Meg Prendergast - DUX of Verdon College 2011

Meg Prendergast, the daughter of Donna and John Prendergast, was announced Dux of Verdon College at our Senior Prizegiving held on 8 November 2011.

Her academic achievements include firsts in Economics, Chemistry, Mathematics with Calculus, Statistics and Modelling and Biology. She also received a Champagnat Service Award.

Meg is Head Girl of the College. Her commitment to her studies has been matched by her contribution to extra-curricular activities. She played netball and has both coached and played basketball and volleyball. She has been involved in school productions and our Chamber Music group. She was a member of our debating team and a member of the Verdon Bishop’s Shield Public Speaking Team.

Next year Meg intends to begin a double degree in Law and Science at Otago University. She has received a scholarship from the Invercargill Licensing Trust to assist with her studies.

Emily Lough - Proxime Accessit 2011

Congratulations to Emily Lough who was named Proxime Accessit at our Senior Prizegiving held on 8 November 2011.

Blues and Colours Recipients

Picture of our Blues recipients above.

On Wednesday 28 September we held our Special Assembly to award our second round of Colours Recipients and the Blues recipients for 2011. They are as follows.

Colours Recipients
Darcy Kerr Kapa Haka, Leadership
Fusi Maka Polyfest, Leadership
Shanice Dunn, Polyfest, Leadership
Basketball U17 - Southland Representative
James Hum, Basketball U17 Southland Representative
Jordan Murphy, Basketball—U15 & U17 Southland
Representative
Timothy O’Neill, Basketball - NZ U13 Representative
Lucy Heenan, Basketball - Southland U19
Selected as South Island Secondary Schools Tournament Talented Player
Taylor Le Breton, Badminton - Southland U17
Representative
Travelling to Malaysia
Sarah Hughes, Debating - Selected as Best Year 11 Speaker student at the Southland Secondary Schools Debating Competition
Benjamin Williams, Music - Overall Contribution to Music
Hannah Lieshout, Waterpolo– Southland U16 Representative
Ashleigh MacDougall, Weightlifting - NZ Age Group
Representative

Blues Awards

Connor Chamberlain: Drama
Jack Kelly: Drama
Patrick Collins: Drama
Rebecca Lieshout: Production
Olivia King: Production
Joanna Telfer: Netball
Katie Telfer: Netball
Jessica van Rossum: Netball
Andrew Ridden: Football
Kris Leatherby: Football
Tauira PattersonL: Rugby
Daniel O’Connor: Golf
Daniel O'Connor: Hockey
Jessica Fahey: Equestrian
Paigan Marshall: Cycling
Rebecca Bulmer: Waterpolo

Southland Secondary Schools Debating Competition

On Sunday 11th of September Verdon College hosted the annual Southland Schools Debating Competition. Students from Verdon College, SGHS, SBHS, JHHC and Aparima College made up the 81 competitors. Six members of the Otago University debating team headed the adjudicating team. This year the competition was sponsored by the ILT who helped with the accommodation of the visiting adjudicating team. As well as some local legal firms—Scholefield Cockroft Lloyd, AWS, Cruickshank Pryde and Hewat Galt sponsored prizes for the winning teams.
Verdon College had four teams competing in the Southland Secondary Schools Debating Competition. All teams won at least one debate, the Year 10 team (Jack King, Henry More and Gabe Winders) made the semi-finals. The Year 11 Team of Ella Prendergast, Josef Winders and Sarah Hughes won the year 11 section with Sarah Hughes being named Best Speaker.
A special thank you to the PTA who provided a wonderful morning tea and lunch for the adjudicators and teachers. The school was widely complimented on the wonderful facilities and hospitality.

Invercargill North Rotary Club Youth Merit Award

Congratulations to Shelley Mitchell who received the above award on Thursday 22 September 2011. We are all very proud of Shelley’s achievements.

Weightlifting

Congratulations to Shaun Larsen who received a bronze medal at the South Island Secondary Schools Tournament. He lifted 65kg in the clean and jerk and lifted 47kg in the snatch which gave him a total of 112. Shaun was placed 3rd overall nationally.
Congratulations to Ashleigh McDougall who received a gold medal at the South Island Secondary Schools Tournament. She lifted 64kg in the clean and jerk and lifted 53kg in the snatch which gave her a total of 117. Ashleigh was placed 1st overall nationally.

Hockey News

Congratulations to Daniel O’Connor who was recently selected as Most Valuable Player at the Coaches Cup at the Secondary Schools Tournament held in Ashburton recently.
Also congratulations to Luke Adamson who was named 2011 Top Goal Scorer for this year’s Secondary School Boys Competition.
The Secondary School Mixed B team were also named 2011 Runners-Up . The team consists of Henry More, Dylan Coombs, Thomas Glew, Tomas Adams,Kayla Duggan, Louis Earl, Kade Morris, Shanay Fannin, Peter Thurlow, Hannah McLean, Jack Lenihan, Patrick Pasco, Liam Cairns

Rugby

Rugby
Congratulations to Padriac O’Neill who received the Don Bennett Memorial Cup for the most improved player in the Verdon College 1st XV.

Congratulations and Well Done to JESSICA VAN ROSSUM

Last week Jessica van Rossum returned back home from London where she competed at the Junior World Chamiponships. She had been training in the Junior Women’s Quad for 2 months earlier at Lake Karapiro New Zealand. Jessica reported she had a wonderful experience and in the end received a placing of 9th. The competition was very tough but Jessica learnt a lot from her adventures.

Moto-X

Congratulations to Mitchell Morris who attended the South Island Secondary Schools Moto-X Champs on Saturday 20th August in Timaru. Mitchell was placed 8th out of 24 riders in the 11-13 year 85cc MX.

Congratulations

Congratulations to Ashleigh MacDougall (Year 11) who was placed 1st in NZ in the weight lifting champs last week.
Ashleigh is a quiet but rising star with high goals
for herself in this field. We wish her well for the future.

Religious Education Fair Results

Students receiving their awards at the conclusion of Patronal Day Mass held on Friday 19 August


1st Placegetters—Congratulations to you all.
Year 7 Written Research—Connor Hillis
Year 7 Poster—Chelsea Cosgrove
Year 7 3D Display—Connor Hillis
Year 7 Music—Sinaenae Tolai
Year 7 Drama—Shepherds and Angels—Tilly van Eeden, Maria Sutherland, Helene O’Neill and Jennifer Stone
Year 8 Poster—Isabella Collins
Year 8 3D Display Nola Cassidy and Sarayha McDonald
Year 8 Illustrated Bible Passage—Bronte Adams and Samantha Keene
Year 8 Drama Puppets—Shelley Mitchell and Madison Brown
Year 8 Drama Jesus Heals a Boy—Jean-Martin Fabre, Liam van Eeden and Jack Baird
Year 9 3D Display—Hannah Arnold and Shania Frewen
Year 9 Written Research—Toni Shierlaw and Toni Hanning
Year 9 Song Make a Change—Charlotte Lee, Nicole Morgan, Brodiee Hubbard, Katie Robertson, Jess Brown and Hannah McLean
Year 9 ICT—Tina Wright
Year 10 Written Research—Clarissa Koroiadi and Cellina Cabuyao
Year 10 Posters—Jack King
Year 10 3D Display- Natasha Frewen and Tori Batt
Year 10 Drama—Death of John the Baptist—Shaun Swain, Tomas Adams, Amber Watson, Kameron Corbin and Samuel Rillstone.

Outward Bound Scholarships

Congratulations to Rebecca Bulmer & Daniel O'Connor as they were both awarded ILT scholarships for Outward Bound.

Golf News

Daniel O’Connor won the Chisholm Park U19 Junior Open, and was second in the Taieri Classic U19 Junior Open, during the school holidays. Both events are part of the Greg Turner Order of Merit run by Otago Golf and attracted a large field of golfers from Otago, Southland and Aorangi. Daniel won the Chisholm Park Tournament with a gross 72, which is a nett 67 off his 4.5 handicap after a sudden death playoff that went to a second hole. He was just one shot away from being the winner of the Taieri Classic

Year 10 Netball

In the first week of the holidays the 10A Netball team went on an overnight trip to Dunedin. They planned this trip as the Christchurch tournament was cancelled. They played Gore High 10A on the way up and won 31-25. The next day they played Otago Girls’ High School 10A and won 32-19. On the way home they stopped in Milton and played Tokomairiro Senior A Team and won by 1 goal with the score being 27-26. The team would like to thank Sarah Mollison (Coach), Michelle O’Neill (Manager) and Bridget Bekhuis (Parent Help).

Basketball Success

Congratulations to Tim O’Neill who was recently selected for the U14 New Zealand Koru Basketball Team. Tim will travel with the team to Australia in January.

Dave Kennedy School of Music Awards

On Sunday 7th August Daniel Ferguson along with 15 other Verdon College students participated in the annual Dave Kennedy School of Music Awards night & show. This was held at centre stage and involved all of Dave Kennedy's Guitar students who played at least four songs. Students were encouraged to perform a solo piece in front of a sold-out audience, Daniel selected a piece called ‘cryin’ by Joe Satriani to perform. Daniel was awarded the overall Musician of the Year Award and he received a $500 Laker House of Travel voucher, $100 Trevor Daley Music Works voucher and $100 Guitar Tuition and various Guitar accessories.

Preference Certificates for 2012

To assist with the smooth transition of students from contributing schools, parish priests are making themselves available to meet with prospective parents to sign off preference certificates between now and the end of the term.
Parish priests will submit certificates to the College on behalf of parents/ caregivers or alternatively they can be drop these into the College this term as they are completed.
The College will facilitate the inclusion of these certificates with applications received from prospective students during the enrolment period at the beginning of next term.
If you would like further information please contact Fr Martin our College Chaplin at St Patrick’s Parish 2188466 or the College Office.

Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat

Recently some cast members from Joseph & the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat visited Sacred Heart School. This is an extract from the letter we received back from them.

“I would like to express our appreciation to Verdon College for sending some of the very talented cast of the Joseph Production to school yesterday.
Mr Menzies and the students had a huge impact on our Year 5 & 6 students yesterday. Their performance captivated our pupils and they way they interacted with our students was very impressive. Their rapport with our students as they worked in small groups for a question and answer session was outstanding.”

Other staff members comments were:
" What a credit to Verdon they were."
" How talented they were."
" What fine young people they were"

School Social Years 7-10

On Wednesday 29 June the Verdon College Social Justice Committee are holding a social for years 7,8,9 and 10.
The Social will be held in the School hall from 6.30-9.00pm. Tickets are $3.00 and go on sale Monday 27 June.

Vision Testing

On Thursday 7 July the Vision testing people will be working with our Year 7's.
Vision screening for all Year 7’s (Please Note: Your child will not be screened if he/she is under the care of a specialist and /or optometrist)Colour Vision for Year 7male students
Parents/caregivers will be notified if further assessment is required by an Optometrist.

If you do not wish your child to be screened, please notify the College.

ICAS Examinations—English and Mathematics

Students in all classes and levels are invited to enter the ICAS examinations for English and Mathematics. The closing date for ICAS Examinations for English is on the 5th of July and Mathematics is the of 15th July, with the date for these examinations 2nd August and 16th August respectively. Students have been informed of these examinations through notices and classroom teachers. If any students are wishing to enter these examinations payment and parental returns must be received by the closing dates listed above.

Gold Guitar Awards

Congratulations to the Out Back Hunterz who won the Intermediate Group Section at the Gold Guitars at the weekend. This was the first year they entered and they were very well received by the large crowd at the finals. Out Back Hunterz consists of Ryan Dyer on lead Guitar, Chris Goble on Bass Guitar, Jack Townley, Rhythm and Lead Vocal and Connor Singh (JHHS) on Drums.

Scout Award

Congratulations to Robert Lindsay who recently received the Chief Scout’s Award for the Waverley Scout Group.

Soccer Results

Andrew Ridden has recently been recognised for his exemplary debut contribution to Southland Football by Spirit FC Player/Coach Barry Gardiner.

Andrew is currently leading goal scorer for his team and has been presented with an opportunity to attend a trial in Auckland next month in the hope of being offered a US College scholarship.

Success at Junior Quad Tournament

On Wednesday 1st June the Inaugural Catholic Schools Quadrangular Tournament was held in Dunedin. Verdon College was the overall winner for this tournament.

Year 7 Netball 2nd
Year 8 Netball 1st
Year 9 Netball 4th
Year 10 Netball 3rd
Year 7 & 8 Boys Basketball 1st
Year 7 & 8 Girls Basketball 1st
Year 9 & 10 Boys Basketball 3rd
Year 9 & 10 Girls Basketball 1st
Year 7 & 8 Rugby 3rd
Year 9 & 10 Rugby 4th

Verdon Wins Catholic Schools' Tournament!!!

The Verdon College junior sports teams were victorious in the inaugural Catholic schools' junior quadrangular tournament in Dunedin. Teams from Verdon College, St Peter's College, Kavanagh College and St Kevin's College competed in basketball, rugby, and netball competitions. Bishop Len Boyle presented the trophy named after him to Verdon College for their efforts on the day. Congratulations to all the students involved and a big thank you to staff and parents for their support of this event.

Cheese Rolls Fundraiser

The College PTA “world famous” annual cheese roll fundraiser will begin in the very near future. You will shortly be receiving information about how you can assist the College PTA with this fundraiser. Whether you can assist in the making of the cheese rolls or would just like to purchase and eat a lot of them we are keen to hear from you.

If you can assist in any way or would like to know more please contact the College or Dee Heenan on 215 6227.

Ruben Wiki visits Verdon

Ruben Wiki and Dr Kannan

On Friday 20 May year 11 students were lucky enough to receive a visit from Ruben Wiki. Ruben talked about his life and all the lessons he had learnt along the way. His main message was about goal setting whether they were big or small and making sure you achieve them. he also showed some video clips of his rugby league career and a rather hilarious clip of the Kiwi Rugby League visit to Buckingham Palace.

Shave for Cure

Mr Smith being shaved by student Jeffrey Butt.

On Wednesday 25 May Verdon College took part in Shave for Cure. Sultans of Verdon, James Shirley, John Smith and Patrick Canny presented themselves on stage at lunchtime. In front of a large engaged audience students paid to shave the golden locks from the men. Daniel McIntosh managed to keep his head of hair with a donation large enough to stop the shave.





A big thank you to students and staff who supported this initiative. A total of $1,500.00 was raised for cancer.





The College would like to acknowledge the generous support of Ascot Snips who supplied us with all the necessary equipment to carry out this task.

School Canteen - Under New Management

From Tuesday 7 June the College canteen will be under new management. The new management will be focusing on providng a wide range of food selections at the most cost effective price possible. The new managment will also mean that the College will share in any profits made by the canteen.

We look forward to your continued support.

Our New Zealand Rowing Representative

Congratulations to Jessica van Rossum who has been selected to represent New Zealand as part of the NZ Junior Rowing Squad at the Junior World Rowing Championships in London. We wish Jessica all the best in her pursuit of greatness on an international stage.

Soccer Talent

Congratulations to Patrick Turnhout who has recently been selected to trial at the Federation Talent Centre Trials Camp being held this weekend. Patrick is one of four selected from Invercargill and one of 50 from Timaru down who have been talented enough to be selected. Patrick's goal is to make it through to the upcoming April National Training Centre Camp and then on to the October National Training Centre camp. Patrick tells us that his ultimate goal is to become a professional Soccer player. Good Luck Patrick with your goals.

Show Jumping Championships

Congratulations to Jessica Fahey shown above, who was placed 2nd in the 1.05 metre championship class out of a field of approximately 50 riders, at the New Zealand Equestrian Sport South Island Championships recently held in Mosgiel. Jessica was also placed in the 1.10 class. Well done Jessica.

Junior Soccer

Queens Park AFC invites you to play in the 2011 Soccer season Registration Day 27th February 2011 at 12pmAt the Southland Softball Clubrooms, 550 Tay Street, Invercargill We cater for children 6 yrs to 16 yrs in our Junior competitionWe also have senior Men's & Women's teams in a social or competitive environment.This is a great opportunity to get the whole family involved.Our subscriptions are competitive and we have highly skilled coaches available. If you are interested in playing and are unable to make the registration day or require more information please contact Junior Coordinator - Lauren Johnson 021 80 40 72, spidercam@xtra.co.nzSenior Contact – Glenn Williams 027 50 50 504 smithies4@xtra.co.nz http://www.queensparkafc.co.nz/

Outward Bound

Harlan Watson who has completed the 21 day Student Leadership Course at Outward Bound in the school holidays. Well done Harlan.

DRAMA

The Invercargill Repertory Society has for many years held classes for young people who are interested in drama. Students from all Invercargill schools have participated and enjoyed them and found it to be a good place to meet like minded young dramatists from around Southland. This year we are planning a full length children's play called "Tinderbox" - to be staged in the second week of the July school holidays. Also planned are a series of one act plays with the aim of entering the New Zealand Theatre Federation's One Act Play Festival in June. We invite any young people who love drama to join our ranks. For further information please contact Mrs B Rodmell, Phone 215 7091 or email barbararodmell@slingshot .co.nz

CAREERS NEWS - Scholarships

Outward Bound Scholarships
The Community Trust of Southland has up to ten scholarships available to be awarded to individuals wishing to reach their full potential through challenge and adventure in the outdoors. Priority will be given to year 12/13 students in the Trust's area. More information and application forms are available at the Careeers Office.

Southern Wood Council Forest Scholarship
The Southern Wood Council is offering from this year a scholarship to students from the Otago/Southland region to study Forestry Science, Forest Engineering or a Wood Processing realated course - principally at the University of Canterbury. It is also of direct relevance to students interested in the environment. More information and application forms are available at the Careers office.

Sports News - BMX

Congratulations to Josef Winders and Nardia McLachlin who competed at the South Island titles for BMX held in Christchurch during the holidays.

Nardia was placed 4th overall in the 16 plus women's division. Josef was placed 5th in the 16 year old boys divison.

Both students are in training squads to go to the national championships in April.