School House Hostel Newsletter Term 3 Week 7

By Vai Mahutariki | Posted: Thursday September 9, 2021

THE WEEK AHEAD:

Term 3, Week 8

Monday 13
12 ODR Mountain Biking Assessment

Tuesday 14
12 ODR Mountain Biking Assessment

Wednesday 15
12 ODR Mountain Biking Assessment

Thursday 16
Cultural photos

Friday 17

Term 3, Week 9

Monday 20
Pasifika Fono (TBC)

Tuesday 21
Whanau Hui (TBC)

Wednesday 22

Thursday 23

Friday 24

Important Dates:

Senior Prize giving will now be held on Tuesday 9 November.

Good afternoon Hostel parents. It has been great to see your boys return to School House and get back to some form of normality in terms of their education and continued development.

As we are in Delta Level 2, we have put some organisational measures in place to ensure some forms of social distancing and keeping safe as best we can. This includes the way we stagger our meal times for each dorm and year groups and the use of masks to and from school and to any public location as per ministry of health guidelines. Added to this we have limited leave that is granted out of hostel to minimise the risk but still allowing our boys some opportunity to get out of hostel and get some fresh air and space.

New Zealand Touch Representative.

Congratulations to Year 12 Hamish Faulks who has been selected in the New Zealand U18 Boys Touch Team. A great example of resilience and perseverance to work through injuries and still achieve his goal. Well done Hamish. We also send congratulations to Hamish’s brother Angus Faulks in also making the New Zealand U20 Mixed Team. Great moment for the Faulks whanau.

Key Date Changes:

Skippers Feast & Senior Prize Giving

Skippers Feast will now be on Monday 8th of November. This is the night before Senior Prize Giving which is on Tuesday 9th of November. These dates have been altered due to the impact of Covid-19.

Junior Prize Giving

This will be on Wednesday 15th December.

Annual Leavers Rugby League Match - Year 13 Hostel boys vs Year 13 Day boys. This will be on Friday 22nd October (just before Labour Weekend). Hostel parents are welcome to come and watch the game.

Labour Weekend - Out of Hostel

Early next term 4 is Labour Weekend from the evening of Friday 22nd October to Monday 25th October. The hostel will be closed for the weekend and boys can return home. A small amount of boys will be remaining on-site to help with the 150th Otago Boys’ Hostel Reunion (covid levels permitting).

Hostel Kit

The below gear has been organised by our Year 13 Prefect Cody Thomson and supported by Year 13 Prefect Scott Alexander. A google form has been shared with your son/s to look through and order any gear they are interested in. Of course they are to check with parents first before confirming an order of any gear. Some examples are below.

Month of Service

Before lockdown hit the country, we at School House Hostel had begun a month of service, giving back to our community and supporting others. It is important for our boys to understand the value of contributing to our community in a positive way and being thankful to those who contribute to their lives. Although we did not have much time in the month of August our boys still managed to give some service. Well done to our boys who spent the first Sunday morning in August cleaning all the streets around our hostel suburb of Roslyn. Some then also helped out with clearing away debris on the old site of Campbell House to prepare the area for the new dome roof that will be installed once New Zealand lowers its alert levels. They collected and repurposed an old piano for our Music Room and then also supported the Tahuna Intermediate School Cross Country by setting up the entire course and then marshaling the event. We also had Year 13 Prefect Harry Minty visit his former school, Hauroko Valley Primary School, while recovering from shoulder surgery back home. We had a number of other initiatives organised and planned which we will still commit to and complete in the coming weeks and months when levels lower. This initiative was led by our Year 13 School House Prefects. A great initiative and supported by all.

Vaccinations

It is great to see families take the initiative to vaccinate themselves and their boys. As mentioned previously we have organised boys in hostel to get their first dose of the vaccine next week with parents permission. This is not compulsory but an option for families who want to take the opportunity for their sons. If you would still like this option for your son and have not done so yet then you can email [email protected]

All boys who were in the hostel during lockdown got their first dose last week. Thank you to Maori Hill Clinic for facilitating this. We also thank Roslyn Pharmacy who will be facilitating next weeks vaccination round.

Sports Registrations

Sports registrations was recently sent out to your boys to register for upcoming sports. Please make sure all boys get involved and register.

Lockdown Birthdays

While in lockdown we celebrated a few birthdays from boys onsite. Although we could not have their family with us, we did celebrate with some cake and time together. Celebrating birthdays in the hostel were:

Year 13 Nachi Kanno

Year 12 Martin Cheu

Senior Housemaster Pita Sinamoni

Housemaster Christian Lio-Willie