School House News

By Matthew Markham | Posted: Wednesday October 24, 2018

Welcome to term four, we have a busy term ahead. It may only be eight weeks long, but a lot is cramped into these eight weeks.

For the senior boys, this term is all about exams. The Year 11's face major external exams for the first time and how they handle the pressure of these exams will be vital. While the boys need to take advantage of the next few weeks and study hard, it is important that they stay relaxed and focused. Success in exams is often dictated by your mental state and exam technique, rather than how much you know.   

Last week Thomas Ryan competed in the Cromwell half marathon. Thomas came 37th overall but won his age group. Well done Thomas, not bad for a front rower! 

Year 11 Science students Isaac Lee and Guy Rattanapan not only won an award at the recent Regional Science Fair with their Native Bird monitoring website - they also gained accolade at the Kaitiaki Town Belt Awards night last night.

These School House boys carried out a passion project for their Year 11 NCEA and gained credits for a multidisciplinary study in Biology, Physics, and Chemistry. Guy and Isaac chose to complete a bird monitoring project called a "Five Minute Bird Count". Walking through the town belt every day on the way to school, hostel boys hear numerous New Zealand native birdsong. Isaac and Guy were curious to name the birds and began a project to count the songs. They monitored birds at several different sites and then set up a website whereby members of the public could add in their own data too. This caught the attention of the Local Forest and Bird group who immediately adopted the use of the website for their longitudinal studies. Isaac and Guy worked with this group to tailor the website to meet their needs. Day boy, Liam Connolly's project extended Isaac and Guy's work to compare and contrast birdsong at different locations. Using analyzing software to compare wavelengths of birdsong, Liam looked for and found different accents in birdsong at the different locations. Along with their Year 11 Science class, Isaac and Guy presented their work at the Otago Science Fair and won multiple awards. Well done Isaac and Guy, what a fantastic initiative. 

Next Wednesday (31st Oct), we have Skipper's Feast where we officially farewell our Year 13 students. All Year 13 parents are invited. It is always an enjoyable evening. 

Have a great week. 

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