The Day the Hokule'a landed on Pt England Beach

Left photo: 10.00am The Hokule'a and Hikianalia crew along with Hawai'is Education leaders land on Pt England Beach.
Right photo: 1.30pm Intermediate boys vs Kings Prep School at Kings, Remuera

One of the iconic Polynesian voyaging canoes, the Hokule'a was launched on March 8th 1975.  Forty years on, 12 schools in our Manaiakalani cluster, had the privilege of witnessing the magnificent waka land on Pt England Beach, also accompanied by another voyaging canoe, the Hikianalia, that carried Hawai'is education leaders.  It was a marvellous occasion that will always be remembered. More information can be found on their website: Hokule'a - Point England Welcome

It was also the day that 23 intermediate boys played friendly touch games against 3 teams from the Kings Preparatory School in Remuera.  After such a busy, significant morning, where a number of boys were the leaders, videographers and carers for junior students - they were tired.  However, they still had enough energy to travel to Kings to play a game of touch.  When we arrived, the boys who had never been there before, were so fascinated by the spongy artificial grass, that some chose to play bare foot or in socks.  A few chose to lie on it, and could've easily had an afternoon nap but they had games to play!  The 'B' and 'C' grade games were fairly close but our 'A' team, comprising of mostly Year 7's were beaten by a well prepared team.  They will be better for the experience and can build on their knowledge to make improvements by Term 4 when we'll meet each other again in touch.

This is the second year we've played touch against Kings in the first term and coming up next term, it will be our third year in playing rugby union against their 15-aside U68kgs team.  We have also played softball against a couple of their teams in the past as well.  It's a friendly sports exchange that's a mutually beneficial experience for both schools.

Y5 & 6 Rippa Rugby team are off to Eden Park!

Primary Eastern Zone Rippa Rugby Tournament, Dunkirk Rd, Panmure

Our Year 5 & 6 mixed rippa rugby team earned a place to play at Eden Park against the champions of the West, South and Central school zones, by winning all of their games at the Eastern Zone Challenge Series on Friday, 27th March.  Our girls team automatically qualify for the Auckland Inter-Zone tournament as they were the only team who entered the series in our zone.

The tournament at Eden Park will determine who will represent Auckland at the annual September NZ national tournament in Wellington.  The prospect of playing at the epic Eden Park where the NZ All Blacks won the World Cup in 2011, is exciting enough for the players and for some team members, it will be their first experience - the team is thrilled to be going!

They played 6 games against Howick School, Elm Park and Glendowie School, playing the final in a tough encounter against a coherent Glendowie team, just winning 5-3.  The highest male try scorers on the day were Flynlay Kake (7 tries) and Alfa Kepu-Saafi (7 tries) and our speedy female winger, Faioso Faletanoai (5 tries).  The girls were solid contenders, who were able to match male opponents with their skills and confidence, contributing overall to a strong team performance.

This is the 3rd year that Pt England will represent the Eastern Zone area, having either a mixed or girls team compete in the fiercely contested tournament.  This year will be no different.  What's also rewarding about their win, is that they are invited to stay and watch the Super Rugby Round 11 game between the Auckland Blues and the Western Force team on Saturday, 2nd May - a great initiative created by the ARU, Auckland Rugby Union.

Y5 & 6 Team (as in photo): Back standing left to right: Montel Brack, Emmanuel Taka, Jonathon Fifita, Lani Puri, Angelica Vahai, Aneelis Gataua. Sitting left to right: Lomio-Lee Gataua, Rosalina Paketama, Faioso Faletanoai.  Lying down left to right: Flynlay Kake and Alfa Kepu-Saafi

The 'Acer Racer' at the Soap Box Derby 2015

And they're off!  Our Soap Box Derby team competed in the Auckland Eastern Zone competition yesterday.  It's a day where trolleys could be racing down the course at around 60kph in about 30 seconds.  Venetia Joyce, Yvone Vili-Tesi, Chyrus Valoa and Talita Va'afusuaga were our 2015 Year 6 drivers, in our eye-catching, shiny 'Acer Racer' car.   Actually the car is not new, but the body paint is - it now has a specially made silver chromed covered skin, kindly sponsored by Acer Inc who also provide chromebooks (netbooks) for our Year 4-8 students.  

The race took place on Stonefields Avenue, beside the AMI Auckland netball courts which is only a 5 minute drive from school. The Pit Crew on the day were Flynlay Kake, Waimaria Scott and Aysha Lote with the meticulous coach, our associate principal, Garth Jacobsen and his wife Elaine, the efficient manager as the team leaders.  There are many benefits for our students, who learn about the design and mechanics of a soap box car, and put into practise, the teamwork that's essential for this competition.

The six fastest teams in this weekend's competition will go through to the New Zealand finals on March 30 and the top driver at nationals gets to hit the track at the World Championship in Ohio. 

Soap Box derby races are a very big deal in America - check this out: All American Soap Box Derby.  If you want to see a spectacular race with some impressive, creative cars - then watch this clip:

Awesome Soap Box Derby Cars - Los Angeles Race, America

It's 2015! Where has the year gone?

Before I start posting lots about what we've been up to so far this year which has been heaps, I would like to share a list of our best sports people for 2014.  The following students received awards at our annual end of year school prizegiving.