Evergreen Ties - June 2019

2019 — June

Evergreen

Ties

Feature

The Leadership Edition —

Plus

Nurturing Creative Writers —

Also

Head of Junior School Kerry Oldman — And

Living on Campus —

Making girls amazing Making Amazing Scholars Making Amazing Athletes Making Amazing Artists Making Amazing Discoveries Making Amazing Friendships — It’s amazing what you will achieve

AUTUMN-WINTER 2019

E XC I T ING E V E NT S 29 JUNE

FORMULA CHALLENGE Head on down to Taupo for a highspeed weekend dedicated to exhilarating and exciting experiences behind the wheel with Formula Challenge, including ‘hot laps’ in an Aston Martin GT4 race car.

2 7 J U LY

FROMM BIG RED DINNER FROMM’s General Manager, Stephan Walliser will be pulling some treasures from the cellar and will collaborate closely with Chef Paul to create a superb wine and food match dinner.

2 9 A U G . – 0 1 S E P T.

FLY FISHING EVENT Join us, and Al Brown, as Huka Lodge celebrate its heritage with this inaugural three-day, friendly and inclusive event, which promises to be exciting and dynamic – both on and off the water.

13–14 SEPTEMBER

PURE EXTRAVAGANCE Executive Chef, Paul Froggatt, brings together a stunning presentation of curated gourmet events, with boutique producers, for one very decadent weekend for food lovers at Huka Lodge.

www.hukalodge.co.nz T + 64 7 378 5791 E reservations@hukalodge.co.nz

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Evergreen Ties —

Inspiring thoughts about everlasting friendships, everblooming, everchanging and everyone!

Meet our Leaders

Evergreen Ties is published two times a year by the St Cuthbert’s Communications Office.

EDITOR Analiese Jackson

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From the Desk of Justine Mahon

DESIGN & LAYOUT EDITOR Janice O’Kane ADVERTISING Holly Palmer Holly.Palmer@stcuthberts.school.nz OLD GIRLS’ ASSOCIATION Penelope Peebles PresidentOGA@stcuthberts.school.nz PARENTS & FRIENDS’ ASSOCIATION parents.friends@stcuthberts.school.nz NEXT ISSUE November 2019

Making Girls Amazing

Front Cover: This issue’s front cover features Marni Brewis, Aveia Renault-Pollard and Avisha Maini, who star in St Cuthbert’s latest hero shot, Amazing Role Models.

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Follow us on: StCuthbertsCollege

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StCuthbertsCollege

Sport Snapshot

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Saints Alive Hit the High Notes

Featured Stories 4

A Design in Mind

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Introducing Kerry Oldman

Contents Meet our Leaders 01 — From the Desk of Justine Mahon 02 — Scholars’ Assembly and Academic 2018 Results

Making Girls Amazing 03 — A Design in Mind 04 — A French Exchange 05 — Hon. Julie Bishop visit 06 — 2019 Student Leadership Team 07 — Introducing Kerry Oldman

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Duke of Edinburgh

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Spotlight on Creative Writing

08 — Year 6 considers: ‘How can I be a leader?’

09 — Introducing our new Junior School magazine ‘Little Sister’ 10 — Duke of Edinburgh 11 — Living on Campus 12 — Spotlight on Creative Writig: Finding her Voice through Writing 13 — It’s Girls vs Boys 14 — Introducing Margin 15 — Supporters Hoodie 16 — Middle Distance running 17 — Sport Snapshot

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House Flowers

18 — Saints Alive 19 — Year 9 Rock 20 — Shakespeare Soiree 21 — House Flowers

Our connected community 22 — St Cuthbert’s Old Girls’ Association News and Events 23 — 2019 Scholarship Recipients 24 — Holly’s door is open...

25 — Annual Giving 26 — Parents and Friends’ Association

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From the Desk of Justine Mahon

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OUR LEADERSHIP

I would like to acknowledge the horrific events in Christchurch on March 15, and to remember those who lost their lives, and the families and communities who are grieving. I was struck by the courage and leadership shown by so many people during this time, including our Prime Minister who has challenged us all to work together to build a more inclusive and respectful world. I believe every one of us can make a difference, and that we need to show leadership, teaching our girls to be confident in their personal views, and to support diversity. I would also like to thank our school community who donated so generously to support the victims and their families.

Developing leadership qualities is an important part of teaching young women to use their voice, and helping them realise that they can influence the world around them. In the past two terms it has been a privilege to host two outstanding women leaders to the school. The Hon Julie Bishop, former Foreign Minister of Australia, visited the school in February, and our Governor General, Her Excellency Dame Patsy Reddy, spoke at our Scholars’ Assembly.

Launch of our Year 7–13 Senior School and Expansion of our Senior Academy We recently announced that St Cuthbert’s is moving to a Year 7–13 Senior School from Term One 2020. To remain at the forefront of girls’ education, we constantly critique the different aspects of our educational offering. Our strategic planning over the past 12 months has focused on ensuring that we have the right structure in place across the school so that we continue to provide the very best environment in which our girls can achieve their full potential.

Girls at Year 7 and 8 are in their early stage of adolescence and have unique developmental needs. With our move to include girls at this age into the Senior School, we are retaining our Year 7 Homeroom model, and expanding our House (or Vertical) Tutor Groups to include girls from Years 8–13. This structure enables us to both recognise the different developmental stages across these year levels and strengthen the special sisterhood culture at St Cuthbert’s.

It also reduces the number of transition points for students between the different schools, to better support their emotional wellbeing.

As they transition from primary school, our Year 7 girls need the pastoral support and day-to-day care provided by a dedicated homeroom teacher. Including Year 7 in the Senior School will provide greater opportunities for girls at this level to work with more senior girls on a range of projects and activities.

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I am really excited to be expanding our House (or Vertical) Tutor Group system to include Year 8 girls. The girls will still attend all subject classes with their cohort, but they will also join a House Tutor Group. House Tutor Groups meet several times a week and provide an environment for girls across the year groups to form connections, and to mentor and support one another. They work on projects such as our hugely popular House Wearable Arts competition, and other exciting initiatives. Placing girls from across the different year groups in the Senior School into a tutor group greatly reduces the intensity of being constantly amongst their peer group.

It gives our girls the freedom to explore who they are and develop their leadership skills by interacting with younger girls, imparting advice and instilling confidence and self-worth in our youngest students. These exchanges support girls to gain a deeper connection with the school community and create an environment where they are happy and confident in themselves and in their ability to learn.

The expansion of our Senior Academy to include Year 11 girls, in addition to Years 12 and 13 reflects the developmental needs of Year 11 girls who are rapidly moving to young adulthood. The move to open the current Year 12 exchange options to Year 11 girls builds on our unique Kahunui Programme and provides additional opportunities for leadership and personal growth.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank our Parents and Friends, Asian Friendship Group, and Old Girls, for everything they do to support St Cuthbert’s, and our girls.

We have a strong and connected community who are so generous with their time, and we are very grateful for everything you do. I look forward to seeing as many of you as possible during the year.

Warm regards Ms Justine Mahon — Principal OUR LEADERSHIP

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Scholars’ Assembly The Governor-General of New Zealand, Her Excellency Dame Patsy Reddy, GNZM, QSO, visited St Cuthbert’s at the invitation of Principal Justine Mahon to deliver the keynote address at this year’s Scholars’ Assembly. This special Prize Giving recognises the academic success of our 2018 NCEA and International Baccalaureate students.

Upon Her Excellency’s arrival, our Middle and Junior School girls excitedly waved brightly coloured flags that they had created with the help of our Year 11 students as part of the school’s Love and Diversity Week-themed activities. Dame Reddy was so taken with one of the flags, she even asked to take it home with her to put on display!

During her address, in which she said she was “delighted to congratulate scholars who are working hard to uphold St Cuthbert’s enviable reputation for academic success,” Dame Reddy imparted some words of wisdom to our Senior School girls, especially those who are considering what their next steps might be once school has finished.

“If I were to give you a piece of advice as you transition to a new life after school – it’s to be open to new possibilities. Be prepared to give new things a go. You will never know unless you take risks and there is no shame in later deciding that you want to take a different course.

But also, don’t be too anxious to determine your career path early.

Things often become clearer as you experience new opportunities,” Dame Reddy shared with our Years 9 to 13 girls.

“You’re most likely to achieve success if you’re doing something you believe in, that interests you, and that you do well. It could be anything, but whatever it is, try and do something that brings you moments of joy.”

Much to the girls’ delight, she then presented each of our dedicated scholars with their certificates and prizes and congratulated them personally on their individual success. Importantly though, she also acknowledged that each girl’s personal achievement should be attributed to the people that helped make it happen: “your teachers, your families, and your friends.”

Congratulations to all our 2018 academic scholars.

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ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

2018 Top Scholar Awards Trust Board Top Scholar Year 11 Flora Pang Trust Board Top NCEA Scholar Year 12 Jessica Zhang Trust Board Top IB Scholar Year 12 Joy Tong Trust Board Top NCEA Scholar Year 13 Annie Sun Trust Board Top IB Scholar Year 13 Olivia Donaldson

2018 ACADEMIC RESULTS Our 2018 academic results were some of the best in the school’s history. We would like to congratulate all of our Senior School girls on their exceptional results.

We also acknowledge our wonderful teachers, who are an integral part of supporting every girl to achieve her personal best. These amazing academic results are testament to our unwavering commitment to delivering the very best education for our girls.

2018 has seen our Year 13 students achieve a stunning 99.2% Level 3 and University Entrance pass rate, a record number of scholarships, and impressive results across both the National Certificate of

NCEA —

Educational Achievement (NCEA) and the International Baccalaureate (IB) qualifications.

At St Cuthbert’s we believe that, no matter their academic aspirations or interests, developing happy and engaged learners begins with knowing each girl individually. We are committed to ensuring that every student leaves St Cuthbert’s as a well-rounded young woman, as equally prepared for the real world as she is for the future exams.

University Entrance/Level 3

Level 1 (Year 11)

99.2

98.1 94.2%

International Baccalaureate

%

Percentage of certificates achieved with either Excellence or Merit with Excellence

Level 2 (Year 12)

98.3 90.7%

Students who achieved certificate

Percentage of certificates achieved with either Excellence or Merit

57.6% achieved with Excellence

Level 3 (Year 13)

100 86.7% %

Students who received NCEA Level 3 and University Entrance

Students who achieved certificate

59.4% achieved

%

%

Students who achieved certificate

Percentage of certificates achieved with either Excellence or Merit 46.9% achieved with Excellence

36.5 35%

Average IB score out of a possible score of 45 IB students who achieved a score of 40+

NZQA Scholarship Awards

89 10 01

Scholarships awarded

Outstanding Scholarships Top Subject Awards (Design)

Tertiary Education Scholarships

73 18

Tertiary Scholarships offered International University Scholarships offered as of March 2019 ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

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SECTION TITLE

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A design in mind St Cuthbert’s graduate Stella Swney not only achieved a perfect score for her Scholarship design portfolio, she was awarded New Zealand’s Top Subject Scholarship Award in Design for 2018 for her thoughtful exploration of the way that people and families affected by dementia are supported in this country.

For Stella, the idea of undertaking the New Zealand Scholarship in Design qualification in addition to the requirements of the NCEA Level 3 design curriculum initially appealed because there was a lot more scope and variety in the brief she could create for herself.

Stella elected to explore Dementia in New Zealand and the effects that dementia has on a person and their immediate families.

Stella was acutely aware that dementia, which is described by the Ministry of Health as “…a loss of brain function due to physical changes in the brain,” can often be quite a sensitive topic to explore in depth, as the subject resonated with her on a personal level.

“I chose to focus on dementia bec ause my Nana, my Mum’s mum, has dementia. I wanted to get to know more about dementia and the effects it has on families because I didn’t really know much about it, so I thought taking a design perspective on the issue would be really interesting and that taking a visual approach would be a really cool way to explore that.”

In order to approach dementia from a design thinking perspective, Stella created a fictitious conference that explored dementia, which she called ‘24/7’.

She selected this title to illustrate the fact that people with dementia often require around the clock care and the conference she devised would take place over seven days for a total of 24 hours.

She created collateral for the conference including posters brochures, and billboards.

The portfolio component of her submission required a lot more research and

Stella chose to bolster her academic research with case studies of those who were affected by dementia, including her own extended family.

“With the portfolio, I researched the different t ypes of dementia, and I also looked closer into my personal story with it.

My Aunty helped me a lot because she had researched my Nana’s specific form of dementia quite thoroughly.

From that, I created a case study on my Nana.”

Stella also says that her research took some unusual turns as she uncovered some medical theories on what can contribute to the development or acceleration of dementia that she’d never considered previously.

“Through my own personal experience, I was talking about things as weird as mould and how toxic mould can affect a dementia patient.

My Nana lives on farm and through my portfolio I talked about how mould could be a possible contributor to Nana’s dementia.”

Stella says that her success was all the more satisfying as, towards the end of the academic year, Stella had found herself feeling overwhelmed at the prospective of completing her design board as well as fulfilling the requirements of the portfolio she needed to put together for Scholarship.

It took a bit of convincing from Head of Faculty – Art, Deborah Cullinane, to stay on track. Says Stella: “I was so, so close to giving up on my scholarship project.

I spoke to Ms Cullinane about it and I asked her “Do you think this is worth it?

Because I don’t know if I can put together my portfolio and

study for my exams at the same time.”

“She said: “Of course it’s worth you doing it! It’s such a personal topic to you and the markers will look at your work and see that it’s reflective of that.” It was quite a lot of work. I was struggling to pull together the portfolio for scholarship and it got closer to exam time but I’m so glad I did it because obviously it’s been quite a rewarding result.”

Stella attributes much of her success to Deborah Cullinane, who she calls “an amazing teacher” and “so motivational.” Deborah has now supported three girls to achieve the Top Scholar’s award in Design over the past three years.

The NZQA Scholarships provide recognition of the top students in their respective subjects. Each Top Scholar is awarded a monetary prize, which they are to put towards their tertiary studies.

Deborah says that the Visual Ar ts Depar tment were “very excited” when Stella received Top Scholar in Design in New Zealand in the NCEA examinations.

“Stella read widely and collected perceptive and in-depth material to underpin her design decisions. Her research included interviews, observations and discussions with ex tended family members,” says Deborah.

Stella intends to pursue design as a career and has enrolled in a Bachelor of Design Innovation at Victoria University of Wellington, majoring in Communication Design, where she hopes to be able to keep exploring a broad range of topics through visual mediums.

ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

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We caught up with Year 13 art history and languages student, Emma Denton on her recent student exchange trip to Bourg-la-Reine, just outside of Paris, France.

A French “The exchange was a fantastic way to end Year 12 and prepare for Year 13,” says Emma.

“I left in December last year, just before school broke up, and as well as being an amazing opportunity to immerse in another culture and language, my time in France has helped me become more confident, and to understand myself better.”

“I was nervous before I left as I had never been away from home for that long before, except at Kahunui. The first few days were challenging, as I was tired after travelling, and arriving on the other side of the world to live with another family for six weeks is very different to a holiday.

I think there was initially a bit of culture shock as not only was I suddenly a part of another family where English is not the first language, but I was starting a new school where everything was in French!”

“I have never felt that I am a very confident person, but I figured out early on that I was going to need to put myself out there, and approach people at school to make friends. Once I did that, I found that everyone was really open to talking to me; I started to relax more, and found it easier to communicate,” says Emma.

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FRENCH EXCHANGE

Exchange “I also learnt that, when I’m tired, I can get a bit emotional and not cope as well when things don’t go to plan. Being in France, without my usual support networks and family, meant I had to figure out how to deal with things as they came up, like breaking my phone screen in the first week. I learnt that the best way for me to cope is to tell myself to live life in the moment, and not worry so much!”

Emma travelled to France with six other St Cuthbert’s girls from Years 11 and 12. Camila, her French exchange counterpart, came to New Zealand last winter for six weeks, staying with Emma’s family and attending St Cuthbert’s. Emma explains that it was great to get to know Camila last year before travelling over to stay with Camila’s family. “Our families got to know each other with my mum emailing and skyping with Camila’s mum.”

Emma’s mum, Jo says that contact with the exchange family was

really important, and is part of the commitment both families make when making the decision to host and support each other’s daughters. “It felt very real when we said goodbye to Emma at the airport, but we knew she was going to a caring family. One of the nicest things was when Luz, Camila’s mum, contacted me in November to ask what she could do for Emma on Christmas Day to make it special for her.”

To keep in touch, Emma skyped with her family back home a couple of times each week, which Jo thinks was about right.

“While we really missed her, we wanted her to get to know her exchange family and not rely on daily contact with us back home so she should get the most out of the experience,’’ says Jo. The exchange programme enabled Emma to really immerse herself in all things French, and participate in daily family and school life. “The school day was really different as, while on some days we started at 8.30am, we didn’t finish lessons until 5.30pm”, says Emma. “The school is an old castle with beautiful grounds that was donated to the community. There are over 5,000 students and no one uses laptops.”

“I also had to get used to the meals being so different. My exchange family wasn’t big into breakfast, and dinner was a lighter meal, later in the evening. Lunch was the main meal and I often had a two-hour lunch break during the school day. I would either go out to a restaurant or eat at the school cafeteria. The school cafeteria was amazing, for just 2 euros, I could buy a main meal of pasta, chicken, fish, pastries, fruit etc – very different to what we have for lunch back home!”

“Culturally, French people are very social too, and tend to really sit down over meals talking to each other, often for several hours!”

Emma would highly recommend the exchange programme, and says it has taught her to be more independent and confident.

“I was definitely pushed out of my comfort zone and really had to learn to rely on myself, and to figure things out if something went wrong.”

“As an art history student, I loved both visiting the galleries in the weekends, and the travelling I did with my exchange family. Camila’s family took me to Barcelona, Strasbourg, and Normandy, and all the exchange families took it in turns to take us out of school on day trips to Versailles and nearby Paris. I also loved experiencing a French Christmas, complete with escargots!

Jo says she has noticed how much more confident Emma is.

“It really was a fantastic opportunity for her, and it has given her a big sense of accomplishment. I think it has helped prepare her for Year 13, and university and work after she finishes school.”

“In addition to academic qualifications, employers also look for life skills. Emma has developed a better understanding of herself, how she relates to others, and it has taught her to come more resilient and independent,” says Jo. FRENCH EXCHANGE

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Hon. Julie Bishop visits St Cuthbert’s

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LEADERSHIP SPECIAL

5 One of the most memorable occasions for our girls during the first term of 2019 was when the Honourable Julie Bishop (former Deputy Leader of the Australian Liberal Party and Minister for Foreign Affairs) visited St Cuthbert’s to share her insights about the Australian political landscape and to encourage more young women to take on leadership roles.

On the morning of her arrival to St Cuthbert’s, the only school that the Hon. Bishop visited during her time in New Zealand, our Junior and Middle School girls lined the driveway and waited extremely patiently for Ms. Bishop to arrive on campus. As a taxi pulled up in front of the Robertson Building, there were squeals of excitement as the girls realised that they were about to meet an international politician face-to-face.

Accompanied by Hayley Buckley, Chair of the St Cuthbert’s Board, Ms Bishop greeted many of the Junior School girls, and even obliged one particular sun-conscious young girl by letting her apply a hefty amount of sunscreen to her arm, as she made her way towards to the courtyard outside Clouston Hall.

There, she was surprised with a powerful kapa haka performance before being escorted into Clouston Hall to deliver her keynote address.

As part of her keynote address to the Senior School assembly, Ms Bishop focused on the advice that, she would give to her seventeenyear-old self. She spoke with conviction of the importance of believing in yourself and not letting other people define you or your

abilities. She also spoke of the importance of finding mentors, particularly female mentors, who are able to provide guidance and offer opportunities for personal development and continuous self-improvement. Finally, she encouraged our students to enjoy their lives, as they only have one opportunity to live well.

Following her assembly address, Ms. Bishop was the Guest of Honour at a Global Citizenship seminar and lunch, which was attended by Justine Mahon, Hayley Buckley, the Senior Leadership Team, the 2019 Prefects and House Leaders, and members of the student-led Global Citizenship and Communications Committees.

During the seminar, Ms Bishop was able to field a variety of questions from our Year 13 students and spoke candidly about the challenges of operating in both political and legal environments as a woman, and the importance of female solidarity and women lifting other women up.

Our student leaders from across the school found great value in listening to Ms Bishop and seeing strong female leadership in action.

LEADERSHIP SPECIAL

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Hon. Julie Bishop’s visit continued — Exemplifying Leadership through Kapa Haka One of the student leaders who particularly stood out to Ms Bishop during her visit was Florida Mataio, who effortlessly led her Year 11 peer group in a rousing rendition of the official school haka, ‘E Hine’.

Florida says she was first introduced to Kapa Haka when she started St Cuthbert’s in Year 7 as an Endeavour Scholar. She found that she could easily memorise the waiata and haka as the language spoken in the Cook Islands’ (Cook Islands Māori) has many similarities to Te Reo Māori.

By Year 8, she was appointed leader of the Middle School Kapa Haka group, a role that Florida relished as it gave her an opportunity to hone her leadership skills.

“

I’ve noticed that, from growing up, leadership comes naturally to me. I don’t get nervous speaking publicly or performing, says Florida.

BELOW: Fifth from Left, Florida Mataio (pictured), leads the Kapa Haka

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LEADERSHIP SPECIAL

Last year, Florida was asked to assist with teaching the haka to the then Year 9 and 10 cohorts so that they could perform it for the Year 13 students as part of their Leavers’ Assembly. She enjoyed the experience so much that, when Year 11 were asked to perform for Ms Bishop, she leapt at the chance to lead again.

Florida was really thrilled with the reaction that her year group’s Kapa Haka performance elicited from Ms Bishop.

“During rehearsal, I stood at the front on top of a chair and everyone spread out on lines so that they could see me. My year group listened quite well. They were really respectful. I think there were a few times some girls spoke over me, but that’s what you’d expect when you put a group of teenage girls together!”

Florida hopes that her cohort will continue to perform Kapa Haka as a group because of the feeling of solidarity it brings among her peers. As she says, “Our year group is very close and everyone respects one another.”

“She [Bishop] just said how amazing the Kapa Haka was and that she thought I was a good leader. She also shook my hand,” recounted Florida.

A Student Perspective: Julie Bishop – interesting, influential and inspirational

“Trying to be a man is a waste of a woman” — Hon. Julie Bishop during speech at the Future Women event launch.

On 8 February, girls welcomed Hon. Julie Bishop with a rockstar reception (which included a spectacular haka from the Year 11 cohort) to St Cuthbert’s. Having a visit from someone with such impressive credentials, including the former Australian Foreign Minister and former Deputy Leader of the Australian Liberal Party, we didn’t quite know what to expect. However, as she began her speech in Clouston Hall it became apparent that this was a woman who had always dreamed big and continued pushing forward until she had achieved her goals, and she was going to inspire us to do the same.

and hostile, it was refreshing to hear such a powerful and influential voice as Hon. Julie Bishop’s reminding us that as strong girls, when we work together we have the ability to do anything.

the visit of someone like Hon. Julie Bishop, and we appreciate and thank her for the time she took for us, her excellent advice and insights into women and our role in the world, and her careful words of wisdom.”

Having the first woman to be an Australian Foreign Minister and the first female to be the Deputy Leader of the Australian Liberal Party was described by our principal Ms Mahon as “a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet such an influential female politician,” and hearing her speak gave us another amazing female role model to look up to. The opportunities we have as a St Cuthbert’s girl are exemplified by

So what did we learn from Hon. Julie Bishop? Just like her, we will dream big and continue working, persevering and rising through any challenge we are presented with and we will work together as strong young women to build the world we want for our future in whatever way we can.

— Olivia Hardie-Neil, Year 13

BELOW: Johanna Setefano and the Hon. Julie Bishop

Hon. Julie Bishop spoke to us both at the main assembly and at a hosted lunch which included Year 13 prefects, the Principal, teachers, senior leadership and other staff.

Many questions were asked, and we gained insight into pretty much everything, from the benefits of running for leisure to how individuals can contribute to global issues and the challenges for women in male-dominated professions such as politics. Spending her senior school years at St Peter’s Collegiate Girls’ School, Ms Bishop began her career in leadership and learnt valuable skills along the way. Having earned the role of Head Prefect, she was able to relate well to the experiences we have at school. This showed us that our education here at St Cuthbert’s sets a foundation for us to achieve whatever we set our minds to.

The conversation always came back to women – whether that be representation, role models, female leadership or the difficulties still faced today. “Women must work together, not as individuals, but as a group in order to make change.” She talked to us about how legislation is driven from the bottom up – if we feel strongly about any issue, be it global or something more personal, we have the power to make change and we will be strongest if we work together. This is particularly relevant for us especially today, in the age of the #MeToo movement and the (long overdue) tipping point in history where women are finally speaking out against prejudice and being supported for doing so. In a society that predominantly shows girls and women being competitive LEADERSHIP SPECIAL

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6 2019 Student Our 2019 Student Leadership Team members, led by Head Girl Johanna Setefano, are excited about leading the student community and giving back to those who have provided them with support and opportunity throughout their years at St Cuthbert’s.

The team is united by a single vision – inspiration!

RIGHT: Amanda Ross, Lucy Watson, Johanna Setefano, Angela Xu. 18

LEADERSHIP SPECIAL

Individually, each of the girls have been inspired to step up to this leadership position by those who have gone before them, and they aim to inspire St Cuthbert’s girls from Junior School through to Year 12 to follow in their footsteps.

As they embark on a year of service, fulfilling their leadership duties within the school and the broader community, the girls are fully aware of the connections they make with other students across the school and the impact their actions may have on the lives of younger girls. They acknowledge they are seen as role models and take this responsibility extremely seriously.

“We represent St Cuthbert’s with all of our actions and words,” said Johanna Setefano. “It is an honour to have been selected to lead the student body and, together with the team of twenty prefects, we have an opportunity to make a significant contribution to the school. We are looking forward to a wonderful year.”

Leadership Team Who inspired you to want to be a student leader?

What does this role mean to you?

Since joining St Cuthbert’s in Year 9 as an Aspire Scholarship student, I have been inspired and supported by my amazing teachers. They have encouraged me, built my confidence and self-belief, and inspired me to fully participate. They have also demonstrated one of the greatest qualities that I value and that is giving back to your community. Each of my teachers has shown me what it means to truly belong to a diverse and inclusive community and I want to share that with other St Cuthbert’s students.

In my Samoan culture, family, respect and hospitality are important values.

I see my role as a student leader as being able to give back to my school and community demonstrating the hospitality and respect that I have been shown since being welcomed to St Cuthbert’s.

I came to this school from Papatoetoe Intermediate as a shy student who would sit at the back of the class too afraid to put up my hand. It has been with the encouragement of my teachers that I joined various groups, including the Culture Group. Most recently, I have had the privilege of leading the Samoa Group as we prepared for Polyfest.

2019 Head Girl Johanna Setefano

Over my years at St Cuthbert’s my leadership qualities and skills have developed. My parents and my teachers may have been able to see it, but it has not been until recently that I recognised it myself. I’ve now come to see that I have my own leadership style and can contribute a lot to the St Cuthbert’s community.

“O le ala l le pule o le taut ua” The pathway to leadership is through service.

In the spirit of sisterhood, I want to build connections across all year levels. I see it as important to create a bond with other girls, to make them feel welcome and part of this wonderful family. I enjoy spending time in the Junior and Middle Schools, getting to know the younger girls and talking about what it means to be St Cuthbert’s Head Girl. I want them to feel connected and inspired. I want them to know that I am here for them across the whole year and willing to represent them, encouraging them to be the best they can possibly be.

What are you most looking forward to?

I’m looking forward to working with Amanda, Angela and Lucy to deliver some of the events and activities across the year. We each bring strong leadership skills, and as we get to know each other and understand each other’s strengths, I’m really looking forward to how we will complement each other and collaborate and support each other. There is a busy calendar of events and activities and we are fully involved in the planning and coordination. I’m looking forward to representing St Cuthbert’s and showing everyone what it means to be part of this amazing community.

— Johanna Setefano

LEADERSHIP SPECIAL

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Who inspired you to want to be a student leader?

My family has a strong connection with St Cuthbert’s that goes back through the generations. My mother, grandmother and sister are all Old Girls. It is tradition for each of the girls in my family to come to St Cuthbert’s and I was privileged to join as a student and boarder in Year 9 from a small school in Whangarei.

When I first started here, I did live a little in the shadow of my older sister who was Head Boarder five years ago, but it gave me a strong understanding of how the student leaders were respected. In a way my sister inspired me to want to be a student leader and give back to the school that means so much to our family. She impressed upon me a desire to step up and give back. As my confidence grew and I became more comfortable with what I could contribute to the school, I strived to be a student leader.

2019 Deputy Head Girl Amanda Ross

What does this role mean to you?

The opportunity to be at a school like this means a lot to me and I don’t take that for granted. With privilege comes a duty to serve others and help others that don’t have what we have. I’ve really proud to have been appointed as a Deputy Head Girl and recognised for the skill and leadership qualities that I bring to this role. It’s now my time to contribute to St Cuthbert’s and reciprocate the support that has been shown to me and has helped me to get to this point. I see my role as being a public ambassador for the values that are at the heart of St Cuthbert’s, giving freely to those around me – love, support, encouragement, effort and time.

What are you most looking forward to?

I’m looking forward to being even more involved and embedded within a wide range of school activities. St Cuthbert’s has opened my eyes to cultural diversity and our Pofiafia Night is a wonderful example of that. I now have the opportunity to work behind the scenes to bring some of these events to life; to help plan, organise, coordinate, and manage these occasions, which serve as a showcase for St Cuthbert’s. I’m looking forward to encouraging more people to fully participate in school activities and continuing to grow the wonderful sense of community at St Cuthbert’s.

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2019 Deputy Head Girl Angela Xu

Who inspired you to want to be a student leader?

I think the inspiration, and perhaps motivation, goes back to when I sat as a Year 7 student, watching the Year 12 girls who were shortlisted for Head Girl present their speeches to the school. I never saw anyone who looked like me up there. I often wondered whether my culture would be a barrier for me. I suppose I was determined at that stage to see change and want to represent my culture within the St Cuthbert’s school environment.

There were not many Asian students at St Cuthbert’s when I started here in Year 7, and I am proud to say that over the years I have been at St Cuthbert’s, the celebration of cultural diversity has made me feel welcomed and valued as part of the school community.

I was also inspired by last year’s Head Girl, Tiana Willis-Baker. Tiana played a significant role in inspiring students of

many cultures, across all year levels, to strive for excellence and I wanted to be able to do the same.

I want to play a significant role in the lives of St Cuthbert’s Boarders and to help the girls settle into the school, as well as to encourage them to get the most out of the opportunities offered to them. As a Boarder, you build strong relationships across all year levels and the environment of being surrounded by people 24/7 sets you up to build such great friendships.

When the call came from Ms Mahon, I was overseas at the time and a really bad case of jet lag made the conversation feel like a blur! I was absolutely delighted to be appointed as Deputy Head Girl and recognised as a student leader. My confidence has grown significantly, knowing that the teachers and the students look to me as a role model and to set an example for girls who will follow in my footsteps.

If I can help by providing guidance, support, and advocacy for the girls in each of the Houses across this coming year, I’ll know that I’ve played a small part in developing the unique community of Boarders.

What does this role mean to you?

This role allows me to represent my culture as well as represent my school.

St Cuthbert’s has provided me with many opportunities to really understand who I am and what I can contribute. Here we are able to acknowledge our culture, be real to ourselves, celebrate our cultural heritage and respect those around us.

I am proud of the supportive, encouraging community we have created, and the encompassing sense of family and security at St Cuthbert’s. I want to ensure all St Cuthbert’s students feel the sense of inclusion and belonging that has been fostered here. By connecting with girls across all year levels, I want them to know that by the time you leave St Cuthbert’s, you leave with a good sense of who you are.

Friends become sisters; sisters who aren’t like you but you share a common bond that transcends cultural barriers. You share the same values.

As a student leader, I also want to develop a strong sense of community within the Year 12s and support them to step up as they move to be future leaders.

What are you most looking forward to?

This is going to be a big year, challenging in many ways as we balance the responsibility of being a student leader with keeping on top of our schoolwork. I’m looking forward to working as part of a strong team to give 100 per cent to every event and activity and to have some fun along the way!

I want to make the most of ever y opportunity and demonstrate the values of love and service on a daily basis. I’m really thankful for this opportunity to give back to St Cuthbert’s and be part of influencing future generations of students. I know that as I leave here, I will take with me great experiences, great memories, great friendships, and greater confidence.

What does this role mean to you?

It is an honour to be selected as Head Boarder. To me, it means that St Cuthbert’s values my contributions to the Boarder community and has trust and faith in me to be a role model for others. I have an opportunity to provide a voice for girls who board with St Cuthbert’s and to make a positive difference to their lives through leadership and influence.

2019 Head Boarder

Lucy Watson Who inspired you to want to be a student leader?

I’ve been at St Cuthbert’s since Year 10 and have been inspired by the student leaders who have gone before me. I have taken my lead from those I’ve admired and who have made a difference to the school. They gave me confidence to want to step up to a leadership position and to influence positive change in other girls’ lives.

I’m in a rather privileged position to connect with girls across all years through the activities of each of the Houses, as well as to work closely with the Year 12 leaders and the Matrons of each House.

I carry shared responsibility for the health and wellbeing of the girls, and the attitude with which they approach their time at St Cuthbert’s. Kindness and respect is at the heart of everything we do.

What are you most looking forward to?

I’m looking forward to leaving a legacy.

Across the course of this year I will strengthen existing friendships and form new bonds with first year Boarders.

Together we will share a sense of purpose and create a stronger community.

As part of the leadership team, I’m looking forward to having a positive impact on as many girls as possible and making them feel as valued and represented as we have along our school journey.

I’m also looking forward to continuing a relationship with St Cuthbert’s for years to come through the Old Girls’ network.

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Introducing Kerry Oldman Kerry Oldman has recently joined St Cuthbert’s as the Head of Junior School.

Here, she shares what motivated her to pursue teaching as a career and her vision for our girls from Year 0–6.

KERRY OLDMAN Head of Junior School

I have always loved education. In fact, when I was really young I would invite the kids from next door over and make them listen to my imaginary stories from my make-shift classroom in my bedroom. I loved the sense of intrigue teaching brought, and to see the response in my little neighbours, lapping up my ‘words of wisdom’, spurred me on to share my knowledge more – poor them!

Originally, I had considered secondary school education and it was only at university that I realised how much I enjoyed the primary years. I graduated with a deep fascination in the psychology of how a child thinks, what makes a child happy, and how a child learns. The impact of the formative primary years is astounding, and this has continued to be my focus in education.

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My personal interest and passion for teaching is the mental wellbeing of every child. It is the experiences they have early in life, that, in essence, dictates how they are going to learn.

We cannot begin to effectively teach a child when they are not emotionally equipped to learn.

Throughout my career I have seen the difference that positive mental health in children makes to the effectiveness in teaching.

I did the classic Kiwi thing and went overseas, planning on being away for two years. London soon became home and I was fortunate enough in that time to secure excellent roles in some exceptional schools, gaining some unforgettable experiences both professionally and personally.

I taught at Eaton House Belgravia, in London, and from there I moved to Thomas’s London Day

Schools, and this is where my leadership skills were further honed.

I was blown away by the many restraints in London, as I was told, “Oh no, we don’t need to reinvent the wheel, dear”. I think the Kiwi ingenuity quickly came out of me and I found myself challenging convention by bringing in some great new programmes. This taught me much in how to manage staff, bringing them alongside me in new ventures, and not simply dictating the way forward.

Empowering everyone with a task that builds a team together and leading by example by rolling up my sleeves and applying the – at first – shocking Kiwi creativity was my successful manifesto.

Before I knew it, two years had turned into 18.

However, home has always, and will always be home, and I was waiting for something extraordinary to pull me back to New Zealand. I believe that this role and being a part of the incredible team at St Cuthbert’s is exactly that. I am so excited to be back in New Zealand and have been made to feel so welcome within St Cuthbert’s. I cannot wait to work with our amazing teachers and support staff to keep bringing the best out in our St Cuthbert’s Junior School girls. I believe that a school belongs to everyone and there is a great energy here and a real hum that is wonderfully infectious.

My long-term plan is to ensure our students’ mental health is at the heart of everything we do, that children never leave a school day feeling worried or anxious. This means we need to take great care of our staff too.

Our children are vessels; we cannot fill them up with all our school has to offer unless we have confidence they are in a great space and feel positive themselves. We need to get our students to a position where they feel comfortable and confident when they get things wrong, not only when they have success.

It will be then that they can take advantage and really get the most out of all of the extras that the school has to offer such as our counsellors, our gifted and talented programme, and our personalised learning centres; not forgetting all of the incredible extracurricular music, performance, art and sport the girls can get involved in.

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About Kerry Oldman

Kerry grew up in New Zealand and secured a Bachelor of Education from the University of Waikato. Kerry started her teaching career in Hamilton at Vardon Primary School where she taught Year 5 and 6 and was quickly inducted as the lead teacher in IT and PE. It was here that Kerry realised she had absolutely chosen the right path and a career she loved. She knew instantly that education and having the privilege of being able to shape young minds was where she saw her future.

A move to London eighteen years ago brought more opportunity and Kerry swiftly rose the ranks; fostering senior leadership experience from some of the UK’s leading independent schools. She led large teaching teams and introduced progressive new learning approaches at top preparatory schools, most recently as the Assistant Head of The Study Prep in Wimbledon, London. Kerry also taught at Thomas’s London Day Schools for eight years, as well as at the boys’ preparatory school, Eaton House Belgravia, both in London.

Principal, Justine Mahon, says “Kerry brings a wealth of deep experience from the independent education sector. She is a warm and caring person, who has a strong understanding of the importance of the wrap-around approach we have at St Cuthbert’s Junior School.”

Kerry is particularly passionate that children should have experiences in and outside the classroom, feeling the freedom to take risks in their learning, which is an important part of preparing our girls to be confident and well-rounded young women.

I believe that every child is talented in their own way. It is our duty, as educators, to assist in enabling the girls in whatever their strength may be, to experiment and experience the joy of what it feels like to truly find their ‘element’.

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8 “

We wanted the girls to realise that people can lead in different ways.

Year 6 considers

‘How can I be a leader?’

Thanks to the proactivity of teachers Stacey Pinique, Shelley Ireton and Amy Greenstock, our Year 6 girls have been inspired to believe in themselves and seek leadership opportunities after hearing from a diverse range of motivational female speakers.

Whilst each speaker brought a different example, a constant theme emerged: Leadership comes in many guises and it is possible for everyone to have a positive influence on others.

The leadership-focussed speaker series was held in the Junior School corridor, which helped the girls feel at ease and comfortable to ask questions from a diverse range of relatable, female leaders.

• Sophie Pascoe, Paralympic and Commonwealth para-swimmer who is recognised as New Zealand’s most successful Paralympian;

Stacey Pinique explains, “The focus of each of the talks was “What makes a great leader and how can I be one?” We wanted to introduce our girls to a variety of leaders from different roles in both our school and the wider community. It was important for the the girls to realise that people can lead in different ways.”

• Anna Stanley, former Silver Ferns Captain and Head of St Cuthbert’s leading-edge sports development programme, the Athlete Pathway Programme (APP);

“This was a pivotal learning experience prior to going on Year 6 camp where our girls could put into practice at camp some of the leadership qualities they had heard, learned and reflected on. Year 6 girls will continue to develop their leadership skills and styles throughout the year, through different roles and responsibilities within the Junior School.”

The speaker series included:

• Fiona McKenzie, Head of Direct Investment at First New Zealand Capital and St Cuthbert’s parent; • Judi Paape, Acting Head of Middle School at St Cuthbert’s; • Judy McIntosh, Head of Drama at St Cuthbert’s and well-known actor; • Johanna Setefano, Head Girl at St Cuthbert’s.

Here are the highlights from two inspirational women who made a real impression on our Year 6 girls.

Continued on next page—

RIGHT: Judi Paape speaks to Year 6.

FAR RIGHT: Anna Stanley talks about leadership to Year 6.

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To me, leadership is taking care of my community.

Johanna Setefano Johanna was very relatable as she spoke about her initial struggles with leadership. Being a very shy girl, she spoke of how it was others’ belief and support of her that gave her the confidence to step up and take leadership roles, both in her previous school and now as Head Girl of St Cuthbert’s.

“To me, leadership is taking care of my community. It’s not about myself but instead it’s about taking care of those around me. At St Cuthbert’s, to me, that means making sure people feel a sense of belonging to the school and always “keeping a gap in the circle” so girls can come in and feel welcome anytime,” Johanna told the girls.

Johanna also shared a story from her father that had influenced both the way she incorporates kindness and service into leadership and the way in which she chooses to lead as Head Girl.

“There was an old man walking along the beach and there were hundreds of starfish washed ashore by the tide. There was a little boy throwing each starfish back one at a time. The old man laughed at the boy’s actions and asked, “what difference can you make?” The little boy picked up one starfish, threw it into the sea and said to the old man, “I just made a difference to that one.”

“You may not have a title, you may not have a badge, you may find it hard to change the world or your class but if you can use kindness to change just one person’s life that IS a difference.

Remember, not all heroes wear capes and not all leaders wear badges.”

Anna Stanley, MNZM Anna Stanley (nee Rowberry) is one of New Zealand’s best-known netballers after she captained the national team to win the 2003 Netball World Championships in Jamaica. The Silver Ferns document Anna as “a fine all-round athlete who provided real flair in the midcourt with her speed, ability to move the ball at blistering pace and precision feeding”.

Anna now runs the St Cuthbert’s Athlete Pathway Programme (APP), where her passion lies with identifying and nurturing our young athletes to enhance their potential in their chosen sport. The aim of APP is to set foundations early and to give our student athletes the best shot at future success and achieving their sporting goals.

Anna spoke to the girls about what she learned from playing netball at an International level, and what the girls could learn about leadership from her experiences.

“I don’t mind that you don’t remember that I used to play netball for New Zealand. After all, none of you were alive when I was Captain!” joked Anna.

The most important message that Anna imparted to the girls was to “do something you love and really enjoy it. Find your passion, as when you enjoy something you’ll want to be the best at it.”

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Anna Stanley’s essential attributes of leadership An ability to listen “I would remind myself that I was in a team sport representing everyone and just because I’m captain doesn’t mean I’m making all decisions. I had to ensure we were all on the same page and formed a plan together. If you’re a leader you need to take into account what other people have to say, gain their respect and work together. When you listen, and set a good example; others want to perform well.”

Have a good character “These things tend to be innate to a person, they are who you are. They can be worked on but are harder to teach as they come from within.”

Have Strong Communication “I had to make decisions all the time, and quickly, so being assertive and clear in what I said and did was very important.”

Be Prepared “In the 2003 Jamaican World Cup, we were up against Australia in the final and were four goals up. The Centre was called off for being too rough and suddenly we only had six on the court and we had to all shuffle around to cover this position. We were able to stay focused and not panic due to the fact we had done so much preparation in advance. In that instance, the whole team was calm and composed, and each of us showed good leadership.

This proved that just because you are a captain of a team, you are not the only leader. When she was off court we didn’t lose any of our Centre passes. In that moment, we ALL made a decision and worked together. We showed leadership and were assertive in that situation.”

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Confidence is important, and can be learned “I had to do lots of public speaking with the media, and this can be really hard when you’ve just lost and have a camera in your face under pressure to respond. I have learned to take a breath and be confident in my responses.”

“For me the hardest public speaking moment was when we won and I was asked to speak in Parliament. I had to deliver a speech to the Prime Minister, the politicians and the All Blacks who were also speaking.”

Be Empathetic “In a team environment, you’ll come across lots of personalities, so you need to ensure you are all on same path as you’re trying to reach the same goals. Often some players may not get off the bench and when you’re on the court playing well all the time you also have to manage the disappointment of those who are feeling down. As a leader, it’s important to also include those players, making them part of the team even though they are not on court, otherwise they will feel disconnected.”

Delegation “Just because you are the leader you shouldn’t feel the onus is solely on you. Know others’ strengths, give others jobs to make sure everyone feels connected and part of a team.”

Lead by Example “In my opinion, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern has led by example.

In wake of what happened in Christchurch, she has shown great communication skills, she has been empathetic, she made good decisions very quickly – decisions on multiple levels. She listened to the Muslim community; she has been respectful, and she has been kind.”

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In Term One, Junior School parents received the inaugural issue of a new, twice-yearly magazine, Little Sister. Little Sister showcases the many varied activities, achievements and learning adventures that girls from St Cuthbert’s Junior School get to experience as part of their rounded primary education.

St Cuthbert’s places great importance on ensuring every girl feels happy and settled in her environment; for our Junior School girls one key element of this is their interaction with their ‘bigger sisters’ from Years 7–13 and the magazine includes several stories showing everyday examples of this critical role-modelling in action.

Introducing our new Junior School magazine, ‘Little Sister’

Budding writers from Years 8 and 13 worked alongside our Communications Team to create some of the stories. The Year 8 girls interviewed our Trust Board Chair, Hayley Buckley, serving some quite disarming questions. Meanwhile, our Year 13 Communications Committee were invited to attend the photography shoot of our two new Junior School advertisements and captured their thoughts on the day in a ‘behind the scenes’ article.

The magazine shares the energy and variety our Junior School girls are fortunate to experience through the many learning activities delivered across Years 0–6. We share learning adventures from inside the classroom, through PE, Sport and Music, through our STRETCH technology programme, as well as the outdoor education opportunities that were hosted in Term 1.

We hope that you will enjoy reading of the adventures as much as our Junior School students have enjoyed experiencing them.

buddy system

Looking up to older Role Models Our goal is that every girl feels happy and settled in our Junior School, so it feels like their ‘home away from home’. Your daughters all have unique strengths and we encourage every girl to achieve her own personal best in the most supportive of environments, every day.

This encouragement doesn’t just come from our amazing teachers, it’s also embedded throughout our school in our school motto ‘By Love Serve’. We ‘walk the talk’ every day to ensure our younger St Cuthbert’s girls can look up to their ‘bigger sisters’, having fun with them, and learning from them.

A special group of Year 13 girls are selected each year to come and hang out with our Junior School girls – as you can imagine this is a much coveted position!

The Year 13 big sisters come and help teachers, read to our Junior School girls, organise Jump Jam sessions and movie nights, host Easter fun activities and generally just have fun at lunchtimes in the playgrounds. We can see that both the younger and older St Cuthbert’s girls are bonding and enjoying each other’s company all year round.

J U N I O R

S C H O O L

M A G A Z I N E

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M A Y

2 0 1 9

Until, n time.. ext .

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C U T H B E R T ’ S

L I T T L E

S I S T E R

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10 Duke of Edinburgh

RIGHT: Emily Hacket Pain

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award is considered to be one of the world’s most celebrated youth achievement awards.

In order to progress through the award ranks, each participant must learn a new skill, provide a voluntary service to their community, undertake some form of physical recreation and go on an adventurous journey.

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As each young person progresses to Silver and Gold, the length of time that is needed to commit to each category increases and, when qualifying for the Gold Award, each person is expected to dedicate 12 months to each activity. In addition, at the Gold Award level, each participant must complete a four-day long Adventurous Journey and a five-day long Residential Project.

This year’s Duke of Edinburgh Gold Awards Ceremony, which acknowledges the hard work and dedication of those who elect to undertake this prestigious international award, was held on 30 March 2019. At the Auckland ceremony, which took place at Kristin School, Emma Pitt (class of 2018), Sofia McClelland (class of 2018), and Year

13 student Emily Hacket Pain, were all presented with their Gold Awards.

For Emily, the journey towards gaining her prestigious Gold Award started with the month she spent at St Cuthbert’s Kahunui campus in Year 10. After finding out that the time she spent outdoors at Kahunui would count towards the Bronze Award, she realised that the Duke of Edinburgh Awards were not only an obtainable goal, but that the concept of spending time in the outdoors and interacting with her local community really appealed to her sense of adventure.

“I love the outdoors and also trying new things, so it was perfect,” says Emily.

“With Duke of Edinburgh, you get to do a broad range of activities. I thought that undertaking the Bronze medal would make me more well-rounded, and I was quite into that.”

A keen runner and committed student librarian, Emily discovered that she would be able to use her interest in sports and community service to obtain her Bronze Award relatively speedily, and set herself the goal to complete all three Duke of Edinburgh Awards before she graduated from St Cuthbert’s.

Over the course of the programme, Emily also acquired some new skills, such as debating and playing the piano, as well as developing an interest in swimming, which she undertook for her Silver Award.

“Throughout Bronze, Silver and Gold you can do the same activities or you can choose to do new things. I really wanted to push myself and try different activities for each of the awards levels.”

“I’d taken piano when I was in Year 3 but I didn’t stay with it for very long and it was always something that I’d thought ‘oh, I’d really love to take it up again’. Duke of Edinburgh gave me the opportunity to think ‘well, I could take piano up as my skill’ and I really enjoyed it.”

Encouraged by her involvement in the Duke of Edinburgh Awards, Emily also volunteered at the Elizabeth Knox care home and hospital, located across the road from St Cuthbert’s Epsom campus.

One of her main roles there was dinner hosting, which primarily involved “talking to the residents and handing out cups of tea and toast.”

“It was a real eye-opener to see what it’s like for them and I wanted to make sure I could help provide a better environment and make people happy, so I made lots of time to talk to the residents. I also brought in baking for them,” says Emily.

Completing the requirements of the Duke of Edinburgh’s International Awards was extremely exciting for Emily, as was the formal ceremony, which was held at Kristin School.

“We had people who had completed it as part of the Police force in their uniforms, members of the Scouts in their uniforms.

I was the only one there in school uniform!”, laughs Emily.

The awards were presented to each of the Gold Award recipients by Edmund Hillary’s daughter, Sarah Hillary, which Emily thought was particularly special. Her main highlight though, was being able to acknowledge every recipient’s journey to achieving their Gold Award.

“You got to hear everyone else’s journey and what they got out of it and enjoyed, as they walked across the stage.”

“

It opens your eyes to all the different things that you can do.

You can serve your community and get to meet so many people through activities such as tramps, which is really cool.

Emily says her advice to any girl who is considering undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh programme is to “definitely try and challenge yourself and go outside your boundaries and do something that maybe you’ve never thought to do before”.

“It opens your eyes to all the different things that you can do. You can serve your community and get to meet so many people through activities such as tramps, which is really cool,” says Emily.

FROM LEFT TO RIGHT: Emma Pitt, Emily Hacket Pain, Sofia McClelland LEADERSHIP SPECIAL

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11

Living on campus Our boarding community at St Cuthbert’s are a caring and supportive group. Girls can board from Year 7 – 13 and we find out what it’s like to be a part of this tight-knit sisterhood who both study and live on campus.

Year 10 student Milly Adams is in her second year boarding at St Cuthbert’s. She hails from Whangarei and is the middle child from a family of three girls.

She is the only one who boards away from home after seeking out a new challenge for herself.

When she moved to the Boarding House it was a big change from Whangarei. However, Milly has adjusted quickly and she says boarding life is the best.

She loves the boarding family group model (made up of six or seven girls from different years) and the Year 13 buddy system which have both really helped her settle in.

BELOW: Visit to Ambury Park.

FAR RIGHT: Top Rangitoto Island.

Middle St Cuthbert’s Adventure Race.

Right: Boarder Milly Adams.

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“In the holidays, before you start boarding, your buddy sends you a personal letter. It is really nice to make a connection before you even start. This is followed up with a buddy dinner where your buddy asks lots of questions about you and gets to know you,” says Milly.

“We are all so close in the Boarding House

and we have so much fun. I really enjoy it. And the House Managers and staff are amazing.”

Milly is forging lifelong bonds with her fellow Boarders and sees it as a really tight-knit family.

Boarders are placed in Houses with a mix of age groups and there are lots of opportunities for girls to mentor and be mentored.

The home away from home promotes resilience and independence. Milly says it has definitely helped her to grow and not rely on her parents to do things for her. As a weekly Boarder, Milly is able to go home each weekend.

Outside of school hours there’s sport, music or other practices to attend, mainly hockey for Milly, and time to focus on her studies with prep time with university student prep tutors. But, says Milly, one of the best things is all the amazing activities that the boarding staff plan and put on for the girls during the week and weekends along with access to the school facilities such as the pool and fitness centre.

“We have so many cool activities after school and in the weekend – it could be anything from a Zumba instructor, playing tennis, board games, face painting lessons or cooking classes with the catering staff. On Sundays, girls go offsite for an interesting activity such as a trip to Devonport or Rangitoto, ice skating, rock climbing, trips to the driving range, shopping outings and more,” says Milly.

The year began with the Durham Shield interhouse competition and team building activities held at Long Bay. In Term Two there is still the midwinter Christmas dinner, birthday dinners and the Boarders’ Social to look forward to.

If you are interested in finding out more about boarding or flexi-boarding opportunities please contact the boarding staff boarding@stcuthberts.school.nz 30

SCHOOL BOARDING

Director of Boarding, Julie Hogg, says it is a privilege to be an integral part of the girls lives and to see them grow.

“

We understand that living away from home for the first time can be daunting – however it’s also a time of excitement, independence and life-defining experiences. As boarding staff, our job is to make sure our girls are happy, well-supported, cared for and feel a true sense of belonging, and it is really rewarding to see the girls blossom in their time here.

Our 2019 Boarders come from all over New Zealand and the world.

This includes Silverdale, Kerikeri, Whangarei, Waipu, Matakana, Waiheke, Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Hawkes Bay, Wellington and Nelson as well as China, Thailand, Papua New Guinea, Hong Kong, Cook Islands, Samoa, Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan and Korea.

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12 Finding her voice SPOTLIGHT ON CREATIVE WRITING AT ST CUTHBERT’S

through writing

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NURTURING CREATIVE WRITERS

ABOUT

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Ros Ali

Providing opportunities for our girls to have a voice, learn the craft of writing, create portfolios of their work, and stretch themselves beyond assessments to making a difference in the real world, are at the heart of the Writing Programme at St Cuthbert’s.

Rosalind Ali

We caught up with Head of St Cuthbert’s Writing Programme and Director of Library Services, Ros Ali, to find out how she helps our students find their voice through creative and media writing.

“Writing harnesses their voices,” says Ros. “No matter what career our girls choose for the future, they need to be able to think creatively to solve problems, and to write with clarity, purpose, style and perspective.

Architects, managers, creatives, designers, scientists, entrepreneurs, everyone needs to be able to communicate ideas to their audience, their stakeholders and customers. I focus on supporting the girls to explore their own style, and they learn what makes an effective piece of writing, whether it be creative, commentary, essays, or more functional. This in turns teaches them to find their own unique way of taking others on a journey.”

Ros Ali teaches creative and media writing, and English, across all three levels of NCEA. Class sizes are small to build trust among the girls, to enabling them to share personal stories and experiences to inform their writing.

“We explore many different ways of communicating through writing; short stories, poetry, plays, op-eds. Writing is a craft, and my goal for each student is to teach them that craft, so that their voice can be as powerful as possible.”

When asked to define the key element to learning the craft of writing, Ros says that girls need to read as much as possible, to give them a strong foundation to build on with their writing. Fundamentally though, to be an effective writer you need empathy, she says. “Understanding how people’s

experiences shape their views, and being able to look at situations from someone else’s perspective enables students to write with more depth and clarity. Learning that not everyone sees the world in the same way builds a better understanding of ourselves, each other’s stories, and the power of art and literature.”

“I really love watching the girls develop self-confidence through writing, and experimenting with words in new ways,” says Ros. Last year, several committed writers, now the current Year 13 Communications Committee, established a student newspaper, “Margin,” which publishes online every three months, and also a print edition about to launch soon. This initiative “provides opportunities for girls to write for a ‘real’ audience, and to see first-hand what resonates with their peers.”

Students from Year 9–13 have been published already this year.

“I am also really excited by the Little Sister Magazine, which profiles the work of our Year 0–6 girls in the Junior School.”

The Year 13 Communications Committee worked with the Year 8 Little Sister editing team, and our St Cuthbert’s Communications and Marketing Department, to help put together the new magazine that has been sent to our Junior School parent community.

This is another real-life writing experience that enables girls to see what is involved in putting together a professional publication.

It has also given students the opportunity to work with younger girls in the Junior and Middle Schools, and to encourage the development of a community of younger writers.

One of New Zealand’s most experienced teachers in creative writing and English, Ros Ali draws on her own life experiences to teach the craft of writing.

Ros grew up in Takapuna, attending the same local primary school as our Principal, Justine Mahon. At the end of secondary school, determined to experience more in life and help families in remote parts of Africa, she started her training for Volunteer Service Abroad. She initially qualified and practised as a nurse, while concurrently studying English Lit. and Psychology at Auckland University. From there, with an MA[Hons] in English, a Diploma in Teaching, and a husband, she left the intensive care wards, and instead of travelling to Africa, began her teaching journey. Four children and six grandchildren later, her commitments have been largely to family, teaching and writing. Ros’s three daughters have all attended St Cuthbert’s.

Sharing her passion for writing and literature through teaching is her life’s work. To give further extension to St Cuthbert’s student voices and other young writers around the country, she is involved in the Michael King Writers Centre. She works closely with poet and teacher, Johanna Emeney, running the centre’s “Young Writers Programme” that provides workshops and master classes with key New Zealand writers and creative artists. Over 50 St Cuthbert’s students and alumni have been part of Young Writers so far, and a significant number of our girls have been selected for publication in the programme’s annual literary journal, ‘Signals’.

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It’s Girls vs Boys The effects of different schools’ characteristics on single-sex learning by Emma Denton In this edition of Evergreen Ties, we are publishing the work of our talented student writer Emma Denton.

Emma was one of the 2018 scholarship awards for creative writing, along with Rebecca Greenwood and the school publication Margin, which is led by Cybella Maffitt for 2019.

Rebecca’s work is profiled on page 40, and we will be publishing a story from Cybella in the November edition of Evergreen Ties.

Congratulations to all the scholarship recipients.

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NURTURING CREATIVE WRITERS

Girls are not good at science. Boys are not good at language. It is simply in their DNA not to be. These are the clichés we so often hear – but is it true? There is no difference in what girls and boys are able to learn, but there are differences in the ways we most effectively teach them and the cultures to which they are exposed. So, how do girls and boys learn differently? More specifically, how do the different cultures of two high achieving, single-sex Auckland schools – St Cuthbert’s and Auckland Grammar School – help boys and girls learn?

Auckland Grammar is well-known as one of the top boy’s schools in Auckland. With 2,500 students enrolled under Headmaster Tim O’Connor, the school produces many high achieving boys across academic and sporting fields. As cited by the ERO report, the school’s “success is underpinned by the ‘Grammar Way’ which emphasises the pursuit of academic excellence as a core value.” This all comes down to culture.

“The pace of the school is pretty high and intense,” says Dr John Etty, Auckland Grammar’s Director of Teaching and Learning, “the energy that the boys bring is pretty phenomenal”. This is an important factor in how the school is run. With classes being held within forty-minute periods and assembly held every morning to celebrate student achievements, the school has established a fast-paced culture that aims for excellence. “We have high expectations of the boys in all aspects,” comments teacher Charlotte Forster. “We’re very, very clear on what we need them to meet and we’re very pleased to reward them for that.

We have a high focus on praise.”

St Cuthbert’s Principal Justine Mahon holds the view that, in order to achieve their personal best, the school’s culture must allow girls to be happy and feel confident in themselves. With around 1380 students, the school aims to support each girl to strive for their personal best through a positive, warm and embracing culture of sisterhood. “A happy, warm environment

supports girls to learn at their best, and to reach their potential,” says Ms Mahon.

“To me, it’s really important that girls feel secure in themselves at school.”

Research shows that boys are relational learners. They do not learn a subject, but rather their teacher’s way of looking at things. This is why it is important for teachers to have a good relationship with boys, as it will help them learn better. Boys tend to be more interested in material for its intrinsic interest and value to them, always finding something interesting or enjoyable in what they are being taught. However, they often need a clear reason for doing something, otherwise they will question why it is worth bothering.

All three teachers interviewed have noticed that a boy’s primary focus is usually on performance, specifically focusing on final grades. On the other hand, a girl’s motivation for working hard is often to please the teacher or those around her.

Although girls may show higher motivation, they also have higher levels of anxiety that can cause them to hold their own ability in very low regard.

Girls tend to be incredibly hard on themselves. They also tend to lose their voice during early adolescence. As a consequence, girls become overly stressed and conscientious to the point that they wear themselves out, constantly worrying about failure and wanting to be perfect.

Ms Mahon makes it a strong focus at St Cuthbert’s to support each individual girl in developing her self-esteem. Throughout the curriculum, students are shown examples of capable female leaders, promoting selfconfidence and an opportunity for girls to gain a strong voice, which they need.

Class sizes at St Cuthbert’s are quite small, allowing for teachers to keep an eye on each girl ensuring that they are not wearing themselves out,” the whole framework of small houses and small curriculum classes makes a huge difference”, says Ms Mahon.

At Grammar, the boys are placed in large classes, creating a potentially intimidating environment. The energy, noise and physical presence of the boys can seem imposing. However, boys are able to direct that energy into incredibly focused learning which allows them to do well.

They sometimes tend to be a little relaxed and lack initiative in class, and teachers need to give them reminders, prompts and directing. “Superficially, in lessons, you might be struck by this directive approach,” says Dr Etty. “We appear to focus a lot on behaviour, but we don’t actually spend a lot of time doing that”. Boys are also less comfortable with uncertainty than girls, wanting to get to the answer quickly and move on while girls are more patient and open to discussion.

Although there is the notion that boys are more competitive than girls, boys and girls do hold the same sense of competitiveness when it comes to learning.

Both genders like to compete against themselves, trying to improve on previous scores and striving to reach their absolute personal best. However, girls tend not to be as overt. As noticed by Ms Forster, girls “won’t crow openly in class, but the boys will! A girl would do so quietly, but it doesn’t mean that she wouldn’t be pleased with herself. For teachers, this means providing both genders with constant feedback, as they like to know what the goal they have to meet is, when they have met it, and to what extent they have met it.”

Ms Foster commented, that especially for boys, students have a very strong sense of justice about their own effort, “knowing that if they meet the benchmark they will be rewarded and praised accordingly”.

For Ms Mahon, nurturing girls throughout the school system is incredibly important, particularly nurturing their confidence. For girls in high-school, it is crucial to “provide them with opportunities to have a voice. You need to give them confidence that their opinions matter”.

Girls tend to operate well in teams and are very supportive of one another. However, they do need to be reminded of their personal abilities as well, and Ms Mahon is of the view that, while being able to work cooperatively is important, it is also important for girls to stand firm in their own ability. St Cuthbert’s accounts for this through the Kahunui programme, which is seen as a crucial part of the school’s culture that works towards building girls’ resilience.

Overall, the culture to which students are exposed affects the impact of their learning, especially in single-sex environments. Auckland Grammar exposes boys to an academic and outcome-oriented culture of excellence that sets their students up well for the future. The school also holds a strong sense of community where boys feel proud of the fact that they were a part of the place. The same can be said for St Cuthbert’s, which not only has a strong academic culture and a sense of self-empowerment that girls can do anything, but also builds a sense of belonging to something special.

“

There is no difference in what girls and boys are able to learn, but there are differences in the ways we most effectively teach them and the cultures to which they are exposed.

Both schools give students opportunities to develop parts of themselves and feel a sense of connection to something outside of their family, allthe-while encouraging them to learn and achieve to the best of their ability. The two schools use different techniques directed at the same outcome – a culture of community that aims to enable each student to fulfil their own potential.

https://www.ero.govt.nz/review-reports/aucklandgrammar-17-06-2016/ 1

Reichert, M and Hawley, R / Can Learn from You: Boys as Relational Learners 2014

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NURTURING CREATIVE WRITERS

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Introducing Margin According to the team at Margin, the publication’s name “…pays homage to those things often left ‘in the margins’”. Each issue covers a range of topics that are pertinent to St Cuthbert’s students and include opinion pieces, creative writing, film reviews, and everything in between!

This issue, Evergreen Ties has chosen to feature Year 12 student Rebecca Greenwood’s creative writing piece So, you want to write a story? This piece is inspired by Italo Calvino’s If on ‘a winter’s night a traveller’ and is written in the second-person framework that Calvino’s seminal piece is so famous for.

Margin is a school publication that is written, edited and produced by a group of St Cuthbert’s Senior School girls who are passionate about writing.

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To read the latest edition of Margin online, visit marginstcc.wordpress.com/ 36

NUTURING CREATIVE WRITERS

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So, you want to write a story?

—Rebecca Greenwood So, you want to write a story. But what kind of story? Any ideas? Never mind, I’m sure they’ll arrive soon. Probably milliseconds before you give up and declare, “This is impossible!” That’s how writer’s block often works. Just relax. Tune everything else out.

Make sure there are no distractions. That includes music, you know. Put away those headphones, your playlists aren’t going anywhere. Neither is your phone. Turn it off, put it on silent, hide it in a different room behind a stack of books or a pile of blankets. Do whatever you need to so that it won’t disturb you. Now make sure you’re alone. There is nothing quite as annoying as someone interrupting your train of thought with dull inquiries such as “Are you hungry?” or “What are you writing about, anyway?” Tell them to be patient, and to leave you alone in the meantime, politely, of course.

Then there’s the issue of food. For as soon as they ask you if you’re hungry, you suddenly do feel rather peckish. Maybe get something to snack on while you write.

Nothing too fancy or moreish, otherwise they’ll disappear before you’ve finished the first sentence. Not something heated either, because who knows how long you’ll take on this story? Unless you like your food lukewarm, of course. I’m not judging.

Water’s important too. Have a glass within arm’s reach, but not too close to risk knocking it over. We both know how easy it is to misjudge the swing of an elbow.

All right, no distractions, and food and

water close by. You’re doing well. Wait! You can’t start yet! You haven’t decided where to write your story. No, I’m not talking about the setting – That’s many, many steps ahead. You have to choose a place to sit down and write your story first. Or you could lie down or stand up, but sitting is usually best. Matters? Of course, it matters! Your surroundings are of utmost importance to your writing. Compare sitting on your bed hunched over your laptop to leaning against a tree outside in the elements, a notebook propped against your lap. Quite different, right? So where will it be? Don’t ask me; it’s your story. Right, have you found a place?

Moved your food and water to the new location? You could be in that position for quite a while, so make sure you’re comfy.

All settled? Now we can begin.

Oh, not begin writing. No, no, no, you’re getting ahead of yourself. “What needs doing this time?” you wonder aloud.

Well, you can’t write a story before you’ve chosen what to write it on. I know your immediate answer is your laptop, but are you sure that’s the best choice? What about writing it by hand on paper? Very well, if you’re certain. Now think about specifics. Word or Google Docs? Font?

Text size? All very important questions, you know. Okay, onto the next step – What’s that? You’ve got an idea? Well, go on; start writing! What are you waiting for? Oh, you’re wondering if there are any more instructions. That’s up to you, really.

This is your story, after all.

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Our St Cuthbert’s Supporters Hoodies are Available Term 3 Be among the first to sport the new St Cuthbert’s hoodie. Pre-order yours by calling into the Blackwatch House Uniform Shop where they will be available for pick-up from the last week of the July holidays.

IMAGES: Lucy and Victoria wear our stylish and warm supporters hoodies.

—

SCHOOL HOODIE

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NEW!

limited edition

e g n a R r e Wint TRY IT OUT!

We’re giving you $30 off to taste a Bag from our Winter Range! Simply use promo code WINTERSTCUTHS to get $30 off your first delivery! * Expires 31st July 2019.

Warm up your winter with one of our NEW limited-edition seasonal bags – My Winter Warmers Bag or Ready in 20 Winter Edition.

Sound tempting? In true winter style, we’ve given you choices to create these dishes in the slow cooker or in the oven, so it’s really up to you how you create these simply mouth-watering meals.

These scrumptious bags are available for a limited time only during the chilly months, so get in quick so you don’t miss out!

We’re sharing one of our absolute favourite Winter Warmers recipes so you can create it at home. You’ll love our Spanish Lamb Stew with White Bean Mash. Pop the lamb shoulder in the slow cooker and get ready for an indulgent, elegant and simple dinner. This crowd-pleaser will be a hit with the whole family, even if you have fussy foodies around!

My Winter Warmers Bag

Prep 5 mins Ready in 2 hrs 30min – oven | 9-10 hrs – slow cooker Spanish Lamb Stew 1 tsp smoked paprika 1/2 tsp onion powder 1/4 tsp garlic powder 1/2 tsp dried oregano 1 tsp cumin powder 1 Tbsp cornflour 1kg lamb shoulder 3 cloves garlic, minced 1 tsp salt 1 red onion 1 capsicum 1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes Beef stock (see steps for quantity)

100g baby spinach 1/4 cup green olives Mash 800g potatoes 1 x 400g can butter beans 2 Tbsp butter 1/2 cup milk 1/2 tsp salt Spanish Aioli 1/3 cup mayonnaise 1/2 clove garlic, minced 1/2 tsp smoked paprika

combine paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, oregano, cumin and cornflour. Pat lamb dry, place in slow cooker/casserole dish and rub with spices, garlic and salt. Slice onion and add to lamb. Set aside until ready to cook.

2 Cook lamb in slow cooker. Slice capsicum thickly and add to Lamb Tagine with Date Couscous

lamb along with canned tomatoes and 1 cup of stock. Slow cook on low for about 9-10 hours or until tender. Lamb will easily pull apart when ready.

3 Cook lamb in oven. Preheat oven to 200°C. Slice capsicum

thickly and add to lamb along with canned tomatoes and 2 cups of stock. Cover and cook for about 21/2 hours, or until tender. Lamb will easily pull apart when ready.

Ready in 20 Winter Edition Bringing you three meals ready in 20 minutes or less + one slow cooker meal that can be prepped in under 20 minutes.

Serves 4 people Number of recipes 4 SECTION TITLE 38 Weekly price $194.99

Using quality New Zealand lamb shoulder, this dish is full of flavour and the perfect way to end a cold evening. Pop this in the slow cooker in the morning and come home to the smell of dinner sorted!

1 Prepare the night before or morning of. Pat In a bowl,

Back by popular demand! Bringing you mouth-watering favourites for the entire family. Two slow cooker meals + two Classic winter meals.

Serves 4 people Number of recipes 4 Weekly price $189.99

Spanish Lamb Stew with White Bean Mash

4 Cook mash & prep aioli. Peel and dice potatoes. Cook in a pot

of salted water, with the lid on, for about 25 minutes or until tender.

Drain beans and add to potatoes for last 1 minute of cook time. Drain and return to pot with butter, milk and salt and mash until smooth.

Season to taste. In a small bowl, combine all aioli ingredients

Pulled Pork Tacos with Winter Slaw

5 To finish. Remove lamb from sauce and roughly pull into bite sized

pieces. Return to sauce along with spinach and olives. Season to taste.

Serve mash topped with lamb and a dollop of Spanish aioli.

MIDDLE DISTANCE RUNNER

Isabella Richardson We caught up with Isabella Richardson the day before she flew out to compete in the IAAF World Cross Country Championships in Denmark, held at the end of March. Having previously competed in the Junior Singles, Isabella was competing for the first time in the U20 age group. The championships are fiercely competitive, with top runners from all over the world taking part.

Isabella is ranked number one in New Zealand under 16, and third in the six-member New Zealand team off to Denmark.

She describes running as something that gives her a feeling of freedom. “Everything on my mind just leaves when I’m running”, she says.

15 year old Isabella went on to come 93rd in the prestigious 6km race in Denmark, with a fantastic time of 25 minutes and 50 seconds.

Isabella, now in Year 11, started running competitively when she was in Year 7. “Up until then I noticed I did quite well in running and cross country, despite not doing any training. I had so much energy, and I think I might have been a bit hard to handle, so I started running around the block to tire myself out a bit!

“It started from there, and I began winning races. I still remember how I felt when I won my first Remuera Zones race. I was up against an incredible runner, she was unbeatable. I won the race, and it was so exciting! I felt like I had really accomplished something.”

Isabella describes herself as a middle-distance runner, running in races between 1.5 and 3kms. She races every 2–3 weeks, and trains 5–6 times a week. Her schedule includes weight training and swimming, and when asked how hungry she gets with all that exercise, she replied that she eats as much as her dad! She also competes in weekly club nights, often running in races of different lengths against people older than her, including boys.

“I enjoy testing and pushing myself. It’s sometimes hard to push myself when I run alone, so club nights are both fun and challenging.”

16 “

I enjoy testing and pushing myself. It’s sometimes hard to push myself when I run alone, so club nights are both fun and challenging.

Isabella started competing internationally last year and came 23rd in the Junior Individual Girls Selected Schools’ Event of the IAAF World Cross Country championships in Paris. “I was only 14 at the time and running against some really talented girls from all over the world. I really enjoyed testing myself to see where I was at and giving myself a goal for this year! Our St Cuthbert’s team also got a bronze medal overall, so it was a fantastic result.”

She used to train with her dad, who was a pro-tennis player, and in Isabella’s words, had a ‘base level of fitness’. However, she started to beat him, so instead, Isabella now runs with the St Cuthbert’s school run club, which she recommends for anyone thinking about taking up running competitively or just for enjoyment.

“At first, when I was in Year 7, I was a bit intimidated to join a club with older girls, but it truly is so friendly and so much fun.”

When asked if she has any advice for younger runners, she stresses the importance of enjoying the journey. “I try not to get too fixated on winning. I think it’s important to do my personal best and not get too worked up by it all. I love to win, but I also love to win well and a key part of that is focussing on achieving a good time in a race.”

Isabella has set her sights on a sports scholarship to a top university in the United States, saying “I’d love to see where running can take me and really test my potential.”

SPORTS SNAPSHOT

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17

Sport Snapshot

Junior School Sport Our Junior School girls have participated in an incredible range of sports so far this year and it’s been fantastic to see so many girls branching out to try new activities.

Highlights so far this year have been the Junior School Swimming Sports Day and Field Games events. Along with their families, we support our girls to grow in confidence, develop teamwork skills and adopt a ‘give it a go’ attitude.

We look forward to seeing the girls continue having fun as they shift gears for their winter sports programmes.

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SPORTS SNAPSHOT

SPORTS SNAPSHOT

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Middle School Sport Aquathon

Middle School was well represented at the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Aquathon Championships. Sophie Robb and Samantha Bradley both raced in the Girls Under 14s individual race with Samantha finishing 8th overall and Sophie winning overall. The St Cuthbert’s teams finished well too with Mia Kelliher and Grace Meredith finishing 6th and Amber Bason and Katie Marshall finishing 10th.

Amazing results, well done to all our Aquathon athletes.

Cycling

Susy Pryde joined us at a Middle School assembly in Term 1 to promote cycling for Years 7 and 8. The girls were delighted when she showed her Commonwealth Games medals. We offer great support to those girls wishing to try this sport and encourage everyone to give it a go.

Dancing

Our congratulations to Ava Eie, Year 8, who competed at the Dance Masters International Competition in January.

Equestrian

In February St Cuthbert’s entered five riders into the Auckland Secondary Schools’ Horse Trials where eventing included three phases: Dressage, Show Jumping and Cross Country. The team with the least number of errors in each phase wins the day. Our Middle School girls Petra Grant and Ariella Grant joined other St Cuthbert’s Senior School students to comprise a team which placed an impressive 2nd out of 17 teams. A wonderful result girls.

Orienteering

Our Middle School girls participated in the Auckland Secondary Schools’ Orienteering Sprint Series Central Zones over a six week period in Term 1. The best four race results for each participant combined to determine the final placings across the series.

Series Results Year 7 4th Biba Hermann 5th Amelia Brooks Year 8 1st Katelin Toes 3rd Eliza Went 5th Grace McGregor-Macdonald 10th Sienna Williams As a result of their success in this series, the girls qualified to compete in the AKSS Championship Sprint Final which was held on 7 April, for many girls this was their first forest race. The Middle School performed extremely well with Sienna Williams securing 2nd place. Our congratulations to all our Orienteers and special thanks to teacher Elizabeth Parsons and parent Jeff Greenwood for their coaching of the girls.

Tennis

Middle School was well represented at the Auckland Intermediate Central Zone Tennis Champs, which were held in Mount Eden.

Mr Tunnicliffe from our Sports Department was very happy to report that our girls defended three of the four titles held from last year with our girls winning all matches in the Year 7 and 8 Singles, as well as the Year 8 Doubles.

The NZ World Junior Tennis team was represented by Middle School student Renee Zhang (Year 8) who competed alongside one other St Cuthbert’s Senior School student in the International Tennis Federation Juniors in Malaysia in April. The team finished an incredible 2nd in their pool.

We have great Tennis talent at St Cuthbert’s with 11 teams playing in Term 1, from the premier grade through to beginner grades, and we continue to welcome and encourage all girls to try Tennis.

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SPORTS SNAPSHOT

Swimming

A highlight of Term 1 for our students, teachers and parents alike was the Middle School Swim Sports Day. The pool was alive with House spirit and flooded in colour as all girls joined in, clearly enjoying the opportunity to wear mufti in their House colours.

Congratulations to Year 7 and 8 students who went on to represent St Cuthbert’s at the Central Zone Swimming Championships.

Year 7 50m Freestyle: 1st Mia Kelliher Year 8 50m Freestyle: 3rd Islay Boyes Year 7 50m Backstroke: 3rd Samantha Bradley Year 8 50m Backstroke: 1st Elisha Lam Year 7 and 8 100m Freestyle: 2nd Islay Boyes Year 7 4x50m Freestyle Relay: 1st to team Mia Kelliher, Isobel Denton, Samantha Bradley and Daniella Van Delden Year 8 4x50m Freestyle Relay: 1st to team Elisha Lam, Charlotte McKenzie, Islay Boyes and Hannah Piper Year 7 and 8 4x50m Freestyle Relay: 1st to team Islay Boyes, Hannah Piper, Mia Kelliher and Samantha Bradley.

SPORTS SNAPSHOT

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Senior School Sport Athletics Year 13 student Charlotte Holland competed at the Allan & Sylvia Potts Classic – Track & Field Meeting in Hastings on 26 January, where she won the Open Women’s 400m event.

In February, Charlotte placed 1st in the 400m Open Women’s Grade and Peyton Leigh placed 3rd in the 800m Women’s Open Grade at the Porritt Classics athletic event held in Hamilton.

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SPORTS SNAPSHOT

NZSS Athletics/ Road Race Champs Results 2018 The Athletics Road Race Championships took place on 12 December 2018.

In the Athletics division, Charlotte Holland placed second in the Senior 400m, Peyton Leigh came second in the Junior 800m, Isabel Allen placed 3rd in the Junior 400m.

Olivia Power was third equal in the Junior High Jump.

The 4x100m Junior Relay Team, comprising

of Sonya Ha, Olivia Power, Ella Nesdale and Mysty Cooke, placed 4th, while the 4x100m Senior Relay Team, featuring Leilani Fa’aiuaso, Isabel Allen, Elena Edgar-Nemec and Charlotte Holland, were first.

The 4x400m Senior Relay Team, which was made up of Olivia Power, Peyton Leigh, Isabel Allen and Charlotte Holland, also came first.

In the Road Race, our Senior threeman team (Bella Browne, Emma Hamilton, Elliette O’Brien) placed third, while the Year

9 six-man team (Jaime Lewis, Madeline Leigh, Matilde Cullen, Zara Stewart, Sofia Toes, Lucia Lundon) gained first place.

Auckland Championship Athletics Tournament The Auckland Championship Athletics Tournament took place in 15-17 February and our senior St Cuthbert’s girls performed exceptionally well.

Charlotte Holland came first in the 400m, 200m, 100m as well as in the Long Jump and Triple Jump and Leilani Faaiuaso placed 3rd in the Under 20 200m.

Our Year 11s all placed highly in their Under 17 respective races. Isabel Allen came first in

the 400m and 200m and placed 2nd in the 800m. Isabella Richardson placed 1st in the 1500m and 3rd in the 800m, while Peyton Leigh took out 1st in the 800m.

Our Junior grade competitors also performed well. In Grade 14, Sonya Ha placed 2nd 100m, 3rd in the 200m, and 3rd in the Long Jump. Meanwhile, in Grade 13, Olivia Power, came 3rd in the Long Jump and 2nd in the High Jump.

In addition, Charlotte Holland, Isabel Allen, Isabella Richardson, Leilani Faaiuaso, and Peyton Leigh were selected for the Auckland Under 18 team to compete at the New Zealand National Championships in Christchurch.

Central Eastern Zone Athletics

On Tuesday 5 March over 30 students attended the Central Eastern Zone Athletics Event at Mt Smart Stadium.

Results Ashley Pollock (Year 9) 3rd Junior Girls Discus Olivia Power (Year 10) 1st Junior Girls High Jump 1st Junior Girls Long Jump Grace McCarthy (Year 9) 2nd Junior Girls Javelin Sonya Ha (Year 10) 1st Intermediate Girls Long Jump 2nd Intermediate Girls 100m Violette Perry (Year 12) 2nd Intermediate Girls Discus 1st Intermediate Girls Javelin Charlotte Holland (Year 13) 1st Senior Girls Triple Jump 1st Senior Girls 100m 1st Senior Girls 200m 1st Senior Girls 400m Madeline Leigh (Year 10) 3rd Junior Girls 800m Katherine Fanelli (Year 9) 1st Junior Girls 70m Hurdles Isabel Allen (Year 11) 1st Intermediate Girls 200m 1st Intermediate Girls 400m Peyton Leigh (Year 11) 1st Intermediate Girls 800m Chloe Browne (Year 11) 1st Intermediate Girls 1500m Bella Browne (Year 11) 3rd Intermediate Girls 1500m Isabella Richardson (Year 11) 1st Intermediate Girls 3000m Isabella broke the College Sport Auckland Intermediate Girls 3000m record at the Central Eastern Zone Athletics with a time of 10:12.29 Emily Hacket Pain (Year 13) 2nd Senior Girls 800m Elliette O’Brien (Year 13) 3rd Senior Girls 800m 1st Senior Girls 1500m Junior Relay Team: – 3rd place Olivia Power, Jaime Francis, Ashley Pollock and Lucy Chaddock Intermediate Relay Team: – 1st place Isabel Allen, Sonya Ha, Ella Greenwood and Bella Brown Senior Relay Team: – 1st place Charlotte Holland, Breana Catley, Grace Parkinson and Leilani Fa’aiuaso Open 4x400m Relay Team: – 1st place Charlotte Holland, Isabel Allen, Bella Browne and Isabella Richardson SPORTS SNAPSHOT

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Auckland Athletics Championships Sixteen of our Year 9–13 students competed at the Auckland Athletic Championships at Mt Smart Stadium on Wednesday 20 March with some seriously impressive results.

Charlotte Holland (Year 13) 1st Senior Girls 100m 1st Senior Girls 200m 1st Senior Girls 400m 2nd Senior Girls Triple Jump Elliette O’Brien (Year 13) 2nd Senior Girls 1500m Emily Hacket-Pain (Year 13) 3rd 2000m Senior Girls Steeple Chase Violette Perry (Year 12) 1st Intermediate Girls Javelin 2nd Intermediate Girls Discus Isabel Allen (Year 11) 1st Intermediate Girls 200m 1st Intermediate Girls 400m Peyton Leigh (Year 11) 1st Intermediate Girls 800m Sonya Ha (Year 10) 1st Intermediate Girls Long Jump 1st Intermediate Girls 100m Katherine Fanelli (Year 9) 1st Junior Girls 70m Hurdles The Senior Girls’ 4x100m Relay team (Charlotte Holland, Isabel Allen, Sonya Ha and Leilani Fa’aiuaso) took out 2nd place in their division. Meanwhile, our Open Girls 4x400m team (Charlotte Holland, Isabel Allen, Peyton Leigh and Bella Browne) broke the 1988 record set by Rangitoto (4:04.33) with a time of 4:04.17.

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SPORTS SNAPSHOT

Dragon Boating

Equestrian

The St Cuthbert’s Dragon Boat team picked up a Silver medal in the 500m Girl’s Final at the College Sport Auckland Regional Regatta in March. They also scored a Bronze medal in the 2km event, which was particularly impressive given that they were competing against mixed and all-male boats!

On Monday 25 February, the Auckland Secondary Schools’ Horse Trials 2019 were held at the Clevedon Pony Club.

St Cuthbert’s entered five riders across two teams. Team 1 comprised of Senior School girls Alice Tucker (Year 12) and Holly Richardson (Year 10). Shannon McKee The team followed this up with a stellar (Year 9) competed in Team 2 as part of a performance at the Nationals, held at Lake composite team along with three students Karapiro, Cambridge, where they won Silver from Macleans College. in both the 200m and 500m Junior Women’s Team 1 placed an impressive 2nd out of events.

17 teams and Team 2 placed 3rd in the Congratulations to Briar Amos, Jessica Bessey, competition.

Alice Biggs, Amelia Cai, Jessica Clark, Lola Cox, Olivia Haskell, Kaea Hudson, Molly Kaye, India Klink, Maia Landall-Blair, Holly Lane, Sofia Limbrick-Jones, Maddy Lynas, Millicent Five St Cuthbert’s girls travelled to Orlando, Mackie, Lucy Mortimer, Niamh Orr-Walker, Florida, over the Easter holidays to represent Jennifer Shin, Lydia Sue, Emma Tidswell New Zealand at the USASF Dance Worlds (Captain), Georgie Waters, Macy Watson and competition. Charlotte Healey (Year 13), Mathilda Howson (Year 11), Victoria Jagusch Angela Xu. (Year 9), Lucy Fowler (Year 8) and Scarlett Sills (Year 8) competed against 4000 dancers from over 40 countries.

Dancing

Orienteering

Auckland Central Zone Results St Cuthbert’s had a number of girls compete in the Orienteering Central Zone competition for a place in the Auckland Secondary Schools’ Orienteering Sprint series final.

In total, 15 St Cuthbert’s girls made it through to the Auckland Sprint Finals.

Congratulations to the following Senior School girls on their excellent results at the Zones:

Hockey

Tennis

In early March, Year 13 student Katie Doar made her New Zealand debut for the Vantage Black Sticks in the international Pro-League competition. The team took on Argentina (a 3–0 loss) and the USA (a 3–1 win).

Year 9 student Sasha Situe won both the New Zealand U12 Tennis Champs singles and doubles titles.

Netball The St Cuthbert’s premier netball team succeeded in securing a place in the Auckland Netball Premier 1 grade, which is considered one of the country’s strongest school netball competitions.

Swimming Chloe Tattersfield (Year 12) placed second in the 2.6km swim and the 500m swim at the National Secondary School Open Water Swimming Champions held at Mount Maunganui in early February. This stellar performance saw her place second in the 16–19 Girls’ age group.

Sasha and Renee Zhang were two of only three girls selected for the World Junior Tennis Championships in Kuala Lumpur, in April to compete in the International Tennis Federation’s Asia/Oceania zone qualifying competition.

Water Polo Year 13 student, Libby Alsemgeest was the youngest player selected for the New Zealand Women’s Water Polo Team to attend the FINA Intercontinental World League Championships in Perth, Australia.

The tournament took place in late March and the New Zealand squad took on Japan, China and the USA in pool play.

Junior Girls 3rd – Ellie Evans 9th – Claire Heimgartner 10th – Isla McCarthy 11th – Amber Burley Intermediate Girls 2nd – Zara Stewart 5th – Sofia Toes 6th – Olivia Power 8th – Pippa Dixon Senior Girls 6th – Rebecca Greenwood

World Schools Orienteering Championship Five of our St Cuthbert’s girls travelled to Otepää, Estonia, to compete in the World Schools Orienteering Championship. (pictured above) Pippa Dixon, Ellie Evans, Olivia Power, Zara Stewart and Sofia Toes represented their school and their country in the Junior Girls’ division.

Prior to the star t of the championships, the girls spent two weeks undertaking intensive training in Finland and Estonia. They even met the President of Estonia, Kersti Kaljulaid.

Strong performances in the LongDistance race had the team sitting in third place, with Zara Stewart taking first place overall and Olivia Power placing 12th individually.

The team’s outstanding results in the Middle-Distance race, including first place for Zara Stewart and 7th place for Sofia Toes, elevated the team to first place overall and saw them become the Junior Division World Champions for 2019!

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18 Below: Evelyn Zhang.

Far right: Members of Saints Alive.

Right: Fiona Tibbles and Saints Alive Accompanist Juan Kim. —

Saints Alive Hit the High Notes The choral programme is a hugely important part of the musical fabric of life at St Cuthbert’s. Singing is integral to the music curriculum from Year 0–9. Those who take it further by being part of a school choir know that it is much more than singing a few songs. It is also good for the soul.

Under the watchful guidance of the dedicated Choral team, the choirs at St Cuthbert’s are thriving and so are the students who are involved.

After a stellar 2018 performance at the Big Sing Finale in which St Cuthbert’s was the only school to have two choirs represented with Black Watch Singers and Saints Alive, the conductor of Black Watch Singers, Miss Fiona Tibbles, has taken on conducting duties of St Cuthbert’s top choral group, Saints Alive, for 2019.

private singing tutor and holds a Master of Music degree from the University of Auckland.

Fiona is an Old Girl of St Cuthbert’s and a former Saints Alive member. Fiona has first-hand experience of what it takes to be part of a successful choir and is a current member of New Zealand’s professional chamber choir, Voices New Zealand. In May, she was a featured soloist with Voices New Zealand and the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra, accompanying the BBC Planet Earth II screening in the Aotea Theatre. She was a member of the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir for four years and has toured overseas numerous times with national choirs for various showcases and competitions. She is a

“As an Old Girl, I hope the girls find it inspirational to see someone who has taken my path and studied to a high level in music, and know that’s an option.”

Fiona says, “I feel hugely privileged to be part of this group. The girls here are so supportive of each other and have a common goal of excellence; there is a strong sense of family within our choirs.”

Saints Alive is the pre-eminent St Cuthbert’s choir taking girls from Years 9 – 13. It is the pinnacle of singing at the school. This year, 48 students are in the choir. Juan Kim is the new accompanist for Saints Alive this year. He is currently an official accompanist at the University of Auckland, the Auckland Choral society, and accompanies several of the top secondary school choirs in Auckland.

Girls in the choir perform to an extremely high standard and spend their rehearsals working on choral skills such as sight-reading, honing technique, and working to create a unique and powerful sound. The girls are very dedicated and meet throughout the week at sectional rehearsals (run by choir leaders) in addition to whole choir rehearsals. They perform at school events and also compete at a national level, presenting a wide variety of challenging and exciting music from all genres including traditional classical period repertoire, right through to contemporary, fun pieces.

Newcomer to Saints Alive this year, Year 10 student Evelyn Zhang, believes the hard work all pays off in the end and not just because of the great performances.

“It brings so much joy to us, and the audience, when our pieces sound really good, making all the early morning and late evening rehearsals worthwhile. It’s something to take my mind off school and it’s just something I really enjoy. I know more people around school now to wave to in the

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corridors. Saints Alive is another community that I now belong to.”

The positive impact on student wellbeing is not lost on Fiona or Head of Performing Arts Faculty, Stewart Allen.

Says Fiona, “Singing in choirs is scientifically proven to be beneficial to one’s mental health. In a school setting, it provides a space where girls can come together in a welcoming environment to create something that is uniquely their own. By belonging to a choir, one can find like-minded people and develop lifelong friendships.”

St Cuthbert’s has a strong history of choral singing, and the sheer number of girls singing in choirs is a testament to the good singing does for them as individuals – they are provided with a sense of creating something special, being brought together with their peers in a positive way, and bringing joy to their audience through their music-making.”

Stewart agrees. He adds, “The Choral Music programme allows every St Cuthbert’s student to have the opportunity to be involved in the joy and community of group singing.

Not only does singing epitomise the essence

of ‘By Love Serve’, but it has well known benefits such as lowering stress levels, improving mental alertness, strengthening the immune system and boosting confidence.

It is something I encourage every girl to try.”

Each year the calibre of performance continues to approve. This year St Cuthbert’s has three students, more than ever before, in the New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir.

Congratulations to Elizabeth Hayman, Keying Huo-Smith, and Aleyna Taumoepeau.

Saints Alive recently performed at the Big Sing regional competition on Wednesday 12 June.

There are a range of auditioned and non-auditioned choirs, from Year 3 up at St Cuthbert’s: • Voichestra (Year 3 – 6, all-comers) • Junior Blackwatch Singers (Years 5 – 6, auditioned) • Song Squad (Year 7 – 8, all-comers) • Black Watch Singers (Year 9 – 13, all-comers) • Saints Alive (Year 9 – 13, auditioned) • ReZonation short term all-comers senior choir • The St Cuthbert’s staff also have a choir which will perform for the students later in the year.

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This popular practical half semester course gives Year 9 students the opportunity to experience being in a rock band – arguably a teenage rite of passage! Students are challenged to dive in and learn every instrument as they perform cover versions of popular songs, thereby learning the basics of rock drumming, rhythm and bass guitar, keyboard and contemporary singing. Students learn to tune, read TAB, chord charts and lead sheets, set up and dismantle sound gear and about how the elements of music are used in the rock genre.

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Spotlight on Year 9 Rock The course is for everyone – no experience is required; however, the core music programme our students experience in Years 7 and 8 builds the foundation and knowledge for success. Whilst some will take the study of music no further, those considering taking music in subsequent years will gain valuable skills leading to NCEA Level One Music where generous song writing, solo and group performance music credits are available (to name a few).

The student bands are largely selfdirected with teachers, Mary Cornish, Sally Tibbles, Dragana Yelavich and Stewart Allen, stepping in to facilitate when needed. The course operates on a high level of trust. Working in a group, making the best use of the time, learning how to rehearse and being supportive of one another builds invaluable life skills.

Students report a high level of personal growth in this course. Everyone must step up to the microphone and although for many this is a terrifying prospect, students

report personal satisfaction in overcoming this and other personal challenges.

The girls are endlessly creative and have a lot of fun choosing their band names and designing a band logo and ‘look’. “Bring the BEET In”, “The Rolling Tones”, and “No Child Left Behind” being recent examples. Students are accountable for their gear and keep a log book of their progress, tracking the songs they perform and instruments they play. At the end of the semester, having learnt and performed as many songs as possible, PAC 203 turns into a rock stadium for the grand finale or “Rock Off”.

Staff are kept busy being ‘roadies’; keeping the gear in working order with strings, cables and speakers continually needing attending to but it’s all part of the scene in Year 9 Rock. It is rewarding seeing the students’ belief in themselves as music-makers, not just consumers, not to mention the hidden talent that regularly

emerges. There are natural born drummers, bassists who have a real affinity with the instrument, and singers who never knew they could sing. Some students go on to start lessons having had their passion for music ignited and Year 9 Rock can be a starting point for student run bands. Students are encouraged to take the next step and use the skills they have learnt to write their own songs with the potential to enter the annual Rock Quest Competition.

This programme has been running for several years – having been started by former HOD Music, Dr Graham McPhail. It is well and truly embedded in the school’s music programme and we are very proud of it. We are so lucky to have break out rooms and gear for everyone in the course – and hundreds of students have been through the programme.

A “Wall of Fame’’ can be found outside Room 206 in the PAC where past bands have been immortalised. At St Cuthbert’s we are proudly getting more girls rocking and we hope every girl will give it a go!

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Student-led Shakespeare Soiree Success Shakespeare’s timeless themes were once again breathed new life at the 2019 Shakespeare Soiree, which involved over 250 Year 9–13 students, under the watchful eye of event organiser and drama teacher, Debbie Waalkens.

One of the great features of the Shakespeare Soiree is the student-led nature of all aspects of the event. This includes senior students directing younger students as well as the Production Crew and Performing Arts Committee providing back stage, technical support and hosting the performance evenings. This year we had 50 student-directed groups and one teacher-directed group, directed by Judy McIntosh, Head of Drama.

For the student-directed five-minute scenes, the directors chose the scene, cast the roles and arranged rehearsals, as well as directing and designing the performance.

There were five sessions of performances from which the best 12 groups were chosen by Senior School teacher, Michael Zhang to perform at the St Cuthbert’s semi-finals.

The semi-final performance was judged by Jessica Loudon, a professional actress who has great experience in many types of theatre. Most recently, Jessica has been appointed as a Head Tutor for Pop Up Globe’s Education Department where she will continue to pursue her two great loves of Shakespeare and Theatre in Education.

Six groups were chosen by Jessica to represent St Cuthbert’s at the Auckland Central Regional Competition of the SCGNZ University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival which took place from Thursday 4 April to Saturday 6 April 2019.

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20 “Our girls performed beautifully and were amazing representatives for the school. The organisers commented on the wonderful helpful behaviour of our students,” said Debbie Waalkens.

Congratulations to all our girls who took part in the 2019 Shakespeare Soiree and especially to those below who received an award.

Results from the 2019 Auckland Central SCGNZ University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival Best Duologue St Cuthbert’s: Much Ado About Nothing Kanicha Nualkhair Cybella Maffitt

Most Original Concept St Cuthbert’s: Macbeth Directed by Jessica Clark Performed by Victoria Ryan Alys Evans Lili Morgan-Rees Isabella Bullen Arabella Patrick

Best Set Design St Cuthbert’s: Othello Directed by Judy McIntosh

Outstanding Actor Award St Cuthbert’s College: Nico Penny

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The annual St Cuthbert’s House Flowers competition took place on 22 March 2019, with each House interpreting the theme of ‘Paradise’ to create a stunning floral arrangement.

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House Flowers House Flowers, which coincides with the College’s St Cuthbert’s Day celebrations, requires a team of Senior School students from each house to construct a floral design using organic materials. Every year, the Houses are given a brief and the girls are required to work within the overall theme.

The finished results were the culmination of creative design thinking, hard work, and flawless execution of each House’s artistic vision.

in their creation they chose a dove to represent paradise as it was an international symbol of peace. What’s more, the House carefully selected the flora to construct their arrangements and selected the native toetoe plant, a native fluffy tall grass, to create a “… soft, heavenly image, while also honouring our environment and the beautiful native plants within it.”

The winning House for 2019, Dunblane, created a glowing yellow angel from sunflowers and other natural materials. In their rationale, Dunblane stated that their angel symbolised “…everyone’s inner spiritual paradise – whether it be hope for salvation in heaven, enlightenment or simply a new level of peace.”

Third-place winners, Melrose, wanted their creation to exude “peace, warmth, happiness and serenity”. The house created a hibiscus flower out of other organic materials and even created a drop-shadow effect by placing leaves underneath their hanging creation. Melrose said that they chose the hibiscus to represent paradise as they perceive these flowers to be “true symbols of femininity expressing female beauty, power and strength.”

Second-place winners, Lindisfarne, created a resplendent white dove, complete with an olive branch. They stated that,

Congratulations to all the Houses on constructing such beautiful installations in such a limited amount of time.

Durham “We have made a flamingo, a bird of paradise, to embody the theme as birds are often associated with freedom, having the gift of flight, and the ability to move to their desire. The tranquil presence of the flamingo exudes a spiritual essence of affection and freedom.”

Dunblane “Our golden-haloed angel is an icon for paradise, not only throughout many religions but also popular culture - be they peaceful guardians, or symbols of heaven, or beings that deliver divine messages. They represent a transcendent level of enlightenment. However, these timeless faiths come in diverse forms for every person: each one differs, but all are fundamental to our own ideas of paradise.”

Elgin “Elgin wanted to approach this year’s theme of Paradise from a different perspective. We achieved this by constructing a tree that is split into two halves. One half is alive and thriving – a paradise, with lush greenery and blossoming flowers, while the contrasting half is dead, withered and decayed. This striking clash between the two halves symbolise how our Earth and forests were initially a thriving paradise, but we are slowly destroying it day by day as a result of our activities and ignorance.”

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Iona “When considering the theme ‘Paradise’, we think about the bliss and tranquility in life – and who lives a more blissful and tranquil life than the regal peacock? Peacocks are symbols of royalty, symbolising both wealth and the complex beauty in nature.”

Kelso “In many cultures and mythologies, the Earth is presented as a woman, as a mother. Through her sources of food, of freshwater, of plains and of mountains, she sustains us. It is time that we take a look at ourselves and the way we treat her, viewing her not only as something we can abuse for profit, but as our mother who we must treat with respect and love. She has been the only planet gracious enough to bestow upon us the gift of life; she is our one and only paradise.”

Lindisfarne “When we imagine a perfect world, we think of one where we have achieved world peace. That’s why, in response to this year’s theme of ‘Paradise’, Lindisfarne has chosen to make a dove.

As St Cuthbert’s girls, we always aim to embody the message of ‘By Love Serve’.

It is only by treating others with love and spreading peace that we can truly achieve paradise on earth.”

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“

House flowers are a longstanding tradition that provide every girl the opportunity to interpret important themes with flowers and foliage in a sustainable way. Ms Justine Mahon

Melrose

York

“This empowering hibiscus flower represents feminine energy. These flowers are true symbols of femininity expressing female beauty; the power and strength that every woman expresses personally. We hope that our floral flower masterpiece brings an overwhelming sense of strength and paradise to everyone who sees it.”

“York’s interpretation of the theme ‘Paradise’ is inspired by the beautiful ‘birds of paradise’ flower. We created a symbolic masterpiece which represents both the shape of the ‘birds of paradise’ flower as well as the modern day idea of paradise. We believe that true paradise, however, lies at home, in New Zealand – a natural, luscious, clean and green beauty.”

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The start of the year and the first school term has been a busy one for St Cuthbert’s and there is definitely a lot of momentum and positive feeling in our school and the Old Girl community.

Earlier this year, we conducted a survey to learn how we were meeting your needs and what we could improve. Thank you for your participation and the valuable feedback. 1,151 Old Girls responded to our survey and the results are fascinating. We will use the research to improve our communications, particularly our social media and we will be developing more events that match your personal and professional interests – something you’ve told us would make you more likely to join us at a future event. You can read more about the survey on page 74.

A message from our Old Girls’ President Penelope Peebles Update your details at alumnae@stcuthberts.school.nz for: – Changed address, email, and mobile – Qualification obtained/date obtained/tertiary provider – Job Title/Company – Family notices: Births/deaths/change of surname and other news 58

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In March we hosted a number of reunion events as well as our AGM and Old Girls’ Chapel Service and over 200 Old Girls reconnected at our various events. For each reunion event our new St Cuthbert’s Archivist Sarah Padey delivered a wealth of archive resource to delight our reunion attendees and we were able to showcase photographs and old uniforms (including the classic black velvet boarding dinner dress!) and some hilarious videos of school camp, balls and jazz band performances. The response to the videos was so positive that we will work to digitise some of these videos, so we can more widely share these wonderful moments in time.

Earlier this year, Justine Mahon and I enjoyed meeting Jennifer Ma, who is based in Beijing. With her young children, Jennifer and her family are regular visitors back to New Zealand to see both sets of grandparents living in Auckland. Jennifer is a great example of our international younger Old Girls who credit St Cuthbert’s for being a contributor to their success and will be helping connect our Old Girls spread throughout Asia. You can read about her background in our news of Old Girls’ section.

In early April, Leanne Brittain and I attended the Waikato Old Girls ‘AGM and Luncheon, kindly hosted by Catherine Stuart. Along with Justine Mahon, Leanne and I enjoyed coffee with our Brisbane branch coordinator Trish Cotterell, who was in New Zealand for a visit.

We are so grateful to our Old Girl branch co-ordinators who organise events and keep our overseas Old Girl communities vibrant. With Old Girl contacts in Waikato, Bay of Plenty, Christchurch, Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, London and Los Angeles and now China and Taranaki, there is no excuse not to connect with your friends and Old Girl contacts in our global community!

One of our strategic priorities in 2018 was fundraising for the acquisition of a new organ for the Old Girls’ Chapel. The College’s Head of Performing Arts Stewart Allan helped us select the Johannus Ecclesia, an instrument that suits the chapel space, provides a wonderful sound and will support our girls in their musical education.

The organ was commissioned in late 2018, manufactured and dispatched from the UK prior to Christmas and, after 12 weeks of

New Old Girls’ Association Committee Members travel, was installed the Wednesday before our Saturday AGM and Old Girls’ Chapel Service.

For those who are familiar with organs, the Johannus Ecclesia is a 40 stop digital classical organ with four different traditional tonal styles featuring Romantic, French Symphonic, German Baroque and Historic Instruments from Germany and Holland. Later in the year, we will be holding a musical soiree in the chapel to further showcase the organ and our wonderful school choirs and musical talent.

In December the Old Girls’ Association hosted the 2018 St Cuthbert’s Graduation Ball at the Ellerslie Convention Centre.

Families and friends celebrated the end of our 2018 graduates’ school life and the beginning of a new adventure for our new Old Girls. Our thanks to Old Girls’ Past President Nicky Pennington and Committee Member Alice Sharp for delivering an outstanding Grad Ball evening.

A strategic priority for 2019 is exploring ways of engaging more deeply with our younger Old Girls and we will also be developing our new Old Girls’ website. I will be working with Holly Palmer, the Director of Development, on both these projects.

Our younger Old Girls definitely see the benefits of our global Old Girls’ community for social contact, support and career development, and this is why we must work hard to stay connected with our Old Girls at every stage of their life. I believe our multi-generational membership is one of our key strengths and I’m confident that we can uphold our traditions and keep that Old Girl magic alive, while interacting in new ways with our younger generations, who see our community as very relevant and important for their future.

Philippa Barrett (Black) (1987) Philippa started at St Cuthbert’s at the age of 10, attending from 1981–1987. She graduated from Auckland University in 1994 with an MA(Hons)/LLB and took up a position with law firm Bell Gully in the competition team of their corporate department. In 1998, Philippa moved to London to join UK law firm Herbert Smith within their competition team. Philippa then made a career change, moving into legal recruitment in the UK. After having their first two daughters Amelia and Madeleine in London, Philippa and her husband Randal moved back to New Zealand in 2004, and their third daughter Georgia was born in 2006. All three of Philippa’s daughters currently attend St Cuthbert’s.

I welcome contact from you and look forward to talking with and meeting as many of you as possible in 2019.

Warm regards Penelope Peebles President, Old Girls’ Association

Minta Smith (2008) After leaving St Cuthbert’s in 2008, Minta attended Canterbury University and graduated with a BSc in Environmental Science before heading overseas to work and live in both Australia and London. Recently returning from the UK, Minta is a recruiter and leads the New Zealand business of the company she worked for in the UK. She is delighted to be home in New Zealand with family and friends which encouraged her to reconnect with the Old Girls of St Cuthbert’s.

ABOVE: Class of 2018 Graduation Ball.

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News of Old Girls Sinead Brennan-McMahon (2009) PhD student and Knight-Hennessy Scholar at Stanford University Sinead Brennan-McMahon has been awarded a highly competitive Knight-Hennessy Scholarship to study towards a PhD in Classics at Stanford School of Humanities and Sciences, starting in September. She is the one of only 69 students worldwide in this year’s cohort, and the only one from New Zealand.

Sinead graduated from The University of Auckland with a Diploma in Languages in Ancient Greek, a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Arts (Honours) and a Master of Arts, both with first class honours, in Latin.

While at Stanford, Sinead wants to work on a software program that takes the manual work out of comparing different manuscripts of the same censored Latin text and envisages many modern applications of this research.

Sinead’s love of Latin began in the classroom at St Cuthbert’s. “I’m so fortunate to have had such dedicated and passionate teachers, particularly Ms Ngaire Boyes (former Classics and Latin HoD),” says Sinead.

Sarah Harris Gould (2003) A year on from starting her own fashion brand After graduating from the school in 2003, Sarah Harris Gould completed a Bachelor of Design with Honours at Massey University in Wellington. Her work here won her Gold at the Urbis BeST Design Awards. Sarah moved back to Auckland where she worked as a Design Assistant for a jewellery company and Brand and Marketing Manager for Stephen Marr and Sans Ceuticals.

Sarah then made the move to London to pursue her career and landed a job as a Buyer for Urban Outfitters Europe.

After three years in the UK, she moved back to Auckland to run Brand Management and Buying for Topshop Topman NZ before stepping out of the corporate fashion world to start her own womenswear label, Harris Tapper, in 2017. A year on, the brand continues to go from strength to strength and after recently returning from meeting buyers from Europe, USA and Asia during Paris Fashion Week she is positive there is a market for a strong, contemporary, global clothing brand that celebrates women in their careers and she’s determined to build this.

Jennifer Jin Ma (2002) Founder Early Childhood entrepreneur and newly established Beijing Old Girls’ Association Branch contact Since graduating from the University of Auckland with Conjoint Law and Commerce degrees, Jennifer has lived and worked in Australia and London and, since 2012, has lived in Beijing. She is a mother of three boys, ranging from 2-8 years old and, with both her parents and parents-in-law still living in Auckland, she and the family are regular return visitors to New Zealand.

She founded Little Oasis group in 2014, which is the first lifestyle based early childhood education brand in China focusing on the wellbeing of both parents and children, now operating in eight locations across China.

In 2015 her she won the Innobrand Competition for Most Innovative Product and Most Innovative Service and in 2018 Jennifer was invited to participate in the Davos World Economic Forum representing women entrepreneurs.

Whilst visiting Auckland during Chinese New Year this year, Jennifer met with Justine Mahon and Penelope Peebles to discuss ideas about connecting with our Old Girls around the world.

Lisa King (Wong) (1994) MYOB Woman Entrepreneur of the Year In February this year, Lisa was named one of three finalists for New Zealander of the Year. The prestigious award acknowledged Lisa’s passion, creativity and commercial expertise to make Eat My Lunch a reality. In just over three years, Eat My Lunch has given over 1 million lunches to Kiwi kids going to school hungry.

In March 2019, Lisa was awarded the MYOB Woman Entrepreneur of the Year and was sent to represent NZ in Paris at the international awards where she pitched Eat My Lunch to a jury and crowd of 1,500 people.

Lisa has also been selected to be part of the Edmund Hillary Fellowship, a global community of high-impact entrepreneurs.

Next up for Lisa is the launch of Eat My Lunch’s first store in Auckland and a crowdfunding equity campaign, enabling Kiwis to own a piece of this social business that is making a difference to kids in New Zealand.

* Noon Seeto’s photo supplied by New Zealand Herald.

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Noon Seeto (2017) Biomedical Science student and social entrepreneur St Cuthbert’s Old Girl Noon Seeto volunteered her time and energy to create a piece of piggy art for the Parnell Business Association’s Year of the Pig exhibition and fundraising auction held recently in February.

Currently a second year Bachelor of Biomedical Science student at the University of Otago, Noon honed her artistic skills at St Cuthbert’s College. She found inspiration in New Zealand’s rich farming culture and cityscapes to paint her piggy midnight blue with windows to view cityscapes beneath the skin. Noon’s artwork named ‘Little Piggy Big City’, was one of more than 20 pieces created for the fundraising event in support of the Starship Air Ambulance Service and sold for $2,500 (the highest bid at the auction).

Noon, who was only six years old when her sister Ruby was diagnosed with cancer at the age of nine, has seen first-hand the importance of Starship Children’s Hospital care and attention. The sisters have been engaged in volunteer support and fundraising for as long as they can remember alongside their parents, Sharon and Ron Seeto. Ruby has been producing a fundraising tea towel each year since her cancer treatment and has raised over $500,000 for the Starship Foundation. Visit rubyseeto.com or Rubys Tea Towels Facebook page for more information on Ruby’s social initiatives.*

Shari Storie (Ludlam) (2003) Musical Therapist – helping people with dementia Shari studied psychology, statistics and music composition at University of Auckland (BSc. BMus) and, inspired after volunteering at Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre, Shari studied the Master of Music Therapy at Victoria University of Wellington. She then began contract work as a registered music therapist working across a diverse range of people living with a varying needs and was elected to Music Therapy New Zealand Council. Having recently finished her role as Clinical Manager for the Music Moves Me Trust in the Waikato, Shari is now in private practice in Auckland working with people living with dementia, and continuing her work in special education and mental health.

Savannah Tafau-Levy (2007) Communications Officer for Auckland Rugby League Savannah Tafau-Levy is the Communications Officer for Auckland Rugby League which represents 32 clubs in Auckland and loves her job. She produces digital content, writes stories, commentates college rugby league, and presents the news. Sport is a real passion of hers and is grateful to work in an industry she enjoys.

An Endeavour scholarship student, Savannah loves her job and credits a large part of her confidence to the growth she experienced in her years at St Cuthbert’s. Savannah studied Media and Communications, majoring in Journalism, at the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology.

Leetee Wang (2007) A specialist in immersive retail experiences Leetee Wang, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania in 2018 with a Masters of Architecture. While attending university, she won the Dales Fellowship and co-founded a Virtual Reality (VR) content design firm called Fiction Mine. She now specialises in building immersive retail experiences, and is launching a VR shopping game that features real interactive products for purchase called LODE. Her studio is currently based in Los Angeles. www.fictionmine.com.

Jodie Whitelaw (1997) Café owner in London After school and university, Jodie worked for a few years in marketing in Auckland before heading to London. She worked in telco marketing for Orange UK for four years while planning how to turn her love of coffee and food into a career. Fast forward a couple of years and in 2014 she realised her dream of opening her own café; Iris & June, named after her grandmothers.

She openly acknowledges the rollercoaster of incredible highs and lows that are part and parcel of owning and running a small business in one of the biggest cities in the world but wouldn’t change a thing.

“I will always be grateful for my time at St Cuthbert’s for giving me the confidence that I could do anything I dreamt of and especially my time as a boarder for helping build the necessary resilience I have relied upon time and time again, over the past five years,” says Jodie.

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Decade Reunion March 2019

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Decade Reunion March 2019

Branch Reunions Queensland Branch Luncheon In March, Queensland Old Girls gathered at the GOMA (Gallery of Modern Art) Bistro, where they had a lovely time. A highlight was welcoming Val Coxhead who has returned to the southern hemisphere after spending many years living in the UK. She has come to Brisbane to live near her sister Margaret.

At the luncheon, Trish obtained feedback on various aspects of Old Girl’s functions, engagement, and expectations before her visit back to the school and her meeting with Justine Mahon and Penelope Peebles in April.

Waikato AGM and Luncheon On a beautiful autumn Sunday, Old Girls from the Waikato and Bay of Plenty were treated to a delicious lunch, surrounded by a beautiful extensive garden and fabulous views at the Roto-o-Rangi home of Catharine Stuart. Penelope Peebles gave an update of the activities and financial health of the Old Girls’ Association, with extra information provided from the recent Auckland Annual General Meeting.

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(Continued)

Branch Contacts WAIKATO

Contact: Catharine Stuart (Murray) Phone: 07 827 1766 Email: bandcstuart@gmail.com

BAY OF PLENTY

Contact: Anna Finlayson-Smith (Smith) Phone: (07) 579 2265 Email: dameanna@talk.co.nz

TARANAKI

Contact: Elizabeth Utting (Gray) Phone: (06) 927 4909 Email: Johnandelizabeth.50@gmail.com

SYDNEY

Contact: Sarah Wynyard TBC Email: sarahwynyard@gmail.com

BRISBANE

Contact: Trish Cotterell Email: trish07.cotterell@gmail.com

PERTH

Contact: Marg Shorter (Hartnell) Phone: (08) 9388 2221 Email: margshorter@westnet.com.au

LOS ANGELES

Contact: Amanda Wong Phone: 1 (310) 963-3302 Email: kiwi_esq@hotmail.com

LONDON

Key Dates Thursday 20 June 2019 Bridge Day 10.00am Auckland Bridge Club, Remuera To book a table Contact: alumnae@stcuthberts.school.nz 09 520 4157 ext 7607

Wednesday 26 June 2019 Making Their Mark Awards 7.30am Joan Holland Auditorium

Sunday Mid-July 2019 Queensland / Sunshine Coast Luncheon 12 noon, Venue TBC Contact: Trish Cotterell trish07.cotterell@gmail.com

Wednesday 31 July 2019 OGA Coffee and Dessert Evening 8.00pm: Home of Penelope Peebles, President, Old Girls’ Association For Old Girl mothers and grandmothers of 2019 new students

Saturday 14 September 2019 Bay of Plenty AGM & Luncheon 11.30am Mills Reef Winery, Tauranga Contact: Anna Finlayson-Smith 07 579 2265, 027 477 4566, dameanna@talk.co.nz

Wednesday 18 September 2019 Club 50 Morning Tea 10.00am Melrose Lounge

Contact: Kate Turner Phone: (44) 78374 57882 Email: katwmacsween1@gmail.com

Friday 6 December 2019

CHINA (Beijing)

For details on events in 2019 please contact alumnae@stcuthberts.school.nz

Contact: Jennifer Ma Email: jenniferjinma@littleoasis.cn

Graduation Ball for Year 13 6.00pm Ellerslie Convention Centre

Decade Reunion March 2020 If any Old Girls are interested in setting up branches in other cities and countries please contact alumnae@stcuthberts.school.nz

For all students whose third form / Year 9 was 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010.

Or who would have been in the seventh form / Year 13 in a year ending in 1954, 1964, 1974, 1984, 1994, 2004, 2014.

If you wish to volunteer to be a class contact please email alumnae@stcuthberts.school.nz

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Family Connections New students with mothers, grandmothers or great-grandmothers who are Old Girls Current Student

Mother

Amelia Brooks

Susan Brooks (Short)

Ella Brown

Katie Buchanan

Charlotte Booth

Harriet Booth (Meade)

Jamie Botha

Jo Craddock

Grandmother

Helen Craddock (Stewart)

Brook Burley Molly Charlesworth

Joan Jeffries (Rhodes)* Miranda Charlesworth (Stirling)

Eadie Coote Freida Coote

Anne Tattersfield*

Amelia Cutler

Penny Cutler (Hargreaves)

Ava Dilly

Bobby Willcox

Isabella English

Sarah English (Entwisle)

Lucy Fenwick

Georgina Fenwick (Allen)

Janet Tattersfield (Wallace)* Betsy Coote (Gardner)*

Anne Hargreaves (Challinor)

Katherine Fanelli

Elizabeth (Bessie) Duder (Waterhouse)

Meg Fowler Amy Glengarry Emma Glengarry

Great Grandmother

Christine Fowler (Chitty)*

Dorothy Parsons (Nolan)

Caroline Goodall (Frankham)*

Marion (Joyce) Frankham (Lovegrove)*

Penni Glengarry (Cornelius)

Rebecca Goodall

Marlo Guinness

Jessica van der Schaaf (a.k.a Jessica Tong)

Biba Hermann

Fenella Becroft

Aria Kidd

Silpa Kidd (Patel)

Sasha Lockington

Raewyn Lockington (Beare)*

Lilah McDonald

Kate O’Leary

Virginia O’Leary (Butcher)

Anna McKenzie

Alexandra McKenzie (Black)

Cherry Black (Goodwin)

Sascha Newland

Yasmine Newland (Tov-Lev)

Deborah Tov-Lev (Nathan)

Tessa Seymour

Paula Seymour (Watson)

Stephanie Watson (Lusk)

Olivia Smith

Felicity McElroy

Mya Velvin

Bridget Velvin (Pope)

Elizabeth Wheeler

Charlotte Gilbert

Pippa Whineray

Lucy Whineray (Daniels)

Margaret Lusk (Carr)

* denotes paternal 66

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Italian Luncheon at NSP Births Rebecca (Delamare) and Jaron Turnbull, a daughter – Lucy on 11 June 2018 Catherine (Truman) and Blake Sigmon, a daughter – Hannah Faith on 15 November 2018 Holly Beals and Grayson Gilmour, a daughter – Billie Mika on 26 January 2019

In March the Old Girls’ Committee hosted our first Italian Luncheon at Non Solo Pizza (NSP) sponsored by Orsini. With glorious weather and the usual fantastic NSP hospitality, the ladies enjoyed a fine jewellery fashion show and music from St Cuthbert’s students Elle Daji, Roísín Buckley and Juan Kim. We listened to the inspirational Rosie Parker who shared her journey and helped us understand the signs and symptoms of gynaecological cancers and the importance about being vigilant and proactive when it comes to our health.

Katrina Lory and Gary Ingleton, a daughter – Ella Louise Adventure on 28 March 2019

The lunch raised $13,000 for the St Cuthbert’s Old Girls’ scholarships as well as raising money for the New Zealand Gynaecological Cancer Foundation.

Camilla (Gould) and Dan Hibberd, a daughter – Zinnia Hope on 31 March 2019

Thanks to all our wonderful sponsors and the teams at NSP and Orsini.

Deaths Marguerita (Rita) Barton (Christie) 1948 Joan Clouston (Barrowclough) 1944 Nola Dickie (formally Greedus) (Fort) 1951 Helen Hickson (Elder) 1976 Kirsten Phillips 2003 Margaret McGarrigle (Dixon) 1937 Dorothy Morgan (nee Hare) 1942 (Sylvia) Oreti Pert (Stewart) 1946 Jeanette Johnson (Mellsop) 1950 Betty Thorpe ( Webster) 1938 Elaine Wallace (Howie) 1940) Patricia (Patsy) Whiting (Gunn) 1950 Pamela Young ( Smith) 1955

The Old Girls’ Chapel is your Chapel. If you would like to use the Chapel for a wedding, baptism, naming ceremony, or any other special occasion, please contact alumnae@stcuthberts.school.nz OUR CONNECTED COMMUNITY

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A scholarship gave Kelly a lifetime of confidence Registered nurse and Old Girl Kelly Hartnett-Newlands received much more than an excellent education at St Cuthbert’s; she says was given a ‘cup full of resilience’ for her journey beyond the school gates. As a recipient of the Kathleen Goulding Scholarship in 2006, generously funded by the Old Girls’ Association, she shares in her own words what receiving a scholarship and being part of St Cuthbert’s has meant to her:

“

When I first left St Cuthbert’s I began a Bachelor of Science degree down in Wellington at Victoria University – but soon discovered this wasn’t for me. I then spent two years as an au pair over in the United States. I truly believe that St Cuthbert’s empowered me with the tools and self-confidence I needed to move halfway around the world by myself at the age of 19.

ABOVE: Kelly Hartnett-Newlands.

Once I returned to New Zealand I studied a Bachelor of Health Science majoring in Nursing at Auckland University of Technology (AUT). I am now working as a registered nurse in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Starship and loving it! I have just been accepted into my post graduate child health studies programme at AUT and will begin this later in the year focusing on neonates.

My time at St Cuthbert’s has helped immensely with both my studies and personal life. St Cuthbert’s enabled me to build a fantastic work ethic, and supported me to always strive towards doing my best and to stay true to who I am. I feel that these are values I have carried with me ever since.

I am so grateful that I was privileged enough to be awarded the Kathleen Goulding Scholarship and attend a school that was able to cater to my personal and academic needs so well. I remember on my first day in nursing a lecturer said if she could give us anything it would be a cup full of resilience – and I couldn’t help but think that St Cuthbert’s had already done that for me.”

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2019 Scholarship Recipients Kathleen Goulding Scholarship

23 Violet Wood Advanced Studies Grant

ABOVE: Paula Seymour.

ABOVE: Olivia Smith

“I have always wanted to make a difference in the world, and with enough hard work and perseverance, I believe I can.”

– Olivia Smith, our 2019 Kathleen Goulding Scholar

Olivia Smith is a girl with big dreams, a large helping of determination, and oodles of talent - and we are delighted to have her join us this year.

As this year’s Kathleen Goulding Scholarship recipient, Olivia is determined to use her time at St Cuthbert’s to prepare her to make an impact in the world.

A musician, speaker, sports referee and performer, Olivia was the Head Girl of Churchill Park School last year and she is looking forward to further developing her leadership skills and taking on the academic and sporting challenges that await her here.

Although having participated in many sports including netball and touch, Olivia is keen to represent St Cuthbert’s in her preferred sporting code of hockey, and has been playing for the Auckland University Hockey Club since 2015.

“I know that the St Cuthbert’s hockey team is very strong and I would like to think that one day I might be part of the team,” wrote Olivia as part of her application.

Congratulations, Olivia, on earning the Kathleen Goulding Scholarship. We couldn’t be more excited to have you here at St Cuthbert’s.

Generously funded by the Old Girls Association, the Violet Wood Advanced Studies Grant is awarded annually to a St Cuthbert’s Old Girl studying at postgraduate level in any academic field of study.

This year’s recipient is Paula Seymour (nee Watson) who attended St Cuthbert’s from 1987 to 1993. She holds a Bachelor of Physiotherapy and a Post Graduate Certificate in Clinical Teaching and currently works as the Operations Manager, Starship Community, with Te Puaruruhau and General Paediatricsat the Auckland District Health Board.

Paula intends to pursue a Master of Business Administration to challenge her thinking, gain new business skills and spot ideas from other industries. This Scholarship will not only enable Paula to continue her academic journey, in turn, she hopes it will inspire her daughters.

“The education I gained at St Cuthbert’s gave me a good grounding to progress in my career and undertaking the Executive MBA will add further to my skills and knowledge. I have two daughters currently at the school and I am delighted to be a role model for them and want to show them girls can do anything they set their mind to,” Paula wrote in her application.

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2019 Alumnae Survey Results We are so grateful to the 1,151 Old Girls who took the time to share with us some of their stories through our Alumnae Survey. Their reflections on how the school and the Old Girls’ Association can better serve the community have formed the basis of our plans to expand the alumnae programme over the next two years.

In their messages to Justine Mahon about what makes the school special, they’ve told us that St Cuthbert’s uniquely equips girls with a sense that ‘women can achieve anything’ and gives them the confidence to pursue their goals.

The survey sought to gauge alumnae interest in volunteering for the school and we have been overwhelmed by the positive response. Most alumnae who responded would like to give their time or expertise to the school community in some way – with student career talks and mentoring proving popular, as well as welcoming alumnae who are moving to new cities or countries.

Old Girls have also told us there is work to do when it comes to demonstrating how donations from alumnae are having an impact at the school.

Strengthening our donor experience will be our focus in the Development team for the next 12 months and you will soon notice positive changes to how we ask you to give and how you are thanked, recognised and kept informed as to how your gifts are used.

If you are an Old Girl, please do keep an eye on your email and the Old Girls’ website in the coming months for more detailed information about the changes

to the alumnae experience at St Cuthbert’s.

Many thanks again to all 1,151 of you for taking the time to help us improve. We look forward to rolling out our new and enhanced programme this year!

Survey prize draw winner donates vouchers to a St Cuthbert’s girl with financial need All alumnae who responded to the survey had the option of entering a draw to win $250 of Air New Zealand vouchers, and our lucky winner was ’89 graduate Dr Karen Willcox, Professor and Director of the Oden Institute of Computational Engineering and Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin. After hearing of her win, Karen generously opted to donate the value of her vouchers to a girl with financial need to travel to attend a school trip or academic event.

Did you go to Kahunui between 2008 and 2014?

You can participate in an academic study!

Along with stories of treasured friends and inspiring teachers, many alumnae chose to write about their life-changing experience at Kahunui in our Old Girls’ survey.

If you’re an Old Girl who went to Kahunui between 2008 and 2014, you might like to participate in an academic research study being conducted by PhD candidate Shannon McNatty from the University of Otago.

Shannon researched Kahunui for her Masters degree, and is now interested in reflections from alumnae about what they learned at Kahunui and the long-term effects of this experience.

To get involved, please fill in this 10-minute online survey at tinyurl.com/OGsKahunui. From this survey, several alumnae will be selected for interviews with Shannon about their experiences.

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24 Holly’s door is open to the St Cuthbert’s community After six years in the United Kingdom working in development with universities including the University of Oxford, the University of York and University College Dublin, Holly Palmer has returned to New Zealand to take up the role of Director of Development at St Cuthbert’s.

She has received a warm welcome from the school and is looking forward to meeting many more of you in the coming months.

“I have been overwhelmed by the support I’ve received so far from the school, especially the Old Girls’ Association and the Parents & Friends’ Association – including the Asian Friendship Group. I could not have asked for a warmer welcome.”

Holly joins us from running her own consulting agency specialising in university alumni relations, fundraising and volunteering. Prior to setting up her business, she held senior development positions at the University of Nottingham and worked in donor relations at the University of Auckland.

What Holly enjoys most about development is helping parents and alumnae make an impact at the school in an area that’s important to them.

“I see my role as a conduit for the community. I love listening to parents and alumnae talk about what they feel will have the greatest positive impact on our girls and it is a privilege to help them achieve it, whether that be through

“

Just come and say hello! I’m a good listener and, having spent a great deal of time in the UK, I can proudly say I now make a decent cup of tea.

financial gifts or gifts of time and expertise – or even new partnerships and creative sponsorship opportunities. It all starts with someone’s enthusiasm and it’s a privilege to be part of making it happen.”

Her priorities will be to help the school community achieve our 10-year campus development plan, and to work in partnership with the Old Girls’ Association to implement some of the findings of the recent Old Girls’ survey.

“The Old Girls have been very generous with their responses to the survey, sharing wonderful stories of their St Cuthbert’s school days and telling us where and how they need us to change to better serve their needs. Penelope and I are already gearing up for some exciting new programmes that we know will delight many of our Old Girls.”

Holly will be located former Deputy Principal’s office in the Robertson Building, at the opposite end of the hall from the staff room, and she wants you to know you can pop by any time.

“Just come and say hello! I’m a good listener and, having spent a great deal of time in the UK, I can proudly say I now make a decent cup of tea.”

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25 BELOW: Girls relaxing in the quad on their new branded bean bags designed by Old Girl Maude Wilcox and generously funded through gifts from our 2018 annual givers. —

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You have opened doors, lifted sails and will keep Kahunui fresh through your annual gifts

This year you’ve given three girls a St Cuthbert’s education, provided comfortable outdoor spaces for our girls to play and recharge, and will soon be helping our girls learn in a refreshed environment at Kahunui.

In response to 2018’s appeal, you and your fellow St Cuthbert’s parents, Old Girls and staff gave generously in aid of scholarships, outdoor seating and the maintenance of our unique facilities at Kahunui. Over $63,000 was donated – a humbling amount that we’ve taken great pleasure in distributing for you to the causes you care about.

You’ll be delighted to learn that there are three students on campus today who are making the most of everything a St Cuthbert’s education has to offer thanks to your generosity. These girls and their families shared with us their inspiring stories and deep motivation to be part of our school in their applications, and we feel proud to act on

your behalf and offer them a place this year.

We hope you’ll enjoy knowing you’ve taken away an otherwise insurmountable financial barrier for these girls to become part of our St Cuthbert’s community, and that they are settling into life well at the school.

If you have been on campus this term you may have noticed the beautiful natural wood benches around the David Ellis Building, made possible though your gifts to outdoor seating. Our girls have also enjoyed sinking into a St Cuthbert’s beanbag under the trees in the quad and have been avoiding the sun under the new sail in the Junior School Cottage Garden - both installed with gratitude to you.

We also have big plans for the gifts you gave to Kahunui, with major work being planned to replace the roof of one of our classrooms among other planned maintenance activities. The girls heading to

If you’d like any further information your gifts and how they have been used please don’t hesitate to contact our Director of Development, Holly Palmer, who would be more than happy to help.

You can reach her at +64 9 520 4159 ex 7588 or holly.palmer@stcuthberts.school.nz

Kahunui in years to come will be assured of learning in an updated and fit-for-purpose home away from home thanks to you. We look forward to updating you on our progress with the maintenance work in the coming year.

It is our great pleasure to have received your gifts in 2018 to help you make an impact at the school.

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St Cuthbert’s Parents & Friends’ Association Our vibrant school community is supported by our Parents and Friends’ Committee.

The Committee organises events and other activities to bring us all together, and to help to create a warm and caring environment in which our girls can learn.

From the Principal’s Year 7–10 welcome function at the start of Term 1, to Chapel services, Open Day, and Grandparents Day, our wonderful Parents and Friends’ team are an integral part of St Cuthbert’s.

We are delighted to welcome Elisabeth Bell to the role of Parents and Friends’ Chair this year. Elisabeth has previously served on the committee and been involved in many successful school events. She is really excited to be taking on the role as Chair and has some terrific ideas for new initiatives! Elisabeth is mum to Harriet who is in Year 5 in the Junior School, and is joined on the committee by Kathryn Chrystal (Vice-Chair); Caroline Rolls (Treasurer); Jenny Reichenbach (Secretary); Sarah Evangelidakis (Class Co-ordinator’s Liaison); Alex Yang (AFG President); Jacqui Lockington; Sue Grazier; Anna Burt; Phil McDonald; Lauren Milne; Helen Warren; Rachel Taylor; Zarina Ginai; Suzy Fan; and Pia Jaaskelainen.

Elisabeth says, “Joining Parents and Friends is a great way to get involved, meet other parents, and have some fun. We have a real mix of year groups on the Committee, and we try to ensure jobs and events are spread out amongst our volunteers. It’s also great to see our school’s Dads join the committee too!

Principal’s Welcome Party Principal Justine Mahon held her first Year 7–10 Principal’s Party at the start of Term 1, which enabled many of our new families to the school to meet other parents, and their daughters’ teachers, over wine and canapes. Parents heard from Justine about her commitment to ensuring that our girls are happy and supported to discover their unique strengths and talents. Next year we will be extending this function to all Year 7–13 parents.

Thanks so much to our Parents and Friends’ team who helped organise the event and served food and drinks on the night. A huge thank you to Alice Sharp who did such a beautiful job of the decorations.

Chinese New Year celebration The Asian Friendship Group organised a Chinese New Year celebration to welcome in the Year of the Pig. Early arrivals to the school received a Hongbao (red envelope) containing a lucky morning

RIGHT: Mother Daughter breakfast.

FAR RIGHT: Top Principal’s evening.

Middle Chinese New Year Bottom Grandparent’s Day. — 74

OUR CONNECTED COMMUNITY

treat. Thank you to everyone who provided the opportunity to celebrate this special occasion.

Hospitality on Grandparents’ Day Our annual Year 0–8 Grandparents’ day is a special and long-standing St Cuthbert’s tradition. This year, once again, our Parents and Friends’ committee and volunteers supplied wonderful home baking for morning tea.

The morning started with the girls and their grandparents or family friends gathering in Clouston Hall. After being welcomed by Justine Mahon, the girls took their grandparents into their classrooms, and around the school, to show them some of their learning. It was wonderful to see those girls with grandparents share their family with other girls whose Grandparents were not able to make it. Grandparents were treated to music and performances, and everyone enjoyed the delicious baking!

26

Function to meet our new Head of Junior School Our new Head of Junior School, Kerry Oldman started at the beginning of this term. We welcomed Kerry to our Junior School community with an evening function for Junior School parents and staff. Here, they were able to hear about her experience in private school education in the UK, and about some of her plans for the coming year at St Cuthbert’s. Our Parents and Friends’ Committee did a fantastic job of supporting the event, and their assistance was much appreciated!

For parents wanting to get involved with Parents and Friends, or help out with specific events or activities, please contact parents.friends@stcuthberts.school.nz.

BELOW: Top Committe members at Kerry Oldman’s welcome Bottom Louise Binns, Justine Mahon, Kerry Oldman and Fiona Cottam.

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27

Thank you to our 2018 Robertson Circle donors The Robertson Circle recognises parents, Old Girls, staff and friends who have given combined gifts of over $2,000 to the school since 2002. Your generosity has provided outstanding educational experiences for our girls and we are humbled by your ongoing commitment to the school.

We would like to thank our new and existing Robertson Circle Members who have supported us since January 2018.

Our 2018 Robertson Circle Donors Friend M & J Ballantyne D R & C E Cryer Anne Hargreaves R E Harris & A E Harris Judy & Veryan Laity Dr Ning Liu Justine Mahon & Gregory Heap Mair Family John McCallum Jackie Park & Junho Sung David & Sarah Stewart The Vincent Family The Waller Family Ainsley Walter & Mark Stewart Year 13 2018

Supporter S & W Bradley J & P Hanson Leigh Melville In memory of Helen M J Richards (nee Mackenzie) Rachel Walsh

Fellow Cameron Fleming

Guardian Clayton Charitable Trust Andy & Sam Coster Duncan & Gretchen Hawkesby G E & K M Jackson Juliet Maclean Parents & Friends’ Association Mr Shi Qiu & Mrs Li Quan Akram & Humaira Qureshi Drs Ellis Situe & Nina Vasan St Cuthbert’s Old Girls’ Association

Not all donors are listed above as some have chosen to remain anonymous. For a full list of Robertson Circle members please visit our website www.stcuthberts.school.nz.

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