Tuesday, 9 December 2008
2008 Leavers
The school year is finally completed for our Year 13s, who attended the Leaver's Mass in the Chapel at the school this evening.
Wednesday, 3 December 2008
Uniform Shop
The PTA uniform shop will be open on:
Saturday 17th January 2009 from 10.30am to 1.30pm
Wednesday 28th January 2009 from 9.30am to 12 noon
Staff Changes for 2009
Leaving the College
Robert and Margaret Tait will be retiring.
Sue Maynard has been promoted to AP at St Theresa’s Bluff.
Sue Shaw
Joining the College
Keryn Page – Teacher of Middle School
Karen Hammond– Home Economics
Megan Van –English and Japanese
Joyce Campbell – Assistant to the HOLA English
Internal changes
Kathryn Miles – DRS and Year 12 Dean
Richard Haveron – Year 11 Dean
Colin Kidd- Grounds person
Otatara Community Nursery
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Pacifika Cultural Evening
Sounds of the Pacific filled the College hall on our first Pacifika Evening. Strong beats, rich harmonies and flowing dances from talented and enthusiastic performers were highlights of the evening. An appreciative audience were given a taste of the many Pacific cultural traditions with in our College. Thank you to the dedicated team who organised the evening. $770 was raised and donated to the College.
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SIT Careers Day
Head Students for 2009
Congratulations to next year’s head students.
Ben Ward and Kayla Geary with their peer support group on the new entrant orientation day held today. The fine weather gave an excellent opportunity for students to get to know each other and the senior students.
Head Girl Antoinette Oudhoff
Head Boy Ben Ward
Deputy Head Girl Kayla Geary
Deputy Head Boy Matthew Debono
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Director of Religious Studies
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Senior Prizegiving
Congratulations to the students who received awards at the senior prizegiving.
The Young Entrepreneur Lauren Morsink
Theology Distance Education Paper
The following sat and passed the University of Otago Theology paper – CHTX 101 Early Christianity
Rebecca Abey, Lauren Morsink
Zac Vermeulen, Hannah Morrison
Amy Radka, Nicole MacaballugCoby Dowling, Simon Gourley
Louise Moodie, Renata Davis
Year 13 Verdon Citizenship
The Golden Family Trophy -In the Way of Dominic, Rosamund More
The Young Entrepreneur Lauren Morsink
Theology Distance Education Paper
The following sat and passed the University of Otago Theology paper – CHTX 101 Early Christianity
Rebecca Abey, Lauren Morsink
Zac Vermeulen, Hannah Morrison
Amy Radka, Nicole MacaballugCoby Dowling, Simon Gourley
Louise Moodie, Renata Davis
Year 13 Verdon Citizenship
The Golden Family Trophy -In the Way of Dominic, Rosamund More
Year 13 Outstanding Courtesy and Cooperation.
The Sunrise Rotary Club Award, Danielle Thomas
Head Boy’s Award -The Craig & Shaun Campbell Cup Renata Davis
Head Girl’s Award -Deirdre Lynch Cup Katherine Affleck
The Founders’ Award
Head Girl’s Award -Deirdre Lynch Cup Katherine Affleck
The Founders’ Award
Alice McDowell
Proxime Accessit 2008
Proxime Accessit 2008
Alice McDowell
Verdon College Dux 2008
Nicole Macaballug
Verdon College Dux 2008
Nicole Macaballug
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Wednesday, 19 November 2008
Borland Lodge Trip
The information sheet for the Borland Lodge EOTC Trip for Year 10 is now available. Please take the time to read this to ensure your child has an enjoyable and safe experience.
The Year 10 EOTC Programme runs from Monday 24 November through to Thursday 27 November.
The Year 10 EOTC Programme runs from Monday 24 November through to Thursday 27 November.
Thursday, 6 November 2008
Australian (ICAS) English and Spelling Competitions.
Congratulations to the following students who have received awards
Henry More- participation English and Spelling
Brydon Harrington- participation Spelling
Tara Woodd- participation Spelling
Brenna O'Neill- participation English
Jasmine Barnfather - participation English
Christine Lieshout - participation English
Tegan Goodall - participation English
Bronwen Hughes- participation English
Nat O'Neill- participation Spelling, credit English
Dermot Hughes- credit English and Spelling
Sarah Hughes- credit English and Spelling
Padriac O'Neill - credit English
Michael Kelly - credit English
Caitlin Wallace- credit English
Jack Kelly - credit English
Patrick Stone - credit English
Hannah Grindlay - distinction English
Ella Prendergast - distinction English, credit Spelling
Meg Prendergast- distinction English
Thank you to the English Department staff who co-ordinated this assessment.
Henry More- participation English and Spelling
Brydon Harrington- participation Spelling
Tara Woodd- participation Spelling
Brenna O'Neill- participation English
Jasmine Barnfather - participation English
Christine Lieshout - participation English
Tegan Goodall - participation English
Bronwen Hughes- participation English
Nat O'Neill- participation Spelling, credit English
Dermot Hughes- credit English and Spelling
Sarah Hughes- credit English and Spelling
Padriac O'Neill - credit English
Michael Kelly - credit English
Caitlin Wallace- credit English
Jack Kelly - credit English
Patrick Stone - credit English
Hannah Grindlay - distinction English
Ella Prendergast - distinction English, credit Spelling
Meg Prendergast- distinction English
Thank you to the English Department staff who co-ordinated this assessment.
Otatara Community Nursery
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Young Enterprise Results
Congratulations to team “Keep It Pumpin” comprising Amy Radka, Coby Dowling, Hannah Morrison, Katherine Affleck, Lauren Morsink, Louise Moodie and William Hewitt and team “Markit” comprising Ben Garrett, Catherine Butt, Courtney Harris-Fletcher, Emma Greenfield, Kaylee Fannin, Mike Chamberlain, Olivia Gorton and Thomas Edwards who all passed the recent examination.
Jazz Fest - 2009
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Special mention goes to:
Ben Cochrane – best Sax Player and
Jamie Macdonald – best Bass Player.
As usual there was wonderful support group from Verdon Teachers, pupils, family and ex-pupils.
Our special thanks to Alistair Monteath, brass itinerant, who organises the whole event. It is a real credit to him.
SMAC Maths
Congratulations to all our teams who entered the SMAC Maths competition on Wednesday evening. We entered seven teams across Year 7 to Year 10 and all of them scored some impressive totals. Special congratulations to the Year 9 team of Liam Cosgrove, Oliver Fry, James Shirley and Ben Williams who came third.
Scholarships
We proudly congratulate the following students on gaining scholarships.
ILT Tertiary Scholarships:
Ben Cochrane, Simon Gourley
William Hewitt, Courtney Jones
Nicole Macaballug, Jamie Macdonald
Alice McDowell, Louise Moodie
Rosamund More, Amy Radka
and Zachary Vermeulen.
Southland community Trust Scholarships:
Lauren Morsink
Alice McDowell
and Renata Davis
ILT Tertiary Scholarships:
Ben Cochrane, Simon Gourley
William Hewitt, Courtney Jones
Nicole Macaballug, Jamie Macdonald
Alice McDowell, Louise Moodie
Rosamund More, Amy Radka
and Zachary Vermeulen.
Southland community Trust Scholarships:
Lauren Morsink
Alice McDowell
and Renata Davis
Year 8 Camps
Vietnam Tour 2008
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Next day we had an early flight to Hanoi where our first stop was a war museum then onto Maison Centrale AKA The Hanoi Hilton-A prison where the French held the Vietnamese political prisoners. Later that day was one of the highlights of the trip when we each individually took rides on bicycle carts (called Cyclos) around the city for an hour.
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Next we travelled south to central Vietnam and visited Khe Sanh and experienced what life was like for the Americans during the war. Then on to Da Nang where we visited a school with 7000 students. The dragons introduced the locals to a bit of New Zealand culture, and entertained the students with a Haka.
From here we marched on to one of the most exciting little towns we have ever experienced, Hoi An. Hoi An consists of at least 400 tailors and dress makers, which the whole tour party definitely took advantage of. By the end of the second day everyone was sporting fancy tailor-made suits and dresses, and the odd pair of shoes or four. The Pho Hoi resort included a luxurious pool that was the perfect finish for a busy day of commuting around the busy streets, listening to "scoose me, you come look in my shop, please buy something".
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All in all a well enjoyed trip, and a great first taster of Asian culture. Our tour leader Gen. Wes Melvin kept us all in formation and made sure we all came back in one piece. Thanks to Mr Melvin for his co-ordination and to everyone who supported us in our fundraising, we had the trip of a life time!
Sin Chow, Vietnam Tour 08 Team.
New Caledonia Experience
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After very little sleep in Auckland overnight, we arrived at Tontouta airport at noon, tired and perhaps a little disappointed that the weather was overcast and a bit drizzly. But once the doors were opened, we certainly felt the heat. And that was the only day it rained. As the days went by, the temperatures rose, and even at 7.00am and 10.00pm, it was 22 degrees or more. Because not all our hotel rooms were ready on our arrival, we had a tour of the city’s highlights courtesy of the little yellow train.
One big difference we immediately noticed was the driving on the right side of the road, and it took some of us a long time to adjust to looking in the other direction before we crossed the road.
On Sunday we took another tour of the city by bus. We had all-day passes, so we could hop on and off as we pleased. The kids all hopped off at McDonald’s because they could get McFlurry there, and then hopped back on again when it came back an hour and a half later.
Monday was an early start as we were supposed to be at the school at 7.00am to meet host children and find out classes, etc. It must have been a funny sight to see the procession of people lugging suitcases alon g the street at that time and it was hot already, so we were in a right state by the time we got there a bit after the right time.
School starts every day at 7.30am and goes through till 5.00pm, but some students do have non-contact time during the day. However, they are supervised in study periods by non-teaching staff. Wednesday is a half day, and students finish at 11.30 at the latest. Lunch is eaten in the canteen. Students pay a nominal amount for a hot meal, the quality of which is variable. However, it was a good experience. Twice we ate there, and the other days we were given a packed lunch - a sandwich made of half a baguette with ham and lettuce, a piece of fruit and a bottle of water.
The students at the school were really polite and well-behaved and eager to learn. Classrooms are not as well resourced as here, but the level of English spoken by these youngsters was surprisingly high for the age that they were. English is heard all around them – songs on the radio, TV programmes, tourists – so they can see the value of it.
Each afternoon after lunch we did various activities and then returned to the school by 5.00pm for the students to go home with their homestays. We did this for the first week and then the next two days. These activities included beach visits, a tour of the supermarket to see the variety of goods available, the aquarium, museums to understand the history and culture of the city of Noumea and of New Caledonia.
Below we have a picture of a chief’s hut at the Tjibaou Cultural Centre where the history of the native people of New Caledonia is told. On the right is part of this building – there are eight of these huge structures, representing the tribes of the Kanaks. Then we see some of us eating lunch at a beach on one of the many fine days we had.
The tricot raye snake is common on the island of the Amedee Lightouse, which has 229 steps to reach the top. Paigan volunteered to climb a coconut tree following the demonstration of how to do so. St Joseph’s Cathedral was built using prison labour.
Fortunately, the only ray we saw was this one in the aquarium. Bronwen and Rowena got their photo taken with the musical group who entertained us over
lunch on the Amedee Lighthouse island. Many of the group had tried the island dancing which was also part of that entertainment. Ryan is seen placing a poppy and the Southland Spirit of a Nation pennant on the grave of a Southland soldier who lost his life in World War 2 and who is buried at Bourail, where a large contingent of 2500 men was stationed at a training base there. New Zealanders are very well respected in this town because of the contribution they made to it during that time.
Finally we have the whole group of Verdon and St Joseph de Cluny students in front of their school gate. We are very appreciative of what the school did for us and for the tremendous generosity of the families with whom we stayed. It was truly a remarkable experience, and we hope to be able to continue the contact and friendships that we have made.
We would like to thank the Board of Trustees and staff for their encouragement and support. We were certainly the winners – the school and the students.
The families could not do enough for us, and some students came home with generous gifts from their families. Many became good friends with their host brothers / sisters, and this correspondence will no doubt continue. The improvement in knowledge and understanding of the French language varied amongst the students, but everyone certainly gained an insight into a different way of life and an appreciation of home. Thanks you. Mrs Marshall.
Verdon Community Planting Day
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Wednesday, 22 October 2008
New Newsletter Format
Congratulations
· Lucy Heenan has been selected for the NZ Under 16 Basketball squad travelling to Australia at Christmas.
· Luke Adamson joins the Southland Primary School Hockey Team travelling to Wellington these holidays.
· Rebecca Smith won 11 medals, 8 silver and 3 bronze, at the South Island Swimming Championships.
· Grace Dowling, Jessica Wright, Brydon Harrington and Monique Kerr - Verdon Gold – were placed 2nd in the Medley and 3rd in the Freestyle at the Southland Schools Swimming Relay Championship.
· Luke Adamson joins the Southland Primary School Hockey Team travelling to Wellington these holidays.
· Rebecca Smith won 11 medals, 8 silver and 3 bronze, at the South Island Swimming Championships.
· Grace Dowling, Jessica Wright, Brydon Harrington and Monique Kerr - Verdon Gold – were placed 2nd in the Medley and 3rd in the Freestyle at the Southland Schools Swimming Relay Championship.
Year 7 Camps
Sharing Champagnat's Vision
Thursday, 11 September 2008
Tournament Week
Three teams were involved in the 2008 Winter Tournament Week in early September. The Verdon College 1st XI Hockey Team travelled to Greymouth to compete in the Coaches Cup, they came 5th out of fifteen teams, a big improvement from lasts years result of 10th, Grant Miles, Deputy Principal managed the team, and he found it very committed to match play as well as off the turf activites and fully deserved their success.
The Soccer boys won and lost some tough games at Sandy Point and O'Rouke Park in Invercargill. Verdon College 1st XI had a large goal scoring margin in many of the games, which indicated how well they were playing. Verdon was placed 9th overall. "This team was young and enthusiastic, there is a bright future ahead for Verdon Soccer, congratulations on your effort" – Coaches Ross Buxton & John Jones.
Robyn Broughton and the Senior A Netball Team competed in the South Island Secondary Schools Tournament in Dunedin. There were 76 teams competing. The Senior A Team plays in the “A” Grade, the team came 6th overall, missing a place in the top four by a close one-goal loss to St Kevins College. Considering the youth of the team, and wins over much larger schools, it looks good for the future of the Senior A Team.
The school would like to congradulate and thank all of those involved in the 2008 tournament week.
Looking forward to 2009...
The Soccer boys won and lost some tough games at Sandy Point and O'Rouke Park in Invercargill. Verdon College 1st XI had a large goal scoring margin in many of the games, which indicated how well they were playing. Verdon was placed 9th overall. "This team was young and enthusiastic, there is a bright future ahead for Verdon Soccer, congratulations on your effort" – Coaches Ross Buxton & John Jones.
Robyn Broughton and the Senior A Netball Team competed in the South Island Secondary Schools Tournament in Dunedin. There were 76 teams competing. The Senior A Team plays in the “A” Grade, the team came 6th overall, missing a place in the top four by a close one-goal loss to St Kevins College. Considering the youth of the team, and wins over much larger schools, it looks good for the future of the Senior A Team.
The school would like to congradulate and thank all of those involved in the 2008 tournament week.
Looking forward to 2009...
Monday, 8 September 2008
Alice McDowell wins Dan Davin Award
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The Verdon College pupil won the award with her entry entitled Perspectives. Dan Davin Literary Foundation co-ordinator Rebecca Amundsen said the contest, organised to celebrate the contributions of Southland's best-known writer Dan Davin, was the highlight of the year for the foundation. The short story award for school-aged aspiring writers has run since 1995, with this years theme "impressions".
1st place:Alice McDowell, Verdon College, Perspectives.
3rd place: Ben Cochrane, Verdon College, A Second Chance.
Highly commended: Courtney Jones, Verdon, Along Came a Spider and Sat Down Beside Her. Shaentaella Watson, Verdon, Under the Bed. Caitlin Donnelly, Verdon, Impressions.
Friday, 5 September 2008
Saturday Netball
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Library Launch
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Clean Up New Zealand Week
Farewell Mr Buxton
Thursday, 28 August 2008
World Youth Day
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Monday, 25 August 2008
Creative Southland Speech Contest
Congratulations to Henry More and Alannah Webster- Blair who were our top two placegetters in the first round of the Creative Southland Inter Schools' Speech Contest. They move on to Round 2 on September 2nd.
Religious Education Festival
Congratulations to those students who were awarded prizes for their entries in the annual RE Fair. The achievement of these student’s was recognised with a presentation of book vouchers at the Patronal Day Mass. The entries have been displayed in a number of the contribution parish churches. Thank you to Mrs Crawford for her work co-ordinating this event.
Results from RE Festival
Poster
Year 7: 1st Jack King; 2nd Sian Hughes; 3rd Equal Katrina Carpenter and Tanisha Morgan-Wohlers.
Year 8: 1st Ella Prendergast; 2nd Anna Marie Baker; 3rd equal Jayden Crooks and Christopher Lieshout.
Year 9: 1st Arpege Bragg
Display
Year 7: 1st Sophie McLean 7AD; 2nd Samuel Rillstone 7AD; 3rd equal Brodie Crooks 7AD and Josh Griffiths.
Year 8: 1st Dermot Hughes, Scott McDonald, Vaughan Mussen 8SM; 2nd Georgia Macdonald 8JS; 3rd equal Sean Goffin, Taylor Beckham 8KM and Robert Lindsay and Andrew O’Brien 8KM.
Year 9: 1st Alex Kitson, Joanne Taningco; 2nd Ashleigh Frewen, Ashleigh MacDougall 903; 3rd equal Shanice Dunn, Mechaela Bruce and Kaley Williams.
Year 10: Highly Commended Alex, Michael, Caitlin and Nick.
Written Research
Year 7: 1st Grace Dowling 7AD; 2nd Sean Bragg 7MO.
Year 10: 1st Meg Prendergast
Photomontage
Year 8: 1st Bonna Salomeo, Eilish Duggan, Danielle Shierlaw, Pagan Parkes 8SM; 2nd Katherine Edwards, Jacob Turnhout, Alex Keen, Cody Watkinson; 3rd Candice Dyer 8JS
Year 9: 1st Kerryn Olsen, Brittany Sinclair 903; 2nd Greta Melvin, Grace Dunn, Joe Lodge, Lucy Heenan, Sam Short, Shannon Haynes 901.
Year 10: 1st Lauren Archer
Illustrated Bible Passage
Year 7: 1st Brodie Vermeulen; 2nd Shontae Oudhoff; 3rd Fusi Maka
Technology
Year 8: 1st Taylor le Breton, Eleanor Morrison.
Year 9: 1st Izak Lal, Connor Harwood
Year 10: 1st Rebecca Lieshout, Holly Harrex
Video
Year 9: 1st Liam Hogan
Year 11 Quiz
1st equal Atrayl Elliot-Roderique and Megan Gooding.
Results from RE Festival
Poster
Year 7: 1st Jack King; 2nd Sian Hughes; 3rd Equal Katrina Carpenter and Tanisha Morgan-Wohlers.
Year 8: 1st Ella Prendergast; 2nd Anna Marie Baker; 3rd equal Jayden Crooks and Christopher Lieshout.
Year 9: 1st Arpege Bragg
Display
Year 7: 1st Sophie McLean 7AD; 2nd Samuel Rillstone 7AD; 3rd equal Brodie Crooks 7AD and Josh Griffiths.
Year 8: 1st Dermot Hughes, Scott McDonald, Vaughan Mussen 8SM; 2nd Georgia Macdonald 8JS; 3rd equal Sean Goffin, Taylor Beckham 8KM and Robert Lindsay and Andrew O’Brien 8KM.
Year 9: 1st Alex Kitson, Joanne Taningco; 2nd Ashleigh Frewen, Ashleigh MacDougall 903; 3rd equal Shanice Dunn, Mechaela Bruce and Kaley Williams.
Year 10: Highly Commended Alex, Michael, Caitlin and Nick.
Written Research
Year 7: 1st Grace Dowling 7AD; 2nd Sean Bragg 7MO.
Year 10: 1st Meg Prendergast
Photomontage
Year 8: 1st Bonna Salomeo, Eilish Duggan, Danielle Shierlaw, Pagan Parkes 8SM; 2nd Katherine Edwards, Jacob Turnhout, Alex Keen, Cody Watkinson; 3rd Candice Dyer 8JS
Year 9: 1st Kerryn Olsen, Brittany Sinclair 903; 2nd Greta Melvin, Grace Dunn, Joe Lodge, Lucy Heenan, Sam Short, Shannon Haynes 901.
Year 10: 1st Lauren Archer
Illustrated Bible Passage
Year 7: 1st Brodie Vermeulen; 2nd Shontae Oudhoff; 3rd Fusi Maka
Technology
Year 8: 1st Taylor le Breton, Eleanor Morrison.
Year 9: 1st Izak Lal, Connor Harwood
Year 10: 1st Rebecca Lieshout, Holly Harrex
Video
Year 9: 1st Liam Hogan
Year 11 Quiz
1st equal Atrayl Elliot-Roderique and Megan Gooding.
Patronal Day
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Staff Development
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Wednesday, 13 August 2008
St Kevin's Interschool
Basketball was played on Sunday night in front of a noisy adolescent crowd, results favoured St Kevin’s in a 48-14 loss to the Senior A Boys team and a 55-25 loss to our Senior A girls.
Netball was first up on Monday morning with a great win from our Senior B team, 20-24. The A team defended hard against the gutsy St Kevin's team, falling 29-27. The soccer 1st XI kept St Kevin's in constant defence, resulting in a stunning 1-6 win. After a tremendous haka presentation from both parties and the presence of another good audience, our Rugby 1st XV battled in the afternoon sun, resulting in a 34-13 loss.
After some afternoon tea and best wishes from our past Principal Brent Russell, our crew returned home in good spirits, despite the overall loss of the interchange trophy.
Wednesday, 6 August 2008
St Peter's Interschool
On Wednesday 6th, Verdon College hosted the annual St Peter's College - Verdon College Junior Interschool. The day started with rain, but ended in sunshine, smiles and a quick afternoon tea.
The results:
Netball 7A - Verdon 19, St Peter's 3
Netball 8A - Verdon 13, St Peter's 39
Netball 9A - Verdon 17, St Peter's 24
Netball 10A - Verdon 26, St Peter's 39
Junior Girls Basketball - Verdon 36, St Peter's 56
Junior Mixed Hockey - Verdon 2, St Peter's 5
U15 Rugby - Verdon 7, St Peter's 24
Yr 7 & 8 Rugby - Verdon 0, St Peter's 104
Junior Soccer - Verdon 13, St Peter's 7
Well done to all those who participated, refereed, umpired, coached, cooked, cleaned, drove and financed this event.
The results:
Netball 7A - Verdon 19, St Peter's 3
Netball 8A - Verdon 13, St Peter's 39
Netball 9A - Verdon 17, St Peter's 24
Netball 10A - Verdon 26, St Peter's 39
Junior Girls Basketball - Verdon 36, St Peter's 56
Junior Mixed Hockey - Verdon 2, St Peter's 5
U15 Rugby - Verdon 7, St Peter's 24
Yr 7 & 8 Rugby - Verdon 0, St Peter's 104
Junior Soccer - Verdon 13, St Peter's 7
Well done to all those who participated, refereed, umpired, coached, cooked, cleaned, drove and financed this event.
Monday, 7 July 2008
Verdon College Music Festival 2008
Results:
Junior Instrumental - 1st place - Ben Williams
Junior Vocal - 1st place - Patrick Collins
Intermediate Vocal - 1st place - Emily Mason
Senior Vocal - 1st place - Olivia Canny
Senior Instrumental - 1st place - Tim Lindsay
House Choirs:
1st Place - Dominic
2nd Place - Marian
3rd Place - Marcellin
4th Place - Catherine
Best Accompanist (Piano) - Cody Shuttleworth
Best Conductor - Rosamund More
Junior Instrumental - 1st place - Ben Williams
Junior Vocal - 1st place - Patrick Collins
Intermediate Vocal - 1st place - Emily Mason
Senior Vocal - 1st place - Olivia Canny
Senior Instrumental - 1st place - Tim Lindsay
House Choirs:
1st Place - Dominic
2nd Place - Marian
3rd Place - Marcellin
4th Place - Catherine
Best Accompanist (Piano) - Cody Shuttleworth
Best Conductor - Rosamund More
Sunday, 29 June 2008
Social Justice
Careers News
Verdon College has been very fortunate to have a number of students accepted for NZ Armed Forces Courses these holidays.
As well as Shane Evans-Rautahi being accepted for the Airforce, Warena Brown has been accepted to go to Devonport Naval Base for the Royal NZ Navy Adventure Challenge.
Jonathan Ryan, Sam Thurlow, Matthew Debono, Michael Tattersfield and Matthew Crooks have been selected to go to the NZ Army Careers Experience in Burnham Military Camp also.
Well done to all these students.
As well as Shane Evans-Rautahi being accepted for the Airforce, Warena Brown has been accepted to go to Devonport Naval Base for the Royal NZ Navy Adventure Challenge.
Jonathan Ryan, Sam Thurlow, Matthew Debono, Michael Tattersfield and Matthew Crooks have been selected to go to the NZ Army Careers Experience in Burnham Military Camp also.
Well done to all these students.
Kavanagh Interschool Win
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Results
Rugby: Verdon 70 - 3 Win
Hockey: Verdon 6 - 0 Win
Soccer: Verdon 3 - 6 Loss
Senior A Netball: Verdon 30- 23 Win
10A Netball: Verdon 22 - 21 Win
9A Netball: Verdon 21 - 13 Win
Panache
Monday, 16 June 2008
Southland Secondary Schools Badminton
Kavanagh College Visit
Next Wednesday 25th June, Kavanagh College is scheduled to visit our school in the annual Verdon - Kavanagh College inter-school. The teams involved are the Rugby 1st XV, Boys Soccer 1st XI, Boys Hockey 1st XI, Netball Senior A, Year 10 A & Year 9 A Netball. If your child is involved please ensure you recieved a letter, $5 is required from each student involved to put towards afternoon tea. The visitors are schedualed to arrive around 10.30am. Students are to come to school as usual, dressed in school uniform, they may change for their game but must be dressed in uniform again for the afternoon tea.
- Soccer 11.30am kick off at Verdon College
- Hockey 11.30am start at Queens Park Hockey Turf
- Year 9A Netball 12pm* start at Stadium Southland Velodrome
- Year 10A Netball 1pm* start at Stadium Southland Velodrome
- Senior A Netball 12pm* start at Stadium Southland Velodrome
- Rugby 1pm Kickoff at Verdon College
*Please note that this has changed (19th June)
Afternoon tea is schedualed for 2.30pm at the College, please report to the office on your arrival, all parents are welcome to attend. Kavanagh College teams will depart at 3pm.
Marcellin Day
The Verdon Ball
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Outstanding Achievement
Congratulations to
Stephanie McRae who has had her poem entitled “The Diamond” published in the Poetry.Com International Collection.
Zac Vermuelen and Shane Evans who have been awarded the Outward Bound ILT Scholarship. This entitles them to a 3 week outdoor course at Anakiwa in the Marlborough Sounds.
- Vigoroso Vibrato— a.k.a. Tim Lindsay, Patrick Wilks, Cody Shuttleworth and Megan McKelvie, were highly commended for their outstanding performance at the Southland Chamber Music Contest held on 11 June.
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
Photos Online
Photos from a few more events are now online:
The "official" photos from JRock can be ordered online from the official website, using the password dance to enter the Verdon College section of the photos.
Verdon’s Gold Medallist
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Jess competed in the shot put event receiving a Gold medal. With her throw of 7.12 metres she achieved a New Zealand record, an Oceania record, as well as recording a personal best.
With this win giving her confidence, Jess is looking forward to the Paralympics where she will compete in Shot Put, Discus and Javelin. She is training hard and is on track to record more personal bests.
When asked how she liked Beijing, she said “I liked the City, but it was dirty and very busy, but it does have very very good shopping!” Well done Jessica.
The Big Sing
On Tuesday evening,June 3rd, the two school choirs, Panache and the Verdon Singers, performed with distinction at the annual Choral Federations Big Sing Southland Regional Finals. Panache won the post 1900 section of the festival. This outstanding achievement gives the choir confidence as they prepare for their Australian Tour later in the term.
"Hemisemidemiquavers"
Congratulations to Tim Lindsay and Patrick Wilkes who as “Hemisemidemiquavers” won their section at the Gold Guitars in Gore at Queen’s Birthday weekend.
National Shakespeare Festival
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Verdon College’s punk rock version of ‘A Midsummer Nights Dream’ achieved the award for Outstanding use of Music and Song in Performance. The performance was delivered with conviction and energy and had great audience appeal.
Over the long weekend festival period, apart from the competition itself, students took part in stimulating workshops. The workshops were taken by professional actors and directors in the theatre profession. Popular workshops included stage combat, contemporising Shakespeare, giving 100% to your audience and ‘playing dead’.
In addition to the Shakespeare festival, other wonderful cultural experiences included live theatre, a Greek restaurant meal and an exploration of inner city Wellington (including a visit to Te Papa Museum for some).The group were a delight to journey with and our Verdon students were excellent ambassadors of Southland.
Monday, 9 June 2008
Magnificoach!
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When ever you are coaching sports, consider the following:
Children of all ages are interested in four things when they play sport
Action - Children like lots of action, i.e. lots of running, hitting, catching, shooting, scoring and so on.
Personal involvement - Children want to be involved in the action, not sitting on the bench or waiting in line for their turn.
Close competition and challenges matching their skills - Close scores make games exciting and lopsided scores make them boring.
Opportunities to reaffirm their friendships - This is demonstrated in the way teams are chosen and the strategies children use during games. They often develop long lasting friendships through their participation in sport.
Go online for Watties Vollunteer Coach of the Year Awards and nominate your coach.
Getting Started in Coaching
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Olivia Gorton, Holly Morton, Danielle Thomas, Clare Corkery, Lauren Kelman and Rebecca Leishout represented Verdon College in a group of approximately 50 students from other Southland Secondary School. The groups were firstly introduced to a panel of well known Southland coaches including Richard Dickle from Basketball Southland, Daryl Thompson from Rugby Southland and Robyn Broughton from the Southern Steel. Each with their own words of advice, inspired the youth and later applied an afternoon of coaching exhibits. Rickie Dickle, Rosie de Goldi and Kelly Hansen applied simple drills and lesson structure to three 30min sessions in which groups rotated. Students were challenged to understand each coaches methods and delivery and take with them advise and new drills. The girls enjoyed the practical sessions, and a yummy lunch was a big bonus.
School Ball Photos
The School Ball was held on Saturday night, and was a fantastic night for our senior students. Informal photos of the event are now online in our online Photo Album.
Well Done!
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"This achievement is amazing for someone so young and there is no doubt that there is plenty more to come." - Marie McMillan
Allanah's next step is to do the Netball New Zealand Theory and then the Netball New Zealand Practical, following this she has the opportunity to become a New Zealand National Netball Umpire. Allanah is a highly recommended and very well qualified sports official, great work!
Friday, 30 May 2008
2008 Representative Netball
Congratulations to the following students on their selection for Invercargill representative teams:
under 21 - Kendall McMinn and Whitney Areaiiti
under 17A - Gemma Roberts
under 17B - Rosie Brown
under 16 - Katie Telfer; Jo Telfer (NTR)
Southland Team which competed in inaugural Lois Muir Challenge - Kendall McMinn; Whitney Areaiiti (reserve) - Under 15 and Intermediate level teams are yet to be named.
under 21 - Kendall McMinn and Whitney Areaiiti
under 17A - Gemma Roberts
under 17B - Rosie Brown
under 16 - Katie Telfer; Jo Telfer (NTR)
Southland Team which competed in inaugural Lois Muir Challenge - Kendall McMinn; Whitney Areaiiti (reserve) - Under 15 and Intermediate level teams are yet to be named.
Rockquest Winners
Home grown band “Room to Move” played at assembly this week showcasing the depth of musical talent being nurtured in the College. Following their Rockquest win, they will prepare a 15 minute DVD from which the national finalist will be selected later this term.
Room to Move band members from left Olivia Canny (vocals), Ryan Dyer (lead guitar), Connor Singh (drums), and Sam Heathcote (bass guitar) celebrating their win at the Rockquest Southland regional finals last Friday.
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Tae Kwon Do Winners
Congratulations to Kayne Duggan and Lexi Monaghan-Neutze who gained gold medals at the Tae Kwon Do National Tournament held in Christchurch last weekend. Kayne who holds a blue belt competed in the 150-160cm group for juniors and Lexi who holds a Red Belt with Black Tips competed in the junior female under 50 kilo section.
Indoor Rock Climbing
Five Verdon students competed in the Southland Secondary Schools Rock Climbing Competition on Saturday 24th May. The teams event was lead by a strong and determined group of year 12 boys, Matthew Debono, Matthew Crooks and Ethan Duggan. They climbed for over 2 hours in the teams event and attempted the individuals competition in the afternoon before their arms and hands proved completely exhausted.
Brodie Vermeulen competed in the boys individual climbing where he came second. It was a fun and successful day all round with plenty of great spot prizes taken home, kindly donated by Adventure Southland. Well done all who attended, thanks to Paul Olsen for his coaching and guidance.
It is intended that the climbing group will continue and new students are encourage and very welcome to join in.
Brodie Vermeulen competed in the boys individual climbing where he came second. It was a fun and successful day all round with plenty of great spot prizes taken home, kindly donated by Adventure Southland. Well done all who attended, thanks to Paul Olsen for his coaching and guidance.
It is intended that the climbing group will continue and new students are encourage and very welcome to join in.
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