Another year means another year of school events and celebrations to go through. After the graced farewell of our Year 13 members last year, the Writer’s Department has brought on three more new writers into the team. This year, we’ll be reaching our hand into much more different and further aspects of the student life here at Macleans College – bringing you more articles to enjoy.
The writers of our department were asked three questions.
- What extracurriculars are you involved in?
- What type of articles/events/niches do you cover?
- What is your quote of 2024?
Now, without further interruption, here are the writers of the Macleans College News Committee 2024!
Ally Chu – Year 12 Mansfield
This is my first year doing anything like MCNC so I’m super excited! I usually stay within sports but I’ve been trying to get involved with more cultural / service clubs like Amnesty, Interact, and Shave For a Cure (actually maybe not cultural). Since I’m getting old, I’m now only in the Premier Volleyball and 1st XI Cricket teams for the school although I used to play tennis, basketball, and football as well. Outside of school, I play even more volleyball with my two clubs and the Auckland team. I also volunteer for the Howick SPCA Op Shop when I have time and I’m on my way to completing Duke of Edinburgh Gold.
Sports! The News Committee is trying out a new section dedicated to the athletic side of Macleans’ community. I’ll be covering both the activity of the social and competitive sports teams as well as school wide or house vs. house events. However, these are a bit irregular so in between them, my niches will be on general health, the lives of our student athletes, and all the ins and outs of various sports.
Actually, I don’t have a quote for 2024 but rather a theory I want to live by. The purple shirt theory is the concept that if you were wearing a white shirt and someone told you your purple shirt looked ugly, you wouldn’t listen to them. After all, why would you? You’re not wearing a purple shirt in the first place. This can be applied similarly to everyday life when we’re feeling insecure due to hurtful words – a strategy that has honestly helped me so much. If we’re confident enough to know our own value and worth then no one can take that away!
Amelia Hu – Year 12 Mansfield
It is my absolute pleasure to be one of the writers featured in MCNC for 2024. With such a long history of extraordinary articles and various publications, I hope to continue the legacy by producing an extremely high calibre of work.
Much like my colleagues, I also have a plethora of extracurricular activities. Although I will not mention the majority of them, they will continue to shape the person I become.
I am most passionate about youth policy-making, public speaking, student opinion and healthcare. I am Macleans College’s school seat for Howick Youth Council, a member of our Student Council, co-lead of the debating teams, a devoted participant in the Ethics Olympiad, Model United Nations Assembly and a Collegian artist. I played volleyball for three consecutive years, ran Korean traditional dance and I engaged in orienteering and Peer Support.
With that said, I mainly cover feature pieces for events, student-run initiatives, research and literature. From my start reading Time magazine every month in the late 2010s to my current obsession with the New York Times, my love of reading quickly blossomed into a deepened respect for the English language.
“Sometimes, you need to step outside get some air and remind yourself who you are and where you want to be.”
2024 will be a year of fine balance between school and extracurricular activities. In the turbulence of academic rigour, it is easy to lose the ability to look back on what has happened. I hope that upon revisiting this quote, I will be reminded of the importance of self-reflection —taking a break from chaos to regain focus and direction.
Aaron Huang – Year 12 Rutherford
Within school, I’m involved in quite a few extracurriculars with my primary ones being news committee, collegian, investment club, martial arts club and UN Youth (keep an eye out for our events this year :D). In addition to these clubs, I have a couple of service roles for the school including being a peer support leader and international prefect. Outside of school, I have started a couple of passion projects, with MEARC, a civics event for college students being my pride and joy (shameless plus part 2 – be sure to check daily notices in May/June 😉 applications will be out then).
In regards to articles and events, I mostly cover whatever is happening at school during any given week, but I do sometimes write about the clubs I am involved in, such as the Investment Club whenever we host an event like a guest speaker session. The niche that I cover is productivity and student advice – arriving at Macleans as a year nine, I wanted to be a good student but to be honest, I was completely clueless about what the tools to success were. After countless hours of watching guys like Ali Abdaal and having my own ups and downs with school, I want to share the knowledge I’ve gained over the years with other students in the hopes that I can help somebody out there who is currently in the shoes of younger me.
“Lots of things in life don’t go as planned and life is like that. But if you don’t give up at that point, there will be an opportunity for sure” -Shuzo Matsuoka
With this academic year being characterised by expectations, pressure, and chaos, this is my quote for 2024. For me, it serves as a constant reminder that it is okay to fall down and to have my lows as what has already happened cannot be changed. But what is important is that I get up and keep pushing through with determination and discipline so that I can turn my wildest visions into reality.
Hope Zhang – Year 12 Rutherford
Okayyy, let’s jump right in. I’m an ex-figure skater but now I’m slowly working towards becoming a judge instead. I’m in both a school choir and an out-of-school choir because you can never have too much singing. Sadly, I can’t be part of the school production as a performer this year, but I look forward to involving myself in other ways because I love anything and everything to do with musicals. I’ve sold many a box of chocolates to raise money for cystic fibrosis and I’m also a student librarian (books are great). Just for fun, I do orienteering (I highly recommend this if you like running but find it boring by itself).
This year I’ll be covering all things related to the performing arts department. This includes choir, orchestra, band, and production content as well as school-wide events such as big/small house choir and talent quest to name a few. I might write a few columns about films/books/songs too… I’ll do my best to bring entertaining (and informative) articles to you all!
“Legacy, what is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see. I wrote some notes at the beginning of a song someone will sing for me.”
In light of this quote, let’s make the most of our time at Macleans this year and leave our own legacies no matter how big or small. Side note, if you know where this quote is from, we should be friends (:
Emma Li – Year 10 Kupe
Believe it or not, I am not only an MCNC writer, but I’m also a photographer, a backup graphics designer, and the personal assistant to our executive, Joseph Zhang. Originally, I was only supposed to create articles for everyone to read, but I propelled myself into departments because I thought it would be quite fun. I am quite happy to be delivering more articles for everyone this year, once again. Other than the News Committee, I am also an executive of The Collegian; another literature and publishing organisation. Aside from my more primary extracurriculars, I am also a member of the Board Game Club, playing Dungeons and Dragons weekly. I also take an interest in technology and video games, being an active member in the Macleans Esports scene.
I usually write whatever comes around that piques my interest. Most of the time, I cover events that are more centred around the junior students of the school, as I am one too. However, I am usually the one to cover more of the smaller events or clubs happening around the school; the lesser known ones. If anything, I also dig deep into the more niche history of Macleans – the ones that they don’t really teach you about your house in Year 9 social studies. I am also quite flexible to be approached if you wish to have any event of your choice to be covered, feel free to contact me!
“Don’t be afraid to make mistakes. It’s all part of the learning process.”
Although a cheesy and simple quote, I believe it’s necessary to remind each and everyone that they are only merely human. No one can ever take that away from them. We are all bound to make mistakes in the end. It is simply human nature. We cannot change the past, nor can we see the future, so simply focus on the now. Now is the present, attempting your very best at becoming the best person you can be. Mistakes are inevitable to the learning process. After all, the most effective way to learn is by doing.
9th Feburary, 2024
Written by all writers, edited by all writers
Photography by Joseph Zhang
