Kristin School

Foundation Day 2021

On Friday 19th March, Kristin celebrated our Foundation Day, honouring the stories of our beginnings; recognising the vision, leadership and commitment of Kristin’s founders to create and build the school we love and appreciate today.

Kristin’s founding story is unique – a school created by families for families in 1973, by a group of pioneering North Shore parents, guided by the Christian values that are still at the heart of our school today: progress, vision, integrity and love. At the Foundation Day assembly, two of our youngest kindergarten students, Savannah Teitge and Sutton Pollard, together with Head Prefects Evy Hwangbo and Tim Gunn, lit a candle symbolising the light of those values, with us from the very beginning.

As a relatively young school (48 years old), Kristin’s founders and key historical figures are still very much a part of our present-day community and many attended our Foundation Day assembly as special guests.

Kristin’s Summer Carnival

As part of our Foundation Day celebrations, Kristin also held its annual Summer Carnival on Friday 19th March.

This event provides a lovely relaxed and fun atmosphere for students to enjoy some time with their friends, and for parents to mix and mingle and get to know each other at the beginning of the new school year. It was lovely to see families from Little Doves right through to Senior School at the Carnival.

Kristin Alumni Success: America's Cup

Congratulations to Elise Beavis, Kristin Alumnus from the Class of 2012 and Emirates Team New Zealand on their outstanding America's Cup win!

Elise is the Performance Engineer for Emirates Team New Zealand, playing a pivotal role in getting Te Rehutai to literally fly around the course! After graduating from Kristin in 2012, Elise completed a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons.) from University of Auckland, specialising in Engineering Science. Elise has worked with Emirates Team New Zealand since 2016 – this is her second successful America's Cup campaign.

Senior School House Sports Day

St Patrick’s Day “to be sure” saw our Senior School students compete in their annual House Sports Day, and what a fun day it was!

Twelve events throughout the day culminated in the House relays. House spirit was bountiful as the students gave it their all. Congratulations to Apollo who claimed the title!

Timing is Everything! Kristin’s Camp Week 2021

Kristin students and staff felt extremely fortunate that during the last week in February, in between two lockdowns, Kristin’s Year 4, Middle School and Senior School students and staff were off campus enjoying Camp Week in a number of different locations around New Zealand.

Camp Week constitutes one of the most unique and formative aspects of a Kristin education, and it is an extraordinary logistical feat providing over 1200 students with a memorable outdoor experience all at the same time.

The personal bonds formed and skills gained from Camp Week are an indelible part of growing up. You know that Camp Week has arrived when you see your child onto the bus with their enormous backpacks, exploding with bits of tent, swinging pots and sleeping mats. Whether you are reluctant to see your child go or celebrating as they depart the Kristin carpark, as parents, we know that the week away with peers and staff is one of the best learning experiences they will have all year. This early first-term school camp experience is like a slice of Kristin heaven, a time for our students to strike out on their own and bond with their new classmates, get to know the fun side of their teachers and try out some different and challenging activities. The camp experience provides our students with the opportunities to work with a variety of adults, who will nurture experiential education, build intergenerational relationships and result in a different style of learning. Teacher involvement is, of course, vital to every successful camp, with the bonds between students and teachers strengthened away from the classroom. Our students have the opportunity to form relationships through first-hand experiences with trained, caring adult role-models and to experience a sense of achievement in a supervised, safe and positive environment as a result.

Camp week is a real-life example of having an integrated learning experience, and at a time when many schools are narrowing down the curriculum, we see camp as a way to extend it. At Kristin, we know that these experiences are pivotal to the overall school experience. It's the perfect example of a moment they will remember for the rest of their lives.

Dave Scott

Middle School Principal.