over the previous year. Parents and students viewed recorded excerpts from live streams of investigative journalists and listened to students’ satirical podcasts. They viewed short films, including a breathtaking documentary filmed by Year 11 Loch Alexander in the Hauraki Gulf. Each piece was followed by a short Q&A session with the student creator, which produced some of the evening highlights. Watching students engage in sophisticated explorations of their work and its literary and social merits was a delight. Our third English Anthology of student work was unquestionably our best yet, which is perhaps one of the most perfect examples of our aforementioned new approach to writing. We were humbled to welcome 130 English educators from around New Zealand for our Teaching Boys English Conference in May. Subtitled ‘Raising the spirit of boys in English’, our goal was to face some of the alarming truths in relation to the under-performance of boys in English in New Zealand. We are proud of the work we do in ensuring our boys go against this trend. However, there is always more to learn. We brought together experts in all disciplines of the teaching of English, including authors Airana Ngarewa and Dominic Hoey, and scholar Claudia Rosas Gomez to create what became a festival of the celebration of boys. Our school provided a powerful backdrop for something quite profound. Even past English master Joe Bennett returned to these hallowed halls to run a workshop on the writing of satire.
Monsoon Asia class, focusing primarily on population trends
Diploma class, farewelled Warren Lidstone for Term 3 as he took time to work on the College history book and welcomed Liz Hay to hold the helm in his absence, taking on Year 9’s ‘The People at War’ Diploma class, and the Level Three NCEA students. This year, we also had the largest-ever Year 9 cohort, with seven classes running throughout the year. After their first trimester in Geography, these students spent a few weeks learning about the history of Christ’s College before beginning their programme about Aotearoa histories. Following this, students again embarked on their course to understand political and justice systems, culminating in the entertaining political campaign project. Many thanks go to Neil Nicholson for team-leading this Year 9 curriculum with me across all three trimesters of Geography, History, and Systems & Justice. This year, the College Diploma students explored a range of national and global topics. ‘The Abuse of Power’ courses (led by Josh Kim and Charlotte de Roles) covered the rise of global totalitarian leaders. The now well-known task of creating a satirical step-by-step guide on ‘How to be a Dictator’ (as inspired by Frank Dikötter’s book of the same name) again was a success, with some students attempting to rival Dikötter with equally book- length pieces. The other core History class (‘The People at War’) continued its quest to understand war in all its complexity. This year, several students investigated personal family connections to wars. This was a fascinating and rewarding experience for students and teachers. This task was also well-supported by school librarian Emma Stilwell and her knowledge of accessing obscure and often overlooked documentation. In the History prep classes, students investigated the rise of Stalin, the controversial 1981 Springbok Tour, and the perspectives of what led to the Titanic disaster being so deadly. Highlights included Josh Kim’s class reading their peasant perspective letters of their lives in pre-Revolution
Russia to the background of sad violin ensembles, and my class recreating the infamous ‘Titanic door scene’ from the film by pooling their skills in History, Mathematics, and Physics. We look forward to running a new prep History course in 2025. Titled ‘The Changemakers of History’, it will explore the lives and legacies of significant historical figures who changed the world for the better from their humble beginnings. In the Level 2 NCEA programme, there was a shift from the investigation into the assassination of John F Kennedy, to one into William Wallace and the Scottish Wars of Independence. It was an opportunity to learn thematically about the clash between the colonial and indigenous peoples, paving the way for students to learn about the Waikato War in Aotearoa. Many students found this interesting and appreciated learning about authentic research. The skills developed in historical research investigations are valuable and relevant to study at all levels, and students understood the benefit. Another adaptation from previous Level 2 History courses was the merging of two internal NCEA Standard Assessments. Students presented their understanding of historical perspectives of the My Lai Massacre as well as examining this event in the context of the significance of the Vietnam War to New Zealand. There were robust classroom discussions about whether New Zealand did the right thing by signing ANZUS and becoming involved through its ally, the United States. Students performed very well across both standards with their work. The NCEA Level 3 class was also large. Students presented fascinating historical investigations into a range of topics, from proving or refuting the identity of Jack the Ripper, the coalition invasion of Afghanistan, He Whakapuˉtanga, and the effects of the Chernobyl disaster. Students also explored a range of topics, including whether blame should be attributed to the generals of World War I (a topic by Warren Lidstone), and an investigation of the profound changes made by
within Asia and their global impact. All three prep classes went on an introductory three-day field trip to Mt Cheeseman in November. This year, the weather did not come to the party and the boys experienced waist-deep snow, bright sunshine, and freezing conditions, but this did little to dampen their enthusiasm, tramping along the Craigieburn skyline, watching ice floes on the reverse slope, before tobogganing down the snow-covered scree slopes back to the Cheeseman Ski Field lodge. Year 12 students dedicated the first term to preparing for a three-day field trip to Mt Cheeseman, covering three critical assessment standards: geographic research, the issue of wilding pines, and a study of large natural environments. Students worked in groups to measure and record weather, vegetation, soil, and landform data, comparing findings between the western and eastern high country. The department also refined its junior curriculum for the College Diploma, emphasising both local and global geographic phenomena and introducing a small variety of NCEA Standards for the students to compare their learning to the rest of New Zealand. Field trips remained a vital component, allowing students to immerse themselves in the environments they study, providing memorable experiences and knowledge to share with their families. Credit goes to Dr Anna Johnston and Josh Kim for their dedication and passion, which have brought the natural and cultural worlds vividly to life for their students.
unprecedented increase in Year 11 enrolment with three prep classes. There was a notable continuation of the new trimester model that seamlessly integrated Geography, History, and Systems & Justice courses. This model has allowed teachers to remain with their classes throughout the year, fostering stronger student-teacher relationships. Students developed essential geographic skills, such as map interpretation and graphing, while exploring topics like migration and its associated challenges, and analysing contemporary global and local geographic issues as presented in the media. In early February, students visited Lyttelton, where they gathered data to create digital land-use maps and conducted a land-use research assignment, applying their skills to real-world problems. The core curriculum introduced students to various extreme natural events, including coastal erosion, earthquakes, and volcanoes, with a
particular focus on their impact on New Zealand. The department was privileged to have Dr Anna Johnston continue to enrich the natural events class with her expertise, making the subject more engaging. The mega cities topic remained popular, with Mr Kim bringing insights from his extensive international experience, sparking curiosity and engagement among the students. The prep classes, growing in popularity, necessitated two field trips to Craigieburn Basin. An extreme weather event prior to departure meant that the first excursion was cut short due to heavy snowfall, but the boys made the most of running down the snow- covered slopes of Mt Cockayne in an excellent prelude to the Year 12 South Island high country course. In the Amazon Basin course, students examined a range of issues, from tropical diseases like malaria to the effects of deforestation and global climate change. This was complemented with the first
Chris Waugh HoD English
GEOGRAPHY The Geography Department at Christ’s College has again concluded a remarkable year, enhancing students’ awareness of both the cultural and natural environments that shape their world. This year, Josh Kim introduced innovative curriculum changes, which were met with great enthusiasm, leading to an
Neil Nicholson HoD Geography
HISTORY One of the most notable shifts in the History Department for 2024 was the staff. We welcomed Charlotte de Roles, who joined us in semester two to teach ‘The Abuse of Power’
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