Hero photograph
 
Photo by Matthew Markham

School House News

Matthew Markham —

We have had a busy but very productive start to the term. The boys have come back from the holidays in good spirits and the in-weekend was a good chance for them to rekindle friendships.

Many hostel boys were busy in the holidays with sport, some very successfully. Congratulations to James Thompson and Angus Faulks for being selected for the Southern U18 Otago team who finished 6th in the national U18 Hockey tournament. Well done also to Ned Flannery for making the Otago U15 Hockey Development team.  Ryan Becker was also selected in the  Southern U18 Hockey side which made the final of the Development team competition in Pukekohe. Hamish Faulks represented Otago in the U17 Basketball nationals. Well done to all these boys. 

A swimming meet was held at Moana Pool over the weekend. Anthony Sim, Ryan Dey and new boy Danny Gilbert represented the hostel with great distinction. Danny won gold in the 400m freestyle, 800m freestyle, 200m butterfly and Neptune Swim Club 4x50m relay. Danny added to his impressive medal haul with silver in the 50m butterfly and bronze in the 50m freestyle. Ryan Dey won a bronze in the 100m butterfly, 100m breaststroke and 200m freestyle. Anthony Sim got a bronze in the 50m backstroke, which was a great result from a boy new to competitive swimming.

The hostel shooting team continued its very successful season winning the exchange with Waitaki Boys'. In the first weekend of the holidays the team also competed at a shoot in Invercargill. There were 110 shooters from schools across the South and North Island. In perfect weather, the team of Harry Brenssell, Tate Drummond, Riley Thompson, Arden O'Donnell and Henry Sim - were on equal points with Christchurch Boys' High School for the team’s event - only 1 point behind the winning team from Lincoln High School. After the shoot off - this saw CBHS come away with the silver medal and Otago Boys' the bronze medal - a reversal of the interschool result held the day before. On the Sunday, the boys were at the Scott Shield School Shoot at Nightcaps. A good number of the students who competed at the Saturday event were again shooting at this event. The team shot very well which saw them win the teams event claiming the Scott Shield. Henry Sim also came 1st in the Point Score event. It was a very tiring but successful weekend for the boys.

There were two Mitchell Cup competitions held over the weekend, basketball and rowing. The results are as follows:

Basketball

1. Thomson
2. Campbell
3. Hawthorne
4. Nicholson

Rowing

1. Campbell
2. Thomson
3. Hawthorne
4. Nicholson

This means that with one competition to go (house quiz), the battle for the Mitchell Cup is fierce.

Current Standings

1. Campbell 15
2. Hawthorne 14
3. Thomson 14
4. Nicholson 9

The house quiz is on the 22nd August and it should be quite a battle to decide who lifts the Mitchell Cup at Skippers Feast!

Last Thursday at formal dinner we handed out the following boarding awards for term two. Well done men! 

Year Nine

Sport and Culture: Isaac Adams (was also student of the term at school)
Citizenship: Alex Drummond
Academic: Jack Powell

Year 10

Sport and Culture: Sam Gavin
Citizenship: Guy Minty
Academic: Hamish Faulks

Year 11

Sport and Culture: Jak Stevenson
Citizenship: Symon Maguire
Academic: Brayden Foote

Year 12

Sport and Culture: Hoani Wipaki
Citizenship: Bob Lee
Academic: Arden O’Donnell

Year 13

Sport and Culture: Michael Manson
Citizenship: Harry Hansen
Academic: Harrison Glastier

Planning is well under way for the annual Queenstown ski trip. Fingers crossed there will still be some snow in September but it is encouraging to see some snow in the forecast this week. We have only two places still available so if you want to go you will need to get in quick.

I hope you all have a good week and manage to keep warm, it promises to be a chilly few days!