re D efine SUCC e SS - The Academic Colleges Group

ACG Senior College
TERM 1
MAY
2011
redefine success
ACG Senior College begins on a high point
ACG Senior College began the year on a
high point. The results of the Cambridge
examinations resulted in many
incredibly happy students and teachers.
Why shouldn’t they be happy with such
outstanding results? Close on the heels
of this news was the announcment that
our college had topped New Zealand
and therefore the CIE Awards Ceremony
was a great occasion.
Some weeks later, we received news that
our students who sat the New Zealand
Scholarship examinations had also done
When ACG Senior College
put on a musical named
“Urinetown”, we suffered
from all sorts of jibes. It was
a little surprising when the
director of “Stags and Hens”, John
Antony, came asking if anyone had any
old toilets for the show. We eventually
found out that “Stags and Hens” was
set in the male and female toilets of
a nightclub. Not the most inspiring
setting but the show gave lots of
insight into the pre-wedding night
where unfortunately, the bride and
groom ended up at the same club.
Naturally, it was seen as bad luck to
meet before the “big day”. Great
trauma seemed to evolve and yet
it was also very funny.
The girls were determined that
they would have a fun evening
where everything would be
“nice” according to Maureen,
played by Lauren Young who
never failed to pull a laugh.
However, nice was not to be
and the evening fell apart in
spite of the good efforts of
Bernadette (Crystelle L’Amie),
Carol (Caitlin Anyon-Peters)
and Frances (Ruby Meagher).
They all did their best to
create the perfect hens
night but in the end Linda,
the bride to be, played by
well with two taking the $5000 prizes. To
add to this, one of our students gained Top
of Subject for Mathematics with Statistics
in the NZ Scholarship examinations and
also won a place at Oxford University.
One could wax lyrical about all of these top
awards and the great marks our students
gained but, in essence, what ACG Senior
College is about is the process. Last year,
we enjoyed so many great events as
documented in the newly styled yearbook.
The results were the culmination of hard
work, dedication and fun.
Harriet Constable, proved
to have her own idea of what was best for
her. This small team of capable actresses
did ACG Senior College proud with their
sharp dialogue and constant banter, not to
mention the way every one of them wore
their 70’s costumes with style.
The males were equal foils for the headstrong
hens. Their problems began right at the
beginning with Dave, the bridegroom (Dion
Greenstreet) being so inebriated that he
spent the entire show in the toilet being sick.
This says a lot about the discipline of Dion
who, when he finally emerged, genuinely
looked ill. It must be what boredom does.
Robbie (Paddy Leishman) found that being
a ladies’ man was really limited when one
had the vomit of Dave down their trouser
leg and his night proceeded to get worse.
Dave and Kav (Callum Burnett) were both
buddies and competitors when it came to
the ladies and their witty repartee kept the
audience engaged and, at times, rolling in
their seats laughing. Much of their comedy
was at the expense of Billy, played by
our very own Emma Gunn who was well
and truly up to the challenge of playing a
male. However, the musician, Peter (Sam
Malone) decked out in ‘women’s boots’
and his roadie (Junho Shin) added the final
catastrophe of the night when the band
This year, we wanted to focus on our very
able students, for often in schools they
are left to learn in spite of others. With
the implementation of the Scholarship
programme, Global Perspectives and
a real effort to cater for the top 20% of
high achieving students, it should be a
promising year. Finally we have been able
to complete our differentiation cycle and
have programmes for all students.
On returning home from a recent Open
Day, my colleague said “I wish everyone
knew how special ACG Senior College is”.
This edition shows some of the special
aspects of the College and there are many
more to come.
cannot play because of the poor
wiring in the building, but more
importantly because Linda’s
last fling is with Peter. Finally,
poor Eddie (Nathan Fraser) was
left to find some order in this
chaos. Not an easy task but one he attacked
confidently.
Sitting in the audience, one could not
help but laugh along with everyone else
as the one liners kept coming. All credit
to this experienced and clever cast who
maintained such a high level of performance
each night. Even more credit to the director,
John Antony, who not only directed this
successful play but built the set as well.
The cast and crew are to be congratulated
on a great Term 1 production and especially
for some of these students, it is the last
production they will do at ACG Senior
College as they leave at the end of the
year. No production is complete without
the support of parents with special thanks
to Bridget Burnett for the costumes, Sam
Meagher for the props and Nicky Malone
for the programme and poster design. The
College is fortunate to have both talented
students and talented parents, not to
mention a librarian who produces our
shows - John Cummins.
During the holidays, we kick off our next
production, the musical “Chicago”, directed
by Simon Coleman.

ACG Senior College I The Tall Poppy I May 2011
Hat Trick
This year, it is impossible to single out just
one top student as so many have done
well. Three young women emerged as
having gained exceptional success.
Amy Xiao says,
“last year was
really busy.
I had a job as
a home tutor
and I was doing
Cambridge in
Year 12.” All the
hard work paid
off because Amy
succeeded beyond her expectations. She
came Top in New Zealand in Chemistry
and Physics, proving that the sciences are
indeed her favourite subjects. Gaining full
scores for all her subjects meant it was
no surprise that she was ranked third in
New Zealand for a student completing
four AS Levels.
Catherine Hsu
was equally as
delighted when
she learned that
she had gained
Top in the World
in AS Literature.
All year, her
teacher Sue Lamb
had spoken about
this brilliant English student who could
come top. Catherine says, “I’ve always
loved reading but thanks to the school’s
great teachers, this interest has developed
into a passion for language which will stay
with me always.”
Xinchi Qiu
is another
exceptional
student who
completed Year
13 in 2010.
As a member
of the Senior
Scholars group
last year, Xinchi
continued to gain superb results. Having
completed A Level Mathematics in Year
12, she entered the University of Auckland
Maxx programme where she gained first
place in the final examinations. With a
provisional offer to Oxford University,
Xinchi only had to receive A grades for her
A Levels to ensure her entry and, in true
form, she did just that. It would seem that
all the good news was hers and then she
received notification that she had won a
further prize and come top in the NCEA
Scholarship examinations in Mathematics
with Statistics. It would appear that her
future will be nothing but bright. Xinchi
is the fourth student from ACG Senior
College to study at Oxford University.
ACG Senior College tops CIE in New Zealand
ACG Senior College students were online as soon
as their results were released from CIE. It is what
happened after this event that gave cause to smile.
A number of students rang the College to ask about
their results. They had done so well they couldn’t
believe it and wanted Mr Gottard to give them their
real results. In some cases, it took some convincing
that they had actually gained such incredible marks.
Whilst basking in the joy of such achievements, the
students gained another surprise. On entering the
first assembly on Day 1 they met with the news that
a number of them had actually come Top in New
Zealand or Top in the World. The library resounded
Congratulations to these ACG Senior College students, top achievers - CIE Nov 2010
IGCSE Top in World Literature (English) Alexander Ducat 1=
AS Level Top in World Art and Design Eun Bi (Mary) Chang 1
AS Level Top in World General Paper Taylor Matthews 1
AS Level Top in World Literature in English Catherine Hsu 1
A Level Top in World Art and Design Vito Nicholas 1
A Level Top in World Psychology Elisabeth Davis 1=
AS Level Top in NZ Chemistry Amy (Yue) Xiao 1
AS Level Top in NZ History of Art Edith Offner 1
AS Level Top in NZ Language & Literature English Henry Witcomb Cahill 1
AS Level Top in NZ Music Ray Hsiu-Juei Chang 1=
AS Level Top in NZ Physics Amy (Yue) Xiao 1
AS Level Top in NZ Psychology Harriet Constable 1
A Level Top in NZ Art and Design (Photography) Tara Olivia Poole 1
AS Level High Achievement Environmental Management Jonathan Tolley 1
AS Level Best 3 AS Levels First Eun Bi (Mary) Chang 1
AS Level Best 3 AS Levels Second Catherine Hsu 2
AS Level Best 4 AS Levels Third Amy (Yue) Xiao 3
AS Level Best 5 AS Levels Second Harry Alexander 2
A Level Best 3 A Levels Third Vito Nicholas 3
Double success
Harry and Jack Alexander from ACG Senior
College were somewhat sidetracked on their
seventeeth birthday. Most of the day was spent in
eager anticipation awaiting their CIE results and,
as it turned out, they were well worth waiting
for. Between the two, they scored 100% in seven
subjects. Harry achieved 100% in English, Physics,
Chemistry and Geography, and Jack scored 100% in
English, Physics and History.
“I’ve always wanted to do as well as I could,” says
Jack. He felt really good about his results because
they showed the hard work he had put in to achieving
had paid off. Harry was also focussed, “I wanted to
do my best and had an aim of what I wanted to do.”
Harry was placed second in New Zealand for the
student with the top score in five AS subjects.
When Harry and Jack received their results, their
mother was informed that she must not tell
anyone because the boys are very humble. Being
stood up in assembly on the first day and being
clapped and cheered by the entire student body
certainly made their success public.
This year, Harry and Jack are members of
the Senior Scholars group and are focussed
with clapping and cheering as students were
congratulated by their peers.
It was not until Simon Higgins rang the College
that we became aware that our students had in
fact won more awards than any other New Zealand
school again. With a 99% passrate at IGCSE, a 94%
passrate at AS and a 100% passrate at A Level, there
has been much to celebrate all round.
Naturally, the CIE Awards Ceremony was a great
evening as parents, students and staff gathered
together with one thing on their minds - to praise
our students. It was a fine evening made all the
more special with Ray Chang’s recorder solo.
on gaining top results as Harry plans a career in
medicine and Jack intends studying law.

ACG Senior College I The Tall Poppy I May 2011
The spirit of giving
It was with dismay that we learned about the
earthquake hitting Christchurch at 12.50 on Tuesday
22nd February. By 8am the following morning
SARC (Social Awareness and Responsibility
Committee) had organised a Red Cross Appeal to
ensure that our students supported those in need.
Over $1,100 was collected in three days.
Students who attended the ACG Leadership Day
were presented with their first challenge and after
being asked to come up with a way of supporting
Christchurch they instantly jumped into action.
Within half an hour, they had outlined their project,
organised the group into teams and were out on
the streets of Auckland gaining goods to fill three
student gift baskets to raffle. Local businesses
supported with giveaways and this has been a
real success. These students were focussed and
committed - a great follow up to the experience of
the Leadership Day.
It was no surprise when our students began collecting
for the people of Japan. After Christchurch, Japan
was an even greater shock and we support this
cause wholeheartedly.
InShort
Amy Xiao - Bio olympian
Congratulations to Amy Xiao who once
again demonstrated that she is among the
top 20 Biology students in New Zealand!
After attending the NZ Biology training
programme, she passed the selection
examination and has been awarded the
Silver award in the second round of the
NZ International Biology Olympiad.
She has been offered a place in the final
Training and Selection camp but Amy has
also been selected to attend the Chemistry
training camp and has decided to follow
this option as she is incredibly busy this
year.
Leadership Day
This year, one of the company initiatives
was to hold a Leadership Day for students
from ACG schools. Located at ACG
Parnell College, twelve ACG Senior
College students enjoyed an inspiring
guest speaker, undertook team building
and spent time considering what students
could do across the company to work
together.
It was a great opportunity for our students
who enjoyed the experience and came
back to school all enthused about doing
important things. Their first project was
the Christchurch earthquake and now
they are looking at a project where they
can make a difference to the lives of
others. This is a dedicated group in the
College and no doubt we will hear more
from them in the months to come.
Earthquake drill
At the end of last year, we had made the decision to have an earthquake drill and had all the
documentation in place to do so. Wanting a quiet start to the year, we decided the end of term was
probably the best time for this practice. However, with the tragedy that has struck Christchurch, we
thought it important to conduct this practice as soon as possible. Our students observed the two
minutes of silence at 12.51 and it therefore seemed fitting to hold the drill the next day.
Everyone followed instructions and we went through the motions, all ending up in Aotea Square
taking rolls to ensure we were all present. Suddenly realising that this was one of the few times the
whole school was together, we snapped a quick picture for posterity.
Great input for A2 students
John Fox, a PhD student at Auckland
University, recently gave up his time
to spend an hour with our A2 English
students. He is currently studying Spenser,
Donne, Shakespeare and the Renaissance
whilst also teaching to Stage Two. Judging
by the comments and questions of the
students, he was extremely knowledgeable
and appreciated.

ACG Senior College I The Tall Poppy I May 2011
In Short
The Ball
This year, the Ball committee is a small
group of seven, with three of them liaising
with the Principal. Crystelle L’Amie,
Victoria Cooper-Smith and Lauren Young
have spent considerable time negotiating
and planning what will be a great night
for senior students. They have organised
all the fine detail and are excited about
what will eventuate. In order to support
this event, they have also taken on the task
of planning a fashion parade for the last
week of term and have a number of willing
fashion houses involved. Details of both
events will feature in the next Tall Poppy.
Getting our hands dirty for recycling
After much planning and stressing, on Wednesday 23rd March, the G-unit group carried out a successful
waste audit at school. Around 20 students gathered in the basement to sort rubbish. Yes, sort rubbish!
It was a way for them to see how much waste the College produces daily and how much of it could actually
be diverted and recycled so the College can become more environmentally friendly.
We were lucky to have Ron Sperber, a waste wise educator from the Auckland City Council, to help them on
the day. Thanks to him, an hour and a half later the students had dug and sorted through 80kg of waste that
ranged from things like paper to old rotting lunches. From around 80kg of rubbish, they went through that
day, 60kg of it could have been recycled or composted! Everyone was shocked to know that around 75% of
the waste doesn’t need to go to landfills.
This group have decided that the next step is to implement effective recycling processes in the school,
getting both students and staff on board!
Our top chemists
The International Chemistry Olympiad is
held every year in the first weeks of July.
This year the venue is Turkey.
Each year a group of about 20 secondary
school students is selected to form a
training group, based upon performance
in a selection test. Last November, John
Lee, Amy Xiao and Kevin Chang qualified
to be part of the training group for the
2011 Chemistry Olympiad.
During the first term they underwent
a programme which included reading
material, problem assignments, and a
couple of tests. All three students worked
extremely hard and in March they sat
another examination. On their results,
John and Amy were selected to attend a
training camp in the first week of the April
holidays. At the end of the camp, the team
of four, and at least one non-travelling
reserve, will be selected to attend the
Olympiad.
Focus Groups
The College does not have prefects or a school
council. Instead, we have Focus Groups at each year
level and one for international students. Students
must apply to be part of this group and are selected
on merit. The size of the group varies.
This group meets regularly as representatives of
their year level. They take minutes, liaise with the
Principal and various actions take place because of
this group. In the future, the Year 13 Focus group
will be the leaders in our college and this year’s
group are certainly laying the ground work for this
to happen. They have decided that they will attack
the whole issue of school spirit and have many ideas
about how to do just that, starting with a dress up
day where everyone comes in the school colours.
In a recent assembly, students spoke about all the
various activities they encouraged the students to
get behind - sport, school productions, debating and
so on. This looks like being a great year, led by some
enthusiastic students who will make it happen.
L/R: Henry Witcomb Cahill, Irene Hao, Ali Bensemann, Lauren Young, Ajda Arsan,
Callum Burnett, Phoebe Gill, Bronte Ammundsen, Catherine Hsu, Katie Cha.
Michael Fenner masterclass
Michael Fenner who studied A Level
Music at ACG Senior College last year,
completed his research on a composer
and renowned guitarist called Kaki King.
He placed his performance on YouTube
and, as a result, this composer is running a
masterclass in Italy. One of the organisers
of this masterclass spotted his video and
asked him to apply for a place which he
has duly done and was accepted. Imagine
living in a villa outside of Milan being
taught by someone you truly admire -
a real dream come true.

Past-Student Success
Laura Kranz - International leader
Laura returned to NZ from Israel in 2009 after an
enlightening year where she took part in a Jewish
leadership programme. The important aspect
was what happened next. She became involved
in Habonim, which is a Jewish movement based
on the idea of building a new society with a real
focus on youth.
Internationally there are 50 such groups. New
Zealand has its own community and aims to
provide a Jewish identity for youth.
These students are committed to this programme,
so much so that they chose summer and winter
holidays as well as weekends. Laura says, “it is
like having a fulltime job without being paid”.
Why does she do it? Because she loves it and
genuinely believes in the ideology. Her year away
in Israel shaped her. It gave her a level of critical
thinking and the confidence to challenge society.
It is important to her to lead by example and she
gets a lot of opportunity to do this as she is the
leader of this movement for 2011.
At the heart of Habonim is a strong moral base
and a well defined set of values. They cater for
everyone and having no money does not exclude
a person. “Money should never be a reason not
to come”. She unashamedly says she is idealistic
but aims to put this into practice. Every year the
leaders run a summer camp. They start from
nothing and provide a month long experience that
equalises everyone. It takes away all of society’s
material values and by camping together they
learn to just be. For the leaders “it is an awesome
month”, says Laura. Laura wrote the programme
for the last camp and the theme was “New World”.
It focussed on exploring an ideal society, values
and Jewish history. Most importantly, it was
taught by the young who emphasised sharing with
others. So committed are the leaders of the winter
camp that they are taking a week off university.
Whilst Laura is Education Leader, running
the whole New Zealand group, there are also
leadership opportunities at local level. Her role is
only for this year and Laura is philosophical about
what is next, but would like to win a scholarship
to the University of Victoria for 2012. She is at
university completing a fulltime course, works 20
hours per week for the Jewish community and also
works 20 hours per week in a job to earn money.
As could be expected, she is incredibly busy and
one wonders how she fits it all in.
Laura’s most recent project involved offering
support to those in her group who come from
Christchurch. Every person was contacted to
ensure they were safe and then the group offered
tents for those in need. They wanted the people in
Christchurch to know that there was a communuity
caring for them.
Laura is a passionate and caring young person
of whom ACG Senior College is very proud.
She is contributing to the youth of tomorrow
and inspiring others to do likewise.
Chris Ferrand - On the fast track to success for local bank manager
Chris Ferrand is remembered fondly by his
teachers even though he only attended ACG
Senior College from 2001 to 2002. He finished his
studies having gained an A Bursary in Economics,
Geography, Design, Mathematics with Calculus
and Classical Studies.
He headed to Wellington at 17 and embarked on
study for a couple of years. Chris realised that
university wasn’t for him. He had always enjoyed
Design and thought he would see if his niche was
in this field, but he didn’t like the way he was
taught.
Not knowing what he wanted, he enrolled at
Victoria’s NATCOL for a year. At the same time,
he saw the need to work, as do most university
students, and so a job at Whitcoulls came his way.
This led to a position in a call centre at a bank
which in his words proved to be “a bit of me”.
So his real journey began and he has been selling
mortgages at the ANZ Bank since he was 19,
having worked in Wellington, Auckland and now
on Waiheke Island. He is the youngest branch
manager in ANZ at present and is proud to be
running the top branch in New Zealand.
Chris always wanted to lead his own team of
people - to be the Go-To person. The one you
ask questions and get decisions from is who he
saw himself being. It may have taken some time
but this is exactly what he has become and he is
passionate about it. Chris relishes the opportunity
to see them succeed and grow. Living on Waiheke
Island is an added bonus and in his words,
“awesome”. It is like living at the beach all the
time and Waiheke is sunny until August.
Chris is a great believer in the fact that a person
chooses their attitude, path and direction.
He says he learnt that at ACG Senior College.
There is lots of training at the bank but you can
get lost if you expect things to be served up on a
platter. At ACG Senior College we knew we had
the ability to go out and get things for ourselves.
What will Chris do in the future? He will probably
do some university study. However, he really
wants to run a big branch next in somewhere
like Wellington. To go higher means a good
qualification and that will be the time to complete
his studies as he says, “it shows you are able to
follow through from beginning to end”. He gives
himself until the age of 35 to make this happen.
His advice to students today is simply this:
“Don’t take yourself too seriously. The biggest
thing I have learnt from interacting with people
is that we cause ourselves so much stress and
Tim Neale - Antipodean PhD
strife. Take a
step back.
Say “alright”.
Then move on.
It is certainly
working for Chris
and it seems it
will not take
until 35 to
realise
his
goal.
Tim Neale was a confident and capable student who spent his Years 11-13 at
ACG Senior College in the late 1980s. Currently he is studying towards a PhD in
Melbourne, in the University’s School of Culture and Communication, investigating the
history and contemporary possibilities of Indigenous sovereignty in Australia and New Zealand.
Prior to moving across the Tasman, Tim completed his Master of Arts degree at Auckland University,
focussing on trauma memoirs that were either of the second generation (such as Maus) or semifrauds
(Jerzy Kosinski), and dealing with the ways in which trauma and ideas of authorship and
experience are, in some ways, fundamentally incompatible. The result of this study was that he
ended up teaching in the English Department at the university for three years, primarily in Writing
Studies, and also he co-convened a course in Cultural Studies. He writes: “I finally decided the life
of an academic was for me but I also finally (at long last), became interested in the Antipodes.”

ACG Senior College I The Tall Poppy I May 2011
Relay for life By Bronte Ammundsen Year 13
The belief that Flying Lobsters can fly is a common misconception.
Team co-captain Maxim Tourani however stirred reason to believe that
maybe they could, as he flew laps around the track through rain and wind,
accompanied by many fellow Lobsters such as Harry Alexander and Dave Lin.
On March the 6th, there was little sleep for those in ACG Senior College’s very
first, but ultimately successful, Relay For Life team.
Relay For Life is an annual event that takes place all over New Zealand, run
by the Cancer Society. It is an event where teams of as many members as
possible gather at various race tracks and spend the night walking or running
around a track. It is an event to raise awareness for cancer and raise money
to go towards the search for a cure. Each team is given a baton, and it doesn’t
matter how fast or slow the baton moves, as long as it is always travelling
around the track.
We didn’t know what to expect as we arrived at the Millennium Institute in
Mairangi Bay for our first attempt. It had been lightly raining all day, and as
we all met at 2:30, this didn’t appear about to change. In this light rain, we set
up our tents (one of which was very kindly provided by ATC), and all sat down
to be painted with red faces and red army stripes, to support our creative
team theme of the Flying Lobsters. At 4pm, following a minute of silence
out of respect for Christchurch, the relay began. Throughout the night, we
constantly had groups of people on the track walking and laughing, meeting
other team members, and raising our lap count to a stunning 1,139.
Activities and entertainment were provided for us, a highlight being the 10pm
Zumba class. Many of our Lobsters were involved, moving our hips and
swinging our whole bodies to the music, all looking like tremendous idiots - it
was fantastic. From midnight trips into people’s cars to soak up the heating; to
swearing you weren’t falling asleep as your eyes drifted shut at 3am; to giving
up wearing shoes once your socks and shoes were soaked through, the night
was filled with memories. Not to mention the torrential downpours getting us
saturated as we took a 2am shift, and the 5am gale that collapsed one of our
main tents, resulting in everybody pitching together to pull it down before
it blew away. Every single member of our team took part and
got out there, everyone got along. The late night marshmallow
ambush was appreciated too, as myself and two other devious
members filled our hands with pink and white and ran into the
tent of people playing cards. Mr Stafford just needs to be grateful
we couldn’t find a permanent marker to carry out sinister plots of
unexpected tattooing.
Unfortunately due to the gale, the Relay was called off three
hours early at 7am, and we all got together and pulled down the
remaining tents. We didn’t mind too much, we were all dreaming
of a warm shower and getting into a warm dry bed.
Being a 400m track, our total of 1,139 laps converts into a distance
travelled of 455.6 km. That’s roughly the equivalent of walking
from Rotorua to Auckland! We are still open to sponsorship from
anybody who wants to help the battle against cancer. Whether
you wish to sponsor a lump amount, or pay per lap we walked,
please consider making a payment direct to the Cancer Society in
support of us. www.cancernz.org.nz/donate-online
I only hope that ACG Senior College continues to have a Relay
For Life team. It was great getting to know so many peers in our
27 strong group.
Global Perspectives and Research - Learning beyond the school curriculum
Early in Term 1, the College received a visit from
Doctor John Guy, an inspiring educationalist
from the United Kingdom. He shared with us
the success of Global Perspectives, a two year
course completed by many students in the UK.
Some years ago, our Career Counsellor, Pam Bell,
requested from Oxford University the best way
for students to gain acceptance to this prestigious
university. Every student applying had five A
Levels with A grades but what distinguished
students was their ability to talk about areas of
interest that they had studied independently of
their class work. This was our challenge - how to
prepare them adequately and Global Perspectives
was the answer.
For a small group of handpicked students, this
will be their goal. The first year of the course
looks at four main areas where students study
such things as ethics and look at related topics
like medicine and the environment. They must
complete an essay, compile a presentation and sit
an examination. In the second year, they embark
on a 5,000 word mini dissertation in an area of
interest and many find links between the various
curriculum areas.
Our congratulations to those students who have
taken up this challenge and we look forward
to celebrating their success in December 2012.
Who knows it may be a double success with
admittance to an Ivy League university.
L/R: Hee Won An, Katarina Sim, Max Jeffs, Royce Park, Kristy Kang, Nicole Song, Joey Wong
Julia Roh, Katarina Zujovic, Marcel Soanes, Alex Eichelbaum, Jacob Smith-Jude, Duoyi Xu.

ACG Senior College I The Tall Poppy I May 2011
A scholarly start
Reducing the large number of potential students to a
manageable number of scholars was harder this year than
ever before. Superb grades had been achieved across the
College in the 2010 Cambridge examinations, meaning
the medium mark for entry rose into the nineties. Fifteen
Year 13 students and thirteen Year 12 students eventually
accepted places in these two groups.
We began the year by moving the Year 12 group to a room
on Level 3 so that they were closer to their Dean and tutor
Mr Stafford. A pleasant room was created with a sofa,
fridge and microwave to go with the accoutrements of
purposeful study. Now both scholars’ rooms have quiet
work places and the students have settled into regular
patterns, weaning themselves away from their previous
“non-contact” haunts.
Our lecture series began with Professor Iain Clarke,
Chairman of the Department of Physiology at Monash
University, entertaining us with his academic life-story
and the importance sheep have played in each stage of
his life and research. He made genetics fathomable. The
next lecture was at Auckland University where we heard
ex-Green Party leader Jeanette Fitzsimons and the Hon.
Mike Rann, Premier of South Australia, debate current
political issues. We came away with more insight into the
way politicians phrase their responses to questions rather
than better informed of the key issues.
Many of the scholars went as a group to a play, “Live,
Live Cinema; Carnival of Souls”, others have worked as
student guides on Open Day, most of the Senior Scholars
have enrolled in extra Scholarship classes and all scholars
have committed to one or two of the student groups
operating in the College, with many having been elected
to leadership roles in these groups.
The year has begun with gusto and we look forward to
this continuing.
Year 12 Scholars. L/R back row: Alex Eichelbaum, Jacob
Smith-Jude, Duoyi Xu, Max Jeffs. Middle row: Kate Mitchell,
Monica Chen, Kristy Kang, Julia Roh, Nicole Song.
Middle row: Emma Gunn, Katarina Zujovic, Ping Ang,
Katarina Sim.
Senior Scholars. L/R: Bowen Wang, Jack Alexander, John
Lee, Harrison Steiner Fox, Joshua D’Silva, Phoebe Gill,
George Dawson, Kevin Chang, Jung Shaan Lee, Harry,
Alexander, Catherine Hsu, Amy Xiao, Ying Ying Cui,
Maria Vorbieva, Callum Burnett.
Monash Professor speaks to the scholars
Professor Iain Clarke is the Chairman of the
Department of Physiology at Monash University.
In Auckland for a conference, he agreed to skip
some workshops on schizophrenia and speak to
our Scholar groups along with interested others.
A New Zealander by birth, Professor Clarke spoke
of his career path and the need for determination
if a student wants to succeed as a scientist. Sheep
have featured in his life - growing up on a farm
was followed by Agricultural degrees at Massey
and then a PhD at Edinburgh University. His
research is now conducted on sheep as they are
large enough for observation.
Professor Clarke moved to Australia for the
opportunities available for scientific research and
spoke passionately about Monash University.
When asked why a student should study there
his first response of, “to get away from home”
was followed by detail about the university’s
strong multi-cultural student body, emphasis on
research and the chance for students to undertake
exchanges with campuses in Italy, Malaysia and
China.
What the professor could also have mentioned as
a reason to enrol at Monash was his passion for
teaching. With a simple power-point presentation,
the audience understood quickly the detailed
process of his endocrinological studies. Sitting in
the audience was Eugene Lai who was a Senior
Scholar in 2010 and has recently been accepted
into Monash to study Medicine. After the lecture,
Eugene seemed reassured that of all the places
in the world he considered, he had accepted the
right university offer.
This was a great way to start the year for our
Senior Scholars.

ACG Senior College I The Tall Poppy I May 2011
L/R: Sherrie Hobson, Imogen Nock,
Byron Waters, Abby Wake-Mayo,
Sophie Browett.
Upcoming Events
Term 2 examinations. Commence Week 3
of Term 2 and run from 16th to 20th May.
ACG Senior College Ball
Friday 24th June, Town Hall.
This promises to be a great event for students in
Years 12 and 13.
University of Melbourne visit.
Thursday 16th June.
An important visit for those interested in studying
at Melbourne University.
Open Day. Saturday 2nd July.
Chicago. 6-9th July, Hopetoun Alpha.
This year’s unmissable musical production.
In it for life!
The motto of Surf Life Saving New
Zealand is worn proudly on the bag Byron
Waters brings to school each day. He is
senior lifeguard at dangerous Piha beach
and many will have seen him on “Piha
Rescue”. In the episode screened on
Monday 28 March, Byron swam out and
saved the life of an adult man, dragging
him back to shore to be reunited with his
distraught young son and wife. When he is
not being filmed, Byron is usually behind
the camera filming the episodes and,
on Boxing Day this year, he was also the
recipient of a rescue when he was out on
his surf board and was caught in a rip off
Raglan. For nine years, Byron has been
involved in lifesaving and says he would
encourage others to join as it offers “so
many opportunities.” He has even had a
trip to America to compete.
Abby Wake-Mayo agrees. She is also a lifeguard
at Piha and joined when told about
it by a friend. She likes that you meet
people and also that she has been able
to do courses like First Aid. When asked
whether it is like “Bay Watch” and other
television shows that involve beach saves,
the room erupted in laughter. No answer
was forthcoming.
The commitment of these students is great.
They are on rosters and even if they go to
the beach for a rest, Sherrie Hobson says
“you usually end up the tower helping
out.” Like Bryon, Sherrie became involved
in lifesaving when she was young. She
joined “nippers”, moved on to become
a “Rookie”, then “Bronzie” and is now a
“Senior”. It has meant that she has two
groups of friends: those at Sunset Beach
where she is most weekends and others at
school in Auckland.
Imogen Nock admits that her beach -
Mairangi Bay - is not as dangerous as the
West Coast. She has had to search for a
lost child but not in the water and she has
not had to carry out rescues. She became
involved with lifesaving when she moved
to New Zealand as it was something
different from her previous lifestyle in
England. Sophie Browett is a guard at
the same beach. She joined because her
mother was involved and, like Imogen, her
biggest rescue to date has been locating a
lost child sitting on the sand and retrieving
an unoccupied lilo that blew out to sea in
the wind.
With these five young people in control,
we can relax a little more when we visit
a patrolled beach. Their commitment is
proven by their continued involvement in
such an important role on our beaches.
To them, lifesaving is a lifestyle. They are
“in it for life”.
Assisting Clients for 80 years
• Property • Commercial
• Trusts • Estates
• Employment and other Legal Services
• Efficient professional work
Telephone: 09 631 0541
Email: admin@sellarbone.co.nz
Website: sellarbone.co.nz
66 Lorne Street, Auckland City
PO Box 5646, Wellesley Street
Auckland 1141
Telephone: 09-307 4477
Fax: 09-307 4476
Email: seniorcollege@acgedu.com
www.acgedu.com
If you would like to advertise in the next issue of ‘The Tall Poppy please contact Kathy Parker, ACG Senior College Principal.