Newsletter - Term 4, Week 3

Thursday 03 & Friday 04 November: Year 9 and Year 10 exams

Monday 07 November: NCEA External Exams start for Years 11-13

Friday 11 November: Northern Athletics

Saturday 12 November: Southland Athletics

Friday 25 November: Staff Only Day

Monday 28 November: Year 13 Leavers' Dinner

Kia ora koutou

Head Student Presentations

I feel as if I'm going on about this in every newsletter but honestly I wish you'd all been at this week's assembly to hear the students who put themselves forward for the head student positions in 2023. The students spoke incredibly well about what they've learned in their time at Fiordland College, how they contribute to the wider community and why they'd be a great fit for a leadership role. What impressed me most was the confidence they all had. Speaking in front of roughly 280 people is pretty daunting and they all handled it like seasoned pros. I was also impressed with the focus on diversity and inclusion that came through in the messaging. On the evidence so far, whoever gets the roles will serve Fiordland College exceptionally well.

Youthmark Award - Bailey Taylor

Last week I had the privilege of awarding Bailey with our 2022 Youthmark Award. Bailey's leadership and community involvement stand out for me, as well as the support he and the other Head Students have offered me this year. You can read more about his award elsewhere in the newsletter.

NCEA Exams

Our Y11-13 students are now on study leave for their NCEA exams. External exams can feel incredibly high stakes for students but I know that they have been well prepared and well supported by their teachers during the year. With careful revision and practice, I'm confident that the students will achieve well. The NCEA exam timetable has been shared several times in the newsletter but it might be worth a quick look again as a parent (just to make sure that there are no surprises).

Ngā mihi nui

Steven Mustor

On Wednesday 26 October, the Youthmark Awards were presented at a ceremony in Invercargill. Students are chosen by their respective schools in recognition of their success and dedication to their individual pursuits in the areas of Academics, Sports, Arts, Leadership and Community.

The 2022 Youthmark recipient for Fiordland College is Bailey Taylor.

Bailey Taylor understands how a community thrives. Bailey is not just involved in a range of activities as a participant and competitor, but he also is our most enthusiastic and contributing student volunteer and coach.

Bailey’s encouraging and helpful nature have been evident in mountain biking, climbing and swimming. In the pool Bailey has not only been the dominant senior boy at the College, but also coaches a group of younger swimmers. This has assisted his roles as Head Student, Peer Support Leader and Sports Captain and he has developed the skills of empathy, approachability and inclusivity.

Bailey has injected himself fully into College life – always to the fore in any sports or schoolwide activities. His enthusiasm and positive, courteous disposition make it easy for him to influence others, whilst in the classroom Bailey shows diligence, curiosity and a desire to do his best.

Bailey is also a keen martial artist – quietly working away over quite a number of years to be a senior belt in Kung Fu.

Bailey’s nature of always wanting to help others – his leadership and outstanding success in this area - is why he is our 2022 Youthmark awardee.

Special thanks to Shelley Clark Photography for the photo of Bailey.

On Wednesday 26 October, the Senior Boys' Team travelled down to compete in the semi-finals and finals of the 2nd Division Volleyball Competition. Held regularly at the ILT Stadium Southland on a Wednesday afternoon, the boys had competed well against mixed ability opposition, and showed great skills to beat Verdon 2-0 in the final. Thanks to the boys for their positive attitude and behaviour whilst representing Fiordland College.

Sue Peoples (Coach)

From left: Zesen Liu, Callum Mc Murtrie, Tom McMurtrie, Noah Temple, Tristan Lilo, Hunter Grieve

On Tuesday 25th October the 11 PHED ākonga went to Invercargill and Monkey Island to participate in some awesome activities for two of their learning tasks.

First up was Clip n Climb where everyone pushed themselves to scale new heights - even doing the poles blindfolded. The Velodrome was a new experience for many students, who put aside some initial nerves to be able to cycle up and around the track. Not sure how Yuka and Riyanna got their bikes completely entangled, but Fergus had never seen anything like it! Wheelchair basketball was a completely new and enjoyable activity and is a lot harder than it looks. Lastly, we stopped off at Monkey Island to surf, which was another new experience for most of us. The weather was magic, with some great waves to learn on. It was a lot of fun, despite some wipe outs and several crashes.

Thanks to Trips & Tramps for use of their van, Mr Filmer, Yuka and David for driving.

The students were all such great ambassadors for their community - tu meke!

The Southland Secondary Schools' Rock Climbing Champs were held at the Fiordland Climbing Wall in Te Anau.

We had some amazing results, and even though there wasn't a lot of competition in some categories, like golf, you're competing against yourself and the wall, and our students were awesome!

Southland Placings

1st Senior Boy Keegan Magness - completed all climbs

2nd Senior Boy Bailey Taylor

3rd Senior Boy Riley Taylor

1st Junior Boy AJ Magness - completed all climbs, 7 out of 8 were his first try!

2nd Junior Boy Elan Hill

2nd Junior Girl Jemima Hoskin

This also doubles as our Fiordland College Champs and this year's winners are:

Junior Girls - 1st Jemima Hoskin, 2nd Isla Angus, 3rd = Esme Duncan, Frankie Neverman

Junior Boy - 1st Matai Scott, 2nd Ben Clow, 3rd Cass Thomson

Intermediate Girl - 1st Maki Kameyama

Intermediate Boy - 1st AJ Magness, 2nd Elan Hill, 3rd James Chaloner

Senior Boys - 1st Keegan Magness, 2nd Bailey Taylor, 3rd Riley Taylor

A huge thank you for all the support for my recent very successful trip to Australia as a Manager of the NZ Orienteering Team.

The team was outstanding, completely dominating Australia at both the Australian National Championships and their Austalian Secondary Schools' Championships. As our management team ended up with three Covid cases, I had an extra coaching load.

From my perspective it reinforced the benefits that students gain from their sporting activities,