Nelson College Newsletter March 2014 Private Bag 16, Nelson 7042 tel: + 64 3 548 3099 email: enquiries@nelsoncollege.school.nz www.nelsoncollege.school.nz

Calendar (Term 1 Weeks 7-12) TERM 1 2014 Mar 10-14 Yr 10AH Camp @ Mataki Mar 12 Junior Dance @ NC 11.15-11.45 Fml assembly for Academic Colours TSS Athletics Mar 13 Mufti Day Mar 15-17 Summer Sports Weekend 10am Commemoration Service at the Cathedral 7.15pm Sports Night Variety Concert in Hall Mar 17 House Athletic Sports 9am-12.25pm Main Field 1.30pm EARLY CLOSING FOR DAY BOYS 1.30-3.30pm Boarding Parent Interviews Main College Block A1-A10 Mar 19 LeadershipYr 9 Cup Afternoon Mar 20 TEACHER ONLY DAYNo classes Mar 21 MID TERM BREAK Mar 24 PTA AGM Mar 24-30 Summer Tournament Week Mar 25 RYDA for Yr 12 students NC Tennis Tournament (Senior) Mar 26 NC Tennis Tournament (Junior) Mar 28-29 TSS Sailing Mar 28-19 Apr Students from Vaj (Thailand) - Prep Mar 31-Apr 4 Yr 10MK Camp @ Mataki Apr 1 1st XV vs Waimea College (pre-season) Apr 2 Day Boy Parent/Teacher Interviews 3.00pm to 7.00pm (No Period 5) Apr 3 TSS Ki-O-Rahi Champs Day Boy Parent/Teacher Interviews 3.00pm to 7.00pm (No Period 5) 4pm BOT Meeting Apr 3-6 1st XV to Golden Bay Apr 5-6 SISS Athletics Start of Football Season Apr 7-11 Yr 10FR Camp @ Mataki Apr 7 Day Boy Parent/Teacher Interviews 3.00pm to 7.00pm (No Period 5) Apr 9 TSS Mountainbiking Champs Senior Dance @ NC Apr 10 Mufti Day Apr 11 1st XV vs Scots College in Wlgtn Apr 13 1st XV vs Rongotai College in Wlgtn Apr 17 LAST DAY OF TERM

Message from the Headmaster

Dear Parents/Caregivers It is my pleasure to welcome all boys back to the College and a special welcome to new boys. The year has started very well with boys settling into the routine of classes quickly and the summer/winter sports selections, trials and competition games now in full swing. Our school roll has grown again for the fifth year in a row, with 1115(Ministry funded) boys of which over 250 are in Year 9 (our largest Year 9 intake in the Colleges history.) In the next newsletter you will receive a detailed analysis of our NCEA, Scholarship and ITO/Trades results for 2013. The results overall are very pleasing and are a testament to the hard work of the boys and the support they receive from a committed and talented group of teachers and support staff. Supply of alcohol to under 18 year olds

The change in the law related to alcohol supply has serious implications for you as parents when you host an event/party attended by under 18 year olds where alcohol is supplied to them by you or they bring alcohol to your event. I have included in this newsletter a pdf of FAQs which will assist you in interpreting this law. As a school which has 1200 young men under its daily care we feel a responsibility to educate them regarding the social and physical implications of alcohol use and to do everything we can to support you as parents in navigating that difficult time of adolescent social change between the ages of 13 and 18. If we can be of assistance in any way, please do not hesitate to contact me. Nga mihi nui Gary OShea MEd (Admin) Headmaster

RABBIT ISLAND DAY

As has been the custom, each year begins for our new Year 9s with a Big Day Out at Rabbit Island and the chance to get to know the Year 13 Leaders who organise a range of fun events for the day. This year, as usual, the weather was awesome.

Spirit of New Zealand

Year 13 Kyle Ormsby was a trainee on the Spirit of New Zealand, voyage 653, in December 2013. He received the Captain's Award for the trip (out of 40 trainees) and received a unanimous vote to captain the ship for trainee day. Kyle wishes

to acknowledge and thank the wider Nelson College community for their support in making the trip possible.

Top NZ Student in Biology Congratulations to 2013 Dux Oliver Coleman who was the top New Zealand student in Biology, a fantastic result and credit to his teachers.

Cadets Year 10 Fergus Enright, Year 11 Steele Bartlett and Year 12 James Newport represented Nelson cadets at a week long International (NZ, Australia and Canada) gathering of cadets at Waiouru Military Camp in celebration of the 150th anniversary of Cadet Forces in New Zealand. The gathering was the largest parade of cadets in more than 50 years. Exercises included flying, tramping, sailing, shooting and medical evacuation scenarios in a challenging environment. The Governor General, Sir Jerry Mateparae, reviewed the 1200 cadets on Wednesday at the completion of the exercise.

FLYING HIGH 2014 Flying NZ Ross Macpherson Memorial Young Eagles Flying Scholarship Congratulations to Year 11 Jake Perks (shown at left in photo) who won the above scholarship. These scholarships are open to all persons who are enrolled as Flying NZ Young Eagles between the ages of 15 18. Each scholarship is for the sum of $2500 paid to the recipient's Aero Club for the sole purpose of providing flight training to the recipient. Only 5 scholarships are award-ed throughout NZ. As a winner of the scholarship Jake recently attended and participated in the challenging three day National Flying Championships. Innate Ability to Fly Demonstrating an innate ability to fly Year 9 Ben Randle recently flew a fixed wing plane from Nelson to Golden Bay, on dual controls, with ease.

Director of Community Relations Nelson College is in an exciting growth phase ,and we welcome everyone to become involved with this growth. Nelson College created the role of Director of Community Relations mid-2013. The purpose of this role is to build and nurture relationships associated with the school, the schools community, and past, present and future students. If you would like to look at sponsorship and funding opportunities, have us promote the school at your events, discuss and plan Old Boy functions and re-unions or to generally re-connect with the school then please contact me at your convenience. Bill Burke Painting Limited edition print of 2013 Quad held at Nelson College by artist Bill Burke (1972-76) for sale, either framed or unframed. For costs and further details please contact: Mark Vinsen, Director of Community Relations email: mv@nelsoncollege.school.nz Mob: 0211007523

Chief Scout Year 10 Ollie Hunter achieved a Chief Scouts award late last year, presented to him by Mark Inglis. Also attending the Scouts Jamboree Ollie had a meet and greet with the Governor-General because of his achievement. The Chief Scout's Award is the highest award for a Scout (ages 10-14) and tests the young persons skills, leadership, initiative and commitment.

Science RUTHERFORD GROUP- Science Group at Nelson College Welcome to Science 2014... win fame and fortune, and have fun with Science. See Mr Riley in Lab 3, or ask your science teacher. On offer right now:

SCIENCE BADGE - Astronomy, Geology, Electronics, Human Biology, Entomology, Chemistry and more

WANTED - Students to research the Great White Butterfly, working with DOC

Competitions this year will be BIG SCIENCE, OTAGO SENIOR, ICAS and

AUSTRALIAN CHEMISTRY

BP CHALLENGE - Year 9 teams needed

CREST Awards - run by the Royal Society

ROYAL SOCIETY AWARDS - Last Year Charles Norton won a trip to London and

Geneva - ENTRY NOW OPEN FOR YEAR 12 and 13 STUDENTS

BLOG BLAST competition with Lord Robert Winston write a blog entry about

Puberty (Year 9/10) or Reproductive Technologies (Year 12/13) and Win! SUMMER SCIENTIST TIM CRAIG (2009-2013)

Tim Craig has worked the summer at Cawthron with scientist Dr Mike Packer. His project has been to develop a microbial fuel

cell to generate electricity. Tim sent us the following update. Well done Tim!

My main responsibility has been in the building and programming of a circuit, to be wired up to the microbial fuel cell. The

purpose of this is to allow for a comparative analysis of the different fuel cells as their voltage peaks, allowing Cawthron to

easily determine internal resistances. Im now working to code it using a raspberry pi. As well as electronics (Ive learned more

about that topic in the last couple of months than I have in the whole of physics) there is a bit of chemistry behind my job. Ive

done concentration calculations, and Im now trying to determine how effective a microbial fuel cell can be as a biosensor.

Basically that just means adding varying amounts of copper or zinc to the cell to see how the native Nelson algae responds. I

would send you some of the graphs I spent all day compiling cause I think they are really cool but you couldnt open them on

your computer. I will feature on the Cawthron radio show recording on 24 and 26 of March, on Fresh FM.

NEEDED USED OR UNWANTED OUTDOOR GEAR

The Outdoor Education department needs help with any offers of used or unwanted outdoor gear. Please contact Martin Love lv@nelsoncollege.school.nz or txt 0273714816. Needed General outdoor equipment and clothing for camping and tramping. Boots, Packs, etc We will be also be doing kayaking, mountainbiking, snorkelling, road cycling, climbing and snowcraft, so kayaks and old mountainbikes would be great for demos. Lastly, if anyone would like to assist with supervision on trips please contact Martin also.

New Teaching/Support Staff

We welcome the following new teaching/support staff to Nelson College:

Pictured are L-R: Diane Garside (English), Sisa Tuicakau (Technology), Hayden Grant (IT Support), Guy Barber (PE), Paul Daubney (Trade Building) and Stuart McLean (Maths).

Other new staff are Jared Altments (Music) and Davor Tavich (Director of Football, Mentor and Teacher Aide).

Turkish Tour September Holidays 2014 Imagine walking