Tukiri Tini, leader of RBHS Kapahaka group

Rotorua Boys’ High School were hosts for this year’s NZ Secondary Schools Cultural Festival held on the 24th and 25th May.

Once again Rotorua Boys’ High School competed very well, winning the Kapahaka for the third year in a row, and also winning the Drama Section with their performance of "War Letters to Home"

AJ Moke gained second equal place in the Senior Music Solo competition with his outstanding drum solo and the team of Jordan Hapeta, Khan Aranga, Taipua Knight, Stephen Batchelar and Nathan Kenah were placed 3rd in Senior Theatre Sports.

In the newly formed Art Competition, Rotorua Boys’ High School were placed 2nd in the Senior Competition (Matangireia Yates-Francis) and 3rd in Junior Art (Alex Williams).

	Te Kahuirangi, Kimiora and Jamus Webster

Being chosen as the leader for Te Waka Huia the day before Te Matatini started did not faze RBHS teacher Mr Kimiora Webster, who led his group to a well-deserved victory.

While temperatures were sizzling, the competition was even hotter, with all sections being fiercely contested. Te Waka Huia performed their programme on the Friday, and from there progressed to the finals which were held on Sunday, before Te Waka Huia were named as the overall winners for 2013.

Leading up to this winning moment took a significant commitment coupled with an intense practise schedule from all members of the group. From the latter part of 2012, the group practised in Auckland every weekend from Friday through to Sunday, and Mr Webster had to fit all of this around his busy teaching schedule at Rotorua Boys’ High School. This particular kind of time management was not new to Kimiora however, he has competed at Te Matatini on seven previous occasions, in 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007 and 2009. He has been in a group that has won the title on three occasions as has his brother Jamus.

	Eru Apo (left) and Raiyaan Hussain add the final touches to the fencing.

Rotorua Boys’ High School technology students have teamed up with housing charity Habitat for Humanity for some on-site building experience.

 Habitat, working towards a world where everyone has a decent place to live, is building and repairing homes for people in housing need in the community.

 The home that was built for Tammy and her family in front of the Bunnings Warehouse late last year, has been moved to its permanent site.

 A team of RBHS students has been responsible for building the fencing as well as constructing and installing the decking as part of their Level 3 Building Timber Trade class.

 Another project with Habitat will be underway shortly with the students helping the charity reconstruct their ReStore, the second hand goods shop on 50 Edmund Rd that supports Habitat’s work in the region.

	Back Row: Taina Perfect, Hayze Perham, Reuben Te Kani Taylor, Darcy Curtis, Joshua Buckton, Jayden Sargent Front Row: Mitch Regan, Taane Paki, Te Ra Whata, Matangireia Yates Francis (Captain), Tarzan Smith, Kaleb Trask

Rotorua Boys’ High School U15 7s team defeated Hamilton Boys’ High School in a close fought final last Friday to become National Secondary Schools U15 7s Champions. With seven games spread over two days, the boys needed to keep focused right through to the final whistle. Captain of the team, Matangireia Francis Yates said that the final was especially tight, with just a few points separating the teams towards the end of the game.  Hamilton Boys’ High School scored in the closing minutes, but were unsuccessful in their conversation attempt, which kept Rotorua Boys’ High School two points ahead to become National Champions.  

TOURNAMENT SUMMARY

Day 1: Pool Play Thursday 21^st March 2013

 vs GBHS 22-10 Great first up game, the boys started really well not letting a strong Gisborne side into the game.

VS TRIDENT 42-5 A good game to try things out. Everyone got game time which was a bonus.

vs TK o MAUAO 50-0 We expected a hard game but the Mauao side could not keep up with the pace at which we were playing the game.

vs KERIKERI 32-0 This was a difficult game for our boys to get into as the referee was slowing the play down, however, our team showed good discipline.

 Day 2: Finals Day Friday 22^nd March 2013

1/4 Final vs HASTINGS 12-0 in the 1^st vs 8^th playoff.  We did well to shut Hastings out of the game and starve them of the ball.

Semi-Final vs GBHS 26-7 Against a fired up Gisborne side our boys showed a lot of steel to grind out this win after Gisborne scored first.

Final vs Hamilton Boys High School 19-17 This was an awesome culmination to a very hard two days of sevens games. Hamilton had beaten a very strong team from New Plymouth Boys to make the final, and once again our boys had to dig deep after Hamilton scored first.  The team showed great patience with the ball in hand to take a 12-7 lead. Just after halftime Hamilton scored out wide to level the game at 12-12, possession was the key and eventually they broke and we scored a great team try under the posts to lead 19-12. The team then defended well to hold out against Hamilton’s attacks. Right on full time, Hamilton managed to cross our line wide out but missed the conversion Full time saw our boys victorious.

 Naku noa Richie Francis (Coach)

Following on from the highly acclaimed production of Jesus Christ Superstar last year, Rotorua Boys’ High School continues to develop their Musical Theatre Department in 2013.

The department is headed by Director/Choreographer, Mr Robert Young who once again brings to the school a wealth of experience in musical theatre, along with a strong commitment to Education in the Performing Arts for which he was recognised last year with the Variety Artists of New Zealand Award.   

The musical theatre course gives students the opportunity to gain self-awareness in confidence and performing.  Their first appearance out of the classroom will be in April this year, when they present ‘War Letters to Home’ which will be performed as part of the ANZAC Memorial Service and Super 8 Drama Competition.  ‘War Letters’ is a reflection on actual letters sent from the front during World War I and World War II, including the Maori Battalion, as well as from Vietnam and Afghanistan.

The second major piece will be the musical, ‘Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story’ which gives students the opportunity to study the musical development from the 1950s and the influence of Buddy Holly.  This piece is an excellent opportunity to understand how art reflects life, as it closely follows the real life of Buddy Holly.  Students will also be studying the diversity of musical theatre from its conception up to the present day.

To be staged in the Rotorua Boys’ High School Memorial Hall, ‘Buddy, The Buddy Holly Story’ will be presented to the public and the school in September of this year with only four evening performances scheduled.

Hardworking Year 10 student at Rotorua Boys’ High School, Tristan Thomas proves that it is possible to be successful both in and out of the classroom.

Dux of Year 9 at Rotorua Boys’ High School in 2012, Tristan has not only excelled in his academic studies, but he has balanced his school work with a very busy equestrian life out of school, competing at a high level in the horse riding sport of show hunter and show jumping, all around New Zealand over most weekends. While his main focus this year is ‘show hunter’, he also enjoys show jumping, eventing, mounted games events and spending time before school at the race track training race horses.

It is a busy couple of months for Tristan. In February he represented the Bay Of Plenty as part of the winning team at the Area Teams Show Hunter Challenge, with Auckland coming in second and Waikato, third. Horse of the Year in March is the next big event for Tristan, where he will compete for the Category C Show Hunter of the Year. He will also do his final round in the ESNZ Show Hunter CAT C High Points Series of which he is currently in 3rd Place, so he is working very hard at the moment with his preparation for these events.

He says that training horses and riding them daily takes a lot of time and commitment. He has five horses that he is working with at present and many of his school mornings start at 5am. Balancing this with his schoolwork is a large commitment, however, Tristan says that it is worthwhile as he enjoys the challenge that this sport brings.

	RBHS - outperforming boys nationally in NCEA

At a time when researchers worldwide are noting a decline in the educational performance of males in relation to females and New Zealand researchers are highlighting the poor performance of Maori males, Rotorua Boys’ is delighted to be bucking the trend in the 2012 NCEA examinations.

Rotorua Boys’ High school once again has surpassed the national averages in its academic results.  Results show that the boys at Raukura not only scored higher than the national averages for boys, but also scored higher than the national average for all New Zealand students, (boys and girls), in all three NCEA levels. 

Our Maori boys also performed very well, beating these national averages for all New Zealand students (boys and girls), in NCEA Level 1 and 3, whilst maintaining the national average at Level 2. 

Rotorua Boys’ High School is proud to announce these positive outcomes from the latest NCEA examinations for our boys and their teachers.

Callum Nicholson who was the Dux Litterarum in 2011 has just heard that he has gained two Outstanding grades in his scholarship papers in Mathematics with Calculus and Statistics and Modelling. Alongside his Scholarship grades in Chemistry and Physics this places him in the "Outstanding Scholar" category as one of the top 60 students in the country.

This gains him a monetary award of $5000 a year to help pay for his university study.

Congratulations to Callum and his teachers.

Mai e, mai e….,’ thus began the introduction of Rawiri Manley’s speech, that grabbed the attention of the audience seated in one of Waiariki Polytech’s brand new lecture theatres.

 Manu Korero 2012 was the occasion, and Rawiri was one of four speakers representing Rotorua Boys’ High School at the Te Arawa regionals. Striding across the floor with the occasional tarapeke (jump) thrown in, a flourish of hands to emphasise a point, or a nod of the head, Rawiri delivered a measured and articulate account of his strategy for the revitalisation of Te Reo Maori. His speech was a contrast to the energy exhibited by senior English speaker, Khan Aranga. In a metaphorical letter written to esteemed Ngati Porou kaumatua and politician, Ta Apirana Ngata, Khan also spoke of Te Reo. What a difference being involved in school productions and kapa haka can have. This was a different Khan to the one who had competed two years earlier. Filled with the experiences of Raukura Kapa haka and the Seussical stage production, Khan’s self-assuredness shone through.

After lunch, a watered and fed Jesse Merito took centre stage in Ihenga the Wharenui, where senior Maori and Junior English sections were being contested. He presented an outstanding speech based on what whanau resilience meant to him. He was on fire as he gestured, smiled, turned and dipped, making point after point to a panel of judges, that included one of the best in the world at public speaking, Kingi Biddle. His speech had been preceded by his tuakana, Tairoa Morrison. In a spell-binding rendition of fluent, eloquent language, Tairoa persuaded and implored people to take action over the state of whaikorero on the marae. He made a powerful impression on all who lent their ears to his ideas and thoughts. Tairoa also led the way in placings, and his expertise and his first placing gave Rotorua Boys’ High School passage to attend the national Manu Korero Competition in Nelson later this year.

This is the fourth year in a row that Rotorua Boys’ High School has made the nationals and it is a feat that makes our school a Manu Korero powerhouse in Te Arawa. These are also the best placings this school has had during this time as well.

Tairoa Morrison 1st Senior Te Reo

Rawiri Manley 2nd Junior Te Reo

Khan Aranga 3rd Senior English

Jesse Merito 3rd Junior English

 ‘ Te rangi kei runga, te whenua kei raro, te moana kei waho,

ko te aitanga a Raukura I te rangi e…….’

 ‘Mai e, mai e….,’ thus began the introduction of Rawiri Manley’s speech, that grabbed the attention of the audience seated in one of Waiariki Polytech’s brand new lecture theatres.

 Manu Korero 2012 was the occasion, and Rawiri was one of four speakers representing Rotorua Boys’ High School at the Te Arawa regionals. Striding across the floor with the occasional tarapeke (jump) thrown in, a flourish of hands to emphasise a point, or a nod of the head, Rawiri delivered a measured and articulate account of his strategy for the revitalisation of Te Reo Maori. His speech was a contrast to the energy exhibited by senior English speaker, Khan Aranga. In a metaphorical letter written to esteemed Ngati Porou kaumatua and politician, Ta Apirana Ngata, Khan also spoke of Te Reo. What a difference being involved in school productions and kapa haka can have. This was a different Khan to the one who had competed two years earlier. Filled with the experiences of Raukura Kapa haka and the Seussical stage production, Khan’s self-assuredness shone through.

 After lunch, a watered and fed Jesse Merito took centre stage in Ihenga the Wharenui, where senior Maori and Junior English sections were being contested. He presented an outstanding speech based on what whanau resilience meant to him. He was on fire as he gestured, smiled, turned and dipped, making point after point to a panel of judges, that included one of the best in the world at public speaking, Kingi Biddle. His speech had been preceded by his tuakana, Tairoa Morrison. In a spell-binding rendition of fluent, eloquent language, Tairoa persuaded and implored people to take action over the state of whaikorero on the marae. He made a powerful impression on all who lent their ears to his ideas and thoughts. Tairoa also led the way in placings, and his expertise and his first placing gave Rotorua Boys’ High School passage to attend the national Manu Korero Competition in Nelson later this year.

 This is the fourth year in a row that Rotorua Boys’ High School has made the nationals and it is a feat that makes our school a Manu Korero powerhouse in Te Arawa. These are also the best placings this school has had during this time as well.

 Tairoa Morrison 1st Senior Te Reo

Rawiri Manley 2nd Junior Te Reo

Khan Aranga 3rd Senior English

Jesse Merito 3rd Junior English

 ‘ Te rangi kei runga, te whenua kei raro, te moana kei waho,

ko te aitanga a Raukura I te rangi e…….’

Mr W Jones - HOD Maori - wjones@rbhs.school.nz

	A boarder at Rotorua Boys’ High School’s Tai Mitchell Hostel, Elijah has long been passionate about environmental issues and takes every opportunity to raise awareness, both at school and at home in Taupo. He is looking forward to this once-in-a-lifetime adventure.

Rotorua Boys’ High School Year 12 student Elijah Koopu is one of just 30 students nationwide who has been chosen to attend the Young Blake Expedition to the Kermadecs.  The expedition will see the students travel on board the HMNZS Canterbury to the Kermadecs in August this year with a crew of subject experts, scientists, artists, educators, communicators and leaders. Delegates will have the opportunity to snorkel, and learn about the Kermadec Islands, one of the very few pristine marine areas left on the planet. 

During the last school holidays, Elijah attended the Sir Peter Blake Youth EnviroLeaders’ Forum along with 49 selected delegates. Forum staff and fellow delegates were so impressed with Elijah’s passion for the environment, and the Kermadecs specifically, his leadership style and the way he conducted himself throughout the week that they selected him to attend the expedition to the Kermadecs.