Mauri ora koutou

The last two weeks have been action packed as we begin to conclude the academic year for our seniors farewelling our Year 13s today and preparing the Year 11 and Year 12 prizegiving's next week.

COVID Need to Know

• Due to COVID restrictions we are holding our senior prizgiving as well as our Maori prizegiving, Te tu o Kahukura as student only events.

• NCEA Examinations will continue as scheduled

• All our staff have met the requirements for the Vaccine Mandate

• We have sent a survey requesting your child's vaccination status. If you could fill this out we would be very grateful https://forms.gle/U1k49ufw8peirdbPA

Student Board of Trustees for 2022

Congratulations to Jessica Fastier. Jessica has been elected to our Board of Trustees by our student body. Jessica is immersed in the life of the school and we look forward to her contribution. A big mihi to Toby Hull who has done a fantastic job serving on the Board this year.

Staff vs Year 13 Competition

This year the students challenged the staff to a number of sporting events. After much competition the staff took the honours for 2021!

Football - Draw

Netball - Students

Volleyball - Staff

Basketball - Staff

Hockey - Staff

Readers Cup

Congratulations to the students who were runners-up in the National Readers' Competition! The team battled it out bravely, only to be pipped at the post by a well-oiled Waimea squad.

Cross Country

Congratulations to Cooper House who took out the annual Cross Country House Competition. It was also great to see so many staff involved in this year's event.

Cooper wins House Shield!

Last week we concluded the 2021 House competition. Congratulations to Cooper who were the 2021 House Champions!

1. Cooper

2. Sheppard

3. Britten

4. Ngata

5. Blake

6. Rutherford

Service

Fifty-five students and staff gave their time after school a couple of weeks ago to help plant 175 native seedlings along our Waimokihi stream bank to increase the biodiversity within our school habitats and protect our waterways.

Their mahi today will leave a long lasting legacy at Cashmere High School.

Massive thanks to those at CCC for supporting us to achieve our goals and providing the beautiful plants.

October Music Competition

Tuesday night we had the 49th Annual October Music Competition Finals. As always it was a fantastic showcase of student talent. Our guest judge Scott Taitoko did a fabulous job of separating a very tight competition.

The winners on the night were:

• Solo Winner: FE Denis Cup - Yuyu Saito
• Solo Runner-up: JD Murdoch Cup - Tristan Dunlop
• Best Solo Piano or Violin: Mary Dew Cup - Yuyu Saito
• Best Solo Strings: Doig/MacCallum Trophy - Tristan Dunlop
• Best Solo Woodwind: Mauchline/Rybrun Cup - Lucy Watt
• Best Percussion: Music Department Trophy - Jono Blackie
• Best Solo Brass: Senior Brass Cup - Clara Dujakovic
• Solo Singing Female: Kent Cup - Sadie McLoughlin
• Solo Singing Male: Dinah Wright Cup - Ben Evans
• Small Group Singing: Board of Trustees Trophy - Jules Hlavac & Madilyn Haar-Wilkinson
• Group Winner: GS Pollock Shield - Yuyu Saito, Orla & Leila Dunlop
• Contemporary Artists Winner: Ben Campbell Award - Friday Morning Coffee - Jules Hlavac, Jono Blackie, Nic Blackie, Will Hanlon, Ezra Howell and Liam Crawford.

Student Successes

A big congratulations to Charlie Hazlett and Thomas McGibbon who were recognised for their outstanding sporting achievements at the annual Zonta Sports Awards. Congrats to Leah Smith in Year 11 who took out the Women's New Zealand Open Downhill Competition, and congrats to Fynn Skelton, Polly Daniels, Toby Hull and Isaac Macdonald who won the South Island Theatre Sports Championship at the Court Theatre last weekend.

Art and Design and Architectural Product folios

Throughout this week we have been displaying the immense talent of our student folios studying Art and Architecture and Product Design.

Dance exhibition

Dance students shared their work form this year as part of the annual Cashmere High School Dance Showcase. It was a beautiful sharing of work that the students had learnt, created themselves and created for each other. The talent and aroha of the students was clear for all to see and clearly demonstrates the growth of Dance at Cashmere High School.

Who’s Who at Cashmere High School - David Paterson

Nō Wairarapa ahau.

Ko Ruamahanga te awa.

Ko Taratahi te maunga

Ko Te Iringa o Kahukura tōku kura

Ko te Pūtaiao tōku kaupapa whakaako.

Ko David tōku ingoa.

Kia ora, my name is David Paterson and I am fortunate to be the Head of the Science/Pūtaiao Faculty. I have always loved finding out information about the world around us, and one of the wonderful things about science is that there is always something new and exciting being discovered. One of my aims at school is to encourage students to be curious about everything, to ask questions and show them how thinking scientifically can help them throughout their lives.

This starts by doing experiments in the lab which are not only fun but demonstrate how people arrive at facts and theories which are agreed to be true … observations which you can see and measure are hard to argue against! But these scientific observations also involve awe and wonder, which are one of the rewards for science teachers - seeing the reactions of students when they witness for example, a yellow solid magically appear when two colourless solutions are mixed.

Science is very empowering, as the skills students learn, such as thinking logically and problem-solving, don't just apply to science, they apply to practical problems at home as well as the complex problems facing society. Having knowledge about the way the world works gives students more control over their own lives - as Adam Smith said in the 1700s, “Science is the enemy of fear and superstition”. A scientific attitude also brings humility as we soon realise we are totally dependent on our environment and each other - how can any human think they are superior to anyone or any other living thing once they realise that we could not survive without the millions of microbes that live in and on us?

So my aim is to send students out into the world with the confidence and knowledge to thrive in our changing world, and to realise that science is indeed fascinating and fun!

Fortnight Ahead