The Importance of Building Resilience

What are we preparing our students for? Of course this is a complex question and there are multiple answers to this, but increasingly I think about the importance of our students developing a sense of resilience - not just emotional resilience, but also intellectual resilience.

To be fair I believe our young people are resilient and at times we don’t give them enough credit where it is due. I think they can be far more adaptable to change than adults at times and I see so many examples of this throughout the different elements of the school. However, I do believe the world they are growing up in is far more complex than the one I grew up in. Their world and their future is changing rapidly and this is constantly amplified by social media. But that is how things are, and much of this is not within our control as a school.

What is within our control is to intentionally prepare our students to be resilient, to be adaptive, to be comfortable about being uncomfortable. Our students need to understand that the world is not black and white, that there is much ambiguity, paradox, contradiction, and cognitive dissonance, and holding the balance between these things can be difficult. How our students respond and cope in this space, I believe, will be a key factor in whether or not they will be set up for success in the future.

As a school and as a community, I believe we need to work together to ensure that we put things in place that help build the skills to be resilient. However, the challenge is that you cannot just tell someone to be resilient. You can't just give them an equation and say if you work this out you will be more resilient. They need to experience, in the short term at least, being uncomfortable, feeling the pangs of stress and anxiety and to wrestle with uncertainty. The key will be to ensure that they have the confidence and internal frameworks to be able to bounce back.

So I want you to know that in the classroom we are going to try and push them outside of their comfort zone, to think critically, to challenge assumptions, to debate and to consider all perspectives. Not to agree with all perspectives, but to learn about the diversity of opinions and views in the world.

In our extracurricular programmes, while they will hopefully experience tremendous joy and satisfaction, I also hope that they will experience disappointment, and to learn to deal with setbacks and failure, because these are great platforms for learning about life.

Unfortunately, this is not an exact science, as each student is different, but the key is to ensure that our programmes are premised on strong professional relationships between our staff and students. Great teachers enable students to experiment, make mistakes, inquire and question, and to develop the skills and dispositions of original thinking. What makes Cashmere special is the positive and engaging relationship between our teachers and students. A strong professional relationship is needed if our students are to flourish, both individually and collectively.

Mr Ron Chapman 1923 - 2024

Kua hinga he totara i te wao nui a Tane. Last Friday, former Headmaster, Mr Ron Chapman, passed away at the age of 100. Mr Chapman taught at Cashmere in 1956 before departing for other ventures. He then returned as our second Headmaster from 1973 - 1980. Last year we had the opportunity to welcome him back to CHS for his 100th Birthday, an occasion we will remember for many years to come. Rest in peace, Mr Chapman.

Athletics Day

On the 29th February, we held our annual House Athletics Day. Again this was a great day for our students to celebrate their House spirit. Always the highlight for me is watching students push themselves outside of their comfort zone whether that is competing in the competitive races or just getting involved and having a go. A big thanks to our House Captains and to all of our staff who made the day the success it was. Congratulations to Ngata House for taking the 2024 honours!

• Under 14 Girls Champion - Maclean Gordon
• Under 14 Boys Champion - Jacob Akurangi
• Junior Boys Chamion - Finn Groer
• Junior Girls Champion - Pera Gordon
• Intermediate Girls Champion - Miriam Geddes
• Intermediate Boys Champion - Jack Collie
• Senior Boys Champion - Jacob Ridder
• Senior Girls Champion - Leah Pratten

Social Sciences - Education Outside of the Classroom

The last couple of weeks have seen a number of our students heading away on field trips. We have had our Year 10 Social Studies students investigating our cultural narrative, our Year 13 History students visiting Onuku Marae, our Year 13 Geography students travelling to Hokitika and our Y13 Tourism students heading up to Kaikoura. These trips are an integral part of our programmes as they provide context and a firsthand experience of what they are learning. It is also a great opportunity for our students to enjoy learning outside of the classroom with their friends.

Year 9 and Year 13 Assemblies

Over the last two weeks we have celebrated a number of achievements in our Year 13 and Year 9 assemblies. In our Year 13 Assembly we acknowledged our 2023 Level 2 Excellence Endorsement recipients. In our Year 9 Assembly our acknowledgements included academic excellence, sporting success, service in the community and our Athletic Day U14 Champions. Special mention to Year 9 Daniel Brown who received a COVE Award, the first in the Year group! Also to Erik Misnyovszki (Y9) and the Jazz Ensemble who performed Nina Simone's 'Feeling Good'.

Volleyball Champions

Congratulations to our Senior Boys Volleyball team for winning the Canterbury Volleyball Championship over the weekend. These boys have worked really hard to achieve this success and we wish them all the best as they prepare for Nationals next week.

Rowing - South Island Secondary School Championship

It was great to see our rowers achieve one of the best results at the SISSC in our school history. Cashmere High School placed 6th best School in the Mainland. An incredible achievement. From the 10 A finals, Cashmere High School Rowing squad won the GU18 Quad and Double titles for the first time in school history, and also retained the GU16 Quad for a second year in a row, making a total of 3 South Island Secondary School titles, plus a further 4 medals.

The squad will now be preparing for the national competition the Maadi Regatta from the 18th-23rd March.

Appointment of Deputy Principal - Hayden Beaumont

I am delighted to announce that after a rigorous selection process we have appointed Mr Hayden Beaumont, as one of our Deputy Principals. Mr Beaumont is an internal appointment, having been in the acting position for the last two years. He has also served as a Head of School and Head of the Health Department.

Alumni News - Euan Macleod

It was great to welcome back to Cashmere, alumni, John Blunt and Euan Macleod. John Blunt donated a significant art collection to Cashmere, including the work of renowned artist and alumnus Euan Macleod. Here they are pictured in front of Euan's work, which hangs in the PAC.

School Photos

All parents/caregivers should have received an email from Photolife with details on how to order school photos. Each student has a unique code contained within the email you'll need to order.

Order before midnight Sunday 24th March for free delivery to school where photos will be distributed via your child's form teacher.

Orders can be made after this date but will incur an $8 fee and will be delivered directly to the address you enter on the order.

If you can't find your code, please email office@cashmere.school.nz

From the the Archives

1971 Girls' Special Choir

Who’s Who at Cashmere High School - Julia Ward

Kia ora, my name is Julia Ward and I work in the office at CHS. I joined the team in April last year and previous to this I worked as a Dental Assistant.

I live locally with my husband and 3 children, we enjoy camping, socialising and the outdoors. We also have an international student living with us, which has been such a wonderful experience. My interests include traveling / seeing the world and experiencing different cultures and sights. I also have a love for Gymnastics and was a competitor and coach in my younger days. I proudly represented Australia in Gymnastics and presented medals at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. I thoroughly enjoy working at CHS, it's great to be part of a positive and collaborative team. 

The Fortnight Ahead