Social Sciences Faculty

Know the past, understand the present, lead the future

The challenges of the 21st century are substantial in scale, scope and pace. Our students face a future in which existing jobs are affected by technology, where climate change will be of critical concern, and social media influences politics and economics as well as the way people interact. The Social Sciences Faculty is creating learning opportunities aimed at giving our students the confidence to rise to these challenges with curiosity and courage.

The STEM skills are vital for the increasingly technological world our students will graduate into. It is also important that our students develop the soft skills. In 2013, Google determined that the seven characteristics of their most successful employees are the very skills that include communicating and listening well, understanding different values and perspectives, having empathy, as well as being a critical thinker and problem solver.

Learning in the social sciences is about engaging students in the past, present and future to develop what we call ‘the seven Cs’: curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, comprehension, communication, collaboration and caring. The subjects within the faculty – accounting, business studies, classical studies, economics, geography, history, social studies and tourism – draw on a common goal, which is to ensure our students become confident, empathetic and ethical global citizens.

SOCIAL STUDIES

Years 7 – 10 social studies could be considered the heart of the Social Sciences Faculty. It is where Diocesan students develop their first understandings about societies and begin to shape their own views. To help students prepare for the future, social studies uses action learning where students solve real-world problems.

In the Year 9 Business World topic, students have an opportunity to develop their financial capabilities by establishing their own business and to design, develop, market and sell their own products at our market day. They also participate in a physical simulation game called ‘Hunter Gatherer’. Students ‘hunt’ one another down while running around the hockey turf and ‘gather’ one another’s resources, challenging them to think about economic differences.

Our Year 7 students are challenged to develop sustainability solutions in the Food Challenges topic by monitoring food wasted at home and cooking meals using household food items that were to go in the rubbish. Our families were able to enjoy soups, smoothies and, surprisingly enough, even enjoyed those meals centred around toast! In Term 2 our Year 9 students work in teams to monitor and evaluate waste at Dio and compete to develop a plan on how we can improve our environment by reducing, reusing and recycling.

Year 8 social studies students making PlayDoh models representing unique features of the New Zealand environment.

Year 9 Hunter Gatherer simulation.

Our social studies field trips create incredibly memorable learning experiences for our students. Year 9 students explore the bicultural nature of New Zealand society during an overnight trip to the Bay of Islands to visit sites of significance to the signing

Year 7 social studies students participating in a QR code race to learn about the history of Dio.

of the Treaty of Waitangi. Last year’s students commented on how the fun they had helped them to understand this topic better. This term, our Year 8 students visit Tiritiri Matangi to enjoy the native plants and wildlife and learn about the work of the Department of Conservation to protect this sanctuary. In Term 2, our Year 7s enjoy a day on Auckland’s buses, trains, ferries and cycle ways. They will use this experience as inspiration to design an improved and future-focused transport system for Auckland.

CLASSICAL STUDIES

Our classical studies students use the study of the ancient Greeks and Romans as a lens through which they can better understand their own lives. Students make connections between topics such as the emergence of democracy in ancient Athens and the state of democracy today. Teacher in Charge of classical studies Katherine Woods also teaches students to question society just as the ancient Greeks and Romans questioned theirs.

As Year 13 student Annelise White prepared for university at the end of 2018, she reflected on the value of the skills she learned during her study of classical studies: “Everything we learn in classics relates back to our lives and to other things we learn. It helped me to build an understanding of maths as maths originated in the classical world. It taught me to question and how to go beyond the surface level.”

Annelise also commented on the importance of learning about gender inequality in the classical world as it helped her to understand the position of women in society today. She said that this was of critical importance as girls at

Classics tour group 2018

a single-sex school are not familiar with the gender divide.

One of Annelise’s favourite Diocesan experiences was the 2018 classical studies trip to Greece and Italy. The trip brought more meaning to her learning and fostered a passion for future travel with the exciting prospect of making further connections to things she learnt in the classroom.

ACCOUNTING

The 2018 World Economic Forum recognised the importance of financial capabilities in the future job market. Our students acknowledge this and appreciate accounting as a vital element in a future mapped for themselves that is in some way connected to finance. Many of our accounting students are aiming to follow in the footsteps of their parents and establish their own businesses. Year 12 accounting student Ava Tinkler says: “Accounting has helped me understand the businesses that my parents are involved in, and it has also helped me understand the important role that accountants have in all sorts of enterprises from large companies to small businesses.”

Ava also acknowledged the valuable life skills she has learned from accounting: “The real-life application of accounting in not only business but also budgeting decisions in our day-to-day lives has made me realise how important accounting is to everything we do.”

Gender pay inequities make it particularly important that our students learn how to be financially independent young women before they go out into the world. Our accounting students are fortunate to benefit from KPMG’s involvement with Dio as both their auditors and advisors. In recognition of this strong relationship, KPMG offers a highachieving Year 13 student a part-time

Emma Leaming receiving the KPMG internship at Senior Prize Giving 2018.

paid internship position while she completes her accounting studies at an Auckland-based university. In 2018 the internship was awarded to Emma Leaming, taking the number of Dio Old Girls working there as interns or graduates to six.

ECONOMICS

The aim of the economics course at Diocesan is to open students’ eyes to the way the wider world operates by studying real-world economies and business environments. Sarah Bekker, Teacher in Charge of economics, says: “Students regularly tell us that economics is important to them because it teaches them about everyday life. They value being able to have in-depth conversations with their parents about current issues and for those students whose parents own businesses, they particularly enjoy being able to discuss what is happening on a day-to-day basis.”

Students investigate examples and solutions that challenge their existing understandings. Learning to question has a significant impact on students. For example, at the time of a general election, economics students love to go home and challenge the perspectives of their parents around the dinner table. Treasury Schools’ Challenge 2018 with her video recommending improvements to New Zealand’s tax policies. Flora said that economics was the most important subject she studied at Dio as it helped her to develop her understanding of her place in the world: “Economics allows us to understand current issues, global contexts and to consider our place in the future we are growing into. The study of perspectives and humanity enables us to develop our own values and how we will fit into those of others.”

BUSINESS STUDIES

Our business studies programme creates an experience for students that is both authentic and relevant to the world they live in. Teacher in Charge of business studies David Holmes says: “Students love the practical application of creating their own products, establishing and running their own business – being the problem solvers and the decision makers. It helps students to understand the world they live in, how it operates and why it operates.”

Our Year 11 students create products for their own market day, making items such as homemade body butter, marble dishes, designer drink bottles and wall planners. All Year 12 and 13 business studies students have the opportunity to further their experience by entering the Lion Foundation Young Enterprise Scheme. In 2018, 31 Diocesan students participated, forming their own businesses and creating their own products or services for the market. Students enjoyed fantastic experiences, including pitching their product to a panel of judges in a ‘Dragon’s Den’ experience and selling their products in a vibrant night market set up in the Diocesan carpark. The products created demonstrated a focus on social awareness and sustainability.

Business studies seeks to prepare girls for the changing world of work they will enter when they leave school. In Term 1, business studies hosted the second

Year 11 business studies students’ ordering posters of Māori business concepts to form a display of key ideas.

‘Women in Business’ event. Students were able to learn from the experiences of Dio Old Girls, including Vittoria Shortt CEO of the ASB; Melissa Jenner, founder of Start Now, a company that helps people to rebuild their careers; Women of Influence Diversity Award winner Sarah Lang from Workplace Diversity, and Paris Mitchell and Georgia Cherrie, founders of fashion label ‘Paris & Georgia’.

GEOGRAPHY

Globalisation is bringing the world closer and students need to learn how to be a part of it. Year 13 student Verity Andrews reflected on her time as a geography student at the end of 2018. She said that she valued the increased understanding that geography gave her about what is happening in the real world, saying, “the global studies have fostered in me a sense of care about the world.”

Teacher in Charge of geography Jacinda Andrews believes the most important skill students acquire in geography is their ability to understand both their own and differing perspectives.

Geography poses key questions, such as why the population is increasing and why some countries are wealthy while others are not. Verity says that geography helped her to develop her own perspectives and ethical beliefs about issues that effect other people’s lives.

Annelise White studied both classical studies and geography during her time at Dio. She says that the study of contemporary issues raised her awareness of the global issues facing society and helped her understand current events. This allowed her to develop her own political beliefs and has given her the confidence to vote wisely in 2020.

What happens outside of the geography classroom is as important as what happens inside. At the time of writing, Jacinda Andrews is preparing 2019’s bi-annual trip to Hawaii. Those students going on the trip will experience the impacts of tourism development on the people and the environment while visiting such iconic sites as Pearl Harbour, Diamond Head and, of course, Waikiki Beach. These experiences develop in students a sense of wonder at the world. Annelise White says that studying geography not only increased her interest in travel, but contributed to her dream of becoming a pilot.

The Geography tour group in Hawaii at Pearl Harbour, 2017.

TOURISM

Students taking this Year 12 and 13 course are learning about the impact of tourism on the social, economic and environmental systems of places through simulated experiences in the classroom and also in real-world contexts.

The tourism students join the Year 13 geography students on an overnight trip to Rotorua, visiting local tourist destinations as part of their learning about the practical and professional skills needed in the tourism industry. Students also engage with people from the travel industry, enabling them to make connections to the community. Tourism teacher Nicki Anderson says the students taking tourism love the career-focused, handson nature of this course.

Wai-O-Tapu in Rotorua

HISTORY

Year 13 history students, dressed in theme, working on summary diagrams to demonstrate their understanding of the cycle of life in early Modern England.

In a rapidly changing world students need a knowledge of where they are, where they come from and how this impacts on their future. Recent political and social developments also demonstrate how important it is that students not take the liberal democracy they live in for granted. Nina Blumenfeld, Teacher in Charge of history, says: “Students need an awareness of where those institutions came from, the enormous struggles to get them and how they could be eroded.” Madeleine Law won the Top Scholar in History Award while in Year 12 in 2017. At the end of her final year at school in 2018, Madeleine commented on how history challenged her in other important ways, helping her to understand politics, current issues and society in general. “The social sciences have put things happening now into perspective and have helped me to understand ethical considerations for the future. In a world of ‘fake news’, history helps students to learn how to question and not to take facts at face value.”

It is also important that young women understand that the opportunities they have today were not always there and can be easily taken away. Madeleine says one of the most significant lessons she learnt in history was how women fought to get where they are today and the importance of acknowledging that where we are today is due to the work of those women in the past.

Students have the opportunity to engage with their own history. Emily Bashford completed a First World War research assessment on her great grandfather’s experiences. Jack F B Stevenson went to the Battle of Gallipoli and also the Battle of the Somme where he won the Military Cross. Uncovering the evidence of his achievements and putting his story together was a very special experience for Emily and her family.

Nina Blumenfeld has engaged and inspired history students at Diocesan for 18 years. In 2018 Nina was awarded a Woolf Fisher Travel Scholarship to recognise her excellence in the teaching of history. During the recent school holidays, Nina used her scholarship to enjoy the historical sites of northern Italy and northern Spain.

ETHICS

Senior School finalists Arielle Friedlander, Shania Kumar, Navneet Dhaliwal and Olivia Pearce

CENTRE

for ETHICS

The Centre for Ethics provides students and staff with a wonderful opportunity to examine a multitude of ethical issues from an empowered and knowledgeable position, which then allows them to make decisions and to take concrete steps to solve problems. The Student Ethics Committee is made up of a group of dedicated students led this year by Year 13 students Lauren Dunne (leader), Navneet Dhaliwal and Madeline Christopher (deputy leaders) who have been active on the Ethics Committee since Year 12. The committee is a very enthusiastic group of Years 12 and 13 girls who wish to continue the strong tradition of sharing different perspectives on issues affecting our school community.

The promotion of the Ethics Centre this year will be partly through our annual Soapbox Competition, the Eat My Lunch Day on the School’s birthday and the annual Ethics Dinner. This year the Student Ethics Committee aims to have a wider involvement with the Junior School and encourage more student participation. As a result, we hope to broaden students’ minds and provide alternative perspectives.

The Soapbox Competition was our first opportunity to put this aim into practice. We chose the theme ‘Break the ice and bring it to the surface’ as the fundamental idea.

Soapbox provides a platform for students to express and bring awareness to ethical issues that they feel strongly about. It is a place to welcome controversial and wayward thinking as well as a platform for debate and open-mindedness.

This year we had over 100 girls from Years 7 to 10 speak up about issues ranging from women in sports to herb production. Choosing the finalists was a hard decision, but in the end, eight students from the Junior High and Senior Schools were chosen as finalists. They were Lucia Groser, Violet Tucker, Pascale Vincent and Keltie-Kewan Young - these Junior High School students spoke about why children should be allowed to vote, plastic pollution, the problems with social media, and the over emphasis on appearance in today’s world. KeltieKewan Young from Year 10 was the deserving winner while Pascale Vincent was a dynamic runner-up.

In the Senior School, there were four wonderful finalists: Arielle Friedlander, Olivia Pearce, Navneet Dhaliwal and Shania Kumar. Olivia Pearce won overall with a moving and powerful presentation on the value of Te Reo in Aotearoa. The runner-up who spoke very persuasively too was Navneet Dhaliwal. She spoke about what religion should mean to people today, not what is presented to us. Arielle spoke on the sexualizing of young girls and Shania about stereotypes.

We were privileged to have Tom McRae, the NewsHub reporter, as our guest. He judged the competition along with Becki Abbott and Ian Thomas.

We hope that this inspiring occasion continues its strong tradition at Diocesan.

The Centre for Ethics also provides interesting speakers to subject classes or to commemorate key events with groups of students. For example, on International Women’s Day, we invited Leonie Morris, the Centre Manager of the Auckland Women’s Centre, to speak at the School. Ms Morris’ key concerns are to find solutions to violence against women and poverty amongst mothers and children in New Zealand. She spoke to an enthusiastic group of Junior High School students in the library at lunchtime about how the Centre provides information and runs activities

Discussing ethical issues across the School allows us to challenge mainstream thought and to learn from each other. In this way, we can work towards celebrating a diverse, empathetic and compassionate New Zealand.

dedicated to promoting empowerment and well-being for all women, and its links with other like-minded agencies. She also outlined the difficulties that many women face in New Zealand. Students asked questions to highlight possible solutions to these problems.

Plans to acknowledge Race Relations Day were put aside in favour of commemorating the terrible killings of Muslim worshippers in Christchurch on 15 March. Diocesan students did so in a number of diverse and thoughtful ways, and while it is clear that sorrow and grieving play an important part in the healing process, we all need to work so much harder to bolster our diverse and multicultural society in the future. As the Ethics Committee, we hope that we can encourage greater dialogue to strengthen the foundations of who we would like to be.

In Term 2 we will celebrate the School’s birthday by helping children in need. The annual Eat My Lunch Day is organised in collaboration with the Eat My Lunch charity that aims to feed young Kiwi children through the ‘buy one, give one’ initiative.

Junior High School finalists Keltie-Kewan Young, Pascale Vincent, Violet Tucker and Lucia Groser.

In Term 3 we will hold our Ethics Dinner. This is a night for the school community to come together to listen to special guest speakers addressing topical ethical issues. We are in the throes of organising the dinner, which will be held on Wednesday 28 August in the School Hall. This year our theme will be ‘Ethical Fashion’ and we are hoping to have leaders in New Zealand fashion to discuss this topical and vital issue. This promises to be an evening that will appeal to both our students and their parents.

Nina Blumenfeld with Lauren Dunne, Navneet Dhaliwal and Madeline Christopher.

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