Year of the Techies:
2013 has seen an increase in our technical crew from seven to eleven
members (and counting) as demand for technical support for school
activities has increased and equipment in the school auditorium has
been upgraded. Ably led by Year 12 blues recipients Mark Struthers
and Joshua Fitch, the techie team have assisted with lighting, sound and
staging for a host of events this year, including Les Miserables, Cultural
Expo, Music Fest, Technology Showcase, Talent Quest, The Suffrage,
Manawa, house Kapa Haka and theatre sports. Of special note was the
highly successful Year 9 social, A Night of Neon. A huge thank you is
owed to the enthusiastic parents of the PTA, who not only organised this
event but donated enough funds to allow the technical crew to upgrade its
aging lighting console and install an iPad to run all lights via wi-fi in the
auditorium.
Blue Light Programme:
our Year 13 students performed ably this year for the Hastings police as
part of their driver education programme known as “Blue Light”. This
involved four of our students being heavily made up as simulated accident
victims and placed in wrecked vehicles in a downtown car park. These
staged crashes, complete with prosthetic make up, fire engines, body bags
and hearse, were used to punch home the reality of dangerous driving
and its consequences to young drivers who have been referred to the
programme. The three wonderful murals on the exterior of the 100 block
were gifted to the school last year as a thank you from the police for our
continuing involvement in the programme.