School House Newsletter Term 1 - Week 5
By Vai Mahutariki | Posted: Wednesday March 1, 2023
Welcome to our Week 5 newsletter
THE WEEK AHEAD:
Term 1, Week 6
Monday 6
Intercollegiate Golf
Tuesday 7
WBHS Interschool (away)
13ODR First Aid in the Wild course 1
Wednesday 8
13ODR First Aid in the Wild course 2
Enviroschools Hui
Thursday 9
Friday 10 - Saturday 11
OSS Athletics
SISS Rowing
Saturday 11 - Sunday 12
OSS Senior Volleyball
SISS Rowing
Sunday 12 - Wednesday 15
13AGR field trip
Sunday 12 - Friday 17
10T camp at Mt Aspiring
Term 1, Week 7
Monday 13
Tuesday 14
Wednesday 15
Thursday 16
PPTA Strike Day
Friday 17
House Rowing competition
OBHS Golf Day
Monday 20 March
Otago Anniversary Day - school closed
Monday 20 - Saturday 25
10B camp at Mt Aspiring
Greetings to our School House Hostel Families and the wider community. We have had a good week with our first home summer inter-school in two years, and we have had some hotly contested Mitchell Cup House Touch as well as our academic and sporting activities. Added to this we hosted the 150th OBHS Hostel Reunion with great success.
150th OBHS Hostel Reunion
We welcomed over 400 Hostel Old Boys over the weekend at various events. Our old boys met at School House by our Reunion Committee, Prefects, and student helpers on Friday afternoon and many took a tour down memory lane as they were escorted by our boys. They then headed to Alhambra RFC for some nibbles and refreshments. Some prominent old boys spoke of their time in hostel and at school on stage and everyone reconnected with good friends and good company. Former staff of OBHS Hostel also attended which was great. On Saturday morning the old boys gathered for special reunion photos and participated or watched some special games of cricket and tennis between Hostel Old Boys and Day Old Boys of OBHS. An amazing BBQ was put on that was supplied you our families of our current hostel boys. Thank you all so much for this kind gesture. The quality of the meat was exceptional and much appreciated by all our old boys. The day of action and sun was followed by the Gala Dinner held down at the Hub in the Otago Polytechnic. It was great night filled with laughs, good food and drinks, and some great guest speakers from the old boys. Our current hostel boys did a great job in hosting the old boys and working hard in the background. Added to this over the weekend a number of items were auctioned off to help raise funds towards the hostel redevelopment which was also presented on the night by the Rector, Mr Hall. A huge thank you to the 12 Reunion Committee members for a fantastic event, led by Des Smith, and event co-ordinator Sharina Mahutariki.
Last Word: Hamish Leyser.
Head Prefect of School House Hostel, Hamish Leyser gave his last word to the full senior assembly last week.
The Last Word
HAMISH LEYSER — FEB 22, 2023
Good morning school, today I want to share with you my thoughts on the topic of challenges.
Challenges are an inevitable part of life that we all encounter. They can be daunting, frustrating, and even overwhelming at times, but they can also be opportunities for us to grow.
My first big challenge in life was the separation of my parents. It was hard to comprehend what was actually happening, being 10 years old it was difficult. At times I had to be strong for my parents because it was a difficult time for them too. Things became a reality for me when I was helping Dad move into his new house. Going through that hardship taught me the importance of family and how we take it for granted sometimes. Despite it all, my family remained strong and my parents are still friends to this day. This has taught me that through all challenges in life, there will always be positives even though they might be hard to see.
Another big challenge for me was changing schools and moving to the hostel. Having started out my secondary school experience at Cromwell College, I had to take a good look at myself and see what I was getting out of the school and where I was heading in life. I had to weigh up my options and finally made the decision to switch schools and move into the hostel.
I’m sure everyone remembers their first day of school. I’m sure most of you were nervous, as you never know how it’s going to turn out. For me however, it was made easier by having the link of old school mates from Cromwell. They helped me get settled into the hostel and get started at school. This showed me the value of connections and ensuring that you engage with the community around you as you never know when you need those people in your life.
The challenges we face define who we are as people. Going through challenges as big as parents separating, through to something as small as waking up for school in the morning. How we approach these challenges speak a lot about who we are. I hope you can all rise to the occasion when facing your own challenges.
Mitchell Cup - House Challenge - Touch
The House challenge is alive and well as all hostel boys battles it our on Littlebourne this week to determine the top house at touch. There were some very close games that could have gone either way. The games were played in good spirits and our boys had some fun supporting each other in their houses. In the end Hawthorne House won both the Junior and Senior sections, maintaining their lead at the top of the Mitchell Cup standings for 2023.
Wanaka Show - Friday March 10- Saturday March 11
We will have a stall in the AB section of the show and would love to see our hostel families who are attending the Wanaka Show to pop in and say hello. We will be asking a number of our Wanaka and Central Otago based boys to join us and help host in the stall throughout the two days on a roster. Those boys helping will be excused from Friday classes as they will be supporting OBHS hostel over the weekend. If any parents would like to help out also, please email [email protected]
Long Weekend - out of hostel
The weekend of Friday 17th March to Monday 20th March is a long weekend for Otago Anniversary and therefore the hostel will be closed. Please ensure leave is put in and transport is organised.
Hostel Photo Day - Term 2
This is to let our boys and families know that we will have our whole School House Hostel Photo for this year on 27th April, at 10:40am. We hope all our boys will be present for this photo.
Vaccinations
It is that time of the year where we offer to assist in getting your son/s vaccinated if you wish. Flu Vacation's will be given in April for those parents that would like there son to be vaccinated.
Bexsero will be funded on the national Immunisation schedule from 1st March to help protect New Zealanders against meningococcal B disease. This is free for hostel boys 13 to 25 and is a recommendation for close living situations like School House.
Please contact Janis if you would like to discuss or book. email is [email protected]
Sick - No Devices
When our boys are home sick in the hostel we are getting them to focus on their recovery and rest. Therefore all boys who are in the hostel sick will not have access to their devices. If for some reason they need to call home urgently, there is a phone in the foyer for them to access and parents can ring the office to get in touch with their son.
Housekeeping Reminders
Boys have been reminded that during meal times, they are to pack up their dishes at the end of their meals. The boys cleaning up will return usual items like salt and pepper and sauces as well as wipe down, however some boys are getting lazy with their dishes and walking off. No bags are to be left in the stairwells of the dorms as is it is a fire hazard and large "wheely bins" are now outside the dorms for rubbish disposal and not longer in the stairwells.
Upcoming Dates:
Friday March 10-11 - Wanaka Show
Friday March 17 - Old Boys Golf Day
Friday March 17 - 20 Otago Anniversary Weekend out
Follow us on our social media platforms Instagram: @obhshostel and Facebook Otago Boys’ High School Hostel for information and activities our boys are doing.
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