CONGRATULATIONS TO ACHIEVERS IN THE ARTS

MUSICAL NOTES

The term has been a very busy and successful one for musicians at King’s.  A number of groups performed in Auckland festivals.  The National Chamber competition was held in July.  Edward King from Major House came first in a group called Czechpoint comprising students from other schools.  This achievement from a boy in Year 11 is staggering considering the competition from over 500 groups all over the country, with just eight reaching the final.  Commiserations but congratulations too go to Leo Shin and Shyam Sankaran who also made it through to the last eight finalists.

For the KBB Festival we had some interesting results.  The less experienced Concert Band was nominated one of the seven best in Auckland, winning a silver award and beating nearest rivals, Manurewa High School.  The Orchestra and Chamber Orchestra won bronze awards this year.

The Concert Band flew to Napier for the national Concert Band Festival and consolidated their success in Auckland, with a Silver award at National level.  It should be remembered that established bands enter this festival, not just school-based ones, and this makes the award more prestigious.  Congratulations also go to Michael Wilmott who won a gold Award in the Solo section.

Our congratulations also go to the winners of Royal School of Music Distinctions Awards: Sam Kember in Grade 4; Hamish Beckett in Grade 5; Chris Bryan in Grade 5; Edward Swift in Grade 6 and Josh Clark in Grade 8.

ISAY JUNIOR DEBATING CHAMPIONSHIPS

On the evening of Monday 29 August, the KC Diamond debating team became Auckland Junior Grade champions when they defeated a Diocesan School team in the final. Debating the affirmative side of the moot, ‘That New Zealand should keep its nuclear-free status’, the team of Ben Paterson, Benjamin Jackson and Ben Kornfeld, with Jeremy Chan as 4^th man, won an unanimous decision from the three judges.

This victory was the culmination of six months and eight rounds of debating, during which the team progressed through grading rounds and an elimination series of prepared and limited preparation debates. Strong, confident speaking manners, thorough preparation and intuitive rebuttal skills meant that the team was only troubled once in this process, coalescing into a formidable unit with huge potential.

Mr John Jackson
Coach