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.