Kristin School

Rachel Harding as King Lear and Charlie Kinnear as the Fool in King Lear.

Tim Gunn in Richard III - Best 5 Minute Scene at the Auckland West Festival.

Barnaby Donaldson as Regan and Svetlana Bell as Cornwall in King Lear.

The Cast of King Lear.

Alex Gordon as Gloucester and Luca Harris as Edgar Poor Tom in King Lear.

Year 13 Drama Production and SGCNZ UOSWSF

Coming back to school after our COVID-19 lockdown, a wide range of students was keen to resume their explorations into all things Shakespearean. Our Year 13 Drama students presented the first Kristin performing arts event to an external audience when they offered their own fresh interpretation of ‘King Lear’, the play that Shakespeare wrote during his own ‘lockdown’ due to the plague in 1606.

Set in the present and inspired by ‘Megxit’ in the UK and other current events, the production brought ‘King Lear’ up to date in a version where Lear’s decision to step down from being King and divide her kingdom among her sons had disastrous consequences. Both performances in the Dove Theatre attracted large and appreciative audiences who found themselves part of the first scene of the show, which took place at a party in the very pretty surroundings of the auditorium foyer. It was lovely to see the audience members enjoying their light refreshments one moment, and then captivated by the situation that played out in front of them the next.

The audience saw a show that combined strong performances, comedy and tragedy in equal measure. One audience member commented that the students showed “clear characterisations and command of the language” with “comedic touches [that] made the emotional and tragic moments even more heart-wrenching”.

Another audience member called the production “an amazing night of theatre” and commented that it was “an absolute joy to see such brilliant ensemble work”. Others in the audience thought it was a “brilliant performance” and “a brilliant night”.

The entire cast (Svetlana Bell, Sarah Cabré, Barnaby Donaldson, Alex Gordon, Tim Gunn, Rachel Harding, Paris Hare, Luca Harris, Emma Hoseason, Charlie Kinnear, Cam Scott and Jacob Watson-Jones) earned every bit of praise they received for their performances. They worked incredibly hard to present performances of such high quality, and their outstanding achievement is a great credit to them.

Shortly before the public performances, an extract from this production of ‘King Lear’ was entered into the Auckland West SGCNZ University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival, alongside seven other scenes involving 35 Kristin students from the Middle and Senior Schools. This Festival is open to schools across Auckland, and for the very first time this year, all entries were filmed and submitted as videos due to the constraints of lockdown and the subsequent alert levels.

Jason Hodzelmans, industry professional and assessor at the Festival commented very positively on ‘King Lear’, recognising “a strong, centred performance from Lear” played by Rachel Harding. Jess Loudon, the second assessor at the Festival, complimented the cast on “outstanding performances from Lear, Edmund (Sarah Cabré) and Gloucester (Alex Gordon)” noting that these performers showed “spectacular vocal clarity, understanding of the text and maintained the stakes throughout – bravo!” At the end of the Auckland West Festival, we were thrilled when our students received a number of prestigious awards from the assessors.

Kristin was awarded: Best Stage Design (Titus Andronicus); Best Connection Between Two Performers (Tim Gunn and Josh Sumner); Most Promising Actors (Rachel Harding and Isla Sangl); Runner Up to Best 15 Minute Scene (King Lear); Runner Up to Best 5 Minute Scene (Julius Caesar); Best 5 Minute Scene (Richard III), and the SGCNZ UOSWSF NSSP Direct Entry Award given to Rebecca Weatherly. We are absolutely delighted that for the second year running, Kristin will be sending a scene to the National Festival and a student to National Shakespeare Schools Production (NSSP). This is a remarkable tribute to the hard work and creativity that our students have shown throughout a difficult time. These extraordinary results are also a testament to the support and encouragement of our parents and the dedication of our Drama teachers. Leigh Sykes - Curriculum Leader – Drama

Above the Glass Ceiling Kristin Excels in Future Problem Solving Competition

Congratulations to Tiffany Ho who was awarded first place in the International Future Problem Solving competition last week for her community project titled Above the Glass Ceiling. Tiffany competed in the Middle Individual Division of this competition with her project, which has been the culmination of over a year’s dedication to her Tiffany Ho. mission to provide opportunities for gifted students.

Tiffany has also been awarded a Ministry of Education scholarship to pursue this project and enable herself and others to fund initiatives for her ‘club’ of gifted students from schools around Auckland. Whilst driving and organising this project from idea to inception, Tiffany has encouraged others to collaborate and share ideas for workshops and she has set up a model so that other satellite groups can benefit from her organisation and experience to set up further groups.

In her own words: “I’ve worked to become a catalyst for change, to inspire gifted youth to take charge of their learning and extend themselves beyond the classroom, and I’ve been inspired in turn by the creativity and drive the students have. I’ve started something I hope will continue to positively impact around Auckland and beyond, through satellite groups that have a life of their own.”

Evy Hwangbo, Chris Furlong and Claire Liang were announced as second place winners in the Team Senior Division for their project Student Forward which developed a bespoke digital platform for students around the world to share viewpoints, collaborate on projects and promote social action. Our five Senior School students who competed in the Global Issues division of the competition also deserve acknowledgement for their excellent competition booklets and for being national winners: Christina Yang, Dennis Yang, Kunli Zhang, Vanessa Xiong and Anna Li.

Sam Finnemore and Holly Humphrey.

Success on the Slopes

Congratulations to Sam Finnemore (Year 13) and Holly Humphrey (Year 11) who dominated the Auckland Secondary Schools Snowboarding Championships. These were held indoor at Snowplanet. Sam won the Overall Senior Boys Title.

Senior Boys

• 1st Giant Slalom – Sam Finnemore • 1st Slopestyle – Sam Finnemore • 2nd Dual Slalom – Sam Finnemore • 1st Overall Boy – Sam Finnemore

Senior Girls

• 1st Dual Slalom – Holly Humphrey • 3rd Slopestyle – Holly Humphrey

Growing Generous Hearts and Giving Minds

Collecting donations at Kristin’s Little Doves Early Learning Centre.

Throughout Term 2, Kristin’s Junior, Middle and Senior Schools, Little Doves and Kristin Kindergarten, have been collecting items for families impacted by the COVID-19 lockdown and in need of support. A wide range of student leaders took on the responsibility to promote the drive and collect items, and it was wonderful to see some innovative and creative ideas on how to help (such as tuna bake food packs!).

Food items, toiletries and warm weather items were all requested, and there was a huge response from our kind and caring Kristin community. Donations were given to Auckland Some of the rocks painted for City Mission, The Salvation Army and the North Shore Hospital St Vincent de Pauls in Northcote. Our

regeneration garden. Students helping to organise the donation drive.

student leaders did a fantastic job and we are so proud of the dedication they showed to helping those in need. Also during Term 2, the Year 7 and 8 Leadership Team organised and ran a rock painting project which involved the painting of hundreds of rocks to be displayed in sculptured forms in a new regeneration garden at North Shore Hospital, where staff and patients will be able to sit down, relax and admire their surroundings.

“Because of the COVID-19 crisis, the morale of the staff [at North Shore Hospital] is not the brightest. We thought that these rocks made especially for them by students of Kristin would be able to boost staff morale, and show our appreciation for what they are doing” said Zaid Al-Sakini, Year 8.