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Dear Parents and Caregivers
Kia ora koutou.
After last week’s focus on the national secondary school Winter Tournament Week, our Preparatory School students travelled to Tauranga this week for the annual AIMS Games, with around 14,000 students aged 11–13 (Years 7–8) participating across 27 different sporting codes.
St Andrew’s College is represented by a netball team, two hockey teams, two cross country runners, two swimmers, a rock climber, and a tennis player. Congratulations to rock climber, Chloe Chuang (Year 8), who won a silver medal, and Kelicia Rui En Purcell (Year 8), who won bronze in the swimming 100M butterfly.
Beyond sports, this trip away has been a great life experience for our young students as they get involved in doing their laundry, making and sharing meals together – including cake making and preparing lunches, having team photos at Bayfair Mall, many walks, card games, a dinner with the travelling parents, and much more. There are lots of sporting games too! Thank you to all the staff, coaches, and parents who have helped make this great opportunity possible for our young people.
It is wonderful to note the many strong cultural successes that continue to happen at St Andrew’s College, including:
Looking at upcoming events, I recommend booking tickets for our Middle School production, Diary of a Wimpy Kid: The Musical (four performances over Tuesday 21 – Friday 24 October). This promises to be another outstanding St Andrew’s production and is a lively stage adaptation of Jeff Kinney's popular book series, bringing Greg Heffley's middle school mischief to life on stage. Please purchase your tickets by clicking here.
This week, the Prelim examinations got underway for our Year 11–13 students. These assessments are not just a checkpoint, but a steppingstone in preparation for our students’ future success. These Prelims examinations are a chance for students to:
These examinations are not the final word, although the results can be used if derived grades are required (i.e. for students who are unable to complete their final external examinations due to factors like illness). These Prelim examinations are a powerful tool to help students prepare, adjust, and improve.
The upcoming Year 11–13 NCEA Academic Conferences, on Thursday 18 and Friday 19 September, are important times for parents, students, and tutors to have feedback and plan their study programme for the final external NCEA examinations.
As students head into these examinations, my message to them is that, just like in sporting situations or within the performing arts, trust your preparation, believe in yourself, take it one step/question at a time, and simply do your very best.
Ngā mihi mahana
Mark Wilson
Rector
The annual Jazz Club was held at Fat Eddie’s last Sunday. The Big Band, Jazz Combo and Jazz Orchestra performed two hours of music for a large and appreciative audience of family and friends. The gig was a great opportunity for students to build performance stamina after many hours of practice this year. The overall quality of our jazz groups is extremely high this year, with so many talented musicians, the future of St Andrew’s College Jazz looks very strong.
Flickr>The Secondary School celebrated Chinese Language Week this week with a range of activities. On Monday lunchtime, students participated in Chinese calligraphy in The Green Library and Innovation Centre, choosing from a range of traditional phrases. On Tuesday, a Mandarin Learning Assistant from the Confucius Institute visited our campus and performed a traditional Chinese dance, Face Changing. This was an enchanting, ancient opera dance, where the performer changed masks with the flick of a fan or the touch of a hand. This performance was enjoyed by many students. The final activity was a Chinese Character scavenger hunt, where students had to find five Chinese characters hidden around the College, along with their English translation. Everyone who entered was rewarded with a special Chinese treat to eat.
The Junior Department celebrated the seasonal shift with a Pyjama Day on Wednesday. Students arrived dressed in snuggly pyjamas, Oodies, onesies, or their favourite comfy clothes, bringing along cuddly soft toys to add to the cosy atmosphere. The day was filled with warmth, laughter, and lots of snuggles as we farewelled winter and welcomed spring.
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Several students have completed their Silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award. This is the second group of students this year to be presented with their Silver Award certificate and badge at their respective year group Hui. So far this year, 66 students have completed their Silver Award. The Silver Award requires six months of regular physical activity, community service, and participation in a skill, along with preparation and training for both a practice and qualifying Adventurous Journey. Most students who complete their Silver Award continue onto the Gold level, and we wish them luck as they take up the challenge to complete the award at the highest level.
Silver Award recipients:
Maggie McConnochie (Year 11) and Sam Foote (Year 12) have achieved outstanding results in solo piping competitions in Scotland this week:
Abigail Scott-Douglas and Amelia Blockley (both Year 12) took on the six-hour Canterbury Adventure Race last month, under the team name Orange Blistered Glitter Wombats. The girls began strong, reaching checkpoints by running and mountain biking around the Canterbury foothills near Glentunnel and Whitecliffs. The team faced some challenging navigation and finished with only four minutes to spare, earning the title of top female school team.
Last weekend, three cyclists took on the Southern Tour in Blenheim, competing in a 3.4km individual time trial (TT), with three or four sprint laps (depending on the age group), a 1.8km hill climb, and a road race.
Charli Howell (Year 9), James Ryan (Year 11) and Teresa Steiner (Year 12) have received Editor's Choice awards in the New Zealand Poetry Society (NZPS) International Poetry Competition. This means that their haiku will be published along with the other award winners in the 2025 NZPS Anthology.
Alexander Black (Year 13) refereed 12 games at the football Boys’ Jim Wishart Tournament during Winter Tournament Week. Due to the St Andrew’s team making the final, Alexander declined refereeing the match to avoid any potential conflict of interest. He was, however, appointed as the fourth official for the final.
On Monday, 30 Preparatory School students competed in the Canterbury Primary Schools (CPSSA) Duathlon at Ruapuna Raceway. Each race had between 75 and 150 athletes competing, and involved a 2km run, followed by a 9km bike (6km for Years 5–6) and finishing with a 1km run. This is a tough challenge for the students, and their determination and resilience in representing the College was admirable. Kobe Ford (Year 8) placed 10th in the Year 8 Open grade, and many others placed well in a large and competitive field.
Flickr>The Rotary Junior Speech Contest held its preliminary rounds at Heaton Intermediate, with 75 students from across Christchurch schools taking part. The Preparatory School students demonstrated thorough preparation and spoke with confidence and inspiration, covering a wide range of engaging and informative topics. In the Year 5 category, Georgia Blyde won first place, Violet Winterbourn placed third (highly commended), and Jessica Whitehead won the Year 7 category.
At the Lochaber Gathering Senior solo piping competition held in Scotland this week, Pipe Band Manager, Graeme Bryce placed fourth in March, Strathspey and Reel.
Several students have been named in representative Canterbury rugby teams, in addition to previously reported selections.
Charlotte Galvan, Hannah Papali'i Taimalelagi Malietoa, Carley McNee (all Year 12), have been selected for the Mainland Advanced Camp.
Charli Watts (OC 2022) took on The Great Naseby Water Race 200 Miler, New Zealand’s longest Ultramarathon, setting a new Women's U30 course record with a time of 57 hours 54 minutes, covering 322km (32 laps). Charli won the Women’s U30, was the second female overall, and placed sixth overall across all competitors.
Good luck to all students who are representing the College over the weekend in sports and cultural activities including:
Diary of a Wimpy Kid:The Musical is a lively stage adaptation of Jeff Kinney's popular book series, bringing Greg Heffley's middle school mischief to life on stage. The musical explores Greg's attempts to navigate the social landscape of middle school, his quest for popularity, and the complexities of his friendship with Rowley, all while battling the dreaded "Cheese Touch." Featuring our talented Year 9 and 10 performers, this show is full of fantastic song and dance, heartfelt moments, and fun for the whole family.
When: Tuesday 21 – Friday 24 October 2025 (four performances), all 7.00pm–9.30pm
Where: Gough Family Theatre – Ngā Toi Performing Arts Centre
Tickets: Adults $35.00 | Students $17.50 (student ID may be requested on entry)
Buy Tickets Online>
Preliminary Examinations are in full swing, and these will be followed by Academic Conferences with tutors on Thursday 18 and Friday 19 September. All whānau of Year 11–13 students have been emailed this week with instructions on how to book the Conference.
Why Preliminary Examinations? Our Preliminary Examinations are a vital way of your child to transfer their learning and practice applying examination techniques prior to the ‘real thing’ in Term 4. They also provide an opportunity to receive individualised and specific feedback on their strengths and next steps from their subject teachers. Preliminary examination results are used as derived grades, should your child not be able to sit or are impaired in the NCEA Examinations. They are, therefore, very important as a gauge for learning and progress. Data recently published by the University of Auckland signals that sitting external assessments matters. Students enrolled at university and completing their first year of studies are more likely to gain A grades (24%) if they have sat and achieved external assessment in NCEA. Conversely, students who have not sat nor passed external assessments are less likely to gain an A grade (4%). If a student has completed 20 or more external credits, only 8% of students gain a failing grade versus 35% who do not.
Why Academic Conferences? Sitting Preliminary examinations and receiving feedback from teachers is one part of the process of learning. The next very important step is for your child to respond to that feedback and make a clear plan for study. The Academic Conferences (Thursday 18 and Friday 19 September) are designed to support students to engage with feedback the subject teacher has provided and then discuss this and their next steps with the tutor and whānau in preparation for the NCEA examinations in November. Please support this important process by making an appointment to have an Academic Conference with your child’s tutor.
What resources support my child’s study? Subject teachers will have guided students with specific information related to that subject and each dean has shared several resources to help with study on their year group Teams pages. There are a range of very useful resources for study available in StACNet by clicking here.
Delicious Christmas goodies, locally made with the highest quality ingredients. The perfect gift for Christmas or to treat your own family! All proceeds will go towards the PTA 2025 fundraising drive, supporting the Pipe Band. More information about each of the PTA’s Christmas Goodies, including the ingredients list, can be found at the order link below. The products on offer this year are:
Closing date for orders: Monday 3 November 2025
Cake collection: Orders must be collected from the College Second-hand Uniform Shop (there is no delivery option) between 3.00pm–4.30pm on Tuesday 11 or Thursday 13 or Tuesday 18 or Thursday 20 or Tuesday or Thursday 27 November.
ORDER CHRISTMAS GOODIES>The following 2025 school photographs are now available to purchase online:
Details of how to order the photographs can be found on our website using the button below and you will need to log into StACNet using your St Andrew's College login.
If you have any questions relating to this service, please email photography@stac.school.nz
For any illness, students should stay home if unwell. Any student should also feel free to wear a mask if they wish to do so while at school.
For any absence, whether ill-health (including COVID-19) or otherwise, the College’s preferred platform for reporting this is via our online form which can be found at the button below:
If you are not able to report your child's absence using the online form, please report their absence via the relevant email address below. If you cannot get through to us via the form or email, please call our attendance line on +64 3 940 2031 (term time only).
The Community Business Directory is on our website and represents over 100 parent businesses. Please take a look at how many businesses you can support locally.
The St Andrew's College Community Business Directory >
If you would still like to register your business, complete the following form.
Community Business Directory Registration >
For a full list of upcoming school events, please refer to the fixtures page on StACNet.
