From The Rector
As I put pen to paper to write this Rector’s comment 63 St
Andrew’s students are preparing to head off on four
different overseas adventure during the holiday break.
Their reasons for travelling abroad are varied – two
groups are embarking on travel to the less developed
countries of Vanuatu and Cambodia, to experience different
lifestyles and cultures and give service to these
communities. Over the years, St Andrew’s College has
developed strong relationships with these communities and,
as these relationships continue to develop, so they become
more meaningful. Two other groups are travelling to France and South America
with a language learning focus.
Let us show you around...
Let us show you around - book a school tour
Our tours are personalised to suit your needs and give you
every opportunity to see our students in action in the
classroom. A guided tour gives you the opportunity to talk
at length and in depth about the College programmes. The
tour is also a chance to view our facilities including the
new Preparatory School, Spiro Science and Mathematics Centre
and Sports Pavilion. Contact Registrar Julie Raateland
jwa@stac. school. nz[mailto:jwa@stac. school. nz] or 03 940 2016
to book an appointment or request an information pack. 2013 Preparatory and Secondary School Open Days
We have recently held our Open days for 2013.
New Boarding Complex
Students have eagerly returned to boarding onsite at St
Andrew’s College for the new school year, after spending
almost two years in motels following the February 2011
earthquake which caused two of their three boarding houses
to be demolished. St Andrew’s College seized the opportunity to develop a
new boarding complex that would house 120 of their 163
boarders, with the other 43 boarders accommodated in the
remaining boarding house. The new boarding complex, designed by Wilkie and Bruce
Architects, is built to 100% of the new building code, using
the latest engineering technology. Significant ground
remediation work, comprising of 660 stone columns, six
metres deep, overlain by a deep gravel raft and concrete
slab foundation has taken place.
Sam Johnson delivers inspirational speech at Leadership Assembly
Guest speaker, Sam Johnson, delivered a compelling message
to the students at the recent Leadership Assembly where he
captivated his audience by drawing on his own leadership
experiences as leader of the Christchurch Student Volunteer
Army and Young New Zealander of the Year. Teamwork, a good attitude and making the most of every
opportunity were the three themes Sam focused on when
speaking with the students. His natural ability to tell
stories engaged the students as they learnt about how he had
the idea to start the Student Volunteer Army, his trip to
Japan post-tsunami and his meeting with Prince Charles and
Lady Camilla on their recent visit to Christchurch. Sam strongly believes that the young people of Christchurch
have much to offer, no matter where their strengths lie.
Record Number of Scholarships Awarded
A number of St Andrew’s students who have demonstrated
outstanding leadership and academic performance during their
school career have had their hard work rewarded with
university scholarships for tertiary study next year. This year four College students, being Ashleigh Shipton,
Amy Clucas, Merrila Babu John and Thomas Smith, were
awarded a University of Auckland scholarship – each worth
$50,000. This is an outstanding result as only 121 of these
scholarships are awarded nationally. Amy and Ashleigh were
also offered $30,000 scholarships from Otago University
while Tom has had to choose between Auckland and University
of Canterbury from which he has been offered two different
scholarships. “For St Andrew’s College students to be recognised in
this way is very gratifying,” says Rector Christine
Leighton.
Recognising achievement on a global level
St Andrew’s students have once again excelled in the
International Competitions and Assessments for Schools
(ICAS). The ICAS are independent skills-based assessments
with a competition element that are developed annually at
the University of New South Wales in Australia for primary
and secondary school students in the subject areas of
Computer Skills, English, Mathematics, Science, Spelling and
Writing. More than one million student entries are accepted
from over 6,300 schools in New Zealand, Australia, Hong
Kong, India, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa and the USA
and medals are awarded to students with the top score in
each subject at each year level. Deputy principal of the Preparatory School, David Farmer,
says the ICAS medals challenge students to excel.
Students Gain Top Academic Marks
Initial analysis of results available indicates outstanding
success for a number of students and once again we have
exceeded the target set for excellence endorsements at all
Levels. A total of 109 excellence endorsements were achieved
– there were of course many more subject endorsement, as
well as twenty-one New Zealand Scholarships, three of which
were Outstanding Scholarships. NCEA results
It is not easy to gain an excellence endorsement with 50 or
more excellence credits required so congratulations to all
students who achieved this. There were 42 at Level 1, 47 at
Level 2 and 20 at Level 3.
Level 3 students attended an academic assembly on 15
February to receive the Board of Governors Excellence
Scholarship, an initiative that rewards students’ hard
work with $1000 for excellence endorsement.
Students Win Top Categories at Summer Sports Awards
The College had 22 students receiving awards at the summer
sports awards held at Riccarton High School. This reflects
the high level of talent students displayed in the summer
sports season. Special mention goes to the mixed tennis team
who won champions badges for winning the national mixed
title. In athletics Ari Graham won the outstanding junior athlete
award and Rosy Hogben received the trophy for being the most
outstanding female senior athlete in Canterbury and also
received the top co-educational school trophy on behalf of
the team. Congratulations to Rosy who has now been selected
to represent New Zealand at the Oceania Championships in
Tahiti in June. In swimming Laura Steffens received a champions badge for
being the outstanding senior female triathlete.
Mixed Touch Team takes Gold at Nationals
Congratulations to the StAC Mixed Touch team for winning
the 2012 New Zealand Secondary School Touch
Championship at Waikato University Park in Hamilton over
the weekend of 7-9 December. The team were very deserving of
their win, and having come runners up in 2011, were back to
make amends. After dominating earlier games, they remained focused and
composed on day two of competition during some closely
fought games, to ensure their place in the finals. On finals day the team proved to be unstoppable and in
front of a large crowd, they defeated St Peter's Cambridge
7-5 off the back of some inspired play by Richie Mo'unga (
Year 13), to take the title.
Ben to row at World Junior Champs in Lithuania
Over the holidays Year 13 student Ben Crosbie has continued
to excel with rowing. He was selected to trial for the New
Zealand team that will compete in the World Junior Rowing
Championships in Lithuania in August. As a result of
consistently outstanding performances in six days of trials
he has been selected to represent New Zealand. Ben is the
only boy to be selected from Canterbury. He will be a member
of the New Zealand U19 Quad and moves to the North Island in
a few weeks for the training camp. In addition to this Ben has won a very significant trophy
with Canterbury Rowing, the Totenham Cup, which is the
trophy for the most outstanding schoolboy rower in
Canterbury.
StAC Young Farmers Win Tasman Regional
StAC Young Farmers Club members enjoyed great success at the
recent Tasman regional finals over Easter with three of our
teams finishing in the top five and two teams now heading to
Auckland to compete in the national finals. We had five strong teams competing in what was a
competitive field of over twenty teams from eight schools
across the upper south island. The competition saw the
students displaying their excellent agricultural skills and
knowledge which they had sharpened through long hours of
training both after school and on the weekends leading up to
the event. The hard work certainly paid off with three of
our teams placing first, third and fifth in the final.
Students' Photography Exhibition at City Re:StART Mall
Inspired by the Place in Time’s “Summer in the City”
exhibition, St Andrew's College Year 8 students were asked
to respond to this exhibition by interviewing and
photographing visitors and retailers within the Re:START
mall and capturing their everyday doings. The students found this experience to be both insightful
and engaging with their images reflecting their differing
viewpoints. One student reflected “I learnt the different
ways of taking the shot, such as the perspective and how the
objects and expressions affect the moment”. A panel of their work is currently on display at the Bridge
of Remembrance end of the Re:START mall until 11 April. The
photos taken by the students will join the CCC archive known
as Our City.
Chapel Update
Chapel Update March 2013
The College was delighted to announce at the Founders’
Day Assembly on 15 March that the successful concept design
from our Memorial Chapel Design Competition is from
Architectus, with architect Patrick Clifford.
This design is inspirational and forward-looking, while
incorporating the memorial aspects of the present Chapel,
including the memorial books, stained glass windows, oak
doors, bell, communion table, baptismal font, ceremonial
chairs, original stone, pews, gargoyles and – hopefully
– some of the original bricks. The design will meet the
College’s future needs, whilst ensuring that the Chapel
remains the spiritual home of the College on its beautiful
current site. The new St Andrew’s College Chapel will be at the heart
of our College community: a place of worship, celebration,
inspiration and gathering throughout our lives.
Student Comment
ANZAC Address from Hamish Petersen
*Duty in Youth*
Over the years of the first World War, the College, along
with the whole of the country, farewelled a number of
students and other young men, all very much in their youth,
to the ANZAC and other New Zealand Armed forces. It is this
idea that really strikes me about the ANZAC effort - and
maybe it is because I'm not native to New Zealand or
Australia, that I am not quite as passionate about the
patriotism or brotherhood involved in the ANZAC idea as
someone born and bred here may be - rather - it is this idea
that all these 'youths turned soldiers' felt in the core of
their being and as a collective mass of individuals.
Regulus Magazine
The Rector's magazine, Regulus, is an important part of the
College’s communication with our whole-school community. It is one of the key ways that we inform both our internal
and extended community about the profile of the College,
including students’ achievements, key developments at the
College such as new buildings, coverage of school events,
reunions and profiles on Old Collegians. Articles on
teaching and learning and the latest education trends also
feature every issue. The magazine is organised into four sections:
Leadership and Governance Teaching and Learning Resources
and Environment Values and Culture
The magazine is published in May, September and
November each year.
Rector's Address
Rector's Address - Assembly, Friday 12 April 2013
* *
Nau mai, haere mai. The end of Term 1 has arrived – it
has been a long 11-week term, packed full of learning,
activity, competition and school events. I want to say a
sincere thank you to all of you who have contributed much,
supported each other, participated enthusiastically – to
finish Term 1 with so much to celebrate and feel good about
is just great. Last week, at our Open Day, we had an opportunity to
demonstrate why St Andrew’s continues as a successful
place of learning and opportunity. We all have our part to
play and have to work hard to ensure that it remains this
way.