Hero photograph
 
Photo by Sally-Ann Goodman

Principal's Report

Mr Phil Holstein —

Kia ora whanau. Ka mahuta a Matariki i te pae, ka mahuta ō tātou tūmanako ki te tau When Matariki rises above the horizon, our aspirations rise to the year ahead. The first sighting of the Matariki star cluster on Friday 2 July marked the official start to the Māori New Year. Ngā mihi o te tau hou – happy new year. Matariki marks the time to reflect on the past, to celebrate what we have, and set our sights on new goals.

As you will see from the range of activities highlighted in this newsletter, Term 2 has been both busy and successful. I would like to acknowledge the students and staff for their hard work and commitment to our school. We have stayed the course, learning together despite all the challenges that surround us in the world.

STAFF UPDATE

Farewell and best wishes to:

Ms Rachael Paterson (Sciences) who takes up a new position at Rolleston College. Ms Keshni Lata who has held previous roles at school, replaces Rachael in Terms 3 and 4.

Mr Chris Risbridger who has been granted a Teacher Study Award for Term 3 to undertake a Te Reo Māori professional development opportunity that focuses on Māori students succeeding as Māori. Mr Robin Grundy, also well-known to us all, will cover Chris’ classes.

BHS MASTER PLANNING UPDATE:

We are delighted that Stage 1 of the BHS Master Plan was approved recently by the Ministry of Education. This was the culmination of twelve months’ work; and now informs the redevelopment of our campus over the next five years. This is an important and exciting prospect for the school.

Stage 1 includes three new learning blocks, a new pick up/drop off area on Memorial Avenue, replacement of the sports turf on tennis/hockey area, repair of some weather tightness issues and the conversion of the existing Library space into a cultural/drama/dance centre with performance spaces and seating for two hundred people.

The demolishment of F-Block and F-Block Extension is planned for the end of this year. We are in the process of developing options to relocate classes during the construction that will occur in 2022.

The three new buildings have been named after nearby sites of significance or waterways that Ngāi Tahu used to transport goods and/or gather mahinga kai. Ngāi Tahu used waterways to travel from pā to pā from Kaiapoi in the North, to Rāpaki in the South East and to Te Taumutu in the South.

Block 1 (Science and Technology) will be named Pukehinau after the settlement of Coringa midway between Harewood and Yaldhurst. The two storey block has twenty-five learning spaces, extensive breakout spaces plus resource rooms, preparation areas, staff meeting rooms and storage areas.

Image by: Sally-Ann Goodman
Image by: Sally-Ann Goodman

Block 2 (Library and Student Support Services Hub) will be named Rakipaoa which is an historic name for Upper Riccarton. This hub will be home to the Library, the Deans, the Counselling team, Careers department, Learning Support, and Youth Workers.

Image by: Sally-Ann Goodman

Block 3 will be named Waiutuutu, the original name for Okeover Stream, which is a nearby tributary of the Ōtākaro. Wai utu utu (water lifted up). This block will be a general teaching block with eight learning spaces (classrooms) and extensive break out areas.

Image by: Sally-Ann Goodman

Note: A start has also been made to rename our existing buildings and landmarks.

Te Uruour Native forest – meaning both a grove of trees and also referring to the whakataukī: me uru kahikatea. Kahikatea grow close together, intertwining their buttressed roots with neighbouring kahikatea as a means of support in swampy grounds and harsh weather conditions. Kahikatea have evolved to grow with no lower branches to enable them to huddle together for stability.


Wairarapa N Block – references the Wairarapa Stream which is a tributary of the Ōtākaro (Avon River) in Christchurch. During the 1879 Smith-Nairn Royal Commission of Inquiry into the Ngāi Tahu land claims, Wiremu Te Uki and others from Ngāi Tūāhuriri recorded Wairarapa as a kāinga nohoanga (settlement) and kāinga mahinga kai (food-gathering place). Kāuru (root of the tī kouka), aruhe (bracken fern root), inaka (whitebait), tuna (eels) and kiore (Polynesian rat) were all gathered here.

SWIMMING POOL UPGRADE

The pool is to have a new lining membrane and filtration system. It will also be heated. AProject Manager has been appointed and Coombes Aquatics Ltd confirmed as contractor. Work is likely to start in September 2021 and is expected to take three months to complete depending on availability of components from overseas suppliers.

CO-CURRICULAR LIFE

I have enjoyed attending musical and sporting co-curricular activities this term. Thank you to all the managers, coaches, staff, and parents who help make these opportunities available to our students. To highlight a few of the local, regional and national successes:

Show Quest: at the Town hall on the 18th May, Burnside won the competition and received numerous other awards; 115 students from all year levels were involved. Their theme was A Thread for Thought: High Brand clothing labels taking advantage of underprivileged children. Thank you to the student leaders Simone Blakie 13PZS and Harriet Dodd 13GVK; and to staff members Kate Olliver, Katerina Papageorgiou, Serena Gold, Mary Hegarty, Vicki Morris-Williamson (Props and Costumes) and Richard Wiltshire (Technical) who supported the group. A fantastic team effort!

Big Sing Regional Gala Concert:

At the Town Hall on 11 June, Bel Canto, Aurora Voices, Magna Voce and the Junior Performance Choir all performed. Bel Canto with Sue Densem as Director was awarded the University of Canterbury School of Music Trophy for best overall performance of a New Zealand Work. Bel Canto and Aurora Voices also received awards for outstanding contributions from a student accompanist.

The evening culminated in a fantastic massed item – A Te Tarakihi (The Cicada) directed by Sue Densem. Congratulations to Sue on the selection of Bel Canto for the National Finale, to be held in the Christchurch Town Hall from 26-28 August. Congratulations also to Aurora Voices who were selected to participate in the Cadenza Showcase in Timaru, 22-23 August.

Fourteen BHS students have been selected for the 2021 New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Symphony Orchestra; and Ciaran Wright 13PZS (percussionist) was selected for the NZSO National Youth Orchestra. This is an outstanding achievement for any high school musician, as the orchestra is open to tertiary students and adults up to the age of 25.

Regional Chamber Music Competition: Recently forty-six groups from across Canterbury and the West Coast competed over two days. This included seventeen groups from BHS with three, Finger Sticking Good, Reflections and Feier, winning KBB Awards and being selected for the South Island Regional Finals on Saturday 26 June.

The standard of performance from all groups in the regional final was exceptional with Finger Sticking Good and Reflections selected for the National Finals in Christchurch on 6th August. Congratulations and all the best to these top musicians and thank you to the tutors: Ms Helen Renaud and Mr Chris Petch, HOD Music, for their outstanding work.

Ara Jazzquest Combos Competition: Our five combos earned three golds, one silver, and one bronze. They also received several individual awards. Congratulations to their tutors and thanks to Mr Cain Hood and Mr Cameron Oswin for their outstanding work.

Ashburton Winter Sports Exchange: At Ashburton on 15 June, 145 students in thirteen teams participated in eight sports. With a final total of nine wins to four, we retained the trophy which is safely back in the BHS Reception area until next year.

In Term 1, Burnside High School was awarded the cup for Top Co-educational School in Canterbury and we have now received the same at the South Island Secondary Schools Swimming Championships recently. Our team of sixteen competitors did exceptionally well with nineteen individual Golds and two relay team firsts; twelve Silvers and one relay team second; twelve individual Bronze medals and four relay team thirds.

SISS Badminton Tournament – Dunedin

Congratulations to both the Burnside HS Boys and Girls Badminton teams -silver medals. Thank you to Mr Murray Paull and Ms Karen Warnock who managed these teams.

Winter Sports Competitions: at the halfway point of the competition many students and teams have featured prominently in Power lifting, Gym Sports, Cross Country, Table Tennis, and Badminton to name a few. It is great to see that Ice Hockey, Underwater Hockey and Archery are also growing in status in our school. We have just been notified that BHS won the award for Top School in Gymnastics, 2021.

Congratulations to all students who are participating. We wish you well for the local, South Island, and National competitions next term. Thank you, to our sports coordinators Ms Tracy Taylor and Ms Rozz Guillemot for their superb organisation; and to all of the coaches and managers of our teams.

YEAR 12 FORMAL

The Year 12 Starry Night Formal at the Addington Event Centre on 26 June was a great success. Approximately 385 students and partners attended, as well as 15-20 staff. This was a wonderful occasion and I was extremely proud of the students. There was a general air of energy, fun, friendship and sense of occasion, with everyone presenting themselves in style. The Year 12 Divisional Prefects and Mrs Karen Aburn, Divisional Head Dean for Te Puna Tonga South Division, are to be congratulated for an evening that was a success in every way. They spent many hours organising the theme, decorations, invitations, food, music and photography. Staff of the Addington Events Centre, who host many school formals, were impressed by the behaviour of our students; and I left the formal confident that our students can conduct themselves appropriately, which reflects positively on them, our school, and our parent body.

2022 ENROLMENTS

The 2022 enrolment round commenced with Open Night on 18 May. This was a most successful evening with around 2,000 people registered and the Aurora Centre full for each of three sessions. As always, it was our student tour guides who did us proud, speaking about their school in a confident, articulate and positive way. The high level of interest in these tours reinforces that Burnside is a successful, sought after school, with a positive learning environment and fine reputation in both the local and wider Christchurch Community.

REPORTS

Thank you to the many parents who took the opportunity to talk to teachers at the recent Year 11-13 Parent Teacher Conferences. Your interest and input does make a difference. Together with the Senior Reports, students should have a clear focus for the rest of the academic year. On 6 August all junior school Fortnightly Grades will include an academic progress summary for each subject; and Year 9 students also receive a report for their Semester One options.

As the term draws to a close, we welcome the July holiday break. We look forward to another good term confident that, no matter what is thrown at us, we will deal with it in a positive, constructive fashion.

Kia kaha, kia mau, kia haere tonu: Stay strong, hold fast, keep on course.

Ngā mihi nui

Phil Holstein

Principal