=Long post alert=
When Oak finishes exams at New Plymouth Boys' High School in a few weeks, our boys will be NPBHS "old boys".
New Plymouth Girls' High is located about a block away on a slightly newer, less historic campus. The two schools are separated by a cemetery and an intimidating woman named Donna who patrols the grounds at Girls' High.
Interestingly, Boys' High has a slightly better reputation around town than Girls' High. Boys' High is viewed as having tighter discipline, a good administrative staff, and strong traditions. At Boys' High, teachers are addressed as "sir" and "ma'am", the uniform code is enforced, and there is complete silence during school assemblies. Ever since Mercy started at Girls' High, there has been sparring at our dinner table about the relative merits of Boys' and Girls' High.
Approximately one quarter of the students at both schools are boarders. Most of the boarders come from farming families that live too far away from town to come into school every day. Other boarders are Islanders or other international students.
Students are divided into four "houses" and there are traditional house competitions. For example, there are days set aside for a swimsport competition between houses, a cross-country race, a singing competition, and a haka competition.
Of course, Boys' and Girls' High are also keenly interested in each other and support each other in many ways, but really there's not as much crossover as I would have expected. From what I can tell, the only school programs that overlap are the after-school band program and adventure racing.
The student leadership of each school visit each other on a regular basis during their final year of school for a traditional set of lunchtime sports events (basketball one month, netball another month, etc.). According to my boys, however, the student leaders often don't know each other well enough to really mingle at these lunchtime events. There is also an annual "social" for each grade level involving one night of extremely loud music in the school gym.
A few girls (10 or so?) show up at the biggest Boys' High rugby games. How different from my high school boys' football and basketball games, which were massive social events involving the whole school, pep rallies, and featuring the athletes and cheerleaders! Both parents and kids in New Plymouth are very supportive of the single-gender schools. People feel that single-gender schools give the kids a chance to develop their personalities without feeling any pressure to posture.
In the end, it seems to me that boys and girls at Boys' and Girls' High get to know each other through their parents' social groups or through the extracurricular activities that their parents support. There's something quite appealing about this, and there are advantages to the limited scope of social availability.
Perhaps this connection between parents and students' social groups leads to the traditions surrounding the annual balls. Both Boys' and Girls' High sponsor an annual Ball for their senior students only.
The Balls involve a "pre-ball" events that are hosted at the home of one of the boys or girls for their immediate group of friends. "Pre-balls" last for a couple of hours and involve pictures and food. The Pre-balls conclude with all the kids get driven to the Ball by the parents, because none of the kids have full licenses at this age. How different from my high school dance experiences, when we had multiple dances per year, and when we escaped the parents basically as soon as possible! Parent interaction usually consisted of a 5-minute send-off when my date showed up at the door.
Photos with family and friends at the Pre Ball:
My boys have enjoyed getting to know their teachers in a collegial way during their final year at school.
I know that all schools have their larger-than-life personalities, but it seems especially true in a smaller school like NPBHS. The NPBHS staff remind me of Hogwarts professors. I could write an entire essay on several of them.
Students in New Zealand can reach different levels of qualifications during their high school years. Staying in high school through the senior year means that they can graduate with Level 3 NZEA credits, but many boys who are not headed to university decide to leave school with their Level 2 or Level 1 NZEA accreditation. Thus Oak's graduating class, which started out with approximately 200 students in Year 9, has shrunk considerably. This shrinkage would have been a shameful drop-out rate if it had occurred in my American high school. Not here.
Here is a photo of Oak's graduating class (Year 13):
The Head Boy of our Family
early days at NPBHS
The GPA moment
Noah's First Pre-Ball
Video of the NPBHS haka, filmed last month:
Oak is standing just to the left of the boy in the center.
When Oak finishes exams at New Plymouth Boys' High School in a few weeks, our boys will be NPBHS "old boys".
At NPBHS, Tiger Jackets are worn with pride, including by family members like this grandfather who was awarded his Tiger Jacket many years ago. He wore his jacket to the ceremony in which his grandson was awarded a Tiger Jacket.
New Plymouth Girls' High is located about a block away on a slightly newer, less historic campus. The two schools are separated by a cemetery and an intimidating woman named Donna who patrols the grounds at Girls' High.
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| Boys' High |
Interestingly, Boys' High has a slightly better reputation around town than Girls' High. Boys' High is viewed as having tighter discipline, a good administrative staff, and strong traditions. At Boys' High, teachers are addressed as "sir" and "ma'am", the uniform code is enforced, and there is complete silence during school assemblies. Ever since Mercy started at Girls' High, there has been sparring at our dinner table about the relative merits of Boys' and Girls' High.
 |
| Boys' High assembly |
Approximately one quarter of the students at both schools are boarders. Most of the boarders come from farming families that live too far away from town to come into school every day. Other boarders are Islanders or other international students.
Students are divided into four "houses" and there are traditional house competitions. For example, there are days set aside for a swimsport competition between houses, a cross-country race, a singing competition, and a haka competition.
 |
| The corner where Oak and friends hang out. Prefects wear the white shirts and black slacks. |
Of course, Boys' and Girls' High are also keenly interested in each other and support each other in many ways, but really there's not as much crossover as I would have expected. From what I can tell, the only school programs that overlap are the after-school band program and adventure racing.
 |
| There's more than one way to leave your mark on a school. |
The student leadership of each school visit each other on a regular basis during their final year of school for a traditional set of lunchtime sports events (basketball one month, netball another month, etc.). According to my boys, however, the student leaders often don't know each other well enough to really mingle at these lunchtime events. There is also an annual "social" for each grade level involving one night of extremely loud music in the school gym.
 |
| School photo in the rugby stands - once every 5 years |
A few girls (10 or so?) show up at the biggest Boys' High rugby games. How different from my high school boys' football and basketball games, which were massive social events involving the whole school, pep rallies, and featuring the athletes and cheerleaders! Both parents and kids in New Plymouth are very supportive of the single-gender schools. People feel that single-gender schools give the kids a chance to develop their personalities without feeling any pressure to posture.
In the end, it seems to me that boys and girls at Boys' and Girls' High get to know each other through their parents' social groups or through the extracurricular activities that their parents support. There's something quite appealing about this, and there are advantages to the limited scope of social availability.
Perhaps this connection between parents and students' social groups leads to the traditions surrounding the annual balls. Both Boys' and Girls' High sponsor an annual Ball for their senior students only.
The Balls involve a "pre-ball" events that are hosted at the home of one of the boys or girls for their immediate group of friends. "Pre-balls" last for a couple of hours and involve pictures and food. The Pre-balls conclude with all the kids get driven to the Ball by the parents, because none of the kids have full licenses at this age. How different from my high school dance experiences, when we had multiple dances per year, and when we escaped the parents basically as soon as possible! Parent interaction usually consisted of a 5-minute send-off when my date showed up at the door.
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| Pre-Ball at Boon's house |
Photos with family and friends at the Pre Ball:
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| Pre-ball at Elliot's house. Jason takes a shot with his little brother, Simon. |
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| The staunch look - borrowed from rugby photos |
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Oak's date, Poppy, was chosen as the Ball Queen! Go, Poppy!
When Mike and I told Oak and Mercy about how our Prom Queens were chosen at our American schools, they said, "How sad!" Poppy was chosen on the night of the ball by a committee of two fashion-minded female teachers.
During the evening, Oak and Poppy and the other student leadership pairs performed 3 choreographed ballroom dances that they had rehearsed in the preceding weeks.
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| NPBHS leadership team |
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| Mr Moore |
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| Mr Prasad visits Danny and friends at our house. |
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| Mr Prasad awarded Oak his leadership Tiger Jacket. |
Oak has 15-20 kids in each of his classes, so the teachers really do have a chance to get to know each of the boys.
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| Jason, Mr Hewlett, Oak |
Students in New Zealand can reach different levels of qualifications during their high school years. Staying in high school through the senior year means that they can graduate with Level 3 NZEA credits, but many boys who are not headed to university decide to leave school with their Level 2 or Level 1 NZEA accreditation. Thus Oak's graduating class, which started out with approximately 200 students in Year 9, has shrunk considerably. This shrinkage would have been a shameful drop-out rate if it had occurred in my American high school. Not here.
Here is a photo of Oak's graduating class (Year 13):
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| NPBHS Leavers Photo |
Despite "senioritis" and students feeling ready to move on, my high school years ended in a crescendo of nostalgia, self-congratulations, and sociality. We had all-school assemblies with emotional videos and photos and songs; we signed yearbooks; we sat for senior pictures and sent out graduation announcements; we had earnest graduation speakers, etc. In contrast, NPBHS seems to peter out.
There is a Tiger Jacket dinner for the group of boys who have earned Tiger jackets and their parents, but the evening is focused on "honoring the best of the best" (dux, sportsman of the year, team of the year, performer of the year) and not focused on honoring the class as a whole. There is another ceremony called "prize giving" which sounds as if it could be celebratory, but it's quite a dry affair and held weeks before the end of exams. Many boys don't attend either event.
As of this writing, Oak has four more regular school days, followed by a four-week exam period. Since the boys take exams at various times, depending on which classes they took, there is no final day for all students. There is no graduation ceremony, no big send-off into the world. It all seems very unemotional and understated to me.
After Noah sat his last exam, I took Cory and him out to lunch and told them both stories about Noah's school years as a form of closure for myself. It was a little emotional.... for me, anyway.
After five years, and lots of afternoons greeting cheerful boys coming home from school, I feel loyal and grateful to New Plymouth Boys' High School.
Prior posts about NPBHS: |
| Pridham Hall. The photos are in order of year. The oldest photos I could find were from 1900, although the school was founded in 1882. The photos are arranged by year, with the photo of the head boy placed above the photo of the cricket team, which is above the photo of the rugby team. |
There is a Tiger Jacket dinner for the group of boys who have earned Tiger jackets and their parents, but the evening is focused on "honoring the best of the best" (dux, sportsman of the year, team of the year, performer of the year) and not focused on honoring the class as a whole. There is another ceremony called "prize giving" which sounds as if it could be celebratory, but it's quite a dry affair and held weeks before the end of exams. Many boys don't attend either event.
As of this writing, Oak has four more regular school days, followed by a four-week exam period. Since the boys take exams at various times, depending on which classes they took, there is no final day for all students. There is no graduation ceremony, no big send-off into the world. It all seems very unemotional and understated to me.
After Noah sat his last exam, I took Cory and him out to lunch and told them both stories about Noah's school years as a form of closure for myself. It was a little emotional.... for me, anyway.
After five years, and lots of afternoons greeting cheerful boys coming home from school, I feel loyal and grateful to New Plymouth Boys' High School.
The Head Boy of our Family
early days at NPBHS
The GPA moment
Noah's First Pre-Ball
Video of the NPBHS haka, filmed last month:
Books:
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| audiobook from our camping trip along the East Cape |
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