2021 brought one new student, Lennox Tuiloma in Year 9. Lennox is quietly amazing.

We had a strong bunch of year 13 students. Three of them are in the school student leadership team; they were Max Sergel-Stringer, who was McClintock’s house leader, Harvey Gordon, who was justice and solidarity leader, and Wilson House who was cultural leader. In addition, Michael McGregor was a volunteer assistant to the caretaker and ground staff. He was such a part of the team that he took his tea breaks in the staffroom.

MCBK has some strong sportsmen. Harvey in the first V basketball, Max in the first XV and first XI, Sam Jackson, 2nd fastest rower for his age group in the South Island, Seamus Gallagher making a national development squad for football. Joseph Warren is becoming a strong cyclist, and several other boys are doing very well at rugby, football and league.

We also had successful debaters and theatre-sportsmen such as Aaron Brighton and Josh Castro.

Academically there are plenty of bright stars too.

Our MCBK meetings never really settled into the “circle-time share your feelings” routine, but we still had some good discussions around the blog-style starters Mr Knopp brought to us to get us thinking. Having Maryanne Skidmore, STC’s other counsellor contributing brought more spark to the task of igniting the damp kindling of boys’ spirits on a Monday morning.

MCBK will hopefully grow further into a vibrant, fun-loving, cohesive, caring, energetic, engaged, creative, dutiful, conscientised, group of young men under new leadership next year as Mr Knopp retires after 18 years as school counsellor.