Activity Week

The annual Activity Week has finished and students and staff have had a myriad of experiences both in and out of school. Following is a report from The Masterchef Challenge who finished on Thursday with an amazing display of dishes.

MasterChef Challenge

This week long of cooking fun has seen many of us improving, tasting, and cook new and exciting food. On the first day we had fun on the computers and designed and made a personalised apron, it was cool to see our designs being put on our aprons. Later in the day Miss MacDonald and Miss Ashton had plenty of laughs as they watched us blindfolded student’s reactions to some of the mystery taste testing, especially when the beef tongue was being eaten!

On the second day, we had a full on day of cooking, for a breakfast challenge we had to make a 3-egg omelette. For a few people this was a new experience, we then presented them to the judges who judged them on presentation and taste. We then made cute little gift boxes, which we baked very yummy banana cakes to put into them with delicious chocolate icing, yum. For lunch we made a well-known favourite…butter chicken curry.

On the third day, we had another mystery cooking challenge. We all got given an envelope with two recipes inside, pancakes or hot cakes. Once again, this was a popular favourite and we also presented them for judging. Due to the weather, we were not able to go for a walk to the park and have a picnic lunch of fish and chips, however Miss MacDonald was kind enough to drive up and still get our fish and chips.

On the fourth and final day we all pulled out our recipes and put our MasterChef skills to the test as we had to make our signature dish for guest judges. We had 2 and a half hours to bring ingredients of our choice to life and make a delicious dish to present. We had a wide variety of foods from fettuccini to green pavlovas. The smells coming from this room was sensational!

All in all it was very fun, yummy, challenging week. A well recommended activity for future chefs, whether you want to improve your cooking skills or just eat yummy food, there’s something everyone will enjoy.

Emily, Tamia, Taylah, Alex, Terry, Krissie, Tayla, Jade, Lesley, Caleb wearing their masterchef aprons.

A big thank-you to Miss MacDonald and Miss Ashton for putting up with a bunch of creative experimenting chefs for four days. Thank you.

Emily Bates

Last updates for 2011

Congratulations
Congratulations to Shane Jordan who was selected as the 2011 winner of the Heartland Scholarship. Shane will use this to continue his woodchopping. Shane spoke earlier in the year to the school as one of our 2011 Poutama speakers.

Activities Week
Junior students enjoyed the activities week with staff. The weather was fine enough that those choosing outdoor activities were able to continue. School based activities like electronics, film challenge and Masterchef had enough excitement to last the week while farm students at Taratahi tried lots of farm based jobs.

School magazine
The school magazine is available to be picked up. The school office will close on Thursday 16th December and reopen on Monday 23rd January, although staff may still be at school behind closed doors. Year 12 and 13 students are reminded that they need to come to course confirmation on Thursday 26 January with their record of learning to confirm their 2012 course. Peer support training will be held on this day from 10 am to 2 pm.

Second hand uniform sale

The New Caledonia French tour group are organising the second hand uniform sale. Items can be dropped off at school by Wednesday 25 January or contact Mrs S Terry at school or via email ts@stratfordhigh.school.nz to arrange drop offs. The sale will start at 12 noon on Thursday 26 January at the school.
P H Keenan
Principal

High School Corner

Advanced School Science Academy

Shaymas Carroll and Matt Simpson have been selected to attend the Otago University Advanced School Science Academy next year. This is a fantastic opportunity for these students to be introduced to cutting edge research by means of practical projects. The academy is held over two 5 day residential camps at the University and on-line support during the year through the “Virtual Academy”. The goal of the science camps is to introduce the students to the world of research through a range of practical projects that will excite, challenge, inspire and motivate them to excel in their final year’s schooling on their way to a career in science. The Academy is fully funded including all flights, food and accommodation and the boys should enjoy a great experience attending the OUASSA during next year.
Mr Armond, HoD Science

Junior Prizegiving
The junior prizegiving will be held on Friday 2nd December commencing at 11.30 am. Parents are asked to be seated by 11.15 am so a prompt start can be made.
Junior Graduation reports will be posted to all parents during Activities Week. All final accounts should be paid by then. Students who have paid in full for their school donation will recieve a copy of the school magazine on the last day of school - 8 December for juniors and 9 December for seniors.

Activities Week

Junior students are currently organising themselves into activities for the last week of school. With over a dozen choices from movie buffs to overnight camps and fishing there is something to interest every student. All junior students are expected to attend school during this week.

High School Corner

Senior Prizegiving
All parents and caregivers are invited to the senior prizegiving on Tuesday 8th November commencing at 1.00pm. We ask that parents are seated by 12.50 pm to ensure a prompt start. The prizegiving will be followed by afternoon tea for parents and prizewinners.

Board of Trustees Academic Scholarships Awarded
At the recent meeting the Board of Trustees awarded five scholarships to students who sat the scholarship examinations in August. The awardees are: Jordan Wood (St Josephs), Tessa Smith (Kaponga), Caitlin Reardon (Ngaere), Dylan Trott (Toko) and Thor Howatson (Toko). The continuation of the scholarship is dependent on academic success at each year level.

Thank you to all parents and schools who allowed students time to sit the examinations at the school.

Next Newsletter
A newsletter will be posted given to all students this week. Activity week booklets will be handed out to junior students on Friday.

P H Keenan
Principal