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Quad Fiesta

Although today’s weather was dreary and gloomy in Strathallan, the atmosphere certainly wasn’t! Today was the highly anticipated Quad Fiesta and many students crowded in the Quad, hiding as well as possible from the rain to enjoy the endless activities. Luckily for us, as well as being a day full of excitement, it was also mufti day and although the rain remained steadfast, it certainly didn’t dampen our spirits as all the activities went ahead and were a complete success.

In one corner of the Quad, sheltered from the weather, tables were laden with delicious cakes and assorted cupcakes that were being sold to raise money for Oxfam, a worldwide organization that helps the fight against poverty. Every sweet treat looked beautiful and tasted just as good, if not better. Not only did it please the students, all money raised is going to a worthwhile cause – which made it twice as sweet. As well as having an incredibly successful Cake Bake, we also had a Sausage Sizzle to tempt those who wanted something a little bit more on the savoury side.

Around the edges of the Quad, many other activities took place, such as the Coin Trail and Balloon Popping. Music constantly played and drowned out the miserable noise of the rain. Everyone was thoroughly busy having fun and enjoying the extended lunchtime. It was a wonderful event that definitely brightened the week and created a day to remember. I, and many other students, am already awaiting the next Quad Fiesta and hope it will be just as memorable as this year’s.

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Sports Leadership Conference

Believe. Believe in the world. Believe in your peers. And most importantly, believe in you. This was the main message told by Richie McCaw, former All Black and speaker at the iSport Leadership Conference that myself and nine other students attended at the Vodafone Events Centre in Manakau. The word ‘believe’ really resonates with me as it motivates me to achieve my goals and dreams, not only in sporting aspects but also in my school and personal life.

The speakers at the conference were Sir John Walker, Dr. Ralph Pim, Richie McCaw, Temepara Bailey and Jeremy Scott. They all provided their own insight into what leadership meant to them and how their own experiences helped them to build their confidence and lead them to success. Some of the key words they used were dream, purpose, passion and attitude. These are qualities and ideas we all have inside us, but it is a leader who uses them and plans their goals to achieve their greatest desires.

One of the messages that stuck with me was about the idea of ‘What if I can’t? But what if I can?’ In life, there always will be people who try to dampen your success, who try to drag you down and tell you you cannot achieve your goals. Instead of listening to these negative thoughts, you have to motivate yourself to fulfill your own dreams. I really relate to this because in my sporting and academic life, there have always people who have told me I can’t achieve the highest grades or win competitions because “it’s impossible.” The very word “impossible” says, “I’m possible”, and it only drives me even more to complete my goals! Also, many people think that a goal can be impossible because it might be something major like being a great All Black or cycling around the world, but if you break this one goal into lots of little goals, it becomes more achievable, realistic and possible.

Along with ACG Strathallan, there were 50 other schools, and all students in attendance were specially selected for having an aptitude in leadership and sport. This created a great atmosphere and we were able to meet so many other young leaders and visionaries. After the main speeches, we split off into groups and played many icebreaking games, along with discussing ideas like success, dreams and optimism. It was very interesting hearing other people’s views on what leadership meant to them and their opinions on the ideas we heard in the speeches earlier. It was also great fun playing games and experiencing different cultures.

One of our students, Mckenzie Northcott, got selected to go white water rafting with a group of students and Richie McCaw at the new course recently built next door to the event Centre. They paddled in rapids, went down a 4m waterfall, got soaking wet, and had a blast!

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Hockey Game

Today was the lucky day when Strathallan Girls 1st XI were privileged enough to host All Hallows School from Brisbane, Australia for a friendly games, checking out the competition we have over the ditch.

Our girls were a bit nervous going into the game – tall, tanned and good at hockey was enough to intimidate us a smidgen. Finding out we were to play their B squad eased the butterflies though and fuelled our energy to get out there and give them a run for their money.

The game started off with much of the play in our defending half but once our girls settled into their positions and started playing our game we were able to put one away. These girls didn’t travel from Australia to give up easily so by the end of the first half the score was 1-1. After quick refreshments and a team talk we were ready for the last 25 minutes. The girls definitely gave it our all scoring another three goals in the second half. We worked our passing and good defence to come away with a 4-1 win. Extremely proud of our girls stepping up their game to show how far Strathallan hockey is coming along. Well done, girls!

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Secondary Schools’ Mooting Competition 2016

Last month, nine year 12 students including myself were lucky enough to participate in the Secondary Schools’ Mooting Competition at the University of Waikato’s new law school.

While the night itself gave us the opportunity to make oral submissions to a real District Court judge, a nerve-racking but thoroughly rewarding experience, there was a large amount of preparation that went on beforehand. From reading through precedent cases and the law, to crafting written submissions with the help of a lawyer and Mrs Rabulall, the process challenged all of us to consider how the law actually works in court and educate us on what the law as a profession entails. Ultimately, everyone involved really enjoyed the competition and many hope to participate again next year.

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Strathallan Becomes Live with Grandparents

On the 11th of May 2016 it was Grandparent’s Day at ACG Strathallan. At the beginning of Grandparent’s Day all the students gathered in the hall. The grandparents have taken time off work, or their holiday to see this mini concert.

The excited students performed to the grandparents. The junior choir sang Zippidie-Do-Da and then the entire school sang, “I Do not Like Green Eggs and Ham.” Then the marimba group performed a piece but unfortunately Ms Leggett, the music teacher, was not there to see this all fall into place.

After the performances in the hall, the grandparents spent time with their grandchildren in the classroom. They shared their own experiences of what schooldays were like for them and compared this to what they saw happening in the classroom today. IPads and computers were very new to many of them. “When I was young classes were over forty children but I was at a country school, where all ages were in the same class,” said Mrs Daniel. The students of ACG Strathallan got to show their grandparent(s) around the school including the playground and vegetable garden.

After this adventure around ACG Strathallan the grandparents went to have morning tea back in the hall and return to normal life.

By The Year 4 Blog Team