Hogben Hall by TBHS

Rector's message - March 2016

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Our Year 11 ‘White Shirt Induction’ has now had its fourth session in as many weeks. A new initiative, it is intended to support boys arriving in the senior school; to help them grasp the nature and norms of becoming a senior with our best advice.

In this orientation, there are seminars on: The significance of the white shirt; Pride and personal appearance; How to study, Research skills; Future options and careers; and NCEA. It’s an eclectic mix - a survey of what their new seniority means, how to achieve successful revision and understanding of rigorous research, learning the mechanics of NCEA and good future focus, and getting direction on how to wear a senior uniform, especially a neck tie, with panache! Each session is both pastoral and practical. And each will help in 2016, as Year 11 creates a new standing in the eyes of juniors, and a rising presence in the school overall.

A new Timaru Boys’ student environmental group is mobilising. We have a place, indeed a demand, for dedicated boys to lead the rest of us in raising environmental awareness and activity in and out of school. As the next generation to ‘inherit the Earth’ and to increasingly make decisions for its sustainability, it makes good sense to begin where a positive bearing can be exerted every day. There is an opportunity for our boys to act locally to usher in a better world globally – and to perhaps do it better than those of us of a certain age appear to be currently. We look forward to the projects and campaigns to follow, and the changes to grow on site, for a bit more ‘green’ in the ‘Boys’ High blue’.

Congratulations to the students and staff who participated so well in the Hadlow to Harbour (H2H) event on 6 March. Watching the 127 we entered coming in, I could not help but admire the mutual support and tenacity evident among our runners and walkers. Some ran with considerable athleticism. Others, perhaps less athletic, also made a genuine effort on the course for the charities identified, and for their Year 10 Rite Journey. Last week, this sort of commitment was also patently clear in the Orange Friday mufti day dedicated to reducing the effects of domestic violence in New Zealand, and in The Relay for Life down at the Bay for the Cancer Society. The Relay was taxing for those involved but a tremendous chance to make a difference, and to reflect on personal experiences with the impact of cancer. Those I saw taking their turn on the track in the early hours of Sunday morning kept a cadence and solidarity hugely to their credit.

2016 Open Day is on Sunday (20 March). Although primarily to open or introduce the school to people yet to be fully acquainted with it, there is plenty to enjoy from popping down as a family if your son is already here, to eat a sausage or two, and stroll around our locations. The afternoon is always a fun sweep of the broader life of the school; a chance to catch up with staff, members of our Board, and PTA, or maybe other TBHS friends you have not seen for a while, in a relaxed setting. It would be great to see you there.

Nick McIvor

Scientia Potestas Est

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