Latest news with #MountAspiringCollege
Otago Daily Times
3 days ago
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Climate crisis message shared
A Wānaka teenager is touring New Zealand to encourage other students to help those in need after he spent 40 hours in a cage and kayaked the length of Lake Wānaka to raise funds for World Vision. Former Mount Aspiring College student James Watson travelled to the Solomon Islands with World Vision recently and saw the devastating impact climate change has had on children and families. The 18-year-old is now sharing the stories of those he met as part of his role as a Youth Ambassador for the World Vision 40-Hour Challenge. He is visiting more than 100 schools in the lower North Island to inspire students to go 40 hours offline and raise funds to support children affected by hunger in the Solomon Islands. Mr Watson was moved by the daily struggles of Solomon Islanders, who do not get enough to eat each day due to the climate crisis. He recalled meeting 9-year-old Polyne, who had big dreams of playing football and becoming a nurse but faced challenges. "Polyne has the heart and determination to make these happen, but she faces a huge roadblock — lack of food. "Even the giant taro that once could feed an entire family is no longer growing in her community. It broke my heart to see how this severe lack of food has become normal for them." Spending this valuable time in the Solomon Islands gave Mr Watson perspective and left him feeling New Zealand society could be very self-focused. "We have an inclination to be all me, me, me. We forget that there are young people in other parts of the world who can't follow their dreams because they are struggling to get enough to eat each day," he said. As a result, he encouraged peers to view the world as their one and only home. Mr Watson has a long history with the World Vision 40-Hour Challenge and has tested himself with some big challenges, namely kayaking the length of Lake Wanaka and living in a cage for 40 hours to help raise funds for the campaign. "I am excited to be carrying on with this kaupapa to make a difference for rangatahi who aren't being afforded basic human rights, like getting enough food. I hope New Zealand students will get behind the campaign this year so tamariki in Solomon Islands can follow their dreams just like we can here," he said. "By giving something up we learn to connect with others, and we learn to be grateful for all the privileges we have in life." Mr Watson's challenge this year will include going offline for 40 hours while he films 40 conversations about hope. "In Solomon Islands we saw how much the people valued connecting with each other face-to-face and back here I saw how we have lost some of that ... I will be asking 40 people to share their stories of hope. I want to show that everyone has a story to tell, and that's what makes us human. Just like Polyne has a story and hope." The World Vision 40-Hour Challenge runs from June 13-15, with sign-ups and donations via the website. — APL
Otago Daily Times
6 days ago
- Sport
- Otago Daily Times
Finding the right balance in mind, body and spirit
Otago Boys' High School student Gus Attenborough delivers an impassioned speech about racist micro-aggressions at the Ōtākou and Murihiku Ngā Manu Kōrero regional speech competition in the Dunedin Town Hall yesterday. PHOTO: GERARD O'BRIEN Strength, fitness and delivering big tackles are all secondary to having a balanced mindset, a young rugby player told a packed Dunedin Town Hall during a Maori speech competition. Mount Aspiring College student Ryan Tuki Enoka, 17, took part in the Pei Te Hurinui Jones senior Maori contest at the Ōtākou and Murihiku Ngā Manu Kōrero regional speech competition yesterday. He said he wanted take part in the competition to push the kaupapa (purpose) of his speech rather than to win. Ryan felt it was important to have Maori representation and influence in all areas of sport because it was beneficial for the athletes. His approach to playing rugby changed when he trialled for the New Zealand Maori under-18 team. ''Their main focus is on your wairua [spirit or soul] and how you are as a person more than focusing on you as an athlete. ''When I started [playing] it was all about how strong I am, how fit I am and how big my tackles are. ''But as I spent time in that space, I kind of learnt there's more to being a good athlete than just being the best on the physical side.'' He found that if his wairua was balanced and he was in a good space mentally, his performance was better on the field. ''I find my performances are more consistent when I'm looking after myself, not just physically but mentally too. ''I love it, I find more enjoyment in it and it makes me connect more with people I play sport with, which to me is now so important.'' Ryan always wanted to take part in the competition to honour his culture and whanau. He did not speak te reo Maori growing up in Wanaka - a ''pretty Pakeha'' town. He had spent the past two years becoming proficient in speaking the language and growing a deeper understanding of his culture. ''I'm loving [the journey],'' he said. ''It connects me with so many awesome people, whether it's through Māori sport or Māori competitions like this.'' About 40 speakers from 23 schools across Otago and Southland were taking part in the competition. Ngā Manu Kōrero organiser Cherie Ford said she had been organising the competition for about 20 years and the level of presentation and messages being conveyed improved every year. There were a record number of entries across the event, particularly in the te reo Maori section. She said seeing students such as Ryan on their te reo journey was inspiring to the adults present at the event as well. The competition will conclude today with the junior speeches.
Otago Daily Times
25-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Show aims to raise funds for musical playground
For its 31st year, Wānaka's Stars in Your Eyes show is fundraising to help build the town's first musical playground. The musical show, organised by Wānaka Musicians Incorporated, began three decades ago and took inspiration from the British television series, Stars in Their Eyes. Wānaka's version of the show is not a contest but has consisted of locals dressing up to imitate famous people and later reveal their real identity to the audience. Audition registrations recently opened in preparation for the musical show to be held towards the end of September. The show has been a community favourite and has helped fund youth music programmes across the region, such as the Jamie Robertson scholarship at Mount Aspiring College. This year organisers have decided to aim for something different by planning to create a designated outdoor space into town for people of all ages to enjoy musical instruments. Chairwoman Janet Dolan said they had always given money to local music education but this year they wanted to do something the whole community could enjoy. "We're talking about a full musical playground that adults, children, families, anybody can play," she said. "There'll be percussion instruments, there'll be bells, there'll be keyboard, and it's all outside." The group already had $30,000 put aside for the playground and was working with the council to get an estimate of costs and find the right location. Currently the show is gathering interest from the community and will be holding its auditions on the weekend of June 14. Ms Dolan said as the town's population grew, a more diverse range of people had been auditioning, something she felt gave the show strength. "We're aware that the audience represents the whole of Wānaka so we don't just want the pop music sort of thing, we want something that appeals to the whole audience," she said. The show has been open to a range of abilities and welcomed experienced and first-time performers. The show's team has also experienced a change with local musician and Festival of Colour performer Anna Shaw taking over as the director. The opening night for the musical show is set to be September 24 and will run until September 27 at the Lake Wānaka Centre.
Otago Daily Times
17-05-2025
- General
- Otago Daily Times
Speech inspired by life
A Wānaka student was one of six finalists for national race unity speech awards held in Auckland on May 3 and 4. Mount Aspiring College year 13 student Tanyn Wood received the Tohu Manaakitanga — the Manukau Institute of Technology Award for Manaakitanga. The award is for a speaker who demonstrates manaakitanga or hospitality through ngakau (compassion) and aroha (empathy) in overcoming prejudice. The race unity speech awards are held every year and offer senior secondary students a platform to express their perspectives on race relations in New Zealand. The overall champion was Joy Pillay, from Ormiston Senior College, in Auckland. This was Tanyn's second year being a finalist for the awards, which she said meant a lot to her as a first-generation immigrant. Tanyn moved to New Zealand when she was 10 from South Africa and was attending St Peter's College in Cambridge until this year when she applied for the Mount Aspiring College Hostel Programme. The programme welcomes select year 13 students from across the country to experience semi-independent living and take part in outdoor programmes. Her decision to apply was influenced by pictures she had seen of Wānaka's scenery and activities. Since moving south, Tanyn has immersed herself in new experiences and the speech awards were a part of that. "I just really enjoy keeping busy, trying new things and pushing myself," she said. Each year, students taking part in the speech awards are asked to suggest a theme and, this year, her theme, "The Great Ocean of Diversity", was chosen. The title of her speech was "Aotearoa: One Ocean, Born of Many Rivers — Diverse and United". "When we allow ourselves to be blinded by differences we corrupt our rivers and the ocean suffers," she said. Tanyn's speech uses oceans and rivers as a metaphor for Aotearoa's diversity, something that was inspired by her own migrant journey as well as her new experiences being surrounded by Wānaka's natural landscape. She added she was thrilled to have been one of the finalists and was both excited and nervous to be delivering the speech to her school in the coming weeks. Police Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers, the chief judge of the awards, stressed the importance of providing a platform for rangatahi to discuss and share their thoughts on important societal issues. "I am astonished by the quality of the speeches from our young people," she said. "As police, we are proud to be supporting a platform for our young people to voice their aspirations and solutions." The students also participated in a race unity hui, where they discussed race relations.
Otago Daily Times
09-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Otago Daily Times
Autumn Arts School still a class act
The Autumn Arts School polished off another busy year last week with over 100 from all over the country students taking part. The school runs for a week every year, inviting accomplished artists from around New Zealand to teach classes in drawing, printmaking, photography writing and more. Organiser Susan Manson said they always made sure the teachers were not locals to give participants a new and special experience they would otherwise not be able to get in Wānaka. As for the students, she said almost half travelled from Dunedin, Christchurch and even the North Island to take part. This year a total of nine classes were held at Mount Aspiring College from April 22 to 26, with a showcase on the last day.
