Rector's message - August

We see them returning to good daily enterprise; reconnecting well socially; showing respect for the staff, school and themselves; volunteering their time and goodwill; and working to keep our school tidy and orderly. Our boys are representing us in Sport and the Arts and other co-curricular activity with dedication to lead or follow well as required. To help their cause further, they are also adopting junior conferencing advice, using the latest senior exams to raise their performance, and bringing 2015 coursework closer to excellent conclusions. It has been a constructive and concerted start to Term 3 throughout Years 9 to 13. 

We welcome our two new GAP students to Thomas House and the school for 2015- 2016. Jakob Melchinger joins us from Stuttgart and Henry Schwenker hails from Freiberg. They have settled into the hostel and school environments quickly and will be valued members of our community. Their ‘Kiwi acclimatisation’ is well underway and no doubt our German language students will enjoy their support especially. 

It is a promising term. Winter sport peaks as various codes conclude with deciding matches. The Winter Tournament in Week 7 (30 August – 5 September) will give selected premier teams an opportunity to pit themselves against able and often unknown opposition; this a challenge to be savoured. 

The defining moment of the term in both sport and school tradition will be the Waitaki Exchange on 26 August. Once more, it is a day to celebrate and reinforce our traditional connections to Waitaki Boys’ High School and the values and ceremony these connections carry. 

Term 3 is of course ‘Ball Term’. The Year 13 Ball Committee is working hard to organise a great night for the students and staff who attend. 

On another note, it is also the term in which preferred 2016 subject choices are sought from the Years 9 -12 boys in Week 5. With our guidance they identify initial selections, as we start to plan course structure and timetabling for 2016. This process offers a chance for each boy to map another step forward in his individual growth and development. 

As a final comment, our boys are fortunate to meet fascinating visitors. Sixty Year 12 and 13 Biology and Chemistry students attended a talk by Simon Hogg last week. Simon left Timaru Boys’ in 2008 and is now completing a PhD at Melbourne University, researching blood cancers and drug development. The return of Old Boys such as Simon, to share their experience and perspective, is always gratefully received. It gives our boys more insight to achievement, pathways, careers and topical issues in life. 

Nick McIvor 

Scientia Potestas Est 

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