Term One and Two have been very successful in terms of the cultural achievements of all divisions at Burnside High School in 2019. The Cultural Team has once again run the interdivisional competition of the Mitchell Cup in order to carry on with the divisional and school spirit at Burnside. The Mitchell Cup is divided into separate topic competitions with each of the divisions being able to gain points around the “major” events such as whole school competitions like athletics day, swimming sports and cross country. In these major events, the divisions can gain a total of 50 points for winning, 30 for coming second and 20 points for coming in third place.

The divisions West, South and North are able to also gain points from “minor” events which are for selected groups from each division and are not open to all of the school as a whole. Through the minor events, the divisions can gain either 30, 20 or 10 points towards the Mitchell Cup. So far we have run the divisional competitions of: Swimming sports, Athletics, Cross Country, Debating, 40hr famine, Spelling Bee, Ki O Rahi and Gumboot Friday. The competition has been fierce thus far, with swimming sports and athletics being the first major events. In these two events, Burnside saw South take out these competitions with 100 points with West coming in second with 60 points and North coming in third with 40 points. Our other major event run in term one was Cross Country which saw the same pattern of South in first, West in second and North in third. Other events and competitions that have successfully run over term one and two have been: Debating, (this was run by North prefect Piper Pengelly with each division winning a heat, the finals will be run in term three), and Ki O Rahi, which was a great week-long tournament in which we saw true school spirit, with North climbing their way back up the ladder coming in first. This tournament was also supported by the teachers vs senior division game with a sausage sizzle, which saw the students taking out the PE department.

The 40hr famine also has taken place with North coming first and South second, a great feat for all involved raising money for a good cause. The final competition run through the first half of the year was the spelling bee which once again saw South take out the big points. An event supported by the cultural team was the Gumboot Friday festival which saw a great prize table, decorations and photo booths set up enhancing the morale and cultural spirit of the school as everyone band together to raise funds for Mike King's counselling in schools trust, a great event all around.

It has been great to see many students get involved and supporting their divisions in all of these events. There are many events still to come as we head towards the second half of the year. The scores to date are South in the lead with 210, North in second with 140 points which is closely followed by West with 130 points. We also have a few minor events coming up including the Cabbage Challenge, Tech crew quiz and the Junior Chess. These events will offer a range of opportunities for students to participate and support their division in events they are passionate about. We have the exciting Debate Finals coming up next term which see more minor points up for offer. For the next 2 terms, the Divisions will continue to compete against each other to gain as many points as possible and by the end of the year, we will have our deserving division of the Mitchell Cup announced. Can’t wait to see you all on the battlefield in term Three!

Georgia Doyle & Melissa Coker,

Heads of Culture 2019