Tradition Fulfilled

Today's blog entry will feature the importance of 'tradition fulfilled'. As such, it will have few words and many images. Once again - courtesy of the amazing Jana Nee who throughout the year has never ceased to amaze me. x

Sorting out mock assembly is one of the hardest things you will ever do next to exams - so to whoever tries next year. Best wishes. The worst part is the scrutiny you're under by the teachers and your own peers. The best thing about it is, obviously, seeing it come together. We have camera footage of the whole thing. Let me know if you are indeed organising mock assembly 2011. I will hook you up gee.

Thank you to:

Hayden While - Mr Lewis (the hardest role, might I add)

Jess Ghaemaghamy - Ms Brown (also hard - opening the whole thing)

Andy Long (Mr Hill)

Daniel Young (Mr Dye - a late addition)

Keanu Hargreaves-Clyde (Mr McIvor - classic deadpan. LOL at McIvor making him read the exam notices at the final assembly!)

Guy Mardell (Mr Healey - you were the only one with the accent!)

Jamie Buckley (Healey's shoe and head shiner!)

Jenna Malkin (Sarah Woolley)

Kurt Matthes (Ben Maiava)

Edward Hunter-Higgins (Mr Jamieson)

Kieran Barling (Christina Gower - too sexy)

Courtney Vowles (Moppy)

Steph Glubb (Nicola Thomas)

Akash Anthony (Deelan Patel)

Kevin McMillan (Ash Hulme/audio!)

Monique Simpson (Jana Nee - kia ora!)

Sam Russell (Ms Wynne - last but not *whistle* least)

Nick Rebers (Mr Weeks)

Georgia Harris (Mrs Weeks)

Nicola Thomas (Ms de Vries)

Ellice Giles, Kevin Fong, Dan Liu, Greg Shubel and Anthony Gampell as various teachers

Thanks times a billion for anyone else who helped out and anti-thanks a million the intense island hecklers. Heckling is OK but when you're yelling at the kids "dry!" and stuffsss... That's pretty gay. Especially when you didn't have the guts to do anything even when we gave you chances. Cheers.

Anyway - no use in ranting. After this - oh, oh boy! After this was just sooo much fun! Raving on the field to Taio Cruz, shoulder rides, giant circles, water fights, cricket, gridiron and the streaker. Like I said. Tradition fulfilled. He was all right. Right? Good stuff.

I really cannot believe that it has come to our last day of school. Timetabled day of school rather. I'm not quite ready to give my final blog post and so I will not go all mushy on you yet. Only semi. Like... crushed or the level above crushed...?

Hand 'em Over

Oh yes. Prefect Initiations. I'm just going to get right into this.

Firstly, a congratulations - no matter what others say you - future prefect- are important to the school. Life is a pecking order. There will be some people who reeeallly deserved this title. You know who they are. We 2010's know who they are. That's life. You will still have an amazing year and hey! You non-Prefects may even show up some Prefects. Trust me. It happens.

Sorry for the Cambridge kids who didn't have a chance at a proper initiation. There may come a time where you will be called up randomly and we will throw things like water, eggs and life - at you. Your year was the first lot of 'Cambridges' so at least you can combat this problem next year!

Here are a few of my favourite photos taken by Amanda and Jana :)

In backwards order sorry...

After

Head Boy Ben the Slavedriver

Isabella Wilson. Sexy, sexy make-up

Water boys

Know you all had good fun. Best wishes for next year, kids!

-Prefects 2010

Jazz in the Park

I am seriously running out of cool and witty titles. Ah well, no matter. Still going to update on the hapsss. Today (Friday 5th of November) was the highly successful, highly cool, highly sexy Jazz in the Park.

Sarah and I have been thinking about this for some time. Sarah came up with it... ooo... Must have been like late term two, early term three... We approached our Dep. Prin. and we got it cleared about a week just before.

We got a lot of interesting build up. First of all. We introduced the event at assembly as a Devereux playing simple tunes for the students to guess. That was pretty sweet. Then we get the Jazz Combo saying that Dev hadn't actually told them yet. LOLZZZZ. Alll good. A gig is a gig. Apparently, when a musician complains about a gig... they have it too good. Nothing against you guys - Jazz Combo - you were fantastic.

Although we had been given the mean spiel about wagging or asking teachers for time off, we did it anyway. Sarah and I actually ran around the school searching for favours from the sports department to the drama department to Ms Wynne... Connections peeps.

We managed to get a reeeeaallly long extension cord from BRENDON and hooked that up to the College shop then we were finally in action. We spent some time, spinning around in circles and marvelling at the sun which had finally decided to turn up

Soooo many good shots from the day were taken - thanks to Jana Neeeeeeed you...

I semi-lied. I took those photos... Jana's camera was amazing!

It was a really amazing day and we were totally surprised by how many people really got out there and cranked picnics and pumpkin pasties ;) Even Mrs Kemp, Moppy and her crew were out there with the whole antipasto thing going on. Highly impressive! Great spirit Avondale College. Keep it up for next year mmkay?

Sports Dinner 2010

Could have thought of a much cooler title but it's all good. Sports Dinner 2010 marks the beginning of the end. Ugh. Hate to use awful cliches. However, in the words of Steph Glubb: "This is true." Pretty soon it's prize giving and then -

Well it's the end.

Anyway, let's start this off with a nice picture of TeBay holding a golf trophy a teeBay? Geddit? OK...

The 'sports council' gets to spend the whole day preparing which really means sitting in the PAC waiting for orders. Nothing too interesting. Except at about 11am some guys came in to deliver the tables and jugs which... we had already set up. Awkward. More tea? More jugs?

The set up this year was really, really nice thanks to Ms Elijas who did the flower arrangements and had a fantastic table set up like so:

It looked even cooler with the candles lit up at night.

After set up (which ended up being all day long) we gapped home and got changed. When I say we, I say Jess, and when I say "gapped to get changed" I really meant slept for as long as we could leaving us with half an hour to get ready. Not too pressuring to be honest.

We arrived at 6pm-ish and sneaked into the PAC to our reserved seats. This is the first photo taken of the night from iPhone.

How mischievous. A little while later when guests started arriving, we settled down for a welcome speech from the always awesome Kevin Glubb (who DID NOT sign my certificate! Oh sadness). Promptly following was a spit roast dinner. Omnomnomnomnomnomnomnomnom. I enjoyed the fact that the jazz combo got their own reserved table at the back this time ;) I eat a lot and felt quite botz eating next to Maggie Bradley... Hey! Gotta make the most of $30.

Anna Scarlett was our guest speaker and probably the best we've had for years. She was super funny and really animated so I am told - I sat in the wings with Monique to deliver flowers and we only heard her voice. She seemed nice. Afterwards, Monique and I sat next to her and told her a story about how we had seen her training at College Rifles once. Now she's coming to watch a game. Oh hooray!

One of the highlights of the prize giving was Mr Shaw for Coach of the Year. Everyone was stoked. This year, it was the 1st XI Girls' Football who made all the noise - a stark contrast to the years prior where boys have been the 'life of the party'. We gave him a standing ovation that I'm sure he absolutely loved. Mad respect.

I would go over the prize winnings but what I'm really writing about is the 'togetherness' we enjoyed. Cheesy but you love it.

Dessert was a selection of Pavlovas, fruit salad and brownies and afterwards, Mr Lewis spoke followed by Ben and Leaper. Ben - your speech making has really come far! So proud of the way your spoke and how you incorporated other peoples memories. That was a nice touch. And Leaper - even hough you ripped the girls' worlds from under their feet again, we love you. Your story straight from junior sport was nostalgia-city and man was it good.

Well done to all sports winner and to all sports players for once thing. Sports really gets people together, competitive, social -

...we're all winners.

Do Not Study

Do Not Study. You will only depress yourself. Do not study you will only feel utmost disappointment. Do not study you will get tired and sore. Do listen to The Beatles. Do go for runs. Do organise 2000 photos into person-by-person categories but for the life of you - DO NOT STUDY.

Really though, how much does it suck to be three weeks away and once again having to semi-fluke, semi wing your way through exams?

Every year we go through the same thought process - "OK, so I semi-screwed myself through procrastination, I am so going to make a study time table like, in term three, man!" Well, nah. Soz. Not me. I do get a round to it. Just not yet. You would think, since it's my last year I would have done so, especially with three schol. subjects to sit.

Also, you'd think, as a *superb student, I would be a good example to all other students. Nah. I'm still human. Still a teenager. All I want is Christmas, food, sun, summer, road trip - more time!

"Here Comes the Sun - Dooodoodoooo"

Jubilee.

Dear Marina,

Thank you for your application(s) for the University's entry level scholarships and awards. Your application(s) has been considered and I am delighted to be able to tell you that the University of Auckland Council has resolved that you receive a University of Auckland Jubilee Award.

Well. There you go. After all of that painstaking effort and ridiculousness I managed to nab myself $2000 p.a for three years.

Now, I can go on about how wonderful and amazingly lucky I am to be one of the 100 out of 600 to win this award but, in honestly. I am only slightly disappointed. Cue the wails of ingratitude.

My intended course of an LLB/BA which will cost me at least $8000 per annum. The $6000 is most likely to be funded by the dreaded student loan. Not to mention course related fees of up to $2500.

But really. I applied for the full University of Auckland scholarship. This would have solved all my life problems and I would have danced away with the fairies of happiness and life. I feel disappointed because I have tried too hard I suppose and fell from my high horse. I feel like despite what I have done this year and in the past five years, I have not stood out enough receive one of the 100 full scholarships. And that makes me feel a little shit. There you go. Honesty. Honestly.

However, this moment shall pass. Sorry if you applied for a scholarship and did not receive it. Failure sucks. Some of us really, really, don't deserve that. I just can't believe no one in our fantastic year got a full scholarship. That sucks. One a year it has been. Not us. That's not fair and it doesn't reflect the awesomeness of our year.

Now to close the sandwich and end on a light note. Isabella is right. My student loan won't be as big as others (sorry, guys) and I will still go to Uni and have a great time. $2000 off a year. It's like going to a 30% off sale. Not amazing but not too bad either. I will appreciate you soon.

Thank you University of Auckland. Gonna own up when I meet you next year.

OMGSH SUMMER.

Ew. What'd I just write as my title? That disgusts me to an extent. Just wanted to write a blog update regarding the two weeks or so we have left at school. Saddens me to the core. On the other hand, can you believe how far we've come?

Really pleased with one thing - managing to get a 'natural' progression to the steps again. It's really nice having a place too cook noodles, soup etc. etc. However, nothing beats the fantastic aura of bodies lying all over the field, summer hang times, people being tackled and scraped to death -

Well done Kevin Fong for a most brilliant catch today - or so I am told. K-Fong wins best sport this year, I tell you... Battle scars all around!

Since last week we have started up our 'Summer Series' which will include more than simply games and sports... Oh you wait and see! All the more for you to stay on the field. Bring music, bring a ball, bring your friends. We, and when I say we, I really mean - the boys - have been delighting spectators with their shinanigans. I am sure that Ben would love to say on behalf of school end-of-year fun, for us to all have a fantastic time and enjoy it as much as we can.

C'mon. If Kevin Fong can tackle someone like Talon... Surely, YOU can too.

See you on the fields!