Rotorua Boys' High School and Rotorua Girls' High School 2010 production of 'The Wedding Singer' is currently showing at Rotorua Boys' High School.  This musical comedy based on the movie starring Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler is proving a hit with audiences. Dont miss our production - door sales are available.

	Left to right: Apanui Poihipi-Tiraha, Mr F Whata, Cassidy Katu

RBHS students Apanui  Poihipi-Tiraha and Cassidy Katu are members of the New Zealand Waka Ama J19 Mens team that won a bronze medal in the J19 Mens W12 500m at the 2010 World Va’a Sprint Championships held recently in New Caledonia.  Cassidy Katu, also a member of the NZ J16 Mens team won a silver medal in the J16 Mens W12 500m and 2 bronze medals in the J16 Mens W6 1000m and J16 W6 500m to complete a record number of 4 medals for any J16 Mens New Zealand team since the World Championships began 13 years ago.

Held in the lovely bay of Anse Vata in Noumea, this year’s competition was tough, with the Rotorua Boys’ High School students having the extra challenge of having to adapt their lake based training to sea conditions.   Mr Whata said that “the learning experiences gained from the World Championships are invaluable for the personal growth and development of all young men who work in the medium of Waka Ama“.   Apanui and Cassidy had been training every day, and have several years of paddling experience behind them.  Their Rotorua Boys’ High School teams have totally dominated the Waka Ama Secondary Schools competitions for the previous 6 years, and young men like Apanui and Cassidy form the foundation of success like the many other local, national and international Waka Ama champions before them who have paddled for RBHS and New Zealand.

	Image supplied by Ann Woolliams

RBHS Gala Dinner -a celebration of success The Rotorua Boys’ High School celebrated ‘Old Boy’ Mr Neville Crichton, with a dinner, named in his honour last Saturday night. All funds raised from the evening and the fun auction will be helping the Rotorua Boys’ High School’s 1st XV Rugby tour to Argentina in
July this year.
The evening was a celebration of excellence. Along with Neville Crichton, special guests included ‘RBHS Old Boys’ Mr Ben Sandford: 2006 & 2010 NZ Winter Olympic Skeleton Team, Mr and Mrs Joe La Grouw; Lockwood NZ, Mr and Mrs Ray Cook: R and B Consultants, Mr Mike Delany; 2009 All Black and Mr Liam Messam; 2009 All Black.

Guests were entertained by Mr Rawiri Waru on the piano, and ‘The Edward Brothers’ , accompanied by ‘The Barry Smith Trio’.

Mr Clayton Mc Millan, a former member of the BOP STEAMERS and Director of Leadership at RBHS added to the evening’s
entertainment, interviewing Liam Messam and Mike Delany, who were happy to ‘play the game’ and get into the spirit of the evening. They talked about their lives, their successes and their inspirations.
When asked by Mc Millan; “Who was your most influential coach?” Messam responded immediately; “ well,… I’ve been coached by John Mitchell, Gordon Tietjens and Graham Henry, but I’d have to say- Chris Grinter. He was tough, but gave structure to school rugby. “He made for some hard days”. Mike Delany was quick to agree.
Ben Sandford interviewed Neville Crichton about his path through life; his yachting passions, and his business ventures. Crichton is one of the world's most successful yachtsmen of all time, with more than 200 line honours wins to his credit, including classics such as the Rolex Sydney to Hobart, the TransPac and the Rolex Fastnet Race. His Yacht “Alfa Romeo II has been first to finish in her last 146 races.
In addition to his achievements in yachting, Mr Crichton has built up Australasia's largest independent car distributor, responsible for Alfa Romeo, Fiat, Citroën, Ferrari and Maserati in Australia and New Zealand, as well as bringing the first Chinese brand, Great Wall Motors, to Australia and New Zealand. Additionally he has been the driving force directly and indirectly behind the growth of the New Zealand boat building industry and has enabled it to forge a worldwide reputation. He has done all of this despite major life threatening health issues which he has defeated and from which he has drawn inspiration.
Mr Crichton is proudly loyal to his beloved country of birth. “I have always raced for New Zealand and my boat is registered in New Zealand”. He told his audience “ I began my career selling second hand cars “ but progressed to “a 0.5 billion dollar turnover last year“ in sales, in Australia, in luxury car brands; Alfa Romeo,…Ferrari, Fiat, Citroën and Maserati.
It did not happen overnight” he added noting the hard work involved in his success .
Although maxi sailing is one of the most expensive sports in the world, Crichton is helped financially by his group of sponsors who
make it possible. Neville Crichton was nominated for the ‘ISAF Rolex World Sailor of the Year’ Award in 2003. He lost to Russell
Coutts and said, “at least I lost to the yachtsman I consider the best in the world.”
Mr Steve Pinder, Regional Manager of Westpac thanked Neville Crichton and pleaded for him to “please tell my wife that a Maserati is a family car”
An auction added to the excitement, and the five model Ferraris gifted for the occasion by Neville Crichton were coveted by all of the ‘boys’ in the room. A five day holiday in Aitutaki supplied by the Henry family was snapped up, and likewise the ‘long weekend in a Maserati’ donated by Neville Crichton. An accommodation package at Hamurana Lodge in Rotorua was donated by Mr Fred Novell, and a Hilton Hotel Taupo weekend by the Hilton Group and Waiariki Golf Course.
Lastly, but by no means least came the dinner. The seven course gourmet’s delight included a taste of Autumn; the ‘Forest Mushroom Soup’ with crème fraise, truffle oil and chervil preceded the delicate ‘Thai Prawn Cakes’ with Asian Salad , Rocket Pesto and a balsamic reduction. The ‘Pan Seared Duck’ was served with vanilla kumara mash, beetroot jam and a sweet sherry glaze.
The chef, Mr Brendan Davis previously of ‘Pepper’s on the Point’ Lodge and now RBHS’s chef spécial, refreshed the palates with a
lime sorbet before serving a ‘Beef Eye Fillet’ with fondant potatoes, wilted shanghai, garlic confit, crispy leeks and a béarnaise sauce to 150 appreciative guests . The dessert completed the dinner; a ‘ Vanilla Panna Cotta’ with strawberry jelly, poached rhubarb and dark chocolate truffles - to die for! Thank goodness the cheese board brought me back to earth.
The RBHS Argentina Tour Squad served the guests, performing their task superbly under the watchful eye of their ‘hospitality tutor and Maitre d’ for the event, Mrs Fiona Withers.
At the end of a wonderful evening, those in attendance gave their  compliments to the chef. I envy the RBHS Hostel students who must be ‘champing at the bit’ all day, waiting for their dinner.
By Ann Woolliams

Rotorua Boys’ High School’s Head Boy, Aperahama Hurihanganui, has won the National Grand Final of the secondary schools Race Unity Speech Awards, held in Auckland on April 10th.

This year’s finalists were drawn from Year 11-13 students from 14 regional competitions held throughout New Zealand earlier this year. The students were asked to speak on the importance of cultural diversity and practical ways of improving Aotearoa New Zealand’s race relations. Twenty seven students competed in the final, with 6 making the Grand Final.
Aperahama was the only boy to make the Grand Final this year.

Choosing to speak in the language of Te Reo Maori, Aperahama spoke of how the different personalities within his own family unit were appreciated and celebrated in a way that created love and unity. He then used this model to propose that if New Zealand could learn to appreciate its wide diversity of culture in the same way as his family did, then this could
lead to greater racial unity.

Joris de Bres, the Race Relations Commissioner said that the standard of the finalists was excellent and that their speeches were an inspiration. This year’s winners will be invited to speak at appropriate events.

	Patu Whata speaks at the Celebration of Success Evening

On Tuesday 27^th April,  Rotorua Boys’ High School held its first Celebration of Success evening for 2010.  Forty six students were recognised with achievements ranging through the academic, sporting and cultural spheres.

Highlights included:

Cultural: Aperahama Hurihanganui, the Head Prefect, being recognised for winning the national final of the Race Unity speech competition;

Academic:  Darshan Shrestha as one of only five boys in the whole country to gain NCEA Level 1 with Excellence in Year 10 and as the best performer in the Cambridge IGCSE exams, scoring in the top 1% in the world - one of 10 A* grades gained by the school.

Sporting:  Shaquille Stone following in the family footsteps and making the NZ Mens Touch squad as a 16 year old, and our Golf Team who won the NZ Super 8 Schools Golfing Championship.

“We have these evenings to recognise boys who have been particularly successful in one field” said the Principal, Mr. Grinter, “But what always amazes me is how many excel across the academic, cultural and sporting fields and manage to maintain the balance.”

The format of the evening encourages boys to bring along significant people in their life, be that parents, grandparents, siblings or hostel masters, and each boy makes a short speech to thank the people who’ve helped mould them into fine young men.  Mr. Grinter said “Certainly a highlight for me was the speech made by Te Reweti Graham from Year 12, acknowledging the effort and sacrifices made by his Nan in raising and supporting him.  It takes a lot of courage for a 16 year old boy to stand in front of a group of his peers and talk about his love for his Nan and whanau.”

Congratulations to Juyoung Oh, who won double Gold medals in pattern and sparring at the National Under 18 Taekwondo Championships last month.   A former Korean champion, Juyoung has achieved sporting successes since moving to New Zealand, including a 1^st placing at the New Zealand Taekwondo Championships in the Junior Male Black Belt light heavyweight division, and a 2^nd placing in the Male Youth Division at the NZ black belt championships in 2009.

Juyoung, a student at Rotorua Boys’ High School, would like to encourage more people to join his sport. His ambition is “to teach at this school and coach a Taekwondo team.”

	Boys High-dol winner Aaron Fausett with his winning perfomance of "Sorrow"

Rotorua Boys’ “High-dol” finals were held at the end of last term.  The finalists wowed the audience and the four judges with some excellent vocal & instrumental performances, and at the end of each performance the judges offered comments in true “Idol” style.  First place and the title of Rotorua Boys’ “High-dol” went to Aaron Fausett for a stunning performance of “Sorrow”, a song he composed and performed.  Second place went to Te Kahuirangi Webster and third place to James Hill-Albert.

Rotorua Boys’ High School student Teimana Harrison has scored a place in the New Zealand Secondary Schools Sevens squad, selected by the Condors Club.

Teimana was selected for the team following the annual Condor Sevens tournament in Auckland last month, where the best of New Zealand's schoolboy rugby talent was vying for the national title and a place in the national squad.

Condors RFC President Gordon Nimmo says that the Condor Sevens always showcases new talent, with more than 25 future All Blacks having played at the tournament.  Rugby Sevens will be included in the 2016 Olympics, so for these young men the Condor Sevens could be their first step on the path to Olympic gold.

Teimana joins a number of athletes from Rotorua Boys’ High School who have made National teams over recent months including;

• Shaquille Stone – NZ Maori Mens’ Touch Team and NZ secondary Schools Touch Team
• Jesse Komene – NZ Under 18 Development Basketball Team to Australia
• Dylan Irihei – NZ Schools Touch Team
• Kihiroa Wihapi – NZ Under 16 Maori Boys Touch Team
• Te Toiroa Tahuriorangi - NZ Under 16 Maori Boys Touch Team
• Jared Tauiwi - NZ Under 16 Maori Boys Touch Team
• Cody Davis – NZRCA Under 15 Steer Riding Team
• Juyoung Oh – NZ U18 Taekwondo Champion – double gold medalist in pattern and sparring.

Rotorua Boys’ High School has recently had the privilege of hosting multi award-winning playwright and
director, Toa Fraser as its Writer-In-Residence. The students have really enjoyed having Toa here at the
school, where he has inspired them with recounts of his experiences as a playwright and director, and
promoted the art of good story telling.
Toa says that he has enjoyed the experience of being ‘back at school’ at Raukura. Having spent his own
secondary school years at Sacred Heart College in Auckland, he believes in the experience that being part of a
boys’ college in New Zealand brings, with its multi-disciplinary blend of sport, music and academia - “and
being able to run around in shorts!” He credits his time at secondary school for shaping the focus,
determination and hard work that he would later call on when directing films.
Displaying talent in more than one genre, Toa made his name in the theatre world with the film he wrote and
later directed, “No 2”. Since then, the awards have kept coming, in particular for his film “Dean Spanley”, in
which he directed famous actors Sam Neill and Peter O’Toole. Dean Spanley went on to win seven awards at
the Qantas Film and Television Awards in 2008, including best director and best film.
The son of a British mother and Fijian father, Toa says that he feels fortunate to have recognised his passion
for story-telling early in life, and to have had the opportunity to be able to pursue his chosen career to the
fullest. Coming from a family of adventurers and storytellers, his imagination was nourished in story-telling
from an early age - “my father and grandmother filled my early life with stories of the mythological, cultural
and traditional”. The movie Star Wars was another great inspiration.
As a film director, Toa relishes the opportunity to work with people with all kinds of skills from all walks of life
on the film set. He believes in looking beyond the “safe” career in life if you believe that you have talent in a
different area. While the students at Rotorua Boys’ High School have gained hugely from Toa’s inspiration,
the best piece of advice Toa says he has to give is to - “follow your bliss”.

	The Challenge of Te Wero -Year 13 students take up the Challenge

“Te Wero” is a multi sport endurance event that takes place over two days at the beginning of the school year. Held last week, for the third time, the event is designed specifically for Year 13 students. Its aim is to foster leadership and participation and is an avenue for establishing high standards in behaviour, attitude and appearance that are integral to the role these students play as ambassadors for the school. “Te Wero” incorporates a series of events, including sleeping overnight in the open, over 45 kilometres of mountain biking and running in teams for 30kms carrying 25kg fence posts. Senior students look forward to the opportunity of taking part and gain a great deal of personal satisfaction from completing the tough event. It not only teaches them about themselves but allows them to appreciate that by working together for a common purpose we can achieve anything we set our minds to.  "The students this year were outstanding, they put everything into it" said Mr Clayton McMillan, who started the event three years ago and was chief organiser this year.

We look forward to following the progress of our young leaders as they continue to "take up the challenge" during their final year at school.

Yes, to many parents relief, the summer holidays are fast coming to an end!  We look forward to welcoming back to Rotorua Boys' High School our students for 2010, and meeting and greeting new students.  Please check the EVENTS page for calendar dates, as we have a staggered return schedule to enable students and staff to experience a smooth start to the year.  The uniform shop is currently operating from our main admin building.

We hope you and all our families and friends had a restful and safe holiday period and look forward to many of you attending our POWHIRI at 9 am, Thursday 4th February, 2010.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO YOU ALL.