PASTORAL CARE Somes House
Colours for rugby, and Sam Nicholl gained his for sailing. Mun Chi Jager won swimming Colours following exceptional results at national competitions, and Jack Kennedy was
awarded Colours in volleyball. Outside school, Sam Nicholl competed at a high level on the NZ freeride skiing circuit, Mikhail Huggins performed
strongly in national mountain- biking competitions, and Callum Gard maintained his impressive performance at various surf life- saving competitions around the country. New Year 9 Zach Tucker had a successful season kart racing on the Australasian circuit and fellow junior Sam McBreen continued to impress on the big stage as a mountain-biker. All of this goes to show the depth and breadth of sporting talent coming through in the House, not all of which gets recognised at school Assemblies. INTERHOUSE EVENTS: OPEN Swimming A competitive swim meet at the start of the year set the tone for what was to be a successful 2024 for the House. The boys swam well, with impressive individual and team efforts across the board. The senior team (Callum Gard, George Grace, Mun Chi Jager, and Alex Johnston) won the flagship 4x50m freestyle relay, setting a College record in the process. This inspired the other seniors, who gave it their all in the 10x25m, narrowly finishing 2nd behind Julius. In individual performances, George Thorp qualified for finals in a sport he had never really tried before, and Mun Chi Jager beat all comers to take out the intermediate title. Overall, Somes finished the swimming competition in 2nd, matching our 2023 result. Athletics and cross country This year, the weather gods looked favourably on College, as Athletics Day went ahead as planned at Ngaˉ Puna Wai. Sam Coles and Noah Madgwick came 4th and 3rd, respectively, in the U14 3000m and
Culture and music Many boys performed at the highest levels in the cultural and musical spaces in 2024. The strengthening of biculturalism in the Christ’s College community allowed some students to develop their leadership skills within their own cultural identities. Armani Lemalu and Ihaka Cate continued to lead the kapa haka group in impressive style (gaining Honours in the process), and these two were supported all year by Hoani Ifopo- Togia, Tawhiri Cate, Alfie McLean, and, encouragingly, two Year 9s, Floyd Yock and Nicholas Barr. In the music space, James Burt and Ollie Du Toit received Honours for choral music, and James Burt and Finlay Sharpe received Honours for services to Big Band. Samuel Belcher was awarded Honours for contemporary music, and James Burt was awarded the first Christ’s College Honours for musical composition. James also won the Somes House Prize for Culture and, alongside Matthew Flint, George Grace, Blake McCarthy, and Alex Johnston, received drama Honours. I think it is safe to say that Somes is currently a throng of musical, cultural, and dramatic talent. Sport Several students received Christ’s College Colours in recognition of exceptional sporting performance. Ihaka Cate and Hoani Ifopo-Togia gained basketball Colours, reflecting their excellence and commitment to the sport. Ihaka and Hoani were integral, alongside Tawhiri Cate and Josh Shannahan, to College winning its second national basketball title in three years, and Ihaka and Tawhiri both represented New Zealand this year. Alf Markham received
Calib Wyness was awarded his Gold Badge and Matthew Flint was awarded his Academic Honours, both for Excellence in Year 12. Marcello Ferguson, Josh Shannahan, Yannis Zhang, Bill Li, and Tom Gardiner gained their Gold Christ’s College Diplomas with Academic Honours, with Josh winning the Ali Grigg Prize for all-round excellence in the Diploma. A few Somes boys were also recognised for intellectual excellence beyond College. Ryan Gu, Bill Li, and George Thorp received awards for their performance in science competitions; Bill Li was awarded his chess Honours, and Sean Zhang was invited to a prize-giving day in London for a Global Essay Competition organised by the John Locke Institute. Sean’s performance is particularly impressive as it required him to rank in the top 1% of thousands of international applicants. Duke of Edinburgh This year, there were a record number of Gold Duke of Edinburgh Awards earned by students at College, and the numbers achieving Bronze and Silver Awards suggest this record will not stand for long. Josh Shannahan, Jack Howard, Louis Holland, Sam Pfahlert, and Will Coughlan all received their Bronze Awards. Josh also gained his Silver Award later in the year, alongside Eli Clarkson (who received a Student Volunteer Army award, too), Marcello Ferguson, Yannis Zhang, Matthew Flint, and Manoj Solai. Ollie Du Toit, and Samuel Belcher earned their Gold Awards – the highest non-academic award a young person can receive.
Housemaster: Dr Tom Hawkins Deputy Housemaster/Mentor: Erin Rutherford Mentors: Nikki Bleyendaal, Emma Bracken, Kerry Brockelbank, Steve Everingham, Emma Stilwell, Claire Sparks Head of House: George Grace Deputy Heads of House: Oliver Du Toit, Jack Kennedy This year, Somes welcomed 18 new students into the House. This brought the roll to 79 and, yes, it was cosy during roll calls in the main common room. We also welcomed Emma Stilwell to the mentoring team. The atmosphere of the House was positive all year, and the Year 13s deserve much of the credit for this. More so than in previous years, the seniors pulled together and opened their doors to the younger boys. A House is a base from which to explore and challenge oneself, and I think almost every boy in Somes would say that theirs was a warm and secure one in 2024. Academic success Several boys deserve recognition for outstanding academic performance. Ethan Kepple (2023 leaver) was awarded a NZQA Scholarship (in Religious Studies) to go with the one he earned in English in 2022.
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Christ’s College Canterbury
Register 2024 Pastoral Care
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