PILGRIMAGE OF WORLD YOUTH DAY CROSS AND ICON
On Thursday 21 June, Francis Douglas Memorial College entered the annals of history with our significant participation in the pilgrimage of the World Youth Day Cross and Icon as they travel towards Sydney for World Youth Day 2008.
The history of the Cross and Icon can be traced back to the Holy Year of 1983, when Pope John Paul II felt that there should be a Cross, the symbol of our faith, near the main altar in St Peter's Basilica where everyone could see it. A large wooden cross, 3.8 metres high was placed there for the whole year. At the end of the Holy Year, after the Pope had closed the Holy Door, he gave this Cross, as a gift to the youth of the world.
Since then, the Cross has been throughout Europe, the United States, Canada, South America and the Philippines, to Poland and Prague, and even to Ground Zero in New York. It has been carried by commercial airline, dog sled, pick-up truck, tractor, sail boat, fishing boat and on shoulders. From parish churches to youth detention centres, prisons, schools, universities, nightclub districts and parks. It is truly an international symbol for Catholic youth. And last Thursday, it came to Taranaki. It was a moving experience as a group of young men from the College carried the Cross into St. Joseph’s to the sound of a karanga and a haka, led by our College Kapa Haka group. We were united in spirit with the millions of young people around the world who have carried the Cross and been a part of the Pilgrimage of the Cross since 1984.
Along with the Cross, was an Icon of Our Lady given by the Pope on Palm Sunday 2003, as a sign of Mary's motherly presence close to young people who are called, like the Apostle John, to welcome her into their lives.
Following the Powhiri, the Cross led a procession of representatives from all the schools in Taranaki along the Coastal Walkway to the TSB Stadium. FDMC was represented by Year 7 and Year 13, those boys who will travel to Australia for WYD and the Kapa Haka Group. The culmination of the pilgrimage of the Cross and Icon to Taranaki was a very significant liturgy prepared by and led by young people from our Province.
Events on a scale such as this don’t just happen, and particular thanks must go to Mrs Clare Whareaitu (mother of Sam, Yr 10), who oversaw the events of the day.
Further images can be viewed on the photo gallery - click here World Youth Day
YEAR 7 & 8 PLAYGROUND
With the increasing numbers of pupils in years 7 & 8 it was felt the College needed to offer the younger boys more to do at break and lunch times. Christine Alexander proposed that a playground be built for these boys to help keep them entertained. A proposal was put to the Board of Trustees to construct a playground similar to one built at Highlands Intermediate by Meco Engineering. The College Parent Teacher Association was kind enough to fund the project and the De La Salle brothers consented to the playground being built on their land. Meco Engineering started construction during the 2006-2007 summer holidays and finished work in early March. The College property manager, Mr Keegan, helped us by building all the surrounds for the bark and co-ordinating the delivery of all the goods and over-seeing the construction. The College would like to thank all the supporters of the project and the businesses that supplied us with discounted materials.
Thanks to the College PTA, the organising committee of Mrs Alexander, Mr Imrie and Mr Moller, Meco Engineering and Timber Co for their support. Lastly thanks to the De La Salle Brothers for donating the land and approving the project.
Bro Peter Ryan
Principal
CONGRATULATIONS
College Colours
To recognise excellence in sporting pursuits, a group of students were presented with their "College Colours" at a special assembly at 10:15am on Wednesday 16 May. Simon Gillum, an old boy of the College, was our guest speaker and helped give out the colours. Colours were awarded to:Nathan Coombes Athletics
Jay Gable Sailing99
Matthew Eagar Basketball
Morgan Hall Soccer
Nick Siffleet Basketball
Josh Walden Tennis
Nick Henderson Cricket
Caleb Mawson Cricket
Ethan Bolstad Cricket
James Fastier Hockey
Ben Schaare Hockey
Kane Hughes Hockey
Paul Moriarty Sailing
Maxim Van Lierde Surfing
Liam Coltman Rugby & Surfing
Trent Lochhead Sailing
(Other photos can be viewed on the Photo Gallery)
Quest Awards in May/June
Year 8 Diligence - Bing Bing Wong, Daniel Sanders, Jonathan RitchieYear 8 Attainment - Brendan Julian, Jonathan Ritchie, Daniel Sanders, Samuel Fastier
Year 7 Diligence - Joseph Robinson, Scott Murfitt and Dylan Finnigan
Year 7 Attainment - Blair Bublitz, Alexander Browne, Brock Wills
Year 8 LaSallian Medallion Recipients
Craig Sole, Ben D’Ath, Hope Neeson, Phillip Ternouth, Jordan Lampe, Layton Jones
Year 7 LaSallian Medallion Recipients
Scott Murfitt, Chaz Jones, Bradley Haakma, Alister Keegan, Dermot Fregley and Shaun Bradley
Law Mooting
Congratulations to our Law Mooting team who made it to the North Islands finals. David Hills received a Very Highly Commended Certificate for his individual moot - this was one of four allocated to the North Island and David can be very pleased with this result. This team will compete again next year but we will be looking for a team of Year 12s as well.Pictured: Ben Schaare, Sheehan Gunatunga and David Hills at the semi-finals.
CLASSROOM NEWS
SCIENCE
7G Fair Testing - This term Year 7 have been learning about fair testing and how to carry out a scientific investigation correctly. In the pictures below Alexander Clarricoats is investigating how much water is needed to make the ‘pet’ bottle go the furthest. In the second picture Jack, Damien and Michael are trying to improve the distance his water powered rocket will fly by having a more aerodynamic design. Kavaan and Alistair are about to test their new design. Who will be the winner?
Anti-Bullying Campaign
A poster competition has been running at the college aimed at drawing attention to the issues of bullying and how to combat this problem. Pictured is a great example of the quality of posters being produced. This one is by Oliver Klups in Year 8.MUSIC
The Junior Choir have once again demonstrated what commitment, enthusiasm and talent can do. On 5 June they performed at the Taranaki "Kids Sing" competition, part of the National Big Sing competition. The boys undoubtedly stole the show, looking extremely smart in school blazer and tie. Each choir ta
king part were to sing two songs of choice and the test song. Our Junior Choir started their programme with a favourite "Canon in Swing" with actions which wowed the crowd! We performed the test song next "A child's song of the New Zealand Bush" for which we won the certificate "Best performance of the test song" - a fantastic achievement. Our programme ended with Paul McCartney and Carl Davis' "Save the Child". Our other award was for "Best Part Singing". All the boys in the choir continue to work very hard, attending all weekly and extra rehearsals and most of all, enjoying making music together.The first weekend in June was spent in Palmerston North with the five members of Contemporary Combo. Mr Wellaway, our saxophone and clarinet teacher who leads the Combo came along too. It was the Combo's first outing and the first time they have represented the College. Performing alongside senior jazz musicians from across the country and, sharing the stage with the tertiary age "Youth Groups" our boys performed a strong set of four contrasting pieces. With Tim Wood and Jarod Bakker on alto sax, Nick Price on guitar, Isaak Mischefski on keys and Simon Velvin on drum kit. This year we didn't win any of the major prizes but we have come away inspired following our performance and the opportunity to watch the best in the country and also take part in Sunday morning Jazz Workshops. Food for thought and music to our ears.
OUT AND ABOUT
Kapa haka performance at rest home 
On Monday 7 May some members of our school kapa haka group went to Rhapsody Rest home to entertain the residents. The passion and pride displayed by these young warriors was tremendous and they represented the college very well. 
Alpha Training & Development course
I was lucky enough to be chosen as one of the people to go on the Alpha Training and Development course. It was really interesting. The carpentry group each made a wooden box, a shelf and started a stool. I really enjoyed going on the course and am pleased I went. I’m sure everyone that went had a lot of fun, and the best part of the course was that we got to take something home.Scott Martin (Year 10)
New Zealand Junior Hospitality Challenge
This event was held at Okurukuru on Wednesday 23 May. The challenge was open to students between 15 and 18 years of age who attend either a secondary school or a private training establishment. It was the first time this event had been held in Taranaki. Four of our CPP students who have been attending a hospitality course at FEATS represented the College: Paul Thomas entered into the ‘Live Kitchen’ class where he was required to prepare, cook and serve two omelettes within 30 minutes. Paul did a great job even coping with a cast on his wrist. Ryan Loft entered the ‘Static Display - Quiche Section’ winning a bronze medal for his salmon quiche. Kerry Instone and Matthew Stephens entered the ‘Static Display – Blueberry Muffins Section’ with Matthew coming away with a bronze medal. Congratulations to all of you.Year 7 & 8 Social
The Year 7 and 8 social with Sacred Heart Intermediate students was a success! The social was a fundraiser for the Year 13 Graduation Ball for the end of the year. It was well organised with supervision from FDMC and SHGH teachers. DJ Dobson and his team had modern music that students danced and jumped the night away to. Well done to Nick Sifleet and the senior students who supported and helped out with the social.Star Short Introductory Course - Year 10 Cooking/Hospitality
A group of enthusiastic students attended a six-week course at VLS under the guidance of tutor/Chef Ralph Arnold. The students really enjoyed this opportunity and cooked a huge range of dishes, from curries to pizzas, casseroles, bread and apple pie, to name a few.They entertained twelve staff members with a delicious lunch that they prepared and served.
FDMC Bishops Chess
The TSS chess champs were held at the College on Sunday 24 June. Seven teams from four schools were entered, with FDMC and NPBHS both having two teams. Each team played seven games over the afternoon and at the end of round six, FDMC A Team were ahead of NPBHS A team by half a point. These two teams met in the last round to decide the over-all winners. The College boys came out winners by 19 1/2 to 17 over NPBHS. Our B Team came 4th overall. This gave us our first tournament win in the four years that this event has been held, and our A Team will now represent Taranaki at the North Island Champs later in the year. Liam Poppelwell was also named player of the tournament.
Many thanks to Mark and Helen for their organisation of the tourny and to the New Plymouth Chess Club for their adjudication of these close games.
FDMC A Team ( pictured with Mr Paul Coulton ) - Liam Poppelwell, Hamish Till, Michael Poppelwell and Hayden Hitchcock.
FDMC B Team - Daniel Morris, Conor Ferguson, Eugene Judd and Kerrin Epplett.
GATEWAY
Pictured are some of our Gateway students who are doing very well with their chosen work experience options:John Brieseman does one day per week work experience at Dalgleish Manufacturing Jewellers. He is working towards The Open Polytechnic Certificate in Manufacturing Jewellery – pictured is some of the jewellery he has designed and made. Bradley Everitt-Hood is working through his Gateway package with ETITO and has two days a week work experience with Phil Boyes Electrical. Sam Connolly is working through his Gateway package with BCITO and has two days a week work experience with Abode Design & Build.
SPORTS NEWS
Taranaki Secondary Schools Cross-Country Championships
The TSS Cross Country Championships were held in warm, sunny conditions in Hawera on Thursday, 24 May. All the athletes performed well against some strong competition. Stand-out performances were :
Christian McSweeney-Novak - 2nd in Junior Boys 3km
Edward Rawles - 1st in Intermediate Boys 4km
Nathan Coombes - 2nd in Senior Boys 6km
SOCCER
FDMC 1st XI St Johns Sports Exchange Report - A Thunderous Victory
FDMC started their 2007 campaign in winning style and in doing so overcame torrential rainstorms and a heavily waterlogged pitch to record a convincing and well deserved 2-0 victory. FDMC opened the scoring when pressure from strikers Tomas Mosquera and Andrew Crowe forced an “own goal” at the far post after good work down the left by Shane Garner and Sam Sutton. Andrew Crowe quickly added a second goal, latching on to a dangerous through ball before skipping past two defenders and rounding the goalkeeper to pass the ball into an empty net – a magnificent finish.
FDMC continued to build on their commanding first half performance and resisted early pressure in the second half with some outstanding team defending. As the second half unfolded midfielders Morgan Hall, Stephen Kibby and Aaron Huesser increasingly influenced the game with a combination of perceptive passing and surging runs into the opponents penalty area. Shane Garner, Stephen Kibby and Andrew Crowe all went close to scoring as the team searched for an elusive third goal.
At the end of a very competitive first fixture the team can reflect on an impressive team performance which combined decisive attacking play with disciplined and determined defending.
Ian McGrath (Coach)
1st X1 Soccer - 30 May 2007
FDMC Remain Unbeaten - FDMC earned a deserved draw and an important victory to continue their unbeaten start to the season, after two very demanding and exciting fixtures in one day.FDMC worked tirelessly to restrict a very impressive Wanganui High School to a 1-0 half time lead and were later rewarded for their determination and endeavour with a deserved equaliser mid way through the second half, scored by Tomas Mosquera. In a highly competitive fixture, FDMC contained their opponents well for long periods of the game and were able to exploit their opposition’s weaknesses with some incisive counter attacking football. Good work in the midfield late on in the game saw Aaron Huesser burst through the defence to win the race for the ball and score a winning goal – only for the team’s celebrations to be cut short after he was adjudged to have fouled his opponent in the process.
In the second fixture against Wanganui Collegiate, a tired and mentally drained team failed to raise their performance to the levels seen earlier in the day. However, despite not playing to their full potential, FDMC were always in control of the match and created a number of opportunities to score the opening goal. The team had to wait until the last 10 minutes of the game before capitalising on a period of sustained pressure. Make-shift striker Michael Reive seized on the opposition’s failure to clear the ball out of their own penalty area on two occasions and slotted home two excellently taken goals – just reward for the better team.
RUGBY
FDMC 1ST XV vs NPBHS
We had been building up for the game for several weeks, trying to play that perfect game. 9 June came around very fast and all the boys were pumped and ready to go on game day. Running out to a roaring FDMC crowd and supporters 15 - Boys’ High offered the challenge with their traditional Haka.
The game started off well with both sides having a crack up front. After some early pressure Boys’ High crossed the line to open the scoring leading 5-0. Several minutes later Boys’ High crossed for their second try off the back of a lucky pass. FDMC hit back with a penalty kick from the boot of first five Rick McKenna to bring the score to 12-3. Possession was shared with few chances for either side to score in the remainder off the half. A dangerous high tackle saw the NPBHS winger get 10 minutes in the bin. The halftime score was 12-3.
The second half signalled a new start, cutting down on 50/50 passes and retaining the ball to build pressure. Immediately we scored through an Ethan Bolstad try in the corner through applied pressure to close the score to 12-8. Minutes later through some hard forward play and good offloads Kane Barrett bashed his way through the Boys’ High defense to give us the lead 12-13. Boys’ High, with their full team now on the field, hit back with some second man play in the back line to take the lead back 19-13. Against the run of play, half back John Julian snapped onto a wayward pass to scamper to the line for an intercept try. After a narrowly missed conversion attempt we were down by one 19-18. Boys’ High then capitalised on some infringements by our boys kicking two penalties and extending their lead to 25-18. After some good pressure we were on attack right on their line. With minutes remaining Rick McKenna crossed for a try by the posts off an extremely well constructed set piece move and a Caleb Mawson pass.
The scores were levelled at 25-all after the successful conversion attempt. After a tense and nervous finish nothing could separate the teams with the game ending in a draw.
The forwards were lead by Liam Coltman, Caleb Mawson and Kane Barrett. Ethan Bolstad led the backs while Beauden Barrett had a solid game at fullback. A very good performance by the College 1st XV who learnt a lot from their performance, including not to get over motivated for a game. Leading try scorer for the season is Jamil Signal on 11 and top point scorer is Rick McKenna with 123.
A big thank-you to all those parents, Old Boys, students, friends/supporters of the college and sponsors who came to support the team.
Josh Hickford
(More photos can be viewed in the Photo Gallery.)
Squash
At the TSS Championships held over the weekend our boys did a great job with the following placings achieved:Boys’ C & D Grade - D Charteris 1st, J Andrews 3rd
Boys’ E Grade - D Sunley 2nd
Boys’ F Grade Div 1 - N Stretton 1st
Boys’ F Grade Div 2 - R Jordan 1st, J Floyd 2nd, K Flannagan 3rd
Duathlon
Another good result over the weekend with our boys taking top places in the Senior and Junior events:Senior Boys - N Coombes 1st, E Rawles 2nd
Junior Boys - D Cottam 1st
Taranaki Age Group Hockey Reps
Congratulations and best wishes to the FDMC boys who will be representing Taranaki these holidays in National tournaments.Under 18 team - Jake Blanks, James Fastier, Kane Hughes and Andrew Barczak
Under 15 team – Bryn Chadwick, Jayden Roodbeen, Alejandro Barrientos and Alex Sullivan-Brown
CAREERS & GUIDANCE
Massey University - Open Days @ P.Nth
9am to 2pm on Wednesday 1 and Saturday 4 August - contact Event Management on Ph 06 350 5352 or email pnevents @massey.ac.nzSchool of Engineering & Technology - Big Day Out - Friday 6 July - An opportunity to visit the Massey Palmerston North Campus and see the programmes on offer. A limited number of students can be accommodated, so if you are keen email your details to b.r.costley@massey.ac.nz.
Lincoln University Open Day - 12 July 2007
The programme for the day includes course information sessions, one-on-one course advice, campus tours (halls of residence, recreation centre, library) and lunchtime activities. www.lincoln.ac.nz 0800 10 60 10 info@lincoln.ac.nz Scholarships information is also available on www.lincoln.ac.nz/scholar$3,000 Waikato University School Leaver Scholarship
Do well in NCEA Level 3 or CIE, enrol at Waikato University next year, and you will receive a $3,000 Waikato University School Leaver Scholarship. You need:• 60 credits or more at NCEA Level 3
• in three or four NZQA approved subjects
• with at least 14 approved credits in each subject
• and gain University Entrance.
You can use your scholarship for either your course fees or Halls of Residence costs. More information is available at www.waikato.ac.nz/enrol/uowschoolleaversschol.shtml.
Keystone Property Education Trust - 2008 Student Study Scholarship -
Applications are now open for students seeking tertiary education in a course directly associated with the Property industry, (e.g. architecture, engineering, valuation, quantity surveying., property management, construction, real estate) and who, without such a grant, would genuinely be unable to do so. Applications close 24 August. For more information www.keystonetrust.org.nz or email alison@keystonetrust.org.nz.Study in the USA
Visit the Educational Services and Study in the US sections at www.fulbright.org.nz or contact kara Wood on 04 494 1504, or kara@fulbright.org.nz. A number of US universities have scholarships for talented athletes. You will have to register with the National Collegiate Athletics Association www.ncaa.com the official clearinghouse for all US athletics scholarships. This website also lists those schools that specialise in particular sports.NOTICES
Uniform Shop
- Sports/Coaches Jackets – The sports jackets have been selling well. These are warm, fleece-lined navy jackets embroidered with the FDMC monogram – sizes L and XL only are left. Any parents or FDMC supporters interested in purchasing one at $85, please visit the Uniform Shop during opening hours (12:45 to 1:30pm) or call Karen Gray mornings at the College Office.
- Polyprop/thermal tops: Short sleeved V-neck navy thermals on sale this winter at a cost of $25. Good quality NZ-made garments. Sizes XS – XL. Orders and money may be left at the office.
CALENDAR
16 July - Term 3 Begins17 TSS Skiing/Snowboarding (weather permitting)
22 TSS Smallbore Rifle Shooting
23-27 ACC Think Safe Agriculture Challenge
24 Parent/Teacher Interviews – 3:15pm to 9pm
27 TSS Badminton
27 ACC Agriculture – finals
29 TSS Motocross
31 Science Fair