School House News

By Matthew Markham | Posted: Sunday March 1, 2020

Rock climbing and canyoning kept the boys busy on the weekend.

The Year 9 boys got up close and personal with the Waianakarua River gorge on our Sunday activity. A series of rock climbs, abseils and river rope crossings provided a series of challenging but fun obstacles for the boys. At the end everyone was rewarded with a swim in the river. While the water was rather chilly, it was also very clear and refreshing. The Year 10 boys went rock climbing at Long Beach. Some struggled to overcome their fear of heights but everyone in the end got to the top and had a great time doing so. It was a lot more challenging than the boys anticipated, as you can see from the photos it was quite high! We will be running both these activities next year.

There is no activity this coming Sunday, and our next activity is a somewhat more sedate canoe tour of Dunedin harbour for the Year 9's. The Year 10's will be doing another activity which is yet to be confirmed. The canoe tour will take place out by the Taiaroa Head and hopefully, we will be able to see some wildlife. Last year the boys were lucky enough to have a pod of orcas swim under their canoes This was a once in a lifetime experience and the boys were very fortunate. The trip of course, is very weather dependent and if the water is too rough we will postpone until term four.

There were some quiet boys coming back from the Highlanders on Friday after a very disappointing performance from the team. With the Highlanders now on the road to South Africa, the next game the boys will be able to attend isn't until the 28th March when the Highlanders take on the Crusaders. This is a game all the boys look forward to.

Next Monday evening (differs from calendar) we have the Mitchell Cup touch competition. Thomson took this out last year and looking at the teams they would have to be the favourites again. However, the Year 9's are always somewhat of an unknown element in this and how they perform will be crucial. It should be an enjoyable evening.

Just a reminder that the hostel is closed over anniversary weekend 21st-23rd March. It is hard to believe but this is only three weeks away!

Have a great week!