“To know nothing of what happened before you were born, is to forever remain a child.” - Cicero  

In the lead up to our centenary year, the youngest members of our school have been delving into the stories that make up our school and surrounding area. Both year levels have been developing 21st-century learning skills, such as collaboration, communication, creativity and critical thinking, to build an appreciation of what and who has gone before. A level of self-directed learning was also at play. 

The main focus was to foster interest and pride in not only John McGlashan College and Maori Hill, but also their own backyards. It was impressive how much knowledge and enthusiasm came from the boys.  

In Year 7 it was a specific focus on our school itself and in Year 8 we looked into the wider Maori Hill community, and then our own neighbourhoods. A variety of learning activities, such as a school information treasure hunt, a visit from some old boys, visits to Toitu, Olveston, walking tours, guest speakers and communication with archivists helped to engage the students. The end products, of their making, are documentaries and online maps of our area, highlighting places and people of historical and personal interest. Keep a look out for links to these in future editions.

Without the expertise and stories from the following people the learning would have been far less interesting: Neal Wallace, James Smith, Rick Meder, Simon Cameron, Alistair Wright, Callum Hayde, and Chris Scott from the DCC Archives. Thank you for taking the time to share your knowledge with us. Special thanks go to Rev. Barry Kelk, for his time and allowing access to numerous great images and Jane Smallfield who supplied us a class set of her book “Above the Belt”.