Here we celebrate student achievement and showcase activities our students are involved in around college.

HOSTEL STUDENTS' BRODRICK-LANDSBOROUGH TRIP

Our hostel students have had an action packed term of tramping, biking, climbing and kayaking with their weekend outdoor pursuits programme. This reached new heights (quite literally) last week when they embarked on a four day trans-alpine multi activity expedition across the Southern Alps. The first three days were an alpine hike from the Hopkins Valley, over the Main Divide at Brodrick Pass and finishing up on the banks of the Landsborough River near Creswick Hut. On the fourth day a team of raft guides led by Bob McLaughlin, owner of Wānaka based guiding company Best Foot Forward, flew in to lead them on the final leg of the journey whitewater rafting the Landsborough River.

There were many memorable moments such as camping near the top of the Brodrick Pass on a perfect evening, and of course the challenging whitewater of the Landsborough. The students all rated the trip as an outstanding experience. A big thanks to all the exceptional instructors who led the alpine tramping leg, the skilled guides who safely took the rafts down the river, and the kayak instructors who provided additional safety cover during the raft trip. An especially big thanks to Bob McLaughlin (Best Foot Forward) for his support and generous assistance with facilitating the rafting aspect of the trip, which is what makes the whole journey possible. 

FESTIVAL OF COLOUR

Last week many of our students were invited to attend workshops and performances held by artists visiting town for the Festival of Colour.

Anders Falstie-Jensen performed his beautiful piece 'Back to Square One?' for our senior drama students. Using only chalk for his storytelling, we were introduced to Inga, a 95 year old grandmother, missing her family over lockdown. He performed pieces of history from the last century through her eyes. Then he served us Danish cake!

Our music department hosted Adam Page and Jenny Mitchell. Adam is a solo multi-instrumental loop artist who workshopped with some of our music students sharing his skills and knowledge by using all of our own equipment already available to students. Country folk singer, Jenny Mitchell, performed to the Year 10 music class. She ran a songwriting workshop and, along with her younger sister, spoke about their trajectory in the NZ music industry.

We also welcomed Ruby Solly, member of the Tararua Ensemble, who held a writing workshop for some of our Māori and Pacifica students and then went on to work with senior music students on putting together an original composition.

Writer and poet, Liz Breslin returned to MAC to work with some year 10 English classes on creating ‘Zines’. This was a great opportunity for students to learn different creative ways of producing written work.

Our original community piece Elephant Talk played all week and was a complete sell out! Performed by students for students, the show attracted an audience of all ages. The music, the performances, and the awkwardness were all outstanding. It was an exhausting but rewarding week for our hardworking students with the show receiving some excellent reviews. Don’t forget the playlist is still available on Soundcloud.

Our students were also involved in Saturday's free community performances with dancers performing in Centralpoint’s Surface Tension and in the United Dance Crew, as well as our popular MAC bands playing for crowds on the main street.

We are thankful for the opportunity to invite our community into our new spaces; the new buildings and performance space and into our Wharenui when we hosted Helen Brown to talk to local teachers about the Ngāi Tahu archives from Wānaka and Hawea.

We thank the Festival of Colour for putting on a great week and for providing our youth with an array of opportunities in the arts. 

KEEP NEW ZEALAND BEAUTIFUL RESENE WALL WORTHY COMPETITION

Get voting for our Mount Aspiring College mural 'Kea in Flight'!

Here at MAC we are always looking for ways to improve the environment. We have made it to the final 15 of the Resene mural competition to receive $750 worth of materials. All we need is for you to go to this website and vote for our MAC mural 'Kea in Flight' by the end of Term 1, Thursday 6 April.

MAC STUDENTS MUSIC RESULTS

Congratulations to the following students -

Practical exams:

Chloe Murray - Trinity Grade 4 Acoustic Guitar (Merit)

Max Henley - Trinity Acoustic Guitar Grade 2 (Merit)

Music Theory exams:

Erica Hudson - ABRSM Grade 5 (Distinction)

Joseph Combe - ABRSM Grade 3 (Distinction)

Madi Smith - ABRSM Grade 2 (Distinction)

Molly Phillips  - ABRSM Grade 2 (Pass)

EAST YORK AND POWDER CHUTES CONCERT

SHOWQUEST 2023

Showquest is Aotearoa’s biggest performing arts competition for schools. This event challenges students to create a performance centred around a theme that combines Art, Music, Dance, Drama, Culture and Technology. This year's performance will be in Invercargill on Friday 19 May.

SCHOOL CLUBS

Magic The Gathering Club, Friday lunchtimes, Soc Sci 4 - between the playground and the field. Bring your best commander decks!