Community and service – May 2024

2023*

*Please note the use of 2023 year groups.

Conservation

The Year 12 VETR class participated in a two-day conservation action project in late October at Flock Hill Station, west of Castle Hill. They worked on a heavily infested wilding pine block and mitigated an impressive 1407 wilding pines.

Environmental Action Projects

10ACEE worked on four projects that positively influenced social, environmental, economic, and cultural aspects of sustainability. Four students were involved in a native garden rejuvenation project on campus, supported by Head Groundsperson Michael Seaward, Facilities Manager Mark McGregor and Art Preuss Health and Safety Manager.

Gold Duke of Edinburgh's Hillary Awards

A large number of Gold Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Awards recipients celebrated the completion of their Gold Award at the College Prizegiving. A group of 16 students completed the award in 2023, which is the second highest number of awards in a given year for St Andrew’s College. The recipients were: Abby Baxter (Year 12), Max Blockley, Grace Burnett, Joseph Connolly, Naomi Dana, Mia Fraser, Gabriella Kenton-Smith, Tom Kerry, Gemma Lewis, Annika MacDonald, Josh McPhail, Noah Mellish-Temple, Jake Patterson, Poppy Rumble, Campbell Searle, and Torin Ward (all Year 13).

Year 9 Community Service Day

In late October, Year 9 students and their tutors had a fabulous couple of hours picking up rubbish along the New Brighton, Waimairi Beach coastline. Once the rubbish had been picked up, the students enjoyed sandcastle competitions, beach volleyball or hut building, and listening to a talk from Head Ranger of Coastal and Plains for Christchurch City Council, Robbie Hewson.

Full Bellies Fundraiser

In October, Year 12 Community Service students gave their time to support a Fife Foundation event, held for local charity, Full Bellies, who help families in need by providing children with nutritional food delivered into schools. Later, close to 400 second-hand children’s books were donated to Full Bellies, after staff and students, led by Year 13 Dean, Donna Jones, put out a request for books to send with the charity’s last lunch delivery for the year. The books went to local Years 1–6 children in need.

2024

Prefect Community Service Day

The prefects went to Jellie Park to help Allenvale School with their swimming sports. Some of the prefects jumped in the pool with the students, others timed the races, and everyone provided lots of great encouragement and support.

Year 9 Good Character Awards

The following Year 9 students received Good Character Awards by embodying a positive disposition, receiving multiple nominations from various areas – Keer (Tessa) Meng, Jessica Armstrong, Charlie Heinz, Violet McInnes, Danica Minson, Jack Wilkins, George Levings, Marshall Coles, Jack Foley, Thomas Ambury, Monty Crawford and Anna McOscar.

So They Can Leadership Conference

A group of 13 St Andrew’s College students from across various leadership teams, and 14 Christ’s College students, attended the Leadership Hub Conference run by the charity So They Can in the Centennial Chapel. Students learnt about what So They Can do and the life changing opportunities it provides for girls in East Africa. The students were also coached as to how to deliver a message for impact and influence, and these skills were then put into practice. The afternoon session focused on strategy for raising money through the So They Can fundraising challenge, ‘One Human Race.’ So They Can is a charity working in East Africa that seeks to support girls into education so that they do not have to be forced into arranged marriages as children.

So They Can Theme Day

A non-uniform day was held on Friday 1 March in conjunction with the One Human Race fundraising challenge for So They Can, which happened right throughout March. Almost $10,000 was raised for So They Can during Term 1 from a variety of events, including Athletic Sports Day sausage sizzle and Mr Whippy, chapel offerings, and $250 raised from auctioning off Head of Middle School, Matt Parr’s parking space.