Hillcrest High SchoolTe Kura Tuarua o T ih ipuke

Caption HereSchool Camping trip 2013

Caption HereSchool Camping trip 2013

Caption HereSchool Camping trip 2013

2012 Results page 3

Year 9 Tauwhare Marae Tripspage 13

Senior Student Leaders at Great Barrier Islandpage 7

Outstanding NCEA and Scholarship Results 2012

PO Box 11020 Hamilton ph 857 0297 www.hillcrest-high.school.nz MARCH 2013

Maadi Cup Rowing - 2 Gold - 1 Silver - 1 Bronze

Principal Points

Our March Ist roll stands at 1664 students (including 33 Foreign Fee Paying students) which is 85 students above the number the Ministry of Education figures projected for 2013. We have experienced a growth in our in zone Year 9 and 10 numbers in particular.

A notable feature of our roll is the high retention rates of our students. Our Year 13 roll stands at 291 with our Year 9 intake at 320 students.

It is pleasing that parents and students see the value of education and the qualifications required to gain employment or further tertiary education. Last year approximately 70% of our Year 13 students went to University to study in 2013.

We are very pleased with our NCEA and Scholarship results for 2012. We are always endeavouring to provide programmes of learning to cater for our student’s needs and abilities and this has resulted in some very impressive results. Our students gained 48 Scholarships including 8 Outstanding.

The English Department alone gained 12 Scholarships including 3 Outstanding. Since 2004 Hillcrest High School has averaged 46 Scholarships per year, placing us consistently amongst the top performing schools in the country.

We were delighted when Hao Jeng was awarded the Top Scholar in New Zealand in Mathematics with Calculus. Congratulations to Hao and also to Dr Ingrid Rinsma who mentored Hao throughout the year, along with the other Mathematics Scholarship winners.

A distinctive feature of our results is the significant number of students that received endorsements in NCEA (students gaining Excellence and Merit certificates). Last year over 50% of all NCEA Level 1 to 3 students gained an endorsement. This is significantly above national and Decile 8 schools across the country and continues to be a hallmark of student achievement at Hillcrest High School.

Females have traditionally outperformed males in NCEA, and Hillcrest is no exception. However we are pleased with last year’s results for our boys. Our males achieved higher in NCEA Level 1 to 3, Literacy and Numeracy, University Entrance and endorsements than males nationally and comparable to males in boys’ schools. This reinforces our view that both males and females can perform with considerable success in a co-educational environment such as Hillcrest High School.

Our School Charter and Annual Goals have been ratified by the Board of Trustees and sent to the Ministry of Education. These are detailed in the newsletter and also available on the school website.

Our goals continue to focus on raising achievement and in particular supporting our priority learners (Maori, Pasifika , students with special needs and those students who are at risk of not achieving).

We also have programmes in place to ensure our consistently high levels of achievement in endorsements and Scholarship continue at the school. We are always endeavouring to ensure quality teaching takes place in every classroom and that every student is given the opportunity to achieve to the best of their ability.

I have just returned from the Secondary Principal’s Association of New Zealand (SPANZ) Conference in Queenstown. The conference confirmed my election to the Executive of SPANZ for 2013. I am looking forward to the opportunity of being involved in decision making and representing Secondary Principals in discussion with the Ministry of Education, NZQA, ERO and other stakeholder groups. We were addressed at conference by a number of speakers including Dr Graham Stoop (Chief Review Officer for ERO), Dr Karen Poutasi (Chief Executive of NZQA), Professor Peter Hughes (Secretary for Education) and Hon Hekia Parata (Minister of Education). Ms Parata stressed the importance of education as having a vital role to play in our nation’s future. Our young people must have the skills and abilities to make a contribution to their own and New Zealand’s economic future.

The Minister noted that education represents 3 out of the 10 Better Public Service Targets the Government has established to create a public sector that can respond even more effectively to the needs and expectations of New Zealanders. The three Education Public Sector Targets are:

• In 2016, 98% of children starting school will have participated in quality early childhood education

• In 2017, 85% of young people will have achieved NCEA level 2 or an equivalent qualification

• In 2017, 55% of 25-34 year olds will have a qualification at Level 4 (tertiary) or above.

We look forward to another fulfilling and successful year at Hillcrest High School. The continued success of our school requires a commitment and desire to succeed from staff, students and parents, as we work in partnership to ensure the best education possible for all of our students.

Kelvin S WhitingPrincipal

Dear Parents and Caregivers

A warm welcome to students, parents and, in particular, to new members of the Hillcrest High School community.A number of successful events and activities, combined with our successful NCEA and Scholarship results, have contributed to a positive and settled Term One.

IMPORTANT DATES & UPCOMING EVENTSTERM TWO5 May – 7 June Boys Great Barrier Camp7 May Term commences17 May International Concert21 May Rosehill Exchange28 May Form Class photos4 – 14 June Senior Exams9 June – 12 July Girls Great Barrier Camp18 June Team photos27 June Cabaret4 July Year 11 Parent Interviews9 July Year 12 and Year 13 Parent Interviews12 July End of Term 2

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Board of Trustees newsThe Board would like to extend a warm welcome to all our students and their families and wish them success in their academic achievements and their extracurricular activities in 2013. We would also like to congratulate staff and acknowledge their continued hard work and commitment that resulted in the high success rate in NCEA and scholarships in 2012.

The Hillcrest High Board is fortunate to be able to set the strategic direction in conjunction with an excellent senior leadership team led by the Principal Kelvin Whiting and to be assured that all staff will continue to set high standards and expect the best of all our students academically and in all the myriad of extracurricular activities that students have the opportunity to participate in at Hillcrest.

The Board would also like to acknowledge the hard work and input of Hohipere Williams, Komiti Maori representative on the Board for 6 years who left to return to with her family to Northland.

The current Board members are:Bernadette Simblett (Chairperson)Jennifer MacMillan (Deputy Chair)Michael TalbotPhilip MorrisRodney ArnoldRachel DillonShannon Andrews (Staff Representative)Ramona Oliver (Student Representative)Finnesse Kairau (Co-opted Maori Representative)Kelvin Whiting (Principal)

This year the triennial elections take place in May and the Board will need new parent members as only the Board Chair and Deputy are standing for reelection. The other Board members have worked hard and their input means that the Board runs smoothly with monthly meetings that are focused on the strategic goals and a small monthly commitment in time for membership of the sub committees of Finance, Property and occasional Student Welfare committee attendances. If you would like more information or wish to observe a meeting please contact Kay Ralph (Board Secretary) at school and she will let you know times or she will contact the Board Chair to arrange for more information.

This is a great opportunity to get involved to ensure that Hillcrest High continues to be so successful. This year the School will also be visited by the Education Review Office in Term 2.

Bernadette Simblett(Chairperson)

School GoalsThe Board of Trustees ratified the following Goals for 2013:

GOAL A: Improved Learning Outcomes• To move students up at least two curriculum sub-levels for

a 12 month period, e.g. 4B to 4A, targeting 3P and below.• To raise the level of achievement of NCEA (National

Certificate of Educational Achievement) Level 1, 2, 3 and University Entrance (UE) passes in comparison to the previous year (be aware of the impact of the change/alignment of standards and possible effect on levels of achievement).

• Implement the junior (Year 9 and 10) graduation programme and measure the impact on student achievement, behaviour and engagement.

• To maintain high levels of success at NCEA Endorsements and Scholarship.

GOAL B: Provide a positive learning community• Implement the Student Behaviour Management System and

measure the impact on student behaviour and attendance.• Development of an annual staff Professional Development

Plan which is aligned to the annual goals and support staff in achieving these goals.

GOAL C: Maori Culture and Achievement• To identify those Maori students in Year 9 and 10 who

are insufficiently engaged in learning and therefore underachieving.

• To improve the outcomes of those Maori students identified as underachieving.

• Continue to raise Maori achievement to those of the national Maori Achievement Levels NCEA Level 1 to 3.

• Continue to strengthen our relationship with Tauwhare Marae.

• Celebrate the success of Maori student achievement and increase the Maori tikanga within Hillcrest High School.

GOAL D: Pasifika Education• To improve literacy and numeracy achievement of Year 9

and 10 Pasifika students.• To ensure that our Pasifika students leave school (Year 12

or 13) with a minimum of Level 2 NCEA, including literacy and numeracy.

• Strengthening relationships with Pasifika families and community.

GOAL E: Finance and Property• Continue to implement a new 5 Year Property Plan.

3 Scholarships:Hao Jeng Physics, Statistics and Modelling, Mathematics with Calculus (Outstanding) Evon Jude Chemistry, English, Statistics and ModellingAmy Martin English, Mathematics with Calculus, Statistics and Modelling (Outstanding)Jason Yan Biology, English, Physics

2 Scholarships:Tom Dench Classical Studies, EnglishLily Empson Drama, EnglishKayla Grant Classical Studies, English (Outstanding)Ben Hamilton Physical Education, English (Outstanding) Naomi Kumar Technology, Media Studies (Outstanding)Hannah Maxwell Mathematics with Calculus, English (Outstanding)Jeff Mo Chemistry, PhysicsRia Nadakkavukaran Biology, English

1 Scholarship: Sophie Allen Nairn English Samuel McDowall PhysicsAlexander Arai-Swale Music Studies Victoria Mills BiologyLuke Arnold Media Studies Awhina Milne Classical Studies (Outstanding)Jordan Cronin Statistics and Modelling Hayley Pfeffer BiologyJoshua Cronin-Lampe Biology Sean Rudman Physical EducationFrancis Garrity Music Studies (Outstanding) David Wang Mathematics with CalculusKarena Hall English Naomi Whalley DesignMia Henry-John Media Studies Ben Ye GeographyDhanya Herath English Lanqin Yuan Statistics and ModellingSarah King Drama

Outstanding Examination Results

Top Scholar for 2012

The 2012 scholarship results are once again outstanding with our students gaining 48 Scholarships, including 8 Outstanding Scholarships.

Congratulations to the following students who gained Scholarships:

NCEA ResultsResults for 2012 are very pleasing with HHS students continuing to achieve at a high level in NCEA , with results demonstrating increases in achievement from 2011 in a number of areas and the consistently high numbers of students (over 50%) gaining Merit and Excellent endorsements.

To gain a merit endorsement students have to gain at least 50 credits at Merit/Excellence level and to gain an excellence endorsement students have to gain a minimum of 50 credits at excellence level. Therefore students gaining an endorsement, and particularly at excellence level, have achieved at the very highest level in NCEA.

Cambridge ResultsStudents presenting for the Cambridge Advanced Subsidiary Examinations continue to achieve at very high levels. English 100% pass rate with more than half of the candidates receiving the top A grade. In Mathematics 80% pass rate with more than 20% of candidates receiving the top A grade. Students studying Cambridge English and Mathematics also study NCEA Level 2.

Level 1 Awards Level 1 Certificate

%

Number of Students

Endorsed

Endorsed Excellence

%Literacy % Numeracy %

National 78.9 - 15.1 82.3 80.6

HHS 90.0 147 23.5 91.8 94.9

Level 2 Awards Level 2 Certificate %

Number of Students Endorsed Endorsed Excellence %

National 83.6 - 11.9

HHS 84.7 110 19.6

Level 3 Awards Level 3 Certificate %

Number of Students Endorsed Endorsed Excellence % University Entrance

National 76.0 - 8.3 67.3

HHS 78.3 98 18.7 78.3

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Congratulations to Hao Jeng

2012 Top Scholar in New Zealand for Mathematics with Calculus.

Hao achieved 3 Scholarships

Parent and caregivers can access the student portal using their child’s ID number and their ownpassword. Please phone or email the office (notify@hillcrest-high.school.nz) if you do not have yourpassword. The portal is accessed from the very top menu of the school’s website.What you can see on the portal:Details - check your personal details and use the Change Details function to email us with updatesTimetable – your child’s current timetableAttendance – up to date attendance dataNCEA Summary – a comprehensive NCEA summary for senior studentsGroups – any groups your child belongs toReports – a copy of all your child’s reports (since 2009)Awards – previous year’s awardsFees – shows current fees owing and the facility to pay online (including NCEA fees)Careers – any careers information (if applicable)

Student Portal

We were delighted to welcome our new staff to our school at our Powhiri at the start of theschool year:We have also welcomed back former Head of Economics Mr Per Rorholt teaching Tourism and Social Studies on a part-time basis. Mr Rorholt is also coaching our school Ist XI Cricket team.

New Staff

Mr Jeremy CroninPhysical Education and

Outdoor Education

Ms Rosemary Gluyas Head of Technology

(Fabrics)

Ms Barabara Jones Food and Nutrition

Department

Mr John O’Brien Technology (Metal)

Ms Christine Reymer Social Sciences

Department

Ms Carol ReidHead of Te Reo Maori

Ms Sara Paris Head of Food and

Nutrition

Mr Daniel ShinMusic Department

Sarah Wihongi, Louisa wihongi, Kenysha Kaukau, Jessica Pasens, Zarvana-Lee Cameron and Juanita Hapakuku

A number of building projects have proved a challenge for some teaching staff during this term but provide exciting future teaching opportunities.

The old C Block hall has been converted into a black box theatre and toilets in C Block have been upgraded. All toilets for students in the school have now been upgraded and comply with the new building standards required by the Ministry of Education.

The music block is currently being refurbished and a new performance room and practice rooms are being added on. This project will be complete at the start of term 2.

The JL Gym is undergoing a refit and a reclad after suffering from leaky building syndrome and it will be back for our use at the start of term 2. The old gym has also been out of action this term due to a new floor being laid. The PE department have endured a tough 2 terms without their main teaching spaces and fortunately the weather has been fine with all PE classes being taught in the outdoors.The start of term 2 will see all these building projects complete and added facilities that will enhance our teaching environment.

Important...

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Nga Kaupapa Maori o Te KuraTe Ropu Whakaruruhau – Is the new name given to our Maori Student Achievement Committee, which comprises a number of staff who work together on raising Maori student achievement and tikanga in the school. The committee work closely with Ms Carol Reid (HOD Maori) and Mr Matthew Bryant (Maori Student Achievement Co-ordinator).

NCEA ResultsWe are particularly pleased with our NCEA Level 1 results, including literacy and numeracy. Students have certainly benefitted from the programmes established to raise student achievement.

Level 1 NCEA 80%, nationally 65.2%Literacy 90.9%, nationally 72.6%Numeracy 84.1%, nationally 72%Level 2 NCEA 71.9%, nationally 74.7%Level 3 NCEA 46.7%, nationally 65%University Entrance 40%, nationally 48.7%

He KakanoWe have continued our involvement in the He Kakano , a nationwide programme to raise Maori achievement. Mr Kelvin Whiting and Mr Lloyd Smith attended a national He Kakano Conference in Rotorua in term 1 with approximately 250 principals and teachers from throughout New Zealand. On May 16th – 17th, a He Kakano wananga will be held in Rotorua. The focus of this wanaga is on middle leadership in the school and Hillcrest will send a number of staff to attend.

KapahakaWe are delighted with the number of students involved in regular kapahaka practice. Currently 17 boys and 12 girls attend kapahaka which is held weekly period 4 on Fridays. We look forward to our students performing publically in the near future.

Waka AmaWe were pleased with the participation of a Girls U16 and Girls U19 crews at national waka ama championships at the Blue Lake, Rotorua. Thank you to Te Atatu Magner (coach/manager) who accompanied the team to Rotorua, along with staff members Ms Tauira Patterson and Mr Mathew Bryant . Thank you also to Ngaire Magner as coach and HOD Maori Ms Carol Reid for her assistance. The girls clearly had a great time and represented our school admirably.

Maori Student CouncilWe are very keen on establishing a Maori Student Council. Ms Tauira Patterson and Mr Matthew Bryant will be discussing our thoughts and ideas with students to begin the formation of a council that will assist in strengthening the student voice in the school while also providing leadership skills and opportunities for our Maori students.

Property Developments

E-mail address:

Please ensure we have your correct email address. We have been, and will be, emailing account invoices and some school reports.

Health ClinicHillcrest High school has a Health clinic for the use of students during school hours 9-3.

The health clinic has two school nurses who job share; they are here to see the students who are sick or injured at school.The clinic has a Dr who comes in on a Thursday morning from 9-12 to also see students who are unable to access a doctor outside of school hours.

The clinic also has a physiotherapist who runs two clinics a week on Tuesday and Thursday from 1-3pm. He only sees students with ACC related injuries.

Our school policy is to advise parents/ care givers of any major illness or injury that has happened at school, a head injury is considered serious and in this case the nurse will phone the Parent / care giver. We will not bother you for something we consider to be minor; however we expect that your child would advise you if they have been to see the school nurse. When students are unwell and need to go home the nurse will always contact a parent /caregiver to get permission for your child to go home.

We want to provide a good service here at the health clinic, so if your child develops any medical conditions that we should be aware off, can you please let us know so we can keep the records up to date. If there are changes in contact details can the school please be updated as we often have incorrect phone numbers, making it extremely difficult to contact parents/ care givers.

If you have a child who has been vomiting within 24 hours of school or has an illness that is contagious, please keep them home as these bugs travel quickly. If students have on going medical conditions or who are sick for long periods of time we would expect that they are seen outside of school by the family GP.

Wendy Prince - Registered NurseMegan king - Registered Nurse Angela Fairweather - DoctorJames Hemi – Physiotherapist

Naomi Kumar is the winner of the National Race Unity Speech competition 2013. The competition is sponsored by the New Zealand Police, Baha’i Community, the Human Rights Commission, and the Office of Ethnic Affairs. This years’ theme was entitled ‘My dream for Aotearoa’. Naomi was one of over 200 students who participated in the competition from across the country.

National Race Unity Speech

Notifying of a student absence:

There are 3 ways to notify Hillcrest of a student absence.1. Text2. Email3. Phone

• Text hillcrest(space)[then your message] to 3255 Eg hillcrest John Smith 11AK sick today. We receive the text as an email and you will receive a text back acknowledging receipt. Note: normal text charge will apply.

• Email notify@hillcrest-high.school.nz

• Phone 8570297, press 3 and record absence

We send out notifications every day as promptly as we can, for those students who are absent with no notification, so the earlier you can let us know the better.

At the start of the term, the 14 senior leaders along with Mr Whiting, Mr Johl, our deans and some teachers went to Great Barrier Island.

We departed from Leigh aboard the Lady Hillary for the 2 hour trip to Great Barrier. On the first night we settled into our cabins and began planning our journey that lay ahead for the next 3 days. The following morning after a good breakfast provided by the Orama community, we split into our groups. The next three days were spent by taking part in numerous challenging activities, some of these included, rock climbing, high ropes, sea kayaking, coasteer ing, snorkelling, sailing and fishing.

Each member of our group was given a chance to lead an activity. We all learnt a lot about our leadership skills and felt that we left the island equipped ready for the year. The trip was a good chance to improve our relationships and bond with our teammates and teachers which was one of our goals for the camp. We really enjoyed this trip and we know that the lucky year tens will too.

Amy Phillips and Marc Herrmann

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Great Barrier Senior Student Leaders TripBehaviour ManagementA team of staff members reviewed our behaviour management system during last year and have derived a unique system that is being implemented during this year. The brief was to evaluate, reflect and create a system based on a school wide philosophy.

The investigation unearthed a need to establish a clear set of principles which should form the basis of our behaviour management system and which have been identified by the staff and students. After lengthy input from all staff and all students, five clear values were identified which we now refer to as our core values.

Hillcrest High School Te Kura Tuarua o Tihipuke

Last year our school houses were renamed after a process of ideas, consultation and refinement. A suggestion was made that the names of the house should be linked to our core values and it was quite uncanny to see exactly how well they fitted.

After some research, each house is now also linked to a quote which gives further meaning to the core values and the famous people responsible for them. Together, the core values, famous New Zealanders as role models and the quotes, form the basic school philosophy which we wish our students will adopt. Posters of our core values and house names now appear in every classroom in the school.

On 9th December 2102, Caitlin Mc Elligott was presented with her second ICAS medal for being top student in New Zealand. At a prestigious awards ceremony in the Auckland University School of Business Owen Glenn building, Caitlin joined medal winners from around the country who had scored the top mark in their ICAS subject for their year level.

Caitlin was top equal Year 9 student in NZ for ICAS English in 2011 and followed this up last year for Year 10 when she was the sole recipient. Congratulations on a gold medal double!

ICAS English Champion

SCAT News - Jazz in the QuarryOur first Scat concert for 2013 took place in the beautiful surrounds of the Waitakaruru Arboretum and Sculpture Park on a glorious autumn evening.

“Jazz in the Quarry” was a successful fundraiser for the Scat tour to Fiji planned for September.

Guests were able to enjoy the art installation on the short walk up to the picnic site and were then entertained by a varied programme including jazz and popular music.

The 56 member Scat Choir, directed by Assistant Principal Mrs Radford, was in great voice and audience reaction included “A superb concert – the best yet!” and “Everything was impressive: the idea, the organising, the programme, the performance and the fat fish!”

A special mention must go to soloists Phum Siritip, Amelia Hayes, Miriam May, Josh Nachowitz, Patrick Ward and Alexia Medland. Former Scat members Sarah Radford, Sophie Allen Nairn and Kahu Coyle-Puke also performed at the concert along with Albert Bannister and Ezra Donnelly.

Thank you to Mrs Radford, Mr Cook, Mr Shin and Mr Ellery for their organization and enthusiasm, to Dorothy and John Wakeling for the use of their stunning venue and to all the school families and friends who supported our Scat concert.

We have a number of Year 11-13 debaters who have now competed in two rounds of the Hamilton interschool competition. Our first team of Emily Scrimgeour, Calum Hughes and Olivia Maxwell have won one round as has the Year 11 girls team of Harriet Plant, Jessica Aw and Emma Row. Our Year 11 boys team- Eli Oliver, Khash Ghafouri and Shakti Krishnan are gaining valuable experience. We have a pool of interested Year 12 and Year 13 students who entered the first round of the competition and won.

On March 3rd HHS hosted a debating fixture against three teams from Kings College. Our first team (Emily, Calum and Olivia) won; Nathan Macleay and Naomi Kumar debated valiantly in an impromptu two man round and our junior team of Zara Olifent, Josh Wright and Eva Bonning battled competently against Year 11 Kings College students.

Senior Interschool Debating

The Year 10 Great Barrier Experience - 5 weeksWe are excited to be once again, in term 2, to be delivering our 5 week Great Barrier Experience to 30 boys (5 May - 7 June), and 30 girls (9 June - 12 July). We would like to thank the Gallagher Group, OPC and the Bunn family for their very generous sponsorship support of some students.

Last year Claire Wang attended the Hill Laboratories Waikato Science Summer School, held at Waikato University.

The week-long action-packed Summer School ran from 2-7 December at the University of Waikato, and gave 40 talented Year 12 students from around the central North Island the chance to get a taste for what it can be like to study science and engineering at a tertiary level.

Interactive, hands-on field and lab work were the highlights for students attending.

Claire Wang - 3rd from left

New Zealand Association of Language Teachers Certificate of ExcellenceThe following students are awarded this Certificate of Excellence for their achievement in their respective languages.

To be eligible for this award, students need to gain 14 or more credits at Excellence level, and at least 3 credits at Excellence from externally and 3 credits at Excellence from internally assessed standards at NCEA Levels 1 and 2 (The same requirements as NZQA’s Course Endorsement at Excellence level). In 2012, gaining three excellences was the criteria at Level 3.

French Japenese SpanishSebastian Featherstone Holly Deng Phoebe Bardoul

Ellen Garrity Jing Huang Kirshni Bhula

Olivia Maxwell Leina Tucker-Masters Richard Hart

Laura Melchert Naomi Kumar Tracy Liang

Leina Tucker-Masters Prim Sadindum Grace Buckland

Sophie Weren Alexander Arai-Swale Ania Roznawska

Jessica Yang Haruka Kunishige

Su-Ann Yee Chris Lin

Emily Duke Darren Saw

Jean-Philippe Jennings Aa-Young Shim

Sophie Allen Nairn

Nerissa Bhula

Lily Empson

Hannah Maxwell

Awhina Milne

Asena Pouli

Zuleka Bliss

Good luck to two of our HHS students, Summer Maisey and Awhina Milne, who are continuing their French learning by studying in France for a year. Bonne chance!

In addition to this delightful news of our language students, two of our former students of Japanese made their scholarship trip to Japan from the University of Waikato with the programme called Kizuna Project. They stayed in the tsunami affected areas and worked with the people there.

They also presented their reports at the university to the public. The detailed story was in Waikato Times http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/7987329/Students-off-to-study-Japans-disaster-area

From the 12th to the 26th of January, 160 students from across the country travelled to Auckland to take part in the Rotary National Science and Technology forum, or ‘Geek Camp’.

Topics we encountered included, but were not limited to: microbiology, psychology, biomedical science, biomedical engineering, biological sciences, robotics, geology and molecular biology. Robotics in particular was fascinating as we were able to program our own robots to ‘feel’ their way around an obstacle course - a personal favourite.

I previously saw the forum as a way to decide what to study at university, but it was evident after the first day of lectures that this was certainly not the case - every new subject had me raving about career prospects in that field!

To all year 12s who enjoy science, this forum is an opportunity not to miss. A huge thank you to Peter Best (the forum director) and Rotary for making the forum happen!

Emily Duke

Left - Emily Duke

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Hillcrest Student attends Science Summer School

Language Department

Rotary National Science and Technology Forum

Drama NewsCongratulations to our Arts Captains for 2013, Sarah King and Vincent Owen! These two students have consistently demonstrated a strong interest and involvement in The Arts and will work with the Art’s Coordinator, Heads of Department (Music, Drama and Art) and our new Arts Council in developing and promoting Arts-related activities and events to the wider school.

• Cymbeline (Shakespeare Production): Our outstanding production of Cymbeline went very well after a few initial hitches. We performed in the new Te Kore Black Box Theatre which was an exciting new experience.

• Junior Theatresports is already underway this term. The junior team has been selected and have played their first game. Congratulations to Zara Olifent, Eva Bonning, Georgia Strang, Kate Bizo, Sarah Endres and Sarah Lewis.Thank you to all the students who tried out we would still love to see people join in for lunchtime social games on Fridays, led by senior students, Ms Cash and Ms Terry.

• Senior Theatresports Congratulations to the two senior teams who consist of Vincent Owen, Taylor Joynes, Richard Hart, Joseph Simblett, Giles Lusty, Michael Hockey, Calum Hughes, Lauren Paddy, Jacob Hall and Tycho Smith.

• Our Theatresports Cheer Squad will also be going along to the games to support our teams. If you are interested in seeing some excellent improvisation and love to cheer on your peers please listen to the notices.

• Junior Shakespeare Club Ms Pamment will be calling for any junior students interested in acting out short scenes from Shakespeare’s plays. This has been a popular club, and students have the opportunity to take part in an evening performance next term and the Waikato junior Festival in Term 4.

• Senior Shakespeare Club Students will be selecting their scenes for the student-directed section of the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival in the next few weeks. New students are welcome to join. See Ms Pamment in drama room B4 and listens to notices for meetings. Students are currently working on the upcoming Shakespeare Production – Merchant of Venice.

Theatre trips this year include • Senior Drama Trip- Auckland Theatre Company- The Glass

Menagerie- Tuesday 14 May (Term 2)• National Shakespeare Festival- Wellington- Thursday 30

May- Monday 3 May (Term 2)• Senior Drama Trip- Auckland Theatre Company- Anne

Boleyn- Tuesday 18 June (Term 2)• Senior Drama Trip- Auckland Theatre Company- Lord of the

Flies- Tuesday 10 Sept (Term 3)

The ATC always provide polished and entertaining performances which the student’s enjoy and can be used for preparation for their external standards.We also have the Ugly Shakespeare Company visiting us again this year with their witty interpretation of the BardJunior Drama- Ugly Shakespeare Company Visit- Monday 13 May (Term 2) Please check out our Arts Calendar for more upcoming events-

Any queries: Please ring the Drama dept. 8570297 Ext 864. Mrs Shiro Binks (HOD), Ms Merran Cash, Ms Elizabeth Pamment, Miss Claire Brougham, Miss Margie Spiller.

VolunteersNew Zealanders and especially the Hillcrest High School Community have a well-established culture of volunteering to assist with the administration of schools sport. We hope this approach will stay with us forever.

A few areas where we are seeking volunteers for 2013 include coaching, umpiring, refereeing, time-keeping, keeping stats, mentors, entering data on-line, and serving on various HHS sports club committees (or taking on a small task if you are unable to attend meetings).

PLEASE, PLEASE DO NOT WAIT TO BE ASKED – VOLUNTEER – THE REWARDS ARE IMMENCE.

Welcome back to our returning students and welcome to our new students settling into their studies at Hillcrest High School. We welcome students from Thailand, China, Korea, Chile, Vietnam, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, Macau, Japan, Malaysia, Maldives & Taiwan.

New International Student Shiori with her host mother & sister

Academic results: Great NCEA results for 2012, with all International students passing NCEA Level 1, 8/11 gaining Level 2 and 9/11 gaining Level 3 and University Entrance. 3 students gained Excellence Endorsement at L2 and 3 gained Merit endorsement at L3.

Congratulations to Kyohei Yamaji from Japan, representing HHS in the Waikato regional Athletics day.

Orientation Day, held in the International Centre, introduced many key school staff members to new students. Our Principal Mr Whiting, the school nurse, ESOL & International staff, the Head Boy & Girl, Sports Director, Cultural Captains and our Head of Music all spoke and answered questions.

Many new friendships were formed and fun was had by all.

Kiana with Head Boy Marc Herrmann and Head Girl Amy Phillips

Our 2013 Cultural Captains, Elyse Phee and Phum Siritip, have exciting plans for this year. Plans are also underway for the International Concert, to be held on 24th May 2013, Week 3 of Term 2. Auditions will be held on 10th April and some groups are practicing already. As usual, we expect a sold out, spectacular show.

International CampOur International Camp, for all International Students and senior ESOL students, will be on the 18th & 19th April 2013, the last two days of Term One. We will stay in Papamoa, a small beach town in the Bay of Plenty. This annual camp is a time for International Students to make friends, learn more about the school community and see more of New Zealand in the company of the International and ESOL Departments.

BBQ at RukuhiaNew students and Homestay families had a lovely summer afternoon BBQ at my home. It was a pleasant afternoon in a rural area, complete with very friendly calves.

Erica feeding the calves

Camp

Mt Pirongia Forest Park Lodge was the location for the first ‘ever’ Pasifika students’ Camp. Eighteen Year 12 and Year 13 students went up to the Lodge on Monday morning to develop leadership capacity and to learn how to lead various outdoor activities such as Archery, Abseiling and Problem Solving.

There were also opportunities to look at team building and developing a sound team approach to the group as a whole. A swim in the Mangakara River completed the outdoor activities…very refreshing !

On the second day a further 20 Year 9,10 and 11 students arrived at the site and, assisted by two instructors from the Lodge, the Senior leaders showed how to safely and successfully be part of the activities they themselves had trialled.A swim in the Koniwhaniwha Stream completed the days programme.

In the evening a number of parents came up to share in the evening meal and to hear the guest speaker ‘The MADD Messenger’ who spoke about the need to retain your ownindividuality and uniqueness.

Leina Tucker-Masters, Olive Wilson, Ini Narara, Mere Puamau, Shurnir Tila

Tupou Tila Inu Pouli, Kalina Filitonga, Mili Narara

Emma Baker, Samson Lasike Harry Wilkinson

Harry Wilkinson, Ms Liz Selby & Mrs Fran Wairepo

The group returned to school on Wednesday having really appreciated the opportunity to bond as a group and to have some new experiences.

Special thanks to Kate ,Dean and Paula at the Lodge and to Ms Dansiezen, Miss Wairepo, Miss Liz Selby, Miss Reymer, Mr Achary, Mr Pyne, and Mrs Radford.

Also a huge thanks to all those who participated in the Harlem Shuffle rather late at night and who were so enthusiastic in their consumption of all food on offer (especially Lotima).

Thanks to all of the parents who came to visit and thanks to the Lions, FIANZE, American Embassy and all of our sponsors who enabled us to keep our costs down for individual students.

On Saturday 16 March in Auckland, Hillcrest’s Yr 12, Hannah Moulden, won the Miss Teen NZ Beauty Pageant. Hannah was crowned Miss Teen Hamilton back in September and won entry to this national pageant.

Competing against 21 girls from around the country Hannah was judged on her interview, daywear, swimwear, eveningwear, national costume, photogenic and charity fundraising, winning the Miss Swimwear section outright. To prepare for the pageant Hannah trained to get into shape, learnt her speeches and organised her wardrobe for the big night. Part of this involved a group dance routine, while singing the national anthem in her NZ costume, which she designed herself.

Her next step is to represent New Zealand in the Miss Teen World 2013 being held in Houston, Texas this June. We wish you all the very best of luck Hannah.

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International Department

Kyohei Yamaji in the lead at Athletics Day

Pasifika News

ScholarshipsThis year we will be offering scholarships from the Pasifika Dept for students who play in sports teams and who are focussed on their work at school as well and who show leadership and positively participate in Pasifika activities. These grants will subsidise fees. If students wish to be ‘flagged’ as possible candidates for scholarships please see either Mrs P the Sports Co-ordinator or Mrs Radford.

Congratulations to all Pasifika students who achieved excellent results in NCEA 2012• Level 1 100 % of students passed and all of those eligible achieved their Literacy

and Numeracy credits.• Level 2 50 % passed and at Level 3 75 % passed.

Our school target goal is for all Pasifika students to leave Hillcrest High School at year 13 with at least Level Two so we are well on the way to achieving this goal.

Hillcrest’s Miss Teen NZ

In week 9 this term 44 excited Year 12 Tourism students arrived in Rotorua to investigate why New Zealand is such a popular tourist destination and what we have to offer our visitors.

With a focus on work roles in the tourism industry all the destinations we visited gave us a very imformative presentation about their role within the industry and the options available to students hoping to begin a career in Tourism.

The highlight for most was the OGO when students (in groups of 2 or 3) rolled down a hill in a ball filled with water, everyone emerged soaked and giggling! All the students were aghast during our tour of the Novotel when were taken on a tour of the Royal Suite, they all began to work out how they can raise $2500 to spend a night there!

Overall it was a brisk but valuable trip which our students the chance to not only experience tourism in New Zealand but to also gain some ‘behind the scenes’ knowledge.

Ms Jodie Terry HOD Tourism

Term 1 will see all twelve Year 9 classes spending two days and a night at Tauwhare Marae, Ngāti Hauā iwi.

Ngāti Hauā is the second largest iwi within the Waikato-Taine rohe, whose geographical boundaries extend from Matamata, Waharoa, Morrinsville, across to Cambridge, Tauwhare, Tamahere and parts of Hamilton on the eastern side of the Waikato River including Hillcrest. In the late 1800’s it was frequently used by Māori Chiefs throughout NZ who would stop at this marae as they made their way to ‘Te Kauwhanganui’, the 1st Maori Parliament, which was established by King Tawhiao. During that time the iwi referred to the marae as ‘Te Taunga mai o nga iwi’, the gathering place for all Māori. During the

time of Prime Minister Richard Seddon, Te iti o Hauā Marae was used for meetings between Māori and the Government. And during the early 1900’s a large rose and flower garden was established on the marae which became a well-known tourist attraction. Ngāti Hauā are also known as the Kingmakers. They have the responsibility of crowning each Māori King/Queen.

At the time of writing this article, four classes have already been on the first two trips. Each trip is attended by approximately 45 year nine students, 15 student leaders, 8 school staff, members of the Tauwhare community and over 60 family members.

There is a lot packed into the two days starting with a Powhiri (traditional welcome) on to the marae. This is usually followed by a kaumatua sharing some local history with the students. A range of Māori cultural activities occur over the two days including poi for girls, all students learning the school haka, making koauau (clay instruments), harakeke (flax) and kowhaiwhai.

This year each form class is completing a 180cm x 30cm panel painted with kowhaiwhai patterns.

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Tourism Trip

Leah McCarthy, Jessica Broadhurst, Montana Campbell

Dan Li, Lulu Yao, Bow Trongjitraksa

Trips to Tauwhare MaraeEach panel has a story created by the students and when all 12 panels are complete we will be finding somewhere in the school to put them on permanent display. The second day starts with food preparation for the evening meal that whanau/families attend. This includes peeling a lot of vegetables, preparing

meat as well as making rewena bread and stuffing from scratch.

Many of our year 12 and senior Māori students are also involved in these trips. They play a big leadership role on the trips by running many of the activities, encouraging student participation and supporting school staff. This gives senior students a chance to develop their leadership skills and it also helps to strengthen relationships between the junior and senior students in the school.

By having these trips in the first term it is a great opportunity for form classes and their teachers to get to know each other outside the classroom. This helps to establish positive relationships right at the start of the school year.

Year 10 CampsThe 2013 year 10 camp programme has kicked off with stunning weather and a hugely enthusiastic group of staff and students. Based at Ngatuhoa Lodge in the Kaimai ranges the students have been hiking, abseiling, swimming, rafting, kayaking, breadmaking in Dutch ovens,riding flying fox, conquering commando courses together with a multitude of other exciting team building activities.

Students were guided by our awesome year 13 camp leaders, who have undertaken training and given up study time to support the younger students. Feedback from the students has been hugely positive and it has been very satisfying to be greeted by a tired but excited group of students at the end of each of the three camp cycles currently completed.

I look forward to May when we have two more camp cycles to complete. A big thankyou to Mr Chibnal who has been instrumental in the coordination of camps thisyear.

H. Uivel HOD Outdoor Education.

Geography TripAs year 13 geography students we recently went to Waihi beach, accompanied by Mr Khan and Miss Patterson, to collect information and data about coastal processes for our upcoming internal and external at the end of the year.

The trip was amazing and filled with great memories and hilarity as the highlight was watching Mr Khan fall face first off a skim board and into the water fully clothed. We were lucky to have great weather throughout the trip, which meant that walking along the beach, and collecting our data was pleasurable for everyone and we were able to see for ourselves all of the coastal processes at work.

Biology TripYear 13 Biology students travelled to the Thames estuary on Tuesday 5th March for the annual Mangrove field trip. Students mapped the mangrove community, waded through the mud and began their experiments for the Level 3 Achievement Standard. A great day was had by all.

OE Kayak TripDespite the dry conditions this summer the Hillcrest High year 12 outdoor education class enjoyed three days white water kayaking on the Mohaka river and found there was enough water to have a fantastic time in the rapids. This class is now gearing up for their first ever scuba diving experience.

Thomas Hockey, Marc Herrmann, Cathy Zheng, Nick Bell, David Wang

Mr Khan

Jai Reddy, Bill Chai, Justin Wong

Jack Prestidge-King, Tessa Mayall

Josh Tong

Mr Khan’s board

The P.A.C. began 2013 with six returning students and two new students, Jazz Simpson in Year 13 and Kamaile Rimaha in Year 9. Both girls have settled in very well and they are enjoying being part of Hillcrest High School.This year our immediate environment has been enhanced yet again with the installation of a heat pump/air con. unit in our Common Room. This is very much appreciated, especially during the intense summer we have had and the on-going warm autumn.

Notable happenings in the P.A.C. so far this year include a Games Day here at Hillcrest High School, as an alternative to the school Athletic Sports at Porritt Stadium. Our day included indoor and outdoor games which were enjoyed by the students, as was the special lunch.

In mid-March Kamaile Rimaha attended the Kelston School for the Deaf Games Day at Kelston in Auckland. Congratulations to Kamaile on gaining first place in the Year 9 and 10 (combined) shot-put event.

Recently the Taylor family (including Hamish, Year 12 and Austin, Year 10) have been involved in the promotion of Muscular Dystrophy Awareness. In addition Mr. Steve Taylor has prepared a funding application for six E-Readers for the use of P.A.C. students. We would like to formally acknowledge our appreciation of this.

During the up-coming term holidays Oli Posa (Year 12) will be participating in the Independence Games in Timaru. These games are run by Parafed N.Z. in association with Sport Waikato. Oli has entered for a number of Track And Field events and we wish him the very best for participation and success. Oli is also involved in wheelchair basketball. He is a member of the Waikato Representative Team, and is looking forward his new wheelchair which will further facilitate his performance.

At some stage during this year two P.A.C. students, Jayden Lindsey and Oli Posa, will be undergoing major surgery which will produce very positive outcomes for them. We wish them the very best during their time at Starship Hospital and during their subsequent recovery. We look forward to their being up and running again, and back at school.

To conclude, we acknowledge the hard work and success of the students, the dedication of all staff who work with them and the wonderful support of parents.

Elaine Fredericks (H.O.D.)Robyn Ninnes (Teacher)

Held at Tauranga Domain Saturday 16th March 2013

Junior Girls:100m Jade Henley-Smith 2nd200m Jade Henley-Smith 2nd4x100m Relay Jessica Pasene, Jane Chow, Maia-Rose Williams and Jade Henley-Smith 1st

Junior Boys: 80m Hurdles Marlon George 2nd80m Hurdles Teina Joseph 3rd

Intermediate Boys:Triple jump Natch Sadindum 2nd

Senior Boys:110m Hurdles Tom Hockey 3rd300m Hurdles Tom Hockey 3rdShotput Jono Cook 3rd3000m Richard Hart 3rd

Junior Girls:100m Jade Henley-Smith 1st200m Jade Henley-Smith 2nd 4x100m relay Jessica Pasene, Jane Chow, Maia-Rose Williams, and Jade Henley-Smith 1st

Junior Boys:80m Hurdles Teina Joseph 2nd80m Hurdles Marlon George 3rd

Intermediate Girls:High Jump Tayla Christensen 2ndShotput Kristina Emson 3rd

Intermediate Boys:800m Liam Newman 3rd1500m Liam Newman 3rdTriple Jump Natch Sadindum 2nd

Senior Girls:800m Libby Bird 3rd3000m Libby Bird 2ndDiscus Libby Phillips 2ndJavelin Libby Phillips 1st

Senior Boys:Shotput Jono Cook 1st3000m Richard Hart 3rd110m Hurdles Tom Hockey 3rd300m hurdles Tom Hockey 3rd

Junior Boys:1 Marlon George 31 2 Cameron Harcourt 21 3 Logan Vugler 144 Liam Du Plooy 10 Intermediate Boys: 1 Liam Newman 26 2 Natch Sadindum 183= Cameron Mc Robie 17 3= Shalom Peacock 17 Senior Boys: 1 Jono Cook 262 Richard Hart 253 Thomas Hockey 224 Duncan Lang 21

Junior Girls: 1 Jade Henley-Smith 28 2 Jessica Pasene 243 Ella Young 174= Matilda Plant 144= Emmerson Houghton 14 Intermediate Girls: 1 Tayla Christensen 33 2 Kristina Emson 223 Nicole Emslie 21 4 Shani Oed 19

Senior Girls: 1 Libby Phillips 292 Hannah Torrance 283 Emma Baker 234 Libby Bird 19

Junior Boys: 1 Daniel Eyeington 532 Lachlan Sheriff 493 Hugo Molloy 22 Intermediate Boys: 1 Sasha Wallbank 91 2 Jay Orman 643 Alex Wang 55 Senior Boys: 1 Marc Herrmann 912 Richard Hart 343 Thomas Hockey 34Junior Girls: 1 Emmerson Houghton 95 2 Emma De Jong 513 Ella Groufsky 41 Intermediate Girls: 1. Braidy Lidington 872= Jemma Mackay 772= Pieta Willoughby 77 Senior Girls: 1. Amy Phillips 952. Kelsi Mackay 853. Emma Baker 43

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PAC Department

Melysa Cook, Kamaile Rimaha, Hamish Taylor

Hamish Taylor, Sue Cooper (staff), Murray Burton (staff), Oli Posa

Jazz Simpson, Jayden Lindsey, Austin Taylor, Kamaile Rimaha

Relay for Life TeamThis year a group of 11, Hillcrest High year 13 students took part in the 10th anniversary of The Cancer Society, Relay for Life. Our journey began in December when we got permission from the school to place a team in an event for such a great cause.

The Relay meant we would walk 22 hours rotating shifts between all members of the team. Starting a 2pm on Saturday the 9th of march we walked all night long till mid-day on Sunday , walking a total of 204 laps as a team, as well as some members pushing themselves to run their roster slots.

By the end of the event the group had bonded amazingly and felt a sense of achievement as we had collected $1601.90 together to contribute to the events final total of $280,000 which continues to still rise. We all found the experience fantastic and we’re all willing to take part again. However, we really hope a Hillcrest High team is created for a second year by next year’s senior students, so the school can continue to be a part of this outstanding community event for such a worthy cause.

SportAthletics ResultsWaikato BOP Championships Central Zone Athletics

Hillcrest Athletics Championships

Hillcrest Swimming Championships

Jay Phillips competed on one horse and two ponies.Jay and his pony “Guess Once More”did very well coming 4th in the Pony of the Year (1.35m) and 1st in the 1.25m class.

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Equestrian

Cycling

MotocrossTyler Cushion had some great results at Hauraki Plains Motocross. She earned 2 x 1sts and a 2nd to be placed 1st overall.Tyler was also awarded the “WOW FACTOR TROPHY”.

Brother Brook Cushion was twice placed 2nd and 1 x 3rd. With 3 other riders competing, Hillcrest was placed 11th out of 22 schools.

LacrosseSiobhan Quintal and Nicola Aldridge have been named in the U19 New Zealand team that is off to Perth in April to compete in the Australian U19 National Champs.These girls have been joined by Samantha Quintal in the Waikato Women’s team.

It has been a very busy term with approximately 50 students competing in a variety of competitions. The beach season ended early in the term with the indoor season quickly getting underway. We had 1 boys and 3 girls teams compete in the Waikato Secondary Schools competition as well as 1 beach and 2 indoor teams playing in social competitions run by Waikato Volleyball Association.

Rowing ResultsNISS Championships Held at Lake Karapiro from 8th – 10th March3 X Golds, 1 X Silver and 1 X Bronze medals

Hillcrest entered eight crews into this three day competition. The crews all performed exceptionally well to reach the A finals in all of their events.

Cameron McRobie in the U16 single rowed a very strong race to place 3rd and win Bronze. The Girls U17 four and quad of Ella Manson, Bayly Harris, Sara Law, Loveday Yeoman and coxswains Claire Wang (four) and Madison Marchioni (quad) placed 6th in the four and were unlucky not to hold out for third in the quad, finishing 4th by less than a second.

Second place and the Silver medal went to Hillcrest’s Novice Girls coxed four of Sascha Arai-Swale, Paige Hallam, Eva Rossiter, Jasmine Oliver and coxswain Madison Marchioni, after a fast paced race looking to chase down a strong Waikato Diocesan novice girls crew. Eva Rossiter and Jasmine Oliver went on to place 7th in the Novice girls double.

The Girls U15 quad sculls and U15 coxed four, crew, of Madison Wright, Paige Hallam, Zoe Smith, Sascha Arai-Swale with coxswain Madison Marchioni (quad) and Shania Brooks (four) continued their dominant performances leading into this regatta by winning Gold in both finals by 17 seconds and 14 seconds respectively. Once again, an unbeaten record for these crews.

In the Girls U15 double, Madison Wright and Zoe Smith backed up their two Golds earlier, by winning a third Gold medal in the U15 Girls double. There were 85 schools and 1,821 competitors at the NISSC. Overall, Hillcrest placed 8th in the Derbyshire Shield for all competing North Island schools.Hillcrest High School Rowing has had wonderful parent support throughout the season, thank you to all those involved.

FootballOur Girls 1st XI Football team played a pre-season friendly match against the highly ranked New Plymouth Girls High 1st XI on Sunday 10th March. Both teams made the most of a fast-paced game with the final result a 1-1 draw. The Hillcrest team are pleased and will be looking forward to a great season ahead.Mr M Bryant

Back Row: Melissa Pfeffer, Jel Kallahar, Tayla Crawford, Braidy Lidington, Victoria Scott, Eden Marsters 2nd Row: Claudia Hurford, Eden Healey, Kaila Rys, Samantha Nation, Emma BakerFront Row: Nikita Chand, Alisha Corles, Emily Hanrahan, Tayla Christensen

CricketThe first XI Girls cricket team enjoyed a fantastic start to 2013. They won all of their games in the local Secondary Schools Competition. The highlight was the winning performance against Dio in their final game. All of the girls have improved enormously since the beginning of the year and plan to continue to work hard with the goal of qualifying for the national tournament in the future.Mr S Andrews (First IX Coach)

From left to right: Courtney Curry, Sarah Sprout, Kaila Rys, Eden Healey, Greer Jackways, Maddi Potter-Scott, Samantha Nation, Anya Bliss

Volleyball - Term 1 2013Tom Medland,Victoria Ware and Joshua Murphy competed well at the WBOP Secondary Schools Team Triathlon event to win a silver medal.

While Briar Keith placed 1st in the U15 individual time trial at the WBOP Cycling Club Champs.

BeachJunior Beach Volleyball pair Xanthe Garahy and Kristina Emson placed 5th at the recent NZ School Beach Volleyball Champs in Mount Maunganui. This was a fantastic result with the junior girls entries at an all-time high of 44 teams and also more than any other age group. The girls were unfortunate to come up against the eventual winners in the quarter final. Both girls are new to the sport this season so this was an awesome achievement for them.

IndoorTayla Christensen, Kristina and Xanthe were selected in the Youth Girls Talented players.

Senior Student Leaders 2013

Back Row: Thomas Hockey, Duncan Lang, Phum Siritip, Vincent Owen, Ramona OliverMiddle Row: Liza Tykhonova, Divya Sharma, Sarah King, Alexis Walsh, Naomi KumarFront Row: Elyse Phee, Amy Phillips (Head Girl), Marc Herrmann (Head Boy)

House Captains

Back Row: Elliott Cooper Cody McIvor Jonathan Tobias Dominic Wilshier Satoshi FilitongaFront Row: Grace Buckland Tayla Crawford Libby Phillips Siobhan Quintal Helena McHugh

Held at Lake Karapiro from 18th – 23rd March2 X Golds, 1 X Silver and 1 X Bronze medals

Maadi week officially opened on Sunday with a parade of schools through the main street of Cambridge ending at Victoria Square. Hillcrest High School won the School Banner competition judged by Hamish Bond and he presented a NZ Rowing prize pack to our team.

Hillcrest High School entered eleven events and reached six “A finals”, two “B finals” and three “C finals”. There were 120 schools and 2,025 competitors at Maadi. Nationally, against all competing schools, Hillcrest High School placed 8th in the Star Trophy for overall points, 6th in the Executive Trophy for sweep oars and 10th in the Presidents Sculls for sculling oars.

Throughout the week of heats, repechages, quarter finals and semi finals, Hillcrest Crews competed in 30 races before the finals days. Many of our rowers had endured through all weather conditions during this time and had multiple races every day. Coach, Aimee Pink had a very busy week with races on every day. Her time spent with every crew before and after each race and her ability to get the best out of her rowers is evident in these successful results.

The Girls U15 quad sculls quarter finals, after having been raced, were subject to a protest by an opposing school regarding the weather. This was upheld by the committee and the crews were forced to re- race their event again later the same evening. The Hillcrest crew didn’t waiver and finished first in their QF race, again.

Friday and Saturday were finals day. All Hillcrest crews had made it through and the weather and lake conditions were very good. Mr. Whiting, Mr Johl and Mrs Priscott were also at the lake on Friday to cheer on our rowers.

The Girls U15 quad sculls of Madison Wright, Paige Hallam, Zoe Smith, Sascha Arai-Swale with coxswain Madison Marchioni, rowed an amazing close final to win Gold and the Avonside/Macleans Cup.

The same crew with Shania Brooks as coxswain went on to win the U15 Girls coxed four in a powerful performance from the half way stage of the race, winning their second Gold and the Waikato Diocesan School for Girls Cup by 6 seconds.

Hillcrest’s Girls U15 four and quad have remained unbeaten in over 18 races over the last three regattas.

Madison Wright and Zoe Smith were in action again on Saturday morning winning Bronze in their U15 Girls Double.

Our novice rowers were in action on both finals days with Eva Rossiter and Jasmine Oliver placing 2nd in the “B final” of the novice girls double on Friday. This is a very good top 10 finish.On Saturday, the Novice Girls coxed four of Sascha Arai-Swale, Paige Hallam, Eva Rossiter, Jasmine Oliver and coxswain Madison Marchioni put in an excellent effort to take out the Silver medal (presented by Eric Murray). The girls kept pace with the competition early on and eventually pulled ahead enough to take out second place behind a very strong Waikato Diocesan novice crew. The same result as at the NISS.

MAADI Cup Regatta 2013Rowing

The senior girls U17 quad and four including Ella Manson, Bayly Harris, Sara Law, Loveday Yeoman and coxswains Claire Wang (four) and Madison Marchioni (quad) got into their work with a hard fought 3rd place in the four and later in the morning placing 5th in the “A final” of the quad. On Thursday, Bayly and Loveday also went on to finish a strong 2nd in the “C final” of the double and Sara, 3rd in the “C final” of the single.

Cameron McRobie waited the longest for his final. He went on to finish a very creditable 6th in his favoured U16 singles “A final” against some very strong competitors. He also finished4th in the U17 single in the “C final” on Thursday.

It is often overlooked how important the senior rowers are in assisting the younger and less experienced rowers to develop and become champions. Through their time at trainings, camps, mentoring and leadership, this year’s senior Hillcrest rowers have supported the future of the club very well.

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Hillcrest High School would like to thank Fuji Xerox for assistance with the production of this newsletter