Parents' Association House Music Festival

Congratulations to all three boarding Houses for delivering amazing performances at the Parents' Association House Music Festival. While none of our Houses picked up a trophy, I was immensely proud of their accomplishments. All three have made enormous strides in House Music, displaying character, personality and leadership.

In all three, the senior leaders of the House ‘stood up’ throughout the night. Whether that was Hendrix Taylor, Jack Jones and Nathan McKenzie from Richards taking the lead in the Kapa Haka group; Henry Briscoe on saxophone and the boys from Flower’s performing their instrumental piece; or the School House choir singing Sweet Home Alabama decked out in their tuxedos. Well done to all the boarders for contributing to an enjoyable night.

STOP – professional learning

STOP – a provider of community-based assessment, intervention, awareness and training services for adolescents and adults regarding concerning and harmful sexual behavior – has been hosting workshops for boarding staff as part of their professional learning.

All three of our boarding teams – from myself and the Housemasters through to our non-residential tutors – have attended the workshops.

We began by investigating and discussing sexual behaviour. We investigated appropriateness, and the diversity of ideas and opinions around sexuality for a House with individuals from a variety of backgrounds with different values. We also discussed how to make our young men feel comfortable within our environments regarding sexuality and their safety.

Our workshop discussions have been incredibly valuable as we focus on creating the best boarding environments. Thank you to all our staff for their positive approach to this important – but often confronting – issue.

Staying the distance

We are nearly at the end of a very long term for many of our boys. We have had drama productions, major sporting events, The Big Sing and Parents' Association House Music Festival – to name a few. On top of all that, NCEA has been in full swing for our senior boys.

While the assessment load has been high due to term timing, it is important that our boys endeavour to stay motivated, so that they finish the term as strongly as they started.

I will talk to our Years 12–13 boys this week about aspects of NCEA to keep in mind.

For Year 12 students, they need to be aware of their opportunities for University Entrance literacy credits. They need five reading and five writing credits and, for many, those writing credits come from external examinations. Some Year 13 students did not consider this last year and made some decisions in Level 2 exams that left them short on UE literacy.

Similarly, Year 13 boys need to realise that their results do matter. Some wrongly believe that only Year 12 counts. While Year 12 is important for university scholarship and halls of residence applications, Year 13 is the key to actually getting into university. Boys must achieve 14 credits in three UE-approved subjects and pass Level 3 overall. A failure to do either of those will cost boys their university place. While there are ‘safety nets’ to help boys across the line after results come out, by this stage it is too late for some. Universities will give away your place in halls of residence and restricted courses on results day.

I have witnessed the effects of complacency regarding Level 3 and hope that boys recognise the importance of achievement and find the resilience to deliver their best effort.

I strongly recommend that boys recharge and refocus these holidays. I know many of us on the teaching staff will be doing the same.

Christ’s College Diploma launch

A big ‘thank you’ to all of those who attended, supported, and contributed to the Christ’s College Diploma launch last Tuesday.

It was a very positive and useful evening as the Centre for Teaching Excellence & Research team members spoke to many parents about what the Diploma will mean for their sons. The many conversations following the presentation were also a highlight.

Thank you also to those who have provided further feedback following the event.

Please click here to view the video that was shown on the evening talking about the Christ's College Diploma.

Promoting positive emotion

For many of us, it can be challenging to maintain motivation, momentum and resilience as the end of term nears. However, positive psychological principles can enhance our wellbeing and promote positive coping.

The concept of ‘positive emotions’ is central to Positive Psychology. Barbara Frederickson proposed the ‘Broaden and Build’ theory to address the lack of research on positive emotions and the greater emphasis on negative ones.

The theory suggests that positive emotions lead to a broadening of experience and the building of resources. Fredrickson (1998) argues that while negative emotions narrow thought-action repertoires, positive emotions broaden these repertoires, enabling us to draw on a wide array of possible cognitions and behaviours in response to emotional stimuli.

Through this lens, positive emotions leave us free to be creative, playful, curious, and experimental, and from these flow opportunities to gain new physical, social, and intellectual resources.

Benefits of positive emotion

Be aware of how you feel in each moment and your reactions. Encourage your boys to schedule activities that generate positive emotion and reflect on experiences at the end of each day which may have generated positive emotion.

Positive emotions can:

• Enhance long-term survival by giving you greater coping resources
• Increase creativity by allowing you to step out of survival mode to consider more options
• Enable you to see the ‘big picture’ by stepping out of survival mode and thinking more clearly
• Improve psychological resilience by giving you more tools to manage negative emotions
• Allow you to flourish rather than just survive
• Increase your coping resources by building your toolbox of skills
• Put negative emotions in a broader context, helping you to see the current situation is not your destiny and that things can change for the better
• Make it easier to see positivity in future situations by noticing that things change and you can always find some positive in a negative situation
• Increase feelings of wellbeing, which improve in a positive, upward cycle
• Give greater meaning to life so you can find the ‘good in the bad’
• Improve the ability to bounce back in the face of obstacles, giving you tools to manage difficult situations
• Help see yourself as ‘wise’ and able to operate from your ‘wise’ mind, rather than reacting out of negative emotion
• Aid greater social integration again in an upward cycle

Types of positive emotions

Below is a list of positive emotions you may recognise from day-to-day life. How many of these do you experience on a daily basis? Are there others not on this list?

Remember that positive emotions are both those that you experience in reaction to something and feelings that you can call up at will.

• Enjoyment – feeling joy in the moment while doing something
• Happiness – a feeling of contentment in the moment
• Joy – a stronger feeling of happiness
• Interest – feeling drawn to do something or intrigued by something
• Anticipation – looking forward to something
• Gratitude – feeling grateful for something
• Serenity – feeling peaceful, calm, relaxed
• Love – feeling affection towards a spouse, child, friend, or even a stranger
• Optimism – feeling hopeful about your future
• Relief – feeling a sense of calm about some change
• Affection – having positive feelings towards someone
• Cheerfulness – being optimistic or having a positive outlook on a situation
• Hope – looking forward to the future, expecting the best to happen
• Amusement – finding something humorous, enjoyable, or entertaining
• Pride – feeling like you have done a good job
• Awe – being amazed by something (e.g., taking the time to appreciate nature)
• Inspiration – feeling like you have a reason to do something or a goal
• Confidence – feeling proud of yourself, bold, optimistic, or in control
• Admiration – looking at someone and liking something about them
• Enthusiasm – being excited or feeling a rush of positive emotion
• Euphoria – a rush of positive feelings associated with a person, place, or thing
• Improved work performance in your job or career by giving you tools to improve your work and face obstacles with clarity.

Celebration of Matariki

From next year, Matariki will be a public holiday. With no fixed date, it will move with the stars and the moon.

He kāhui whetū Matariki (the constellation Pleiades) is visible from most of the planet for most of the year. In Aotearoa New Zealand, there is a period when it is not visible, but when it reappears – low on the horizon – that is Māori New Year.

The Māori maramataka (calendar) follows lunar months (marama means both moon and lunar month). For most iwi (tribes), like Jews and Muslims, the Māori month is from new moon to new moon (some iwi go from full moon to full moon) – a period of 29-and-a-half days.

Many Kiwis, and probably many urbanised, westernised people, have little connection to nature and the changes in our sky. Many cannot name the present phase of the moon, how the moon waxes and wanes, or point out the planets (and stars).

Matariki is a time for remembering the dead, and celebrating new life. It is often marked by kites, hot-air balloons, and fireworks. The dating of Easter connects us better back to the lunar cycle, as do Muslim celebrations in our community, particularly with the recent Ramadan.

Matariki sits alongside northern hemisphere festivals to help celebrate our place in this southern hemisphere and our connection to our sky and our seasons.

As we celebrate Matariki,
may the beauty of the earth
fill us with wonder;
may the love of those who have gone before us
wrap around us like a cloak;
may this new year be bursting with possibilities
unfurling like fern fronds;
may our life be filled with blessings
as numerous as the stars.
Amen

Bishop John Osmers RIP

It is only 18 months since Bishop John Osmers spoke at a Chapel service, outlining his work among refugees. Last week, we heard of his death in Lusaka, Zambia.

At various times, we have contributed money from our collection to his important work in Africa.

During his time at Chapel, he explained that “Zambia now hosts 75,000 refugees who have left their own countries for a better life”.

“They are given small plots of land, but receive no help for education, which means that, as peasant farmers, they can’t pay the costs for their children to go to college.”

Raised and educated in Christchurch, Bishop John spent time in South Africa during his OE, encountering the horrors of apartheid and being influenced by the Anglican Mirfield Fathers, with whom he stayed. He trained for the Anglican priesthood in England. When he was banned from working in a parish among oppressed communities in South Africa, he moved to Botswana and then Lesotho, where he helped promising young refugees be educated for leadership in readiness for the end of apartheid. In 1979, he was badly injured when opening a parcel bomb, sent by the South African security forces. In Botswana, he survived an assassination attempt after being tipped off and fleeing to Zambia.

Bishop John died of Covid-19 this month.

During his visit home, we gave $2000 towards his work helping nine students with their tertiary education and advocating for refugees’ local integration in Zambia.

We will look for opportunities to support any ongoing work with Rwandan refugees.

Chaplain Bosco Peters with Bishop John Osmers and Father Peter Williams, formerly Vicar of St Michael and All Angels.

Get one – give one

With our Covid-19 vaccinations being free, I urge everyone to consider giving $10 so that the world’s most vulnerable can also benefit from a free vaccination.

You can learn more – and donate here.

I also look forward to seeing you all at the final Chapel service for the term this Sunday evening.

Upcoming careers dates

Christ's College CareerWise

The College careers website, CareerWise, offers a rich source of information. Check out the website and sign up for weekly alerts here – https://christscollege.careerwise.school/

Recent postings on the College CareerWise site were:

• Subject selections
• Ara newsletter
• UC key dates
• Victoria University update
• Ara – sustainability and outdoor education
• UC scholarship application process
• Auckland Open Days
• UC Science – inspiring the astro-curious
• Keystone Trust scholarship
• Bachelor of Dental Technology
• University of Auckland – global studies
• PIHMS (Pacific International Hotel Management School) – career week

UC Stay in Touch

Click here to ensure you have the latest key dates and important information.

School subject selection

When it comes to subject selection for next year, it is good to look ahead at the best subjects for Years 12–13 and university courses. Check out the CareerWise website and the following links.

Uni Canterbury-Best-Preparation
LincolnUni-Best-Prep.pdf
OtagoUni-Best-Prep
Victoria Uni-Best-Prep
Ara -Best-preparation
AucklandUni- Best-Prep
OtagoPolytech-Best-Prep
WaikatoUni-Best-Prep
MasseyUni-Best-Prep

University scholarships for Year 13 students

MoneyHub, a consumer finance website, has published an extensive guide to hundreds of university scholarships. You can also check out the ultimate checklist for Year 13 students.

Curriculum Vitae

A curriculum vitae (CV) tells a potential employer who you are, what you have done and what are your skills, outlining personal details, academic qualifications, community service, interests and achievements. The aim of a CV is to help you get an interview. The flipbook provides information on writing and designing a CV, including identifying skills, writing a cover letter, and preparing for an interview. All Years 12–13 boys should create and continue to update their CV. A CV should include information about subject areas and evidence of leadership (in and outside school), along with involvement in sport, cultural activities and community service. Universities will require information, as will Housemasters in order to write references.

UC scholarships

School leavers need to start the UC scholarship application process early in order to have the best opportunity. They need to complete applications through their myUC account. UC offers more than $20 million in scholarships and prizes annually. The closing date for UC scholarships is 15 August. Students can search for scholarships.

UC scholarship webinars

UC is running a series of scholarship webinars, providing more details.

Lincoln University – short video clips

Check out these short clips, presented by Lincoln University academics, to find out more about qualifications available at Lincoln.

Lincoln University scholarships

Find out more about Lincoln University scholarships and sports scholarships.

Otago University scholarships

Students no longer select a specific scholarship for Otago. They now answer a series of questions that filter down to the best scholarship fit, based on information provided during the application assessment process. Students will be asked if they wish to be considered for scholarships that take into account specific attributes, such as leadership experience, co-curricular activities or financial and family circumstances, and taha Māori or Pacific Island community involvement. All applications must be completed via eVision. For more information, go to Otago Scholarships.

CCRF

The New Zealand Common Confidential Reference Form (CCRF) is an online university accommodation reference form. Students should fill in the form at the same time as they apply to the halls of residence for their chosen university (or universities). They can register for accommodation at several universities on the one form. Once boys have completed and submitted the form, Chris Sellars will ask their Housemaster to complete the school’s section of the CCRF. Applications for halls of residence open on 1 August and close on 22 September. Go to the student registration for the CCRF.

University of Auckland Open Days

Online Open Day, 29 June, 6–9pm – an opportunity for those unable to visit the campus open day or want to explore their options before their visit.

On-campus Open Day, 28 August, 9am–3pm – parents and students can register now for updates in the lead-up to the Open Day.

The Wooden Spoon

Before the Quadrangular Tournament, there was a Triangular Tournament, with intermittent games played between Whanganui Collegiate School and Wellington College.

However, as the Christ’s College Register for April 1903 records, there was an outbreak of scarlet fever at Wellington College “and it was thought unadvisable to play the football match against them”.ⁱ So, with a couple of days’ notice, it was decided to still go north, but to play Whanganui Collegiate School.

After football practice, the team set off in the train to catch the 7.45pm sailing of the SS Rotomahana to Wellington.ⁱⁱ Lost luggage caused an anxious moment or two, but after a calm crossing, most of the team were up for breakfast. They were met by the Honourable Charles Edward Hill-Trevor, private secretary to the Governor, Lord Ranfurly.ⁱⁱⁱ While some of the team set off for their accommodation at the Club Hotel in Lambton Quay,^iv 10 of them stayed at Government House.^v

Lord Ranfurly had been in Christchurch when he heard of the change of plans and issued an invitation to stay at Government House. After afternoon tea with Lady Constance Knox, the daughter of the Governor, they went off to play ping-pong (table tennis) and billiards. Dinner with Lord Ranfurly, and other unnamed guests, was followed by ping-pong and billiards tournaments. The billiards tournament was won by John Horne Aitken (1728) and the table tennis by Louis Bruce Stringer (1901). The prizes were “two splendid silver-mounted walking sticks”. The booby prize for billiards was concealed by the Governor in his pocket and awarded to George Augustus King (1884). The loser at table tennis did not come forward to claim his spoon.

What happened next?

The railways provided the team with their own carriage for the journey to Whanganui, where they were met by Mr Marshall^vi and some of the boys of the school, and hosted to afternoon tea by Mrs Empson.^vii The Whanganui Orchestral Society provided entertainment on Saturday evening and on Sunday, the team attended services in the College Chapel.

Whanganui Collegiate School, 1912, CCPAL30/53/1 Richards Album.

On Monday 25 August, “College were never dangerous” and the details of the game and the score, 0–25, indicate that Whanganui was clearly the superior team, even in the wet.^viii Dinner and more entertainment on Monday evening was a delight, especially the three-act drama, The Boer War. Another train journey on Tuesday, and a tennis tournament on Wednesday – with more ping-pong and billiards at Government House – followed, before catching the SS Rotomahana for an overnight sailing to Lyttelton.^ix The article in the Register concludes with “no one may venture to say that, leaving the beating out, no team from College has ever enjoyed itself more on a trip than did that of August, 1902”.

ⁱ Christ’s College Register April 1903 pp181–184
ⁱⁱ Lyttelton Times 22 August 1902
ⁱⁱⁱ Sir Uchter John Mark Knox Ranfurly was the 5th Earl Ranfurly and 15th Governor of New Zealand 1897–1904 https://gg.govt.nz/biographies/earl-ranfurly-gcmg
^iv Drummond Holderness (1648), Frederick Andrew Anderson (1695), Charles Waring Somes Saxton (2064), Thomas Overbury Fox (1936), John Alexander Huntley Holmes (1965) and AE Flower (1301).
^v Alfred Wedderburn Bishop (1872) (captain), Louis Bruce Stringer (1901), Roger Ingram Dansey (1975), Guy Stanley Overton (1662), John Horne Aitken (1728), George Augustus King (1884), Charles Godfrey Cracroft Harper (1751), Frank Cunningham Fryer (1744), Noel Mackenzie Phillips Gibson (1706), Alfred Stewart Lindsay (1818) and Mr JU Collins.
^vi Rev. Joy Marriott Marshall had previously been an Assistant Master at Christ’s College, January 1892–April 1894 and, in 1892, was a tutor and Chaplain at Whanganui.
^vii Walter Empson was appointed to the staff of Whanganui Collegiate School in 1884 and married Agnes Dyke Acland, the granddaughter of Bishop Harper, in 1885. He was appointed headmaster in 1888, and remained there for another 21 years. https://teara.govt.nz/en/biographies/2e9/empson-walter
^viii See also the Press 26 August 1902
^ix Lyttelton Times 29 August 1902

Host families required for billets – 95th Annual Quadrangular Rugby Tournament

From 6–8 July we are hosting the 95th Annual Quadrangular Tournament. The oldest school rugby tournament in the world.

As you may be aware this is played between Whanganui Collegiate, Nelson College, Wellington College and Christ's College and is a big event for our school.

The most challenging aspect of hosting this tournament is finding billets for the travelling teams. Nelson, Wellington and Whanganui. At this point we need to find beds for 10 boys and to do so we need the help of our College community.

If you are able to take a billet or two from Monday evening 5 July–Thursday morning 8 July (3 nights), this would enable us to effectively run this tournament.

We provide lunches and brunches on Tuesday and Thursday and dinner on Tuesday evening. All rugby gear will be laundered through our laundry services. Billets will also be with their teams from 8.30am–3.30pm each day.

If you are able to take a billet please let me know as soon as possible by return email. I can then send you out all the relevant information.

Stephen Dods, MiC Rugby
sdods@christscollege.com

CHRIST'S COLLEGE EVENTS

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