MARLOW HOUSE REPORT 2011

This year Marlow House had some impressive victories in the major inter-house events. We started off strong with a huge effort from the boys seeing us to victory in the first major event of the year, the Inter-House Swimming Sports Competition. Success in the finals in this competition saw us pull ahead of Rice who had foolishly assumed they were victorious and saw us snatching victory out from under their noses. This victory gave Marlow and early boost and lead in the competition which we somehow lost along the way due to us finding ourselves unable to eat ice blocks at a particularly fast rate and being rather less skilled than the other houses at imbibing large amounts of liquid quickly.

Nevertheless, we Marlowites did not give up. Athletics may have been something we don't want to talk of and Bruce challenges may not have favoured us but we weren't done. St Thomas' day arrived and once again Marlow rose to the top. The sheer strength of Marlow saw us intimidating the other houses into submission in the Haka competition and emerging on top and proving our dominance in this respect. Crushing the other houses through our awesome haka wasn't enough for us, we wanted to beat them academically as well, and so we did. The chess competition came around and brilliant strategies and cunning by Marlow saw us crushing rice in less than five minutes and moving on into the finals to kick McClintock out of the competition.

We may not have won the competition this year but as a house we still proved our superiority over the others with our fish-like prowess in the water, our intimidating stature in the Haka and our cunning intellect in the chess and overall showed why Marlow is really the best house of all.

By William Judd

 

MARLOW DEAN'S REPORT 2011

This time last year I was writing the Marlow report from Hong Kong.  Now a year on, I'm back and have missed a year of fun and festivities.  However I knew I had left the house in the capable hands of Mr Brocklehurst and then Mr Auimatagi.  A huge thank you to both of them for doing a brilliant job. 

2012 started with a hiss and a roar and once again Marlow dominated the swimming sports.  This may have something to do with a few national representatives, so thank you to those students who swim every day and night to keep Marlow strong!!  I hear that Rice were actually in the lead at the end of the day and it wasn't until all points were added up (including finals and relays), that Mr Barclay realized that he hadn't actually won his first ever house competition.  Sorry Mr Barclay but you'll probably have to wait until 2016 when Jordan Rahurahu has left! 

After a few weeks off school, the return to normality was important and this meant a day of athletic sports.  Apparently the house was confident of a placing, but we'll blame it on a few absences as we weren't as strong as the swimming.  Our relay teams participated well and our supportive house never faltered. 

St Thomas' day is always highly anticipated and this year did not disappoint.  Leadership from William Judd in the singing, and Daniel Kahura, Tana Luke, Mika Saniuela-McIntyre and James Kerr secured the strength of the haka.  It came down to a challenge at the end which we won.  I didn't even need to be there to imagine the passion, fire and mana these young men would have possessed.  They always do Marlow proud during a haka! 

You may wonder why after such a successful year why we are not leading....I ask the same thing. However it can only be the Bruce Challenge awards.  Participation adds up and we just weren't quite there.  But we'll be back!  Watch the space! 

In the classroom we have many students who apply themselves fully week in and week out.  This is seen through the progress reports.  In term 3 the student highlights were James De Bono, Daniel Kahura, Josh Smith and Logan Rae. 

All the best to our Year 13 leavers, you have had a tough year, but have found the strength to have fun and make the most of school.  To our International students, we hope the experience has been enriching and I'm sure the uniqueness of STC will forever be entrenched in your hearts and minds. 

Enjoy summer and be safeJ Claire Burrough