The year nine perform for the leavers

Today our year nine's had a special leaving gift for our year 13's. It was the last assembly (hopefully) for all of them and it was one to remember. First we were wowed by the singing of the school waiata, (which was louder than when the whole school sings it together!!) and then goosebumps were sent down our spines when the school haka was performed.

One english student was terrified as this was his first haka ever! "They were doing this nice peaceful song and then they start stomping and yelling! It was scary!" Well done guys! That is proof of how good it was.

I have heard that many of the year 13's were impressed at this new way of sending them off into that scary 'real world' and there were a few tears (among teachers too). It was clear that the year nine's put a lot of work into this presentation, and they enjoyed it too! When the performers are having fun the audience does too, and that made the show fantastic. "It was awesome, different" said one year 13 who shall remain nameless, "It was freaky when they started the haka but it was awesome." Another said "I wanted to do it too, it looked like fun."

Thank you to Whaea Rona for your work with the year nines to give our leavers a send off they won't be forgetting soon! I kind of hope that when I leave next year we will be sent off in a similar way!! *Hint Hint?*

Finding Violet Park

By Jenny Valentine

Lucas Swaine is a boy who is paitently waiting for his missing dad to come home. He finds an urn of Violet Park and feels sorry for the dead woman so takes her home andf tries to start learning about her. Soon he's not finding out stuff about just Violet, but also the Dad who walked out on him when he was 11, and life just isn't the same.

It's a little bit slow moving at first but when it gets into it, this books pretty cool. It has a cool ending, but I won't spoil it for you. (-:

Luuurve is a many trousered thing

By Louise Rennison

Georgia Nicholson is back with more crazy and worrying antics. Who is Georgia Nicholson? You may remember her from such books as: Angus, thongs and full frontal snogging; It's okay, I'm wearing really big knickers; Knocked out by my nunga-nungas; Dancing in my nuddy-pants; And that's when it fell off in my hand; Then he ate my boy entrancers; and lets not forget- Startled by his furry shorts.

Georgia is a clinically insane 'normal' teenager living in England. in this diary she has accidently gained two boyfriends. 'Love God' Masimo and 'Sex God' Robbie, and there is also Dave the Laugh lurking in the background too. Georgia gets up to all sorts of mischief in this latest book and it gets worse when the ace gang accidently give their German teacher the impression that they are interested in camping.

Naked teachers, crazy plans and some really funny situations all feature in this book. (That's offical review language) I loved it. I was crying from laughter to the point where I wasn't allowed to read while my family where doing important homework, or having conversations simply because my laughter distracted them. I recommend this to anyone having a bad day and is in need of a laugh or just anyone in need of a laugh. It is a work of genius, although you do need the glossary in the back to understand most of it!

Luuurve is a many trousered thing is not for the faint of heart, or for people who like sophistication. For more information on Georgia Nicholson visit www.georgianicolson.com
Thank you and good-bye

Book Review

Guinness World Records 2008
HiT entertainment and Guinness World Records Limited 2007

Once again Guinness World Records release a new volume of marvellous greats for the new calendar year. Records range from Most Votes For A Mr Potato Head in a Political Campaign (page 130) to Fastest Joggling (page 219) which is running a marathon while juggling three objects.

Guinness World Records have been entertaining people for awhile. Answering the questions of the curious and providing an exceptional read when bored. The glow in the dark features especially impressed me!

I recommend Guinness World records to anyone that needs to go fact-finding, wants to look at humorous and sometimes disturbing pictures, or just wants an entertaining read that they can pick up and put down at anytime.

Overall I give the book a rating of 3/5

Guinness World Records 2008 is only a reference book but is available to read at the library at any time in the lunch hour.

Focusing Point: Rugby World Cup 2007

Time to have some fun this week and get into the rugby spirit! We have already had a great win against Italy 76-14. Great defense and tackling and expert kicking by Dan Carter. He did miss a couple but hey we aren't all perfect! Hope we win the Cup!!

Here are some fun tips to help you get in the mood to watch the games:

1. Preheat your television 15 minutes beforehand. Scream at it with all your might as you imagine those great tries. The television has to be prepared...
2. Put on your replica All Black jersey. I'm sure you all have one. Maybe even a midget rugby one from back in the days. If it doesn't fit you now just pull it onto your arm. It's the thought that counts!
3. Stretch those arms. You will be raising them in the heat of the moment and you don't want to pull them. Trust me, it happened...

It doesn't matter if you aren't a strong follower of the rugby. Not everyone enjoys the thought of getting up at 4 in the morning to see the games. I was horrified but I may just do it anyway.

Everybody's different. I, however, am the typical kiwi rugby nutcase.

Enjoy the rugby. It's there for your entertainment!
Next weeks topic is Respect For Your Teachers
Crystal :)

Yr 10 mathex 2007

In how many languages can you say, "we got absolutely wasted"?
Well I can only say it in English but I bet you that one of the brainy kids from mathex could probably say it in algebra.
I know what you're thinking... NERD and yes I am a nerd but you know what I'm not even good at being a nerd.
I lost so bad and the only reason we even got any of our questions answered is because the lovely Catherine was there, and Jessica and Buddy.
I would rather not go into too much detail about how we lost but I will tell you that it was absolutely packed at the Wanganui Memorial Hall it was so stuffy and there were so many students there.
Luckily it didn't rain so we could run around and have a nice look at all the statues.
Even though the year 10 students didn't do very well I think that the year 9's actually did very good and I'm quite proud actually.
So I won't sulk too much.
I just want to take this opportunity to congratulate the teams who did win and also a big thank you to the best invention ever....the calculator, without you this wouldn't be possible.
:'( I think I'm having a moment
Kahu

News From the College Library

NEW ZEALAND BOOK MONTH




September 2007 is New Zealand Book Month! We have big prizes to give away here at the College Library. All you need to do is take out a book and we'll give you an entry form to fill out and put in our beautifully decorated entry box. It's as easy as 123! Remember that you can enter as much as you like and it is one entry per book and two per New Zealand book that you get out.

Don't worry if you don't know a New Zealand book from the others. Our team of experienced librarians can help you with all your NZ book needs :)

Spot prizes will also be awarded when you get out a book with a secret marker that only the librarians can detect...

So read, read, read for New Zealand book month!!

NEW ZEALAND BOOK MONTH, 2 SEPTEMBER - 30 SEPTEMBER 2007

Focusing Point: Smoking and Drugs

Now why have I decided to blog about a subject that has been drilled into young hearts and minds for years? The answer is simple, you're still not getting it!
I'm kidding, but smoking and drugs is a serious topic and one that is not to be messed around with.

Why do we do it? The most common answers are "It's cool," and "All my friends do it". The reality is it is no longer cool to smoke and take drugs and not everyone is doing it now. Many celebrities condemn smoking as a bad and ugly habit that should not be passed on to future generations. Celebrities like Lindsay Lohan who are seriously addicted to drugs have also been condemned by other celebrities who call it a dirty habit and refuse to work with her and others like her.

On talking to a close friend about this subject, she told me about a person who had to repeat one year of school three times because they kept leaving their exams to smoke. They could not control the urge to smoke for three hours and ended up using valuable time they could have used to start a potential career, repeating school and re-sitting exams.

Would you think of someone who smokes and takes drugs as a role model for your children in the future? Would you let addictions ruin your life?

Have a think.

Thanks again,
Crystal

Next weeks topic is the Rugby World Cup. Just for fun.

Mock Exams around the corner toot toot!

Ok People of Rangitikei College
Exams are here.
They may be mock exams but they may just become important for you in November.
Every year unsuspecting students have to apply for compasionate consideration as they have had something happen that meant they couldn't get to their exams.
Won't happen to you? Our very own editor Crystal said that too. Then she didn't make it to her final exam. I won't say why, did she get extremely sick? Did a family member die? Did she wake up unconsious? She just did not make it.
The markers had to go back to Crystal's mock results, look at the people above and below her and allocate her a mark in between, where she most likely would have come.
What would happen if you failed, or were bottom in the class? Well, I'm sorry but you are out of luck. Do bad in your mocks, then miss your end of year exams due to unforeseen circumstances and you are out of luck. Do well and you have a chance. That's the morale of the story.

Focusing Point: NCEA

NCEA. Definitely a hairy subject in the minds of students and parents alike. Ugly debates are constantly hashed over NCEA, its merits and its faults. But first, what is NCEA?

Well, NCEA is New Zealand's nationally and internationally recognised qualification. Students sit what are known as Unit Standards or Achievement Standards to achieve credits. These credits are put towards a total amount which determine whether the student has achieved NCEA. There are three levels to NCEA. Level 1 is the first Level of NCEA which Year 11 students (or 5th form) aim to achieve. The student must acquire a total of 80 credits to achieve Level 1. This should not be a difficult task as the five subjects the student can take at Rangitikei College should equal at least 80 credits or over. This is true for whatever subjects the student may take. This also includes Exams also known as External Standards.
Year 12 students (6th form), are required to be on to Level 2 of NCEA. This also involves accumulating a total of 80 credits in which 20 can come from Level 1. The same is true of Year 13 students (7th form), who study NCEA Level 3. They also need 80 credits, of which 20 can come from Level 2.

NCEA is the new equivalent of School C. It is argued that School C is a superior system to NCEA in regards to fairness. In the School C system you were marked by percentages. If you got all questions right you would get 100% or a pass. If you got, say, two or three questions wrong then your mark would be reduced to around 75% or so. This would still count as a passing mark.
With the NCEA system you either sit Achievement standards ot Unit Standards. An Achievement Standard is the usual paper a student may sit. A Unit Standard is a standard that has been simplified slightly to make the paper easier to pass. With these papers a student may have to answer all or a number of questions correctly to achieve. In most cases it is all questions need to be answered correctly. A question answered incorrectly can mean a fail, but there are usually re-sits.

It has been suggested that the two systems seem imperfect on their own and may be superior to the existing NCEA system if the positive attributes are fused together.
I will be posting a poll later on to find out your views on the NCEA system.

Next weeks topic will be Smoking and Drugs.
Thanks again,
Crystal :)

Kiwi kids playing sport-Not sponsored by Mcdonalds

Sport,Sport,Sport now what can i say. i myself,am not the most athletic person I've ever met to say the least in fact, my philosophy in life is this:you can't get sporting injuries if you don't play sport. this is why i chose to participate in activities that require as little contact and effort as possible.

Like blogging for example! other than a couple computer viruses there's not much damage you can do.So this is why I've decided to interview some kids who actual have the guts to go out and represent our school even if it does mean (god forbid) breaking a nail.

My first subject is Jessica carter Who plays Girls hockey for rangitikei college this is what she had to say.

Kahu:hey Jessica,how long have you been playing hockey for?

Jessica: 10 years i missed a couple of years due to injury

What is the most severe injury you've ever got from playing hockey?

Well, it wasn't actually during hockey but my sister whacked me in the jaw with a hockey stick when i was about seven

(now you see why we've got the anti-Smacking law)

What do you think of hockey?

pretty cool,like the game

Do you play/watch any other sport?

tennis

Do you have any hockey role models?
nope,just kahu

Is there any improvements you think that could be made in your hockey team?
better uniforms,less fees

What is your most embarrassing moment?
When i was playing i had the wrong shoes and fell flat on my face?

do you have any famous last words before you go?(please don't sue me my chemical romance)
Train hard,what you do off field will pay off on field,getcha head in the game(laughs)

And finally what kind of pizza are you?
i would be a pizza with heaps of cheese...

Inside view on OPC

Interview with Joseph Calkin about the senior OPC

What did you hear/think about OPC before going?
My Sister and my Mother have been before. They told me it was great and it would be a challenge, a physical challenge.

Did you take a home luxury? If yes, what?
Most of my gear was better than everyone else’s so that was a luxury- good over trousers and stuff. There wasn’t much room in your packs because; basically you have to carry it everywhere so you take the bare minimum. I guess Tim-tams were a luxury (It was sugar)

What type of activities did you do? Did anything scare you?
The trust exercises! Everyone put themselves into their ‘Stretch Zones’ almost everyday.
I’ll give you a basic rundown of what we did

Day 1. ‘Bush-bashing’
Flying fox
High ropes course
Day 2. High ropes-including the ‘big swing’ and rock climbing
Caving (Multiple people got stuck in some of the tight cracks, especially Pooh Bears crack which was a tight squeeze. There were weta's and glow worms)
Day 3. We split into groups to do snowboarding and skiing. I went skiing and learnt how to do the ‘hockey stop,’ then I sprayed everyone with the snow from it. On the second to last run Joyce hurt her tailbone. (Editors note: Ouch!)
Day 4. We went on our overnighter. We had to navigate our way through tall toi-toi and we all got cut from it. We slept on a pile of heather , even Joyce did it. (Editors note: That’s determination Joyce! You deserve a chocolate fish!)
Day 5. When we got back to OPC we had a swamp challenge. We would have all made it except Cameron pulled the log out from under Braedon. Then we came home.

Was the food good?
Yes! The food was great.
(Editors note: I am not listing the food he described to me because I’d just eaten and it made me feel hungry all over again, and I just ate dinner and am too full too think of food again! But let me just say; I don’t get fed that well at home!) Pancakes for breakfast, chocolate dessert………………….

Would you rather be cold, wet or hungry? Were you any of these things on OPC?
Wet- if you are wet but not cold or hungry then you’re fine. We were well-fed, warm (Most of the time) but we were wet a lot!

Did you have early starts and late finishes?
My watch accidentally went off at 3 on the first morning! It woke Braedon who started clapping and woke everyone else up. We had to clap and wake everyone else up if we heard the alarm, but my watch went off too early! We had to get up at 5:30am and lights out was 10:30pm- but that didn’t stop some people from talking

What was your favourite activity?
Skiing, I learnt how to do the ‘hockey stop’ and then I went and sprayed everyone! (The hockey stop is when you are coming down the slope and brake by turning to the side. It throws up a lot of snow and sprays everyone around you.)

Would you recommend OPC to others?
Yes.

Would you go again if you had the chance?
Yes, in a couple of months....

Were you told any stories there that you would like to repeat to us?
Sasquatch and the hoofman……….. (More to come on this story)

Focusing Point: Bullying

Now this a new part of the Rangitikei College Blog where myself, or another person in the team, will be talking about issues surrounding our teenage lives and other issues that may affect us directly or indirectly. This week I have decided to focus on bullying.

Now last week was Friendship Week as you may, or may not, have known; but how many of us have friends? Do we treat them well? Do we respect them as equals?

The answer is not always yes.

Mason Rivers* is a loner. He is what we call "a tall poppy". He does well at school, particularly at English and Computing, and receives attention from his teachers a lot for his achievements. Mason should be a role model for his peers. They do not see it this way. Through no fault of Mason's he is bullied recklessly day after day, for no particular reason at all. Constant harassment does nothing good for Mason as his grades slip lower and lower. He begins to show signs of depression and one day, he finally snaps. Mason is expelled from school for this and only after his mother asks him why, the situation is finally revealed. *This character is completely fictional folks!

Should this kind of thing be accepted and ignored? Hopefully no. But sadly we can't detect everything that is happening around us or in our schools and workplaces. No, its not only children who bully each other, it can happen with adults as well. No one should have to put up with bullying. In fact, almost all of the bullies around us today were once bullied themselves at some point in their lives, or came from a violent background. So if they didn't like being bullied themselves, why do they do it to others and pass on the torch? I can't really answer this question, but I hope you have taken note of how bullying can affect others. Try to talk to people you don't usually talk to, stick up for people who you think are getting the raw deal in life. Be aware of bullying, don't tolerate it!

Thank you,
Crystal

P.S. Next weeks topic will be NCEA. See you then!

Welcome to two new 'spies'

We have more eyes to watch your every move!!
Well, no actually, that's illegal but we do have two new spies. Shonee Hancock and Olivia Blakely. They are going to be starting a 'gossip' column- with your permission!! No article will be printed without written consent by those affected by it, we will not use names in certain circumstances and there will be no photographs with named captions. Bloggers promise.

Welcome guys, dig deep and have fun!!

Drummer at Rangitikei college

At 2:00 on the 19th of July the students of Rangitikei College had the pleasure of listening to Dylan Elisa, a seventeen-year old from the Horowhenua area.

Dylan played pieces from lots of styles and techniques.

These styles included rock, jazz and even some latin.
His drum kit looked like some kind of Giant shiny fortress which dylan assures us was worth well over $15,000.
Luckily for Dylan he didn't have to purchase the whole drum kit himself as he has numerous sponsors from all around the Auckland area.
Its easy to gather sponsors when you have experience like Dylan's.
He has been playing the Drums since the age of six and at the age of 11 was even accompanying members from the New Zealand Symphomy Orchestra!

Dylans performance at our school was an extremely loud, but entralling one, and I'm sure that Rangitikei College would be glad to have him back here again.

To read more about Dylan please visit this link!

http://nemp.otago.ac.nz/listen_view/2002/listening/drummer.htm

I have some bad news.......

SCHOOL'S BACK!!!

That’s right, school is back
The holidays that we all savoured are over
Back to homework and lessons and a proper lunchtime

Here are some school time tips
Number 1: Getting up at a respectable time is harder now that it’s cold, if I had a tip I’d be using it and my Mum can vouch that I don’t. The only thing I can think of is attempt to keep the room warm. Close the windows early, close the curtains early and open the door a warmer room. Leech heat- the best way to go. It’s easier getting up if you’re not going to freeze on the way up. Just don’t get caught with the leeching, or better yet, use a heater
Number 2: Homework, don’t leave it too long. This sounds dorky but my advice is DO IT! -When you get home, just do it. If you need help, get some mates around. Do your homework, then watch a movie- or something
Number 3: I have no idea, have fun. Lunch time is there for a reason. Bring a blanket (if you want to share with your mates) and pretend that you are back in holiday mode

Words of wisdom from Larrie King

Because I'm wise

Just to let you know...

Crystal and I have been going around and making nusiances of ourselves in as many form classes as we feel like. All of H block form classes (except ours) have been visited and everyone else is on the list.
Basically all we have to say is

• Visit our website (which you already have)
• If you would like to submit articles to us then feel free, we need them. Badly. Anything happening around the school- like sports events and tournaments, activity days, interesting club meetings or anything like that WE WANT TO KNOW
• A sports website had been set-up at www.freewebs.com/sportrangitikeicollege It's only new so its not to flash at the moment and we just figured out that we cannot put photos on for another two days but we are working on it. Constuctive feedback is encouraged. Team photos are welcome and so are descriptions of games. (Remember the ones that used to be read out about the rugby?)

So that's all we have to say. Simple. Thank you for any support you have for us and any articles heading our way.

(P.S. we will acknowledge you as the writer of the story unless you say otherwise)

2007 Taster Day - The Workers

Jobs are necessary for many high school students these days, so when Rangitikei College decided to have their annual Work Day once again, many of the students got involved. There were a variety of jobs up for grabs ranging from Butchery to Housework. Many local business chose to help the school with this event in the way of providing jobs for students as well as providing prizes for the top earners and winning house.

Although it was required that the students work during the hours of the school day, many worked overtime and some, because of the nature of their job, had to start earlier, i.e milking. Students were reported to be good natured and hard working throughout the day.

The students were required to work a minimum of five hours during the school day. Minimum wage for Juniors was four dollars per hour and for seniors, five dollars an hour was recommended.

This year the money is going towards a water cooler, sports equipment and outdoor seating plus many other essentials that the students may suggest to the student council.

Overall the day was very successful. We hope that Taster/Work Day remains an annual event for years to come.

This blog was written by Crystal and the new blogger Kate Blayney :)

Taster Day from a juniors perspective

On the 7th of June Rangitikei College was hit with a burst of.......

silence.

The school was empty as the students were participating in work day, making it easier for Taster Day to proceed. While these students were out and about in the community the remainder of us were setting up for our displays and activities we had organised for Taster Day.

For those of you that don't know what Taster Day is here's a little run down for you.

Basically its when the year 8's from the surrounding schools come and have a "taste" of what college life is like.

Catherine and I (I'm Kahu by the way) were busy helping out in the Drama Department which had joined forces with the music department with H.O.D. of music Miss Smith.

This is what happened where we were...

When the year 8's stormed into F1 (the music room) they had the pleasure of listening to the band Ricochet. Where they played Wonderwall by the band Oasis.

Miss Smith told them about all the exciting things you can do if you decide to do music and Mrs. Hume did the same for Drama.

We then played a game called party quirks which envolved Catherine, Jessica, Buddy, myself, and 3 selected students from the audience...

Overall I think they enjoyed it and party quirks was the highlight of the day for me.

I hope you got a good taste of Taster Day from this and I will post some pictures that I took of this later on...

xxxx

Kahu

It's exam time

Its exam time, if you hadn't already guessed. I'm sure all the seniors have been hitting the books and studying so hard that your pens have run out and you are so stressed you know longer know up from down.

Well, chill.

Study all your well-kept notes from the beginning of the year including all those notes that you've copied from your friends- you know- from the days you were away. Make up songs that remind you of all the information, condense the information from 120 pages into a simple two or three or four, make up dumb jokes or draw cartoons to remind you of the info. Whatever works.

Next, you go to your helpful teachers to clarify the bits from those messy hand-writing days. Or perhapes from those days when you tried writing with the other hand! You study abit more, adding in the new information and voila! the night before the exam- you sleep.

That's right, sleep. The thing you probably haven't done much for a while.

Next morning, day of the almighty exam, you wake up early. Have breakfast, check you have everything you need, fill up the water bottle and head out towards the big scary exam place. You meet up with mates and talk about anything but the exam you are about to face.

You enter the room, sit quietly, listen anxiously to the instructions, check your papers and finally, you start the exam.

But you slept. You can remember the details of your study and you remember to read the questions properly. You do well. Yay!

In theory.

But try it before you decide it's useless.

2007 Rangitikei College Cross Country

Coconut Bras and flowery lei's were the main attraction for the Rangitikei College 2007 Cross Country. We all took our time to get changed into our snappy ensembles and loiter around a small section of the school field, waiting patiently for our races to be called and the starting gun to fire. First to leave the starting line were the Junior girls.

Here were the results for that race:

1st: Brooke Batley

2nd: Lisa Mallinder

3rd: Shonee Hancock

4th: Sophia Tomlinson

5th: Ash Collins

Second to leave were the junior boys.

Here were the results for that race:

1st: Nick Hynes

2nd: Hayden Revell

3rd: Dylan Tuffin

4th: Kody Greeks

5th: Michael Thomsen

Then came the intermediate girls.

Results:

1st: Rachel Puts

2nd: Emily McGinity

3rd: Sarah Thomsen

4th: Rachel Revell

5th: Ashley Austin

Not long after came the intermediate boys.

Results:

1st= Mark Jones and Joshua Keyes-Kumeroa

3rd: Nathan Mitchell

4th: Matthew Hicks

5th: Tahu Kamareira

Then the senior girls.

Results:

1st= Stephanie Gardiner and Charlena Kumeroa

3rd: Nikita Forrest

4th: Louise Hammond

5th: Stacey Motu

Last but not least, the senior boys.

Results:

1st: Braedon Moratti

2nd: Andrew Walker

3rd: Shane Will

4th: Sam Durston

5th: Dylan Hart

The house results:

1st: RUAHINE 173

2nd: KAIMANAWA 167

3rd: TARARUA 134

4th: KAWEKA 74

Overall it was a good effort by all students. Congratulations to all those who participated and all the winners.

This blog was brought to you by:

The CKrystals :)

Attitude - The Senior Seminar

It was the end of period 1 and as the students were preparing to leave for their period 2 classes, they were unexpectedly informed that they were to go to the hall and attend a special presentation. They took their seats and the speaker introduced himself as James Hannah, and he would be talking to them about drugs, alcohol and the reasons why we feel pressured to use them. A sigh echoed throughout the hall as they prepared to be injected (ignore the pun) with the same old constant drone of information that they had already been subjected to numerous times in the past.

Surprisingly, James was not the speaker the students thought he was. He filled the speech with humour and valuable information most students hadn't thought of or encountered before. He told us interesting and insightful stories about his family and people he knew. He also educated the students with his witty slideshow containing hilarious pictures including the "Crack-addict Kittens" and some gnarly dude with a bug-eye.

Overall, the students learned a fair bit about drugs and alcohol (through all the laughter). Hopefully this presentation left students thinking and wondering about the choices they make regarding the use of these various drugs. It was a very memorable and entertaining presentation and we invite you all to attend one in your area if you can.

We encourage you to visit:

www.attitude.org.nz

This blog was brought to you by:

The CKrystals :)

Young Leaders Conference

Young Leaders Conference

Okay, so Larrie is your blogger today and is here to offer you an inside peek at the Young Leaders Conference 2007. The 26th of March dawned a cold, overcast day as yours truely struggled to open her eyes. The Young Leaders were meeting at the school for 6:30am so we could get to Wellington for 9am. We left 10 minutes late thanks to a certain blogger (Oops!). The Young Leaders included in this trip were; Doug Alsop; Charleen Te Huia; Arna Bergen; Keisha Hume; Kay Pilkington; Joyce Aldworth; Daniel Wigglesworth; Ashleigh Moody; Braedon Moratti and myself makes 10. Mrs Stantaill drove us all the way to Wellington where we found that we had no idea were we were actually going. There was a stroke of luck where we found Central Hawkes Bay travelling our way, and we followed them. Thank You CHB.

We arrived late and missed most of Mai Chan's speech about how she found it difficult breaking into the lawyers business as she was a female Asian. She is now Partner in one of New Zealand's most successful law companies.

Next up to the pulpit was Tim Prentergras, a paralympic gold winner sprinter with only 5% vision. His vision was such that when he ran he had to have his head on the side to see where he was going. He showed us video clips from the Athens 2004 Races, in one 1500 race he lost his left shoe and still came second!

Mmmmm next was morning tea. The flow of people leaving the building were just like the traffic jams Wellington is famous for.

Pio Terei, from 'are we there yet' spoke to us as well. (are you jealous?) He kept us laughing for a good half hour. He told us that if you are having fun in your job, you are successful.
A policewoman and champion shot-putter Gina Hughes also gave us her thoughts. While she had many good points about being a leader, she definately over-used the word 'actually.' This blogger is not over this point, everyone will be hearing about this for a while to come.

I beg you, please please, do not EVER use one word after every other word in every sentence!!!! e.g Actually there is no actual proof that we can actually draw on to create an actual real-life peace that actually does not degrade our society.

Lunch time came. Outside Burger King there was a street performer who entertained many people by putting out a flaming stick in his mouth, and another down his pants. He also put a real nail into his nose and whacked it a few times with a hammer. This was after telling us what to do if it went wrong.

Our last speaker of the day was Rob Harley, a director of documentaries. He introduced us to people he believed are leaders. Kevin Campbell, who forced all Boeing 747 aircraft to be 'fixed' after proving that there was a manafacturing flaw that caused his son's death. Judy Dench, abandoned by both parents and forced to live on the streets. She decided that she could 'be bitter or be better' and now builds homes for gypsies in war-torn countries. He told us leaders must expect to get hurt, but must turn that hurt into something good.

Believe it or not we were not sitting around all day. There were 'activities' that we did between speakers. A mexican wave, Dance competitions, Paper scissors rock competition and a goal planning time. However it was not quite enough for this blogger who still feels the urge to walk off that memory.

I encourage people to try get into this conference next year, especially as you may get MacDonalds after!

Thank you Hallogen Foundation and Mrs Stantiall for the day.

Shattered Dreams - A Drink Driving Presentation

Shattered Dreams - A Drink Driving Presentation

The morning of the 19th of March at Rangitikei College was an interesting one.
A speaker had arrived at the school to talk to the students about drink driving and the consequences of it. His name was Tamati Paul, and he showed us and told us about his Shattered Dreams.

The 20 minute dvd moved as all as we watched and listened to Tamati's amazing dreams and aspirations only to find a horrific car accident had destroyed them all. This accident was caused by a drunk driver who had been convicted 15 times in the past, who had made the choice to drive home drunk (again) and change someone else's life.
Students watched with mixed expressions of horror and surprise. The dvd hit home with a lot of us and made us think twice.

After the dvd, we were introduced to the real life Tamati Paul. We all listened to what he had to say about drink driving and what had happened to him. He moved most of us to tears. I readily admit that I shed a few. We laughed at his jokes, to which he replied "What are you laughing at me for?" which made us all laugh harder.

Tamati's main message was Don't Drink and Drive. I hope we have all taken that in as an important life lesson.

Thankyou Tamati, we really enjoyed your presentation.

2007 Wanganui Secondary Schools Athletics

On Tuesday the 14th of March, top athletics students from Rangitikei College joined other schools in the Wanganui Secondary Schools Athletics held at Cooks Gardens, Wanganui.

Rangitikei College came 4th overall out of 14 participating schools. An awesome effort. Congratulations to everybody on the day.

Here are the teams and results:

Teams are as follows:

Junior Girls:
Brooke Batley: 100m, 1500m, Javelin
Kate Bremkley: 100m, 300m
Ash Collins: 300m
Justine Clare: Discus

Junior Boys:
Harris Talaumi: 100m, 200m
Nick Hynes: 300m, Long Jump
Mika Rabukatoka: 100m, Long Jump, High Jump
Jesse Moke: 200m, High Jump
Mission Talaumi: Shot Put, Discus

Intermediate Girls:
Rachel Revell: 100m, Shot Put
Rachel Puts: 200m, Javelin

Intermediate Boys:
Joshua Keyes-Kumeroa: 100m, 200m, 400m Long Jump
Anton Tataurangi: High Jump
Matthew Haskell: Discus, Shot Put
Mark Jones: Javelin, Shot put
Tukotahi Wirihana: Discus
Andrew Rush: 100m

Senior Girls:
Charlena Kumeroa: 100m
Louise Hammond: 100m, Triple Jump
Michaela Taiaroa: Triple Jump, Javelin

Senior Boys:
Philip Anderson: 100m
Jacob Karaynidis: 200m
Braedon Moratti: 800m, 1500m
Ricky Morris: High Jump, Long Jump
Matthew Goodwin: High Jump
Andrew Walker: 1500m, Shot Put

Results are as follows:

1st Placing:

• Mathew Haskell: Intermediate Boys Discuss
• Mika Rabukatoka: Junior Boys High Jump
• Michaela Taiaroa: Senior Girls Javelin
• Mission Talaumi: Junior Boys Discuss
• Harris Talaumi: Junior Boys 100m Sprints
• Junior Boys 200m Sprints

Junior Boys 4x 100m Relay: Mika Rabukatoka, Nickolas Hynes, Jess Moke, Harris
Talaumi

2nd Placing:

• Matthew Haskell: Intermediate Boys Discus
• Mika Rabukatoka: Junior Boys Long Jump
• Junior Boys 100m Sprints
• Mission Talaumi: Junior Boys Shot Put
• Joshua Keyes Kumeroa: Intermediate Boys 400m Sprints

3rd Placing:

• Nickolas Hynes: Junior Boys 300m Sprints
• Junior Boys Long Jump
• Jesse Moke: Junior Boys 200m Sprints
• Joshua Keyes-Kumeroa: Intermediate Boys 200m Sprints

Intermadiate Boys 4x 100m Relay: Anton Taturangi, Tukotahi Wirihana, Mark Jones,
Joshua Keyes-Kumeroa

Congratulations to these students making the finals of their events:

• Philip Anderson: Senior Boys 100m Sprints
• Charlena Kumeroa: Senior Girls 100m Sprints
• Louise Hannond: Senior Girls 100m Sprints
• Rachel Revell: Intermediate Girls 100m Sprints
• Jacob Karaynidis: Senior Boys 200m Sprints

In The Navy

In The Navy

An eventful 40 minutes in the life of Rangitikei College...

A band from the Navy presented themselves at the school hall at around 11 am this morning. The band consisted itself of many different instruments including Xylophone, Drums, Guitar and an interesting looking hose object that was played rather well by "Ollie". They played many genres including classical, pop and their title song, "In The Navy".

They encouraged students to cheer and dance and a few teachers joined in by themselves (Nice job Mr Free!). Spot prizes were awarded for dancing.

As the show neared its end, it was to time to embarass some teachers. Mr Tong and Miss Osgood were picked and much to the amusement of the students, they were asked to play an insrument each and repeat a tune that had been played beforehand as an example. Miss Osgood got the easier, but rather unusual looking instrument and Mr Tong had to play the Trombone. It was very entertaining to watch Mr Tong "play" and see Miss Osgood glide through the song with as much ease as could be expected.

At the finishing of the show, the school was told about the different jobs that you could do in the Navy and about a local student who had joined recently. They left us with a breathtaking rendition of "In The Navy" and the students enjoyed themselves immensely.

Thank you to the Navy and everyone who danced and cheered and had a good time.

Lets try this again: We want spies

Lets try this again: We want spies

Lets try to remember to save this, this time!

Okay, introducing your blog editors. Crystal Johnston, Larrie Saunders (AKA Lorraine but Larrie's shorter) and last and least Catherine. We write articles (blogs) about what happens at Rangitikei College and we are in the process of acquiring spies to get information from around the school, but we want these people to stay unknown so they have been numbered. Agents 1,2,3 and 4 are out there watching you so....

We are looking for interested spy wannabies so if you're interested please see Crystal or Larrie. We do not want people who will put this delicate mission in jeopardy! Lives are at stake. 3rd formers will be considered, we want junior input because then we get more funding.
We don't get funding, but we might if the juniors join in and get involved.
Actually, what do we need funding for?

People from every house will be included in our mission. We are not housist.
We do not require training, or for you to own your own balaclavas or lycra outfits and you will not be Charlies angels. Especially you guys!

But we do require mature students with a reasonable amount of english skills and a good attitude and sense of humour. We want sporting people, musical people, academics, people that can provide information on any other aspect of school life. Our spies will be greatly rewarded with school pride, chocolate fish occasionally and the knowledge that this job leads to higher things! E.G top dog at the C.I.A. New Zealand styles!

"Bravo one, this is Bravo two: Mission completed!"