School News

The generosity of HBHS students and their families can be clearly seen at right, with the huge pyramid of canned goods donated today as part of our annual Charity Day.  This food was gratefully accepted by Mr Jack Humphrey, seen at right during the Year 9 Assembly, from the Combined Christian Food bank which will ensure that it gets to the families in Hamilton who need it most this Christmas.  The Food bank have already delivered 2500 food parcels to 5000 adults and 4000 children this year, and HBHS's donation will be a welcome "hand up" to these families this holiday season.  The generosity didn't end there, with the $616 raised through the mufti day going to aid relief efforts in the Philippines in the wake of the devastating Typhoon Haiyan.  Mr Jun Valencia from the Waikato Filipino Association accepted this donation and thanked the assembled students for their contributions.

Mr Kirkham, HBHS Assistant Principal and Coach of the 1^st XV explained the current competition situation for our strongest rugby players:

There are eight teams; after each round the pool halves, so after two games we have gone from four possible opponents in the field to two.  The two local teams that contested the semi-finals were HBHS and St John’s.  We beat St John’s, so we’re in the final against Manurewa.

The Chief’s Knock Out Cup is something that was organised this year between the two top teams in Counties, the two top teams in the BOP and the four top teams in the Waikato.  It is a competition that the Chiefs have been trying to convene for the last few years, but Tauranga, Rotorua and our involvement in the Super 8 games meant that we couldn’t participate.  The Knock Out Cup has started right at the beginning of the season so that everyone’s commitments are taken into account.

We play Manurewa on May 25, which looks like it is going to be the curtain raiser of the Chiefs/Bulls game at Waikato Stadium. The televised games have been a part of the Sky broadcast schedule – this game isn’t a part of that, but it will definitely have a wide following. 

Tonight saw the opening of the Creative Space Art Exhibition in the HBHS School Hall, which brings together a wide range of artists from around New Zealand who will share the gallery space for the upcoming week with students, staff and other artists who share links with the school either as parents, former staff members or former students.  The school has been fortunate to obtain the support of the Ratana family who, as respected contemporary Maori artists, bring a diverse range of practices and viewpoints to their art.  Their work represents three generations of artists in one exhibition, with Donn, Saffronn, Aimee (one of her installations is pictured, right) and Te Waiarangi forming the heart of the show.  (Article cont.)

The HBHS Golf Teams have been out and about this term, competing in a range of tournaments and competitions.  Teacher in charge of Golf, Mr Brendon Cooley, reports on how the teams have fared…

The HBHS Number 3 team of Max Gabolinscy, Matt Davis, Maxwell Palmer and myself recently won the Teams Competition in an Ambrose tournament at Waikere Golf Course.  We also competed in the Waikato Summer League, finishing 2^nd behind St Peter’s by 10 shots in Division 1.  This does mean that the boys are going to have to work very hard to be ready to challenge them on May 13 for the one available spot in the National Golf Championship.  HBHS won Division 2, with Jack Perkinson, Connor Stuthridge and Mr David Perkinson claiming first prize in the Ambrose tournament. 

Meanwhile, Captain of Golf Denzel Ieremia has been travelling around the country and has claimed a number of titles, including 1^st in the Under 17 North Island Championships, and 1^st in the Kaimai Classic.  Other impressive results include a 2^nd place in the Under 19 North Island Championships, 7^th in the Rotorua Open, 19^th in the Open Men North Island Stroke Play Championships, and 44^th in the Open Mens Stroke Play Championship. 

The Elite Golf Team have been preparing for the intercollegiate championships and upcoming exchanges by attending 1^st XV morning trainings and Pro Drive sessions on Wednesday mornings at 6.30am.  We are hoping that this hard work will pay off in the upcoming months.

As part of the week long build up to the Gallagher Great Race, to be held on Sunday 8 September, HBHS rowers teamed up with crew members from Diocesan School, Cambridge University in England and members of the All Blacks yesterday to row a total of 3000 metres.  Each team member rowed 500 metres, and HBHS Maadi 8 crew member Ryan Rasmussen (pictured at right being urged on by his team mate, All Black Charlie Faumuina) was a member of the winning team.  The event was a wonderful opportunity to meet (and compete against) members of the rowing crews from Sydney and Cambridge, along with members of the All Blacks and Black Ferns and was held yesterday afternoon in Garden Place.

Six Hamilton Boys’ High School students attended the prestigious NZ Post Writers’ Festival in Wellington during the last weekend in August. Daniel Madley, Calum Redpath, Aditya Vasudevan, Ivan Robertson, Michael Donovan, and Nicholas Oxborrow (supervised by Mr Brown and Mrs Redpath) were instructed and encouraged during several workshops by some of New Zealand’s best authors. 

In the weeks before the festival, the boys worked to produce a number of key pieces of work to be presented for discussion and critique. On Saturday and Sunday morning the boys were divided into small workshop groups, each led by a critically recognized New Zealand author. Our students submitted their work with some trepidation, but all of the boys felt that the specific, constructive criticism was valuable and that they have certainly learned a great deal about the process and mechanics of writing. They had the opportunity to put their developing skills into practice as they worked to produce new work throughout the weekend.