We begin the third term in good spirits. Staff and students seem to be well rested after the break and the prospect of warmer weather and longer days as the term progresses is helping. It will be a busy one! Exams for seniors, Winter Tournament Week and the CanTeen campaign will keep us on our toes. So the message at assembly was around urgency and a realisation for seniors that they have only about 13 school weeks left!

Part of the message at assembly this week, was about how to prepare for the exams and I include here some of my thoughts shared with the boys that may be of interest to you as well...

“Could I suggest that one way you can respond is to know what is to be examined in your practice exams in week 5. They have been referred to as “Mock Exams” – but they most definitely, are not to be mocked!! Mock exams serve an important purpose on a number of fronts. For a start the results of these are used if, for some reason you cannot sit your external exams at the end of the year (there is always at least one student in this category). They can also be used as a reference point for year 13’s applying for Halls of Residence along with their Level 2 NCEA results, and they are a most useful guide as to how much you have understood as the year has progressed. The more you prepare for these now, the better prepared you will be for the main dance in November. So please do not mock them.

There is another aspect of the practice exams and the November exams that I want to touch on this morning. The more you use technology to do your work, the less you use pen and paper. However, you are examined for externals using pen and paper, not the laptop. Physically writing 2-3 hours without any practice, is where students often fall short.

My suggestion is that once you know what is to be examined, you spend time, not merely reading the notes of those topics to be examined, but you also practice writing or paraphrasing those notes…….practice writing so you get writing fit. It makes sense. Cast your mind back to your first pre-season practices in your chosen sport and, unless you are brilliant, you were probably a bit rusty and clunky! Compare where you are now with back in March. You are probably light years ahead. All of you will be fitter, faster, and have honed your skills individually and collectively for the climax of your seasons. That has come with hours of practice and working cohesively with your coaches, to put your team in the best possible position to be the best they can be. I know many teams will play finals in the next few weeks - that doesn’t just happen overnight.

The same applies for writing…..you come up to speed by practice, and if I could extend the analogy working together with your teacher / coach in the classroom then you will get the results in your finals as well. Prior to the exams we will also bring in an outside expert to help you with study skills."

At assembly we also acknowledged and congratulated four Bedeans who excelled in the national finals of the NZ Young Farmers TeenAg Competition. Angus Grant and Nick O’Connor competed in the final held in Invercargill at the end of last term, which saw fourteen teams from across the country competing. Nick and Angus were placed first and were presented their awards in a black tie dinner in front of 1000 people, including the Minister of Agriculture, Damien O’Connor, who also happens to be Nick’s Uncle. Two other Bedeans, Finn Taylor and Tomos Blunt, also made the final and were placed fourth.

The boys qualified after winning a series of local and regional events. The final began with a 60 minute essay and farm financial analysis. On the following day there was a two section practical component to negotiate. The first section required competitors to build a two-wire electric fence and a chicken coup out of old pallets. They were given just under two hours to complete this task. In this section they also had to give a 5 minute speech. In the next stage, competitors had seven, 15 minute modules where they had to demonstrate a range of skills such as tractor driving, first responders to an accident, sheep judging and driving a simulated logging harvester.

As a boarding school St Bede’s has over the years had a great trdhyadition in Young Farmers activities and competitions, so it is great to see these boys continue the tradition and compete so well on the national stage. Thanks to Mr McPhail, our Agriculture teacher, who prepared the boys so well, and no doubt enjoyed returning to his roots in Southland with his protégé from St Bedes!!!