School News

Old Boy Nick Greene attended the Anzac Service held at Hamilton Boys’ High School today.  Mr Greene has served in the Royal New Zealand Airforce and is now the Manager of Habitat for Humanity, an organization dedicated to constructing housing for families in need in New Zealand.  Habitat for Humanity is providing HBHS with a range of service opportunities this year – Mr Greene discussed his school and service experiences, and the achievements of the organization that he now leads.

 What was HBHS like when you were here?

 I was here between ’85 and ’89.  I guess like any school boy, I came straight over from Peachgrove and I didn’t really know what I was coming to, but HBHS really shaped me as a young man.  I started to figure out who I was here and what I wanted to do with my life.  The school itself is a pretty amazing environment.  Susan Hassall (the current Headmaster) was my form teacher in third form.  It was pretty overwhelming being here for the first year or so.  However once you’d found your niche, what you wanted to do, then the school was really supportive.  I guess at the time you don’t really think too much about it, but looking back, you realise what an influence your schooling has.  It’s amazing coming back now and seeing how much HBHS has grown and what a great name it’s got.  I was privileged to come here.

On Thursday 4th July, the HBHS Duathlon team headed out to Lake Karapiro and came back with six team placings.  Bradley Cullen and Timothy Ng came 1st in the Under 14 event, and Blair Pennell and Oliver Ng won the Under 16 race with Finn Myles and Jared Gray coming in 3rd.  The Under 19 event was an all-HBHS affair, with Jacob Priddey and Sam Hughson coming 1st, Theunis Pieters and Matias Fitzwater placing 2nd and Cameron Swales and William (Zach) Medich coming in 3rd.  Congratulations to these athletes and congratulations and thanks to Teacher in Charge of Duathlon, Ms Nikki Bryant for her continued support.

Josiah Natzke, a Y10 student at HBHS recently had a very successful Motocross campaign in Australia. On the 15^th of March, Josiah and his father caught an evening flight to Queensland. When they landed in Australia they set about preparing their bikes for the following day. With very little sleep from the previous night, Josiah raced in the 125 2-stroke class and the 250 4-stroke class.

After a full day of racing at the Queensland Sunny State Series, Josiah had secured an impressive 1^st place in the 250 class and 6^th place in the 125 class. In the process of winning the 250 class he beat the current Australian Junior Motocross Champion. Josiah and his father then packed up and flew home on Sunday.

HBHS congratulates Josiah on his achievements and wishes him all the best with his future racing endeavours.

On the 30th of March, 19 Hamilton Boys High School students and their supporting caregivers attended the Western Heights Motocross Tournament held at the Rotorua motocross track.

The tournament was a huge event with 263 riders, from 23 schools attending.

Each class had up to 40 riders on the starting line, which made the racing very exciting and competitive. All abilities were catered for with students being able to enter in novice classes or the national level classes.

All of the Hamilton Boys' High School students rode extremely well, and most importantly had an enjoyable day racing.

Hamilton Boys' High School finished fifth in the tournament, a result which was calculated from all of the riders' results. Jacob Steel earned a fourth place trophy and Sheridan Parsons earned a fifth pace trophy in the 14-16year old 85cc class. A comprehensive list of the results can be found at www.mylaps.com.  Also, go to the 'read more' section of this report to see the rest of the action photos taken during this event.

Students are now preparing for the next school motocross being held in Huntly on the 4th of May.

Nathan Vassella

TIC of Motocross

Andrew Muggeridge (Yr 13) has won the Single Barrel Clay Target National Championship. Andrew is the Captain of Clay Target Shooting. He captained the HBHS team in Christchurch on Sept 30^th, leading them to a fourth place finish overall.

What is clay target shooting?

Clay target shooting is the art of shooting at special flying targets, known as clay pigeons or clay targets, with a shotgun.

Swimming in the Waikato is rapidly gaining strength with an increasing number of top NZ Age Group swimmers competing and succeeding at national events.

Hamilton Boys' High School currently has a stable of these top regional swimmers. Last week nine boys swam at the New Zealand National Age Group Swimming Championships in Wellington, where they competed against the country's best for national titles and medals.

The HBHS boys competing were Carter Edgecombe, Joshua Ion, Nathan Edwards, Mitchell Scales, Sean Haisley, Angus Campbell, Tyler Ellis, Leon Arcus and Michael Woods.

Medal winners and national champions were 15 year old Carter Edgecombe with 3 gold medals in 200m, 400m and 1500m freestyle and silver 400IM, 14 year old Tyler Ellis won 2 silver medals in the 200m butterfly and 1500m freestyle and 13 year old Nathan Edwards won a total of seven medals including a gold in 100m freestyle, 2 silvers in 100 and 200 backstroke and 3 bronzes in 200 IM, 50 backstroke and 50 freestyle. The other swimmers were successful in gaining numerous top ten national places and personal best times.