I caught up with two of Hagley’s new Year 9 students, Jaden Salkeld and Maurice Gillard, about their trip to Sumner last week where surfing and sand dunes were the activities of the day.

I started the interview with asking both boys how they would describe the day in three words. Their responses were:

Maurice – WET, EXHAUSTING and ADRENALIN

Jaden – ENERGY, EXCITEMENT, UNCERTAIN

I instantly warmed to their enthusiasm and honesty…

The group that these boys were in started with surfing after they got off the bus in Sumner. The first difficulty was getting a wetsuit on (something many of us can relate to!) Next came a warm-up and getting their hands on a surf board. They learnt basic standing technique and learnt key words to focus on, such as ‘chicken wings’ and ‘bend up like a cat’. All of this happened on dry land!

There was a mixture of excitement and apprehension as they went into the water for the first time. Maurice was quite confident as he had been surfing before. Jaden followed Maurice out into the waves as he thought it would be good to be near someone who knew what he was doing. Eventually the boys split up and hung out with other students as they chased waves. Maurice described surfing as giving you the best feeling ever when you get on the wave.

Both boys felt tired when they got out of the water and were pleased for lunch and a rest. The boys were looking forward to the afternoon but not exactly sure what to expect either.

The afternoon was spent with a Christchurch City Council member who taught the boys about the importance of sand dunes. The learning started with a continuum. Students placed themselves on the continuum according to how important they thought sand dunes were in the ecosystem. They then split into groups and made their own sand dune which had to be up to the height of the shortest group member's knees. The facilitator from the council then told the boys a story about a homeowner who wanted a view of the sea and got Council consent to remove sand from the dunes that were blocking their view. The sand then got onto their roof during the shifting of the dunes and collapsed the roof of the house; the moral of the story being that when you interfere with nature for your own benefit it might not go so well. ‘Karma’ the boys suggested to me. I tend to agree!

The next step was for the boys to destroy their sand dune and consider the creatures that benefit from living in sand dunes. They also discussed how wooden walkways, grasses and fences all support our sand dunes. The session ended with students reviewing the continuum activity from the beginning of the session. Jaden and Maurice recognised that some class members had moved closer to the 'sand dunes are important and I know a lot about them' end of the continuum, with others staying where they were originally placed.

I concluded the interview by asking the boys about one thing they learnt that they didn’t know before they went on the trip.

Jaden replied with: “I learnt about how much rangers and Council members do to protect our sand dunes.”

Maurice replied with: “I learnt that sand dunes were more than just sand dunes.”

As with all new students to Hagley, I was particularly interested in any advice that the boys had for other students starting at Hagley. Jaden's advice was when you come here, to be open to new things and to participate, and he admitted that it is helpful if you know some people here.

Maurice's advice was to make friends and give everything a go.

I shouldn’t be surprised by the energy and enthusiasm of these two boys during the interview, but I was. They clearly made the most of the opportunities that the Surf and Science Day in Sumner offered to them and you can’t help but get the feeling that they will practice what they preach and make excellent contributions to both their classwork and extra curricular activities while they are at Hagley.

I say this every time, but this has to be one of the best parts of my job, meeting awesome young people that have a passion for learning.

Thanks to Jaden and Maurice for giving up their time to meet with me!