Our journey began several months ago as we got our first neuroscience booklet to study. In time, we did round one - an online test - and a group of us made it through to round two. Flash forward about two months, and we were in the van and heading to Dunedin.

Welcome back to term 3. I do hope that you all managed to have even a short break over the holiday period and that our young men and women are ready to take on the challenges that this 9 week term will bring them.

It has been an incredibly busy start to term three in the international office, with several different activities on the go.

Life can be a bit like a Pokémon hunt. We have places we want to get to or goals we want to achieve and we’re searching for ways to get there. 

The RHS Gifted and Talented Programme has had a super two terms of events, with even more activities lined up in the coming months.

Toby Buckner (10WS) and Emma McMorran (12CS) have been selected from their recent audition to be part of the National Secondary Schools' Brass Band, which consists of New Zealand's most talented Secondary School Brass and Percussion Musicians.

Riccarton High School will be closing at 1:00pm on Wednesday 7 September, so that teachers who are PPTA/NZEI members are able attend a regional meeting to discuss the Government's current proposals on the resourcing of schools.

At the SPACPAC Pasifika Speech Competition, Tamarisi Vosanibola (12BN) gained first place in the Senior Fijian Speech while Hiram Taleni (10CO) gained first place in the Junior English Speech. 

Mareta Ielua (11BD), Mavis Togia (12PT), Toefiliga Sua (10CR), and Avaganofoa Talimatasi (13BN) recently travelled to Auckland to participate in the FAGASA National Samoan language competition.

E ngā mana e ngā reo e ngā kārangaranga maha e ngā hau e whā tēnā koutou katoa.  Ngāa Manu Kōrero ki Waitaha 2016 was hosted by Te Iringa o Kahukura, Cashmere High School. 

Senior course selection material for 2017 will be given to students from Tuesday 23 August. We will also email the information to parents/caregivers. The 2017 course selection deadline is Friday 2 September.

“You could rattle the stars. You could do anything, if you only dared." —Sarah J. Maas, Throne of Glass.

An exciting opportunity arose recently for female senior students to attend a day organised by Ara Institute of Canterbury to shadow a mentor in the engineering and ICT industries. Kate Stedman (12CS), Joy Louie (12CS) and Olivia Singleton (11NI) were lucky enough to attend. 

Congratulations to the following students who are achieving on the sports field:

Guiding teenagers through the various career and study options available to them in the modern world can be a challenge. UC Career Consultant Dave Petrie will talk with you about how you can support your child's career decisions. Parents and caregivers are invited to attend the seminar offered at UC this year.

The following former pupils have graduated from Victoria University between June 2015 and May 2016. Congratulations to: Melissa Bryant, Christina Hyman,  Angela Pennington,  Eliot Slevin,  Ruth Stuart, Helen Zou.

Students who are members of the Kohanga Ako classes are able to remain at secondary school until the end of their 21st year. It is important that they experience a programme that recognises that they are young adults transitioning out of school into the community setting. Therefore, there is an increasing focus on developing their independence and autonomy.

Once again our students have been very active in the international language competition, earning certificates and awards across a variety of languages, especially Japanese, French, Samoan and Te Reo. 

The Riccarton Raccoons were awarded third place out of the seventeen teams that competed at the Lincoln Science Quiz, held August 1. It was a close finish - only one point between Riccarton High School and the tied first place. Congratulations to our team: Kate Stedman (12CS), Andrew Fordyce (12HB), Tim Bridgman (12HB) and Tori Cotton (12NP).

The when I grow up social, held the last week of term 2, raised enough money to build two classrooms in Syria. That means that you've all had a great night, and we've all helped these children get an education. 

In this presentation Nathan Wallis will explore and explain the latest understandings of the adolescent brain and the changes that are taking place.