Wellesley College Newsletter # 10 www.wellesley.school.nz

23 October 2012

FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S PEN Page 2

Dear Parents Term 3 seems a distant memory but on reflection it was one of the best and busiest terms we have known at Wellesley. Term 4 is shaping up to be of a similar pace with many exciting events to keep the boys focused and enthused. The end of Term Productions showcased the boys’ creative talents. We were very proud of the way the boys embraced the opportunities and engaged so positively throughout the rehearsals and performances. See our intranet page for more photos—media/images) With ARTBOURNE only two weeks away, preparation is in full swing. A huge thank you to the organising committee for their work. I hope you can attend. (see page 7 for details) National Maths Success Congratulations to Isaac Ulusele, Luke Fuller and Jesse Richardson who have all won special awards in the Australian Maths Competition. This is an extremely challenging competition. (see Page 3 for the excellent ICAS results too) The Minister of Education, The Hon. Hekia Parata will present the awards at a special ceremony at Parliament House in November.

School Speeches

The various Year 4-8 group Speech Finals are on the calendar. The boys will all go through a class round of speeches and the best speeches from each class will go into year group finals. The standard is always high. Thorough preparation is an important key to speech presentations and the boys will be focusing on this at home and school over the next few weeks. We have high expectations of the boys to put in their ‘personal best’ work. This aspect of their schooling (being skilled and confident communicators) is so important. It is always great to read about our old boys carrying on this skill at college and beyond.

Term Dates Below are the key Term 4 dates but do remember to keep updated by using our intranet calendar: http://wellesley.ultranet.school.nz/WebSpace/4/

TERM DATES 2013 Term 1: Monday 4th February to Friday 19th April Term 2: Monday 6th May to Friday 5th July Term 3: Monday 29th July to Friday 27th September Term 4: Monday 14th October to Friday 13th December Easter Break (Good Friday March 29

th through to Tuesday April 2

nd)

Tuesday October 23 Newsletter #10 Week 2

Thursday October 25 Whole School Photo

Thursday October 25 Year 6 Parent Evening (7.00pm)

Wednesday October 31 Year 5 Parent Evening (7.00pm) Week 3

Thursday November 1 Artbourne Opening (6.30pm)

Sunday November 4 Itinerant Music Concert (2.00pm)

Wednesday November 7 Senior Speech Final (9.15am) Week 4

Thursday November 8 Junior School Production ‘Chant of the Wave’ 5.30pm

Sunday November 11 Year 7 West Coast Trip departs

Monday November 12 Newsletter #11 Week 5

Wednesday November 14 Year 4 Speech Final (11.00am)

Thursday November 22 Year 5 Speech Final (11.00am) Week 6

Thursday November 22 Leavers Parents’ Drinks (6.30pm)

Friday November 23 Year 6 Speech Final (11.00am)

Tuesday November 27 Y4-8 Athletics (9.30-12.30pm) Week 7

Tuesday November 27 Y1-3 Athletics (2.00pm) TBC

Friday November 30 Athletics Postponement Day

Thursday December 6 Y7+8 Triathlon (10.00am) Week 8

Friday December 7 Leavers’ Service St Albans (9.15am)

Friday December 7 Junior Prize Giving (11.00am)

Monday December 10 Year 8 Mother/Son Tennis 1.15pm

Week 9

Tuesday December 11 Leavers’ Dinner BoatShed (6pm)

Wednesday December 12 Junior Fishing Trip (9.20am)

Thursday December 13 Junior School End of Year

Friday December 14 Y4-8 Prize Giving (9.30am)

FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S PEN Page 3

ICAS Mathematics Competition

Wellesley entered 230 students from Year 4 to Year 8 this year and the overall results were very pleasing. Four students gained High Distinctions which place them in the top 1% of all children who sat the test in New Zealand. Tobias Marks, Jesse Richardson, Louis Gradwell and Albert Humphries received High Distinction. 41 students received Distinction: (top 12%) – Tom Adams, Matthew Bevan, Hugo Lethbridge, Ned Lutyens, Max Abbot, Jacob Edginton, Ethan Henry, Jim Lockwood, Ben Stirling, Christopher Bramley, Henry Chandler, Mika Denham, William Durkin, Theodore Hertzig, George Lethbridge, Ben Ross, Rahul Vijayasenan, Tom Wilkshire, Harry Williams, Alexander Yan, Campbell Benseman, Campbell Clarke, James Dunne, Tommy Saxton, Matthew Sutcliffe, Thomas Bramley, Jonathon Joyce, Thomas McKeogh, Harry Mills, Fergus Murray, Lachie O’Connor, Olly Paotonu, Joseph Plunket, Isaac Rusholme Cobb, Harrison Stewart, Tom Turner, Isaac Ulusele, Luke Whitehead, Oliver Whyte, Pere Wi Rutene-Pomare and Noah Wilkinson. 68 students received Credit certificates and 117 received Participation certificates. Many students were just 1 mark off going up a grade. Most schools only enter their top students whereas Wellesley enters most of our Y7-8s and then any student who wishes to enter from Y4-6. In the last newsletter the Australian Mathematics Competition results were reported but I left off the names of the four boys in Year 7 who gained Distinctions. They were Rob Dickson, Edward Twomey, Jack Maclennan and Albert Humphries.

Murray Blandford

English ICAS Results

Wellesley entered 208 boys from Year 4 to Year 8 in the ICAS English competition. Around 500,000 students from around the world sit this examination. Congratulations to Tom Adams, William Chandler, Max Abbot, Callum Benfell, George Lethbridge, Jesse Richardson, Jin Dassanayake and Matthew Sutcliffe who received High Distinction certificates (top 1%). 28 students received Distinction certificates (top 10%) - congratulations to: Judd Adamson, Matthew Bevan, Hugo Blair, Joshua Chang, James Johnston, Ned Lutyens, Jacob Edginton, Ethan Henry, Joshua Kemp Whimp, Jim Lockwood, Ben Stirling, Mika Denham, Theo Tresidder, Harry Williams, Xavier Aspell, Campbell Benseman, Rob Dickson, James Dunne, Alexander Plimmer, Ben Collier, Andy Dowell, Luke Fuller, Hugh Lockwood, Harry Mills, Fergus Murray, Joseph Plunket, Isaac Rusholme Cobb and Will Sims. 43 students received Credit certificates (top 30%) Wellesley students have once again done themselves proud. We are particularly pleased with the increased number of boys who received Distinction certificates this year, which was a marked improvement from last year. Congratulations to all students who took part.

Staffing

We are delighted with the quality of our staff at Wellesley and over the years we have been fortunate in attracting excellent applicants for the positions we have offered. We have a long record of recruiting excellent staff and retaining them. Stability is important particularly because we invest in, and highly value, professional development and we wish to retain this growing expertise. At this stage our line-up for next year is going to be very similar to this year. One change will be in the school kitchen as Elizabeth Pearson (Domestic Services Manager) will be going south next year. Full staff details will follow later in the term. As you know, our Chaplain, The Ven. Damon Plimmer, left for Cromwell at the end of last term. His son Alexander (see below) was in Y7T.

GAP Year

A big thank you to the Stirling family (Ben) who hosted our current GAPPER, Luke Jones so well last term. This term the Johnston family (James Y4 and William Y3) are hosting Luke. Please let Steve Girvan know if you are able to host a GAP tutor for a term as we are always on the lookout for willing families.

FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S PEN Page 4

Thank you to the families who have come forward to our earlier call for help as your response was timely and very much appreciated.

French

Twice a week two groups of boys arrive at Wellesley earlier than most. From 8.00am - 9.00am, these boys are members of the French language classes that have been running at Wellesley for a number of years. French is offered to Year 7 boys and to those Year 8 boys who took the French course while in Year 7. The tuition is incremental and it is difficult to join the class as a Year 8 without having the foundation in the language established in Year 7. The boys are wonderful mimics and pick up the French sounds very readily. We work orally and aurally, with scope for role-play and conversation. I don't use a set text, (there will be enough time for that at college) but rather the programme for intermediate school use designed by the Ministry of Education. Combined with ideas and materials gathered over some years of secondary teaching, the course works very well. The boys use exercise books and their ears. Salut.

Anne Kelly

Anne Kelly does a wonderful job, and we appreciate her expertise and enthusiasm.

We wish the Tournament of Mind boys good luck as they represent us and NZ in Perth as this newsletter goes to print. (above 5 members of the team: Tom, Harry, Luke, Harrison and Felix -

Ciaran Sim and Ben Mitchell absent)

Uniform Shop In Term 4 it is compulsory for boys to wear sunhats. If your son has misplaced his cricket style hat or Legionnaire’s hat that the Year 1, 2 and 3 boys wear, we have them for sale in the uniform shop. Cricket Hat: $20.00 Legionnaire Hat: $15.00 We also have the tennis caps for sale for $18.00. These are only for the boys in Wellesley tennis teams.

Second Hand Uniform Shop

There has been a substantial decline in second hand uniform sales. We need to sell off items of clothing that we already have before accepting more. We are always interested in clean and good quality second hand blazers and tracksuits. These items are invariably in high demand. Please ensure that the blazers have been dry-cleaned and are in a good condition. Many thanks. Fiona Donnelly

Y6 Huntley visitors with hosts Junior School Wheels Day

Junior School - Making Global Citizens

As part of their Term 3 unit of inquiry on India, the Y0-3 children learnt about how India doesn’t waste anything. India has a policy of being very careful to ‘reduce, reuse and recycle’. The children learned they can make a difference too! On the last day of term, the Junior School held a ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ stall and the parents were invited to join in the fun. The Junior teachers spoke to the children about what the significance of the stall was all about and challenged them to think about being a ‘global citizen’. The children bought old toys, children’s books, and baking for the stall with items selling between 20c-50c! (see photos above) They raised $260 which was added to the $836 which was raised by the boys across the school for Campbell Live’s ‘Lunchbox’ appeal.

FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S PEN Page 5

It was great to catch up with old boy Dan Parker who was the interviewer for Campbell Live when they came out to school. Dan is the son of CHCH Mayor, Bob Parker.

Sports

The new term brings a change of sporting season. The athletics track and cricket pitch are down, and along with the tennis courts and cricket nets, are all being used extensively. Some senior teams will be travelling to St George’s in Wanganui and Nelson College, along with local fixtures with HIBS and Scots. The other half of the senior classes will have their turn in the Seaview Marina with the Yachting NZ run sessions. There are a range of other activities involving all three Syndicates and the relevant information will be posted on the calendar and other areas once the details are known. Letters or emails are normally sent out with the relevant information but feel free to send an email to the appropriate person if you have any questions. The Athletics programme dominates the PE sessions for the majority of the term. Boys learn various athletic disciplines and the Year 4 to 8 boys achieve standards for their efforts. Those standards and results are used in the organisation of the School Athletic Sports morning and help select the School Zone teams. A list of the events and standards used to select the Year 4 to 8 athletic champions can be found via the Sport Admin link on the intranet. Some of the Year 4 to 8 Finals’ are held prior to the sports morning to help with time and the number of events on the morning. The junior boys learn and are exposed to many of the same disciplines which they display in their Athletic Sports afternoon. The tennis courts were in strong demand at the end of last term and this has continued this term. The Year 6 and senior championships are progressing, with Week 7 the planned finals week. A large number of middle and senior boys were entered in the Hutt Valley championships scheduled for last week. Several were hoping to qualify for the Central Region tournament in Palmerston North on Friday 2

nd November. Isaac Becroft and

Harry Hunter qualified for a top eight National tournament being held in Labour Weekend. Tuesday ‘A’ ladder tennis started last week and is open to senior boys in the top 20 on the ladder who are not in other Wellesley teams. All boys need to wear either their full school tracksuit or full school uniform home after sport. The cricket season is also upon us. The 1

st XI was scheduled to have their first Tuesday after school practice of

the term last week and the 2nd

XI their first one at lunch time followed by the Colts at 2.00pm. The sports and cultural photos were held last Tuesday. The photos will be displayed in the student foyer and envelopes given out for ordering purposes. The Year 5 to 8 basketball teams finished their competitions at the end of last term. The senior Karori team only dropped one game (by a single point) in their round robin competition and the Hutt senior team finished 4

th. The

Middle Y6 Breakers finished 4th and the two other Year 5/6 teams finished outside of the semi finals. Thank you

to the parents who assisted with the teams during the season! There are two teams entered in competitions in Term 4 Karori leagues. At the end of last term Sam Hyde-Smith and Matthew Sutcliffe represented the Wellington Region at the Inter-Provincial Cross Country event at Queen Elizabeth Park, north of Wellington. Matthew finished 9

th and Sam 15

th

in their respective races. The competition is extremely tough so these boys did very well!! Sun hats are compulsory next week but we advise boys to have these at school now. All boys require a named white peaked hat and tennis players can wear a Wellesley cap on the courts. Mufti caps are not permitted at school. Sunscreen is available at school but it is advisable for boys to have a small tube in their bags.

Darren Houston.

FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S PEN Page 6

Astroturf Tennis Court Keys

Subscriptions for the period of 1 November 2012 to 31 October 2013 are now due. $100 gives you a key and access for a year. For further information please phone the school office — 562 8030

Dental Nurses

I want to thank our Dental Nurses Mandy and Sara who worked at Wellesley last term and are now dealing with any individual follow-up work at their clinic down the road.

Arts

The Y6-8 Wellesley Choir gave its last performance as a whole group at a combined concert/chapel service at Queen Margaret College recently. The boys were fantastic. Thanks to Mr Houston for helping us on the day. It’s been a very busy year for this large group of 50 boys and they’ve risen to every challenge without fail. We couldn’t have done it without support, particularly from Mr Blandford at Wednesday rehearsals and also from Mr Girvan at performances. Many thanks to all the boys for an outstanding year and may they all continue singing! The Y7 and 8 boys in the choir will have one last burst of fame when they open the 2012 senior school production. A small group of boys performed exceptionally well at the Eastbourne Community’s farewell concert for the Venerable Damon Plimmer recently. Milo Benn, Satchel Benn, Mika Denham, Henry Burton-Wood and Dillon Nickel received high praise for the standard of their performances. Thanks to their parents who went out of their way to bring the boys to the concert on a Saturday night. If your son learns a musical instrument at school or is in the school orchestra, please remember to keep Sunday 4 November free for the annual concert in the music room. The orchestra will perform at approximately 1.45pm just prior to the first concert at 2.00pm. The second concert will start at 3.00pm. Your son’s music teacher will have a note to give out regarding this in the next week or so. Congratulations to the following boys whom I know have had outstanding success in the performing arts recently. Henry Burton-Wood 7/8T has been accepted for the Virtuoso Strings Orchestra, a training group for students prior to joining the Wellington Youth Sinfonietta. Henry performed with this group in the Foyer of the Michael Fowler Centre during the 3 day Artsplash festival recently. Amos Manktelow in Y7D recently passed his Grade 2 Trinity piano exam and Noah Wolf Y7N played an important role in the ‘Musical Stars’ yearly production, called Going Green. Musical Stars is an after school musical and performing arts theatre group for 5-16 year olds. Noah has also just joined the Wellington Performing Arts Centre Teenage Dance/Sing/Act classes. Watch this space!

Secondary Schools

As we race towards 2013 and the start of secondary school for our current Year 8s, I am pleased to report that the boys who applied for independent schools have had their places confirmed. A few boys who are out of zone applicants for some of their preferred state secondary schools are still waiting to hear of their status. Later this term, the Year 8 leavers will be invited to attend the annual Wellesley Leavers’ Dinner, to be held on Tuesday 6th December at the Boatshed in Wellington and a special Church service to celebrate their graduation time from Wellesley onto college. We are all looking forward to a busy and productive term with the school wide Habit of Mind focus being “Thinking and Communicating with Clarity and Precision’. (All the Habits are being promoted as part of school life and planning but we still find it useful to feature a school wide one each term.)

Kind regards Warren Owen Principal

FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S PEN Page 7

Tickets ($20.00) for the Opening Night of ARTBOURNE are rocketing out the door and with the wider

Wellesley community now being emailed, the exhibition’s capacity is likely to be reached soon. But if you

haven’t got round to it yet then jump on the website and order a ticket. There are still a few tickets left!

View some of the artworks at www.artbourne.org.nz As well as professional and emerging artists supporting

Wellesley’s scholarship fund, we are delighted to have several Old Boy artists and parent artists amongst

them.

If you are unable to make the Opening Night there are still many reasons for you and your family to come along to the exhibition between Friday 2

nd and Sunday 4

th November:

On Friday 2nd November, from 2.00pm iconic

photographer Ans Westra will guide boys, (parents

welcome) around the exhibition, answer their questions and encourage them to vote for “boys’ choice award”

As well as over 200 artworks in the main hall, the Old Library will showcase 40 Wellesley students’ selected works, specially mounted and cellophaned for exhibition. These will be for sale for $50, with proceeds going towards the scholarship fund. There is absolutely no pressure as parents of the artist to purchase these works, but as they are for sale we can’t guarantee that your son’s artwork won’t be snapped up by an art lover and be the beginning of something extraordinary….!

Also in the Old Library is the ARTBOURNE bookshop, selling art books, cards and calendars that feature ARTBOURNE artists

And finally, so that coming to Wellesley in the weekend can be a relaxing time, where you can stroll

between the exhibits and enjoy food and refreshments on the verandah (weather permitting!)

ARTBOURNE café will be open for light snacks and refreshments and great coffee ARTBOURNE will be open: Ticketed Opening Night Thursday 1

st November 6.30pm onwards

Also:

Fri 2nd Nov 9.00am – 4.00pm - Entry by koha Sat 3rd and Sun 4th Nov: 11.00am – 4.00pm-Entry by koha

All artworks will be for sale, and funds raised from ARTBOURNE will support The Wellesley College

Foundation’s goals in funding Scholarships and Capital Works at Wellesley College.

FROM THE PRINCIPAL'S PEN Page 8

Centenary Celebrations

Foundation Bricks Thank you to families supporting the school and the Wellesley College Foundation through the inner quad brick initiative, which helps not only future proof the school, but honours the boys’ time here. This initiative has proved popular especially with leaving families and as you can imagine the boys relish being part of the perma-nent fabric of the school. Through the continued support that this initiative brings, buildings and scholarships have been realised, and opportunities captured. All the outstanding bricks will be engraved, along with others requested between now and end of November, in readiness for the reveal on final day of school - December 14

th.

Please contact Margie if you would like to find out more about the Foundation Bricks and paving the way for Wellesley’s future at margie@wellesley.school.nz or 576 2274 or look on the school website under “Support

Old Boy Alistair Gordon (2006-2010)

re-acquainting himself with his brick

Community Notices

Please note that notices posted in this section of the Principal’s Pen have not neces-sarily been vetted by Wellesley College. We therefore advise that if you are interest-ed in any of the services advertised that you check them out yourself.

2012 Wellington Lego Robotics Tournament ---- Sunday 4th November 1-3pm Victoria University, Alan Mac-diarmid Building. Come along and see teams race robots against the clock for points in this fast paced game. The FIRST® LEGO® League (FLL®) is for kids aged 8-16 who enjoy working with LEGO bricks, sen-sors, motors, and gears to invent robots capable of completing various missions. An inspiring programme for school classrooms, after-school programs, extracurricular groups, home schools, friends, clubs or organiza-tions. Come check us out! For more information on starting a team for 2013 visit kiwifirst.org.

Friendly tech support from a Wellesley old boy Sebastian Hallum Clarke, a former Wellesley boy and Eastbourne local has recently set up a small tech support business called the Eastbourne Helpdesk. This service offers in-home tech support, problem solving, and com-puter lessons at very affordable rates to residents of Eastbourne and the Bays. Sebastian offers a wide range of services, including installing software updates, detecting and removing viruses, setting up new devices, creating websites, teaching you how to use your computer, and much more. For a no-obligation assessment of your needs, please call 021 732 765 or email s@zibity.com today!