue growing their game to compete. For the first 20 minutes, St Paul’s played with continuity and pressure resulting in three penalty goals to Arjun Singh and a try to Conner Fullerton. Late in the first half Tauranga staged a comeback and produced two long range tries out wide to lead 15 -14 at the break. The second half produced a combative game with St Paul’s ability to play several phases, working our way up the paddock and Tauranga Boys’ ability to comeback with speed on the outside. Four late tries to Tauranga sealed the game and ran out eventual winners 35 points to 14. Coach, Mr Andrew Gibbs was asked to provide a comment following this game. He said, “It’s the work the coaches have nurtured and the vibe within

18 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School the team is building each week. I am proud of the team’s continual improvement over the last three weeks."

Vs St John’s College (Saturday, 1st June) Conditions were heavy underfoot and a few showers made handling difficult early in the game. After a thirty minute delayed start, St Paul’s controlled the game well through determined forward play and field position. Aaron Cleland crossed for two first half tries from pick and go plays. Arjun Singh converted and James Hunt finished a late first half attack. St Paul’s went into the break 17- nil ahead. St Paul’s were keen to build on the scrum and lineout dominance gained in the first half. St John’s came back with tenacity, closing the gap to a seven point difference. It was St John’s 10 to St Paul’s 17 with 15 minutes left to play. Late in the game, St Paul’s field position improved. After a good forwards and backs combined attack, Aaron Crow scored a well worked team try. Back on attack, a clever short lineout resulted with Sam Bowley scoring untouched. Final score St Paul’s 27 to St John’s 10.

The team have trained and worked hard and have chosen to take on the schools’ Vision to "Turn possibilities into realities" as their motto for the season – something that appears to be doing very well as can be seen from the above reports. Their next challenge will be the 1st XV CNI Tournament which includes teams from the following schools: Rathkeale, Wanganui Collegiate, St Johns (Hastings), Lindisfarne, Francis Douglas, St Peter’s (Cambridge) and Feilding High School. We wish them well.

ANNUAL WINTER EXCHANGE WITH WANGANUI COLLEGIATE

Netball Result: Last year when Wanganui Collegiate travelled to us, we lost the game, so St Paul’s Open A Netball team was out to prove a point. We started strong with a target to get 15 attempts every quarter. Whole court defense was clearly on display, which produced many mistakes by the other team and Pare Gilmartin-Kara picking off the ball that did make it through the defensive wall. With the team sticking to the basics, we put on a considerable lead, restricting Collegiate to three goals for the first three quarters. Final score: 35-13 to St Paul’s.

Girls’ 1st XI Hockey Result: Wanganui Collegiate’s team will play in the Federation Cup at tournament this year, which is the top tournament and St Paul’s play in tier three, so we were expecting a tough game and that is what we got. Wanganui were far more together and although they beat us, in no way were we dominated – they had to work really hard for every goal they scored. Despite this being her first year playing Hockey, Hinehou Te Ua made some fantastic saves, but Wanganui were just too strong for St Paul’s. Down at the break 6-1, our goal scorer was Phoebe Boyes. The final score was a win to Wanganui Collegiate of 11–1.

Girls’ 1st XI Football Result: The girls prepared themselves for a tough game against Wanganui - who we had drawn with previously. Mr Robson (Deputy Headmaster from Term 3) came along and supported us as our stand-in coach and the game kicked off at 10.00am. The first half went relatively slowly, with neither team managing to come off with a strong impression. Both teams seemed equally skilled, however we reached halftime 2-0 down. The extra ten minutes more per half than we are used to, with no subs, was taking its toll. However, the girls lifted their spirits and efforts for the second half to make sure their trip was worthwhile and show Wanganui what we can do. Some excellent play by the forwards saw three goals slotted in by Shani Fernando, Georgia Burke and Loren Morse; while their standout player also got through to score a couple more. All in all, it was a strong match and the girls were unlucky not to get the draw. The final score was a 4-3 win to Wanganui.

19 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School 1st XV Result: The conditions were fine and the field heavy for this traditional encounter. This was a special game for Jaden Verryt and James Hunt who were both playing their twentieth games for the 1st XV - earning their Caps. St Paul's controlled the game for long periods, during the first half, through continuity of ruck play. This determined approach led to a Samisoni Taukei'aho try from a pick and go close to the line. Corban Morison cleared the ball accurately. Halftime score: St Paul’s 10 - Wanganui 3.

After half time, St Paul’s scored again. Wanganui supporters lined the field and performed a Haka. Wanganui Collegiate’s team lifted, controlling possession and territory for much of the second half. St Paul’s defense was organised and strong tackles were made. Captain, Caleb Lingman lead by example and completed many turn over’s. With the ball in hand, St Paul’s took an advantage, combining forward drives and clever use of the ball though the backs. Incisive running by Christopher Fawcett, linking with Aaron Crow and Caleb Lingman led to several more tries. St Paul’s scrum worked well and very accurate lineout work led by Jaden Verryt, secured good clean ball throughout the game. Final score: St Paul’s 27 – Wanganui Collegiate 10.

1st XI Soccer Result: The 1st XI turned in a convincing performance in defeating Wanganui Collegiate 8-0. This was another occasion when the team exhibited their outstanding spirit and style. They moved the ball with an effervescent tempo and as a consequence, Wanganui spent most of the game chasing shadows. The goal scorers on the day were: Jacob Robb 4, Sam Masterson 2, Luke Goodwin 1, and Matt Fielding from the penalty spot.

ANNUAL WINTER EXCHANGE WITH LINDISFARNE COLLEGE

Under 14 Rugby Result: St Paul’s struggled to dominate the smaller, but determined Lindisfarne team in the first half. St Paul’s led 10 – 0 at the break through tries to Shaun Campbell and Jack Gordon. The St Paul’s forwards played much better in the second half controlling the ball for a number of phases, allowing the backs to attack with great go forward ball. Tries were scored by Jack Gordon, Toby Wallbank, Angus Kelly, Hunter Johnson and Fergus Burke, who also kicked three conversions. Final score was 41-0 to St Paul’s.

Under 15 Rugby Result: St Paul’s started the game by playing attractive rugby. Four tries were scored in the first 25 minutes, with the score at 26 – 0. Try scorers were: Saladin M’Boge, Tom Yarrall, Connor Gordon and Jackson Morgan. Fitness then became a factor with the forwards slowing down and mistakes being made. Lindisfarne improved in the second half and the game was more even. Max Collingwood scored a good try late in the game and Lindisfarne scored in the dying seconds of the match. A good result to St Paul’s – final score 31-7.

Colts Soccer Result: St Paul's Colts Soccer team came out with fighting spirits even though their coach was absent due to illness. They played strong down the wing, but to no avail. The opposition defense was ready. It was an enjoyable game for the boys. Final score was 5-0 to Lindisfarne College.

20 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School WAIKATO/BAY OF PLENTY INDIVIDUAL DUATHLON

On Thursday, 13th June, St Paul’s had three students participating in the regional Individual Duathlon championships. The fields for each race were relatively small, but strong. The event was held at the Karapiro Domain and fortunately, the weather was mild and dry with very little wind.

Adam McCarthy and Meg Skilton competed in the Under 16 age group: this race consisted of a 3.5 km run, followed by a 15 km bike leg and finished with a 2.5 km run. Adam finished his race in 49:15 and placed 3rd; Meg, competing in her first ever Duathlon, finished her race in one hour and also placed 3rd.

William Guest competed in the Under 19 age group. This race consisted of a 5 km run, followed by a 20 km bike and finished with a 2.5km run. William, also competing in his first Duathlon, completed his race in 1 hour 11 minutes 50 seconds in 3rd position.

Congratulations to our three Bronze medalists!

ST PAUL’S STARTS THE CNI COMPETITION STRONGLY

Rathkeale College was St Paul’s first opponent and our first game at home in the Central North Island (CNI) competition, held on Saturday, 8th June 2013.

St Paul's controlled the game for long periods during the first half, through determined forward runs and attacking back play. Rathkeale counterattacked and smothering St Paul’s defense caused them to spill the ball. A quick response at the break down resulted in a try under the posts for Aaron Crow.

St Paul's tight five again scrummed well and with accurate lineout work led by Jaden Verryt. St Paul's backs combined well and the team scored twice more before the half time break - tries by Kyle Dean and Samisoni Taukei'aho. The halftime score was: St Paul’s 19 - Rathkeale 0.

Rathkeale came back with tenacity using the wind well, kicking deep into the corners and continuing to apply pressure. St Paul’s were penalised on several occasions. As the saying goes "When the going gets tough - the tough get going" epitomised the contribution by Thomas Gordon. He was quick to the breakdown, strong over the ball and as a result turned the ball over in St Paul’s favour several times. Aaron Cleland, Hamish Burt and in particular Sam Bowley made strong runs (see right).

Late in the game, St Paul's field position improved after a good forward drive, the backs wide attack allowed Asipeli Mafuataimi to inject some pace in for a well-worked team try. Final score St Paul’s 24 - Rathkeale 15. A good start to the CNI season for St Paul’s.

21 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School 1ST XI HOCKEY’S OUTSTANDING EPIC BATTLE AGAINST HAMILTON BOYS’ HIGH SCHOOL

On the evening of Wednesday, 12th June, the 1st XI Boys’ Hockey team met the Hamilton Boys’ High School (HBHS) 1st XI, in front of a huge crowd. The HBHS game was always going to be a hard game. From the outset HBHS controlled the game building sustained pressure into St Paul’s half. St Paul’s reacted, and defended the waves of HBHS (NZ rep) forward attack. The St Paul’s backs: Kobi Nicholson and Sam Holmes, had strong games with the support from Rueben Andrews and Devon Nolan. The first halftime score 0 – 0.

The second half was much the same with St Paul’s again having to defend in their territory. However, the team responded well to the pressure, managing to hold off HBHS until late in the game. HBHS scored with only seven minutes to go. St Paul’s had some opportunities to score on several occasions, but lacked the ability to finish off. Sean Henley–Smith was carded for his physicality with six minutes to play, which highlighted the commitment from St Paul’s players. Final score: 1 – 0 to HBHS.

The boys can be very proud of their efforts and for managing to hold off arguably the best 1st XI team in the country. Speaking to the spectators, the most common quote was “The St Paul’s boys played out of their skins.”

OTHER SPORTING HIGHLIGHTS

 Trent Tingey travelled to Christchurch on 22nd March to compete in the NZ Wakeboarding Nationals held at Lake Crichton, a man-made lake, just out of Dunsandel. The event was held over two days, the first being a seeding day, the second, finals. After a good solid ride on the first day Trent held a seeding position in 2nd place. Full of confidence and supported by a lovely dry South Island day and near perfect riding conditions, Trent rode his personal best to hold his position, finishing second overall in the Junior Boys’ Competition. This was a great finish to what has been a very successful wakeboarding season where Trent achieved 3rd in the Junior Boys’ at the Auckland Open, 2nd in the Intermediate Boys’ at the Groms Boards and BBQ Competition at Mangakino, 2nd at the North Island Champs at Mangakino and finally gained selection into the New Zealand Development Squad.  On Saturday, 8th June, Head Girl, Jessica Reilly was recognised at the Trust Waikato Raglan Surf Lifesaving Club Annual Awards Night as follows:  The David Johnson Memorial Service Award for Volunteer of the Year - which can go to anyone in the club who gives in many ways, not only guarding.  A Service Award for "her dedication in teaching new recruits and working with junior rookies."  A SLS Sports back for doing the 12th highest number of patrolling hours for the club this past season.  One of three Bryant Trust Scholarships for "young lifeguards who have shown their dedication and integrity throughout the season and that have the potential for leadership in the future of the club." This will be a five-day outdoor leadership course at OPC on Great Barrier Island.

Jessica should be very proud of the above achievements, which are an outstanding testament to her personally and show why she is someone of value to have on your team.  Three St Paul’s Collegiate School boys played in the Futsal match on the evening of Friday, 7th June vs the New Zealand Futsal team held at Tauranga. The WaiBOP National League team led at half time, but ultimately lost 7 – 3. Dan Goodwin and Sam Masterson played for WaiBOP National League team and John Penyas was asked to trial and played for the New Zealand Futsal Whites team.

22 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School  After trials were held for the Waikato and Bay of Plenty squads to travel to Wellington in July for the ASB Futsal Youth National Championships, the following St Paul’s Collegiate School students were selected for the 2013 Futsal squads: o Waikato U14 Squad: Samuel Dean o Waikato U16 Squad: Harry Porritt, Luke Goodwin and Tom Goodwin o Waikato U19 Squad: John Penyas, Sam Masterson, Dan Goodwin, Ayush Lakhera, Matthew Fielding

CHRISTIAN DIMENSION

ANZAC MEMORIAL CHAPEL SERVICE – TUESDAY, 7TH MAY

The following sermon was prepared and presented by Accounting teacher, Mr Garth Littlejohn:

My speech on Anzac Day is the tale of my two grandfathers. My mother’s father was born in 1916; he was a dairy farmer and he had a tough life. His father died when he was six, he left school at 12 to work on the family farm and had sole charge of the farm at 16. Although he was the right age when WWII broke out, because he was a farmer and charged with the important job of keeping the nation fed, he never had to go. Although he lived a tough life and worked hard, he was fit and healthy and played golf and bowls well into his 80’s, dying at age 91.

My dad’s father was born a lot earlier, in 1896. At age 20 he volunteered for the NZ Expeditionary Force for WWI. He travelled to Europe for three months by boat and was stationed in Egypt before heading to the Western Front in south west Belgium. My grandfather served for three weeks shy of three years in some of the most brutal theatres of war for WWI – small villages called Passchendaele and Ypres, synonymous with death and destruction. Out of 100,000 soldiers who left for WWI, 18,500 were killed with 12,500 dying where my grandfather served on the Western Front. Continuous bombardment in this area known as Flanders Fields destroyed the drainage systems, turning the fields into vast seas of mud. It was extremely emotional for me to visit, in 2009, Tyne Cot the biggest Commonwealth cemetery in the world near Passchendaele (where he served), with 13,000 graves. My dad’s father was invalided out of WWI with shrapnel wounds near the end of the war, from which he never fully recovered, being wheelchair bound in later life and died at 86 with Parkinson’s Disease.

So what would it have been like to be 20 years old and serve three years on the most brutal battlefield of WWI??

Audio of war played for one minute. Photos of WWI at Passchendaele and Ypres played through speech.

Apologies if you found that hard to listen to, but imagine if you had to listen to that for a whole day! A week, a month, a year, three years! What about the effect on your nerves of waiting for sudden bombardment? But it wasn’t all fighting, there would have been long boring periods of inactivity with very little to do. Winters were severe with little protection from rain and snow. Rats were everywhere and hunger was an everyday occurrence especially when supply lines were cut. Although he never mentioned it, my grandfather would probably have witnessed mates dying next to him, possibly nursing them in their final moments. What about the mental scarring of having to take the lives of other human beings (i.e. the enemy)? - A heavy burden for a 20 year old.

23 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School By all accounts, my grandfather was a changed man when he came back from WWI. He was distant, hard, unemotional and tough. He never ever spoke of the war. My father only learned snippets when my grandfather spoke to other returned servicemen and from other “adult” conversations. My father said he only felt “close” to his dad on two occasions. Once during the great depression of the 1930’s when his father told him he couldn’t afford to buy dad a new shirt for the year – they both cried. Secondly, when farewelling four men from the district, at their home in Whakatane, who were going to Europe for WWII. He remarked to my dad, who was only 10 years old, in a very sad and vacant manner, “they have no idea what the hell they are going over there to.” At 43 years old, when WWII broke out, my grandfather was of the right age to go again, and it was only the fact he had been invalided out of WWI that saved him from going a second time.

In WWII my grandfather, as an old soldier, was head of the Whakatane Home Guard. The war was raging in the Pacific; the enemy was in Papua New Guinea. Darwin in northern Australia had been bombed, an enemy submarine was caught in fishing nets in Sydney harbour and mines were found off the coast of New Zealand. The threat of invasion in New Zealand was very real and the Bay of Plenty coast was considered a desired landing site for the enemy. It was illegal to have exposed light after dark in Whakatane, for fear of giving enemy bombers

a target. My grandfather kept a machine gun in cupboards in the front room with which he was supposed to defend the town from invasion! My dad swears by the story that as a 10 year old in 1941 he was issued with two pieces of rubber and paired up with a girl of the same age who was to keep a chocolate bar on her at all times. They had regular bomb raid drills at school, where the siren would sound, the children pair up, run outside and jump into the trenches dug outside. The boys would have the rubber, which was placed between the teeth to prevent teeth shattering when the bombs hit and th e girls, chocolate to keep them going throughout a raid. Sounds a tall story but my dad swears it’s true!

So what can we learn from all this? I believe that had either of the two World Wars been lost, that New Zealand would be a very different place today. We probably wouldn’t be in this chapel today. We would possibly speak a different language and many of the rights and privileges we enjoy today may have been lost. I think we need to appreciate the little things our ancestors fought for that we enjoy today; good food, warm beds and the freedom to express our opinions and live as we choose.

24 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School So my challenge to you today is……..go and speak to your old people! Go and speak to your old people about what your family did to contribute to the war effort before it’s too late. Even if they didn’t do active service, they will probably know first-hand in your family of someone who did. And I will bet that for a very large number of you, that you will find things out about your ancestors who fought very bravely that you can feel very, very proud of. My dad is now in his 80’s and I have really enjoyed talking to him over the last two weeks about my grandfather. If I had left it much longer, I might have missed the chance. Lest we forget!!!

MOTHER’S DAY SERMON – SUNDAY, 12TH MAY

Prayers: William Guest Sam Holmes Reading: Geraldine Fish Sermon: Conor Crowe Theme: Mothers

Mothers are teachers. Mothers are disciplinarians. Mothers are cleaning ladies. Some mothers are gardeners and mowers of lawns. And most mothers understand that baking cookies is more important than washing windows, too.

Mothers are nurses and doctors and psychologists and counsellors and chauffeurs and coaches. Mothers are developers of personalities, moulders of vocabularies, and shapers of attitudes. Mothers are soft voices saying, "I love you." And mothers are a link to God, a child’s first impression of God’s love.

Mothers are all of these things and much, much more.

There are many things in life which we as sons and daughters, love and cherish. The memories of yesterday shape us into the young men and women we are today. Memories and moments in time which we may not always remember or recollect, but we know that somehow, someway, these moments have changed our lives. Growing up, I was always in need of the first aid kit. Running into trees, falling off skateboards, tripping into the rivers surrounding our coastal home, I was always in need of the first aid kit. But these injuries do not come close to the pain and suffering I endured at the age of two.

Lucky for me I don’t remember the incident, so I can’t really say that getting my thumb severed off by an aluminum door frame was painful, but my best guess is that it was somewhat excruciating. Now you may be wondering where I’m going with this, or what the moral of this story is. What this story is about is a mother’s undying love for her children. Yes, it was my mum who slammed that door on me that day. Although she wasn’t aware that I was there when she actually slammed the door, all it took was a few seconds and she was more than aware that me and my thumb were most certainly there. To this day, every time I hold my mother’s hand, she feels the pain and guilt of that day writhe within her. To this day my mother apologises for something that I don’t even remember. This here is what I see as love. A love that cannot be altered or deterred, that will forever be with us, wherever life takes us.

We as teenagers are always busy with the trials and challenges we face on a day to day basis, waking up in the morning, making sure our shirt and tie are semi tidy or remembering to take in the English homework that’s four days overdue. But quite often we lose sight of the things that matter the most in life. We take for granted the generosity, caring and help of others who are, and will always be there for us. Our mothers top this list. We always think that mum will be there to bail us out or to solve all our problems, but do we thank and appreciate the things our mothers do for us enough? When you look back on your life in 50

25 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School years will you be able to honestly say to yourself, I have honoured my mother and father throughout my life? Of course, there will be moments where we are detached from our mothers, perhaps you will travel the globe, leave the country to pursue a life elsewhere, but it is important that the bond you have with your mother, and father, is never lost.

Personally, I do see mother’s as teachers - educators of life. With so much knowledge and wisdom of how life changes and progresses, each day is a chance to discover lessons of how we can become great men and women of the next generation. We learn about respect, the true essence of life. That without respect for one another there is no other virtue, there is no trust, no compassion for the people who matter the most. We learn how to do the simple tasks in life, although no matter how much we practice or repeat, we will never be as good as mum at folding the washing, or making the bed. Mother’s teach us about ourselves; how to be honest and true to our own spirit and soul. How to first love ourselves and the person we are before tackling the challenges of life. Mothers are brave. I know this especially. For when we are trapped in the dark alley-ways life lures us into, who else will journey through by your side until you are safe and sound. Mothers are devoted, faithful to us their children, every waking moment. Those times where you cannot sleep during a cold winter’s night, who else would sit up by the fire, with a warm milo and scratch your back until you can no longer stay awake? Or read the same book for you as a child, over and over and over again, not once losing her enthusiasm in the lines which now are imprinted in her mind.

The fifth commandment states “Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” We may not always tell the whole entire truth to our parents, but it is our duty to honour our mother and father. We must uphold the values which we have learned through life, the beliefs our parents have taught us. Our mothers brought into this world, gave us life and nurtured us, cared for us even though we weren’t always the happiest of children. Therefore I ask you this, do you care for your mother the way in which you know you should? Do you send her a text each night to let her know how much you love her? If her back or neck needs a rub, do you offer without hesitation to give your mother five minutes out of your life the way she would for you.

*There are times when only a Mother's love Can understand our tears, Can soothe our disappoints And calm all of our fears. There are times when only a Mother's love Can share the joy we feel When something we've dreamed about Quite suddenly is real. There are times when only a Mother's faith Can help us on life's way And inspire in us the confidence We need from day to day. For a Mother's heart and a Mother's faith And a Mother's steadfast love Were fashioned by the Angels

And sent from God above. *(by Michael O. Adesanya)

26 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School CLARK HOUSE CHAPEL SERVICE – SUNDAY, 19TH MAY

Prayer: Daniel Ruri Readings: Simon Morbey Mitchell O’Connell Sermon: Duncan Van Der Maas Theme: Trust

Once there was a 19th century acrobat that went by the name of Blondin, famous for his tightrope act 160 feet above the Niagara Falls on a rope which was over a thousand feet long. In 1860, a Royal party from Britain saw Blondin cross this tightrope on stilts, as well as being blindfolded. His next feat included stopping half way to cook and eat an omelet. Next he wheeled a wheelbarrow from one side to the other, and returned with a sack of potatoes in it. Then Blondin approached the Royal party. He asked the Duke of Newcastle, "Do you believe I could take a man across this tightrope in this wheelbarrow?" "Yes, I do", said the Duke. "Hop in, then", replied Blondin. Well, the Duke declined Blondin's challenge. He might have believed Blondin could do it, but he wasn't about to trust him with his life.

When it comes to God, this kind of belief is not much good to him. God is looking for followers who will trust him with their lives. On the rugby field, you have to have a lot of trust in your fellow team mates; you have to trust that they will make the tackle on their man. You also have to trust yourself, that you can make the tackle on your man. It does not only apply to the trust of others, you have to be able to trust yourself. Because, whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re probably right. You have to have a positive mindset from the start. If you have a negative mindset you probably won’t be able to achieve what you set out to achieve. You have to trust yourself that you can achieve your goals. Trust is the practical outworking of faith: it is when we trust God that we show that our faith in Him is real.

After all, we find ourselves having to trust people every day. We trust whoever built our boarding houses that they’re not going to fall in on us. We trust the doctor to give us the correct medicine when we are sick. We trust that the traffic lights at an intersection will give the correct signals. We invest a tremendous amount of trust in the pilot of a plane, the maintenance crews and the air-traffic control people. We exercise trust all the time, quite unthinkingly.

The Christian, who has put his or her faith in God, has to get into that wheelbarrow when God challenges us. We have to trust in the Lord with all our hearts; simply believing in God is no good to us. We have to have faith, and trust is the practical outworking of faith. Trust is a very valuable virtue to have as a person. If you can be a well trusted person in life people will look up to you. If you can be trusted to do a good job of things, well then people will leave you alone to get on with your job. For example if a teacher can trust their class enough to leave for a short period of time, they will show respect towards their class. Being a trustworthy person will come back around to reward that person. You will be given a lot more responsibility to do things and a lot more freedom. Another example is a person on their restricted licence. If they cannot be trusted to drive safely and responsibly, well then their parents will simply not allow them to drive.

Running right through the lives of many, many people in churches today is a dividing wall between what they see as their Christian lives and what they see as their non-Christian lives. This is the so-called sacred–secular divide. The sacred–secular divide is the assumption that God cares about what I do on Sunday morning in church, but not on Monday morning in the office. It is the assumption that God cares about whom I give my money to, but not how I earn that money in the first place. It is the assumption that God cares about my Bible reading, but not about my television viewing. It is the assumption that God cares about my

27 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School sin, but not about my toothache. We all make these kinds of assumptions all of the time: our lives are divided up into the secular and the sacred and the Berlin wall keeps them apart. Often this suits us. There are parts of our lives we just don't want God interfering in. But God passionately wants to break down that dividing wall and to be God of our whole lives: for us to trust in him with all our hearts.

So back to Blondin and his tightrope, it is amazing the amount of trust he must have had in himself to go across the Niagara falls like that. So let’s be a bit more like that with our trust in ourselves and with our trust in God.

HARINGTON HOUSE CHAPEL SERVICE – SUNDAY, 9TH JUNE 2013

Introduction: Laura McKenna Readings: Hemashri Govender Jessica Chanwai Sermon: Victoria Blomfield Theme: Helping Others Through Helping Yourself

You may remember watching a 20/20 documentary on a Canadian blogger called Kyle MacDonald. Kyle had the dream of owning his own home without paying one cent, and he did, using one red paper clip. Over the course of a year, Kyle made multiple trades online, and on his 14th trade, was offered a house. But history isn’t just a story of achievement it’s a story of one man’s journey.

However, this sermon isn’t about going hard and achieving your goals, it’s more about that journey you endure on the way to achieving your goals. Although Kyle’s trades started off reasonably insignificant; trading a paper clip for a fish shaped pen for example, the trades he made later on had a significant impact on other people’s lives. For example, in April 2006, Kyle MacDonald traded a recording contract with a keen country musician who desperately wanted to record her music, named Jody Gnant, for a years’ rent in Phoenix, Arizona. This was when Kyle realized that not only was he on the road to achieving his dream; he was also in the business of granting wishes. During his journey, he stayed determined, and started to help others to achieve their dreams as well.

I want you now to reflect on your own lives for a moment. What’s your dream? Do you want to represent New Zealand for sport one day? Do you want to be a doctor or a lawyer? Or do you want to achieve something on a less drastic scale, like pass NCEA this year? Beat Boys’ High or Dio in something? You may be doing the right things to achieve those dreams now, like training or studying. But how many of you can honestly say that while helping yourself, you’re helping others on their journey?

I’ll give you an example of what I’m on about. Just a heads up, this person doesn’t know I’m mentioning them. Jess Reilly, as we all know is a very keen surf lifesaver. Some may even say, “too keen.” As one of Jess’ close friends, I get to hear all about the people she meets through surf lifesaving; what she did out on the beach; who she saved; where the rips were; becoming a senior life guard and all that cool stuff. On top of being St Paul’s Head Girl, surf lifesaving, managing the lumps of homework St Paul’s gives you and pursuing her dream to eventually become a surgeon, she puts aside time for others to help them out. Other stories she tells me about are ones when she has spent the whole weekend training rookies, as they want to be where she is. There are not a lot of other people I know personally that put others dreams before their own and offer to help them out.

A paper-clip to a fish shaped pen to a camp stove to a Honda generator. Starting off small, Kyle had already traded other things people needed, helping them out on his journey to

28 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School turning his own dreams into a reality. Generator traded for an “instant party,” for a snowmobile trip, for a cube van, then for a recording contract. Moving onto bigger and better things, he helped a couple secure the second spot they needed for their snowmobile trip, helped Jodie Gnant record her album to get closer to her dream, while still persisting to fulfill his own needs. This traded for a year’s rent, then an afternoon with the rock star Alice Cooper, to a KISS motorized snow globe and then to a movie role. He helped rock star fans, wannabe actors, snow globe collectors oddly enough, and then after all this, was offered his very own home.

After BBC’s report with Kyle, he never mentions the overwhelming end result of his journey. He only mentions parts along the journey, which stood out to him. Helping people, the people he met, the smiles on their faces, knowing that he did something good for someone else.

Your dream may not seem realistic, it may not be something everyone can visually see or touch, but no matter what you want to pursue, you can help those around you on the way. You have been given a paper clip, which no doubt most of the boys have either lost or moulded into something else, but I am giving you a challenge. By all means, see what you can trade with it if that’s what you want to do, or maybe just hold on to it. Now, when I pull my paper clip out of my pocket, I’ll be reminded of the journey I’m on, the one we are all on, and it will be a reminder to look out for those around me, help them as they may help me, so like Kyle MacDonald, I’ll have stories from my journey to share too.

CHAPLAIN’S COMMENT

A friend of mine recently sent me a very poignant video. It is a video of children from impoverished nations discussing first world problems. There is something quite unsettling about hearing young people living in houses made of mud and straw with no running water and no electricity talking about how they hate it when their cell phone battery dies or when their latte is too hot. The video is a telling reminder to us that many of the things we view as ‘problems’ are not problems at all. They are minor inconveniences that sometimes interrupt our otherwise highly privileged lifestyle.

I do not think the video is intended to make us feel guilty about what we do have. Rather, its purpose is to remind us to be thankful for all that we do have. Jed Rowlands, our Headmaster of the Junior School said he heard the following quote in a speech at a recent conference: “Privilege is invisible to those who have it.”

Think about that phrase for a second: “Privilege is invisible to those who have it.” In other words, we do not see ourselves as privileged – we simply see others as ‘poor.’ So what are the consequences of this mind-set, this reality in which we find ourselves? When we no longer recognise how blessed or privileged we are, we lose our sense of gratitude, our sense of thankfulness.

Having the simple conveniences of a house with a bedroom for each member of our family, a car to drive, electricity, clean drinking water, health care, a well-paying job means that we are privileged! If we have these things we are likely in the top 2% of the wealthiest people in the world! Think about that – for every 100 people in this world there is only one or two people better off than us. That is a place of privilege – yet we often do not see this.

Our school prayer begins as follows: “Heavenly Father, giver of all that is good, we thank you for the blessings and privileges we daily enjoy as members of this school”

29 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School Staff and students are reminded of the fact that, by virtue of studying or working at St Paul’s we are both blessed and privileged individuals. We are reminded of the gratitude and thankfulness that we should feel.

Gratitude is a very powerful emotion. It is a great corrective in that it makes us thankful for what we do have rather than to covet that which we do not have. Gratitude does something else as well. It reminds us that since we are in a place of privilege we have an obligation to help those less fortunate than ourselves.

Christian groups endlessly argue over what the Bible does and does not say about every ethical issue one can think of — war, homosexuality, divorce, euthanasia, swearing, drinking alcohol etc. Yet there is only one ethical imperative that is consistently found in the Bible from beginning to end: that we are to help those less fortunate than ourselves. In the Bible, there are over 2000 separate occasions where we are told to help the needy, the widow, the orphan, or the stranger. It is ironic that it is the one ethical imperative that is often ignored.

The challenge for us as members of the St Paul’s community is to make the fact that we are privileged visible! In other words, we need to remind ourselves again and again and again just how blessed and privileged we are. When we do this, we experience the overwhelming feelings of gratitude and thankfulness, which, in turn, leads to generosity, compassion, and kindness. It is then that the Gospel imperative to care for the poor and needy is no longer felt as a burden. Instead, it is carried with joy in knowing that we offer generously to those in need out of a deep sense of gratitude for what has been given to us.

So let us remember: many of our problems are not really problems at all. Let us be thankful for the abundance and richness that we daily experience in our own lives. Let us practice acts of generosity and kindness that pours forth from our deep sense of gratitude for all that we have. It is through the recognition of the blessings we find in our own lives that we can be a blessing to those around us.

SPECIAL CHARACTER

TIHOI VENTURE SCHOOL RUGBY FIELD UPGRADE 2013

Tihoi sporting days always caused great excitement within the local community. The original Tihoi rugby club started in 1940. The original Tihoi field was formed using hard graft and primitive tools by the then bush men of a number of operating timber mills around the district. With the main focus not only on the rugby, but the socialising post-match, many of the early Tihoi teams struggled to fill the teams, but they never defaulted a game, often picking up locals in the pub to make up the numbers. Some rep players went on to make the Waikato and New Zealand Maori teams. In 1962 Tihoi was one of the teams which joined the Taupo Sub-union holding their own proudly in that competition, winning the Division One trophy from 1965-1968 as well as a number of other trophies. This was a highlight of the club’s rich history.

As part of the upgrade of the Tihoi facilities, Mr Chris Wynn, Co-Director of Tihoi, was keen to retain the field in a way that once again would uphold the traditions it was originally developed for. With the dream of hosting training sessions for the Waikato Chiefs, St Paul’s rugby teams at all levels and potential for other school’s rugby teams from throughout the North Island, to come to Tihoi and utilise the facilities as a preseason training or match venue.

30 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School In December 2012 Mr Wynn sprayed and removed the trees which had acted as goal posts for over 20 years from the original Tihoi Stags field and found a local contractor with a giant set of discs who managed to turn over the dirt in 25 minutes - what would have taken days back in 1940.

Western Bay Transport applied lime and the field was power harrowed a number of times and leveled. The grass seed was sown just before Christmas and then the main struggle was contending with the drought in early 2013. The grass struck really well and with more fertiliser applied, the field was really starting to take shape.

The posts were built by a local Taupo engineer and measurements were taken from the number one field at Owen Delany Park in Taupo. With the enormous generosity from the parents of Intake 2013/1, the money raised on the Open Day was used to purchase the posts, line painting machine, goal post protecting pads and side-line flags. Using the assistance of Kevin Brown (father of current St Paul’s student – Jamie Brown) from Whakamaru Pump Services, the posts were lifted into place and crossbars bolted on.

We are excited at the prospect of entertaining teams in the future at Tihoi and welcome any enquiries into what we are able to offer.

31 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School TIHOI 2013/1 GRADUATION CELEBRATES SUCCESS

At the first Year 10 Tihoi intake’s Graduation Ceremony on Saturday, 22nd June, the following students were recognised as Major Prize Winners for their intake:

MORTIMORE PRIZE FOR MOST OUTSTANDING STUDENT: Blair Foster Most Outstanding Student nominations: Blair Foster and Ryan Wilkins

MURRAY HARINGTON CUP FOR MOST IMPROVED STUDENT: Henry Heng Most Improved Student Nomination: Drew Gordon, Henry Heng, Nicholas Hansen and Aidan O’Connor

DIRECTORS AWARDS: Seb Day, Oliver Soar, Matthew Sweet and Michael Weir

FURMINGER AWARD: (Student who has shown respect to staff and other students) – James Krippner and Aneil Khatkar

COULTER SETTLEMENT CUP: (Student who has gained the most virtues) – Aidan O’Connor and Conor Fuller

COMMUNITY SERVICE AND ENVIRONMENT AWARD: Taine Groube

CROSS COUNTRY AWARD: Ryan Wilkins

SHOOTING AWARD: Tawhiri Cruikshank

EXPEDITION AWARDS: (for all round excellence on expedition) KAYAK: Aidan O’Connor CANADIAN CANOE: Nicholas Hansen TRAMP: Connor Steer SEA KAYAK: Ben Russell and Jack Oliver MOUNTAIN BIKE: Drew Gordon and Joshua McLaughlin

MOST VALUED HOUSE MEMBERS: Hart – Blair Foster; Jocks – James Kenna; Pollys – Henry Heng; Purple – Jack Oliver; Mortz – Taine Groube; Villa – Michael Weir and Aidan O’Connor (shared); Gills – Seb Day; Franks – Sahil Patel.

ACADEMIC EXCELLENCE: Blair Foster (English, Science, Social Studies); Michael Weir (English, Social Studies); James Krippner (Maths, Science); Andre Ofsoski (English, Social Studies); Ben Russell (Science); Nathan Cleaver (Maths); Matthew Sweet (Maths); Jack Oliver (Social Studies).

KINGHAM CUP: (House winning the most House sport); and LUDER TROPHEY: (Overall winning House) Gill’s House: Seb Day, Phoenix Keyte-Williams, Rory McGregor, Ben Russell, Oliver Soar, Hayden Trow and Ryan Wilkins.

DUKE OF EDINBURGH AWARDS SCHEME

Pleasingly, in 2013, we have once again had a number of students gaining Duke of Edinburgh qualifications. This internationally recognised programme recognises student’s involvement in sport, cultural and outdoor pursuits and with the holistic nature of St Paul’s should be in the reach of most of our students.

32 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School

Many employers place high value on those who have been involved in this scheme and those doing their OE in the United Kingdom, have been pleasantly surprised by the importance placed on the Award in Britain.

The Bronze Award (open to Year 10) is largely gained by our boys through their successful involvement in the challenges presented at the Tihoi Venture School.

The Silver Award: Normally undertaken over a couple of years, involves 30 hours of service over 18 months, a three-day outdoor education expedition involved in leisure pursuits (i.e. band, show, etc) for six months and sport for at least four months.

Over the past twelve months, four students completed the Award and were given a Mayoral reception by Her Worship, Julie Hardaker. They were: Ben Clark, Youngmin Goo, Sharleen Lu and Joseph Chen.

The prestigious Gold Award involves 60 hours of service over 18 months, a three-day Outdoor Education Expedition, involvement for 12 months in a hobby or leisure pursuit and a physical activity such as a sport for 12 months. In 2012, two students achieved this impressive award and will, on Saturday, 6th July 2013, be presented with their awards at a special presentation ceremony to be held at Government House. The awards will be presented by Governor-General, Lt Gen Rt Hon Sir Jerry Mateparae. Representing the School will be Mr Duncan Smith, the Teacher-In-Charge of the Duke of Edinburgh Scheme at St Paul’s Collegiate School.

Mayor, Julie Hardaker, presents St Paul’s Silver Awards for Duke of Edinburgh – L-R: Ben, Sharleen, Her Worship the Mayor, Joseph and Youngmin

33 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School SPEECH AND DRAMA CLASSES 2013

The ability to verbally communicate your ideas with confidence and clarity is a huge advantage in life.

My name is Karen Johnson - oral communication is both my passion and my career. I am a fully trained and qualified Speech and Drama Teacher, Speech-Language Therapist and Primary School Teacher with over 27 years’ experience in the field of oral communication. I also hold my DTM award within the Toastmasters International Organization and have performed extensively on stage in the Waikato region.

It is my pleasure to offer St Paul’s students a range of weekly individual lessons covering a huge variety of communication skills.

These include:  Speech and Drama – (poetry, prose and acting combined)  Performing Test – (literary performance without the acting)  Shakespeare Studies – (for lovers of Shakespeare’s traditional form)  Individual Acting Skills – (acting in its many guises)  Public Speaking/Communication Skills – (both impromptu and prepared)  Musical Theatre – (for those singing/dancing/acting individuals)  Tuition can also focus on interview skills, leadership training and general communication confidence.

Fun and flexibility are key components, with all lessons tailored to each individual student’s needs and interests.

Students may study for Trinity Guildhall Examinations upon request – but this is not compulsory.

Private Speech-Language Therapy lessons are also available for any students with a difficulty in the areas of specific sound production, dysfluency or language delay.

Please phone 027 380 1313 for further information or to book your lesson slot.

ST PAUL’S PARENTS’ ASSOCIATION – PRESENTED BY MR MIKE MCCURRY (SECRETARY)

As we reach the mid-point of the year there is so much that has happened and I suspect, a lot more to come. With only three meetings under my belt as the new Secretary, and new to the St. Paul’s family, it was terrifying to discover that this article was also my responsibility! Well, Here goes!

The Parents’ Association has already been busy, raising money, providing funding for different aspects of the St Paul’s School community, and promoting the things we do well. We have had a presence at the Waikato/BOP Young Farmers Regional Competition, raising funds with the Spanish trip group who are heading for Argentina. We have been busy ironing out the teething problems with the food-truck, which is now up and running and working well, thanks to the hard work and diligence of Tim Elliott and Eleanor Carmichael. (Can you ‘iron out’ ‘teething problems’?). It is now providing hot drinks at hockey and rugby matches. Of course, it is not doing it by itself! The truck is manned either by Parents’ Association members or by volunteers who are fund-raising for specific clubs or groups from within the school. Why not come over and get a coffee and have a yarn about the great/not-so-great match!

34 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School And what about the wonderful Senior Art Competition organised by Lyn Harris. What a great showcase of talent, 12 fabulous entries, and an awesome turn out of friends, family and supporters.

All this fund-raising has got to go somewhere. Over $34,000 has been provided already this year, to support a number of activities around the School, including upgrading canoes at Tihoi, supporting the 48 hour film fest and providing financial assistance to a number of sporting groups travelling away.

There are, of course, the stalwarts of the Parents’ Association, the cattle scheme organisers who fundraise a huge amount for us. Despite the drought of the summer, they remain positive and upbeat about maintaining the funds for school projects. We are now phoning to ask for calves to be donated to be raised to weaning or grazed until two years of age. We will also be emailing our non-farming families to ask for contributions to the cost of caring for and feeding these calves. This is our major fund raiser for the year.

We continue to sell the School cookbook, which, incidentally, makes a great gift for anyone with a culinary interest. This can be ordered through the office or via Kaye Fletcher. Kaye is also taking charge of the sales of Entertainment books. These are great value for money, too. And there’s more!

Production, sports events, School Ball and dinners, the Parents’ Association are always busy and always keen for a genuine offer of support and assistance, and as you can see, we give it back, too!!

Our next meeting will be on Sunday, 25th August in the Long Room. Come along and join us, or catch up with what’s going on through the updated and gorgeous website!

NEW HOMESTAY FAMILIES WANTED FOR OUR INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

We are always looking for new families to host our international students. This may be on a full time basis or just for a couple of weekends or a holiday break. For many of our international students, they have come to St Paul’s to get a taste of Kiwi lifestyle. A weekend spent on a farm or with a real Kiwi family, provides them with a tremendous experience. Our international students come from many countries around the world and contribute positively and significantly to the culture of St Paul’s.

The challenges of citizenship are quite different for our sons/daughters to that of which an adult we experienced. Our children are going to be exposed to more international experiences than we had and it is important that they gain some understanding of other cultures and points of view.

As St Paul’s families, we feel that you will understand the Special Character of our School and the high expectations we have of our students.

Payment is $33 per night (or $230 per week) to help cover the cost of food and accommodation costs. If you are interested in hosting a student and would like an application form or simply to find out a little more about it, please contact the Director of International Students, Helen Richardson - Telephone: 07 957 8843 or Email: [email protected].

35 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School CONCLUDING REMARKS

As the term comes to an end, we are looking forwards to the Scholarship Assembly where we acknowledge and celebrate the achievements of last year’s Scholarship winners; to the return of the boys from Tihoi Intake One back to the Hamilton campus and to our School Production.

Mr Henley-Smith is on sabbatical leave and two staff, Mr Hogg and Mrs Lock travel this week to the USA for the International Boys’ Schools Coalition (IBSC) Conference, where they will meet up with Mr Lander. Our grounds staff and admin team have worked tirelessly to keep our school running smoothly and looking pristine and despite the winter conditions, the School is in great shape.

P G HAMPTON ACTING HEADMASTER

ANZAC Hockey Tournament 1st – 3rd May 2013 1st XI Boys’ Hockey Team in action

36 The Informer St Paul’s Collegiate School