Play Area Developments

Excavations for the final stage of the Verdon Block recreation area commenced today. We look forward to making use of the extra hoops, four square courts and all weather surfaces next year.

Fabric Bags

Mrs Hammond's fabric class proudly display the results of their bag project. The individual design and build nature of the project has produced some innovative concepts. An example of this originality is the Flag-Bag made by Quinton Keen. It is a bag that folds into a marker flag.

2009 Graduation

On Wednesday evening the leavers of 2009 gathered with staff and parents to celebrate mass and present graduation certificates. This was followed by a graduation dinner held at the Working Men's club.

BOT fund technology upgrade

Mr Sims has completed the instillation of fixed computer benches in room 41 which is the research room that forms part of the library. As part of this development, the Board of Trustees have approved finance to upgrade the last of the old computers which were housed in this area.

There are a number of other replacements planned for the new year:

• Old room 5 computers will have thin client machines installed.
• Room 6 computers with be replaced with state of the art machines.
• Home economics will have new ovens.
• Fabrics will have new sewing machines.

Cricket nets near completion

The Marist pavilion has had the back wall and sills completed, together with a coat of paint.

The cricket nets have had the frame completed and are awaiting a working bee to fix the netting.

Images from Borland Camp

A tired but happy group of Year 10 campers returned on Friday with photographs, stories and sand fly bites. Students opted into a range of activities and challenges. The sense of achievement was obvious on their faces and many were surprised at how much they managed to accomplish during the week. Caving, Orienteering, Mountain Biking, Rock Climbing, Compass Courses, Bush Navigation, Tramping, Camp Craft, Rock Climbing, Tube Rafting, DOC predictor control Swimming, Fishing, Blind Trail and Jet Boating were among the opportunities offered. Thank you to the many people who donated time and services to make this such a great camp.

Year 8 Volleyball Team

Congratulations to Geroge Lodge, Nat O'Neill, Henry More, Emily Grace, Kayla Duggan, Zac Jackson-Barnes, Samuel Rillstone, Tomas Adams and Jacinta Farrelly who were all members of the year 8 Volleyball team that came first in the Southland competition. Many thanks to Logan Simpson who coached them this year.

New Year 9 Dean

Mr Bryce Hansen is adjusting to the new dean's role he will hold in 2010. He is the only new dean to be appointed this year and takes the vacancy created by the retirement of Mrs Chris Kiddey. The other deans positions are as follows:

Yr 7 &8 Mr John Smith, Yr 10 Mr John Baird, Yr 11 Mr Alan Menzies, Yr 12 Mr Richard Haveron and Yr 13 Mrs Kathryn Miles

8HY Perform with Passion

Students from 8HY performed Bad Jelly the Witch as part of the end of year assessment program for junior Drama. Class teacher, Mrs More, invited Mr Olsen and Mrs Connolly to view the performance and give feedback. It was pleasing that all the students in the class took part in the drama. Both guests complimented the students on their efforts and were impressed with the overall quality of our students' acting skills.

Pavilion exterior remodel

Builders have made progress on the re-cladding of the exterior of the Marist pavilion. The side wall and sills have needed weather proofing after the ravages of winter. This will give a first class facility in time for the opening of the cricket nets.

Cricket nets take shape

Mr Peter Sims and Mr Colin Kid have been hard at work connecting the framework for the new cricket nets. It is hoped that the news will be completed before the end of the school year.

Verdon Represented at the Hockey International

Last week Southland Hockey hosted the International World Cup qualifying tournament in Invercargill. We had five students selected to represent the school as Ball Attendants at this tournament. This is a rare honour. The students involved were Aidan O’Neill, Jacob Kirby, Luke Adamson, Henry More and Andrew Miles and all boys performed very well. Andrew and Luke were chosen for the final and were involved in the presentation of the trophies and medals to the winning teams. The NZ men’s side won the tournament and qualified for the 2010 World Cup. Pictured: Jacob Kirby, Andrew Miles, Luke Adamson, Henry More, Aidan O’Neill (absent)

Prizegiving Images

Blues Assembly Images

New Students Welcomed

The new student orientation day on Friday has been very successful with a barbecue lunch and peer support games lead by our senior students being the highlights. With 100 students enrolled, this Year 7 intake will be the largest for several years. Thank you to the staff and students who have made the day so much fun.

Joint Dux of the College

Allanah Cunningham and Stephanie McRae were awarded joint Dux at Wednesday night’s prizegiving. The full prize list.

Allanah Cunningham is the daughter of Mr Michael Cunningham and Mrs Marie Cunningham. An excellent all round student, Allanah was awarded first in History, English , and Mathematics with Statistics and Modelling. She is an excellent netball player and a senior umpire, a talented actress and debater. In 2010 Allanah will attend Otago University where she will study a double Degree in Law and Humanities.

Stephanie McRae, the daughter of Mrs Anthea McRae and Mr Matt Sillars, was awarded first in Classical Studies and Mathematics with Calculus. Stephanie also studied Chemistry and Biology extramurally at Massey University this year. Throughout this year Stephanie has been an active member of the library committee and an enthusiastic member of the school triathlon team. In 2010 Stephanie will study Electrical Engineering at the University of Canterbury.

Gateway 2009

On Thursday evening, Michelle McCuin hosted the Gateway end of year function in the Marist Pavilion. Students, Parents and Gateway providers gathered to celebrate the years achievements.

A huge thanks to all of our business partners for your support and commitment to making the Gateway programme work. You are the people who make education come to life in the eyes of these students – you make the links to the real world – you inspire our students and give them the motivation to achieve.

A special mention to the Southland Institute of Technology who have worked very closely with the College to provide courses and support. This partnership has increased our flexibility and capability to be able to meet our students needs.

Thanks you to Michelle McCuin whose hard work, diligence and dedication are the glue that holds the programme together. Michelle has organised the placements, followed up with work place visits and show a genuine interest in the student’s welfare.

Year 13 NCEA Art Images

The Year 13 Art and Graphic Art portfolios are currently on display in the office foyer. They will be sent off to NZQA for marking. Miss Lyall is pleased with the creativity, originality and artistic standard demonstrated by the students' in their work.

Images from Deep Cove 8HY

Deep Cove 2009 1 - 5 November

Awesome, challenging, tiring, hilarious, amazing, soaking, muddy, sore legs and of course education describe this years 8BH Deep Cove adventure. The walk up Hanging Valley on the second day provided a highlight - all conquered this climb to above Kea's Cairn. Fishing was a challenge and very successful while having to fight off the natives. We saw some dolphins while on the cruise as well as a seal in the tailrace. We arrived back at school after five days exhausted, but well satisfied having met the challenges of the whole experience. A huge thanks to all the parents who travelled with us, a brilliant bunch. Well done to everyone.

Australian Maths Competition

This competition was held on 8 August 2009.

Congratulations to the following students who obtained Distinction Awards in this year's Australian Maths Competition.

Year 7: Conor O'Neill
Year 8: Brenna O'Neill
Year 12: Patrick Stone
Year 13: Ian Faithful

SMAC MATH COMPETITIONS

The annual SMACMATH competitions were held at JHC Gym complex on Wednesday 28 October. Two teams at each level of year 7, 8 9 and 10 participated with credit, achieving scores near the top end of the competition. One of the year 7 teams finished 3rd equal and one of the teams at year 8 finished 2nd equal and both were involved in a playoff. As a result of this, the year 7 team was placed 4th and the year 8 team placed 3rd.

Members of the third placed team were: Gracey Farquharson, Oliver McLean, Brenna O'Neill and Nathaniel O'Neill.

Well done to other team participants:

Year Seven: Louis Earl, Hannah Lieshout, Nicole Morgan, Emma Morton, Conor O'Neill, Toni Shierlaw, Jacob Thomson, Tina Wright
Year Eight: Tomas Adams, James Humm, Amber Kidd-Mclean, Michael Preddy
Year Nine: Thomas Farquharson, Hannah Grindlay, Dermot Hughes, Christine Lieshout, Andrew O'Brien, Stephen O'Brien, Ella Prendergast, Danielle Shierlaw
Year Ten: Liam Cosgrove, Joshua Cunningham, Ryan Faithful, Oliver Fry, Jesse Johnson, Michael Kelly, James Shirley Ben Williams

Duke of Edinburgh Tramp

The Year 9 and 10 Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award candidates tramped into the Kiwi Burn over the weekend. Perfect weather helped to make the challenge enjoyable. Thank you to Mr Olsen and Mrs Kilsby for their help.

Blues Assembly 2009

The 2009 Blues Awards were presented at a special assembly this week. Family and friends supported the students as they received these coveted awards. Blues recipients and guests, joined the staff for morning tea in the staff room.

YEAR 13 ACADEMIC

Allanah Cunningham

Emily Stevens

Iain Faithful

Stephanie McRae

Cody Shuttleworth

Tabea Eisenring

YEAR 12 ACADEMIC

Emily Mason

Atrayl Elliott-Roderique

Patrick Stone

Tim Lindsay

Charles More

NETBALL

Kendall McMinn

Gemma Roberts

Rosie Brown

CRICKET

Sean Adam

RUGBY

Sam Shannon

Isaac Fleury

SOCCER

Chas Monaghan

Michael Tattersfield

HOCKEY

Charles More

Iain Faithful

SWIMMING

Rebecca Smith

SYNCRONISED SWIMMING

Tess-Ana Leatherby

WEIGHT LIFTING

Douglas Sekone-Fraser

TAE KWON DO

Lexi Monaghan-Neutze

DEBATING

Charles More

Tim Lindsay

Allanah Cunningham

MUSIC

Cody Shuttleworth

PRODUCTION

Braydon Macdonald

Youthmark Awards

On Thursday evening at the annual Youthmark awards, four recipients from Verdon College received citations. We are very proud to congratulate Sean Adam, Allanah Cunningham, Braydon Macdonald and Kendall McMinn on their award. The photographs are on display in the foyer of the Ascot Park Hotel for the next week.

Artistic Creativity on Display

The office foyer was turned into an art gallery this week with the superb work of our year 12 students on display. This work will now be sent off to NZQA for marking as part of the NCEA assessment process. It is pleasing to see the high level of student achievement.

Jazz Fest 2009

Thank you to all the staff, students and family who were able to support our students at the Jazz Festival on Wednesday. The students really appreciated the strong community presence.
The Verdon Swingers were placed third. Our students also received some special awards.

• Best Bass Player Darcy Kerr
• Best Strings/Flutes/Clarinets Tim Lindsay and Patrick Wilkes

The evening was a showcase of musical talent and our students can be justifiably proud of their performance.

SMAC Maths

The Southland Mathematics Competition was held on Wednesday evening at James Hargest College. Verdon entered two teams at each year level. Pictured are the Year 8 team and proud staff. They came third, after a tie-breaker question for second place.

HETTANZ Southland Fashion, Design and Craft Awards

Verdon College had 15 entries in the HETTANZ Southland Fashion, Design and Craft Awards which were held at Southland Girls" High School on Thursday 22 October. There was a record number of entries in the competition this year and the standard was very high. Congratulations to our students who were awarded the following prizes:


Anna-Marie Baker - 3rd year 9 Craft
Rebecca Smith - 3rd Level 2 Craft
Emily Lough - 2nd Level 1 Mixed Garment

Jazz Band Performs at Assembly

The College Jazz Band performed at assembly in the preparation for the Southland Secondary Schools Jazz Festival on Tuesday evening at the Ascot Park Hotel. Baz Macdonald lead the group in a powerful performance. The live audience helped the group prepare for the event.

The annual Jazz Festival is on this Wednesday evening, 7pm, Ascot Park Hotel, Gold coin entry. This year there are seven bands each performing a 15 - 20 minute programme.

Our Jazz Band members are: Braydon Macdonald, Cody Shuttleworth, Tim Lindsay, Patrick Wilkes, Emily Mason, Megan Gooding, Amber Hilton, Renee Tang, Darcy Kerr, Ryan Dyer and Sam Heathcote.

Scholarships Received

Congratulations to all the following students on receiving the following scholarships

ILT:
Cody Shuttleworth, Baz Macdonald, Emma Greenfield, Rosie Brown, Kayla Geary, Antoinette Oudhoff, Rachel Stewart, Douglas Sekone-Fraser

Community Trust of Southland:
Antoinette Oudhoff

Rotary Science (Genesis:
Ryan Jones

We are very proud of your achievement.

Culinary Success

Congratulations to Tyler and Levi who on Wednesday prepared a beef burger for lunch to pass this section of their unit standard assessment. Mrs Moon has been teaching the class about food safety and preparation temperatures. As part of this assessment the meat serving temperature was measured. This one of the few assessments that is healthy, filling and just in time for lunch!

Junior Social raises money for Samoa

Proceeds from the junior social held on Tuesday evening, will benefit the victims of the tsunami in Samoa. Many families within our College community have links with Samoa and this is a an opportunity for our College to support them as they deal with this tragedy. The student council will meet next week to arrange other fundraising activities for this appeal. Thank you to the staff who helped with the supervision of the event.

Junior Social Images

Images from Planting Day

Planting Day

Thank you to the many parents and students who helped with the planting of the mounds at the school entrance. The weather improved as the morning went on. One group of helpers managed to plant the mound area with tussocks and pittosporum and added mulch to improve the quality of the soil. Another group worked on weeding the quad and Verdon block gardens. The result is yet another step forward in implementing the garden plan. Special thanks to the PTA and Leonie Grace.

Netball Report

Netball continued over the school holidays for the Senior A team who had qualified for the National Secondary School' Championship as they were runners-up in the South Island Tournament earlier. The Tournament was held in Timaru from 6 - 9 October. The results were:

Versus Tu Toa - lost 38 - 19
Versus Westlake Girls' High School - won 26 - 20
Versus Craighead Diocescan School - lost 31 - 22
Versus St Mary's College - lost 27 - 21
Versus Mount Albert Grammar School - lost 31 - 17
Versus Saint Kentigern College - won 31 - 20
Play-off for 9th/10th place, versus Marian College - won 38 - 23

Verdon College has appeared ten times in the 16 years this tournament has been running, nine of them consecutively. This year has been a rebuidling year and the girls performed very well so the future looks promising.

In the Perry Foundation National Championships held in Invercargill the previous week, three of the Senior A team played in the second grade team which was placed fourth overall. They were Whitney Areaiiti, Kendall McMinn and Gemma Roberts. Whitney and Kendall were selected in the Second Grade Tournament team and Kendall was also selected for the New Zealand Under 21 team. Well done to these three girls and all the members of the Senior A team who represented our school so well.

STAR Performers

At assembly this week, the STAR Maori studies class performed haka, himene (hymn), poi and chant for the College. Thank you to Sonny from SIT for his support and encouragement.

A New Sports Trophy

On Thursday, Jessica Hamill presented the College with a new shot put trophy. Mr Olsen was pleased to be able to add the impressive trophy to those being presented at the senior prize giving on Wednesday 11th November. Jess, who attended the Verdon College, is currently studying therapeutic massage at the Southern Institute of Technology. She is in training for the Commonwealth Games next year.

Baz Macdonald is off to London

Baz Macdonald participated in the 2009 New Zealand Shakespeare Schools' Production during the recent school holidays. Following this, Baz has been chosen to participate, as a Young Shakespeare Company member, in Workshops and a production at the Globe Theatre in London in 2010. We congratulate Baz on this achievement.

Celebration of a Valued Staff Member's Career.

Friday September 25 2009, marked the retirement of valued staff member, Leah Boniface. The College staff gathered in the staff room to acknowledge and celebrate Leah's significant contribution to the Verdon Family. Joined by husband Bob, son Rueben and grandchildren, colourful stories from of a career spanning 25 years at Verdon College were recounted. We wish Leah and Bob every blessing as the next chapter of their lives unfolds.

SIT Maori Studies STAR Course

On Friday at the SIT Maori Studies Department, students attending the STAR course gave a performance which displayed the knowledge and skills gained over the nine weeks of study. Mr Olsen and Mr Miles were among the audience of staff and parents from Verdon College and St Peter's College in Gore. They were challenged by a haka , inspired by a himene (hymn) and entertained by poi and chant. We look forward to the group performing at the first assembly for term four at 10.30 am on Tuesday 13 October. Parents and supporters are welcome to attend.

Speech and Poetry Excellence

Year 9 Prepared Speech and Poetry

Prepared Speech

1. Ella Prendergast
2. Megan Middlemiss

Highly Commended: Melissa Web and Eleanor Morrison

Poetry

1. Mason Leigh
2. David Destura
3. Sarah Hughes

Highly Commended: Brydan Harrington and David Churchman

Southland Interschools' Speech Contest

The Southland wide speech contest was held at Aurora College on Thursday evening. Verdon's finalist, Henry More, received the MC's Choice Award last evening. This award is given to the person who the MC believes has special potential.

Images from Year 12 Retreat

Netball Best Wishes

All the very best wishes to the Senior A Netball team as they travel to Timaru for nationals in the school holidays. This competition brings together the best school teams from the regions. It is a great opportunity for the girls to build on their tournament week achievements. We look forward to reporting your achievements.
Congratulations also go to Kendall McMinn, Gemma Roberts and Whitney Areaiiti, who have been selected for the Southland Under 19 Team.

BOT Student Representative

The votes in the student election for the 2010 student representative on the Board of Trustees have been counted and Patrick Stone has been elected. Our congratulations and best wishes go to Patrick as he takes over the role from Ben Ward next term.

Year 12 Retreat

Year 12 students have spent the last two days working together, enjoying a range of challenges and focusing on leadership issues. Their retreat was coordinated by Mrs Miles and was held at the Working Men's Club. Thank you to the many staff who helped facilitate the group activities, Fr. Martin our chaplain and Vaughn Hook the diocesan youth worker.

Grounds Development Continues

Mr Sims and Mr Kid have been making the most of the fine periods this week to complete the third stage of the grounds plan.

Over the next few weeks we hope to complete the quad gardens, incidental concrete work for seating outside the Verdon Block and have the base for the cricket nets poured.

The mound at the front entrance has been prepared for a planting working bee on Sunday October 11. If you are able to help with this project please contact Leonie Grace by email.

Year 13 Chemistry Field Trip

On Tuesday after school Mr Justin Yu challenged Year 13 Chemistry students to view aqueous chemistry in action at the Clifden Caves. Justin is a student teacher from the University of Canterbury College of Education. The party lead by Mr Olsen, who is a caving enthusiast, explored the limestone formations in the system. Stalactites, stalagmites, crystal pools and sinkholes were all on the viewing agenda. Exploring the chemical processes that have formed the cave linked directly to the topic Mr Yu has been developing with the class over the last seven weeks. We would like to thank him for his contribution to the College while he was on teaching practicum at Verdon.

A warm welcome to Fr Cathal Deery

At Assembly this week, Fr Martin introduced Fr Cathal Deery. Fr Cathal is from County Monaghan in Ireland and is based at St Theresa’s Parish, Windsor, Invercargill for 4 months until early January in a swap with Father Brendan Ward who has gone to work in his Parish in Ireland.

Fr Cathal has been a Priest for the last 15 years, all of which have been spent in various Parishes in his local diocese of Clogher. His hometown of Monaghan is in the Irish Republic but just a few minutes drive from the border with Northern Ireland. His diocese covers an area in both the North and the Republic.

Father Brendan and I have arranged this swap so that we can both gain some experience of working in the church in a different country. My experience so far at St Theresa has been very positive – people have made me very welcome and I have enjoyed meeting so many people of Irish descent. I am chaplain to St Theresa’s primary school and my experience so far indicates that the New Zealand and Irish school systems are very similar. Likewise the secondary school systems have many things in common also. I know that my four months here is relatively short but it will give me a great insight into the New Zealand life and culture.

Sing Out Performance

On the previous Wednesday, 35 of our year 7 & 8 students took part in the annual Sing Out Music Festival at the Civic Theatre. The theme was 70s–A Blast from the Past.

The hosts for the evening were Ashlyn Gallagher and Jack King. For our individual item we sang ‘Let it Be’ by The Beatles with soloists Valu Maka and Kameron Corbin. Our second song was the disco hit ‘Blame it on the Boogie’. Our dancers were Alannah Webster-Blair, Grace Donnelly and Jacinta Farrelly. Thanks to Meg Prendergast and Emily Lough for their superb choreography.

The evening was a great success. The audience thoroughly enjoyed the trip down memory lane. Congratulations to all who took part – splendid performances from everyone.

LipSync 2009 Images

On Thursday evening a LipSync competition was held as a fund raiser to help with Miss Boulton's mission to Tanzania next year. Student of all ages performed to an appreciative audience raising over $350 for the cause. One of the highlights of this fun evening was the staff rendition of ABBA's Waterloo. With such good support from students and staff, we hope to make this a regular event.

Sports Photographs 2009

Mr Miles and Mr Hartley have been hard at work organising and taking the sports photographs for 2009. The Performing Arts Centre has been a hive of activity with students being groomed, arranged in height order and photographed team by team. It is a testament to the popularity of sport in the school that it required most of the morning to get through all the teams.

New Common Room Opened

On Wednesday morning Mrs Kiddey, our Year 13 Dean, welcomed student's into the newly refurbished senior common room. The seniors thanked Mr Sims for the hard work that he has dedicated to this project. The room has had a complete refit from top to bottom. This completes the renovation of the three storied block.

Year 7 Camps

This week, year 7 students have been on camp based in Dunedin.

Day one of the camp involves visiting Cadbury World and running up Baldwin Street.

Baldwin Street, at Dunedin's Northern end is reputed by the Guinness Book of Records as being the steepest street in the world. 35% gradient = 1:2.86 For most it was a very invigorating walk. It only takes about a ten minute to walk up but student's said "you can sure feel it". At its maximum, the slope of Baldwin Street is approximately (19° or 35%) - that is, for every 2.86 metres travelled horizontally, the altitude rises by 1 metre! The night was spent at the Otago Museum. The sleep over was exciting in an amazing setting.

Day two was spent at the Waiora Scout camp. Adventure Masters ran a challenging day programme. Abseiling, raft building, an assault course and archery were the activities provided.

Thank you to the many staff, parent and senior student helpers who made these camps such a success.

NetBall 2009 Summary

Seventeen teams were entered in the local Saturday competition over the winter.

The Senior B team won the Creative Curbs Trophy for winning the Reserve Grade.

Runner-up status went to 10A (10th Grade Trophy for Secondary School Grade 2) and 8A (Ottrey Trophy for Years 7 & 8 Grade 1).

Senior B team also won the Sargood Cup for having the highest number of goal scored at their grade and below – 240 goals.

Lucy Heenan won the Pierce Trophy for having the highest individual goal average (82%).

Several students attained representative honours:

• Gracey Farquharson (Years 7 & 8A)
• Grace Dowling and Kloe Milne (Years 7 & 8B)
• Lucy Heenan (under 15A)
• Jessica Wright (under 15B)
• Blaze Craigie, Joanna Telfer and Laura Corbin (under 16)
• Jessica van Rossum and Katie Telfer (under 17A)
• Jessica Greenwood (under 17B)

In the Southland Lois Muir Challenge team which won its competition were Kendall McMinn, Gemma Roberts and Whitney Areaiiti.

In the Southland League Competition, Verdon Senior A came 6th.

At the South Island Secondary Schools’ Tournament last week in Timaru, the Verdon Senior A team was unbeaten till its final game.

• Beat Geraldine High 30 – 18
• Beat Taieri College 21 – 10
• Beat Mount Hutt College 31 – 16
• Beat Motueka High School 34 – 14
• Beat Waimea College 31 – 14
• Beat Central Southland College 36 – 9
• In the semifinal, beat Craighead Diocesan School 34 – 20
• The final against St Peter’s, lost 31 – 20.

The team will get the opportunity to participate in the national tournament in Timaru from 6 – 9 October, where the top four from the three regions take part.

Talented players identified from the South Island Tournament were Whitney Areaiiti, Kendall McMinn and Katie Telfer.

Allanah Cunningham was identified as a talented umpire. This is the third year that Allanah has won this award.

2009 Science - International Competitions and Assessments for School

Thirteen students from Verdon College participated in the recent 2009 Science ICAS examinations. Congratulations to the following students:

Nathaniel O'Neill - Year 8 - Distinction
Sarah McManus - Year 7 - Credit
Hannah Lieshout - Year 7 - Credit
Conor O'Neill - Year 7 - Credit
Patrick Stone - Year 12 - Credit

BookQuest

Matt Lough and Joseph Williams are proud to present BookQuest. This is a competition open to any students who enjoy reading. To enter, simply visit the website link, compete in the game, and you can be in to win a monthly prize of $40. Enter BookQuest

Ski Trip to Coronet Peak

On Saturday a minivan load of students accompanied by Mr Olsen, Mr Yu and Mrs Balladares, enjoyed a superb days skiing at Coronet Peak. The conditions were ideal and both students and helpers made the most of the day. Pictured are Myles and Shannon getting on the Greengates express lift. This was the last trip for the season. Our thanks go to the very professional team at Coronet and the Remarkables for their help this season.

PTA Fundraiser

The PTA will be sending order forms home for Christmas Hams with your child (eldest or only) on Monday 14 September. These hams are Hellers Brand and very good quality and price. It is a great time to pay for the Christmas ham and they will be delivered to the College in the last week of November. Orders with monies to be in by 15th October. You can also order online through the Verdon College website.

Support your school with this good value fundraiser.

Common Room Renovation

Pictured is Mr Sims putting the finishing touches to the renovations in the senior common room. As part of the work, a new sink unit and zip have been installed. The new carpet will be laid next week. Our year 13 students will have a set of new chairs for the room, compliments of the Parent Teacher Association.

Mathematical Perfection

Nat O'Neill and Gracey Farquharson, members of the year 8 mathematical enrichment group, have been working on presentations investigating magic squares. Gracey had a focus on historical development of the concepts and Nat placed more emphasis on the variation within this area of mathematical interest. They are pictured with year 7 students sharing their work and offering inspiration to other young mathematicians.

Year 9 Drama Production

The year 9 drama class have been having fun preparing their end of course production of The Emperor's Carpet. They will be performing their work in class next Tuesday to a selected audience. The year 8 students have also been working on their production, which is the classic Bad Jelly the Witch.

Hockey Update

Day Three: Congratulations to the team for their 6-0 win against St Peter's College!

Day Two: The game against James Hargest College resulted in a nil all draw.

Day One: The Hockey boy's have had two challenging games in the pool round of their competition at Ashburton. They played Lincoln College with a 3 -1 loss and Long Bay College with a 9 -0 loss.

Netball Update

Day Five: Verdon won their semi-final game and played St Peter's in the final. Unfortunately they lost by 11 goals after a very close and competitive game.

Day Four: Today the team take on arch-rivals Craighead at 9.30am - we wish them all the best! In the afternoon they played Motueka and won 34 - 14. This qualified them for the nationals and they are now in the top four and will play a semi-final tomorrow morning.


Day Three: The morning game was against Central Southland College - the Verdon girls won 36 - 8. The girls played Moteuaka at 3pm and won by 21 points. This places them in the top four.


Day Two: Verdon girls played Geraldine High School in the morning game and won 30 to 18. In the afternoon they played Waimea College, winning 33 - 16. This puts the team in an excellent position in the pool round.


Day One:Verdon's netball girls in Timaru have had a successful first day at the winter tournament. They won by 16 points to Mt Hutt College and 11 points to Taieri College.

Under 15 Rugby

Day Three: The team lost against Mt Hutt College 12 -5 and won against St Peter's College 7 -0. The weather at Oreti Park has been cold with hail showers for the final day of the tournament.

Day Two: The 11am game against Wakatipu resulted in a 5 - 0 loss. This game was played in trying conditions and was an even match. At 2pm the boy's played John McGlashan College and lost 24 - 5. Thank you to the parents and supporters who have attended the games so far.

Day One: The Under 15 Rugby team played their first two games of the tournament week competition on Monday. They unfortunately came second in both games. The matches are being played at Oreti Park at 11am and 2pm Tuesday. Supporters are most welcome.

Southland Science Fair

This week our junior scientists have been able to display, to the Southland scientific community, the results of their diligent efforts. These students were the award winners in the Verdon science fair. They have taken on board the constructive criticism and feed back given by staff and have improved their projects. The students are eagerly awaiting the results of the judging and we wish them all the best. Thanks to Mr du Mez and Mr Dunlop for their help with the set up.

8A Netball Success

Verdon 8A Netball team members Sophie McLean and Samantha Colvin are presented with the runner's up cup by Mr Olsen. The 8A team were second in the Saturday morning netball competition 2009.

Patronal Day Images

Sing Out Choir

Verdon's Sing Out Choir under the musical direction of Mrs Mason are rehearsing for the up coming event on Wednesday September 16th. The performance is at 7pm at the Civic Theatre.

Senior Examination Week

This week senior students have been focusing on their NCEA trial examinations. This is an opportunity to pit their knowledge and skills against the clock in a formal examination setting. Pictured are a group of senior biology students as they begin their three hour examination.

Inter-School Debating Competition

The Southland Secondary Schools Debating competition was held on the 16th of August at Southland Boys' High School. Verdon had 5 teams, of 3 students each, attending the event. They were assisted with the prepared speeches by Mrs Connolly, Mrs Crawford, Mr and Mrs Mile, Mrs More, Mrs Van and many supportive parents. Their help was greatly appreciated.

Each team had to do three or more debates. The juniors had prepared debates while the Seniors had a minimum preparation time of 30 minutes. Each of our teams made it into the semi- finals but unfortunately none were able to proceed further in the competition.

A high level of participation, pride and etiquette was maintained throughout the day even though it was sometimes irritating when the adjudicator saw things a different way or we could not get our points across. Overall it was a fun day and a good experience for everyone involved especially for the younger members on the Verdon team.

Hopefully we have the same amount of interest next year! And next year we will win!

Patrick Stone

Images from the St Peter's College Interchange

Polyfest Festival

Verdon's Polyvibe group who performed at the first Polyfest in Invercargill.

Special thanks to Aiga Faga who was the groups tutor.