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NEXT ISSUE May 2022
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In this edition we celebrate an array of inspirational achievements, including our amazing Old Girl Olympians. We also give special thanks to our incredible St Cuthbert’s community for their continued support and generosity.
P04 — From the Desk of Justine Mahon
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P34 — Cornwall Park Sustainability
P42 — Performing Arts
Tenā koutou katoa, welcome to our November edition of Evergreen Ties. As we reach the end of another academic year, I feel so extremely proud to be Principal of St Cuthbert’s, a College with such a strong sense of community, in the true spirit of ‘By Love Serve’.
Our girls are now well into their second year of experiencing the disappointment of cancelled events and special occasions due to COVID-19. The most important thing we can do as educators and parents is reassure them that this time shall pass, focus on the good things we all have, and know that these young people will go on to live happy and fulfilled lives. While together in person, and further apart over screens, we have prioritized wellbeing and striven to provide our students with opportunities to learn, grow and share joy.
In this Christmas edition, we share some of these memories, including those we enjoyed in person, such as our St Cuthbert’s musical ‘The Sound of Music’, the many other dramatic, dance and musical performances, our first ‘Giving Day’, and, the times when we were fortunate to be on the side-lines supporting our talented sportswomen. We also celebrate the moments we experienced during our fantastic online learning programme, StCuth’s@home.
The celebrations don’t stop as the girls leave our gates. In this edition, we are profiling some of our amazing Old Girls who contributed to the stellar achievements of New Zealand sportswomen in 2021.
We were fortunate to have one of our Tokyo Olympians, Theresa Fitzpatrick (peer year 2012), who was a part of the Gold medal winning Black Ferns Sevens team, as guest speaker at this year’s Sports Colours celebration. You can read more about Theresa and her equally inspiring sister and Old Girl, Silver Fern, Sulu Fitzpatrick (2010) on page 14.
Gratitude has been a key theme for us as
a College during 2021, and, in keeping with this, I have some key members of our community I’d like to thank.
Earlier this year, we farewelled Elisabeth Bell as Chair of Parents & Friends (P&F). Elisabeth’s energetic and inclusive approach was instrumental in ensuring the P&F gained more members for its fabulous group of volunteers during her tenure. We now extend a heartfelt welcome to new Chair Phil McDonald, who is excited about continuing this legacy.
This is the last Evergreen Ties for Old Girls’ Association President, Georgina GilbertRobertson. It has been such a privilege working with the warm and gracious Georgina, who has been instrumental in providing ways for our Old Girls to share, connect, and be inspired despite the exigencies of COVID-19. Current committee member Kirsten McKenzie, will become President from the end of March, 2022. Our readers will be able to get to know Kirsten more in the next edition of Evergreen Ties.
In a few weeks, we farewell a particularly special group of young women, the Year 13 class of 2021. Even though the final years of their schooling have been marred by COVID-19 interruptions, these students have demonstrated remarkable fortitude
and maturity in the face of such adversity.
In particular, I’d like to commend our Year 13 Student Leadership teams lead by Head Girl, Carmel Ah Chong, Head Boarder, Charlotte Berry, and Deputy Head Girls, Katya De Silva, Helena Haldane, and Florida Mataio. So often, the students we are striving to inspire, end up inspiring us. Never has this been more marked than in 2021. They have become amazing role models and leaders, and the support provided to their peers, and one another this year, was incredible to witness.
A special thank you, to all our Year 13 students for the mentoring they provided their ‘little sisters’ across the College, during StCuth’s@home online learning. I am eagerly anticipating watching where life’s path takes them next.
Finally, I would like to thank our wonderful devoted staff and Hayley Buckley and the members of Trust Board, for all they have done to support the College during such a challenging year.
On behalf of our Senior leadership team, I wish you all a blessed Christmas and a safe and peaceful end to 2021, and I look forward to seeing you in 2022.
Ngā manaakitanga (with best wishes).
Ms Justine Mahon — Principal
In the spirit of ‘By Love Serve’ we have been practicing Gratitude throughout the school.
‘By Love Serve’ is at the centre of St Cuthbert’s values and is a vibrant and meaningful part of everyday school life. These three words guide the way we think, act and care for one another.
Expressing thanks, especially during times of challenge and change, brings us greater happiness. Gratitude not only helps us appreciate what we have received, it also helps us celebrate the amazing feeling we get by giving.
This edition of Evergreen Ties was created during the Term 3 and 4 COVID-19 lockdown, and we are so thankful to our students, staff, parents, and Old Girls who contributed to these stories and made the magazine possible.
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“Love what you do, and success will follow”
We were delighted to have Old Girl and current St Cuthbert’s parent, Caroline Rainsford, as Guest of Honour at our 2020 Scholars’ Assembly. Caroline is the Country Director for Google New Zealand and Australia and has a particular passion for supporting the digital skills gap as well as women in technology. Here is Caroline’s amazing speech.
“If you are sitting next to the girl that has already decided she wants to be a surgeon or a chemical engineer and you have no idea what you want to do, do not worry at all – you are already on the right track.”
“Imagine”
by Caroline Rainsford
Imagine driving to school tomorrow morning in an autonomous car with no one driving and being able to read your favourite book or even have a nap. Or Imagine placing a pizza order tonight for dinner and it turns up to your house in a drone.
Imagine having an assistant robot that can make your next appointment for you or call your parents for you to let them know you are going to be late home.
Imagine looking through a sort of magic window and seeing your good friend on the other side of the world in real time, life size, extremely detailed and in three dimensions.
Imagine arriving at work in the morning and seeing what New Zealanders are searching for everyday online and knowing that you are helping people search everything from the very practical, such as how to get your driver’s licence to life’s most important mysteries like “what is really going on with Lorde’s latest album release cover?”
Imagine working with some of the most creative New Zealanders helping them grow their YouTube channels both here in New Zealand and overseas to millions of viewers.
Imagine helping small New Zealand businesses transform their businesses online when they were weeks away from shutting down during the early stages of COVID-19.
Imagine walking into work and finding drawers of chocolate and snacks and all the food you can eat is free for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
I don’t have to imagine because this is the world I get to see, eat and experience every day at Google.
And whilst some of this may seem far away, it isn’t. Every day I am more excited by what is possible in the future.
So, coming back to St Cuthbert’s, celebrating the amazing achievements of our scholars today and seeing you all today fills me with hope and optimism for the future that you will all have.
But I want you to know that when I sat in your seat 20 years ago, I didn’t have all the answers, I had no idea what I wanted to do after I finished school. I certainly didn’t know that I would work at Google. I was very shy at school, my long giraffe-like limbs meant I was uncoordinated and as my report cards told me I was “perfectly average”. I think I only excelled at Latin and running the school tuck shop. So, if you are sitting next to the girl that has already decided she wants to be a surgeon or a chemical engineer and you have no idea what you want to do, do not worry at allyou are already on the right track, more than you will ever know. And here is why:
St Cuthbert’s teaches you some important things that you only come to appreciate after you reflect back on where you came from and what shaped you.
St Cuthbert’s gives you the opportunity to explore your passions and teaches you to follow them. I’ve always used passion as my barometer for making decisions in my life and as a result I feel like I have never really worked a day in my life. I am so passionate
about the role that technology and digital can play in the future of New Zealanders and transforming New Zealand businesses, and I feel a responsibility to make sure both companies like Google and the Government invest in the skills and capabilities we need to have a world-class digital economy.
I have made bold decisions in my career, and I have had incredible fun celebrating success, making some huge mistakes and learning more about myself every time. Love what you do, and success will follow.
You all know the value of hard work and achievement. I never sugar coat how hard I have worked to achieve the things I am most proud of. I got an opportunity to have a part-time retail job after school and on the weekends when I was 15. I learnt the importance of understanding the customer, I learnt the politics of a workplace and how the team is more important than anything. And in the earlier years in my career, I worked hard to add value whenever I could and I made sure I never stopped learning. So, I encourage you all to be constantly curious. You will hopefully leave this school with the confidence to be courageous and embrace those moments in life when you feel scared or like you aren’t quite good enough. Be courageous and say “yes” to every opportunity that scares you. I have also had self-doubt over the years in my career, fear of failure and the seemingly always there “imposter syndrome.”
But, in more recent years, I was lucky to realise that it’s in those moments when you get out of your comfort zone that “magic happens” so now I embrace feeling like that. You learn, you grow exponentially as an individual but most importantly, as a leader.
In my late 20s I got the opportunity to take up a role as regional marketing director in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa. I worked across 35 countries and was travelling every week to places I had never heard of, presenting in front of customers in markets like Iran and Saudi where they didn’t speak English and 9/10 times I was the only female in the room! It was one of the most daunting yet rewarding periods in my career.
And lastly, St Cuthbert’s teaches you how to be an incredible friend. You are making lasting friendships with the girls around you and I promise you that when you have tough times in your life, it will be the St Cuthbert’s girls that are there to hold your hand through it. And it will be the St Cuthbert’s girls that are there to celebrate with you when you make magic – an unbelievable network of fellow students, teachers and Old Girls.
It was clear when we sat down with Head of Faculty for PE and Health, Amelia McKibbin, that she’s found her passion in life.
“My Dad is a teacher so teaching is in my blood, but growing up, I had a fantastic PE teacher at school who inspired me to love the subject. I really enjoyed going on school camps when I was younger, and when I look at the incredible opportunities on offer at St Cuthbert’s, I wish I had been able to go on a programme like Kahunui, which is life changing for our students.
“Underpinning our programme is Hauora, the Māori concept of wellbeing. There are four dimensions; physical, social, spiritual, and mental/emotional. Traditional PE catered to the physical, but at St Cuthbert’s our PE and Health programme is holistic, focussing on developing every dimension of our girls.
“For me, and my team, while PE encourages our students to be active throughout their lives, it is also fundamentally about teaching them to have confidence in themselves, how to relate to one another, work as a team, and to strive for their personal best, no matter their ability. I just love watching our PE students grow as individuals too and some eventually become school leaders.”
Current Head Girl Carmel Ah Chong has taken PE as a subject right the way through Senior School and says, “I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time as a PE student, even more so at a College where we’re fortunate to have state-of-the-art facilities, supportive teachers, and incredible experiences, such as our trip to Rotorua, and our AUT Millennium visit.
“For me, PE extends beyond its stereotype of ‘a subject only for sportspeople’. During both our practical and classroom sessions, we are able to hone our leadership and communication skills, learn how to work with a range of people, and gain a deeper understanding of the value of our health. In my opinion, the development of these aspects is beneficial for everyone, regardless of whether you play sport or not.
“Ultimately though, the one thing that I think separates PE from other subjects, is the life-long friendships that you make. Most of the Year 13 PE students have taken the subject since Level 1 and after surviving a few lockdowns and mountain biking trips in the hail, we are closer than ever as we embark on our last year in this fantastic subject,” says Carmel.
Amelia adds, “While we do have future Olympians and elite sportswomen come through our PE and Health Faculty, we also have future mathematicians, science majors, and students who have a wide range of interests and possible career choices. PE and Health as a subject helps prepare students for life beyond the school gates, through developing their resilience and selfesteem, and also gives them the tools to support their mental wellbeing.
“We really encourage our students to set personal goals for themselves. We have such a varied group of students in class at any one time, with different strengths and abilities across the various modules. No matter their individual ability in a particular area of PE, we want every student to step up and share their strengths and skills, and if they don’t have the skills, to put their hand up for help. We support our students to discover skills they didn’t realise they had, and if they struggle with an aspect of PE, that, in turn, teaches them resilience and to reach out for support. These are important life skills.
“I had a parent say to me recently that watching her daughter develop confidence in her body and skills through our PE and Health programme has been life changing, as it’s helping her to break out of her comfort zone to try new things, and to set some higher goals for herself in other academic areas.
“The Year 9 Aquathon is a classic example of personal goal setting; no matter what their skill level in swimming and running at the outset of the training,
“PE now is just so different from what many of us remember when we went to school. The subject has moved from simply teaching physical skills, to learning about health and wellbeing, and both interpersonal and leadership skills through physical education.”
students are able to develop a training schedule that suits them, set personal goals, and, over a number of months, feel stronger and more confident in their abilities. The programme also teaches them about the value of hard work; and how you get back what you put into something. There is something in it for our competitive students too, as the top student in the Aquathon gets it named after her, until her record gets broken. Current Year 10 student Sophie Robb remains unbeaten, and still holds the record for the fastest time!
“The thing I stress to our students is that you don’t have to be the very best to benefit from PE and Health as a subject, although for our elite athletes, really understanding how their bodies work, biophysical concepts, and how to train properly, helps to support their future sporting goals. We also cover topics such as biomechanics, exercise physiology and sport psychology, helping those who are interested in PE and health as a career, prepare for further study.
“Our programme, from the Junior School right through to Year 13, is carefully and
strategically thought through and relevant to each developmental stage. In the Junior School, we aim to build strong foundations, and to give students tasters of different activities, and we focus on teaching them to begin to manage self and to take personal responsibility. From Year 7 onwards, we balance the physical side of PE with the science of health, including relationships, mental health and sexuality education, relevant to their developmental stage.
“It’s not about what you are actually doing in PE, it’s about how you are doing it. In our faculty, we all really want our students to enjoy being active their whole lives; exercise isn’t a chore, walking every day or playing in a team sport at university, should be part of a well-balanced life.
Amelia is quick to point to her team as being integral to the wonderful PE and Health offering at the College. “I feel so lucky to come to work every day and be around such an amazing bunch of people. We are all so diverse, coming from very different backgrounds and expertise. We’ve a real combination of extensive experience, young and fresh ideas, and real-world sporting talent.”
Our 2021 joint Sherilyn White Scholarship winners, Chloe and Bella Browne say that PE has been one of their favourite subjects which is one of the reasons they have carried it through to Year 13. “What I love about PE is that it’s not just about sport”, says Bella. “It’s a really well-rounded subject which covers everything from physical activity, to understanding the human body from a mental and physical and academic perspective”.
Chloe adds, “St Cuthbert’s is very well set up to offer an exceptional PE curriculum with excellent teaching and classroom facilities including a world class hockey turf, aquatic centre, gymnasium, sports courts and a wellness centre. I think that we are very lucky in the PE department; it’s so well resourced which makes taking PE as a subject even more enriching. It’s definitely my favourite subject!”
Year 13 identical twins Bella and Chloe Browne started their St Cuthbert’s journey in Year 9, and during their time at the College have been inspirational role models for other girls. Their joint win of the prestigious Sherilyn White Memorial Scholarship for 2021, announced in a virtual assembly during the Term 3 lockdown, was welcomed enthusiastically by both staff and students.
“There have been only a few times that the Sherilyn White Memorial Scholarship has been shared, but both Bella and Chloe were equally deserving of the award in their own right”, says Head of Faculty, PE and Sport, Amelia McKibbin. “They are fantastic young women who epitomise our motto ‘By Love Serve’ and have made a significant contribution to College life during their time at St Cuthbert’s.”
“The twins are passionate, driven sportswomen, and they are humble when listing their many successes and contributions to the College. Both Bella and Chloe are heavily involved in many elements of life at St Cuthbert’s, including their roles as school prefects
and members of the games committee.
In addition to their considerable sporting achievements, music plays a significant role in their lives. Both play saxophone in the jazz band, and are also members of the Tibetan Cultural Group!
“They give 100 percent to everything they do, and manage their workload with maturity. They are also really encouraging towards our younger students supporting them to give things a go,” she says.
Bella and Chloe have excelled at sport during their time at St Cuthbert’s. Bella is the current U20 1500-meter National Champion while Chloe is the current U18 and U20 3000-meter National Champion. Chloe and Bella were also part of the
bronze medal winning schoolgirls team at ISF world Cross Country championships in France, in 2018.
However, while they have represented the College and the country across a number of different sporting codes, for both girls their first love is hockey. They currently play in the St Cuthbert’s First XI, and this year have been selected for the New Zealand Under 18 Hockey Team.
Chloe says “I knew the College had a brilliant hockey reputation and making the First XI is what inspired me to continue to pursue the sport. It is something that as a younger student, a lot of the girls look up to, so I think it’s a real honour to be able to play in that team. I really enjoy it”
“The College provides a really good balance, both academically and on the sporting front, allowing girls to excel.” Bella Browne
“The teachers are always there for you and encourage you to give everything a go. Your teachers are like your early supporters.” —Chloe Browne
Bella adds “We are involved in heaps of other sports, but it is hockey that we love the most, and being in the First XI is a real privilege. Making the Under 18 Hockey Team is a huge achievement, with Bella noting that “it was really exciting that we got named a couple of weeks ago. We made it!”
Scheduled to go to the World Championships this year, and last year, both the Australian National Cross Country and the Australian Oceania Track Nationals, which were all halted due to the COVID-19 outbreak, the twins have noted that “I think our achievements and making the team itself is still pretty exciting. Even though we didn’t get to go on a lot of trips, I still find that it’s a pretty cool feeling just knowing we made it.”
Chloe and Bella have big plans for their future. The Olympics has been front of mind recently, with the chance to represent New Zealand on the biggest world stage, the ultimate sporting goal for them. Being in their final year at St Cuthbert’s, both are now looking towards tertiary studies, and are truly humbled to receive the Sherilyn White Memorial Scholarship.
They feel so grateful to have been awarded the $6,000 scholarship which can go towards expenses such as equipment, coaching, conditioning, entry fees, plus travel and accommodation costs.
“Our parents have definitely been our biggest supporters, probably more valuable than any professional advice we have received. Just the support that they give us both financially, and at home, has allowed us to pursue our passions both in academic study and sports.
“We’d also like to acknowledge our teachers and Dean of Iona, Gail Morrison, for the support we have had during our time at St Cuthbert’s. We feel so incredibly lucky to have had such wonderful PE teachers, and Sports’ staff, who have helped us achieve so many of our goals.”
Chloe and Bella have recently accepted a 2022 scholarship offer from the number one public university in the United States of America, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Congratulations girls, we are extremely proud of you.
The Sherilyn White Memorial Scholarship was established to commemorate the life of a muchloved past student.
Sherilyn Jean White attended St Cuthbert’s from the age of six, in 1975 until 1987. During her time at St Cuthbert’s, Sherilyn won a range of awards and accolades including Auckland’s Secondary School 1987, Female Triathlete of the year, and she was regarded as one of New Zealand’s most promising young athletes. However, on February 8, 1988, Sherilyn fatally collapsed during a Half Ironman event.
After her tragic death, her close school and sporting friend Diana Foote (nee Irvine), decided that Sherilyn’s past school efforts and achievements should always be remembered. Consequently, with the support of Sherilyn’s family and friends, a Trust was established to ensure that Sherilyn’s name and contribution to the school lived on. The College’s Principal at the time, Joan Holland, stated: “There are other criteria for measuring a life as well as its duration – quality and intensity. As [Sherilyn] lives on in us, she transmits permanently something of what she was”.
Old Girls and sisters Theresa Fitzpatrick (peer year 2012) and Sulu Fitzpatrick (2010), both represent New Zealand on the international sporting stage.
Theresa recently won gold as a part of the Black Ferns Rugby Sevens team at the Tokyo Olympics, and Sulu is a Silver Fern and team vice captain, a superstar defender on the netball court!
Theresa and Sulu both represent our country with so much pride, heart and determination. They truly embody ‘By Love Serve’ and are inspiring role models for all our students. We felt very lucky to have had time with the sporting sisters.
Q. Theresa and Sulu, thanks so much for speaking to us. First up, Theresa, your gold medal win at the Olympics was so inspiring, what do you think makes a great team?
Theresa: Having good connections with your team is something very important as it creates a foundation of trust and respect
off the field that will then transfer onto the field. A strong team culture is something that is of utmost importance to us. It was so special to be able to win the gold medal with all my teammates. It has been an intense five-year Olympic campaign filled with ups and downs, so to be able to bring home a gold medal for our family and friends, and for all who have supported us...we are so happy that we could do it for them.
Q. Sulu, What about you?
Sulu: We work hard to create an environment where everyone feels they are safe to be themselves and their differences are accepted. A family environment where everyone feels they can be honest, good or bad, is key to a happy and successful team culture.
“Team sport has taught me many values that I can apply to my everyday life. ”
Q. How amazing does it feel to represent your country with the Silver Fern on your chest?
Sulu: It’s surreal and you feel it’s not just about you, it’s for all the sacrifices and support from family and close friends. I feel grateful to the village which have got me here, my family, my children and my fiancé. Being a Samoan woman who gets to play the game, I love as a job is a blessing.
Theresa: It is truly a blessing and something I will never take for granted every time I put on the black jersey. We are told that we are only caretakers of the jersey and therefore should strive to always leave it in a better place than we found it. Representing my country and my family is an amazing feeling that will never fade away.
Q. How do you both support and encourage each other with your chosen sports?
Sulu: Love and prayer. We know how hard it is for one another mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually.
Theresa: My sister has always inspired and pushed me to be the best athlete and the best woman I can be. We were always very competitive growing up and I think it helped to install a hard work ethic mindset from a very young age. Sulu is also an amazing leader and has the ability to motivate a team with her words AND her actions – this is something else I admire about my older sister.
Q. Did you play sports together a lot growing up? I can imagine lots of games of touch and netball in the backyard!?
Theresa: We played sports together growing up as a family like touch, basketball, athletics, backyard cricket and netball. So many memories.
Sulu: We grew up doing everything together, poor Theresa. Everything from touch, cricket and capoeira to athletics and basketball. It was always competitive, especially when our younger brother Luke beat us!
Q. Why do you think it’s important to play a sport?
Sulu: Sport is a platform where people can learn to be brave, compromise, work towards a common goal and gain resilience and mental strength. It is also fun!
Theresa: Team sport has taught me many values that I can apply to my everyday life. The ability and importance to work as a team, in sport there are many highs and lows so resilience is also a value that needs to be learned, having a good work ethic in every aspect of life, being able to practice mindfulness by focussing on things you can control and not on the things out of control, is something I have found very helpful too.
Q. What did you learn at St Cuthbert’s that’s helped with your sporting success?
Theresa: St Cuthbert’s gave us many opportunities outside of sport but also supported in our sporting endeavours too. Education is something that is very important in our family; you are only able to play sport for so long and therefore, having a plan for life after sport is also very important.
Sulu: ‘By Love Serve’ has been the guiding motto not only in everyday life but also in how we apply ourselves on the court and field. We loved our time at St Cuthbert’s and gained lifelong friendships.
We were so incredibly proud that one quarter of the 16-strong Black Sticks hockey team at the Tokyo Olympics were St Cuthbert’s Old Girls: Liz Thompson (peer year 2012), Stacey Michelson (2008), Captain, Julia King (2010) and Katie Doar (2019).
Our hockey Old Girls play an active and very special role in our school community. Just days out of MIQ, they were at school coaching our students, while proceeds from our Term 3 Mufti Day went to our Old Girl Olympians, to support their Tokyo journey. They also jumped on Zoom calls with our Junior students during the Level 4 lockdown!
We spoke with Julia, Katie and Stacey about their amazing Olympic experience, and why they will always have the little bit of Black Watch tartan in their hearts.
Q. How great was it to have such a special experience in Tokyo together with your fellow Old Girls?
Julia: It was very cool to all be at the Olympics together. We’re all friends and the connection of St Cuth’s among us is still strong. I coach hockey at school with Katie
and went through school hockey with Stacey and Liz. We still joke and talk about the 2008 Fed Cup win! There was also a huge amount of support for us from St Cuthbert’s, especially from the hockey group which brought us all together and for which we’re very grateful.
Katie: It was honestly so great having the three other St Cuth’s Old Girls with me. Especially because we all have had a variety of different experiences in the international game. For me, I never got the chance to play with any of the girls at school, so being able to say we are all from the same school was special in itself. It was also extra special as all four of us wore our Pounamu earrings, and I felt an immense feeling of pride and gratitude of how lucky we are to be involved with the St Cuthbert’s community.
Stacey: It was a very special experience. I have played with Julia and Liz for many years, and have known Katie since she was very young, so to experience a Games with people that are not just my teammates but also my friends, made it all the more special.
Q. What do you think makes a great team?
Julia: A team that has a tight connection on and off the field and who can stick together through all the highs and lows of sport; a great team is where all members have respect for one another and can get along regardless of age or experience.
Katie: A great team to me would be a team that has unity. I think that it’s important for a group of people to have each other’s backs. Having cohesion and an equality about each individual team member really stands out to me.
Stacey: I think it is important in a team to understand and appreciate what each person brings to the team, and to ensure everyone is motivated to bring together everything they can for the betterment of the team. I also think it is hugely important to communicate well, have respect for one another and always have a “team first” approach.
Q. What did you learn at St Cuthbert’s that’s helped with your sporting success?
Julia: I learnt the work ethic to achieve set goals, perseverance and to constantly
strive to give your best effort with a positive attitude, also, the importance of having a great team culture, listening to feedback and to always enjoy what you do.
Katie: I learnt a lot whilst being at St Cuthbert’s. If I had to pick three main areas that helped me with my sporting journey, they would have to be enjoyment, resilience and gratitude. Obviously, resilience is something that I have had to do being away from home and mainly balancing my school with sport. This has helped me when times were tough and challenging, just to keep on keeping on. Enjoyment for the sport and everything I do stands out to me. It coincides with gratitude as the opportunity and extreme generosity in the St Cuth’s community is what has helped to get myself, and I’m sure the other girls, to where we are now.
Stacey : During my time at St Cuth’s I learnt the importance of diligence, hard work and the value of being prepared. I also learnt how to balance both my sporting and academic goals, which is something that has always been important to me. These skills have been invaluable in both my sporting endeavours, my studies and now my career too.
“I learnt the work ethic to achieve set goals, perseverance and to constantly strive to give your best effort with a positive attitude.”
Q. What is so amazing about St Cuthbert’s hockey programme?
Julia: The hockey programme at St Cuth’s does a great job catering for and supporting all hockey players. It’s a fun, supportive set up that gets the best out of everyone and provides the opportunity to experience tournaments such as AIMS games and Fed Cup.
Katie: The community is what makes the hockey programme at St Cuthbert’s so amazing. There is a special connection between the past and present players. It is really nice knowing that the College and the group of people involved in the hockey community are still backing us as individuals and the team, as we try to achieve our best.
Stacey: The people. I have been very lucky throughout my career to have people give their time and expertise to help me as a player. This was a huge factor for me and my teammates while at St Cuth’s. My teammates were also top notch, we made such good memories training, playing and having fun together, and I am so grateful to have maintained many of these friendships over the years. The facilities at St Cuth’s are also amazing, having the turf on school grounds, especially as a Boarder, was the best.
Philippa Lindberg (1957) Olympics: 1956
Sport: Swimming
Margot Blakely (1967) Olympics:1968
Sport: Skiing
Jane Kingstone (1975) Olympics: 1984
Sport: Hockey
Jessica Beer (1997) Olympics: 2004
Sport: Fencing
Olivia (Polly) Powrie (2005) Olympics: 2012 (Gold), 2016 Sport: Sailing (470)
Kim Noakes (2000) Olympics: 2008
Sport: Hockey
Stacey Michelsen (2008) Olympics: 2012, 2016, 2020 Sport: Hockey
Julia King (2010) Olympics: 2012, 2020 Sport: Hockey
Q. What makes you want to still be involved in teaching hockey to our girls?
Julia: Seeing the next generation of hockey players come through and passing on what knowledge I can to them and helping them develop. Also seeing the enjoyment that hockey brings to them is very wholesome.
Katie: I just love being able to watch the girls learn new skills and develop as players and individuals. It’s always nice being able to come back to the College and the old stomping ground; it helps to make me stay in touch with St Cuth’s. It’s nice to know that you’re helping the young ones achieve their best no matter how young they are.
Stacey: There have been many people throughout my career that have devoted time to helping me, and it is important for me to do the same for the hockey community. I was also fortunate enough to be on a sports scholarship at St Cuth’s and am very grateful for the opportunities this gave me; it is important to me to give back to a community that has given me so much.
Read more about St Cuthbert’s hockey on page 48.
Liz Thompson (2012) Olympics: 2016
Sport: Hockey
Theresa Fitzpatrick (2012) Olympics: 2016 (Silver), 2020 (Gold) Sport: Rugby Sevens
Katie Doar (2019) Olympics: 2020
Sport: Hockey
On 29 June, our very first Giving Day raised over $547,000, in just 24 hours, to support both current families experiencing unexpected hardship, and talented new students whose families require additional financial support to study at St Cuthbert’s.
The Giving Day was racing to success early on with the original $300k target reached by lunchtime. Due to the rapidly increasing total, two bonus targets were set, firstly for $400k, and then for $500k, which was surpassed by the time the volunteer callers were turning in for the evening.
The enthusiasm of the volunteers on the phones was contagious and every milestone was celebrated with bells ringing, dogs barking and whoops and cheers. A big thank you to Vodafone for providing the callers with phones and unlimited calling plans for the day, and to those who brought along baking and snacks to fuel the team.
Volunteer caller Shirley Sequeira said she was participating because “This is going to provide access to a lot of young girls to get
a St Cuthbert’s education and I know the value of a St Cuthbert’s education. I have two daughters in the school and they are given every opportunity to excel.”
Students and staff gathered to watch progress on the big screen in the school Atrium, and messages and calls of support came in from around the world. Many donors commented on how much fun it was to watch the ‘totaliser’ go up through the day and receive regular updates on progress on social media and by email.
Several student leaders manned the phones including Deputy Head Girl Helena Haldane who said she was inspired to participate in the calling room because “Going to St Cuthbert’s has changed my life and I want to give other people that opportunity as well.”
The House prizes were hotly contested, with the most raised going to Kelso (over $89,000), and greatest participation to Elgin (127 donors). Durham produced an outstanding video to promote Giving Day on social media and was also presented with a certificate of achievement for its efforts.
The community spirit and House pride was strong in the Junior School with the creation of the ‘haere mai’ welcome mats which were installed in the Junior School reception on the day. Every girl contributed to these mats, and the creativity and attention to detail with patterns and textures was outstanding. These mats represented both the warm welcoming St Cuthbert’s community that awaits new girls who will be joining us on scholarships, and a welcome message to the wider community on Giving Day.
The success of the Giving Day is a real testament to the generosity of the community (931 donors in total!), the energy of the students, the dedication of the volunteers and staff, and the belief of our matched donors. Thank you to all of you who got behind the day and donated, volunteered or shared the message far and wide. You have changed the lives of many girls forever and should be immensely proud of your achievement.
Dedications shared by donors on the Giving Day:
“The more girls who can experience an amazing St Cuth’s education the better!”
“Every girl deserves the self-belief that a St Cuth’s education provides!“
“Much gratitude for the outstanding teaching, support and opportunities.“
“‘By Love Serve.’ Thanks St Cuthbert’s for an amazing education.“
“Lifelong friendships are formed at St Cuthbert’s. This is Gold!“
“St Cuth’s gave our daughter so much. That says it all for me.“
Our amazing group of volunteers are the heartbeat of our school.
The cup of tea and biscuits after Chapel Service; the warm welcomes and the questions answered on Orientation and Open Days; the class coordinators who gather parents together for coffee and catch-ups; the coaching and sports day help; the road patrols who keep our students safe; the mentors at the Careers Breakfast and Evening; the numerous speakers who have come to inspire our girls through their accomplishments and endeavours – they have been in every corner of our campus and their heartwarming presence lingers for much, much, longer than their physical one. Last year, in 2020, we had a staggering 240 volunteers who contributed their time and/or expertise; these include parents (past and current), students, Old Girls, staff members, and friends of the College.
Many of our volunteers come forward in times of need from both near and far, and many are already an integral part of our school community – the Parents & Friends, Asian Friendship Group, Old Girls’ Association have been organising many of our major events on the College calendar. Imagine our College without Chinese New Year celebrations, Grandparents’ Day, the Principal’s Party, Parent–Daughter Breakfasts, College Balls, Graduation Balls, Leavers’ Soirees and nativity plays. These events are either organised by, or with, massive involvement from our dedicated and hardworking groups of volunteers. More than that, their aim and focus are not just to create fun and mark rites of passage for our students, but to celebrate our diverse cultures, to fundraise for special projects or needs, and to bring the community together.
Their dedication and commitment resonate far beyond the event on the day.
The volunteer engines behind the scenes are equally active. They rally to assist when they hear of a family in need, such as a sad passing of a member of the community. They help the College immensely with communications to select groups or ones with language barriers. The support and the connection they bring in, in sometimes challenging situations, are hugely important and never to be underestimated.
One of our parent volunteers puts her hand up to help in sports, events, fundraising and class coordinating at school. She also volunteers in other charities outside of the College. When asked why she volunteers, she says, “With school it helps me be closer to my girls...
it’s giving back to an institution that gives a lot to my girls.
“Making a positive difference or just reaching a goal that I’m passionate about, gaining experience too, are a few more reasons for my volunteering. Sometimes I like to volunteer for something I haven’t done before (out of my comfort zone) so that I can learn something. Most of all, volunteering brings a positive boost to my personal wellbeing.”
Another parent who is a huge supporter in sports events and a mentor for our Careers Breakfast, says,
“Being able to give back or pay it forward, as they say these days, is one of the most precious things we can do for others and it’s the number one reason why I volunteer. The second is because I’m a big believer in
time being our most precious commodity and like Bill Gates said, ‘Time is the one thing that you can’t buy more of,’ so by giving of our time, we are essentially gifting one of the most precious things we can, to others. I love that even the smallest amount of my time, given every so often, can help the girls at St Cuthbert’s enjoy opportunities that potentially may not happen if it weren’t for all of the many volunteers that pitch in around the school.”
You may not know them and you may not see them, but what they do for our community is keeping it vibrant, joyful, safe informed, comforted, and most of all, connected. They truly serve by love.
The St Cuthbert’s Fashion Show, run by the Year 13 Development Committee, is a highly anticipated event in the College calendar. Held with Auckland Grammar, over 300 students, VIP guests, and parents, gathered in Clouston Hall one lunchtime for a wonderful hour of music, fashion on the runway, goodie bags, spot prizes and more!
The Development Committee leaders, Marilena Crisci and Alexandra Lyne, led the organisation of the event, and pulled together a fantastic show, which was titled ‘On Board the St Cuthbert’s Airline.’ Key fashion houses generously lent clothes for the models to wear, and other sponsors donated terrific items for the goodie bags and spot prizes. The money raised through the ticket sales has gone to support the Sporting and Cultural Achievers’ Fund. We sat down with Marilena and Alex to find out more about their experiences organising the show...
Q: How did you find the organisation of the fashion show?
Alex: It was a really good experience for building our management and leadership skills, because, logistically, it’s quite a huge event. There are many different aspects to it; getting the models and clothes organised and giving the other development team members specific jobs. Making it all happen was logistically challenging, and we were grateful for the help we had from St Cuthbert’s staff which assisted us in making the organisation of the event run smoothly.
Q: When did you start planning the show?
Marilena: We started planning the Fashion Show in our first committee meeting all the way back at the start of the year. We honestly didn’t know if we were going to be able to hold a fashion show this year due to the uncertainty around lockdowns, but we were lucky to get it in just prior to the August lockdown! Right from the start, we created different work teams, so that everyone could have their own roles.
Q: Was it easy to work with the fashion brands?
Alex: The brands were lovely to work with, and it was great exposure for them too, because even afterwards I had people come up to me and say things like “Ruby’s new collection was just great”. All the models we had walking in the show were super confident with what they were wearing, and it was great to see them wear such amazing clothes. We chose brands that are so popular in our age group, and at St Cuthbert’s, so we thought it worked really well.
Marilena: Working with the brands was brilliant. They were brands that had had previous contact with the College, and we had some connections through friends and family of students in the committee as well, which made it a lot easier.
Q: How was it having the Auckland Grammar boys there?
Marilena: The Grammar boys were definitely a highlight. They all participated and were really respectful. They were a bit nervous, but it worked.
Alex: It was really good to have them. Obviously, a lot of the St Cuth’s girls were very excited about having them there, so it was good to have that partnership with them. It was also good to get as many brands as we did, in particular some male brands, as it broadened our horizon on what brands we could include. Ultimately, I found that having the Grammar boys there played a large role in the show’s success.
Q: What was the highlight?
Marilena: For me, the highlight was probably seeing the whole theme, and everything come together with the music and the clothes. Once we saw the run-through of the show, it was a ‘yay’ moment because it came together really nicely, and it was what I was envisioning it would be.
A huge thank you to all the fashion houses for “coming onboard” this year – Ilabb, Dressed by Meg, Under Armour, People Like Us, Ruby, Three Wise Men, Thread Rentals, and Gregory; and to our sponsors – VitaSport, Prescription Skincare, SOPHIE Jewellery, Tan in the City, Tasti, The Remarkable Chocolate Company, MONDAY haircare, Dose and Co, Essano, Toto Pizza, Citta Design, Kapiti, Clarity, By Violet and Kokomo. Thank you to our Fashion Show partner – Auckland Grammar School.
Alex: Key to the planning was having individual subcommittees to help pull together the event, including a clothing team, models, sponsorship, sales and marketing, which all had different focuses within their group. Not every person had a specific, defined role, because there were so many different roles that were continually changing. For that reason, we were asking people to do different things, but it was always within their little subgroup that they had said they wanted to be in at the start of the year.
Alex: My highlight was building leadership skills, making new friendships and being able to raise money for the Sporting and Cultural Achievers’ Fund. On behalf of the committee, we would also like to extend a thank you to Director of Marketing and Communications, Suzanne Joyce, teachers Ms Gail Morrison, and Mrs Debbie Waalkens, the Production Team and SSL, who all added so much to the calibre of the show.
In a year where the COVID-19 pandemic has continued to challenge all of us, we have had one of our largest number of donors ever. This is thanks to all of you!
We are so grateful for your generosity, from a water tank for the horticulture garden, pastries for the Careers Breakfast, artwork to mark our Kahunui awards, a stage backdrop for our school production, and scholarships raised through our amazing Giving Day, you are truly an embodiment of ‘By Love Serve!’
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Development Committee 2021
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In Term 2, the Year 13 Alumnae Careers Breakfast took place. St Cuthbert’s welcomed 47 amazing alumnae and parents, in person and virtually, to Clouston Hall to speak with our Year 13 students.
The Year 13 students indicated which career area they were interested in and were matched to a table with guests who represented a variety of interesting industries like engineering, film, design, medicine and more. Sitting at breakfast tables, students heard the speakers’ career stories. They were able to have conversations, ask questions and discuss their ideas for the future over breakfast.
There was a wonderfully energetic vibe in the room as Year 13s were able to draw on the collective wisdom and knowledge of a group of truly fascinating alumnae and parents who generously shared their experiences.
Both students and mentors enjoyed this interactive opportunity and it really resonated with the students. Some of the common themes included: encouraging girls to take the lead in their own learning, take charge of doing something they have a passion for and use their St Cuthbert’s
Old Girls’ network to access opportunities and knowledge.
This is just one part of a comprehensive careers programme offered to our Senior School students and was particularly special as our Year 13s are so close to becoming Old Girls and taking their next steps in the world.
Rhonda Vink, Head of Careers, explains, “Our goal with this breakfast event was to connect our Year 13 girls to the wider community of Alumnae and parents who are already working in the fields that these students want to explore. Hopefully the students opened their minds further and really gained some depth of understanding about the different types of careers that are out there.”
Our stellar line-up of guests shared the following amazing insights:
“I come to these events with Year 13 girls to have a chat with girls who are thinking about
a career path in engineering. When you start on this path, it doesn’t mean that you are necessarily going to end up doing what you were thinking at the beginning.
It is quite normal to pivot and that is exactly what I did in my career,” shares Old Girl and current parent, Caroline Arwanitis, End2End Architect for Skinny Mobile.
“I’m back at school because this is where it all began for me, and I had some pretty inspirational teachers so I’m paying it forward and paying it back,” says Old Girl Emma Comrie-Thomson, Licensing, Safety and Environmental Compliance Principal at Rocket Lab.
Nicola Mirza (née Morris) Executive Search Specialist, Hobson Leavy, and Old Girl had some great advice relevant to any career path. “Going forwards when we talk about the future of work, the ability to have really honed soft skills – be good with people, be curious, be inquisitive – it’s really important.”
Jodie Dixon, GP, Auckland Medical School Lecturer and Medical Board Director, gave sage advice: “If you don’t know what you want to do, do what you love, because you are a long time in a job and if it is really
boring you, are not going to enjoy it. If you need some time, go and do what it is that you love to do.” Jodie is an Old Girl and current parent.
The students were deeply inspired by the event and gained invaluable insights into where they want to head.
Year 13 student Chanel Mahon said that “the Careers Breakfast taught me that the job you choose or the degree you choose now doesn’t actually determine your life as there is so much breadth and opportunity that comes with it. Also, another key message was definitely to follow what you love.”
Head Girl, Carmel Ah Chong, commented, “I am really grateful for the parents’ support and the alumnae who have come back. It’s incredible to see Old Girls who have gone on to succeed and come back and demonstrate ‘By Love Serve’ in doing so.”
Helena Haldane, Deputy Head Girl, was interested to learn that with the right attitude, “often the right thing just comes out of the woodwork.”
Thanks go to Paneton who sponsored this event with delicious breakfast treats and to the Year 12 students who helped on the day.
“Enyah Talamaivo, Year 13 Student, found the event enlightening. She says, “Having exposure to learning about different tertiary qualifications and how they can help you is really helpful.”
‘By Love Serve’ lives across all aspects of school life and brings our St Cuthbert’s community together. This bond is nurtured within our House structure, and as such, our service projects are run by House.
The Senior School’s House system is based on developing a sense of belonging/Manaakitanga to show respect, generosity, and a sense of caring for others. Involving the girls in service projects within the Houses builds on this foundation.
Over the past two years a Year 13 student from each service project, six projects over eight Houses, has met with their charity to discover what they are most in need of. The Service committee representative then presented the project to their House, where together, in Tutor Groups, the girls brainstormed ways to support their amazing cause. The Year 13s then decided which ideas were best to implement and presented these at our Family Chapel services, where funds
were raised to support their efforts.
Reverend Francois Joubert says the specific projects were chosen as they are local, practical, and diverse in reach. Chaplain Joubert says he teaches St Cuthbert’s students to “Serve by Love, not by Guilt.”
“The highlight for me is when the students realise how big the need is in this world, and that they can actually do something about it. Placing the responsibilities in the hands of the students gives them an opportunity to showcase their leadership, creativity and gives them an opportunity to take their compassion for others to a practical level.”
We are so proud of our students for making such an impact in our community. A huge thanks to our families for supporting their daughter’s House Service Project.
Let’s find out about how our girls made such a difference for so many lives.
Painga Project, the initiative of Old Girl
Sarah Corson, is focussed on the health and wellbeing of students, families and their communities in low decile South Auckland primary and intermediate schools.
During the two Sunday Family Chapel services, Iona and Elgin raised money to purchase hygiene products, sports equipment, and stationery for low decile schools.
Dunblane and York, Camp Quality
Camp Quality believes in the power of fun to help children and their families overcome the challenges that living with cancer brings. Each year Camp Quality caters for around 300 children at various locations around the country. Through Camp Quality, families get a much-needed break and the opportunity to spend time with other siblings while their child is at camp.
The funds raised during the Dunblane and York Family Chapel services, went towards buying art supplies for the children to enjoy at camp.
G.I.N focusses on the various needs of girls in New Zealand. Unlike the other House service projects, it is not dedicated to a specific organisation or group, rather it is up to the girls to initiate and implement various smaller projects.
During their Family Chapel service, our families raised money to provide girls with hygiene products.
Durham, Manurewa East Primary
St Cuthbert’s Old Girl, Emily Hackett Pain, started the Paper, Pens & Pencil project with Manurewa East Primary School - a not-for-profit which distributes unused stationery that was otherwise destined for landfill, to students at low decile schools to ensure that every child gets a fair start at school.
Funds raised were used to purchase stationery for Manurewa East Primary.
De Paul House
De Paul House provides housing and support services for homeless families and aims to keep families united in a safe and dignified environment. Families set goals with the assistance of a support team including housing, budgeting, and a compulsory savings programme. De Paul House also runs a playgroup and an afterschool homework centre.
The girls raised money to provide the specific needs of the emergency housing project at De Paul House.
Kelso, Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre
The Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre (MRRC) is the central processing and assessment location for all refugees who arrive in New Zealand. All United Nations Quota Refugees enter the centre for a six-week period of assessment and orientation prior to resettlement. The MRRC is a ‘one-stop-shop’ with a collaborative service run by several key agencies.
Kelso raised funds to provide equipment and stationery to MRCC.
Bonjour,
Hola, Kia
ora,
Ni
hao, Salvete! Each year, Languages Week provides a wonderful opportunity for us to celebrate not just the languages taught at St Cuthbert’s, but those also spoken by our diverse community of staff and students.
This year, our annual celebration of languages was launched by Professor Robert Greenberg, Dean of Arts at the University of Auckland. As well as English, Professor Greenberg speaks Russian, Bosnian Croatian, Serbian, Macedonian, Bulgarian, Hebrew, French, German, Slovenian and Czech, among others! He has also started to learn Te Reo Māori, Korean and Japanese just to add to the list. When Professor Greenberg lost his sight during his postgraduate study at Yale, he took a year off to learn Braille. He then returned to university and completed his PhD at the age of 29. Professor Greenberg emphasised how the ability to speak a foreign language immediately transcends differences and creates an instant connection between people. His story is one of resilience, adaptability and academic brilliance which inspired the students in his presence.
Students were then involved in a range of activities across the week to celebrate the languages and cultures within our College. It was particularly heart-warming to see our Senior girls assuming such a leadership role with our Juniors. Many of our Senior School linguists spent time introducing girls from Years 0 – 6 to Latin, Chinese, Spanish and Te Reo Māori. Our Junior School girls learn French yearround, but this was taken to the next level with fun games led by their ‘Big Sisters’. The Junior School also held a wonderful cultural fashion parade.
In the Senior School, the Year 7 students were involved in an artistic model recreation, while the Year 8 students had so much fun competing in teams against each other in an epic 50-minute quiz about the languages taught at St Cuthbert’s. The Tutor Group Quiz saw all Senior School students testing their language knowledge, with IAKAH crowned the champions. It was a riot of colour and fashion when a huge number of students embraced the opportunity to try on a range of different traditional Chinese costumes. A treasure hunt looking for ancient Roman coins immediately garnered the attention of future archaeologists, while future art historians
were given the challenge of recreating a famous artwork from a range of different cultures. The week culminated with the Food Truck carnival where an array of different sweet and savoury options from different cultures were on offer.
Head of Subject: Languages, Rob Griffiths shares the importance of studying a language (or five)!
“There are of course the fancy neuro cognitive benefits which show that languages activate areas in the brain which enhance skills like mental processing and memory. Studying a language is like going to a gym but for your brain. It’s the equivalent of a mental workout. Just as importantly though, studying a language connects you to other cultures, allows you to meet other people and broadens your mind. Plus it’s fun!”
The Austrian philosopher, Ludwig Wittgenstein, famously pronounced that
When engineers say, ‘I wish I could…’ that inspires me – to solve the big problems.”
The Senior Physics students were in awe with the wisdom shared by Old Girl Dr Karen Willcox during her visit to the College. An encourager with a firm commitment to mentoring, Karen’s accomplishments highlighted to the students how steadfastness and a love of what you do can have a tremendous impact.
Karen is Director of the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences, Associate Vice President for Research, and Professor of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics at the University of Texas at Austin. Karen holds the W. A. “Tex” Moncrief, Jr. Chair in SimulationBased Engineering and Sciences and the Peter O’Donnell, Jr. Centennial Chair in Computing Systems. Karen spoke highly of working at the University of Texas, where mentoring and teaching students, and engagement with the community, which is significantly Latinx and Hispanic, brought tremendous fulfilment to her role. “To see how education changes people’s lives is remarkable.”
Our inspiring Old Girl also spoke highly of her university studies in New Zealand, saying that there are world-renowned engineering programmes in the country, like those at the University of Auckland (where Karen completed her undergraduate degree in Engineering) and the University of Canterbury.
The talk was filled with insights for the students. “You’ve got to fail, to learn,” Karen said, emphasizing that the path isn’t always without challenges. “You don’t have to be good at everything.” Speaking of physics, Karen noted that “sometimes the hardest things are the things worth sticking with.” She highlighted the
role of those around you. “The most important skills are communication and teamwork.” Karen also shared with the students that “You need to identify people who can support you, like the cohort now around you.”
Asked about the other things that kept her buoyant during difficult times while studying, Karen instantly named two –her love of language, and specifically Latin. “Latin was totally awesome!” she said. The other? “I joined the rugby team, which was like getting a family and helped me escape from the stress of grad school. It was absolutely empowering and fun.”
Year 13 Business students, Rose Parkinson, Brooke Farmer, Rebekah Cook and Francesca Coster, formed ‘Benched’, a small business group that came up with the idea to introduce a new supporter’s jumper to the Senior Academy.
The initiative was part of their assessment for Level 3 NCEA, and aimed to provide a unique, and special memento for their final years at St Cuthbert’s, and beyond.
The jumper comes in three sizes, small, medium and large, and is designed to be worn with leggings, jeans, shorts etc, as a supporter’s item. “We wanted the jumper to be something the younger girls look forward to as they move up through the College. Our aim was to create a closer Senior Academy cohort and develop and sustain a long connection among the three-year groups (Years 11 – 13),” says Brooke.
The jumper is an alternative to the grey hoodie for our Year 11–13 students, and is something that they are encouraged to wear when supporting their classmates at College sports, musical, dance or other events, as well as for leisure wear.
“We’ve worked closely with St Cuthbert’s Director of Communications and Marketing, Suzanne Joyce, during all
aspects of the process to develop the jumper, including meeting with the supplier, deciding on design, pricing, and marketing.
We also had to ‘sell’ the concept to Ms Mahon! Though this process has been a long one, we are very excited about
finally introducing our modern take on a supporter’s jumper to provide comfort and class while supporting our Senior group and the school,’ says Brooke.
The jumpers are available for pre-ordering through Black Watch House.
1. Late Summer Year 5, the early adopters of circularity we can all learn from
Since the start of 2021, as we were all still enjoying late warm summer days, the Year 5 girls became very passionate about the vegetable crops they were growing in the science gardens. During their science lessons, led by Angie Tipping and the Senior School science teachers, they learnt the science behind growing crops, such as germination and pollination.
5. Spring
Let the planting begin!
As spring came to our Epsom campus, the gumboots were adorned, and sleeves rolled up. Year 5 was joined by some nature enthusiasts from the Senior School to see their circular project come to fruition, in the planting of the most appropriate native trees. There was a great buzz of excitement in the air and a sense of ‘rightness’ that native trees, grown locally, were being planted in our grounds to the benefit of students, bees, flora and fauna for many years to come.
Thank you, Year 5, for your inspiration and for preparedbeing to get a little mud under your fingertips to inspire the rest of the school!
3. Winter Discovering Cornwall Park Nursery
Who knew that tucked away adjacent to our hockey turf was an absolute treasure trove of native plants? Tom Curtis and Angie Tipping, Head and Deputy Head of Science, certainly didn’t until they visited the incredible Jo Adler, Cornwall Park’s Nursery Manager. Jo listened to the planting needs of our College and made preliminary recommendations based on the native trees she’d grown and took Tom and Angie on a wonderful tour.
2. Autumn Year 5 harvest and sell their bountiful crop
Parents and staff were blown away by the successful crops and lined up early one morning to be a part of the vegetable sale held in the Junior School playground. The sale raised $500 which Ms Mahon said would be used to buy native trees for our Epsom campus which were being locally grown at the Cornwall Park Nursery.
4. Late Winter
Cornwall Park visit St Cuthbert’s
To ensure that Jo Adler had a full understanding of our planting needs she took a tour of our grounds, including the science gardens, where it all began with Angie Tipping. Based on this research trip Jo returned to the nursery at Cornwall Park and made her final recommendations for the most appropriate trees for our property.
At St Cuthbert’s, we aim to instill in our students a love of reading and books. Reading develops empathy and our imaginations – stories can take us away to faraway magical lands, other time periods, and have us view the world from other people’s shoes. Reading also reduces stress, helps us sleep better and keeps our brains healthy.
This focus on reading begins in the Junior School where our teachers foster a love of books from day one. During the Term 3 lockdown, Head of Junior School Kerry Oldman even initiated a series of daily story telling Zooms, where guest speakers read to the girls including Australian Olympian, Matthew Belcher, the most successful Australian sailor in history, and our very own Black Fern, Theresa Fitzpatrick, and teammate Stacey Fluhler, who all proudly showed off their gold medals!
Our Year 6 students’ love of books really shone through during our annual Junior School ‘Book Week’. The girls took part in a dust jacket competition, where they had to illustrate a new cover for their favourite book. It’s clear how much effort the girls put into their designs, and it’s super exciting to see we have some up-andcoming illustrators in our midst.
We will let the girls’ artwork do the rest of the talking...
In the words of Barack Obama, reading is important. If you know how to read then the whole world opens up to you!
St Cuthbert’s is bustling with fun events and activities year-round, providing the girls with many different opportunities to take part in. Such creative participation has positive effects on mental health and
deepens the spirit of connection. We love seeing our girls give it a go, whether it be at our Epsom campus, online during StCuth’s@home, or at our residential life skills outdoor learning programme, Kahunui.
Our Epsom campus may have been lonely during lockdown, but while we were there, we made the most of it!
Clouston Hall was filled to the brim with House spirit as the girls took part in House Performances, a much loved, time-honoured competition for Years 8 – 13. Each House had a six-minute slot to perform a dance choreographed and led by the students. This year’s theme was inspired by the inaugural St Cuthbert’s Giving Day. Each dance needed to complete the following sentence “In these times our choice of
the best gift in the world would be the gift of…” Congratulations to Melrose House who won the Beverley Parkinson Cup.
We love small group learning in the Junior School and make the most of the variety of learning spaces for our breakout groups. We also recognise the importance of play so girls can refresh in between lessons and that is why the Junior School has play spaces designed with each age group in mind – from the giant sandpit, gardens and Wendy house in the Year 0 area; to the astro-turf courts and playground fun for Years 1 – 4; to the Year 5 and 6 climbing
area where girls can ‘graduate’ to greater physical challenges.
On the most delicious day by far, the atrium was filled with the aromas of yummy baked goods as we held our annual Fairtrade Baking Competition. We saw terrific entries from across the College with some particularly impressive cakes from our Junior School girls which will keep the Senior girls on their toes next year! Well done to all the girls who took part, your creativity absolutely blew us away.
Our StCuth’s@home remote learning was a campus in its own right, and it quickly kicked into full swing during the COVID-19 lockdown.
Our Junior School Year 6 students enjoyed their lessons remotely and had the bonus of many fun activities over Zoom, including meeting gold medal Olympians and having special guests read their favourite stories.
The Year 13 Prefects launched a new fitness initiative ‘Cuth-Fit’ and sent activities to their ‘little sisters’ in the Junior School, including a St Cuthbert’s word search, lockdown bingo, and baking videos.
A highlight for us had to be the Year 10 photo competition, check out the photo of St Cuthbert’s newest (and fluffiest) student below!
Our Bay of Plenty campus, Kahunui, continues to provide very special experiences for our Year 10 girls. Some highlights...
During each Intake our girls’ driving skills are put to the test at Bryan’s Beach, Ohiwa. As the waves approach the low-tide mark, the blokarts are assembled in the sand dunes and rolled down coastal paths to the flat, hard sand. Here, the girls take off, literally!
Learning to make and nurture fire is one of the first steps to becoming a competent outdoor woman and our girls go from basic fire triangles (heat, oxygen, and fuel) to truly testing their fire lighting abilities.
Every Intake is involved in checking, clearing, re-baiting, and re-setting our trapping lines. It is because of their hard work and involvement that we can keep our trapping programme up and running.
Moana, meaning ocean in Māori, is the name of our sea-kayak programme at Kahunui. The girls stop off at the beautiful Ohakana Island during their trip. The trees on this island are estimated to be between 700–800 years old and hide multiple rope swings within their leafy limbs!
“Let’s start at the very beginning, A very good place to start.” This year, our Senior School Musical was the ‘The Sound of Music’. Over four nights, our very talented girls captivated audiences in Clouston Hall, and had them singing along too!
There is perhaps no musical as popular and well-known as ‘The Sound of Music’. This collaboration between Rodgers and Hammerstein, (revered as gods in the musical theatre universe who delivered ‘Oklahoma!’, ‘Carousel’, ‘South Pacific’, and ‘The King and I’) was the final show in their partnership. The book is by Howard Lindsay and Russell Crouse, Rodgers composed the music, and Hammerstein wrote the lyrics.
‘The Sound of Music’ is a heart-warming musical set on the eve of the annexation of Austria in 1938. It tells the story of Maria, who takes a job as governess to a widowed Naval Captain with seven children, while deciding whether to become a nun. She falls in love with the children, and eventually their father, Captain von Trapp. However, he is ordered to accept a commission in the German Navy, but he opposes the Nazis, so he and Maria decide on a plan to flee to Switzerland with the children. You will recognise classic songs in the show,
such as “Do-Re-Mi”, “My Favourite Things”, “Climb Ev’ry Mountain”, and the title song “The Sound of Music”.
Musical Director Oliver Gilmour shares with us his experience.
It was a great pleasure to be Musical Director for the St Cuthbert’s College Musical Production of ‘The Sound of Music’ this year. The show was once again a collaboration with Auckland Grammar School, from which we utilised the skills of several boys for the much-needed male roles! The show played for four nights in Clouston Hall with appreciative audiences throughout the season. There was much anticipation and excitement about this year’s musical due to the College not being able to produce a show last year due to COVID-19 lockdowns. ‘The Sound of Music’ is a classic story with muchloved music and its enduring nature was one of the reasons we selected it for this year’s show.
The cast was ably led by Sarah Boswell playing the role of ‘Maria’, Ben Ross playing ‘Captain Von Trapp’ and Enyah Talamaivao as ‘Mother Abbess’. Their superb voices and characterisation made the show something very special. As well as an exceptional cast of students playing the main roles, the ensemble created some beautiful singing in harmony. Mention must be made of the cast of Von Trapp Children who were terrific in their ability to work together as a team to bring the much-loved story to life. It was a delight for the audience to spot some familiar faces from the staff on stage too, as they lent their hand as nuns and members of the Gestapo. Huge acknowledgement must be made of the outstanding orchestra, technical and backstage crews and front of house personnel.
A highlight of producing our show was the collaboration between our girls and the boys from Auckland Grammar. Scheduling and logistical challenges aside, our students pulled together as a team and supported one another to learn their lines, their notes, their dance moves and more! Many hours of rehearsal, including weekend workshops, were spent with our students working hard to bring the show to life. Extra rehearsals were added by the students, so they felt confident on stage by the time opening night arrived, which is testament to their diligence and commitment. Acknowledgement must also be made of several of our cast members’ parents who decorated Clouston Hall Foyer and fed hungry students during their long rehearsals.
The success of ‘The Sound of Music’ is testament to a strong Performing Arts Faculty at the College. The opportunities created for our students ensure lifelong memories for them and are a vehicle for them to develop their skills; not only in acting, singing and dancing, but also in collaboration, empathy and resilience. These values are all important as our students progress through their College years. We look forward to future Musical Productions.
Thanks and Congratulations
Our thanks and congratulations to the staff and students from the production crew, the orchestra and of course the cast from Auckland Grammar School and St Cuthbert’s.
A special mention to director Cherie Moore, St Cuthbert’s own Judy McIntosh, Head of Performing Arts, LauraBeth Warne, Deputy Head of Faculty - Performing Arts / Head of Subject – Dance, for her choreography and ability to hold the cast with such care, Oliver Gilmour, Associate Head of Faculty - Performing Arts, for his brilliant ear and musical direction, Samantha Meagher, Performing Arts Centre Coordinator, for her organising prowess and skill, Mirabai Pease for her massive effort with the costumes and props, and Jonathan James for pulling everything together with such enthusiasm!
We are very excited about having Mike Young as our new Head of Co-Curricular Music. In addition to his teaching experience, Mike is on the Subject Expert Group for the review of NCEA Music, and is one of only three examiners for Trinity College Rock and Pop syllabus in New Zealand.
Music has always played a significant part in Mike’s life. Since Mike was a ‘young lad’ he has played the trombone. As a student he found the time to play drums, bass, and keyboards in and out of various rock bands, but the trombone has been the constant, right through. He currently conducts and plays in the Auckland Jazz Orchestra, New Zealand’s only original compositions jazz big band, and is lead trombone in West City Concert Band which has been the National champion four years in a row. Mike was a member of The Rodger Fox Big Band for over fifteen years, including three tours to America, and he has performed and recorded with several artists including New Zealand bands Nesian Mystik and dDub.
It’s Mike’s love of music that makes St Cuthbert’s so lucky to have him. The College has over 340 Co-Curricular music students, one of the highest participation rates in the country. Mike says this was one of the factors that drew him to the role.
“I knew St Cuthbert’s Performing Arts faculty had a number of highly capable teachers and students and thought this was an amazing opportunity to work with them.”
Despite a lockdown the third week in, Mike has hit the ground running, with a focus on getting to know students first and what their interests are.
He says, “From day one, I wanted to find out more about our students and where they may fit in. I really like taking the time to get to know them and what their interests might be and helping them follow that through.
“There is a really high level of intrinsic collaboration that goes on with Co-Curricular activities including music, and I think that is because everyone is striving towards a common goal. Belonging to a group of like-minded people is really important for wellbeing.”
Mike says Co-Curricular activities, including music, also help with students’ self-confidence.
“Confidence comes from a sense of purpose. Being a participant in something gives selfassurance in the knowledge that you are in the right place for you, at that time. In the Performing Arts there are always opportunities to express who you are, to gain confidence as you present performances, and go further and further with your artistic and personal milestones.”
Four amazing Senior School girls were chosen to take part in TV series K-Pop Academy 2.0 which aired on Heihei and TVNZ On Demand in August. Selina Liu, Queena Jin, Abby Sun and Angel Wang had to work hard, stretch their limits and learn new skills, including another language, to take part in the high-action TV event.
Creative subjects are essential to the overall wellbeing of St Cuthbert’s students. As well as giving girls the chance to express themselves, performing arts can be credited for building key skills including collaboration, empathy, curiosity, risk-taking and an ability to think outside the square. Therefore, we jumped at the chance to be involved in K-Pop Academy 2.0, some of which was filmed in our Performing Arts Centre and featured four of our students.
Over 50 tweens and teens were selected for the show and made into eight competing teams, one of which was the St Cuthbert’s team. As there were only four St Cuthbert’s girls, the group also included some new friends, back up dancers from Carmel College.
K-Pop Academy 2.0 was presented by renowned ‘K-Pop Queen’, Rina Chae, with whom the girls said they adored working, alongside many of the stars from the first season. To make it on the show, our students had to learn a dance and song from the first season and submit this by video. They also had to improvise the initial part of a dance
to not only share their ability to learn from others, but also to showcase their originality, skill range and individual style.
Selina, Queena, Abby and Angel had to learn to dance, sing and rap to a K-Pop song specifically written for K-Pop Academy. The lyrics were a mixture of both English and Korean and, as none of the girls spoke Korean, it was no small feat to master the challenging pronunciations and voice inflections to convey the meaning of the songs. Asked about what they enjoyed about the experience they said, “We really enjoyed the music: singing it, rapping it, the style of the songs and overall we really love the songs themselves. In addition, the dance choreography was particularly great. Our most exciting experience was definitely being in the recording studio and taking part in the bootcamp. Bootcamp gave us the chance to help to clean up each element of our dance to make sure it was as polished as it could possibly be for the performances”.
We asked the girls what they thought was the most challenging part of the
experience, they said, “Memorising the words in Korean and mastering the pronunciation was such a challenge at first but we stuck with it and practised a lot. K-Pop Academy provided us with two Korean voice coaches so quite quickly we were able to make improvements to how we were singing each of the songs.”
The eight teams took part in a sevenday bootcamp where their dances, songs and raps were fine-tuned to be performance-ready with the help of Greenstone TV’s crew. They also had to work on their costumes to ensure that their look matched the vibe of each of their songs.
The girls had a ball learning how to create a K-Pop makeup look, and they said they especially loved taking part in a photo shoot, shooting their music videos and taking part in the grand finale which was held at the Pumphouse Theatre in Auckland. This was attended by their family and friends and even an international judge from South Korea.
The eight episodes can be viewed on HeiHei, an age-appropriate, ad free kids channel on TVNZ OnDemand and, knowing how popular K-Pop is, K-Pop Academy also created eight tutorials where dances were broken down and demonstrated so viewers could perfect every move from home!
At St Cuthbert’s singing is for everyone, with over 234 singers taking part in our choirs including Years 2 – 13 students and staff! We also have one auditioned choir, Saints Alive, which runs in parallel to Black Watch Singers, our all-comers Years 9 - 13 choir. Teacher In Charge of Vocal and Choral Programmes Mary Cornish tells us why everyone can sing.
Mary Cornish’s love of singing is incredibly infectious, so infectious that I’m singing the lines of this article as it’s written! Mary celebrates the life-long benefits of singing. It’s her aim for students and staff to experience these, and contribute to the wairua, or spirit, of the College. Mary shares,
“The St Cuthbert’s Choral Programme is integrated across the Junior and Senior schools, with Senior students very involved with the younger choirs. There is a very holistic emphasis –our goals are inclusion, wellbeing, service and excellence. Everyone can sing. I meet so many adults who were told they couldn’t sing at school and then they don’t for the rest of their lives – fearful even of the unavoidable rounds of family and workplace happy birthdays (having said that Happy Birthday is a tricky song to sing!)
“With Old Girls coming back as accompanists and conductors, the connection with the Choral Programme at St Cuthbert’s doesn’t necessarily end when students leave, and it is our hope that many will continue to enjoy singing beyond their days at school and go on to become singing leaders themselves.
“Both Mr Panama and I are alumni of the world acclaimed New Zealand Youth Choir and we often have students from Saints Alive who successfully audition for the prestigious New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Choir. This year, that person is Year 13 student Enyah Talamavaio. We are very proud of Enyah, she is inspiration for our younger singers and a Saints Alive choir leader.
“Whilst we do enter the competitions, this is just one aspect of the Choral Programme. Competitions are motivating and compel us to aim higher and they are a great opportunity for us to connect with other schools and perform in some beautiful venues like the Auckland Town Hall.”
Here are some of our performance highlights from this year.
St Cuthbert’s Choral Showcase
Senior choir leaders Hayley Minturn and Enyah Talamavaio were the MCs for a delightful night of choral singing from all of our choirs. The Senior girls were hands on, supporting the younger girls both on and off the stage. Without a doubt, the stars of the night were Junior Song Squad, our Year 2 and 3 choir. They were a huge hit with the packed audience in the Clouston Hall and were clearly enjoying their time on the stage!
We were truly impressed by our very own Junior Saints choir who, just before the Term 3 lockdown, were awarded Gold for their performances at the Kids Sing competition.
Sadly, Song Squad who were due to compete the day after, missed out for the second year in a row due to COVID-19. The girls worked so hard to be ready, and we are so proud of their hard work and positivity!
Saints Alive and Black Watch Singers both sang in the regional competition of the Big Sing at the Auckland Town Hall. Saints Alive won the Te Tohu Manu Waiata Special Award for the best performance of a work using Māori text at the Big Sing Auckland Regionals. There were more than 20 choirs entered in the Waiata section, so Saints felt very honoured to win this award and to be among the top school choirs nationally to be selected for the Big Sing Finale in Christchurch.
Our Black Watch Singers had so much fun representing St Cuthbert’s in Rotorua at the Upper North Island Big Sing Regional event, just before the Term 3 lockdown. They were the largest choir with 51 performers and received the Korimako award.
“Singing is a birthright, your first instrument, and it’s free. You don’t have to pack it up and carry it around. The secret of singing is more singing –if you don’t do it, you won’t get better at it. Hence our philosophy of a choir for everyone.”
St Cuthbert’s hockey has a stellar reputation for a reason, two reasons in fact: Tori Vao and Victoria Methven, our hockey specialist sports coaches and code managers.
Together, Tori and Victoria (Vic) grow hockey ‘keenos’, a St Cuth’s nickname which has been with them since they started in 2017. ‘Keenos’ describes the hockey fever St Cuth’s players get from the first time they pick up a stick.
Vic oversees the Junior teams which are organised within year groups across Years 4 – 8 and is also assistant coach for the 1st XI with Mitch Hayde. Tori oversees the Senior
teams from Years 9 – 13. The three top teams in the Senior programme are at an incredible standard. For example, recently the 3rd XI beat another very reputable school’s 1st XI team. Many of our 1st XI students have gone forward to be identified in the Under 18 NZ Squad, Emma Irwin, Kaea Elliott and Rose Parkinson (Auckland), Bella Browne and Chloe Browne (North Harbour) and Brodie Cochrane (Northland). This is a remarkable achievement as St Cuthbert’s has more U18
NZ players identified than any other region in the country!!
Speaking with Victoria and Tori, it’s easy to tell they have great fun working so closely with each other. The friendly banter is non-stop which is not surprising seeing they have played representative hockey together since the age of 12 and still play each other in rival club hockey teams!
Q. How is it working not only with girls on their St Cuthbert’s hockey, but also liaising with their club teams?
Vic: St Cuth’s has a good relationship and reputation with the Auckland clubs and a lot of school coaches, also coach clubs, so the benefit is that everyone is aware of our girls’ schedules.
Tori: We are close to our players so this means we can keep an eye on them to make sure that the pressure they may be under doesn’t get too much. We work with the girls to help them manage themselves and not burn out. Rather than organise their schedules for them, we like to encourage the girls to take some ownership and liaise with their coaches themselves.
Vic: What’s important to us is that we have the girls’ wellbeing at the center, we invest time with the students from the first day which allows us to have trust between us and the players so that when they are tired, the girls know they can come to us and talk about anything. The girls know that our main goal is them, and we know that these girls can be the best ANYTHING they want to be, so we’re always going to support them – their wellbeing is the absolute priority and we feel so lucky to work with them.
Q. After building such strong relationships is it hard to say goodbye after Year 13?
Tori: To be honest we’re still in touch with so many girls even after they’ve left, and they know that our door is always open. Just this year, previous Under 18 NZ squad member, Tiana Currie, came up from Hamilton to play at the St Cuth’s hosted ANZAC festival game and she came into the office saying, “I miss school hockey with you guys.”
Vic: I love the July school holidays when we take teams down to play three schools in Christchurch, as we have recent St Cuthbert’s leavers come and watch our current girls play. And they don’t just come from Canterbury Uni they drive up from Otago too. They really want to keep supporting the St Cuth’s girls, it’s such a great relationship and lovely to see that they just want to share in the success of the current players.
Q. You joined within several weeks of each other in 2017, what’s been your focus since you’ve both been onboard?
Vic: Over time we’ve ensured the results from the top teams haven’t dropped while at the same time, we have been trying to mould the girls from the Junior and seeding teams to make sure everyone has a deep love of hockey
and is not just focused on going for the win.
Tori: When we came in, we noticed that quite a few players dropped the code after Year 8 and 9, and then again at the end of their Senior years. Our focus has been to keep encouraging girls to love the sport they play and to continue playing sport even once they leave St Cuth’s. We’re now so proud when we see many girls leave Year 13 still playing for their universities and local clubs, and we feel proud to have changed the focus from a “win at all costs mentality” to more of a genuine love of hockey.
Q. What’s your most memorable moment since you joined in 2017?
Vic: Winning Federation Cup in 2019 is definitely up there, but, for me it has to be the experience our kids get at AIMS games in Years 7 and 8. We have so many codes going down to Tauranga and for most students it’s their first ever tournament away from home and they are fizzing with excitement – I just love seeing that.
Tori: That’s true, some of our strongest 1st XI players who have gone onto win top tournaments still watch the playbacks of when they attended their Year 7 and 8 AIMS hockey games, time and time again – so gorgeous! We even have one of our current Black Sticks still watching their Federation Cup final which really highlights what school hockey means to them.
Q. What does success look like for you?
Vic: The students succeeding is the coolest thing for us, whether it’s a girl picking up a stick for the first time and watching her doing her first hit. These students look up with so much excitement in their eyes as for them, it’s world class. Or at the other end of the scale, watching the 1st XI girls and they’ve just beaten a top ranked team. There’s different phases of success for our girls as they grow up in the sport and you don’t get to have that in many jobs.
Tori: Quite often within the hockey community we have club coaches coming to us full of praise for a St Cuth’s girl. We feel so proud of our girls when we can see how well they are doing being reflected through someone else’s eyes. Whatever team they are in, whatever club they might play for, overall, you can always see an excellent ‘St Cuth’s attitude’. But there’s nothing lovelier than when, despite all their successes, St Cuth’s graduates choose to come back to coach here like Jules (Julia King) and Katie (Doar) did. They’re two of the best hockey players in NZ wanting to spend time with the up-and-coming St Cuth’s hockey players.
Q: When did you start supporting hockey at St Cuthbert’s?
“I’m just so proud of the team and their efforts. By team it’s the girls, the management, the parents, Old Girl hockey players and the wider St Cuth’s community. The support we get on the side-lines is phenomenal and we are all very appreciative.”
I started coaching the Year 7 and 8 A hockey team when I first arrived at St Cuthbert’s at the beginning of 1990. The coach of the 1st XI hockey team at the time was Simon Norton, who, unbeknown to me, had been following the success of my Year 7 and 8 A team for several years. Simon approached me and asked if I would help with the 1st XI hockey in 2000, and I continued coaching the Year 7 and 8 team. All up I have had a total of 31 years involved with St Cuthbert’s hockey!
Q: Why hockey and not another code?
I was always very active in all sports growing up in Whakatane. I was a Bay of Plenty champion in swimming, tennis and badminton. I was the only girl growing up in a neighbourhood of boys, so they always needed that extra person, me, to make up the numbers for a game of cricket, rugby, basketball, bullrush,
softball etc. It wasn’t until Intermediate that hockey was introduced to me. I gave it a go and fell in love with the freedom to run around quite a large field. Being part of a team was a draw card as well, as I got to train and play with my friends. I played representative hockey for Bay of Plenty and Waikato women, and I also coached the Waikato Collier U13 team.
While trialling for the Auckland women’s team I tore my cruciate ligament, which really shattered my dream of potentially becoming a Black Stick. So, I continued my love of hockey by coaching representative Auckland Collier U13 and U15 teams alongside my St Cuthbert’s hockey commitments.
Q: Are you in touch with past players?
I really enjoy seeing all the girls I’ve managed over the years. As Old Girls they come and watch our games. There are always lots of hugs and great memories to chat about. I’m very proud of all the girls and when they say I’m like a ‘mother’ to them it is incredibly touching and heart-warming.
Q: Were you fixated on the hockey Olympics watching your girls with heart-soaring pride?
I was, especially as I taught Liz Thompson in Year 7. Liz, Julia King and Stacey Michelson were in the winning ‘dream team’ in 2008 when St Cuthbert’s won their first ever New Zealand title. Liz also won the New Zealand title in 2012, and Katie Doar was in the winning team of 2017 and 2019.
Q: And your pride moments, if different?
It would have to be winning the NZ Secondary Schools hockey title four times in 2008, 2012, 2017 and 2019. To be part of a New Zealand title winning team after all the hard work I’ve put in on the hockey field, in the dugout and many hours behind the scenes, really is amazing.
We want to take this opportunity to recognise our outstanding premier sports students and their commitment to their code.
The girls have had to process many disappointments over the past two years, with cancelled sports events due to COVID-19, including Tournament Week.
Sport teaches us resilience, leadership, accountability, respect, and patience, and we have seen all these qualities and more in our students.
To the following Girls, you may not have had your national tournaments, but you are all winners in our eyes!
The 1st XI Hockey Team were set to compete at the Federation Cup.
Isabel Allen, Bella Browne, Chloe Browne, Kate Carter, Brodie Cochrane, Kaea Elliott, Charlotte Goldsmith, Olivia Greenwood, Emma Irwin, Kate Irwin, Jaime Lewis, Rose Parkinson, Jemma Robinson, Zara Stewart, Emma Thompson, Caitlin Wong, and Brooke Farmer.
We have won this tournament in 2008, 2012, 2017 (Napier) and 2019.
The 2nd XI Hockey Team were to compete at the Chris Arthur Cup in Taupo.
Lily Allen, Olivia Barron, Mia Birnie, Charlotte Greenwood, Jade Holmes, Grace McCarthy, Jemma Nesdale, Mia Parker, Katelin Toes, Sofia Toes, Ella Palmer, Georgia Foley, Milly Adams, Georgie Huxford and Chloe Lindon.
The girls came third in this tournament in 2019.
The Premier Netball Team were to compete at the Upper North Island Secondary Schools (UNISS).
Tiaare Ahovelo, Rebecca Fala, Rylee Schuster, Mala Krzanic-Sullivan, Leula Cowley, Ruby Shaw, Ayja Shaw, Caroline Reopoamo, Maioha Holmes, Lisi Siaosi, Rosa Cox and Ava Dilly.
The team are in A grade for UNISS and we were taking a very young development team to the tournament this year, which we were very excited about.
1st XI Football Team were to play at the NZ Secondary Schools Girls Football Premier National Tournament.
Amelia McInnes, Anna Marshall, Apaula Peteru, Cate Denny, Charlotte Marvin, Ella Alfaro Campbell, Ellie Evans, Isobel Jenner, Katherine Fanelli, Lexi Butler, Luci Hollister, Maggie Meyers, Olivia Gillingham, Pippa Dixon, Rosa Hollister and Ruby Luxton.
With 14 of these 16 players currently in Years 10 – 12 we have a very promising squad for 2022!
Keep training with your heads held high Girls.
Justine Mahon — Principal, St Cuthbert’s
Our Junior School girls made the most of the Winter Sport season, taking part in an amazing range of sports from football to gymnastics. Girls, we loved seeing the fun you had and the way you supported one another.
Flippaball
This year we had a record number of teams entered for flippaball, with seven teams in the Water Wolves League, run out of St Cuthbert’s pool on Sunday afternoons. We had four teams in the Year 3 and 4 grade who showed great improvement throughout the season. There were also three teams in the Year 5 and 6 grade, a big step up as this involves more work on treading water and learning the skills of waterpolo.
The teams all gained some great skill instruction and game knowledge prior to each session, followed by a 30-minute game. Our teams gained some fabulous results in a variety of the grades. We look forward to seeing all our players progress through further age groups in the flippa ball programme in the future.
Skills are developing fast among our young footballers and this season we had two College teams playing in local competitions.
The regular Wednesday morning sessions before school each term attract 25 – 30 students who are each provided a ball which is key to learning and practicing new skills.
Our school Director of Football, Haley Gleeson, oversees each session and has great help from our volunteer Senior players who get to pass on their own tricks plus learn coaching tips from Haley.
A highlight one morning in Term 3 was a visit from the NZ Football Ferns just before they left for the Olympics. Meeting the Ferns has now inspired some to aim for the stars themselves.
Our Junior School gymnasts have been training every Monday lunch right throughout Terms 1 to 3 with fantastic coaches from TriStar Gym and Junior School teachers Laura Hadfield and Birgitta Hartinger.
16 students from Years 3 – 6 were then selected to participate in the Remuera zone gymnastics competition.
The girls came away with some fantastic results with the top three teams and top eight individuals from each age group qualifying for the Auckland Primary schools Champion of champions competition later in the year. We had nine gymnasts qualify.
Year 3:
Rosie Gibbs, Estella Jiang, Lucy Fenwick, Cassie Cashen.
Team: 2nd
Individual: Rosie Gibbs (4th), Estella Jiang (7th)
Year 4:
Lucy Gill, Hannah Sun, Annie Zang, Vianna Cheung
Individual: Lucy Gill 4th
Year 5:
Alicia Li, Nalani Tuhoe, Cleo Lindsay, Iris Dun.
Team: 3rd
Individual: Alicia Li 3rd
Year 6:
Charlotte Bruford, Sophie Qu, Angelica Zhao, Leila Roosen.
We have had a fantastic Junior Hockey season this year with our seven teams across Years 4 – 6. The enthusiasm after last year’s disruptive season has been great to see with a great turnout of students at trainings on Wednesday afternoons. Our students showed enthusiasm, rain or shine, and they really improved throughout the season.
We were very fortunate to have 17 student coaches across our Year 4– 6 hockey teams (from the 1st and 2nd XI hockey teams). Our Year 6 teams were The Unbelievable Sticks, King and Hotshots, the Year 5 teams, the Slicksticks and Astros, and our Year 4 team was the Thompson team.
This year St Cuthbert’s had six junior netball teams across Years 3 – 6, playing in the Auckland Netball competition at St John’s on Thursday nights.
All our Junior teams trained and played weekly in Terms 2 and 3. Our Tigers, Leopards, Firecrackers, Sparklers, Diamonds and Emeralds were all coached by Senior School students, creating strong bonds within our College Netball community.
We also ran several netball holiday programmes, where we were able to introduce the sport to some of our youngest Year 1 and 2 students in the Junior school.
Our Senior School girls continue to show amazing teamwork, perseverance, and leadership skills across a range of sports. Despite lockdown interruptions, the girls had a fantastic season, with impressive results across the codes.
Our Equestrian team won the North Island Secondary Schools Horse Trials Event in Taupo. The four-rider team of Holly Richardson, Jessica Sutherland, Ariella Grant and Petra Grant, competed in the three disciplines of dressage, show jumping and cross country. They incurred the fewest number of penalty points which earned them the title from 40 other school teams. We also had success winning regional competitions where our students sometimes vie with adult riders. Jessica Sutherland competed at the NZ Eventing championship and scored strongly in dressage, cross country and show jumping, to place 1st overall in her division. Jessica was awarded the Sir Mark Todd Challenge Cup and the Secondary Schools Trophy for the highest placed secondary school student. Her composite team also placed 2nd overall.
Holly Richardson won 1st place and Isabelle Hawkins placed 3rd at the Grand Prix Super Series Final earlier in the year.
Our girls are very lucky to have NZ Olympic legend Blyth Tait coach a master class in the art of show-jumping each year. Our expert coach, Jacque Williams also holds a training session every term for our 30 school riders, amazing preparation for the competitions during the year.
Premier Grade coaches Mark Thompson and assistant Nicole Mettam primed the team well for the season and started perfectly with a win over Diocesan in the annual Parent Shield match. This team suffered more than most, with a variety of injuries which was then reflected in a run of losses. It did however give the opportunity for Year 9 and 10 players to help out and experience top grade football. The team was led by captain Charlotte Marvin who we farewell this year along with fellow Year 13 player Lexi Butler. These two students have given outstanding service to the code of football over many years.
Our 2nd X1 team competed in the Senior B Grade and had plenty of fun winning five of their 10 matches. With the usual mix of experience plus some new to the game,
our relief teacher Mitchell Carter got the best from the team who finished with two wins in the play-offs and are enthusiastic for next season. Special mention to players Bella Sandler Wright, Brooke Munro and Emma Ford who helped wrangle the girls for trainings and matches.
Player numbers among the Year 9 and 10s were enough to field two teams this year. Both teams had a demanding season, usually playing teams with more experience, although their spirit and resilience were admirable. This was clearly demonstrated by Fiona He, Hannah Murray, Joesalina Mafi, Olivia Gillingham and Sasha Lockington, who made their debuts for the Premier Grade team.
Our Year 7 and 8 team also played a fantastic season in the 9-a-side league after school on Wednesdays.
The Year 7 and 8 hockey students have been a pleasure to work with for the 2021 season. The improvement across all four teams in this age group has been fantastic. The Robertson team won the Central Zone Hockey Competition and came 3rd at the Inter-Zone competition. This has, without a doubt, been a very successful year across the Year 7 and 8 teams and we have been lucky to see their progress since the start of the season!
Our U15 teams completed their season and had a wonderful time, both competitively and playing off for 5th and 6th in their respective grades. The U15 Black team finished their season on a high, drawing for 5th= against a team who, at the beginning of the season had beat them quite substantially, showing their improvement throughout the season.
Our 4th XI for 2021 comprised girls from Years 10 – 13. The girls played Friday afternoons and were a great example of playing sport for fun, with friends.
The team (although somewhat social) surprised themselves and made the C-Grade championship playoffs.
Our 3rd XI was extremely lucky to be coached by ex-Argentinian international hockey player Rocio Gonzalez-Canda. The team was an exciting glance at the up-and-coming talent within our programme. The girls had a successful season playing in the B Grade Champs, and finished on a high beating Dio in their final game 4–1.
The 2nd XI again had a successful season, competing in the Auckland A grade against mostly all 1st XI teams. The 2nd XI improved hugely throughout the season and ended up making the 1st vs 2nd playoff vs Howick College, due to be played the week we went into lockdown. The team had been working hard and was looking very promising.
The 1st XI was really hitting its strides going into lockdown, having already won the Auckland championship earlier in
the season it was also unbeaten in the Supercity competition going into the supercity final vs Westlake. With six of our players being named in the NZU18 squad, the girls were super excited about the opportunity to defend their national title at the Federation Cup in Napier.
We were extremely lucky to be able to send our 1st and 2nd XI teams to Christchurch in the July school holidays. The trip proved to be exactly what both teams needed with Christchurch schools Rangi Ruru and St Margaret’s both providing some fierce competition for our 1st and 2nd XI teams. The girls stayed in the boarding house at Rangi Ruru, and were treated to a fabulous dinner and quiz night with all six teams. To honour the close relationship our hockey programme has with Rangi Ruru, their 1st XI donated a trophy to be played for by both schools called Te Iti Kahurangi –‘The pursuit of excellence’. The teams ended up winning one game each and so the decider came down to a shootout, with St Cuthbert’s coming out on top.
2021 was a successful season for our Senior Lacrosse Team with St Cuthbert’s finishing 3rd in their division.
With the growth shown in this year’s lacrosse community we are excited about the 2022 season. Thanks to Coach Lachlan Lee, parent Manager Michelle Aleksich and Trevor Nichol for his weekly support.
The week before lockdown, our Year 8A and 7A teams competed in the annual Central Zones netball tournament. Our 8A team played its hardest, but unfortunately had an extremely tough draw with both eventual finalists (Remuera and Pasadena) in their initial pool. Our 7A team had a very successful day, winning its first six games to make it through to the final against a determined and physical Kowhai team. The girls couldn’t come away with the win in the final, but their 2nd place finish meant they qualified for the Interzones tournament. A great achievement!
Our AIMS netball team had been working very hard to prepare for the AIMS games, turning up to early morning trainings and meetings for several weeks before lockdown. Unfortunately, the tournament was cancelled, but the team was lucky enough to attend the Howick-Pakuranga Year 7 and 8 tournament just before lockdown. This was the first opportunity the girls had to take the court together as a team, and they had a great day with a few wins, a few losses, and a lot of fun!
We had a fantastic team of students represent the school at the AKSS Ski Champs this year, with the results below.
• Junior Girls Dual Race Genevieve Lyne 3rd
• Senior Girls Dual Race Chloe Browne 4th, Bella Browne 5th, Hana Ehsankya 7th, Amelie Stow 9th
• Girls Ski Race Overall Champs
St Cuthbert’s team: Chloe Browne, Bella Browne and Hana Ehsankya
• Girls Team 2nd Overall for the day across the Ski Race and the Slopestyle.
• St Cuthbert’s Ski Team: Angelina Brotherston, Bella Browne, Chloe Browne, Molly Charlesworth, Hana Ehsankya, Bella Firman, Libby Jackson, Genevieve Lyne, Ella McCutcheon, Amelie Stow and Harriet Swasbrook.
Congrats to the team of 10 girls who represented St Cuthbert’s at the 2021 NZ Secondary Schools Swimming Championship. The event ran across six sessions and saw the best secondary school swimmers go head-tohead for the title of national champion, and the top school gong. Our girls entered into seven relay events and 18 individual events across all strokes. Thanks to Liz Howard, Co-Director of Sport for managing the team, with the support of parent Niki Paterson. Highlights included:
• 9th of 23 girls schools
• 2nd 50m Breaststroke: Elisha Lam (14 years)
• 3rd 100m Breaststroke: Elisha Lam (14 years)
• 3rd 200m Butterfly: Islay Boyes (14 years)
In Term 2 we had a fantastic start to the revitalization of fencing at St Cuthbert’s with so many students wanting to give it a go, that the gym was full to bursting!
The girls have been training in epee, where you need to outwit and outmanoeuvre your opponent. The entire body is target, and unlike foil or sabre, the first person to hit, scores the point.
It has been a pleasure to see our girls develop as athletes and witness their support and encouragement for each other. The girls have had a tremendous first season, and our four-person team entered and won the local Secondary Schools Team Epee competition in August.
Here is what one of our students Jessie Yan had to say, “As our team also became closer and more comfortable during the competition, we fenced better and better, reinforcing my belief that building connections and living in the moment while you’re there is incredibly important. Fencing is an amazing sport, and I encourage anybody that is interested to just give it a go.”
Our Year 7 and 8 waterpolo programme was fortunate enough to get through a term and half worth of competition, with a raft of great successes.
We had four teams entered into the Auckland Eastern League on Friday evenings during Terms 2 and 3. Our Year 7 and 8 Blue team gained great success by going through the league undefeated. The team also won the New Zealand Winter Festival Tournament, the Central Zones, and travelled to Tauranga for the Bayfest Water Polo Tournament coming 2nd. A fantastic effort!
Our Year 7 and 8 Green, White and Black teams all had very successful league results, gaining some great results in the Eastern League and the New Zealand Winter Festival Tournament. The teams grew in ability, skill and knowledge and it was great to see the teams continually improve throughout the season.
A huge thank you to our great team of coaches and parent managers for all their hard work and effort.
This year we commenced lunchtime volleyball sessions for our students, who were keen to give it a go. We had a fantastic number of players involved throughout Terms 1 and 2 which resulted in separating the group into social and competitive sessions.
Our competitive players were preparing for an interschool competition later in the year, while our social group continued training and games on Fridays at lunchtime. It is great to see our students participating in one of our new sporting codes under the guidance of our fabulous teachers Ms McKibbon and Mr Taeho.
What an outstanding edition of Evergreen Ties for Old Girls! I’m so proud to see so many Old Girl achievements celebrated across the magazine.
It is also so very special to see how many Old Girls continue to dedicate their time and expertise to the College, in the true spirit of ‘By Love Serve’. The Old Girls’ Association are proud to have been part of the huge success of Giving Day. The Association gave $150k in the form of scholarships over the next five years. As agreed at the Old Girls’ AGM, we are focussed on keeping financially vulnerable families at the school during these tough times. I encourage everyone to find a way to be involved and give back to the College, whether it be volunteering at an event, or donating to a worthwhile cause. From personal experience, I can tell you how very rewarding it is.
Over the following pages we’re celebrating some of the leading lights of St Cuthbert’s. Our annual Making Their Mark and Old Girls’ Honours ceremony recognise Old Girls who are doing remarkable things in their communities and careers. We were thrilled in Term 2 to acknowledge our three Making Their Mark winners for 2021, Raiha Buchanan, Amber Conley, and Ann Gluckman, our Marking Service recipient (Mary Fenton), and our Old Girls’ Honours awardee (Barbara Rae-Venter). You can read more about these extraordinary Old Girls on page 62.
Sadly many events were cancelled yet again this year, such as two of the much loved Club 50 events (with record numbers set to attend), regional reunions, and the much anticipated Gibbs Farm visit. Thank you to Vice President Simran Saseve-Dale who organised the Gibbs Farm event, now postponed to 2022. Prior to lockdown, we were fortunate to hold a fun-filled evening welcoming new mums to the College who are Old Girls, at my parents’ home. For photos please visit the Old Girls’ website.
We are looking forward to welcoming our newest members to the Old Girls’ Association at the Graduation Ball. These girls are a resilient and hard working group who have missed out on two College Balls and we sincerely hope that the Graduation Ball will be able to take place.
We hope events will resume without disruption from COVID-19 next year. In the
meantime we are focussed on keeping the Old Girl community connected worldwide through phone calls, emails, the Old Girls’ website and working with our Old Girl representatives regionally and overseas. We are working on additional ways to generate income for the Old Girls’ Association, where events continue to assist, but are not core to our fundraising efforts.
This is the last time I’ll have the pleasure addressing you in Evergreen Ties as President of the Old Girls’ Association. Over the past two years, I have loved seeing how our Old Girl community has supported one another and become even closer during these times, when we could have so easily become more distant. The launch of our website has been a highlight for me, as was the St Cuthbert’s Together calling campaign where we saw so many Old Girls reach out and support one another. It has been wonderful to get to know, and work with, our Principal and
Old Girl, Justine Mahon, for whom I have the greatest respect and admiration. My sincere thanks to the hard working and fun Old Girls’ Committee who are fully engaged in our quest to support and promote the Old Girls’ Association and St Cuthbert’s College.
It’s my absolute honour to introduce to you our new President Kirsten McKenzie (1992). Kirsten is currently a committee member and I know she will do a sensational job finding ways for us to connect and celebrate. You can read more about Kirsten’s recent Literary Evening on page 70. I have felt very honoured being your Old Girls’ Association President, and I look forward to supporting Kirsten in her role.
Wishing you all a safe and happy time at Christmas and over the holidays.
Kind regards
Georgina Gilbert-Robertson — President, Old Girls’ Association
The Making Their Mark Awards are held annually to celebrate our inspirational Old Girls. The Awards recognise Old Girls who are ‘making their mark’ in their chosen field, they have the courage to take on significant challenges and possess strong leadership qualities.
Making Their Mark Award Recipient
Amber (1992) is a dedicated Registered Comprehensive Nurse, a role she has held for 25 years. As one of her nominators writes, “Not only is she accomplished in her field of pediatric oncology nursing, but she is also perpetually providing help, advice, and resources where she can, for the much broader universe of people and patients, and families affected by cancer.”
Amber’s nursing career began working in adult oncology, at what is now Auckland City Hospital, before transferring to paediatric oncology at Starship Children’s Hospital in 2000. In 2003, Amber moved to London and worked in the areas of paediatric haematology/oncology. Moving back to New Zealand later, she eventually took on the role of Nurse Unit Manager of the Starship Blood and Cancer Centre, managing a large multidisciplinary team, in addition to overseeing the operational management of the unit. Amber is also involved in many national and international paediatric oncology groups, committees, and societies.
Amber says, “In choosing this career, I have been blessed with a job in which no two days are ever the same and during which I have had the privilege of witnessing, walking alongside, and being involved in many, many triumphs over adversity. I have always and continue to be acutely aware of, the privilege I hold in being in a position to play a part in helping children and young people overcome cancer and go on to live successful, fulfilling lives. I meet fantastic people from all walks of life and get to share my
passion for my chosen career by building, nurturing, and leading a team of nurses committed to providing not only the best clinical care, but also care that enables children, young people, and their whānau to negotiate their way through their unique cancer journey with empathy and compassion.
“In my current role as Nurse Unit Manager, I am able to utilise my specialist knowledge, skills, and expertise in paediatric oncology to develop nursing practice, direct service development, lead nursing research, and guide education and training. It’s a role I’ve combined with family life (marriage and two fantastic children), international travel, and lifelong friendships. I’m also incredibly lucky to be supported by a fantastic team of multi-disciplinary health professionals who inspire me every single day. Routinely, when I tell people what my job is, I am met with dismayed faces as there is a perception that it must be a heart-breaking field in which to be involved. My response is always along the same lines – although there are a lot of tears, there are absolutely many more moments of laughter, joy, and superb teamwork.”
“Choosing a career in paediatric oncology nursing can be best described as a vocation and, over the past 25 years, has given me the opportunity to live the St Cuthbert’s motto ‘By Love Serve’ every day of my working life.”
Making Their Mark Award Recipient
Ann Gluckman (Peer Year 1944) has lived a rich life, with writing and teaching playing featured parts. Ann has contributed significantly to New Zealand’s Jewish community, literary culture, and education. Ann says, “I was born in 1927, the year Charles Lindbergh made history by flying a single-engine plane, the Spirit of St Louis, across the Atlantic. This year, 2021, in my 95th year, it is possible to land rockets on Mars and receive back data from that planet.”
Ann (née Klippel) married at nineteen, went abroad, and had four children when she returned to university to finish her degree fifteen years later. This was very rare in 1960. When she graduated with her MSc, she received a call from St Cuthbert’s needing a parttime teacher for Senior Geography for the year. This started her teaching career at schools such as Western Springs College and Epsom Girls Grammar. Ann was the first woman in New Zealand to become principal of a state co-educational school. This was a role she held at Ngā Tapuwae College in Māngere for fifteen years.
Ann was the recipient of an OBE in 1993 for services to education and the community. Ann’s love of education has extended in other ways – she has worked as a tour leader and authored tour guides, which involved traveling to many different parts of the world.
Looking more closely at our current environment, Ann says,
“In
Aotearoa New Zealand, we have a wonderful opportunity to get to know and respect people of
other cultures and beliefs.”
“Māori has been an official language, besides English and sign language, since 1987.”
Ann has contributed in many other ways to the community, such as being the foundation Jewish co-president (with Rev. Selwyn Dawson) of the Auckland Council for Christians and Jews.
And, in Ann’s inspiring way, she has also had a significant impact in the literary world. This includes writing for the ‘NZ Women’s Weekly’ and ‘The Auckland Star,’ a book entitled ‘Postcards from Tukums – A Family Detective Story,’ and just last year, Ann released her edited 460-page book about the Auckland Jewish community. This third volume of the series, ‘Identity and Involvement –Auckland Jewry, Past and Present,’ was co-edited by Ann, Deb Levy Friedler, and Lindy Davis.
Ann has shown through her remarkable life, a commitment to asking the ‘big questions’ while also practising ‘By Love Serve’ in all she does.
Raiha Buchanan (2002) is charting new territory in the area of fintech. Raiha is CEO and co-founder of the Swedish fintech company Gigapay, a salary payment infrastructure built for the gig and creator economy. Already operational in Finland and Sweden, they will scale to key European markets.
Prior to Gigapay, Raiha held executive positions for some of Europe’s leading fintech companies, where she helped commercialise solutions to new geographies.
Raiha is an excellent role model because of her considerable expertise in novel fintech development and also because of her commitment to encouraging women in the industry. With a passion for fintech, she started WIFTN, a non-profit network for women in this field.
For Raiha, attracting women to the industry and empowering them means an improvement in diversity. It is also through this diversity that we can see new perspectives and the associated changes in technology and the financial regulatory landscape.
Raiha has won numerous awards, including the top 75 young female leaders in 2020 in Sweden, Finnovate Top 200 Women in Fintech 2020, and Inspiring Fifty Nordics 2019. As a Māori New Zealand woman, Raiha is proud of her heritage and hopes to inspire other women and minorities to create their own paths.
Raiha’s supportive family has played an important part in her success. Raiha shares, “I come from a mixed-heritage background. My father is of Pākehā descent, and my mother is of Māori descent from Ngāti Porou and Ngāti Tūwharetoa. This has allowed me to look from the beginning from different perspectives.
We welcome your nominations for 2022.
Nominations close 29 April, 2022 – find out how to nominate a fellow Old Girl on our website old.girls.stcuthberts.school.nz
“Mana wāhine, reach for the stars, go for gold. Our best always, are things my mother would say to me and my sisters every morning before we’d go off to school.”
This ability to see things in novel ways has contributed to Raiha being at the cutting edge of new technologies in fintech.
Reflecting on her path, Raiha says,
“A few things that have been stalwarts for me as I’ve gone forward:
“Having resilience and the ability to push forward even when things have been difficult.
“Setting myself high goals and high targets, even if they seem impossible –really continuing to work towards them.
“Having a high-achieving mindset – really believing that I’m actually going to be able to achieve the things I set out to do.”
Importantly, Raiha encourages taking the unexpected routes in life, “Don’t just take the road that is the most obvious and the most well-travelled. Set your own path. You only have one life, one opportunity to do what inspires you and can really inspire others. Don’t dream small – dream big and really try to achieve that. Surround yourself with mentors and people who inspire you. You’d be surprised by how much people actually want to help when you reach out.”
Marking Service Award Recipient
It’s difficult to summarize Mary’s (1962) extensive volunteering activities, because hers is a lifetime of giving generously to the community. As her nominators write, “Mary Fenton is the absolute embodiment of St Cuthbert’s College motto ‘By Love Serve’. It would be fair to say that just about everyone knows Mary Fenton because of her wide involvement in the community, sport, and church in Auckland and Kerikeri.”
Mary says, “I have tried to take the spirit of ‘By Love Serve’ into my life and I do things for the greater good of the communities I have lived in. None of my service to the community has been world-shatteringly important, but maybe all the little parts make up the whole it is today.”
Just some of Mary’s wide-ranging service over many years includes visiting prisoners, as well as making Christmas bouquets for them, being a Plunket Nurse and Lactation Consultant, dedicating time through umpiring, general management, nursing, and cooking for the Eden Epsom Tennis and Squash Club, St Lukes Hockey Club, and Cornwall Cricket Club, and now the Kerikeri Tennis Club, involvement in the New Zealand Girls Brigade, and helping in the administering of the community center attached to the Kerikeri Union Church. Mary is also a dedicated supporter of members of the Kerikeri community, helping with shopping, visiting, appointments, and meals.
Mary is committed to the wellbeing of the family, both in her personal life, her working life, and in her volunteering. Although her children and grandchildren are overseas, she is a dedicated granny from a distance, reading bedtime stories via video link to her grandchildren in Brisbane and regularly catching up with her London-based grandsons.
Mary acknowledges family as the
cornerstone to her life. “My family always came first, before any work outside the home. I was lucky that I had a hard-working supportive husband, Bill – well, I still have him – 53 years later – and he enabled me to be an ‘at home’ mother except during the boys’ school hours. We now have two grown-up sons and four grandchildren.”
When Mary was growing up, her family “were great community supporters and we grew up with an ethic of helping to make it a better place to live. They gave their time and energy freely always. Having a Down syndrome younger sister possibly set the grounds for me of helping and loving, and as a family, we raised a simply wonderful little person who in turn, contributed so much to everyone she met.”
Mary acknowledges, “We all have
The Marking Service Award is inspired by the St Cuthbert’s College motto ‘By Love Serve’ and by a desire to celebrate alumnae who have taken the spirit of our motto into their life and work. There is one award presented each year.
the capacity to give in different ways, so there will always be something you can contribute. When you get the time, don’t forget there is plenty you can contribute to and volunteer to do. It will give you great satisfaction.”
Mary offers her insights for the College community.
“‘By Love Serve’
• Make the most of every day
• Only do to others what you are happy that they do to you
• Share your worries with someone
• Help without being asked – go the extra mile
• Be grateful for what you have – some have nothing
• Take time for yourself – by yourself.”
“The weekly Wednesday roast night is another example when Mary had an open home for anyone wanting to share a meal. She began Wednesday roast while living in Auckland and continues still.”
Barbara Rae-Venter (1966) is a retired intellectual property attorney who, since her retirement, has reinvented herself as an investigative genetic genealogist – a career that brings together cutting-edge technology and a deep understanding of science. Barbara has helped adopted people find biological family members, and also realised the application of the techniques to law enforcement. She helped solve several high-profile criminal cases, including the identity of three of the victims of the Bear Brook Murders in New Hampshire and the Golden State Killer in California.
Barbara has a BA in Psychology and Biochemistry from UCSD and a PhD in Biology, also from UCSD. She also received her JD from the University of Texas at Austin. She was a postdoctoral fellow at Roswell Park Memorial Institute in Buffalo, New York. She has worked as an academic at the University of Texas Medical Branch, and Stanford University. She was also employed as a patent
The Old Girls’ Honours have been awarded annually since 2003 to Old Girls who have made an outstanding contribution in their chosen field. The Honours Award is given to an Old Girl who has made an outstanding contribution, nationally or internationally, in any field, including (but not limited to) the arts, commerce, education, military, the professions, public service, research, science and technology, and sport.
lawyer. She was recognised for her work in investigative genetic genealogy in 2018, appearing on Nature’s list of ‘10 People Who Mattered this Year in Science’. She was recognised in the 2019 Time 100 list of most influential people.
Barbara also contributes her skills in other ways. She volunteers as a ‘search angel’ for DNA Adoption, a non-profit that shows adoptees how to use DNA in their birth family search. She has also volunteered with the Monterey Family History Center.
Barbara has become one of the most well-known figures in investigative genetic genealogy and law enforcement, and, after the Golden State Killer case, she has contributed to public discourse on the ethics of using shared community data for law enforcement purposes.
Barbara offers some inspiring insights for the students of St Cuthbert’s.
“Take the hardest classes at every level because you never know when you may either need or want to pivot in a different direction. I know because I have reinvented myself several times over in my lifetime and what has allowed me
to do that, is having great educational credentials.
“I started out my work life as a computer programmer, went back to school and became a breast cancer researcher and medical school assistant professor teaching biochemistry and endocrinology, went to law school and became a biotechnology patent attorney, retired and became an investigative genetic genealogist helping law enforcement solve violent crimes.
“Being in an all-girls’ school means that it is always okay to excel at maths and science. That is an amazing gift that I know I did not appreciate at the time. I would encourage any of you dreaming of becoming a scientist, a physician, even a genetic sleuth, to follow that dream and to be open to accepting the unexpected opportunities that come your way.
“That is how I have ended up in a place I never expected to be all those years ago, when I stood in your shoes using my science background to help the FBI solve the identity of the notorious Golden State Killer.”
“One of the most important things you can do for yourself is to obtain an excellent education. And St Cuthbert’s is providing you with a great foundation –grab it with both hands. And keep going.”
The Kathleen Goulding Scholarship provides a Year 9 girl with the opportunity to attend St Cuthbert’s each year.
The scholarship is awarded to an external student joining in Year 9 who demonstrates passion and all round ability. Awarded annually, the scholarship is for five years from Years 9 – 13.
Our 2021 recipient, Molly Cooper, is making the most of her time at St Cuthbert’s. She is a keen sportswoman and has relished her first few terms, including enjoying StCuth’s@home during lockdown.
She is also a focussed and determined student. Molly continues, “I’ve really enjoyed the supportive learning environment and the College’s impressive academic focus which can be challenging, but always pays off. I am so grateful for being immersed in the rich culture of the College and am looking forward to making the most of all the opportunities to come.”
Excited is an understatement for how our 2022 recipient, Ruby King, is feeling about starting in Year 9 at St Cuthbert’s next year. She has her uniform ready to go.
Ruby is looking forward to joining a school where the students love learning, like she does. She feels the values of St Cuthbert’s align well with her own.
“I’m really excited to be joining the St Cuthbert’s community next year. I love learning and trying new things, and I can’t wait to make the most of all the opportunities St Cuthbert’s has to offer,” says Ruby.
Molly and Ruby, it is wonderful to see the Kathleen Goulding Scholarship awarded to such lovely students and we are so happy to have you as part of our College community.
“In the short time I have been at St Cuthbert’s, I’ve already had some incredible opportunities...in particular, the sports facilities and coaches have allowed me to pursue my passion for netball.”
Molly Cooper
“Kindness and empathy are two of my most important values, and I believe when we support and encourage each other, we can all become the best that we can be.”
Ruby King
The Violet Wood Advanced Studies Grant 2022 grant is a wonderful opportunity to support your professional development. It is available to Old Girls in postgraduate study in any field including academic, music, sport, or art.
The $5,000 grant is intended to help with costs and enable you to further your education through postgraduate study. It can be used to cover general or specific costs, such as paying for course fees, purchasing equipment, and travel costs.
Previous recipient Olivia Jennison says, “It was a real privilege to be awarded this grant and to reconnect with the College. This grant has been incredibly supportive in my doctoral studies, as although the pathway to becoming a clinical psychologist is rewarding, it is also lengthy and unfunded.
Undoubtedly, COVID-19 has changed the way we work and support our communities, where everything from family dinners to business meetings happen over videoconferencing.
As a result, my doctoral research into a psychological video conferencing programme is even more pertinent due to COVID-19 bringing restrictions on face-to-face contact and the pandemic’s impact on people emotionally and financially.”
The application form is available at our website: oldgirls.stcuthberts.school.nz/ violet-wood-grant/
Please email your completed application form to: alumnae@stcuthberts.school.nz Or mail to:
St Cuthbert’s Old Girls Association PO Box 26 020 Epsom Auckland 1344
For any questions, contact the alumnae office on (09) 520-4159 ext. 7607
Applications must be received no later than 31 January 2022. Special conditions apply.
Shoponline:www.orsini.co.nz/st-cuthberts
The Old Girls’ website is your place to connect with the wider Old Girls’ community.
Submit your profile, connect with other Old Girls, see what events are coming up and how you can get involved.
How do you visit the website?
1. Open your internet browser on your phone, laptop or tablet - either Google Chrome, Safari or Firefox.
2. In the search bar at the top, type in the following link: oldgirls.stcuthberts.school.nz
3. Have a look around the website and connect with old friends.
“Omaio is my private sanctuary – it is calm and restful. The ancient trees and bird song provide a deep and meaningful presence. It has soul and spirit.”
Being immersed in the natural environment is so good for our wellbeing. Seeing the green sprouts or the steadfast evergreens reminds us of the enduring beauty of nature.
Old Girl Liz Morrow (1964) is surrounded by the revitalising energy of her garden, Omaio. Liz talks about how this paradise came to be in her life. “The property was purchased in 1980 for our holiday retreat – it is 18 acres (7.28 hectares) on the Takatu Peninsula. We named it Omaio – a place of peace, quiet, and tranquillity. We built a log cabin on the water’s edge the same year after spending months clearing the cabin site of kānuka and mānuka. Prior to purchase, sheep and cattle roamed the property. I moved in December 2005 to live permanently and in January 2006, commenced the garden layout. This took seven months until planting started in July.”
The environment at Omaio is one of abundance, with a log cabin surrounded by ancient New Zealand trees. Liz says that a pūriri on the front lawn is estimated to be 1,500 years old, and there are kauri trees aged 1,000 years. Liz shares, “My vision was to embrace the surroundings and not compete, so it was important to select plants and shrubs that married well with the existing surroundings and allow the landscape to dominate.
A variety of native plants with appropriate exotics were selected to provide a harmonious blend. I wanted to create a garden that was easy on the eye, with a soft palette of colour and one that connected and flowed easily, blending in seamlessly with the existing native vegetation.”
When asked what her favourite plants are, Liz acknowledges that it is difficult question. “I have many favourites but let me name just a few – bergenia, hydrangeas, hellebores, ferns, ligularia.”
Liz says, “I have no formal horticultural training – rather a life of immersion in nature! I’ve been associated with and worked in horticultural events, projects and the industry, most of my life and in 2010, was made a Fellow of the Royal New Zealand Institute of Horticulture for my services to horticulture.”
The roots of Liz’s love of the outdoors go back to her childhood. Liz says, “I grew up on the farm ‘Koropupu’ in the King Country – we were the DIY family growing all our fruit and vegetables. My hard-working parents created a wonderful garden. I milked the house cow from a young age, cooked for the shearers, and was surrounded by nature. I developed a deep appreciation of trees, plants, and the landscape from a young age, competing annually at the local shows with my floral and sand arrangements. Special memories. I was blessed with an unforgettable childhood.”
As a Boarder at St Cuthbert’s, starting in 1960, Liz’s connections to both nature and ‘By Love Serve’ flourished. “The students I met there have become my lifelong friends
whom I treasure,” Liz shares. “Old Girl Judy Laity (née Wells) and I were responsible for many years in upgrading the grounds and gardens around the College in the 1980s and 1990s. ‘By Love Serve’ is a powerful motto and never more so than in these uncertain times that we all face. To me it spells connection, joy, trust, embrace, respect, honour, kindness – words to value, to hold dear.”
Liz lives ‘By Love Serve’ in different ways, including opening Omaio up to the public by appointment, and hosting fundraising events for NZ House & Garden Tours, raising funds for the Breast Cancer Foundation NZ, and Omaio has been open to raise funds for the Warkworth Hospice. Workshops have also been held at this magical property.
Omaio is also a place to bring the family together. Liz says, “My son John lives in Auckland and is incredibly supportive. In 2007, he started developing the trails through the surrounding bush and visits often to help with a variety of tasks. His help is invaluable.
“Daughter Jane (also an Old Girl) lives in Wānaka and has an interest in New Zealand’s native bush and rongoā, the traditional Māori medicinal use of plants. Wanting to learn more of the unique properties of New Zealand herbs, she completed an herbal course to learn more of the nutritional and healing potential that our native trees and local wild edible plants have to offer and how to identify, harvest and incorporate them into our daily life – more as food, nourishment, and medicine as well as learning how to make herbal remedies.”
Omaio has been recognised by the New Zealand Gardens Trust, which awarded it the status of a Garden of International Significance. As a six-star garden, Omaio provides a “top garden experience – a complete package, which inspires garden lovers and delivers an experience above all other gardens.”
When asked if she has any advice for members of the St Cuthbert’s community wanting to get into gardening, Liz affirms, “Gardening can be life changing. What better than to grow your very own fruit, herbs, flowers and vegetables and engage with nature and its wonders. A small space, the size of a wine barrel even, can be a productive space. The advantages and rewards of gardening are immense.” Gardening is therapeutic, it is healing and rewarding.”
On a winter’s night in June, book lovers came together to hear the stories of Old Girl authors Julie Thomas, Kirsten McKenzie, Caroline Barron, Rose Carlyle, Renee Liang, and Cybella Maffitt.
The event also recognised this year’s Making Their Mark awardee Ann Gluckman, whose many achievements were noted by Juliet Moses (2020 Marking Their Mark recipient) in a moving tribute. Ann has done considerable work for the Jewish, literary, and education communities. Current student Zara Bennett read her wonderful poem, demonstrating a rising talent.
As a fundraiser for Old Girls’ Association scholarships, the event was an opportunity to nurture future talent.
St Cuthbert’s warmly acknowledges the generous support of all authors involved and Old Girls’ Association Committee member and future OGA president Kirsten McKenzie for her impressive work and dedication in producing the event. A huge success, 2022 will see the return of this standout evening.
This year’s longstanding Bridge Day was an exciting event, with Old Girls and friends from the community gathering at the Auckland Bridge Club for a day of bridge and Mahjong.
The raffle, always an exciting part of the day, included many prizes generously donated by the Old Girls’ Association and the community. Principal Justine Mahon and Old Girls’ Association President Georgina Gilbert-Robertson gave an update on the College and OGA activities. The day could not have happened without the incredible organisation of Kim Williams and members of the OGA Committee.
All money raised goes towards the two scholarships that the Old Girls’ Association fund, so that the gift of a St Cuthbert’s education can be given to girls who would otherwise not be able to afford to attend.
COVID-19 may be causing ongoing event disruptions, however, in the true spirit of St Cuthbert’s we won’t let this affect us, finding ways for our Old Girls to connect and celebrate in 2022.
For more information on upcoming events in your area please visit our website: oldgirls.stcuthberts.school.nz
BAY OF PLENTY
Contact: Dearwyn Caulfield
Phone: 0274 935 037
Email: pdcaulfield@xtra.co.nz
BRISBANE
Contact: Trish Cotterell
Email: trish07.cotterell@gmail.com
CHINA (BEIJING)
Contact: Jennifer Ma
Email: jenniferjinma@littleoasis.cn
DALLAS
Contact: Clair Robinson (Menzies)
Email: clairmenzies@gmail.com
LONDON
Contact: Kate Turner
Phone: 44 78374 57882
Email: katemacsween1@gmail.com
LOS ANGELES
Contact: Amanda Wong
Phone: 1 310 963 3302
Email: kiwi_esq@hotmail.com
NEW YORK
Contact: Ashleigh Hunt Email: ahunt@cgr-law.com
PERTH
Contact: Marg Shorter (Hartnell) Phone: 08 9388 2221
Email: margshorter@westnet.com.au
SYDNEY
Contact: Amy Zhang
Phone: (61) 450 905 264
Email: amyzhang35@gmail.com
TONGA
Contact: Ana Tupou Panuve
Phone: (61) 450 905 264
Email: ana.tupou@panuve.com
TARANAKI
Contact: Elizabeth Utting (Gray) Phone: 06 927 4909
Email: Johnandelizabeth.50@gmail.com
WAIKATO
Contact: Catharine Stuart (Murray) Phone: 07 827 1766
Email: bandcstuart@gmail.com
Old Girls interested in becoming Local Coordinators in other cities and countries please contact: alumnae@stcuthberts.school.nz
Old Girl Josephine Stonyer (2012) shares the special St Cuthbert’s connection with her grandmother, Audrey Ward (née Trenwith, 1947). Audrey sadly passed this year, but her lively personality and love for St Cuthbert’s mean important family memories continue for granddaughter Josephine.
I still remember the sheer delight on her face and sparkle in her eyes when I told my grandmother, Audrey Ward, that I was starting at St Cuthbert’s. She was a Boarder at St Cuthbert’s in the 1940s and a proud member of Elgin house. It was a place she treasured so dearly and her pride in Black Watch tartan was second to none!
The values, perspectives, and understanding Granny gained at St Cuthbert’s remained with her and underpinned how she lived her life. She would often quote the College motto ‘By Love Serve’, and say how influential this was on her pursuing her career in nursing. This paralleled my own experience and motivations for undertaking study at medical school. We regularly shared memories of our experiences in the healthcare system, and cherished the unique privilege of journeying with, and caring for, patients. I would often call her when walking home from hospital in the evenings to tell her of my day. She retained her keen interest in the profession and having been a theatre nurse, she especially loved the stories of surgery, new techniques, and novel approaches.
The self-confidence, tenacity, and independence she gained from St Cuthbert’s was also evident throughout her life. Initially when starting nursing, she had to negotiate with the nursing board for several years before being allowed to train as a nurse, due to her own health issues. She was eventually granted a trial period during which she determinedly surpassed expectations and went on to become a very well respected and capable theatre nurse, working with some of the top surgeons our country has seen. She continued to live true to the St Cuthbert’s values, advocating for improved treatment of the nursing profession by other staff and safer working conditions throughout
her career. One of her cheekiest memories of this that she loved to recall, was of her and the other nurses tying the shoelaces together under the operating table of one of the surgeons who was renowned for poor treatment of nurses. Somehow, they got away with it too.
While such self-confidence, tenacity, and independence are increasingly common to see among women in society in today’s times, it was quite a profound and unique environment to have a few decades ago when Granny was at school. Granny also recognised this, always citing the immense privilege it was to have had the opportunity to attend St Cuthbert’s, receive the education and opportunities it provided. She acknowledged how it set her on her life’s trajectory. This tenet has continued strongly for St Cuthbert’s throughout the decades and personally, it was also one of my greatest areas of growth throughout my own time at the College.
Above all, Granny cherished the friendships, community and sense of family she had at St Cuthbert’s. I would always receive an excited call a few days after the College magazine arrived in the mail, knowing she had spent the past few evenings with a gin in hand, reading it cover to cover. We would discuss the goings-on at the College and reminisce about our own experiences. She was always curious to hear what day-to-day life entailed, changes to the uniform, and compare which buildings were still standing from her own time at the College. She recalled fond memories of boarding, her ‘home away from home’, and the family she had there. Of course, she devised plenty of mischief in her time in the boarding house, like finding ways to sneak in treats of food or be excused from prep time.
Her sense of belonging at the College had not wavered many years since leaving. She
attended reunions well into her later years until she could no longer travel to Tauranga for these, and in lockdown last year, Granny received a call from the College as part of the St Cuth’s Together calling campaign. She was overwhelmed by this care and thoughtfulness extended by the College and nattered away with the caller like old friends. She shared her joy of this call with nearly the whole of Whakatane!
In our conversations about St Cuthbert’s, I was always struck by the history and tradition of the College. Knowing you are walking through the same corridors and buildings, reciting the same school verse, ringing the same Bews bell, learning the same principles, and wearing Black Watch tartan as the many generations before you, truly makes you feel as though you are standing on the shoulders of the many wonderful women, Granny included, who have gone before you and paved the way.
For Granny and me, the bond of Black Watch tartan created something truly unique between us. What I loved most about her was how special she made you feel. She cared for, loved, and treasured those around her. She drew people in and knew how to build a community. She valued people and recognised that life needed to be shared with those around you. Granny lived the values of St Cuthbert’s well beyond the gates and her time at the College.
In memorial
We fondly remember,
Maire Dempster-Rivett (née Berg) 1941
Barbara Jones (née Smeeton) 1942
Robyn Madden (née Porter) 1969
Audrey Ward (née Trenwith) 1947
We were visited by St Cuthbert’s Old Girl, Kristy Atkinson, who has established an essential oils company, Savvy Oilers, after she became hooked on their beneficial properties. We only wish we could provide this article with a ‘scratch and sniff’ panel as, if you were to smell them, you’d be instantly hooked too!
Kristy (née Edwards) graduated St Cuthbert’s in 1999. She went on to study engineering at university but her career took another road when she discovered the healing power of essential oils. Kristy said she enjoyed studying engineering but quickly realised it wasn’t her “heart job” and wouldn’t fit well with raising her young family of three boys.
“Essential oils are what I do as my hobby and passion; I simply love seeing the difference it can make in people’s lives. I began very simply with a small starter set and now have over 150 oils and blends at home; my husband has been very gracious as it’s all set up in our kitchen!”
It was shortly after Kristy’s third child was born that she became a true advocate for essential oils. The support they provided for respiratory issues for her children was
mind-blowing, and she was soon helping many friends and their children in similar situations. Kristy says that’s when she felt her “eyes had been opened” to the alternatives out there and that, for her, oils are a part of the whole spectrum of wellness, adding “of course, if we need to, we still go to the doctor”. Kristy realises that using essential oils and chemical free products can support a healthy lifestyle, including providing emotional support.
Reflecting on her St Cuthbert’s education she says “My time at St Cuthbert’s instilled in me the confidence and courage to pursue my interests. Life is a journey of continual learning, and whether it be engineering, telecommunications, or now wellness that I have applied myself to, the confidence and communication skills I developed have led me to share what I have learned with others.”
Not all superheroes wear capes
After leaving school, Amy chose to study nursing at the University of Auckland, as it combined her love for science and biology with a very handson patient care role that could provide her with many different career pathways.
Amy completed her nursing degree in 2010 and began a graduate nursing role as a registered nurse in the Emergency Department at Middlemore Hospital, a very busy and varied role, where Amy says she had a huge opportunity to learn in a supportive environment. Amy stayed within the department until choosing to begin her overseas experience in 2014.
During her overseas travels, Amy based herself in London. When she wasn’t nursing in a hospital setting, she cared for complex spinal patients (who often required breathing support from a ventilator), in their own home.
Following on from Amy’s overseas experience, she chose to pursue her interests in medical research, and was involved in a variety of clinical trials with different specialists throughout the hospital, working on developing new
medications for Hepatitis B and Type 2 Diabetes. Amy elaborates,
“This was a wonderful experience that encouraged progressive thinking and innovation, while allowing me the opportunity to travel to several different overseas cities to attend international meetings.
“Although I found this role very progressive, I found I was missing nursing patients in an acute setting, so I applied for and was offered a role in the ICU at Middlemore Hospital. Throughout this role, I cared for a wide range of patients, including serious spinal and burn patients, as well as working in ICU following the Christchurch mosque attack and White Island eruption.
“More recently, I have taken a slight step back from the hectic environment of the ICU and I’m working in a postanaesthetic unit in a private hospital in Auckland, a role that varies from public hospital nursing, but still offers me with challenges and learning opportunities, not to mention a wonderful work-life balance.”
Inspiring other women engineers
Emily is currently in her Honours year of her Biomedical Engineering degree at the University of Auckland. Emily shares,
“Since leaving St Cuthbert’s, I have come to face the reality that not everyone is given the same opportunity and support that I did through my educational journey, and as a result, I am currently focusing a lot of my efforts into the Women in Engineering Network at university.
“In particular, my focus is on outreach to schools around New Zealand to encourage younger girls into the field of STEM. I have also been very honoured to receive the University of Auckland Kupe Leadership Scholarship, sponsored by the John Turnbull Estate, which has provided me many opportunities, including assigning me my mentor, Dr Michelle Dickinson.”
Explaining ‘big feelings’ through books
Je t’aime runs a copywriting business called Run Rabbit, but after becoming a mother to her twin boys, she became inspired to write children’s books.
She is in the process of publishing her first book, ‘The Little Tiger with the Big Temper’, which introduces simple mindfulness and meditation techniques and allows the child and adult reader to practise along with the characters.
The book also aims to support parents, teachers and caregivers by demonstrating a ‘conscious communication’ and neuroscienceapproved approach to responding to a child’s ‘big feelings’ in a way that fosters a child’s secure attachment and improves emotional literacy.
Talented haiku poet and artist
Influenced by the enthusiasm and love for poetry from her St Cuthbert’s English teacher, Mrs Hollingsworth, Jenny began to write in the Paris street cafés while studying French.
In 2010 she was introduced to haiku (haiku is a type of short form poetry, originally from Japan). Since then, she’s had haiku accepted in international journals, including top placings in international competitions. This year, she received the prestigious honour of being selected for ‘A New Resonance 12: Emerging Voices in English-Language Haiku’, a book of haiku featuring 17 of the world’s top emerging haiku poets, published every second year.
Jenny also built Riverweaver, a cottage industry employing up to eight contract handweavers – craftswomen working from their homes.
Riverweaver was an exhibitor in the inaugural L’Oréal Paris New Zealand Fashion Week in Auckland in October 2001. The Waikato Art Museum has six pieces of Riverweaver in its Permanent Collection.
Dr Simone Watkins is a thirty-three-year-old Afakasi Samoan who graduated St Cuthbert’s in the 2005 class. She then went on to complete her medical training at the University of Auckland on a ViceChancellor’s scholarship.
Dr Watkins graduated from her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery with distinction in 2011 and began training in paediatrics in 2013. This year she is taking a step away from her clinical work to pursue a PhD titled: ‘Why Do Outcomes of Critical Congenital Heart Disease in New Zealand Differ by Ethnicity?’
Dr Watkins has two sons and currently resides in central Auckland. She also has a forthcoming book chapter alongside twenty medical women from around the world, which tells her story with the hope of inspiring other women into medicine.
Send your news to alumnae@stcuthberts.school.nz. We love featuring the stories of Old Girls, snapshots of overseas adventures, notable achievements, additions to your family, reminiscences of school and more!
Go online to the Old Girls’ Association website to submit your profile. We love hearing all news.
oldgirls.stcuthberts.school.nz/ submit-your-profile/
Events are a wonderful time to catch up with friends and visit the school.
Due to another unexpected interruption because of the pandemic, some regular events needed to be postponed earlier in 2021. The Old Girls’ Association let attendees of Old Girls’ events know they were missed through a special surprise sweet treat.
Recipients were thrilled, with warm messages saying the gesture was a reminder that we are there for one another in these times.
