Year 13 Service

In Chapel on Thursday 20 February we hosted the inaugural Year 13 joint Chapel service with St Margaret’s College. At this service we explored what it means to be an Anglican school – what makes us distinctive? This will be followed by a joint Year 12 service in the St Margaret’s College Chapel. There has been a lot of positive feedback about our service.

Jock Hobbs Memorial Window

A large crowd gathered in Chapel on the morning of Saturday 22 February when Bishop Peter Carrell dedicated a new window to the memory of Old Boy, former All Black and renowned sports administrator Jock Hobbs. The window is located in the south transept, near where Jock sat for the five years that he was in the Chapel Choir. There is much symbolism in the window – you will see, for example, the fern divided into fifteen. The sun streams through the window in the afternoon and early evening, giving a magnificent display of colour on the east wall of the transept, a display that can be seen from many vantage points throughout the Chapel.

Ash Wednesday

It was a historic day in Chapel on Ash Wednesday – 26 February – when the most senior member of the Church of England to have ever been part of a Christ’s College service was able to join us. The Most Reverend and Right Honourable Dr John Sentamu, Archbishop of York, and his wife, The Reverend Margaret Sentamu, along with our Warden, Bishop Peter Carrell, were in attendance, with Archbishop John giving a stirring, encouraging sermon.

Centre for Ethics and Spirituality

Thank you to Dr Andrew Taylor, who presented his research with satellites at the Centre for Ethics & Spirituality on Thursday 27 February. For those present, he made connections between physics and faith.

Induction in Chapel

The induction service for the new choristers will be held in Chapel on Wednesday 29 April at 6.45pm. Appropriately, given the meaning of induction, this service will also be a simple baptism (christening) service. Any College students who have not been baptised (christened) and want to be, are welcome to come and talk with me or email me and they can be baptised at this service. Being baptised here, at an Anglican school, is accepted across all the main Christian denominations. I have talked about baptism in class with all Year 9 students, and I will talk to all in Chapel about this.

Confirmation

I have talked in Chapel about an opportunity for Year 12 or 13 students to prepare for confirmation. The understanding of confirmation has changed in recent years – now it is primarily seen as someone freely standing up and declaring publicly their intention to try and follow Jesus and his teachings, and then having the bishop pray for them.

Bishop Peter Carrell invites young people in Years 12 and 13 to consider joining a group of other young people exploring the Christian faith, led by Dean Lawrence Kimberley and his wife Elizabeth. This may lead to the student deciding to be confirmed. There is a poster about this by the Chapel. The group will meet Wednesday evenings, 7.30–9pm, in the Deanery (near the Transitional Cathedral). Again, if a student is interested or wants to know more, he is welcome to come and chat with me or email me. Others might consider confirmation in a parish. If that is the case, please let me know, so I can support and encourage you.

Feedback on track

Now, halfway through Term 1, the boys are really starting to get into the heart of their learning. Across the school I see boys engaging in all types of activities, from intensive research skills to more practical projects. It is great to see the level of engagement of so many of our students. For those that have perhaps been slow to get into their learning, this is the time it will start to show – and it is important the communication chain between parents–students–Housemasters–teachers is utilised to its full capacity.

In the last edition of In Black & White I wrote about changes to our reporting feedback. Parents and boys will start to see this filtering through now we are beginning to assess some learning to date. Remember to switch on Schoolbox notifications, so you can see when feedback is available. This is our first way of opening communication channels to support student achievement. Where there are concerns, please reach out to your Housemaster.

Because we have rigorous systems to check our assessment and marking is fair and consistent, this feedback will not be instantaneous. As with most schools, our NZQA policies dictate up to a four-week turnaround for the marking process, so please do not be alarmed if it takes a little while between the due date and feedback date. This reflects the background work being carried out to ensure robust assessment. Also, a minor aside, submission status is generally not updated for hard copy assessments until feedback is posted, so only worry about the feedback itself and not the “status”.

Parents should now have received the first round of IPGs for the term. These are also a useful snapshot in the communication chain. When Ds and Es appear, this is a clear message from teachers that something is not on track. When you see Bs and As, boys should be commended for taking their learning opportunities seriously and going the extra mile.

Parent–student–teacher interviews

As published in our Key Dates for 2020, you are probably already aware we have parent–student–teacher interviews coming up on Friday 3 April. This is a significant opportunity to discuss student learning. There will be no classes for students on that day, so teachers have time to meet with our Year 9 and 10 parents. In Term 2, on Friday 29 May, there will again be no classes, as that is when parents of students in Years 11–13 will have the opportunity to meet with their son’s teachers. When we spoke to parents last year about learning feedback they said how valuable they found meeting teachers and expressed support for prioritising these meetings. We look forward to some constructive comments around student learning taking place on these days.

On another matter, if you missed the NCEA evening and wish to understand the system a little better, click here to see a recorded version of the presentation.

Talking about resilience

Resilience is a word that is used a lot in general discussion and in the media. Christchurch has had its fair share of opportunities to develop resilience in recent years, having to deal with the earthquakes, Port Hills fire and Mosque attacks. These major events, as well as the day-to-day challenges we all face, can help us develop and grow our resilience toolbox. This month SchoolTV turns the spotlight on Resilience.

I think, at times, it is hard to understand what resilience means and what it can look like and feel like. Resilience means knowing how to cope despite setbacks, or barriers, or limited resources. It is the ability to bounce back the same or better. Resilience is the process of adapting well in the face of adversity, trauma, tragedy, or significant sources of stress – but, remember, being resilient does not mean a person does not experience difficulty or distress.

There are two key parts to developing resilience:

• you have to go through something
• it does not mean it is not going to be uncomfortable or hard

Parents often want to make life easy for their children, remove the things that may be difficult, or protect them from hardship or challenge. This can be counter-productive, as it does not allow young people to build their resilience skills and their ability to cope with life. The best way to build resilience in our young people is to allow them to struggle at times, to support them as they struggle, but not to take the struggle away from them. All young people face times of challenge – in the classroom, on the sports field, on stage, and in their relationships. It is okay for them to struggle, fail, and make mistakes – as this is the time to practice bouncing back and build resilience. As parents, the best thing you can do is support their struggle, not fix it.

Going through challenging times feels uncomfortable. It is hard, you may not feel good, but this does not mean you are not coping. It is like when you try to get fit – you go to the gym, you work out, it is uncomfortable at times and, even when you get fit, it is still hard. Resilience is the same – and sometimes, even when you build your resilience, it is still hard. This is when it is especially important to focus on simple things and create healthy patterns of behaviour, including:

• consistent sleep
• some form of regular exercise
• eating well
• seeing failure as a place to grow and learn
• connecting with family and friends
• talking about how you are feeling
• having a growth mindset
• using your strengths

A great topic for discussion with your children could be about what they do when they are facing challenges in their lives. What tools do they use? Share with them some of your challenges and how you have overcome them and bounced back. Help them develop resilience, help them grow.

Upcoming careers dates

Christ's College CareerWise

I encourage you to register on the Christ’s College careers website CareerWise, which will give you weekly updates about events, jobs and news.

Go to https://christscollege.careerwise.school/

Recent posts on the CareerWise website

Please click on the above Careerwise link for more information

• Victoria University first round visit
• Yoobee Colleges (Design) holiday programme
• PIHMS (Pacific International Hotel Management School) Career Week
• Careers in health and youth wellbeing
• Your Education, high school exchanges
• Ara – NASDA (National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Art) for a Day
• Careers transport 2020
• UC Year 12 Discovery Day
• UC information session
• University of Otago Open Day
  
  

New York University Abu Dhabi

NYUAD looks for capable, confident students who possess intellectual curiosity, are adventurous and entrepreneurial, get involved in their community, have a commitment to improving the world, and show global leadership potential. I have visited the university and am happy to answer any questions parents may have. An Old Boy completed a course at NYUAD a few years ago. NYUAD will be at College on Friday 27 March.

Lattitude Global Volunteering

Lattitude – an organisation offering international volunteering and gap year opportunities – is hosting a series of information evenings around New Zealand, with the next event in Christchurch on Tuesday 3 March. For more information and to register, go to https://lattitude.org.nz/useful-info/attend-info-night/

UC Year 12 Discovery Day

The 2020 UC Year 12 Discovery Day will be held during the first week of the school holidays on Tuesday 7 April. Boys who want to attend should email me and I will forward their names to UC who will send them details for registration and planning. More than 60 boys have now shown an interest in this event.

Otago Tertiary Open Day

A group of College students will travel to Dunedin for the University of Otago and Otago Polytechnic Open Days on Sunday and Monday 3–4 May. We will travel by coach and stay at the KiwisNest backpackers hostel on Sunday. On Monday we will have breakfast at one of Otago’s halls of residence. This is an opportunity for the boys to see Dunedin, attend lectures or information sessions and look at accommodation options. This is a school trip. We do not allow boys to drive their own vehicles with other students, but parents can travel to Dunedin with their son independently if they choose. The boys will be given booklets to help them plan their day. More information is available on College’s CareerWise website.

Hard and Soft Skills

Frequent job switching is now commonplace and it is expected millennials will change jobs four times by the time they are in their early 30s. Job hunting no longer means having experience in a specific role. Instead, as Facebook’s vice president of human resources Janelle Gale says, it is your skill set that matters most. Recruiters are looking to employ people with strong digital, creativity and communication skills, and favour applicants with both hard and soft skills.

The most in-demand hard skills: cloud computing, artificial intelligence, analytical reasoning, people management, user experience (UX) design, mobile application development, video production, sales leadership, translation, audio production, natural language processing, scientific computing, game development, social media marketing, animation, business analysis, journalism, digital marketing, industrial design, competitive strategies, customer service systems, software testing, data science, computer graphics, corporate communications. And yet, as proficient as you might be in these areas, the more intangible soft skills will help you land the job.

What are soft skills? Soft skills aren't as easily quantifiable as hard skills. Soft skills are closely linked to personality traits, and harder to measure or assess. For those who can demonstrate soft skills, the job market is wider. Around 57 per cent of leaders attribute more weight in the job hiring process to a candidate's proficiency in soft skills, which are considered to be more flexible assets in the workplace.

The most in-demand soft skills: creativity, persuasion, collaboration, adaptability, time management. Companies will invest in hiring staff who give them an edge in competitive markets. People who can lead technology changes and create market impact will be highly sought-after. And if an individual has the ability to develop creative solutions, they are more likely to be a hot commodity on the job market.

Believe it or not, we are now at a stage where the end of term is closer than the beginning – and this is a time when things can become a bit more challenging for your son. The busyness of College life gathers pace, summer sports are coming to the important stage of the season, and many senior students will have internal assessment work due. From a boarding perspective, it is imperative the boys are not only looking after themselves, but also looking out for each other. Little things like a good night’s sleep, eating well and maintaining good hygiene are crucial. I would also like to think good relationships have now been formed by the boys in their Houses (including those new to boarding this year), and the boys can feel comfortable speaking to someone if things are getting challenging and overwhelming – this could be a staff member in the House or a fellow boarder, and is something we continue to promote.

With all three boarding Houses now offering a consistent level of care, our aim is to continue to ensure the boarding experience is positive and helps the boys develop in their journey through adolescence. We have three main areas of focus this year:

• The development of the “House Man” across all three Houses. School House introduced this concept last year, with the House Man award based around recognition of House participation, service to College, academic endeavour, personal attributes, duty and responsibility, and overall consistent effort. The aim of the award is to recognise boys in Years 9–12 who demonstrate College virtues and character strengths, and boys in Year 13 who demonstrate the attributes of the ideal College graduate.
• The development of a programme to help Year 11 and 12 boarders grow their mentoring and leadership skills. While we have made huge steps in the past few years in terms of developing positive relationships between senior and junior boarders, this programme will provide support and skills for the boys as they take on more responsibility within the boarding Houses.
• Continual professional learning opportunities for our boarding staff. This year we have introduced sessions for all boarding staff to attend. The world in which our teenage boys operate is forever changing and it is important our boarding staff keep up-to-date with the latest trends and can undertake professional learning in areas like social media, pornography, internationalism, mental health, restorative justice processes, wellbeing, substance use, and helping the boys make the correct decisions.

A lot of planning is inherent in boarding, and here are a couple of reminders about the organisation of two important aspects of boarding life.

Boarders and co-curricular activities outside College

To ensure boarders can get to co-curricular activities away from College (generally sport), where possible the staff member in charge of the activity will coordinate transport to the game. This might be in a College van, the staff member’s own car, or with parents of dayboys in the same team picking up your son. For games that are close to College – for example, at Christchurch Boys’ High School or St Andrew’s College – boarders can make their own way there on foot or by bike. Seniors with cars can transport themselves to games, however, their parents must be okay with this (and let their son's Housemaster or team manager know) and the boys must not take passengers while on a restricted license. I assume you are comfortable for your son to be transported to games by parents of dayboys. If you have any questions or concerns, please let me know.

Money, valuables and bikes

While there is a high level of trust within the Houses in terms of respecting other people’s property, and not a lot of things go missing, it is important to reiterate to the boys that they must be security conscious and look after their belongings.

• Boys should not have large amounts of money in the House. If there is a specific need, the money should be given to the Housemaster for security.
• All boys can have a secure space in their cubes to store valuables, through a padlock on their wardrobe door.
• Boys with bikes should lock their bike inside the secure bike sheds. Access to bike sheds is via a code on the door, but many people have access to this code so locking their bikes inside the shed further increases their security and helps ensure bikes are not stolen or inappropriately “borrowed”.
  

Boarding Programme

In the last couple of weeks, the boys have been to Orangetheory Stadium to see the Crusaders first home game (and a good win over the Highlanders), headed to Jellie Park for swimming and hydroslides, taken a trip to the golf driving range at Ferrymead, and gone surfing at Sumner. This week, the first Year 9 and 10 dinner swap for the year took place, with St Margaret’s College hosting our Year 9 boys and College hosting the Year 10 girls from SMC.

Click here to view the full Boarding Programme for Term 1.

An Autograph Book

Have you ever asked an All Black to sign a rugby ball, or a Black Cap to sign a cricket bat, or a celebrity to sign a T-shirt? If you have, then you are following in the footsteps of autograph hunters all over the world. Before rugby balls, cricket bats and T-shirts, autograph books were tucked into back pockets and used for this purpose. The College Archives has Albert Keith Hancock’s (3652) one, which covers the years 1926–1930.

Front page of AK Hancock’s autograph book. It is dated 29/8/27 and signed AKH in the bottom right hand corner.

Known as Keith, Hancock’s book includes staff signatures (EG Hogg, PM Baines,) Julius P De Vilnits, who was riding round the world on a Velocette motorcycle, and a host of people who were obviously friends. One page is headed VI Form 1929, and the signatures (including that of Form Master James Monteath) provide an opportunity to investigate the paths nine young men took in the years that followed.

Form VI 1929.

Paul Stephen Falla (3977)
Paul was at College for only one year, having previously been at both Wellesley College and Wellington College. In 1929 he was Academic Head of School. After graduating from Balliol College, Oxford, he entered the British Foreign Office and served in Warsaw, Ankara and Tehran, followed by three years in the British delegation to the United Nations, and as Deputy Director of Research within the Foreign Office for nine years. It was said he could read 40 languages. His most important work was the Russian–English Dictionary, which he edited in 1984. He died in England on 9 August 2003.ⁱ

Herbert Charles Hiatt (3236)
Herbert’s 10 years at College encompassed both the Lower and Upper School in both Town Junior and Julius Houses. He was wicket keeper for the 1st XI. In World War II, he served in the 26th Battalion in the Middle East and Central Mediterranean Force. After the war, he farmed at Pahau Downs, Culverden. He died on 5 September 2005

Denis James Matthews Glover (3981)
Much has been written about Denis Gloverⁱⁱ and his involvement with Caxton Press. What is less well known is that he sailed in convoys across the Atlantic and in the Arctic and captained a landing craft on D-Day. He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross by Britain, as well as the War Veterans Medal by the Soviet Union. He published many volumes of poetry, an autobiography – Hot Water Sailor – and was awarded an honorary doctorate of literature from Victoria University of Wellington. He died on 9 August 1980.

Peter Bromley Maling (3741)
Peter completed a MSc in Geology and studied at the Royal School of Mines in London. He then switched to medicine and it was while he was at St Thomas’ Hospital that he earned the George Medal. He and two others rescued two hospital employees when a German bomb hit the building. He served in the Royal Army Medical Corps in Britain, Italy and Greece, before returning to Christchurch in 1946, where he was a family doctor for many years. His interest in New Zealand history, and particularly old maps, led to the publication of Early Charts of New Zealand (1969) and Historic Maps and Charts of New Zealand (1992). He died on 8 December 2006.ⁱⁱⁱ

James Trevor Jessep (3606)
James was at College from 1924–1929, and a prefect and in the 1st XV in his last year. He moved back home to Wairoa and, at the outbreak of war, enlisted in the 22nd Battalion NZEF. On 14 July 1942 he became a prisoner of war and spent time in Stalag VIIIA at Gorlitz, Germany. After the war, he farmed at Parkhurst Station in Wairoa and was a JP and on the local Hospital Board. He died in July 1981.^iv

Francis Granville Hogg (3655)
Francis’s career after College centred on electrical and mechanical engineering in New Zealand, England and Australia. His main interests were refrigeration, air conditioning and solar energy, and for many years he was a part-time lecturer in thermodynamics at the Royal Melbourne Institute. He served with the Australian Imperial Force in the Corps of Electrical and Mechanical Engineers in Australia and New Guinea during World War II. He died on 6 June 1985.

Denis Anselan Buchanan (3262)
Denis was at College from 1920–1930 in Town Junior of Flower’s House. In 1930 he was Head Prefect, and went on to complete a law degree. World War II saw him serving in the 3/5 Gurkha Rifles in Burma and Malaya.^v After returning to Christchurch he became a barrister and solicitor in law firm Harper, Pascoe, Buchanan and Upham (now Anthony Harper). He was active in the community, volunteering for various organisations including the Anglican Parish of Fendalton, the Red Cross, the board of Medbury School, Te Wai Pounamu Māori Girls’ College, and the National Party. He died 21 August 1998.^vi

John Hawdon Lascelles (3539)
John was in School House from 1923–1929, was Academic Head of School in 1928, Head Prefect in 1929, and gym champion in both years. A BA from Balliol College, Oxford, followed. In World War II he served with the King’s Royal Rifles in the Middle East and Central Mediterranean Force, and his appointment as an Officer of the British Empire, Military Division, was announced in the London Gazette of 22 February 1945, in the same year that he was awarded the USA Legion of Merit.

In 1953, he moved to Rhodesia where he held many positions in mining companies. He was also a United Nations adviser to the governments of Nepal and Guyana and to the Industrial Development Organisation in Delhi. He died on 2 December 1992.^vii

Albert Keith Hancock (3652)
Keith Hancock was an Entrance Scholar and subsequently a Junior Somes Scholar in Harper House from 1925–1929. He taught at St George’s School, Whanganui, and St Peter’s School, Cambridge, but was called up in the 4th ballot in 1941. His Air Force training included time in Levin, Harewood and Woodbourne. Promotion to Pilot Officer followed, after further training as an instructor in Tauranga. His next role was again at Woodbourne, where he was involved in teaching young pilots. In September 1943, he was posted to the Touring Flight of the Air Training Corps based at Rongotai. While he was piloting a de Havilland Tiger Moth at Westport, giving passenger flights to members of the ATC over Carters Beach, the aircraft failed to recover from a stall turn and crashed. Keith died at the scene on 16 October 1943.^viii

Albert Keith Hancock, George Weigel Photograph, Christchurch

ⁱ Christ’s College Old Boys’ Association In Memoriam, 2003 (p5–7); Wellesley at the Bay, 2003 (p20).
ⁱⁱ Ogilvie, G. 1999. Denis Glover: His Life. Auckland. Godwit. Christ’s College Register, March 1981.
ⁱⁱⁱ In Memoriam, 2006
^iv Christ’s College Register 1981.
^v Christ’s College Register 1999
^vi Christ’s College Register 1998
^vii Christ’s College Register 1992
^viii Christ’s College Register December 1943; Wings Over Cambridge http://www.cambridgeairforce.org.nz/Albert%20Hancock.htm

Relay for Life

The 2020 Lenten Appeal will see teams of College students engaged in the Relay for Life which raises funds for the Cancer Society. This is a 12-hour relay that will give all students and families the chance to walk, run or fundraise. The event is being organised by this year's Service Committee.

Sponsorship creates opportunities

Are you interested in becoming a Christ’s College sponsor?

Sponsorship helps drive a culture of excellence in sport and the arts. It provides that something extra – the resources, time, equipment and expertise – to give College a competitive edge and help our boys perform at their best.

Our sponsors are our partners, and sponsorship puts your business, your brand, at the heart of our community. We encourage our families to support those who support us.

For more information, please go to the sponsorship page on our website and contact Senior Development Manager Shelley Keach – email skeach@christscollege.com