Rotary Young Achievers 2020

Rotary Young Achievers

We are very proud of Emma McGregor, Ashton Hansen and Penny  Nicholson who received the  Rotary Young Achiever Award this year.
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Emma McGregor
Emma McGregor is a talented student who displays a high degree of determination to achieve her goals and embraces all our college has to offer. 

​Emma is focused on her studies and in 2019 received first class placings in Foods and Textiles Technology, Maori, Science, Social Studies and Art.  She received a Diligence Award for her outstanding efforts and gained the honour of being named the Top Scholar for Year Seven.

Culturally, Emma competes with enthusiasm in our Annual Eisteddfod competition.  This year was no exception.  She gained first place in Prepared Speech, Impromptu Speech, Scripture and Poetry and second place in Duet Singing.  Not surprisingly, she became the Junior Eisteddfod Champion for 2020. In her spare time, Emma learns guitar and piano and is awaiting the results for her Level Four Contemporary Dance exam.  She gained honours in her speech exam and won best overall Bass Guitar player for Gore Out of School Music.  She certainly makes the most of any opportunities presented to her and last year was a thespian in the St Peter’s College school production of High School Musical.

What we most value in Emma is the way she gives back to the community. She has raised considerable amounts of money for the 40 Hour Famine for World Vision in recent years, is heavily involved in her local church youth group, sponsors a child from Kenya and this year volunteered for Farmy Army to help clear fences after the floods.  This is quite a list for someone so young.   Emma also gives back to our school community and for the past two years was nominated by her peers to represent their year group on the School Council.  Recently, St Peter’s College held a Cultural Day where students gained valuable insight into different cultures.  Emma took up the challenge of learning a Bollywood dance to Hindi music almost overnight. It is this type of commitment and commitment to our community that Emma epitomises in her daily school life here at St Peter’s College.

Emma is a very committed and outstanding young lady living out the school values here at St Peter’s College.  We are delighted to recognise Emma as a Rotary Young Achiever for 2020.
 
Ashton Hansen
Ashton is a young man with considerable sporting ability.  Natural talent combined with fierce determination has seen Ashton rise to the top. 

Squash is perhaps the sporting code where Ashton has excelled the most.  In both 2019 and 2020, Ashton was selected in the New Zealand Junior Development Squad.  He was placed fourth at the National Under 13 Age Group Championships, was the Southland Under 13 Champion and the Runner-Up at the South Island Championships.  This year he wanted to do one better.  In 2020 he was the South Island Under 13 Champion, Runner-Up at the North Island Championships and was selected in the New Zealand Trans-Tasman Team to play against Australia.  He enjoys challenging himself by playing against older players and was placed seventh at the Under 15 Age Group Championships.

Known for his fast bowling and hard hitting, Ashton also turns his hand to Cricket. In 2019 he was a member of the Southland Country Year 7 and 8 Cricket Team and is waiting for the team to be finalised this year.  In 2019 he was named the Year 7 and 8 Cricketer of the Year at St Peter’s College.
Cross Country is yet another code where Ashton competes with success.  In 2019 he was the Eastern Southland Cross Country Champion but due to Covid he was unable to compete to retain his title this year.  Athletics and Football have also been part of his repertoire with first and second placings at Eastern Athletics in Shotput, 800m and Discus and he was presented with the Golden Boot Award for Junior Wanderers this year with a creditable 17 goals.

Commitment is one of our school values at St Peter’s College and Ashton truly lives this to the fullest.  He works hard in the classroom, not surprisingly gaining a first class placing in Health and Physical Education in 2019.  He is a member of the St Peter’s College SMAC Maths team.
Community is another one of our values at St Peter’s and Ashton has exemplified this by clearing sandbags, helping out on local farms clearing fences after the floods, coaching younger squash players and umpiring at local tournaments.

Ashton is an outstanding Young Achiever, and we are delighted to recognise him as a Rotary Young Achiever for St Peter’s College.
 
Penny Nicholson
Penny is an outgoing and enthusiastic student who uses her many talents across a number of areas.  She is a cheerful and upbeat young lady and her zest for life is infectious. 

In her spare time, Penny can be found down at the local Citizens Tennis Club.  She is an accomplished tennis player and has received a number of accolades in this sporting code.  She was a member of the Southland Tennis Team in 2019 and 2020, won the Southland Primary Schools’ Tennis Tournament, qualifying for the South Island Tournament, and is a member of the Southern Team (Timaru South) which played at the Nationals in Christchurch.  This year, Penny gained the prestigious Southland Eye Excellence Award for being the most consistent junior player in Southland.  An excerpt from her award is worth sharing. “Penny shows great perseverance and her attitude on court is extremely fair and she remains calm under all match circumstances.  She is a fabulous role model with quiet determination and respect for those around her.”

Penny likes to keep active and plays a range of sports.  Last year she was a member of the Eastern Collier Trophy Hockey Team and represented our province in Touch Rugby.  She also plays Netball for St Peter’s College and last year was named the Most Valuable Player for the team. She even competes in triathlons and adventure races in her spare time and with this diversity it comes as no surprise that Penny gained first in Physical Education at last year’s prizegiving.

Culturally, Penny fully immerses herself in all there is on offer.  She was a nerd in the St Peter’s College production of High School Musical.  She learns hip hop dance and this year came fourth at the Hip Hop Unite regionals. 

Penny is happy to give back to the community.  She coaches tennis after school where the younger children are fortunate to benefit from her skill and experience and has been helping out with the ‘I love tennis’ promotion. She fundraises money to buy presents for ‘Happy to Help’ and visits West Gore to help with crafts as part of her Project Based Learning at St Peter’s College. 

Penny is an outstanding young lady living out our school values of commitment, community and compassion in her daily school life.  We are delighted to recognise Penny as a Rotary Young Achiever for
St Peter’s College.
 

 
 
 

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