Commerce Department

Guest Speaker – Stephen Hickson

The New Zealand economy is facing its highest inflation figures in three decades. As such it was only appropriate to bring the conversation to the Economics students. Inflation in New Zealand has been relatively stable for 30 years ranging from 1 to 3% for the most part aside from short hiccups. However, exceeding 6% in the inflation rate is an event New Zealand has not seen since late 1980s. To discuss this matter with students the Commerce Department invited Mr. Stephen Hickson, a lecturer from UC and the director of Business Taught Masters to hold a talk and a Q & A session.

Mr. Hickson took us on a journey into New Zealand’s past inflation figures and the events that led to them. He also discussed the gravity of hyperinflation in countries that experienced it such as Germany, Zimbabwe and Yugoslavia.

An analysis of how the New Zealand economy reached the current inflation figures ensued ranging from fiscal and monetary policies to massive global events such as the recent pandemic and the Ukrainian war.

In a riveting Q & A session that followed students were inquiring about how the New Zealand economy can combat the current inflation and stabilise prices. Mr. Hickson discussed possible solutions such as the increase of the OCR, selling government bonds, and natural ease of the business cycle through shrinking demand. It was an exciting talk amongst all the economic uncertainty surrounding us.

Rasha Magdy (HoD Commerce)

History

HIS201 - Dunedin Trip

The 2022 Dunedin trip was a brilliant opportunity for our year 12 history classes to physically see the trials and turmoil experienced by the Chinese miners and Parihaka Māori. We visited the Otago Settlers Museum, as well as the Lan Yuan Chinese Gardens, both of which provided us with a great deal of serenity and knowledge regarding the history of the Chinese miners and Chinese culture in modern Otago.

We also visited the Dunedin Prison, where prisoners from the Māori settlement of Parihaka were kept - some of whom died due to lung disease. We then visited the Northern Cemetery, where Chinese Miners and Parihaka prisoners alike were buried in pauper’s graves.

Finally, we visited Larnach castle, a grand symbol showing the year 12 classes how much wealth the gold miners brought to Otago.

The 2022 Dunedin trip was a fascinating time for us all and if offered to return, I’m sure many of the year twelves would do so in a heartbeat.

- Rhys Pritchard (student)

Tourism

TOU201 Hanmer Trip

On the 8 July, the year 12 Tourism classes took a day trip to Hanmer Springs. It was a fun-filled day and a great experience for our ākonga to have the opportunity to be tourists for the day in our own backyard. We journeyed by bus; the first stop was at the Hanmer Springs Attractions where all ākonga went jet boating down the Waiau River Canyon. After the jet boating, ākonga spent the afternoon at the Hanmer Springs Hot Pools. This field trip was a wonderful opportunity to end the term. For many this trip was their first time out of Ōtautahi. We are all looking forward to our next tourism trip.

Cindy Ernstzen (Year 12 Tourism Teacher)

TOU301 Field Trip

A hotly anticipated field trip at the end of Term 2 was the Year 13 Tourism field trip to the He Puna Taimoana hot pools at New Brighton and paintball at Ferrymead. The hot pools were lovely to soak in after a cold walk to the end of the pier. Several students enjoyed challenging themselves by how long they could stay in the cold plunge pool. Three students decided that there are many different kinds of tourists and opted out of the pools and instead picked up some excellent bargains in the many secondhand clothing stores nearby. A quick trip to the Red Snapper in Sumner was had before hot chips were devoured on the Esplanade.

The trash talk from the students was rising as the venue for paint ball approached. For the staff, the mood was more trepidation. However, the expected fusillade to rival Fallujah did not eventuate, and the bruises were a lot less than a year prior. Nonetheless, the students had an excellent day out and undertook some good winter tourist activities.

Nick Moyle (Year 13 Tourism Teacher) 

Geography

Year 11 Geographers in Kaikoura

Amidst harsh winds and stormy weather on the 25th of May the Year 11 Geography students excitedly jumped on the bus and headed off to Kaikōura for the night. After a 4-hour scenic journey including a stop in Cheviot for some food, we arrived at the Top 10-holiday park in Kaikōura. We ditched our gear, strapped on some walking shoes, and headed to Ohau point where we were greeted by hundreds of seals sunbathing on the uplifted coastal land. We were then taken on a trek throughout the hills that shadowed Ohau point and then we returned to the holiday park to hear some perspectives on the proposed walking/cycling track, The Whale Trail. After a bus ride a few hundred metres down the road, we headed to the restaurant of our choice where we had dinner with our friends. A brisk walk home in the rain was not long followed by a quiz involving all of the students with prizes for first, second, third, and last. After a long night's rest (for some) we got up, had a hearty breakfast, and packed up our things to head home again. The trip to Kaikoura gave us a great opportunity to hear about varying perspectives on the Whale Trail as well as see all the effects the 2016 earthquake had on the Kaikōura town and the areas surrounding it.

Isobel Brooks (student)

Year 11 Geographers at UC

The GIS day at Canterbury University was the opportunity to learn more about how to create GIS maps to illustrate the effects of the Kaikoura Earthquake. There were several different skills we had to master from creating polygons, popup and magnitude maps. While it took a while to get to grips with the software, it was great to see our finished products which accompanied a report on the usefulness of this for future planning.

Isobel Brooks (student)

Year 13 Geography

Living Earth Compost Plant Trip

As part of the learning for their assessment on eliminating the odour from the Living Earth compost plant, the Year 13 Geography classes visited the site in Bromley in late June. Here they were hosted by Living Earth manager Jaco Kleinhans as well as CCC Contract Supervisor David McCardle. The students got to hear the history behind the plant, the perspectives of both Living Earth and CCC to solve the odour problem and a tour of the site. Back at school the Year 13 Geographers also heard from Environment Canterbury’s Ruth Sarson and Banks Peninsula MP Tracey McLellan and their viewpoints on this issue. All these guest speakers enabled the students to hear a range of different perspectives and make an informed decision on what to do about the odour from the plant.

Nick Moyle (HoD Geography)

Business Studies

Electrify

Electrify Aotearoa is New Zealand’s first ever women founder’s summit that was held in Christchurch during Term 2. The summit addresses the global, national, regional, and local women founder gap with an event that showcases role models and success stories to inspire and activate the wāhine of New Zealand. Thanks to the Ministry of Awesome, who gained sponsorship from Amazon Web Services, we were able to take 10 young entrepreneurs to be inspired by the stories they would hear and the people they would meet.

Here’s what the students had to say:

‘All of the women who talked to us were extremely inspiring and I gathered a lot of good advice to take back to my own business group’ - Trinity Hill

‘I found it inspiring to hear all the different journeys they have taken to get to where they are now.’ - Jorja Loose

‘It was inspiring listening to many women talk about how they started up their companies. It felt like I was listening to a TED talk. I was nervous about the networking activity but was surprised by how much I enjoyed it.’ - Yuki Saito

‘I really enjoyed hearing from Emily Blythe, the CEO of Pyper Vision. She talked about her past and her love of flying and has created a business that disperses fog from airports making landing and takeoffs easier for pilots. Electrify made me think that anything can be possible when your mind is put to it.’ Gabby Wood

‘Brooke Roberts’ (the co-founder of Sharesies) talk was interesting to listen to and inspired me to start my own business when I am older. - Solitaire Barlow

Young Enterprise Alumni Awards

Former Head Boy (2018) and Business Studies student Anzac Gallate won the Young Enterprise Alumni Award for Environmental Leader that was present by Stuff over the Winter Holidays in Auckland. Anzac helped create the The Gro*UP Group, a business that has created an app that helps kiwi kids explore Antarctica through virtual and augmented reality.

Anzac was up against some stiff competition including Christchurch’s own Helen Townshend who has created Eco Splat, an environmentally friendly reusable water balloon.

Alumni Event:

Former students from 2018 - 2021 met for the first ever Young Enterprise Alumni Event held in Canterbury. It was the perfect opportunity to catch up with old friends, make some new ones, plus hear from one hell of an inspirational alumna, Emily Blythe (founder and CEO of Pyper Vision).

Business Experiences: Entrepreneurs in Action

Entrepreneurs in Action took place over 3 days, with 60 young entrepreneurial students competing in two fast-paced business challenges in Wellington. Archie MacDonald was selected out of a competitive group of individuals to represent Cashmere High School. His group (who was sponsored by IBM) finished third by developing a strategy that would enhance New Zealander’s relationship with the environment.

Latin America Business Experience

Gabby Wood and Jack and Archie MacDonald were selected to participate in a business trip that show cases how Brazilian companies do business in New Zealand. Over the July holidays they were flown up to Auckland to learn about Brazilian culture, where they learnt helpful phrases in Portuguese, learnt some dance moves, sampled Brazilian cuisine and even dabbled in the half dance half Brazilian martial art Capoeira. Alongside all this they learnt excellent international business skills.

Biz Venture Japan

Thomas To and Jack and Archie MacDonald recently travelled to Wellington to take on 12 of Japan’s best Business Studies students in a challenge that asks the students to develop a growth strategy that will help Cookie Time expand their business in Japan. Our very own Taka Kuze acted as a cultural bridge between the two countries and will be help the Japanese students prepare their business strategies.

YES: Pitches

We had 20 groups from BUS301 and BUS201 pitch their business idea in a setting similar to Shark Tank at Ara in June. The Young Enterprise program continues to grow, and this is the most amount of teams Cashmere has ever had. The students performed exceptionally well and were well prepared having practised their pitches a week earlier to Joe Eccleton and their Head of Year. Pitching is an essential skill in business, and it gives students the confidence to continue to develop their public speaking skills.

YES: Workshops

To support the students on their business venture, the students attended a variety of workshops at Ara in the first half of Term 2. The workshops that the students attended were; Branding and Storytelling, Marketing and Sales, Leadership, Financials, Pitching and Sustainability.

Guest Speakers

‘A mentor is someone who sees more talent and ability within you, than you see in yourself, and helps bring it out of you.’ Last term we were lucky enough to have business mentors share their experiences and provide advice to business groups. Thank you to our guest speaks: Jay Madgwick-Pamment (Spicy Boys) / Maggie Peacock and Zoe Rookes (Bayuble) / Rosie de Malmanche (Our Closet) / Oakley Inkersell (Food Fight) / Emilia Dybka (STAP) / Regan Powell (YES) / Clark Williams (4C Centre - YMCA)

Mother’s Day Market (BUS101)

The Year 11 Business Studies students took on the Challenge of producing, marketing and selling products at the Mother’s Day Market back in May. The challenge was to produce a product for the gift market and to think about what would make a good gift and then sell them for real profits at the market. Products included hand-made candles, wooden coasters, soaps and scrubs, just to name a few. The students learnt various sales techniques on the day and better understand the value of money.

BUS201 Market

The Year 12 Business Studies students held one of their Market Days at school at the end of Term 2. The students are tasked with creating a product or service that has an element that benefits the community, whether that be donating to a charity or highlighting a community issue through their product. Some of the products included candles that champion body positivity, sustainable guitar picks and bucket hats made from offcuts of fabric. The students have definitely learnt that doing good, is good for business.

Business Studies 101 Trip to the Christchurch Adventure Park

Learning about the staff recruitment process isn’t always the most thrilling topic, but learning how the Christchurch Adventure Park does it, puts the thrill back into the topic. The Year 11 Business Studies classes travelled to the park at the end of last term and learnt how the park selects the best service staff in the industry, some even come from Cashmere High School. Afterwards the students were treated to a bird’s eye view of the park from the chairlift. I believe the park has just recruited some of their future employees!