School House Hostel Newsletter - Week 4 - Term 4
By Vai Mahutariki | Posted: Friday November 11, 2022
Welcome to our Week 4 Newsletter
THE WEEK AHEAD:
Term 4, Week 5
Monday 14
NCEA exams continue
Tuesday 15
Wednesday 16
Thursday 17
Junior exams
Friday 18
Junior exams
Sunday 20 - Friday 25
SISS Junior Volleyball tournament
Term 4, Week 6
Monday 21
NCEA exams continue
Teachers Only Day - school closed for tuition
Tuesday 22
Wednesday 23
Tennyson Shield competition v OGHS
Thursday 24
Saturday 26
Leavers Dinner
10O leave for Mt Aspiring camp
Important upcoming dates:
28 November
PPTA Paid Union Meeting - school closes for tuition at 1.25pm
2 December
Year 8 BBQ
9 December
Junior prize giving and last day for junior students
Greetings to our School House Hostel families and wider community. It has been a very busy couple of weeks as we acknowledged our Year 13 leavers and sent them off in style as they walked out of the Archway one final time. Our juniors have also been preparing for their own exams next week.
Man of the Week:
Congratulations to Year 11 Jonathan (Jojo) King, who won the Junior trophy at the Wanaka Clay Target Club on Sunday. He had to do this with a borrowed gun with a block of wood taped to the barrel as a rear pin. A great example of our School House values, perseverance and courage. A great first season overall in the Clay Target Team and an exciting 2023 in the future. Well done Jojo.
Skippers Feast
We took time at Skippers Feast to acknowledge all our Year 13 leavers alongside their parents and reflect on some lifelong memories these fine gentlemen will take with them and leave behind an undeniable positive legacy. Congratulations to School House Dux for 2022, Daniel Gilbert who is a great example of hard-work and dedication across all he does. Special mention to our National Honours Recipients, Nick Sim (Shooting) and Hamish Faulks (Touch) with outstanding skill and talent. Well done to Campbell House who won the Mitchell Cup this year, received by Campbell House Captain Will Scurr.
The main acknowledgement we give to Head of School House for 2022, Thomas O'Connor. Thomas has been an excellent leader in and around the hostel as well as at school. His hard work and commitment to making School House better has been outstanding. Thank you for your five years at School House Thomas, and for leading our hostel boys with honour and respect.
School House Independent Review
Recently, at the request of the school, Mr Ross Brown completed an external review of School House. The purpose of this was to take the current temperature of the hostel and cast a long-term lens for us. Mr Brown’s experience, having been a Boarder, Director of Boarding and a school Principal with a hostel, as well as his current role serving on Proprietor Boards made him an ideal candidate.
Mr Brown visited the hostel and spent a good amount of time with students, staff and management. He is also grateful to the parents who were asked to fill in the survey. His initial thoughts can be summed up as;
‘While the focus has been School House ‘Culture', it is difficult to isolate one single aspect that on its own, contributes to or takes away from the concept. Therefore, a wider perspective has considered a number of key aspects of boarding, that if attended to with a professional focus will ensure that the culture of School House is orderly, vibrant, lively, and exciting; a culture that is sort after and enjoyed by all participants.
The collation of that material, and his report is currently being worked through by the Rector and the Director of Boarding. A presentation to the School Board will follow in December.
Mr Brown’s recommendations fall into 3 main areas.
Improvement of the hostel facility
Best practice recommendations for Housemasters and staff on effective supervision
Strategic planning for the Hostel and its development for the next 3-5 years
In summation we believe we have a strong plan to move forward. Challenging and achievable targets; in effect he has said;
In his conclusion Mr Brown stated;
The boys were welcoming and engaging. They were happy to complete the survey and provided valuable feedback. The senior students were insightful and understood the challenges that lay ahead for School House.
Consistency is a common theme, consistency in policies, communication, application of the rules and consistency in the understanding of ‘next steps’. The culture of School House is certainly not broken, but there are definitely actions (short, medium and long term) that should be taken to enhance a facility that has served the region for 150 years.
School House is in a great position to further develop and improve all facets of hostel life for our students, staff, and the wider community. This is an exciting time as we look set for a full hostel in 2023 and continued improvements whilst maintaining our strong tradition of ‘Best for boys’, through the right learning.
House Master Excelling on the International Rugby Stage
Congratulations to House Master Christian Lio-Willie who has been selected in the All Blacks XV to tour the UK. He played his first game against Ireland A last weekend and will play again early Monday morning against a competitive Barbarians team. Christian is a great example of excellence and perseverance for our boys. Great to also see former hostel boy and House Master Josh Dickson selected as well.
Good luck this weekend Christian. We will be cheering for you from the deep south.
Upcoming Events:
Junior Exams
Junior Exams are next week Thursday 17th and Friday 18th November. This is for all Year 9 and 10 boys.
Year 7 Hostel Open Day
This is on Friday 18th November from 9am in the Dome. Parents and family can park near the Dome or Hostel as we will finish in the hostel with lunch and tours.
Year 8 Overnight Stay Experience
As we support our new Year 9's for 2023, we host these young men on Friday 2nd December in the Hostel alongside their parents. We look forward to seeing you all soon.
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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