Welcome back to all of the Year 10 ākong and whānau, I hope you are rested and feeling ready for what will be a busy Term 4. Before we jump into what we can expect, it is important to take time to reflect and celebrate what was a very successful Term 3.

Participation and service was the goal of Term 3 and it was incredible to watch what this cohort achieved. Congratulations to the ākonga who represented their house in the Lip Sync Competition last term. My challenge for this term is for every Year 10 Student to participate and support their house in our school Cross-Country, the final house event of the year. Our Year 10 Council ran the “Form Time Feud” competition which was a big hit. Congratulations to 10CBA for placing 2nd, and to 10TLN for winning our version of Family Feud. Well done to JJ Mathias and Sachit Rana who participated in the World Vision 40 hour Challenge. Sachit raised $50 and JJ raised $346 for this wonderful cause, a great example of Citizenship.

There were many outstanding sporting achievements to celebrate last term including teams and individuals who were involved in Winter Tournament week. There were a number of Year 10’s who went away and represented our school with pride and distinction. Congratulations to those who made it to finals, this earlier success is a great sign for the strength of our teams in years to come. Silas Jones and Millie Junge continued their cycling success at the Cyclocross Championship winning their respective divisions. Millie was also a member of the Girls Time Trial Team who won the Canterbury TTT Championship Cup, and Silas along with Connor Ritchie, and Elliott Mason gained a Bronze Medal at the Senior Boys SISS Canoe Polo Championship. Congratulations to the tamariki tāne who were members of the Cashmere Ice Hockey and 2nd XI Boys Hockey teams who won their divisions in convincing fashion with 11-0 and 6-0 wins in their respective finals. We had a number of students involved in Dance Competitions with Lily Dougherty, Millie Bradford-Woodland, Lydia Chen, Lucy Chen, Katie Robertson, Libby Bush, Sophia Brown, Charlotte Gray, Bella Barrie and Katie Hadfield all being part of the competition entry who placed 2nd overall in DanceNZMade. This along with further individual results for members of this group are the product of countless hours of work and practice, well done to everyone involved.

Last term also held some outstanding results for a group of our Year 10 tama wāhin[1] e at the Canterbury-Westland Science Fair. Taylah Cameron, Elsie Brown, Maya Chiron with their project Chemical Combat: Homemade vs Commercial, and Emma Lovegrove with Say Goodbye to Yellow Teeth won the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry Canterbury Branch Award for Excellence in the Investigation of Chemistry. Clementine Bruce with her project True or Poo? Does rainfall influence enterococci levels in Corsair Bay? achieved unprecedented results including taking home sponsor prices for 3rd in the Environment Canterbury Sustainable Resource Management School Award, The Graduate Women Canterbury prize, The Avon Heathcote Estuary Ihutai Trust prize, and The University of Canterbury School of Earth and Environment prize for best display. She finished First in Year 9-10, going on to take out the premier award for Best in Fair: First Prize, and the Raven Memorial Trophy. This is the first time a Cashmere Student has won this Trophy dating back to 1983, and is an unbelievable achievement for any student, let alone some in Year 10. Congratulations Clementine and everyone who participated.

Term 4 brings on another exciting and busy period for Year 10’s, with special focus on the Junior Examinations in Week 5. These examinations will be an opportunity for students to demonstrate the progress they have made and help them identify areas for improvement before taking on the challenge of NCEA Level 1. I wish all of our cohort the very best for the upcoming examinations and look forward to celebrating their success this year during our prize giving. We are in the final stages of getting prepared for next year, and I look forward to another successful term followed by a restful break.

Nāku iti noa,

Nick Milward
Head of School | Year 10