2023 Boarding Awards Dinner

Our 2023 Boarding Awards recognise our standout students, celebrating their service to their Houses at a special dinner in September.

Our Rutherford Cup winners – Tom Foster (Flower’s House), Daniel Wyber (School House), and Oscar Clay (Richards House) – have been recognised for making a difference in their Houses through their citizenship and service.The leadership and contribution of Matthew O’Connor (School House), Beau Armstrong (Flower’s House), and Seb Hailey (Richards House) have also been acknowledged with Head of Boarding Awards.

Our Boarding Programme Awards have been won by Noah Elkington (Flower’s House), Jordan Li (School House), and Gordon Logan (Richards House), while Lucas Carr (Richards House) has been recognised with the Agriculture Cup.

Benn McBrearty – an Old Boy and experienced staff member in boarding at Christ’s College and in schools in Australia – spoke at the dinner about his life journey.

He detailed the importance of boarding within independent schools like Christ’s College. He also spoke about the opportunities that boarding brought and challenged the boys to make the most of those opportunities.

Next year, Franklin Barry (Flower’s House) will be Head of Boarding while Albie Roberts (Richards House) will be Deputy Head Prefect of College.

The Boarding House Cup went to Flower’s House for 2023.

What's for dinner?

View the Dining Hall menu produced by the talented team at Spotless.

Lessons in study and revision

We are under way in the final term of the year. It may be our shortest term, but it is also one of the busiest from an academic perspective.

Our Years 12 and 13 students have three weeks of final learning/revision before they are on study leave for NCEA final examinations. Keeping their focus through this time needs to be a top priority. During the week of study leave between classes and exams starting, teachers are available in their classrooms for tuition during normal class times. I would encourage the boys to make the most of this tuition opportunity.

Next week, on Thursday, they will have their examination briefing, where they receive their examination slips and also check and sign off their final internal assessment grades. Classes will run as normal on the Friday – their last timetable day – with Year 12s completing a full day and Year 13s in class from Periods 1–4.

Last week, I also met the Year 11 students to highlight the important milestones ahead this term. For those students completing reassessments of co-requisites, Week 4 is the first key date. All Year 11s will then be undertaking Prep exams, starting from 16 November. These examinations serve two functions – providing students with experience in examinations but also providing useful information on a student’s readiness for NCEA in their chosen subjects.

This week, we will also speak to Year 10 students about their first attempt at the NCEA co-requisite for numeracy. Their results from Mathematics tells us that they have the skills and knowledge required for this test. I will be talking to the boys about the mechanics of the assessment so that they are prepared for this new style of assessment. Further information will be available to boys and parents via Schoolbox notices.

I look forward to seeing the hard work of all the boys come to fruition in the lead up to the end of the year.

Everyone's welcome at Chapel services

Tēnā koutou katoa.

Peace to you all in the name of God.

As part of working out a statement on our Anglican identity at Christ’s College, we landed on the sentence “Chapel as our spiritual fulcrum”. Last Friday, we were pleased to baptise three students onwards in their journey towards God in Christ. Connor MacKenzie, Jack Morkane, and Jack Farquhar all took a step towards God in a service attended by family and friends. My thanks, on behalf of our community, to the Chapel Choir who also attended, making Friday a long day at school.

I say these newly baptised students have taken a step towards God because I believe God is always walking towards us, that is what the word ‘Grace’ means. In baptism, we do not so much enter into the love that is God in Christ Jesus, but rather step towards that which is offered to us all. I commend these three boys for having the faith and the courage to do so.

In preparation for the service, I retrieved the Baptism Register for Christ’s College. It dates back to 1894. College students and staff have been entered in this record for well more than 100 years. Of course, the great register of the Church universal reaches millennia backwards and forwards – as does that love which is God for all humankind.

As a school holding to Christian virtues in a largely secular 21st century Aotearoa New Zealand, it is heartening to see not only students offering themselves for baptism, but also those students who support them.

Friday’s service was a joyous celebration of the three places Jesus told us we would find him – in the word, in the sacraments, and where two or three are gathered in his name.

May you all be aware of God’s movement towards you in Grace.

Yours in Christ,
The Rev'd Cameron Pickering

CHRIST'S COLLEGE & CCOBA EVENTS

Upcoming careers dates

Christ's College CareerWise

The Christ’s College careers website, CareerWise, is a rich source of information about all things related to career information. Check it out and sign up for weekly alerts by subscribing here.

Below are recent posts on the College careers website:

• Clinical Psychology career paths
• Video: Intro to Chemical Formulation Design

Parents as passengers on their teen’s career journey

Understand the career process so you can successfully guide your teen through the exploration process. Click here.

Exam preparation

Discover the NCEA resources to help attain the best grades and prepare for upcoming internals and externals.

College Diploma – Year 11

College will hold a six-day, career-focused programme for Year 11 students in the last two weeks of Term 4. It will include visits to Lincoln University, Ara, and the University of Canterbury, along with industry site visits and guest speakers at College. It is a great way to end the Diploma programme, in readiness for Year 12.

StudyLink – student loans and allowances

If boys intend to apply for a student loan or allowance, they need to register and apply online through StudyLink. As this can take time, it is best to get under way sooner rather than later.

A money guide for students

MoneyHub has published a money guide to provide students with the tools and information so that they can develop a great relationship with money.

MoneyHub – a guide to apprenticeships

Learn more about apprenticeships. This guide covers everything you need to know – from what an apprenticeship is through to the process of applying and the eligibility requirements.

Student Jobs Guide

For those looking for a summer job, MoneyHub has produced a Student Jobs Guide, with tips on how to make an application and where to look for work. For more information, go to MoneyHub.

MoneyHub – three guides have been updated

• Student CV Template
• Student Job Cover Letter
• Student Job Interview Practice Questions

University of Auckland – Law, LLB Part 11

Applying for LLB Part II – The University of Auckland

University of Melbourne

The University of Melbourne requires students to have Level 3 English. For students wanting to study Biomedicine or Science or Commerce, they must have Mathematics Calculus at Level 3. The university does not accept other English-rich subjects from Level 3.

1943

In 1943, King George VI was on the throne, Peter Fraser was Prime Minister of New Zealand, and Ernest Andrews was Mayor of Christchurch. First Lady of the United States Eleanor Roosevelt visited New Zealand and Japanese submarines were seen in coastal waters.

In September 1943, New Zealand held a general election that had been postponed for two years because of World War II. Unlike the current MMP system, it was a simple majority that could hold power in an 80-seat Parliament. Labour was returned to Government with a reduced majority, holding 45 seats to National’s 34 seats, with Harry Atmore returned as an Independent in Nelson.

In October, butter rationing was introduced, with an allowance of 8oz (226g) per person per week.ⁱ

At Christ’s College, Reginald Richards was Headmaster and John Robert Nicholls (4795) was Head Prefect. Because the 6th form was divided into three groups, there was no Academic Head of School, but prizes were awarded in Group 1 to Alastair Fleet Burry (4839) for English and Latin, and the Tancred Prize for Literature Class A; Robert Scott Cumming (5024) for French, and the Tancred Prize for History Class A; John William Saunders (4986) for Mathematics; and Rodney Hunter Gould (4858) the Tancred Prize for History Class A.

In Groups 2 and 3, the prize winners were Robert George Sefton Powell (4978) – English and Chemistry; Edward Millais Harcourt (4957) – English; John Robert Nicholls (4795) – Science and Debating; Derek John Stuart Cook (4932) – Mathematics; John Alexander Gordon Fulton (4856) and Roger Maxwell Macfarlane (4875) – Farming; and Ian Alexander Archibald (4832) and Mervyn Henry Vile (4910) – Accountancy.

Entrance Scholarships for 1944 were awarded to David Dickson Cuthbert (5294) and Hugh Cameron Burry (5283), both from Fendalton School.

The 1st XI cricket team drew with Christchurch Boys’ High School and Otago Boys’ High School and won against Timaru Boys’ High School. The 1st XV rugby team won against Christchurch Boys’ High School, Otago Boys’ High School, and St Andrew’s College. Games against Wellington College and Wanganui (now Whanganui) Collegiate School were cancelled because of travel restrictions. However, a game was organised with Nelson College and the opposition won.

Eight rowers managed to get to Wanganui. On November 22, the 1st IV lost to Wanganui by just short of a length. However, in the second race, the second crew was a good length ahead at the finish.

Flower’s House won the Boxing Cup, Jacobs House was awarded the Gymnastics Cup, and the Carey Shield in the House Music Competition went to School House. School House also won the interhouse rowing.

The Christ’s College Registers record the Old Boys on active service. Of the 177 World War II deaths, 23 – or 13 per cent – occurred in 1943.ⁱⁱ

Not only had Old Boys enlisted in all the Armed Forces, but they had also participated in all the major actions in that year. Their places of burial or remembrance attest to that.

ⁱ “In the Dining Hall matters still remain normal despite the difficulties of buying food and butter rationing.” Christ’s College Register (after CCR) December 1943 p316. See Baker, JVT War Economy https://nzetc.victoria.ac.nz/

ⁱⁱ For more detailed information on each of these Old Boys, see To Battle 1939–1945 compiled by JD Macfarlane, 2004 and the obituaries that can be found in the Christ’s College Register.
ⁱⁱⁱ CCR June 1943 p304
^iv CCR June 1943 p304
^v CCR June 1943 p305
^vi CCR Dec 1944 p484
^vii CCR June 1943 p306
^viii CCR June 1943 p301
^ix CCR June 1943 p304
^x CCR Dec 1943 p366
^xi CCR June 1943 p306 dec 1943 pp348–9
^xii CCR June 1943 pp295 and 305
^xiii CCR Dec 1943 p356–7 and 367
^xiv CCR Dec 1943 p367
^xv CCR Dec 1943 p366
^xvi CCR Dec 1943 p367
^xvii CCR Dec 1943 p368
^xviii CCR Dec 1943 p369