Hats off to Melenaite Taupaki, Year 11, for coming First Overall in the Active Achievement competition.
1st in:
Accounting
Lea-Fakatonga
Music
Mathematics
Religious Studies
2nd in:
English
Geography
Financial Capability
Accounting: There were a total of 22 competitors in this category. From the 5 test papers, Mele achieved the highest mark, giving her 1st place in the 15-21 age group in Accounting.
Lea-Fakatonga: In the Lea-Fakatonga category there was a speech topic. Mele's topic was "The Importance Of Knowing Your Roots" / "Mahuinga ke te ilo ho to tupu'anga." With the speech, they had to perform a traditional Tongan dance, a Tongan song of their choice and a Tongan spelling bee. There were 20 girls and 8 boys in this category. Mele performed the best and again put her in 1st place.
English: In the English category Mele was the only girl who competed against 9 other boys. There was a spelling bee, a quiz on camera angles and they had to write a personal response based on the formal apology to the dawn raids. Mele was placed 2nd in this category.
Music: The competitors had to name instruments, music notes and they had to perform a song. Mele sang 'Hallelujah' by Alexandra Burke. The judges really enjoyed her presentation and asked if she could perform an extra song. She was placed 1st in Music.
Mathematics: 17 students competed in this category and Mele took out 1st place. Being the first student to ever get 100% in the Mathematics category since the beginning of the Active Achievement program.
Geography: Mele came 2nd place in this category. "Geography is one of my weakest subjects but that isn't a excuse for me to not TRY." - Mele
Religious Studies: In this category they were given a bible verse and had to preach about it in English and their own language. Mele came 1st in Religious Studies.
Financial Capability: Mele was placed 2nd in Financial Capability.
“It is with great pleasure to announce that Melenaite Taupaki was placed 1st overall in this competition. Mele is a very humble, quiet student who was recognised easily not for her loudness but because of her success. We are very very proud of Mele for representing her family and school so well. We hope to see her in the future.” Martin Johnson, Active Achievement