Principal’s Message: Values in Action

Tēnā koutou, e te whānau o Cashmere High School – Te iringa o Kahukura.

This week our students have represented Cashmere High School at the NZ Secondary Schools Winter Tournament across Aotearoa. There were some great wins and a few tough losses, but what stood out most was the teamwork, resilience, and citizenship (a core Cashmere value) shown throughout.

A shop owner in the Tasman region even phoned our school office to praise the manners and respect shown by one of our teams while visiting their store — a real credit to our students and to Cashmere High School.

Thank you to all the teachers, parents, and coaches who supported our teams both away and at school. Results come and go, but the values we display on and off the field leave the lasting impression.

A summary of this week’s tournament results is outlined below.

Enjoy your weekend!

Ngā mihi,

John Stradwick
Principal

Highlights from Tournament Week

Basketball

The basketballers have so far had a successful time at their respective tournaments this week. Both the juniors finished in the top eight, boys placed fifth and the girls seventh. The seniors are currently in Nelson and both of them are looking likely to also make the top eight. If the seniors finish in the top six, they qualify for Nationals in the October holidays. 

The girls' senior basketball team are currently still in pool play. They have had two wins and three loses. Tomorrow (Saturday) will see them play off for 5th-8th. A top six finish will gain a place at Nationals.

Football

The 1st XI boys' football finished sixth at the Lotto Premier National Tournament in Palmerston North. Their first top ten finish since 1984. The boys played seven games, won four and lost three with first time victories over MAGS and the 2024 National Champions Tauranga Boys. Cashmere was the top South Island School nationally.

1st XI girls' Football tournament in Taupō: they played seven games in five days and had four wins, two loses and one draw to finish 21st. Their last game for seven Year 13’s was a 3-0 win over Glendowie College; an amazing result to end the week.

Hockey

Our girls’ hockey team had an incredible campaign in Nelson. After some hard-fought games and wonderful team spirit, they made it all the way to the final. In the dying minutes, they suffered a heartbreaking loss, but finishing second in the tournament is an outstanding achievement – well done to the whole team!

The boys' hockey had a tough pool draw to compete in. Despite this, they had three wins and three losses throughout the week and held their heads high. A very eventful week was had, and the team culture was strong throughout.

Rock Climbing

Our climbers competed at the South Island Secondary School Rock Climbing Competition. CHS F had an outstanding result, winning the Female Division and placing first overall. CHS M also secured a podium finish, placing third in the Male Division and an impressive forth overall. CASSAVA also put in a strong performance, finishing fifth in the Female Division.

Netball

Great week for the Senior A Netball Girls. Lots of growth and challenging games in A Grade. They qualified to the top half of the draw, with a 15th place finish.

Business Hall of Fame

Last Wednesday, Cairo Akehurst (Year 13), and teachers Mr. Matt Benassi (Commerce & Young Enterprise) and Mr. Chris Trewern (HOF Science) attended the New Zealand Business Hall of Fame induction, a night celebrating leadership and innovation.

Selected from 5000 Young Enterprise students, Cairo was the student ambassador for Laureates Shane and Lynnette McManaway MNZM. His business, Cattle Credit, uses satellites to help farmers track methane emissions, making him a perfect fit to induct the agribusiness visionaries.

Prime Minister Christopher Luxon opened the evening, even mentioning Cairo's achievement in creating the world's first carbon credit accounting software.

Cairo confidently addressed the 500-person audience of business leaders and dignitaries. During networking, he impressed Xero founder Rod Drury, which led to a breakfast invitation and a request for Cairo to present to AgriZeroNZ.

With innovators like Cairo Akehurst, the future is in good hands.

Spotlight: Arts at Cashmere

We’ve had a busy Term 3 for the Arts at Cashmere! From music to improv to poetry, check out the range of events our students have been involved in below.

Aurora Fest:

The Cashmere High Stage Band competed at this year's Aurora Festival held at Burnside High last week. This is the first competition the Stage Band has competed at for a couple of years and they did incredibly well, performing four technically challenging songs with a 23 piece band. They received a Gold award for their overall performance and also picked up one of the four main sectional trophies: Best Rhythm Section. On top of that, two members were selected this week to be in the Christchurch Youth Jazz Orchestra: Tom Dewar on Trumpet for his 3rd year in the group and Erik Misnyovszki winning the spot of lead vocalist. Congratulations all! 

Theatresports:

The Canterbury Regional Finals for the 2025 Theatre Sports competition were held at the Court Theatre last Sunday. We had two Cashmere teams entered and both performed amazingly against some very talented improvisers. The A team came third in an incredibly close showdown with Riccarton High School and Christ’s College; as only the top two teams go through to the South Island Finals, our performers just missed out on qualifying. However, the students were stoked when our very own Jonty Higgs won the “Cal Wilson Award for Overall Best Improvisor”. Congratulations to all the performers - Theatre Sports takes a lot of skill and courage!

Poetry Slam:

On Wednesday evening, the school's spoken word poets stepped up to the mic and kicked off Word Festival with Christchurch's interschool poetry slam: Word The Front Line Ōtautahi. Our rangatahi shared their stories in an explosion of youth expression, battling it out for the title of Grand Slam Champions. As last year's winners, the pressure was on, but our students performed incredibly and secured first place once again! More than a competition, the evening was a celebration of the future artists, leaders and legends of Aotearoa New Zealand. A huge congratulations to these talented students: Vera Sullivan, Aleyna Binte Huseini, Isabella Ge, Mila Montejo, Es Pitts and Selena Budiyanto. He reo rangatahi, he ao hurihuri - the voices of youth keep the world turning.

Chita City Student Exchange

Last week, a group of twelve students selected from a number of schools in Chita City, Japan, arrived in Christchurch for a ten-day cultural exchange trip. This programme has been running since 2002 and is still going strong over two decades later. This year, the students from Chita City stayed with host families of Cashmere students enrolled in the Year 9 or 10 Japanese to further their learning and build friendships. They were greeted with a pōwhiri at school, and in turn performed a traditional Japanese folk dance in the Whare and visited several Japanese classes to interact with the Cashmere students and share their experiences. There was also time to do some sightseeing, with the Christchurch Gondola and Willowbank Wildlife Reserve added to the itinerary!

A huge thanks to our Japanese Department who coordinated key aspects of the visit including arranging host families, organising in-school activities, and planning events like the pōwhiri in collaboration with the Māori department and Junior Kapa Haka group. This is a fantastic learning opportunity, and one that all the students will remember!

School Board Elections - Elections open

Voting for this year’s Board elections is open, and will close on 19 September 2025. Check your inbox for the email called "Cashmere High School Invitation to Vote School Board Election" and follow the directions to vote.

Key Dates

Also see our full calendar on our website HERE

• Tues 2nd September - Year 8 Testing Day (Year 9 start 1.10pm on this day)

• Thurs 4th September - NCEA Co-req Reading Examination (Yr 10s)

• Fri 5th September - NCEA Co-Req Writing Examination (Yr 10s)

• Fri 5th September - Senior Formal (Y12-13)

• Tues 9th September - NCEA Co-Req Numeracy Exam (Yr 10s)Cashmere

Parent Talks - Cashmere Parents Group (CPG)

Topic 1: Neurodiversity 101 

Tuesday 16th September 2025,  6.30pm - 8.00pm

Autism, ADHD and beyond...Starting with drinks & nibbles served at 6.30 pm in the Performing Arts Centre Foyer, join us in embracing Neurodiversity. 

The Collaborative Trust will present this Parent talk, aimed at those ‘new to the game’ of discovering these terms, what they mean and how they impact your family. Gain a deeper understanding of how brains can operate differently, building understanding around neurodiversity, including autism and ADHD, and more.

Topic 2: Financial Literacy - The Art of Making Choices  

Tuesday 7th October 2025,  6.30pm - 8.00pm

A great toolkit for Parents and Families, supporting your students for a financially healthy future. Starting with drinks & nibbles served at 6.00pm in the Performing Arts Centre Foyer, come along to learn just what Financial literacy is.  How do Commerce subjects in Cashmere link to Financial Literacy?  Together with Rasha Magdy and Matt Benassi from the Cashmere High Commerce Faculty, we have 3 Professors and Lecturers from the University of Canterbury Business School,  and a Cashmere High School Alumnus running a successful business presenting. They will share and also answer questions to help parents gain knowledge and tools not only for themselves but to support their whānau. 

Alumni News

From the Archives:

Sports Day Judges 1967

Cashmere High School 1970s Reunion

Were you at Cashmere High between 1970–1979? It’s time to reconnect, reminisce, and revisit the place where it all began.

RSVP HERE