Dio Today November 2019

NOVEMBER 2019

Diocesan School for Girls Clyde Street, Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand Private Bag 99939, Newmarket 1149 P. 09 520 0221 F. 09 520 6778 E. office@diocesan.school.nz

“While it has always been true that there are challenges ahead, it is up to you to decide the meaning of a quality life... set your goals, use your voice and harness the value of service as you all go out in this world to make a difference.”

Heather McRae – Senior Prize Giving

DIOCESAN.SCHOOL.NZ BOARD CHAIR Mr Andrew Peterson PRINCIPAL

Ms Heather McRae

CHAPLAIN

Reverend Sandy Robertson

ASSISTANT CHAPLAIN

Reverend Bryan Haggitt

HEAD OF SENIOR SCHOOL

Mrs Margaret van Meeuwen

DEPUTY PRINCIPALS

Mrs Dian Fisher Mr Simon Walker

ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL

Mrs Kate Burkin

HEAD OF JUNIOR SCHOOL

Mrs Suzanne Brewin

DEPUTY PRINCIPAL JUNIOR SCHOOL

Mrs Amy Thompson

DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS AND PLANNING

Mr Paul McDowell-Hook

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING

Mrs Rachel Gardiner

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT Mrs Angela Coe DIRECTOR OF PEOPLE AND CULTURE

Mrs Jocelyn Anso

ADMISSIONS DIRECTOR

Mrs Kate Jones

HEAD PREFECT

Katie Pearce

DEPUTY HEAD PREFECT

Jemma Couillault

DIO TODAY is produced through the Marketing Office of Diocesan School for Girls and is designed and published by Image Centre Group.

For information about this publication, contact the Editor, Liz McKay E. lmckay@diocesan.school.nz / Old Girls’ liaison and proofreading, Deirdre Coleman E. d.g@slingshot.co.nz / Commissioned photography

by Nicola Topping, Real Image (realimage.co.nz).

EDITORIAL This end-of-year issue of Dio Today is bursting at the seams with academic successes and sporting prowess, fantastic educational experiences and performance accomplishments that make us marvel that these are schoolgirls, not professional exponents of their skills.

Principal Heather McRae’s Senior Prize Giving speech – read it on page 2 - gives a thought-provoking insight into the challenges that lie ahead of school-leavers today, how they might deal with these, and our hopes for the future.

As Christmas approaches – with all its modern-day excesses and expectations, where simple kindness and generosity so easily get lost amidst the mire of commercialism, unrealistic expectations and ingratitude – we would do well to reflect on the thoughts of our Chaplain, whose article ‘Christmas Spirit’ is on page 44 of the magazine. She speaks about “being at one with people everywhere, to celebrate the beautiful world in which we live and to bring hope to every task we do.” Wise words indeed.

Another year in the life of today’s Dio has seemingly flown by.

Deirdre Coleman, who brings you news of our Old Girls, and I wish you a blessed, happy and contented Christmas and a safe and relaxing holiday season. Thank you for your support of our magazine – we look forward to bringing you more of Dio Today in the new year.

Liz McKay, Editor

T R E N Z S E AT E R INTE R IOR D E SI G N

2018 & 2019

2017 / 2018 / 2019

2018 & 2019

AUCKLAND - 80 Parnell Rd, 09 303 4151 CHRISTCHURCH - 121 Blenheim Rd, 03 343 0876 QUEENSTOWN - 313 Hawthorne Dr, 03 441 2363 www.trenzseater.com

NOVEMBER 2019 Cover photo: The Head Prefects for 2020 were announced at Senior Prize Giving – Maddy Gault and Francesca Masfen.

Photo: Nicola Topping, realimage.co.nz

LEADING

02 From the Principal Read Heather McRae’s Senior Prize Giving speech.

04 ISNZ Awards Honours awards and long-service awards for Dio staff.

07 Meet our 2020 school leaders 08 Heritage Foundation Building a centre for creativity – arts auditorium progress.

10 Thanking our Arts Centre donors 12 Diocesan’s visit to Shanghai

LEARNING

14 Senior Prize Giving Academic accolades galore as we celebrate learning at Dio.

18 From East to West Join Dio students in Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands, Russia, France and the UK.

30 Reflections on teaching art Head of Visual Arts Shelley Ryde looks at how teaching art has changed over the years.

32 English Department news Published poet Sabreen Islam, mentor to student writers Isabel Michell and a Tournament of Minds rethinks The Wizard of Oz.

34 From the Science Department The Brain Bee Challenge, Year 7 success at EPro8 and Dio’s bridge builders impress.

36 Stir the Pot The annual Ethics Dinner confronts controversy, debating two topical issues.

38 Junior School The Year 6 exhibition, the Foundation Class and Year 4 share their inquiries, an afternoon extravaganza of the arts, technology challenges and we farewell two long-serving members of staff.

LIVING

44 Chaplaincy Living the spirit of Christmas throughout the year.

46 Performing Arts 47 The Arts Awards Celebrating 2019’s top arts achievers.

50 Drama Treading the boards from Dargaville to Ayr, and our auctioneering stars hold their own in a male-dominated competition.

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52 Instrumental and choral

competitions More top-end awards.

56 Music Showcase A feast of Dio musical talent on display in our annual extravaganza.

58 Cabaret! The Junior High School delights with song and dance cameos from our favourite musicals.

60 Sport The annual Sports Awards recognises outstanding talent across a range of codes.

64 Junior School Sport participation, fun and development.

66 The AIMS Games Our younger girls doing Dio proud in Mt Maunganui.

68 Winter Tournament Week

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The pinnacle of the season for regional and national competitions.

70 Sports Scholarships Part 2 Libby Gault and Gabby Oloapu.

72 Spring in the Archives A special commemoration at Purewa Cemetery has a strong Dio connection.

74 Parents & Friends of Dio The Big Night Out sees guests being ‘more than they imagined’ – from the cast of Harry Potter to a table of tacos!

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LIFELONG FRIENDS

76 President’s column Jenny Spillane reflects on the Senior Old Girls’ Morning Tea.

77 Virtual School tours and photos of Dio events Take a tour of the School at the click of an icon.

Also view images of School events.

78 Food for Thought Tackling the growing problem of food waste – read about Waste Not Kitchen, the initiative of Old Girl Janene Draper and Leysa Ross.

80 Following her Joy Catch up with actress and comedienne Kimberley Crossman who now spends her time between the United States and New Zealand.

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83 Dio Old Girls in Dunedin/Reunions Old Girls from different generations meet up and share reminiscences of their days at Dio.

86 Welcome back! Dio Senior Old Girls returned to School on 3 September for a special Chapel service and light lunch.

88 Milestones

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L E A DIN G FROM THE PRINCIPAL

Senior prize giving speech

N

– mihi nui kia koutou ga katoa – nau mai, haere –nei po whakanui mai ki te – o nga akonga.

Welcome to this very special evening where we celebrate outstanding achievements and share our hopes for the future. Special thanks to Board Chair Andrew Peterson and the incredible support of the trustees and fantastic staff who share the successes of our girls tonight.

I also acknowledge the leadership of many who have inspired us over the year to be ‘more than we ever imagined’.

Special thanks to Head Prefect Katie Pearce, Deputy Head Jemma Couillault and Dean Lynn Tonking – the ‘Tonkinator’ – who have unpacked their –tau to deepen our sense visionary Ko Ta of community and belonging. You have collectively woven new insights into our culture and your legacy leaves us enriched.

Just a couple of weeks ago, another auspicious human achievement barrier was broken. It sat alongside myth-busting legends like Sir Edmund Hillary who showed that human life could reach the highest point on earth and survive. It was similar to Roger Bannister’s first sub four-minute mile that was deemed to be humanly impossible. Once broken, the fourminute mile standard was then repeatedly broken by Sir John Walker over one hundred times in his athletic career.

On a cold morning in Vienna on 12 October, another impossible human barrier was broken. The Economist in 2017 reported that it would be impossible until at least 2036. But undeterred, Eliud Kipchoge broke the two-hour marathon barrier. Some could

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It is our hope that young women graduating from Diocesan this year will live wisely and be well prepared.

We also hope that you take away a strong sense of identity and culture – this is the key to your resilience in adapting to change and finding new ways to thrive.

You have gained highly recognised knowledge.

Beyond all other attributes, there is no substitute for knowledge.

argue that the technology involved in pacing the race with the world’s best runners set up the outcome, but in his interview Eliud impressed with his vision. He said, “We can achieve great things and create a beautiful world together.” He did it to show what is possible, that people working together can achieve anything.

Inspiring people have this year shown us many great achievements – women completed their first spacewalk, scientists discovered how to achieve spinal cord reparation, researchers have customised cancer vaccines, we have dexterous robots and cow-free burgers. It is refreshing to see human capability in its fullness. In a world that

continues to change as a result of new technologies, societies are grappling, as we are, with the ethical concerns such as freely available pornography on the web. But all freedom comes with careful thinking about rights and responsibilities and results in a range of outcomes including unrealistic expectations for young women.

Our concerns in education are about how we protect the positive freedom of wellbeing while expanding human capability and maintaining peace.

Persevering with the concept that increasing economic growth guarantees a higher standard of living has collided with the growing rejection of environmental impact caused when humans and technologies create new revolutions of change. Parts of the Earth are becoming uninhabitable, and the freedom to thrive has been at the cost of others. Important voices are being heard about greater controls, more action. Voices are speaking for those who cannot, to protect the vast diversity of life on our planet. What we can assume is that major changes to the way we seek the freedom of wellness, equity and identity on our planet are in the midst of critical debate and tension.

It is our hope that young women graduating from Diocesan this year will live wisely and be well prepared to thrive amidst these tensions. You have gained highly recognised knowledge.

Beyond all other attributes, there is no substitute for knowledge. As Benjamin Franklin said, “An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.”

A few years ago, my mother was adding glucose to her tea. Asking why, she told me that it said on the packet that it was a ‘reducing sugar’ and she felt that she would be losing weight. It actually refers to reduction as a chemical reaction and has nothing to do with weight loss. She

LEADING Heather McRae with Diocesan’s 2019 duxes Shellie Hu (IB), Jemima Po and Anneke Cummack (NCEA).

also thought that the Electrolux cord had to be perfectly straight before vacuuming so as not to interrupt the flow of electricity. How much of what we learn as knowledge today will be altered and changed over time? We hope that in learning knowledge you have also understood that it is always up for debate, underpinned by new research and ideas. We hope that you use that knowledge wisely and ethically for the good of all others.

We also hope that you take away a strong sense of identity and culture – this is the key to your resilience in adapting to change and finding new ways to thrive. In reflecting your own sense of self and in deciding what you will fight passionately for, appreciate that strength in others as a likeness, a similarity and not a difference. We hope you use this as a sign of respect for all human lives, cultures and religions.

Empathy for others, walking in their

shoes, and caring will keep you in touch with those amazing things that make us human – those things called feelings. As civil rights activist Maya Angelou said, “We need joy as we need air, we need love as we need water, we need each other as we need the Earth we share.”

human life, but for all life on our planet. We must all think carefully about our relative freedoms that technology brings, how we protect our wellbeing and the rights of all others while continuing to expand our capability.

All the artificial intelligence at this point cannot yet demonstrate the complexity of human emotions, feelings and empathy. Beyond menial tasks, AI is however learning fast and we will need to consider how we make room for other forms of intelligence. These changes are in our hands and your hands. They will only go as fast as you decide. While technology gives us the capacity to live, work and communicate differently, to even achieve as Eliud Kipchoge demonstrated, what we didn’t think was possible, we must protect the primary reason for our innovation and creativity. It has been designed to provide quality of life – not just for

While it has always been true that there are challenges ahead, it is up to you to decide the meaning of a quality life. You are at the crux of significant change and that is an extraordinary opportunity to demonstrate the deep truth about humans – that we can achieve what we think is impossible.

Set your goals, use your voice and harness the value of service as you all go out in this world to make a difference –nei te mihi aroha ki a koutou.

– Ko te This is my greeting of love to you.

Ut Serviamus!

Heather McRae, Principal DIO TODAY

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Recognising excellence The 2019 Honours Awards recipients with ISNZ Chair Heather McRae, Roger FranklinSmith of Cambridge Assessment International Education, and Associate Minister of Education Hon Jenny Salesa.

AWARDS TO STAFF A The 2019 ISNZ Annual Conference was held at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa in Wellington at the end of August.

The conference explored the Future of Talent, and delegates enjoyed hearing from a variety of futurists, thought leaders and education experts about what the future holds and how our schools can best equip themselves for the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead.

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t the conference, two Dio staff members, Susan Marriott and Deb Sharpe, received Honours Awards.

These awards give recognition to staff – academic, support and others – who stand out above and beyond what might reasonably be expected as part of their paid employment.

LEADING

SERVICE TO SCHOOL LEADERSHIP AND LANGUAGES LEARNING

SERVICE TO HORTICULTURE AND THE ENVIRONMENT

Susan is passionate about encouraging students into the Diploma and supporting them through to graduation. She effectively operates as dean of the Diploma girls, managing both academic and pastoral concerns – this personal touch is hugely appreciated.

Deb’s passion for the School’s roses has protected a significant part of Diocesan’s history. To build the School’s Performing Arts Centre, the roses had to be moved. This was complex as they could only be moved at certain times depending on the temperature and the length of the day. Deb dug up, nurtured and replanted more than 80 roses over four years. She also created a register of each rose in the garden.

Susan has served at Diocesan School for Girls for 27 years, as a languages teacher, then as Head of Faculty Languages and International Baccalaureate Coordinator. She has refreshed the IB programme, attracting many more girls to the pathway and achieving outstanding results.

Susan is also a capable and efficient head of languages and a much-loved teacher of Japanese. She has led the biennial exchange trip to Juntoko School in Japan for 20 years, and her enthusiasm and care ensures its success. Exchange students who visit Diocesan experience key aspects of New Zealand life, from jandals and Lord of the Rings to fish and chips on the beach.

Diocesan’s language results are outstanding and consistently ahead of world and Asia/Pacific averages. To maintain these results across all the languages on offer owes much to Susan’s leadership.

A colleague says: “Susan is a motivated and dedicated educator whose students are at the centre of everything she does. I’m impressed by her generosity of spirit and the mutual respect between her students and her fellow educators. She deserves every accolade she gets!”

Over 10 years, Senior Gardener Deb has dedicated herself to the gardens at Diocesan School. Thanks to her work, the beauty of the campus gives staff and students a sense of welcome, calm and pride in the School.

In the past year, Deb has developed a kitchen garden, which is now in daily use, with students and staff coming to pick produce. Deb has also done a lot of hands-on work with the Junior School girls around growing plants, composting waste, and developing gardening skills. She is passionate about sharing her knowledge and encouraging interest in gardens in her wonderful quiet manner.

Director of Development Angela Coe says: “Deb has made an extraordinary difference to our School – she is our environmental conscience, a person who reminds us how the beauty of flowers and plants can enhance a sense of wellbeing for us all.”

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“Congratulations to these outstanding people who have contributed enormously to the culture of our School over many years.” Heather McRae ISNZ LONG SERVICE AWARDS

At a Full School Assembly on 10 September, the School was pleased to welcome special guests Board Chair Andrew Peterson; Board members Jane Latimer, Laurent Kinet and the Reverend Sarah Stevens-Cross, and Deborah James, the Executive Director of the Independent Schools of New Zealand.

One of the purposes of the assembly was to honour people who have worked in our School for 20 years or more. These people have made an incredible contribution to our whakapapa at Dio and it was great to have Deborah James with us to present the awards. The awardees were: Rebecca Abbott, 6

DIO TODAY

Jean Alpe, Kate Burkin, Suzanne Buswell, Marilyn Carter, Scott Christie, Sue Couldwell, Dian Fisher, Craig Harrison, Christine Lewis, Susan Marriott, Liz McKay, Michelle Paddison, Lynette Quin, Shelley Ryde, Susan Smith, Margaret van Meeuwen, Jenny Williams and Katherine Woods.

Principal Heather McRae said, “Congratulations to these outstanding people who have contributed enormously to the culture of our School over many years. The love and loyalty you have shown to Diocesan School for Girls over most of your working life is exceptional – special thanks from the Board, ISNZ and us all.”

Caption heading (Left to right) Back row: Christine Lewis, Susan Marriott, Rebecca Abbott, Principal Heather McRae. 3rd row: Scott Christie, Kate Burkin, Dian Fisher. 2nd row: Jean Alpe, Lynette Quin, Susan Smith, Jenny Williams, Michelle Paddison. Front row: Sue Couldwell, Craig Harrison, Margaret van Meeuwen, Marilyn Carter, Shelley Ryde. (Absent from photo: Suzanne Buswell, Liz McKay, Katherine Woods.)

At Senior Prize Giving on 30 October, our Head Prefects for 2020 were announced, and we are pleased to introduce them to our readers.

HEAD PREFECT Maddy Gault

Maddy Gault has come all the way through Diocesan, starting in 2007 and in 2020 she will have the privilege of leading the School as Head Prefect. Maddy is a top water polo player in our premier team and a New Zealand representative player. She has developed into something of an idol for the younger Mitchelson girls and it is her humility, sense of fun, drive and purpose to which they most respond.

DEPUTY HEAD PREFECT Francesca Masfen

Francesca Masfen is well known amongst her cohort and the wider school for her willingness to always put her hand up and do the job with a smile on her face. A proud Mary Pulling girl, Francesca is a keen equestrian, thespian and debater. She is delighted to work alongside Maddy in 2020 – they will make a great team.

Francesca Masfen and Maddy Gault.

LEADING

2020 HEAD PREFECTS

H E R I T A G E Dio Arts ‘originals’ on tour From left: Jane Jackson, Laetitia Peterson, Charlotte Brebner, Nicole Meadowcroft, Jo Raymond, Angela Coe, Rosey Eady with Kelvin Meyer from ASPEC.

Building T a centre for creativity

he Arts Centre auditorium is a striking presence as it takes shape through the oak trees and across the construction site. The theatre is going to be a stunning addition to the Arts Centre teaching building when it is opened mid-2020.

At the launch of the Grand Circle Campaign for the Arts Centre in 2015, Heather McRae said: “The Arts Centre is designed to provide visionary opportunities for across-curriculum work in a new world of design and creativity. We believe these capabilities are not only the key to the future but are now the basis for our growing knowledge economy – one where we use our creative abilities to foster invention and innovation.”

DIOCESAN’S ARTS CENTRE AUDITORIUM OPENING MID-2020

Take a look at our flythrough of the Arts Centre at dioartscentre.youtour.nz 8

DIO TODAY

This still rings true today.

For our future generations of students who will get to perform on stage in this world-class facility, it will be a simply amazing experience; while the backstage and tech team students will have an incredible opportunity to learn about stage management while working on shows, preparing them for potential future career options while still at school.

The impact of this outstanding facility for our Diocesan community and beyond is game changing. The impact of the music, dance and drama studios in the teaching building is experienced daily at Dio, and the staff and students look forward to extending this experience through into the auditorium.

The total build time is

F LEADING

TI N G

TS AC

I NTER

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104 weeks

currently at week

82

with fitout to follow

The

theatre stage is the size of the current School Hall

There are

950 seats

Taking shape Above left: Glass façade. Above right: Foyer view with main entrance.

in the theatre Name your seat in the theatre takeyourseat.co.nz

The

school field will be returned to a playing field following the construction

The teaching building links directly to the foyer and theatre on

Above: View from the stage.

Below: Foyer with box office and kitchen/bar.

Right: Foyer view from staircase to Level 2.

two levels

The theatre will be serviced by a full commercial

kitchen/bar DIO TODAY

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THANKING OUR ARTS CENTRE DONORS The Grand Circle

Grand Circle Platinum

Grand Circle Gold

Anonymous Dio Arts Diocesan Parents & Friends Elias & Fletcher Families Levene Family Lydia Geng and family Margot Thompson van den Brink Family

Angela Anderson Bayleys Foundation Charlotte Wilson Christine Kirkpatrick Couillault Family, Olivia and Jemma Diocesan School Heritage Foundation Diocesan School Old Girls’ League Edgar Family LC Tiger Marita, Bruce, and Annelise Hassall McIldowie & Brown Pty Ltd Prakash and Shalini Pandey Rosenbaum-Raynish Family Steven and Susan Shrubb

Anonymous Christine Aixinjueluo and family Emily and Serena Lu Emily Peng and family Grace Hu and Kim Yang John and Fiona Hernon Liz and Duncan Ferguson Malaghan Family Manson Family McMillan Family Prue and Denver Olde Sophia Liu Susan Amos née McEwin, Sarah Giltrap née Amos, Sophie and Harriette Giltrap

Grand Circle Silver Alice, Anna and Sophie Crotty Andrew and Laetitia Peterson Angela Coe and family Angelina and Amanda Liu and Long Family Anna Wang April Mingchen Hou Aspec Construction Ltd. Betty Yao Bo Yang and Rita Luo Catherine and Martin Spencer Chris and Connie Huljich Christine and Derek Nolan Cici Wang Coco Chen Dawn Gibson and family Dong Hua Liu, Joanna Zhang and Mariana Liu Ella Zhang and family Eltringham Family Trust Glenn and Sonja Hawkins Greg and Lynne Towers He Family Herrick Family Houtman Family Ivan Yu and Carol Liu Jane Williams Jing Lin (Jilly) Cheung Leach Family Leonie Lawson and family Madeleine and Charlotte Mitchell

Grand Circle Bronze Madeleine Turner Mason Family Melody Leyao Cheng Mia and Ella Zhou Family Mia Ruonan Zhang Family Michelle Leong and Terence Ng Nick and Stephanie Francis O’Neill Family Paula Gair and Ross Jensen Peter Green and family Peter W Wilson Raewyn Brebner; Keren Blakey (née Brebner); Charlotte Blakey Reeya Cui and family Richard and Yvette Hall Rosemary and Michael Horton Rosemary Eady Schnuriger Family Scott Family Stanhope Family Stephen and Stephanie Chan The Diocesan Chinese Community Tom Winstanley and Maria Milicich Verity Jin’s family Xiao Family Yan Lu and Jun Ye

The donors on this page have all kindly donated $10,000 or more. Together we have raised $8.4M of our $9M target.

If you wish to make a donation towards the Diocesan Arts Centre or to discuss your category please contact Director of Development, Angela Coe. Email: acoe@diocesan.school.nz Phone: +64 9 520 9378

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Anonymous Acland Family Adeline and Felicia Lisnah Alan Riechelmann Alice and Marina Segedin Allison Family Andee, Sydney and Hannah Bell André and Harsha Reynolds Angel Wen Tao Anna and Nelly Yuan Anonymous x 4 Azman and Razia Haroon Bella & Aaron Zhao Brendan and Victoria Coleman Bruce and Robyn Jacobson Celina and Jessica Gao Christine Li Craig, Lisa and Hollie Lawson Darrin, Anjala and Zara Johannink Dingley Family Elizabeth Edmonds née Spence, Jennie Edmonds & Sophie Edmonds Ella Cochrane and family Eve Yi Lu Feiyi Lu Felicity Barnes and Michael Whitehead Frank and Cathy Liu Garth and Sue Williams Gault Family Greg, Shelley and Aimee Horton Guyon, Lee, Nina and Imogen Foley Gyöngyi and Julius Spencer Hanna Marshall and family Hegley Family Isabella Li

Jacob Family Jane and Neil Haines Jia Yi Angela Liu Jian Xu and Yang Jiao John Gardiner and Sarah Simpson Joy and Grey Whitney Kaarina, Tallulah and Ava Parker Karina and Lawrence Li Family Kimberly and Matt Sumner Latimer-Bell Family Lorraine Guo Family Marina and Aniela Farac Martin Sowter and Alison Periera Melody Chen Melody Yitong Shao Michelle Xu’s family Minding Guo Monica White Nick and Sabine Bowden Nina Crawford Olivia and Lucy Blanchard Paige Ellis Paul Dougherty and Hilary Poole Petar and Rebecca Sain Prebble and Jackson Family Quirk-Butterworth Family Richard and Annabelle Voss Rob and Pru Mandeno Sue and John Maasland Tom and Melissa Brady Wilma and Grace Fan Wiltens-Brown Family Winter Brown and family Wolfgram Family Yu Hei (Haylie) and Yu Ki (Kiera) Wong

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Shanghai, China

DIOCESAN’S

SHANGHAI VISIT

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This was a valuable opportunity to meet with a common interest – Diocesan. Guests were able to learn more about the School today from an informative presentation by Dennis and this was ably supported by Old Girls Elma Liao (2018) and Linda Ha (2016).

LEADING

Diocesan School hosted a most enjoyable evening in the bustling city of Shanghai on Saturday 17 August for members of our Dio community.

The Director of Development Angela Coe and International Development Manager Dennis Yu were delighted to meet Old Girls, past and current parents and even future parents with their daughters.

Facing page: Diocesan guests at the Shanghai function. Above, from left to right, Angela Coe, Qiuhong Bao (Linda Ha’s mother), Linda Ha (past student), Elma Liao (past student) and Lily Chen (Elma Liao’s mother).

Below, from left to right, Lily Chen (Elma Liao’s mother),Wenbing Gu (Teresa Gu’s father), Zhao Lan (Dora and Margaret Yu’s mother), Yu Yu (Dora and Margaret Yu’s father), Kelvin Wang (Emma Wang’s father).

Chris Yao, father of Betty in Year 6 and Heritage Foundation trustee, joined us in Shanghai. He not only represented Dio as a trustee but also as a Chinese parent who lives in Auckland.

The guests appreciated the experiences and information the Old Girls and Chris shared about many facets of the School. This was Diocesan’s first visit to Shanghai, and we were warmly welcomed by our Chinese families who shared their deep love of the School and gratitude that we had travelled to visit them.

Thank you to the families who joined us at the Shanghai Sofitel Hyland – we enjoyed the event very much – and to those who were not able to attend, we look forward to meeting you on our next visit to China.

Right: Jiuyi Jin (Teresa Gu’s mother), Angela Coe, Wenbing Gu (Teresa Gu’s father). Teresa is a current Year 12 student. Below: Bin Xu (Emily Xu’s father), Qing Tang (Emily Xu’s mother), Chunhui Gao (Emily Xu’s grandmother).

Emily graduated from Dio in 2015.

Qiuhong Bao (Linda Ha’s mother).

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L E A R N IN G

SENIOR PRIZE GIVING Holy Trinity Cathedral, Parnell, Wednesday 30 October 2019 TOP AWARDS

Emily Bashford

Lexi Preen

ELIZA EDWARDS MEMORIAL AWARD

PROXIME ACCESSIT TO THE DUX

Emily Bashford The Eliza Edwards Memorial Award is awarded to a student leaving the School who throughout her schooling has contributed to many school activities, shown high personal standards and has exhibited the qualities inherent in the foundation of the School.

The Proxime Accessit to the Dux at Diocesan for 2018 is Lexi Preen

Emily arrived at Diocesan in Year 7 with a positive attitude and a wideeyed view on all that was possible.

This has characterised her approach across her seven years at Dio. This year Emily has been the House Leader of Mitchelson, a role she has approached with a generous and friendly manner that has inspired the younger girls. Her work as a Year 13 member of the Kahikatea Project team exemplifies the appropriateness of this award. She showed great courage in taking on this inaugural project where all the Year 13 girls were asked to lead through their goals and dreams. Together they formulated ways in which regular meetings could be run to bring out the best in others. An inaugural project will never be easy, but Emily’s positivity, her willingness to take risks and her constant belief in bringing out the best in others created an environment where the dream could be possible. Emily has been similarly influential in the many areas she has been involved in: cycling, dragon boating, hip hop, and the Community Service Committee. Her humility and warmth of character endear her to all. Emily is headed to Otago University in 2020 to do the first year of Health Sciences.

We congratulate Emily on being the recipient of the Eliza Edwards Memorial Award for 2019.

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Lexi is an exceptional young woman with a wide range of skills and abilities.

As an academic, her record this year is near perfect and her teachers speak of her impeccable work ethic, her independent approach to learning and her willingness to take risks. Her choice of subjects crosses the divide between science and literature in a way that represents a true renaissance woman of learning. But Lexi has achieved so much more this year – she is the head of Roberton House, a member of the Academic Council, a member of the Advanced Premier Debating team, the Debating Captain, the United Nations Club, the Ethics Committee and the NZ Mooting Competition. You can see from these affiliations where Lexi’s interests lie and the likely future that awaits her.

Lexi is heading to Otago to do a BA/ LLB and she has a University of Otago Academic Excellence Scholarship to support her.

We congratulate Lexi on her award as proxime to the dux for 2019.

THE DUX AWARD This represents our most outstanding academic achievement.

The IB dux for 2019 is Shellie Hu Shellie has set herself very high academic expectations and achieved them throughout this year with the predicted grades she has assembled in the IB Diploma Programme. She is on course for a stellar Diploma result and we wish her all the very best in the examinations that are about the begin.

Aside from her studies, Shellie has taken on many responsibilities across

LEARNING Shellie Hu

Anneke Cummack and Jemima Po

the School. If you read the Dio Beat in Mandarin, then Shellie is your girl.

She has voluntarily translated it for us as part of her service for the Diploma Programme. Shellie also leads the international students at Diocesan, plays badminton, is a member of the Chinese dance group that performed at Night of Dance, is on the Academic Council, is part of the Makers Club and worked backstage at the Dio musical Beauty and the Beast. It is hard to imagine how she manages this wide and successful contribution to the School alongside her impeccable academic results. We wish Shellie all the best as she heads to the Carnegie Mellon School in the United States to study Art and Design.

We congratulate Shellie on being The IB Diploma dux at Diocesan School for 2019 and wish her the all the very best for the future.

with the committee to translate the School’s learning expectations into student speak, both verbally and visually. She is an integral member of the handbells and the Senior Choir, she has served and read in the Chapel on a regular basis. She won the right to represent New Zealand as part of the New Zealand Biology Olympiad team where she achieved a silver medal in the finals held in Hungary, and where she was the top scorer of the four New Zealand representatives. None of that was a surprise to us as she has been a Brain Bee and Bridge Building Champion here in New Zealand. Anneke is an exceptional academic and a woman of grace and humility. She is going to the University of Auckland to do the first year of a BSc/BioMed degree for which she has been awarded a University of Auckland Top Achievers Scholarship.

The NCEA dux for 2019 is a joint award to Anneke Cummack and Jemima Po

Jemima’s academic record is exemplary – she has achieved no less than an Excellence across all her subjects from Years 7 to 13! This is a phenomenal record and indicative of Jemima’s wide interests and abilities. Last year, as a Year 12 student, Jemima achieved an Outstanding Scholarship in Health, a subject she undertook a year before her cohort. Jemima’s teachers know her to be diligent with an exemplary work ethic, but are more appreciative of her critical thinking and the benefits to the class when she questions and ponders the answers. This year Jemima has been the Prefect of the Environment Council,

Anneke’s academic record since arriving at Diocesan in Year 7 has been exceptional. She has achieved an almost perfect record of Excellence results.

She has been a Board Scholar each year since Year 9, the dux of the Junior High School in Year 10, the Dorothy Shrewsbury Bursary winner in Year 12, and this year the joint NCEA dux. But these results are probably secondary to Anneke in terms of her many other achievements. She is the Academic Prefect this year where she has worked

a role where she has demonstrated her considerable integrity and intelligence, leading the school body to Waste Free Wednesdays and beyond. What most characterises Jemima’s approach is her humility and her genuine desire to find the best in others. She is a young woman with incredible potential and she is aiming at either the University of New South Wales or Monash University to study medicine.

We congratulate Anneke and Jemima on being the Joint NCEA duxes at Diocesan School for Girls in 2019 and wish them both the very best for their futures.

The awards listed here and over the page are some of the awards presented at Senior Prize Giving.

A full list of all the awards made can be found on the School’s website diocesan.school.nz/news

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SCHOLARSHIPS

PricewaterhouseCoopers recipient

Otago University recipients

University of Canterbury recipients

AUT recipient

PricewaterhouseCoopers Presented by Keren Blakey, Partner from PwC and current Board member.

Lucia Young – The PwC Scholarship provides financial and mentoring support while at university and is a great opportunity to build relationships and create networks. It is awarded to students based on their consistent academic success throughout Year 13 and their positive contribution to the School and the local community.

Otago University Charlotte Mottershead University of Otago New Frontiers Excellence Entrance Scholarship Charlotte Blakey, Cindy Bu and Victoria Hutt University of Otago Leaders of Tomorrow Scholarship Sophie Michl University of Otago Ma-ori Entrance Scholarship Dilynne Muller University of Otago Pacific Entrance Scholarship Ella Carter, Charlie Hooke, Sharon Hung, Jessica Sewell University of Otago Performance Entrance Scholarship Emily Hernon University of Otago Vice Chancellor’s Scholarship Lexi Preen University of Otago Academic Excellence Scholarship

University of Auckland recipients

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Presented by the Chair of the Board of Governors, Mr Andrew Peterson. Board Scholarships are awarded to the top academic students in Years 11 and 12.

Year 11 Jemima Box Natalie Kirke Kate Wellington Sarah Young

Year 12 Anna Casey Amy Choi Chloe Hickin Alice Waldow

NEW SCHOLARSHIPS

University of Canterbury Francesca Sansom University of Canterbury Emerging Leaders Scholarship Hannah Barber-Wilson University of Canterbury Leigh and Judith Pownall Scholarship Auckland University of Technology (AUT) Olivia Francis AUT Academic Excellence

Victoria University recipients

BOARD SCHOLARSHIPS

Victoria University Lucia Young Victoria University Totoweka Scholarship Sophie Barclay, Charlotte Clarke and Sophie Stanhope Victoria University – Tangiwai Scholarships University of Auckland Olivia Luxon University of Auckland Faculty of Arts Scholarship Ananya Ahluwalia, Anneke Cummack, Navneet Dhaliwal, Jemima Po, Emma Wong She University of Auckland Top Achievers Scholarship

This year, two new awards for 2020 were presented to students in Years 9-13. This is a one-year scholarship of a 25% reduction in tuition fees for the year. The recipients will have demonstrated an exceptional level of skill in their chosen discipline and had success at national level. They will also have displayed a positive attitude and be fully involved in the Diocesan arts or sports programmes, including representing the School in competitions and events, demonstrating a commitment to the wider culture within the School.

Phebe Mason Arts Scholarship (The Sports Scholarship will be presented at the Junior High School Prize Giving.)

OTHER AWARDS

LEARNING

PRINCIPAL’S AWARDS

Year 11

THE DAME ROSIE AND MICHAEL HORTON PRIZE This is the first year this prize has been awarded, and this year we have two recipients, Anna Orbell and Alana Sullivan.

Year 12

Dame Rosie and Michael Horton have had a long association with Diocesan through the education of their daughter and granddaughters. They have generously donated this prize, which will be awarded annually to a Year 13 student who, despite adversity, has succeeded in her schooling and in the wider life of the School. The prize will support her as she leaves Diocesan, determined to make a difference.

Jemma Couillault The Hassall Deputy Head Prefect Cup for Leadership Commitment and Dedication to Diocesan School for Girls Katie Pearce The Hassall Head Prefect Cup for Leadership Commitment and Dedication to Diocesan School for Girls

OLD GIRLS’ LEAGUE AWARDS Year 13

Presented by the Principal, Ms Heather McRae. Up to eight Principal’s Awards are awarded for each year level to a student, who through her dedication and contribution to her studies and to others has demonstrated: •R eliability and commitment •C reative thinking and innovation •R esilience and persistence in accepting challenges •P ersonal excellence •D emonstration of the School motto Ut Serviamus Year 11 Jemima Box Charlotte Hulme Sophie Ireland Natalie Kirke Jessica Marshall Halle Rankin Hastie Amelie Thomas Jessica Wech

Year 12 Chelsea Goodale Chloe Hickin So-Yeon Lee Rachel Liu Alice Rabbitts Gabrielle Sumner Kim van den Hurk Laura Whitley

Year 13 Charlotte Clarke Molly Crawford Nadia Flood Emily Hernon Brianna Holmes Shellie Hu Victoria Hutt Victoria Wallis

Presented by Jenny Spillane, President of the Diocesan School Old Girls’ League Phebe Mason The Mary Pulling Award Year 11 Stella Murray The Mary Pulling Award Year 12 Zoe Zhu The Ethel Sandford Bursary for Music 2019 DIO TODAY

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EAST WEST

From to

During the July school holidays, nearly a hundred Dio students and staff took off to farflung destinations east and west of our antipodean home.

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they studied the plant, insect and animal life, including close-up encounters with tarantulas – and some very foreign food!

A

The Drama Department group headed to bonnie Scotland where, after visiting Edinburgh, they took part in an international theatre festival in the town of Ayr before travelling on to England and Wales where they had a busy schedule of workshops, theatre visits and sightseeing tours before boarding the Paris-bound EuroStar for a bit of European culture.

In another Dio first, a group of avid biologists crossed the vast Pacific Ocean to South America where Ecuador and the Galapagos Islands were their home for two weeks. Under the auspices of Operation Wallacea,

The privilege of travelling overseas to encounter first-hand things they have been studying in the classroom is not lost on our girls, so many of whom comment that what they have seen and done has been ‘life-changing’ and given them a whole new perspective on life as they know it. Our thanks go to the staff who put so much thought and time into planning these trips and who accompany the girls on these amazing educational experiences, sharing their knowledge and passion for their subject.

group of very keen history students along with their teachers spent a wonderful three weeks in Europe. All were very interested in the historical places they visited... as well as the enhanced shopping experiences available in the great cities of Europe!

In a Dio first, their trip began in Russia, where they took in the stunning opulence of the grand palaces and, in stark contrast, came to terms with the hardships suffered by the masses during the revolution.

LEARNING

Exploring

Ecuador

It’s just fallen dark outside the thatched dining hut of our Amazon camp. A few students and staff are making the most of the couple of hours of generator-powered light to write trip notes, review the day’s photos or chill out with a book. Suddenly there’s a piercing scream from the night outside and a student comes running into the room. “A tarantula just fell on my head,” she shouts, dancing from one foot to the other. This outburst is met with a barrage of questions: Where, where? Is it on the path? Was it a BIG one?

Hold on, let me grab my camera! A throng of excited teenage girls pour out into the darkness in search of the unsuspecting spider. And you know the biology trip has hit the mark!

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We spent an exhausting few days making the epic journey from Auckland, through Lima and Quito, then by bus and boat across mountains and through rainforest to our destination – a quiet and tiny clearing in the forest. Once there, we soon settled into the daily routine: scrambled egg, fried plantain and fruit for breakfast (however did they produce all of this from such a 20

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miniscule kitchen five hours from the nearest town?), followed by a full day of survey work.

Teams took it in turns to help with mammal counts, bird ID up the giant viewing tower, and long jungle walks to find amphibians and insects to catalogue. The work was vitally important to add to local knowledge

for the eco-lodge downriver. This is the main employer and revenue source in the region and the only thing preventing the area from being sold off to international loggers and oil companies. We were more than happy to assist, particularly when most of the surveys required a leisurely canoe trip up and down our monkey-lined river tributary.

LEARNING DIO TODAY

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Back at camp in the evenings we wolfed down traditional food of beans, rice and plantain and listened attentively to the resident experts’ lectures on flora, fauna and conservation. Then off to our thatched sleeping platforms to listen to the rainforest sounds.

The second week brought a change – off to the Galapagos Islands for our own taste of eco-tourism. We began the week at Highland View camp, perched up in the clouds. Thatched platforms were swapped for a giant concrete barn filled with tents, and rice with beans made way for granola, yoghurt and chocolate milk for breakfast. We were in heaven!

Once again, teams took turns with activities. This time they involved lava tunnel exploration, local botany walks and a selection of diving or snorkelling trips. Groups met up over dinner to discuss their day’s activities before we all retired to the top floor terrace wrapped in sleeping bags for the evening lecture series.

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LEARNING

The final two days took us down into the main town of Santa Cruz – Puerto Ayora – to the Pelican Bay Hotel. Our first real beds and hot showers in two weeks. It was bliss! We had a relaxed end to the trip with a visit to the Darwin tortoise sanctuary and more snorkel or dive trips. A highlight for most of the group was the day trip to Santa Fe Island where the sealions were so friendly they nibbled our fins and rolled around us like giant watery puppies. There was hot competition between teams as to the ‘best’ encounter; was it the swim-by shark sightings, the humpback whales, the sea turtles or the dive-bombing pelicans? No-one could quite decide but everyone agreed that Galapagos is a very special place.

Finally it was time for the long, long journey home. Newly clad in souvenir shirts and ponchos, and clutching Ecuadorian chocolates, we boarded the plane for the first of many flights.

We did manage a stop-off in a five-star luxury hotel on the way but hey, even intrepid jungle explorers need a bit of pampering!

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EXPERIENCING RUSSIA

N I TO Y E

A

JOURN

STORY HI

We began our journey in St Petersburg, Russia, which was in many ways a watershed moment for students.

From there, we visited Berlin, Warsaw, Krakow, Vienna, Salzburg, the war fields of Belgium and France, and finally Paris.

There were numerous memorable moments; here we feature three experiences that we would like to share.

Starting off the History 2019 Tour with a cultural shock, we arrived in Russia at 9pm, and were greeted by the sun still in sight, slowly sinking to the horizon. After making our way through the airport’s security, we drove to our accommodation, which lay slightly out of the town centre of St Petersburg.

Despite being tired, the sun, which still hadn’t set, kept us up while we chatted about our 18 hours’ flying experience gained in the past 24 hours, the fact that we were finally in Russia and what we were going to do.

Although the next day was our first after an incredibly long journey, it was jam-packed with visits to plenty of places of significance. On our bus ride to the Peter Paul Fortress, we noticed many of the buildings (particularly in the city centre) displayed a plethora of old architectural styles, some featuring elaborate decorations on their exteriors, and many buildings were under restoration. The buildings were all a very similar height due to a regulation that didn’t permit the construction of a building taller than the Winter Palace (the Hermitage) in the centre of St Petersburg. The Peter Paul Fortress was one of the highlights of this first day as we had all learned of its importance to the 1917 Revolution.

We began our second day in St Petersburg with a sobering visit to the Piskariovsky Memorial Cemetery, where multiple mass graves of around half a million Russians who lost their lives in the siege of Leningrad between 1941 and 1944 lie. Vast and moody, it really put into perspective the huge loss of life and the impact on the civilians who had to live with the war on their doorstep for so long. It was incredibly moving and impressive to see the way in which these lives are being commemorated, and insightful to learn more about this tragedy in the on-site museum. It certainly gave us a different perspective on the country and its history.

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LEARNING Clockwise from top left: The Peterhof Palace and gardens, the Chapel of the Empress Catherine’s Winter Palace, ornate ceiling detail, an interior of the Peterhof Palace.

Opposite page: The Piskariovsky Memorial Cemetery.

Following our visit to the cemetery, we ventured to another impressive palace, the Hermitage Museum, which houses some of the most beautiful artwork in Russia. We saw works by de Vinci, Rembrandt, Raphael and the vast collection of military portraits from the time of the Napoleonic Wars as well as the many hundred works of marble, malachite and mosaic that adorned every wall. Gold leaf is used liberally on every ornate chandelier (with so much crystal) and all over the walls. One chandelier weighs over three tons and is one of the largest in the world. This is also where the Tsar’s throne rooms are;

rooms of huge significance and symbols of Imperial Russia’s power and wealth.

Words cannot describe how beautiful and magnificent the architecture of this building was!

We then visited yet another majestic location, the Empress Catherine’s Winter Palace, built in the Baroque style.

We sensed that this was a place of great significance in its day; a very grand and regal representation of the Russian wealth and opulence of the 1700 and 1800s. Unfortunately, there was major damage during Nazi occupation and, although much of the Palace’s 12,000

artefacts were transported to the Ural Mountains, or hidden in the ground for safe keeping, what we saw is a post-war replica reconstruction that is still ongoing – a very interesting story showing the dedication to preserving the past.

The palace is unbelievably enormous, decorated with a light-blue exterior encrusted with gold leaf. Inside, we walked through hundreds of rooms, all decorated lavishly with painted ceilings, floorboards consisting of multiple different types of wood, carved doors and door handles, not to mention plush furniture.

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A POIGNANT VISIT TO MUD CORNER CEMETERY One student had the fortune to find her great-greatgreat-uncle’s war grave and she was the first person in her family to visit it. She describes this experience.

Above: The State Hermitage Museum. Below: the Dio tour group.

In Belgium, just across the French border, lies a small graveyard. Mud Corner is the final resting place of 85 ANZAC soldiers and one of them is my great-great-great-uncle, Company Sergeant Major Stanley Robinson, DCM. of Ngati Raukawa, Stan was born on 31 December 1894 in Rotorua, one of nine siblings, including my great-greatgrandmother Grace. He died 23 years later, on 31 July 1917, the first day of the Battle of Passchendaele.

As we set out early on the morning of 21 July to visit Messines and Tyne Cot cemetery, I was surprised to learn that our history trip group would be going to the small cemetery at Mud Corner to visit Stan’s grave. I didn’t know what to expect and felt a little apprehensive.

We finished the day off by going to a traditional Russian folk show with lots of harmonised singing and Cossack-style folk dancing. This was very interesting as it highlighted a more traditional Russian folk culture, with beautiful costumes and instruments that we had not yet been exposed to. Although we were unable to understand the Russian language, we could still follow the basic, and often funny, storylines of the individual scenes. For a short time our own Mr Holmes was dragged up on stage by a cast member and forced to dance, much to the amusement of all!

Our last morning in Russia had us on the bus to the town of Peterhof, about an hour out of St Petersburg, and the 26

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setting of the beautiful Peterhof Palace. Built by Peter the Great as a direct response to Versailles and set on the Gulf of Finland, its gardens and grounds made this palace quite different to the others we had seen.

A very large and beautiful building with the same gold leaf Classical and Barroque-styled architecture, this was said to be the favourite summer residence of many of the tsars and tsarinas.

As we set off for Berlin, we all felt truly grateful to have been given the opportunity to visit a country as unique as Russia!

Isobelle Brosnahan, (with additions from the online trip blog).

We arrived at Ploegsteert Forest near the hamlet of Messines and I took in my surroundings. One hundred and two years later, it looked as if nothing had ever happened here. I could have been anywhere in the countryside of New Zealand. The peaceful environment was at odds with the history of the area. I found it hard to imagine the severity of the war, the intense and bloody battles where so many brave young men lost their lives and where families lost their fathers, sons, brothers, uncles and nephews.

In front of us lay a small memorial to the Christmas Day truce of 1914, commemorating the day when the two warring sides came out of their trenches and played a game of football in no-man’s land. The significance of that unified act

LEARNING

MENIN GATE LAST POST CEREMONY Finally, three of our students – Taylor Eltringham, Molly Corder, Freya Green – had the opportunity to represent Diocesan School for Girls in the Menin Gate Last Post Ceremony.

of simple humanity in the face of all the horror was not lost on me as we made our way along a small gravel road to Mud Corner Cemetery to find Stan.

We came to a gate with ‘Mud Corner Cemetery 1917’ engraved in the stone on either side of it. The graveyard was immaculate with lines and lines of beautifully well-kept headstones marking the resting place of my greatgreat-great-uncle and the men who had fought with him.

The tour guide led me to 11.D.11, ‘S. Robinson’, Stan’s grave. Standing in front of Stan, I felt so many different feelings. Pride to be related to him.

Happiness that, although he lies so far from his home and whanau, the people of this country care for him and continue to honour those who died with him. Gratitude for everything that Stan and others had done to ensure the freedom of future generations. But mostly I felt an overwhelmingly great sadness. Sadness for the lives cut short, sadness for their extreme sacrifice, sadness for what they must have endured and suffered, sadness for their lost potential and mostly sadness for their families.

Company Sergeant Major Stanley Robinson.

DCM. of Ngati Raukawa.

31 December 1894 – 31 July 1917.

The tour guide had prepared a small ceremony for Stan and us.

We listened in silence to a waiata, each of us giving thought to those who fought or were buried here, and Halle Gravatt read a karakia. I think we all felt an emotional connection with the men and families of Mud Corner Cemetery.

While on the trip we had the pleasure of attending the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate. Every night at 8pm, a moving ceremony takes place under the Menin Gate, the entrance to Ypres where thousands of soldiers passed through on their way to battle in 1916 and 1917. The Last Post Ceremony has become a tribute to the courage and self-sacrifice of those who fell in defence of their country. As the silent crowd patiently waited for the clock to strike eight, three men raised their instruments to sound the Last Post.

This bugle call is an important part of the remembrance as it signified the end of the day’s activities during the war.

Following this, a minute of silence, a ‘sound’ that seemingly moves you more than the Last Post. During the extended ceremony, our School had the honour to take part in the wreath-laying tradition.

We were able to lay a wreath on behalf of the tour group and the rest of Diocesan in order to commemorate the 54,000 Commonwealth soldiers who died around the area of Ypres and who have no graves. We were very lucky to be able to witness the ceremony, which is of great significance to New Zealand.

As New Zealanders, this Last Post ceremony resonates with many of us as it offers a tangible link to an impressionable time in history for our nation.

I am grateful to have had the opportunity to stand where I stood, to have the privilege of honouring my great-great-great-uncle Stan’s memory, to visit his resting place and those of the other 84 brave young men at Mud Corner Cemetery. We will remember them.

Amelia Brown DIO TODAY

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At the Ayr Festival, the play Ahakoa he iti he pounamu was performed by the Dio drama students.

UK THEATRE IMMERSION It was with excitement and a sense of slight trepidation that 32 eager drama students set off to the other side of the world for the July holiday break.

Arriving on a slightly damp and chilly Edinburgh ‘summer’ evening, we embarked on the first of our memorable theatrical events with a walking tour through the streets that provided JK Rowling inspiration for the Harry Potter series. After haggis for breakfast, we toured to the western coastal town of Ayr for a truly amazing weekend of theatre.

This international youth theatre festival enables young people to celebrate a shared passion and offers them opportunities to develop as artists and creative thinkers. We were delighted to 28

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share our specially commissioned performance of Ahakoa he iti he pounamu written by Sarah Spicer, with the support of Merrin Fagan and Stephen Butterworth, which reflects the experiences and intrinsic challenges of being a teenager in Aotearoa New Zealand.

Highly praised here in New Zealand, the international reaction to the play was just as strong and the girls did a questions and answers forum after the performance. The play highlighted the diversity of our community and our hopes for the future of New Zealand.

It included a staggering 20 languages and extensive use of Te Reo Ma-ori.

During the weekend, both students and staff had the unique opportunity to participate in a wide variety of workshops led by established theatrical

practitioners from around the world.

Many long-lasting friendships were formed, which could lead to future collaborative works.

From Scotland we journeyed to the birthplace of the most famous playwright in the world. The girls were entranced by the beauty and history that surrounds you in Stratford-uponAvon. We immersed ourselves in the theatrical magic that is the Royal Shakespeare Company, through backstage tours, two incredible shows and an amazing workshop experience.

Travelling to Cardiff we were immediately struck by the truly bilingual nature of Wales, where the Welsh and English languages proudly sit alongside each other. We were invited to perform at a Welsh-speaking high school, a daunting but rewarding experience for

LEARNING Top: Students participating in workshops.

Below: The drama tour group outside The Globe Theatre.

all. Another highlight of our time in Cardiff was a visit to the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama where the girls enjoyed an intensive actor training workshop. This was followed by a unique opportunity (usually only reserved for Welsh companies) – a performance in the public forum space of the Welsh Millennium Centre. It was an experience made even more special as the audience included Diocesan families from New Zealand who were holidaying in Europe, as well Sarah Spicer’s mother, father and sister, all of whom are Cardiff residents - a truly special moment, diolch Cymru.

On our way to London we were wowed by the theatrical brilliance that is the Harry Potter studio. Some London highlights included a screen casting workshop at RedBrick studio; dance workshops with cast members from Aladdin and School of Rock at the famous Pineapple Studios; acting workshops at The Globe Theatre; backstage tours of The Globe, The National, and The Royal Court Theatres. On top of this, we took in five shows, some sightseeing, and a little bit of retail therapy!

Hurtling at 300km under the English Channel on the EuroStar, we were all surprised with the speed at which we were transported to the city centre of Paris. Our visit to Disneyland, river cruise, and trip to the Louvre all amounted to a stunning end to a very busy and rewarding trip.

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REFLECTIONS ON

TEACHING ART

B

ack when I took art for School Certificate, (after fighting with everyone in authority except my supportive mother to be allowed to move from the academic stream to do so) I spent the year learning how to produce a piece of work in a formal three-hour examination.

We practised figure drawing, placed in different surroundings, and studied still life in all its iterations. We sat two papers; the first required the candidate to illustrate something along the lines of: “Ah, curried sausages,” he exclaimed as he lifted the lid of the pot, or He raised the lantern high to reveal…

The second paper asked for a design for a menu cover or a book jacket. I still remember my idea for my menu cover for a fish restaurant – two fish on a plate using their knife and fork as oars to escape their fate. I spent ages on their very human desperate expressions.

I also remember I did not get a top mark as my sense of humour overtook the requirement to come up with an 30

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appropriate design! Of course, we had to learn how to do lettering by hand (and a ruler) and you definitely learnt how to space the letters or you ran out of room and had to start again.

We did not have any art subjects at Year 12 and the Fine Arts Preliminary Examination was six folio panels and two subjects on the timetable.

By the time I arrived at Diocesan, art education had already come a long way and was seen as a very important part of the curriculum. Students took art for University Entrance and if they were not accredited, their work was sent away for examination. It was all very stressful, both as a student and for the teacher.

My first and only Year 13 student studying for the Fine Arts Preliminary Examination at Diocesan in 1984 was Niki Caro.

Now we have classes in painting, printmaking, design, photography and art history. We also have the International Baccalaureate Diploma in the Visual Arts, a two-year course that

is inclusive of all the art fields.

Working from the artist model as a teaching approach began in the 1980s and at first it was taken up quite literally.

Students were heard to say they were ‘doing Matisse or Picasso’ or they were directed to copy a work to study the making process. Students ‘mastered the Masters’ and developed their technical vocabulary, however, their ideas were so often an emulation of the style and not a synthesis of their understanding of conventions and ideas.

I made ‘a van Gogh’ at art school. At a certain point the small reproduction I was working from was taken away by my tutor and I had to finish it on my own. I gave it to my mother and she had it in pride of place on the wall in her formal lounge. I did refuse to sign it, despite pleas from my mother – what would I sign it as? Shelley Van Gogh?

I acknowledge the benefit I gained and the deeper understanding and real appreciation of the artist’s method and approach from this exercise, however, time constraints make this

LEARNING

kind of exercise difficult to justify in our current learning environment. Now we encourage students to reference as many different examples of best practice as possible.

The days when an art class was formal and everyone drew the same rusty pot, vase of flowers, bowl of fruit or an old boot were slowly coming to end. While some thought art could be taught, others believed in the freedom of creative expression. Some thought an art teacher’s role was to nurture that rare talent of that one student in the year group who was clearly a gifted artist and remember the awe we felt when we saw that student’s achievements. But what about the rest of the class?

Today students learn art like any other curriculum subject and the curriculum is designed for every student in the classroom or studio. It is important to remember that learning about art and becoming an artist are two very different propositions. Our objective is to provide an accessible art education designed for everyone. We also have a responsibility to foster creativity by providing a learning environment where creative thinking and visionaries are nourished and can thrive.

Following a major public consultation on the curriculum in the mid-1980s (the Curriculum Review) the Department of Education began work on an overall framework for a revised school curriculum. Prior to this there were a lot of different guidelines dating from 1961, covering all the year levels and they were in a number of different formats. Full implementation of the new curriculum did not take place until 2010 onwards and, along with the development of the framework for schools, we began to shift to NCEA. An important change in thinking came about from the development of the first arts curriculum alongside the move towards standards-based assessment.

So, to a question I hear quite often: ‘Can you actually mark or assess art?’

Most people believe that it is too subjective and can’t be done fairly.

A common misconception is that examiners have preferences or ‘like’

certain styles or ways of working more than others. This also relates to themes, ideas, fashions and trends in approaches to making artwork. The development of standards-based assessment changed this aspect too, and this form of assessment has always suited the teaching of evidence-based subjects like the visual arts.

The answer to that question is ‘yes’. Of course, assessment practices have been refined from the early days of marking 200-page School Certificate workbooks (worth 40%) with a folio of four panels (worth 60%) using predetermined benchmarks carried over from the previous year. Now we use a moderation and verification system based in Wellington that samples a number of schools’ submissions to align with them with an established national standard.

All of Level 3 are marked using a similar benchmark and established standard system in Wellington by panels of experts consisting of teachers and educators from different schools and demographics. They make collective decisions on the sample of works before them and check marks are carried out to ensure the system is as accurate as possible.

At Diocesan we have developed an assessment structure for our Junior High School students that looks at the cumulative evidence and evaluates their learning under three headings: research and theoretical practice, skills acquisition and understanding of

conventions, and the development of ideas. This means we focus more on the learning and understanding of the creative process than the outcomes.

Our system is modelled on NCEA and on some of the principles of MYP and the IB Diploma assessment practices.

We place considerable emphasis on the workbook to document and comment on their learning as it evolves from their directed inquiry. We teach them how to relate their research to their own artmaking and to reflect on every aspect of their art practice.

In the recent In the Frame exhibition of student work, the thing that was most obvious to the viewer as they followed the curve of the panels featuring work from Years 8 and 9, then Years 10 and 11 on the other side, was the diversity of ideas, the originality of the concepts, the skills displayed and the range of art forms presented. The senior work confirmed this first perception. Every single student has ownership of their own idea and they have been given the skills to realise it.

Today every child benefits from an art education in a world where knowledge doubles every few seconds and we cannot hope to keep up with the information overload. Students need to be prepared for this world. We now know that learning to think creatively is the most important thing they can learn if they are to successfully navigate their future in such a world.

Shelley P Ryde, Head of Visual Arts DIO TODAY

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ENGLISH

YOUNG ASPIRING POET Diocesan School for Girls was honoured to host the official launch of Spring Clean on Friday 6 September, a self-published book that comes from the heart and mind of one of our amazing Year 12 girls, Sabreen Islam.

“Spring Clean is a collection of poetry about self-love and growth”, says Sabreen. “It’s about the journey to finding the best version of yourself through the balance of holding on and letting go.”

Divided into winter and spring, Spring Clean begins with the bitterness of winter, and ends as it melts into the delicate flowers of spring, addressing themes of adolescence, bullying, abuse, self-love, mental health and healing. Sabreen was inspired by styles and writers of modern poetry such as Rupi Kaur (Milk and Honey), Atticus (Love Her Wild) and Faraway (Sad Birds Still Sing). This is Sabreen Islam’s debut collection of poetry – ‘for the dreamers and the hopeless and for those who cannot help but live by their hearts, even when they guide them wrong’.

This is not Sabreen’s first book. Despite only being 16 years old, she has written several books on online platforms, which have garnered hundreds and thousands of readers. Spring Clean however, is her first published book and has been available online and as an e-book since earlier this year. Spring Clean is illustrated by Year 12 Dio student Alice Waldow.

We are immensely proud and impressed by Sabreen’s creativity, grace and generosity of spirt in sharing her beautiful words and ideas with the world. I, for one, look forward to reading her future writing endeavours, which include an upcoming science-fiction novel.

Paige Zinn, English Department

MENTOR TO STUDENT WRITERS

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Leaving Dio in November, Isabel Michell has contributed to the journeys of many talented young writers at Dio.

of experience, combined with her academic rigour, that has made her an invaluable member of our School staff.

Isabel came to Dio as a beginning teacher in 2012. This is a misnomer, however, as she already had extensive experience teaching in the tertiary sector after completing her PhD in New Zealand Literature in 2007. Isabel is widely accomplished, having been employed in many guises in her life – from short-order cook, to journalist, to mum at home. It is this richness

If education’s worth can be measured not in syllabi or exam results, Isabel is the kind of teacher that parents dream of, opening up the treasures of literature and art to a tech generation. In recent times Isabel has herself become a published author; next month appearing in the New Zealand journal Sport, with a story entitled Lame.

Jane Hart, English Department

DIO TODAY

LEARNING

TOURNAMENT OF MINDS On Saturday 31 August, we took 21 students to the Tournament of Minds Auckland Regional Competition at Mission Heights Junior College. There, the students competed in groups of seven against teams from all over the region in the Long-Term Challenge and Spontaneous Challenge.

Dio’s three teams competed in the Arts Category, where their challenge was to rewrite The Wizard of Oz for a New Zealand context, including recasting the characters, finding a replacement for the Yellow Brick Road, and composing two original songs. All this work had to be student-led, remain under a budget of $75, and fulfil extremely strict requirements in order to score highly.

Our teams performed extremely well and were commended for their creativity. Team 2, led by Casey Lam, placed third in the Junior Arts category, while Team 3, led by Bharathi Manakandan, placed second in the Senior Arts category.

Overall, the girls had an incredibly fun day, not only competing, but meeting like-minded peers and sharing in the joy of problem-solving and teamwork. We look forward to continuing the Tournament of Minds at Diocesan in the future, and applaud the pride and purpose shown by our students in the competition.

Rachel Holland and Susy Carryer, Tournament of Minds Supervisors 2019.

Above, left to right: Amelia McIntosh, Casey Lam, McKenna Chan, Amelia Elsmore, Charlotte Feng and Joanna Chen.

Left, left to right: Kate Eggleston, Christine Baek, Chloe Holt, Amanda Yu, Laura Waters and Emma Sisam.

Left to right: Bharathi Manakandan, Katie Parr, Sienna Kulatunga, Eno Li, Siobhan Murphy, Sara Shiraz and Stephanie Zhang.

SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

Brain Bee Challenge The Brain Bee Challenge is a world-renowned competition for Year 11 students to learn about the brain and its functions, neuroscience research, to find out about careers in neuroscience and to dispel misconceptions about neurological and mental illnesses. The New Zealand Brain Bee Challenge, launched in 2007, is the regional competition of the Australian competition.

There are four rounds to the International Brain Bee Challenge. Round 1 is the online quiz, Round 2 is the regional finals, Round 3 is the national finals and Round 4 is the international finals, which are held in the United States.

For the past six years Diocesan has entered approximately 20 students for the first round of the competition and this year was no exception. Round 1 was held during Brain Awareness Week in March.

Students studied through Education Perfect along with regular lunchtime sessions with one of the biology teachers.

They then completed an online quiz that determined their knowledge and understanding of the structure and function of the brain. This online quiz was

Year 7 Success at EPro8 In September, three teams from Diocesan represented the School at the EPro8 Challenge. This is a threehour engineering and problem-solving race in which teams of four compete against each other as they work their

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The Brain Bee team Back row, left to right: Shania Kumar, Charlotte Hulme, Lara Johns, Natalie Kirke.

Front row, left to right: Sarah Young, Kate Wellington, Jessica Marshall, Priscilla Huang.

hosted on the Education Perfect testing platform. At this stage the students were competing against students from all other secondary schools across the North Island.

Students who perform highly in the first round are selected to attend the regional finals, which are hosted by the University of Auckland Medical School.

This event was held at the end of Term 2, allowing time for the students to study a neuroscience book on which they are questioned.

The day itself is very exciting and involves the students’ participation in two rounds of live questioning to determine who will become the state/ regional champion, along with activities

way through a number of challenges.

Every year over 10,000 students from 900 schools from throughout New Zealand take part.

Congratulations to our Dio girls for their performance on the night. The final placements were first place to the Dio Electrics, second place to the Dio Donkeys and seventh place to the Rainbow Crusaders. This means that the Dio Electrics go on to represent Diocesan at the semi-finals in Term 4.

The Dio Electrics team Yeshvi Kamdar, Alice Chambers, Ivy Barrington and Lutie Spencer.

to educate them about neuroscience and associated research. These activities include laboratory tours, demonstrations, lectures, experiments and the opportunity to speak to researchers. There is also a team competition on the day where schools compete against each other to win prizes for their school.

This year the following girls were selected for the regional finals: Lara Johns, Jessica Marshall, Charlotte Hulme, Natalie Kirke, Shania Kumar, Sarah Young, Priscilla Huang and Kate Wellington. All the girls performed exceptionally well on the day, with particular mention going to Lara Johns who came second in the individual competition.

LEARNING The Year 10 Bridge Building Team 2019 Left to right: Amelia Lockley, Amie Cummack, Sarah Wong, Sunny Zhang, Alexandra young, Anastasia Sun, Haylie Wong (Absent from photo Sarah Ellis)

Bridge building Throughout the year, a small group of Year 9 and 10 students have been working on the design and building of bridges in preparation for the Aurecon Bridge Building Competition.

The competition’s challenge was for students to design and build a bridge that could transport good across to the other side of a river, allow residents to drive, cycle or walk across it, be strong enough to withstand winds, and be aesthetically pleasing to look at. The girls spent numerous hours before school, at intervals and during lunchtimes designing, building a trial, testing it for an in-house competition, drawing a digital design on SketchUp, and then finally building and decorating a real bridge – with assistance from Mr Boasman and Mr Augustowicz.

Challenges faced One of the most challenging parts of this year was the digital design using Sketchup. Many of the girls were unfamiliar with the application so it took some getting used to. As part of this process, the students were also given a basic lesson on how to use Sketchup from Mrs Ong from the Creative Industries Faculty, which was very useful. The students also had the

opportunity to use a splicer to cut the wood into three thin sheets so that curved arches could be produced for the bridges. This was achieved by taking a very large piece of wood, laser-cutting the arch shape into it and then pushing in the three thin sheets. A custom tool was also made, which splits 90 degrees into 60- and 30-degree pieces of wood. We also added tension to the bridge by taking a piece of string, dividing it into three pieces and then stretching them out.

By scoring a thin sheet of wood it was possible for the string pieces to sit in the indents of the wood, which was then glued to the bottom of the bridge on both sides. The hope was that this would add tension and stop the base from being pulled apart.

After the technical aspects of building the bridges were done, the girls were able to use resources from the Art Department to spray paint their bridges.

Amelia Lockley and Sarah Ellis.

On the day of the competition, the girls were early enough to get front row seats, where they were able to enjoy watching bridges from fifty schools across the North Island being tested and destroyed. The students were given a presentation from the Aurecon bridge engineers about different bridges around the world and the types of bridges that are most effective in certain landscapes.

The girls’ bridges performed well in the competition with ‘Woody’, one of the arch bridges, holding a total load of 57.8kg. The other two teams’ bridges also held impressive loads, with particularly exciting decorations on Skjeggestad including icicles, snow, a train set and a moose warning sign.

Competition day!

Amie Cummack, Sarah Wong and Sunny Zhang were the recipients of the All-rounder Award for their bridge ‘Woody’. They each received a $50 voucher and $500 for the School.

Three teams entered the competition: ‘Woody’ created by Amie Cummack, Sarah Wong and Sunny Zhang ‘Skjeggestad the 60th’ by Alex Young, Anastasia Sun and Hayley Wong ‘The Little Silver Destroyers’ by

Congratulations to all three teams for the creativity in their bridges and for their determination, teamwork and dedication to the completion of the task.

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ETHICS

Back row, left to right: Mark Dye and Bob McCoskrie.

Front row, left to right: Dr Stephen Garner, Dr Mary Panko, Nina Blumenfeld and Heather McRae.

STIR THE POT

The Student Ethics Committee decided on a different approach for its annual community evening during which guests, students and staff are confronted with differing perspectives on controversial issues.

Rather than have a formal dinner, it was decided that a more informal evening would allow people to confront two issues on which New Zealanders are being asked for their opinion over the next year.

Given that New Zealanders live in an age when division and intolerance have led to an ‘us-versus-them’ attitude among groups, the Committee 36

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The Ethics Committee

thought this would be the perfect time to demonstrate the plurality of ideas and perspectives in a respectful and interesting way. Olivia Pearce and Keltie-Kewan Young began the evening doing just that, presenting their provocative winning soapbox speeches to a most receptive audience.

Their topics challenged us about our beliefs on Te Reo and our beautyobsessed world. This was a most fitting

way to begin the evening of controversy and debate.

The theme was ‘Stir the Pot’, an apt name for the evening as the two topics were the legalisation of marijuana and euthanasia. They have both received increased media coverage that has often been emotive and denigrating towards the opposing side. We were delighted to receive a wide range of

Mark Dye argued that prohibition of marijuana had not worked so decriminalisation at the least, or full legalisation, should be the way forward. Bob McCoskrie, in contrast, highlighted that marginalised groups might end up being the targets of marijuana businesses, as is the case with tobacco, alcohol and prostitution, if it was legalised. The two speakers had encountered each other in previous discussions on this topic, which allowed them to make jokes at each other’s expense, amusing the audience and lightening the tone of the evening.

In the other debate, Dr Mary Panko argued in favour of euthanasia, stating that it is New Zealanders’ fundamental right to choose when to die and outlined the safeguards that would be put in place. Dr Stephen Garner, in contrast, argued that euthanasia conflicts with our desire to live life and would lead to unresolved consequences in the future.

The floor was also open to the audience, for them to share their opinions and they certainly did ‘stir the pot’!

We opted for a supper evening of soup and rolls and also enjoyed fabulous canapés that were provided by the Year 10 food technology students. It was a new experience to collaborate with the food technology teachers and students and much was gained from it.

We also listened to wonderful music played by Grace David and Sabreen Islam who entertained us with their melodic and socially aware songs.

Overall, this was a stimulating evening of ideas and an interesting way for the Dio community to discuss two controversial issues.

Nina Blumenfeld, Director of the Centre for Ethics

LEARNING

opinions, in favour and against, from the audience and the guest speakers: Dr Stephen Garner and Dr Mary Panko spoke on the legalisation of euthanasia, while Mark Dye and Bob McCoskrie spoke on the pros and cons of legalising marijuana. Each guest speaker had a different point of view on their topic to share with us and were able to start a conversation through their wellprepared and insightful addresses.

They provoked significant debate on the issues that left us all considering what we believe in and where we stand.

ETHICAL EATS Year 10 culinary design skills were showcased at the Ethics ‘Stir the Pot’ dinner. The students explored what it means to eat ethically and designed a canapé menu that reflected this. All four Year 10 food classes were involved in the design and production of the 500 canapés served on the evening.

Guests enjoyed cakes designed and made by Level 1 food design technology student Arielle Friedlander. Arielle explored the ethical considerations of the ingredients used in the cakes. In response to a brief that married food and art, Arielle’s cakes were inspired by the Abstract Expressionist era of post-war America. This art movement was based on the freedom of the artists’ subconscious while being able to convey emotion to an audience. The orange and hazelnut cake was inspired by the work of Jackson Pollock and the chocolate mousse cake by Clyfford Still’s 1957- D No.1.

Food design technology is a popular subject at Diocesan.

Students have the opportunity to explore the design process through the medium of food.

Having authentic stakeholders adds significantly to the learning experience in design subjects.

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JUNIOR SCHOOL

YEAR 6 EXHIBITION An important time in the school year for our Year 6 students is their PYP Exhibition. The exhibition is an opportunity for girls to collaboratively engage in an in-depth inquiry where, with teacher support and guidance, they demonstrate independence, responsibility, creativity and ownership in their learning.

The focus of PYP Exhibition was the How We Organise Ourselves. Using the IB learner profile, we explored what it meant to be a global citizen and the responsibility we have in our communities. Year 6 Service Week was the perfect provocation to get the girls active in our community. Revered Roberston spoke to the girls about our Dio motto, Ut Serviamus, and how using our head, heart and hands can make a difference. Thank you to the wonderful organisations that worked in partnership with Year 6: Auckland City Mission, Anglican Trust for Women and Children, CureKids, Conservation Volunteers New Zealand, Elizabeth Knox Home and Hospital, Friends of Oakley Creek and Who Did You Help Today?

Year 6 continued to unpack what it meant to be a global citizen by exploring the 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development. In 2015, world leaders agreed to aspirational goals for a better world in 2030. These goals have the power to end poverty, fight inequality and stop climate change. We should use these goals to work together and build a better future for everyone. Year 6 teachers challenged the girls to think about how they could raise awareness in our School community and take action to contribute to the achievement of these global goals.

Some of our staff and two Year 6 girls had the opportunity to listen to Helen Clarke talk about these goals and her role on the United Nations, which gave them an interesting insight into how we might achieve these goals by 2030.

The girls were confident and knowledgeable as they shared their new knowledge on a range of current world issues such as women’s rights, life below water and environmental issues. There were a range of student-led actions carried out, from visits to Patakai Pantries, Auckland Council (Sustainability Initiatives), interviews with experts and beach clean-ups.

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LEARNING

LEARNING ABOUT CHANGE “I really enjoyed the process of exhibition and discovered more about myself when working with a group. The whole process of creating our central idea, lines of inquiry and doing our board layout are skills that I can use in the future.

Finding out about the Global Goals, (especially Goal 5: Gender Equality) and learning about what action we can take really had an impact on me. I realised that not all women have the chance of an education and some women can’t drive! When I had my interview with stunt woman Zoë Bell about feminism, I found it really interesting to learn about women’s rights from a different point of view. Overall, the exhibition is something I will never forget and a great experience.”

Through our ‘How the world works’ inquiry ‘Exploring change helps us understand how the world works’, the Foundation Class has been looking at change in many different ways, including the observable features of living things, the sequence of change, and how living things rely on change. We have enjoyed lots of experiences; watching flowers form, seeing what the weather is doing, observing the changes happening to food as it rots and drying fruit in the dehydrator. Over many days the girls waited for eggs to hatch and wondered what animal might come out. Penguins? Snakes?

Chickens? Dinosaurs? – or perhaps even a platypus!

Children in the early years learn most effectively when they are engaged in meaningful experiences.

The rich conversations that are generated from inquiry and research supports children’s oral language acquisition and allows them to think about the world around them.

Zara Johannink, 6LS DIO TODAY

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Year 4 students spent seven weeks in Term 3 exploring how natural environments are impacted by the way we use and dispose of materials.

Having investigated different types of composting, it was agreed that Year 4 would set up and trial a bokashi bin. This is now underway with monitors collecting food scraps after lunch and adding these to the bin.

This issue is very much in people’s minds as regular articles are appearing in the media about the amount of single-use plastic being produced, the problem with straws littering our oceans and the ongoing debate about the emission of greenhouse gases. All these concerns were quickly picked up and became hot topics for discussion by our girls. They were keen to undertake investigations in the MakerSpace, checking out worm farms, looking at the process of filtering dirty water, considering the effect of oil pollution in the ocean and working through the carbon cycle. They embraced this inquiry and quickly became advocates for cleaning up our school environment.

The war on waste continued with an audit being undertaken of the litter in school lunches. Each day for a week, two students would check the lunchboxes of an allocated class. Girls then presented their data using Google Sheets. Well done Year 1 who came out on top, being almost litter free!

DIO TODAY

It was great to see the connections being made to global warming and the carbon cycle when the girls were presenting their own inquiries. The sense of responsibility they now have for the planet, the knowledge that they can do something about their own carbon footprint and the action they have already taken, bodes well for the future!

LEARNING

Arts Extravaganza The Junior School Arts Extravaganza was held this year in Diocesan’s Performing Arts Centre on Wednesday 18 September. With the inclusion of the opening of the Year 6 PYP exhibition, the Arts Extravaganza once again had parents spoilt for choice. Containing a feast of performances, parents were able to wander through the different rooms listening to the Junior School

music groups and watching items that showcased their daughter’s weekly learning in dance, drama and music.

A big thank you to the Dio Arts Committee who kept everyone nourished and fuelled for the event by organising a delicious selection of food and drinks.

Mehernaz Pardiwalla, Junior School Performing Arts Coordinator DIO TODAY

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TECHNOLOGY CHALLENGES EPRO8

During Term 3 a group of very excited girls, along with Laura Hillier our Science and Technology specialist teacher, competed in the Vector EPro8 competition, an engineering and problem-solving race. Every year over 9000 students from 850 schools throughout New Zealand take part.

Separate events are run for different age groups.

Teams compete to: •b uild large-sized structures • solve practical problems •e ngineer using pulleys, motors, gears, wheels and axles • i nvent machines that can complete simple tasks • undertake unusual and fun experiments • construct basic electronic circuits • solve interesting problems using practical maths.

Each team of four was based at a workstation containing an impressive assortment of easy-to-use parts and equipment. The three-hour event began with a tutorial on the equipment teams would be using. Teams were given a booklet containing a number of

challenges. All the challenges were of an entertaining physical nature. Teams chose which challenges they wished to undertake. The harder the challenge, the more points it was worth. There is not enough time allowed to finish all the challenges, so strategy is required to decide which ones to go for. When teams completed a challenge, they pushed the ‘Big Red Button’. They were

then judged and the points added to the live leader board.

Special congratulations to our Year 6 team (pictured above) – Gracie Brooke, Olivia Carpenter, Zara Collett, Olivia Watson and Alianna Hay – who placed second equal with 10 seconds to spare!

They go on to compete at the semifinals in November – best of luck girls!

The Junior School farewells CAROL FARR AND MICHELLE PADDISON Carol Farr came to teaching later in her career after working in the banking industry for a number of years. She had her final practicum at Dio in 2003 and then joined the Diocesan staff in January 2005. Carol taught for two years in Year 2 and has spent the rest of her teaching career in Year 1.

She is well loved by her students and highly respected by the parent community. Carol has provided her students with a stimulating and creative 42

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classroom environment, offering many great and exciting learning opportunities. Many Junior and Senior School girls will have fond memories of happy times spent in Mrs Farr’s class.

We wish Carol all the best for the future and know she will have a wonderful time touring the South Island on the back of her husband’s motor bike in Term 1 2020. Carol will also have a lot more time to spend with her beautiful grandchildren.

LEARNING Congratulations Left: Chaos at the Zoo (1st place) Betty Yao, Amelia Avery, Chloe Corbett, Jiwoo Heo, Lucy Hoey and Pippa Forman. Above: Dio Ocean Crusaders (2nd place) Chloe Xiao, Luca Shortall, Zara Collett, Tyler Orrick, Ann Kyle, Claudia Queale and Rymer Brooke.

ROBOCUP RoboCup Junior New Zealand is a national robotics competition for school children. Created in a true cooperative spirit, the competition encompasses not only engineering and IT skills but extends right across the school curriculum. RoboCup Junior also addresses social development by encouraging sportsmanship, sharing, teamwork, understanding of differences between individuals and nations,

cooperation and organisational skills.

Over the course of Term 2 the teams worked on building their robots, coding them to music and creating a one to two-minute theatre performance.

Our Junior School entered three teams in the Auckland regional competition.

We were thrilled that from the three teams entered, we were placed first and second. These are amazing

Junior School sports news is on pages 64-65 of Dio Today.

Michelle Paddison first came to Dio as a relieving teacher in 1996. The following year she was asked to take a Year 0 class while their teacher was on sabbatical and this led to a further term relieving in Year 0 in 1998.

mathematics, Michelle was granted a sabbatical herself to study maths programmes in New Zealand and overseas as part of implementing changes to the existing Junior School programme.

Michelle then took on a number of different long-term relieving roles including two terms as a PE teacher, long-term maternity cover and job sharing in Year 6. She finally joined the staff as a permanent full-time teacher of a Year 5 class.

Michelle retired from full-time teaching at the end of 2016, but we have been fortunate to have her return to the Junior School each year in Terms 3 and 4 where she has started up the Year 0 class.

Later, Michelle taught in both Years 3 and 4 and was a very popular dean of those classes for a number of years.

As teacher in charge of Junior School

results as this is the first year we have participated. We are so proud of the girls who were all fabulous team players.

The girls had great parental support especially from Jason Kyle, Ann Kyle’s father, who spent many hours with the girls. The Dio teams were definitely a step above and exhibited not only their skills but their independence, good sportsmanship and support for each other.

Michelle now plans to do more travelling with her husband and to spend time doing volunteer work, but we are sure that we will see her back in a relieving capacity in the future.

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L IVIN G CHAPLAINCY

Christmas Spirit

M

uch as it might grate on those of us who know that the season of Christmas in the Christian Calendar doesn’t start until the eve of Christmas Day, Christmas decorations and Christmas music are usually in our shopping malls from October. Our society seems to need the positivity and feeling of goodwill that comes with the Christmas trees and the carols playing for a considerable time before the actual celebration of Christmas Day. This is most likely to tap into our consumerist attitudes and get us buying more. Retailers maybe think that it gives us the nostalgic feeling that comes with the Christmas lights, music and decorations. For many people, the idea of Christmas is a lot better than the actuality of Christmas.

Surrounding the ‘idea of Christmas’ are feelings of happiness, gratitude, generosity and kindness. Whether or not that is the real experience of Christmas Day for most people is highly debatable, however! Christmas Day is one day of the year with a very high incidence of family violence, and many families end up in significant debt from the purchase of gifts, food and treats that they really can’t afford.

In the Church, Christmas is the celebration of the birth of Christ.

Christians meet together in churches all over the world to remember the story of God coming into the world in human form in the person of Jesus, born to Mary and Joseph in a humble stable in Bethlehem. The gift-giving that we engage in with those we love is reminiscent of the gift of Jesus, given to the world, and also the gifts the three wise men brought to baby Jesus, celebrated at the end of the Christmas season on the day of Epiphany.

Christmas itself is quite a short season – 12 days in total, 11 of which are after Christmas Day. Advent, the four weeks prior to Christmas in the Christian calendar, is not a season of visiting Santa in the department stores and spending lots of money on presents. Advent is a time of preparation – prayer, fasting

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and penitence as we remember our need for Jesus to come anew into our lives. There is a sense of expectancy, of waiting for the coming of Christ: in glory, when Christ comes again; in our hearts, as we seek to live as the hands and feet of Christ; in the manger at Bethlehem, as a tiny vulnerable baby. It is very fitting that this is the first season of the Christian calendar as we begin in a pensive, waiting time, praying for God to give us strength for the journey ahead. And then we celebrate Jesus’ birth – God breaking into our time and space to show us Godself and how we can be partners in bringing about the Kingdom of God. Although we celebrate the birth of Christ on 25 December, Christmas is not something that happens on one particular day of the year. Christmas is a way of being, a way of living that we can enter into every day of the year. I really love this verse from the song I am the Light of the World: When the song of the angels is stilled, when the star in the sky is gone, when the kings and the shepherds have found their way home, the work of Christmas is begun.

According to this song, the work of Christmas is to find the lonely and the lost, to heal the broken, to feed the hungry, to free the prisoners, to make the powerful care, to be at one with people everywhere, to celebrate the beautiful world in which we live and to bring hope to every task we do. They are powerful words indeed. This is the hope that entered the world on that very first Christmas Day when God entered our reality – the hope that the world can be a better, richer and more beautiful place for everyone.

Jesus made it abundantly clear in

LIVING

“Christmas is not something that happens on one particular day of the year. Christmas is a way of being, a way of living that we can enter into every day of the year.” his teachings that we are to serve one another, to work for justice for everyone, and to love our neighbour.

This is the Christmas that continues right through the year. It is not about just one day of gorging ourselves and giving meaningless gifts that we have paid for with credit cards; it is about following the example of Christ and being light for this world now, entering into the mystery of the Kingdom of God and fulfilling our own calling as disciples every day of our lives.

Always the season for giving From top: Year 6 at Elizabeth Knox Home and Hospital. Year 8 at Motuihe Island. Year 10s conga dancing at Relay for Life. Year 11 preparing emergency food parcels at the City Mission.

Over the past year, our students have been deeply involved in the work of Christmas. We have had Year 6 students spending time with residents at Elizabeth Knox Home and Hospital; Year 7 students learning about working together as a community to ensure everyone has enough food; Year 8 students planting trees on Motuihe Island; Year 9 students hosting teenage refugees from the Mangere Refugee Resettlement Centre; Year 10 students learning about cancer and how it affects people’s lives and then raising over $52,000 for the Cancer Society in the Relay for Life; Year 11 students working at the City Mission Distribution Centre putting together emergency food parcels for families in need; Year 12 students completing 20 hours of community service; Year 13 students overseeing the Community Service Council that has implemented all of this; and the whole School making Christmas hampers for families in need, and raising over $12,000 for the City Mission HomeGround Building Project. So many Dio students have given of their own time and resources over and above these projects. This is Christmas being lived every day.

Praise the Lord!

Reverend Sandy Robertson DIO TODAY

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PERFORMING ARTS

FROM THE DIRECTOR OF PERFORMING ARTS

With a vision for the future, a School that values and supports the arts and now seven years of top-end results, we continue the exciting journey.

2019 has been another special year.

Once again, the list of achievements from both individual students and top-performing ensembles is impressive and we remain top of the league nationally. Our participation continues to grow, with over 60 percent of students experiencing a variety of extra-curricular arts and cultural programmes. We are very proud of this growing culture.

The Junior and Junior High Schools are where we nurture the talent and now all students get the chance to play an instrument, sing in choirs, participate in drama and dance programmes, and in musical theatre productions from Year 5.

Believe me, the response is outstanding and the results loud and clear.

As the year draws to a close, students, staff and community are thrilled with the journeys and the ensuing results – these

are exceptional achievements for a small school and none of this could happen without the commitment of parents, the community and the expertise of our highly skilled team of professional teachers, tutors and coaches.

We are fast becoming nationally and internationally renowned as a centre of excellence in the performing arts and with the opening of our auditorium in 2020, we can offer another exciting new space where girls can engage and explore the creative arts through dance, drama, music, visual arts and media, production and events management.

So, from me and my team, thank you everyone for your ongoing contribution to this success. Enjoy the summer recess and roll on 2020!

Year 13 leaders Doris Dong, Sharon Hung, Rebecca He, Jacqui Li, Olivia Francis, Emma Wong She, Hannah Barber-Wilson.

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T

he Diocesan Arts Awards were held on Tuesday 22 October in our School Hall.

This special night celebrates the achievement and dedication students have shown in all areas of the creative arts. The girls honoured represent the remarkable talent at this School. 2019 has been another fantastic year with students achieving success at regional, national and international levels. All our arts awards are given as acknowledgement for work beyond the academic curriculum.

We also acknowledge the tremendous contribution of our dedicated staff who coach groups and encourage individuals to achieve at the very highest level.

Diocesan Honours is the highest Arts Award. It is presented for achievements above and beyond secondary school level at both national and international level. This year there was one recipient: cellist extraordinaire, Sharon Hung. Director of Performing Arts Shelagh Thomson paid tribute to Sharon.

“Sharon is a young woman who has always challenged herself and possesses a rare talent for captivating audiences.

“Sharon burst on the scene in Year 9 with a fierce determination, energy and curiosity, which comes through, not only in her cello playing, but in everything she tackles, and this has never diminished over the years I have known her. In my first encounters with her I witnessed a level of musicianship that was clearly above and beyond the norm.

“She started playing the cello aged seven, and with her quirkiness and that rare gift of not being scared to be different, she progressed at an incredible rate, winning competitions and awards. She has always been a cellist to watch. In Year 9 she gained the highest mark in New Zealand for the ABRSM Performance Diploma and was selected as the youngest member of the Auckland Youth Orchestra. In

LIVING

“Sharon is a young woman who has always challenged herself and possesses a rare talent for captivating audiences.”

Shelagh Thomson

Year 10, she had her ATCL and was awarded an NZ Symphony Orchestra Mentorship Scholarship. She has seven gold awards to her name as section leader of both the Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, having performed three concertos over the years, winning the Most Outstanding Concerto Award and helping secure gold awards for Dio. She is a four-time winner of our Concerto Competition and for those of you who have witnessed Sharon on stage, she is a force to be reckoned with, commanding the stage and drawing you into her ‘zone’.

“Sharon is the first Dio student to make it twice as a national finalist in the highly competitive NZ Chamber Music Contest,

the most prestigious secondary schools’ instrumental competition in Australasia.

She has been a four-time regional finalist and has been in 10 top chamber groups over her years at Dio. TrioAstor won a national gold award in 2017 and this year, her Ronesma Trio won a national silver award.

her one of the very few students in the country to become Licentiate of Trinity College London whilst still at secondary school. Also an exceedingly high achiever academically, Sharon is a gilded scholar and a Biology Olympiad competitor, amongst her other academic achievements.

“Last year she surprised us all, displaying some hidden thespian talents, and went to Wellington for the nationals of the Shakespeare Festival, composing the music for, and performing in, the award-winning play Julius Caesar.

“In my time at Dio there have been few musicians who have given the School such a committed and extraordinary service to music at such an incredibly high level. Sharon has created a ‘cello mania’ and it is through her influence that Dio now attracts the very best young cellists in the country. We wish Sharon all the very best in her bright future. Congratulations!”

“Sharon holds a top Diploma in Performance – an LTCL. This makes

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For a full list of all the awards presented at the Arts Awards, please visit our website diocesan.school.nz/news

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A number of cups and awards are presented annually to girls with an exemplary level of commitment, ability and participation.

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Sandy O’Brien Cup for Excellence in Drama Performance Sadie Sumich Diocesan Instrumental Cup for long-term loyalty and leadership Jacqui Li Jennifer Macdonald Cup for Contribution to Debating Amy Somerfield / Lexi Preen Jean Gallagher Cup for Commitment to Instrumental Music Ling Hui Sun Celia Mannion Cup for Speech and Drama Ella Carter McCabe Cup for Contribution to School Music Olivia Francis Hazel Kinder Cup for the Most Committed Chorister Doris Dong Terri Crouch Award for Most Promising Vocalist in Year 12 Hazel Francis Imogen Wells Award Emma Wong She The Rosey Eady Cup for a special individual who makes a difference Sharon Hung The David Gordon Cup for Excellence and Commitment Hannah Barber-Wilson The Averill Award for Services to the Performing Arts Rebecca He / Jemma Lowe Arts Council Star Award for 2019 Rebecca He The Teacher’s Award has been generously donated by NZ Sotheby’s International Realty and this year was awarded to Suzanne Buswell for her contribution over many years to Future Problem Solving.

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DRAMA

ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE... ...FROM DARGAVILLE TO AYR Following on from a very successful year, over 100 students in 20 plays entered the New Zealand Theatre Federation One Act Play Festival. Five groups progressed to the regionals in Dargaville and Hang directed by Sarah Spicer won ‘Best Overall Production’ and ‘Best Youth Production’. The girls also won top acting awards: Anisha de Silva as ‘Best Actor’ for the second year running, Natasha Mori the ‘Excellence in Acting’ award and Hannah Flacks for acting in three plays.

In the National TheatreFest final at Toi Whakaari Drama School in Wellington, the girls wowed the audience with their piece Hang, which was praised by adjudicator Jonathan Henry for its rich complexity and vocal dexterity. Anisha de Silva scooped the top acting prize again in the finals, being awarded the ‘Jannat Aitichson Award for distinctive talent 2019’. This is the first time that an actor has won the award twice and Anisha has managed this in consecutive years. Huge congratulations to the girls and thanks to all the parents and teachers who supported them on our journey.

Sarah Spicer, with the support of Merrin Fagan and Stephen Butterworth, wrote and directed a bilingual play called Ahakoa he iti he pounamu (Although it is small it is a treasure). This play was 50

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chosen to be part of the prestigious International Ayr Theatre Festival in Scotland in July.

Highly praised here in New Zealand, the international reaction was just as strong, and the girls did a questions and answers forum after the performance.

The play highlighted the diversity of our community and our hopes for the future of New Zealand. It included a staggering 20 languages and extensive use of Te Reo Ma-ori.

Dramatic Success Above: Anisha de Silva with Theatre New Zealand committee members Ewen Coleman, Steven Arnold and Bryan Aitken.

Below: Ahakoa he iti he pounamu being performed at the Ayr Theatre Festival.

LIVING Pippa Morris

Grace Riley

International Schools’ Auction Championship Following on from the success of Pippa Morris who became the New Zealand Schools’ Auction Champion earlier this year, Diocesan moved to the final stage of this prestigious competition – the International Schools’ Auction Championship. Established in 2007, this competition has grown across Australia and New Zealand, creating positive interaction between the real estate industry, students and schools in a proactive and educational manner.

Pippa Morris, Grace Riley and mentor Mark Sumich have been preparing for this battle of wits for the last three months. The team, along with HOD Drama Sarah Spicer, headed to Kerikeri to take on the best that New Zealand and Australia has to offer. A panel of six judges, led by acclaimed auctioneer

Sabine Davison, assessed the performances. The competition was fierce and the standard very high. We are delighted to announce that Grace Riley took a silver medal, holding the title as the Runner-up International Schools Auction Champion. This is an amazing achievement for both Pippa and Grace who proved that they can hold their own in a male-dominated competition.

The live call event is a tough competition showcasing the theatrical and numerical skills of each contestant.

Our students have been mentored by the best in business, Mark Sumich, chief judge and three-time Australasian champion, Aaron Davies 2019 Senior Competition champion, and Julia Rust.

ARTS WEEK This year’s Arts Council (led by Hannah Barber-Wilson, Olivia Francis and Emma Wong She) facilitated a very successful Arts Week.

Celebrating all that we love about the arts, there was something for everyone, from the Junior High School Photography Competition to Theatresports, Brass Olympics, dance performances, the Junior High School Cabaret and Dio’s Got Talent.

Everyone who participated either on or off the stage thoroughly enjoyed themselves, and it was wonderful to see the girls supporting one another throughout the week’s events.

Thanks to our 2019 Arts Council as well as staff members Shelagh Thomson, Andre Worsnop, Rachael Brand, Toni Carter, Teresa Lauago, Olwyn Davidson, Glen Fleury, Samuel Cunningham, Jillian Christoff and Simon Walker for their assistance in facilitating this week.

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COMPETITIONS

KBB FESTIVAL This year Dio orchestras and bands have once again been on a wonderful journey with exciting and challenging repertoires. Back in August we took home a total of five awards at this highly prestigious competition, which is the largest youth music festival for GOLD AWARD

Symphony Orchestra (director Shelagh Thomson)

CMNZ NATIONAL FINALS Once again, three of our top Dio musicians competed in the national finals of the NZCT chamber music contest, along with 12 finalists chosen from some 500 groups around the country. Ronesma Trio (Year 13 Sharon Hung cello, Year 12 Emma Qiu piano and Year 11 Esther Oh violin) were Auckland regional winners, giving a stunning performance of Swingshift

by Kenji Bunch, which secured them the June Clifford Silver Award, 52

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presented by Sir James Wallace.

This is now the fifth national final at which Diocesan musicians have been represented. All these winning groups are coached by Performing Arts Director Shelagh Thomson and it is without a doubt a great honour for these young musicians to be performing with the very best of New Zealand’s instrumentalists and to be representing Dio.

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instrumentalists in Australasia; the event runs over five days, with more than 4,000 students from 50 schools. This year we had the largest cohort ever involved in the festival - 150 Dio girls participating in five categories.

SILVER AWARD

Chamber Orchestra (director Shelagh Thomson)

We were thrilled and honoured to be the only all-girls school (with the only female conductor) in the region to be represented in the Gala command performances at the Holy Trinity Cathedral. The event was buzzing with excitement as the best of Auckland school students performed their hearts out.

We went on to receive five awards: one gold, two silvers, a bronze and a Commended. We are particularly proud of the new junior groups who entered the competition for the first time.

SILVER AWARD

Concert Band (director Andrew Uren)

BRONZE AWARD

JHS Concert Band (director Jill Christoff)

DIO HOSTS NZCBA FESTIVAL 2019

Diocesan had the privilege of hosting this year’s New Zealand Concert Band Association National Festival 2019 from Friday 2 – Sunday 4 August. Thirty-two bands and 1,300 participants from around the country attended the weekend festivities, utilising our fabulous Performing Arts Centre facilities and transforming the Sports Centre into a performance venue.

In addition to our Junior High School Concert Band and Senior Concert Band opening and closing the proceedings (respectively), this festival offered our

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ConcorDio Strings (director Loata Mahe)

Arts Council students a unique opportunity to learn more about event management from a host perspective, with two of our Year 12 students, Grace David and Sabreen Islam, playing integral roles within the festival itself.

The festival buzz was clearly visible throughout the weekend thanks to Dio Arts assisting with food trucks, beverages and the festival registration.

The JHS Concert Band was awarded bronze and the Senior Concert Band a silver.

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COMPETITIONS

GOLD AWARD

& Best Performance of the Test Piece

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Virtuoso Voce, our all-comers Years 7 and 8 choir, under the directorship of Rachel Sutherland, performed magnificently at the Auckland Town Hall in August. They were once again presented with a gold award and ‘Best Performance of the Test Piece’.

This is a wonderful accolade for the girls and our choral programme, which continues to produce some of the best choirs in the country, coached by our talented and experienced staff.

Virtuoso Voce

CADENZA AND BIG SING FINALES Our three senior choirs, along with 10,000 singers and 265 choirs from across the country, competed at regional level this year, gaining some top awards. The selection process took 900 students and 24 choirs to the National Finale and for the first year, the next 24 were selected for the Cadenza Finale, the second tier of the Big Sing National Finale.

Our all-comers Years 9 and 10 choir Bella Cantoris, directed by Lachlan Craig, travelled to Rotorua and, as the youngest choir to compete,

were thrilled to come home with a merit award. At the end of August, our St Cecilia Singers, directed by Rachel Sutherland with assistant Lachlan Craig, spent four days in Dunedin at the Big Sing Finale. This is the seventh consecutive year of selection and they brought home a silver award. The judges commented that the top choirs had impressed with their choice of repertoire and their technical skill, emphasising that New Zealand school choirs rate amongst the best in the world.

St Cecilia Singers

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JUNIOR MUSIC COMPETITION At the end of last term Dio entered three groups, nearly 50 girls in total, into the Lewis Eady competition and we were thrilled with the results.

Our Junior School String Orchestra came home with their second consecutive gold award, a fantastic achievement for our Years 3 – 6 string players who have flourished under the directorship of Ms Susan Bierre, assisted by Robin Snape and Loata Mahe.

This was followed by our Junior High chamber group performing Palladio by Karl Jenkins. These talented Year 7 and 8 students – Amanda Yu (violin) Vanessa Huang (violin), Jessica Gao (violin), Annabelle Frankham (viola), Madeleine Christiansen (cello), May Wang (double bass) – performed to a very high standard and won a silver award.

Our 27-strong brass and wind players from the Junior Concert Band, directed by Jill Christoff and Andrew Uren, came home with their first gold award.

This is a fantastic set of results for all these talented and aspiring young musicians.

JUNIOR AND SENIOR

In September, our Junior Hip Hop Team competed at AIMS, coming fourth out of 29 teams – a great improvement from seventh in 2018.

Our Senior Hip Hop Team competed in the Eutopia Dance Competition and were placed first in their section. They were also the highest scoring school team and were once again awarded a bid to compete in the Global Games in Hawaii in 2021.

Additionally, 17 of our team flew to Queenstown on Friday 20 September to compete in the 2019 National Schools’ Hip Hop Competition, placing second after the first round, and third overall for the megacrews.

A huge thank you to choreographer and mentor Ashley Medcalfe, team manager Mindy Levene, team facilitator Rachael Brand and to all the parents for their continued support and commitment.

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Music showcase

Dio students once again delivered a feast of performance styles and outstanding talent at our annual musical extravaganza in Holy Trinity Cathedral when we make it possible for the school community and general public to share in the experience that is music at Dio.

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epresenting some of New Zealand’s finest young singers and instrumentalists, this evening never disappoints with its award-winning choirs and orchestras, offering a performance platform for nearly 300 girls and some 16 different groups.

Highlights of the evening were the inclusion of the Year 6 Chapel Choir performing a medley, concluding with a song and dance routine of Singin’ in the Rain; the Symphony Orchestra performing their gold award-winning New Zealand work, David Hamilton’s Elysian Fields; new KBB award winners for 2019 ConcorDio Strings and the 70-strong JHS Concert Band; and a

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cello fest with our top Dio cellist Sharon Hung performing two concertos.

We have so many multi-talented girls performing across the ensemble and genre spectrum, but this year a special mention must go to our outstanding singer/instrumentalists from this year’s Year 13 cohort; double gold winners Rebecca He, Olivia Francis, Doris Dong, Emma Wong She, Hannah Barber Wilson, Sharon Hung and Concert Master Jacqui Li. These students have created the core of the Symphony and Chamber Orchestras, Senior Choir, Concert Band, and the St Cecilia Singers, and with their departure at the end of this year, a legacy goes with them.

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CABARET! An evening of superb drama, music and dance was brought to the Diocesan School Hall stage in Arts Week.

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he Junior High School revue Cabaret was a fantastic combination of light, sound and sheer energy from a cast of 50 students from Years 7 to 10 who worked very hard for only a month to create a 90-minute spectacle of musical theatre.

The revue-style production this year was set as a cabaret evening – not unlike what one might find in the narrow streets off Broadway with tables, food and drink and a red curtain! The theme this year was hit numbers from musicals of the ’70s and ’80s and the show included scenes from musicals like Cabaret, Les Miserables, Jesus Christ Superstar and Phantom of the Opera, to name but a few.

The format of the production allowed many of our students to showcase their vocal, dramatic

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and dancing talent in solo, duet, trio and large ensemble numbers.

The energy, colour and drama on stage continued throughout the show, culminating in the superb finale that brought every member of the cast on stage to join in the well-known number from Les Miserables, One Day More. The joy on the faces of this young cast was clear to see! We’ll look forward to seeing many of them on stage again as they move into the senior productions.

Thanks go to the production team – Lachlan Craig, Rachael Brand, Sarah Spicer, Rebekah Brady, Rachel Sutherland, Olwyn Davidson, Samuel Cunningham, Chantelle Gerrard, Juan Kim and Rachel Holland for lending their care and expertise in their respective areas. The students thoroughly enjoyed working alongside our staff whose passion for theatre helped bring the night together.

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2019 SPORTS AWARDS The annual Sports Awards evening was held at Eden Park on Friday 25 October, with guest speaker New Zealand rugby union player, Sarah Hirini.

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wards are made at Merit, Distinction, Blues and Honours levels. The Honours Award recognises achievement at the highest level, the recipients having demonstrated exceptional ability in their chosen sports and represented New Zealand at a world championship event. Indicative of the high level of achievement by Dio sportswomen across different codes, this year there were seven recipients of the Honours Award.

TOP HONOURS HONOURS AWARDS Lena Jacob – Fencing

Lena Jacob has a habit of winning, and after a stellar year in 2018 with multiple titles, Lena has followed up in 2019 with over 10 more, both as an individual and as part of a team. Competing against the world’s best is where Lena thrives, and this year she placed eighth at the European Championships and competed at the Asian and prestigious World Championships with solid finishes in both. It’s easy to say that Lena has 60

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Honors Award winners From left to right: Morgan McDowall, Sophie Shorter-Robinson, Charlotte Hooke, Sarah Hirini (Guest Speaker), Alice Haslett, Georgia Skelton, Lena Jacob and Halle Rankin Hastie.

talent, but it is her determination, will to win and her attention to detail, always looking to improve, that keeps her ahead of the game. Congratulations Lena on a brilliant year!

Georgia Skelton – Orienteering / mountain biking A double Honours Award winner, Georgia has represented New Zealand at world championship events in both codes. Her orienteering feats in 2019 include winning the Auckland and NZSS long events and representing New Zealand on three separate occasions in Australia, Estonia and Denmark at the Junior World Championships and World Schools’ Championships. Then to her mountain bike orienteering feats: winner of the Women’s 21 Elite Sprint Championships, winner of all three distances at the NSW MTBO Championships, selected one of only two to represent New Zealand at the

Junior World MTBO Championships and placing in the top 11 in three events! Congratulations Georgia – what a year 2019 has been for you!

Alice Haslett – Sailing Alice has a wisdom and ability on the water well beyond her age, remaining calm and focused regardless of the elements. This comes from having great trust in her abilities and confidence that she has done all the right preparation. Alice trains diligently and takes no shortcuts. In 2019 she was selected to represent New Zealand at the World 420 Championships in Portugal and in the Open Women’s fleet she placed 19th, a fantastic result against the world’s best. Alice was also a key member of the Dio premier sailing team that won top girls’ school in the country; her leadership and experience were crucial to this team’s success. We look

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Morgan McDowall – Water polo It’s easy to label talent as a reason for someone’s success, but it’s the time and effort in training combined with an attitude to dominate, no matter who the opposition, that makes Morgan a true champion. This year Morgan was selected to represent New Zealand at the Senior World Championships in Gwangju, China, the pinnacle event of the sport. As one of the top players in the country, Morgan has already made a huge mark on the sport; as a member of the back-to-back national champion water polo team, Morgan has been a vital player and leader. Morgan has already achieved so much, and with her attitude and the effort she puts in, we are sure she will achieve so much more.

Sophie Shorter-Robinson – Water polo

forward following Alice in the future and wish her the very best.

movement. Congratulations and we wish you the very best at the World Championships in December.

Halle Rankin Hastie – Trampolining

Charlie Hooke – Water polo

A trampolining maestro, Halle has soared to great heights in 2019. At the most recent New Zealand nationals, Halle placed second in the junior international division, and at the most recent Australian Championships she also placed second. This competition carried significant weight as it was a qualification event for the World Age Group Championships in December this year. Needing a great performance to qualify, Halle gained a personal best score in both the set and voluntary routines – it’s exactly that type of rising to an occasion that makes her such a competitor and special athlete. In a sport where the slightest missed alignment can spell disaster, Halle shows great control and ease of

With a demanding work ethic, the success of the Dio water polo programme is well known, and hard work is something Charlie Hooke is not afraid of. Quick reactions, an ability to read the game, positioning of defenders and accurate throwing don’t just come by luck. Charlie is an all-round talent with few weaknesses in her game. Charlie represented New Zealand at the most recent TransTasman Challenge and the U-20 Junior World Championships in Madeira in September. On both these occasions her shot-blocking prowess was on show. Charlie is far more than a great goalie, she is a great teammate and leader – a well-deserving Honours Award winner for 2019.

Sophie plays at a level and ability most grown women aspire to. Only in Year 11, Sophie has become a water polo star and was a crucial goal scorer in many big games. 2019 saw her selected to represent New Zealand at the Junior Women’s World Championships in Madeira in September. In the pool Sophie is not just a goal-scoring machine, she uses great technique and knowledge to be in the right place at the right time and most importantly, to finish. This is a wisdom and in-game skill that makes her a player everyone wants on their team. Sophie, we look forward to your bright future in the sport.

SPORTS TEAM OF THE YEAR This year the Diocesan Sports Team of the Year award was shared by the premier sailing and water polo teams.

In a sport that has long enjoyed success at Dio, this was another stellar year for sailing. These girls are the top girls’ secondary school team in the country. It takes great courage, commitment and a bit of risk to be successful on the sea, as well as great preparation and strategy, and it is safe DIO TODAY

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to say this team has it all. But what is truly special is the team’s willingness to perform for each other, to really compete as a team. Congratulations to Diocesan premier sailing!

Diocesan premier water polo – Auckland, North Island and National Champions, not just for one year, but two years straight. A team built on hard work, playing for each other and high standards, they conquered all comers in 2019. Individually 10 of these girls have represented New Zealand this year and with that talent often comes further challenge, but these girls have made it all work – what a season and what team!

Water Polo Team of the Year Back row, left to right: Olivia Clark, Madeleine Gault, Sophie Shorter-Robinson, Charlotte Hooke, Abigail Allison, Claudia Avis, Laura Whitley, Samantha Robinson. Front row, left to right: Isabelle Jackson, Morgan McDowall, Jess Shorter-Robinson, Eleanor Spillane, Isabella Broadmore.

THE FINAL TOP AWARDS The final top awards for the evening were the Del Hooper Cup for Outstanding Individual Achievement, jointly won by Morgan McDowall and Alice Haslett, and the Sportswoman of the Year Cup. This year’s winner was Georgia Skelton.

We look forward to following Georgia, Morgan and Alice as they continue their journeys in the realm of highperformance sport and, like all our top award winners, represent all that is great about Diocesan sport.

Sailing Team of the Year Left to right: Mackenzie Alderson, Zoe Dawson, Lucy Tucker, Zara Tucker, Sophie Cooke, Alice Haslett

For a full list of the awards presented at the Sports Awards, please visit our website diocesan.school.nz/news

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Morgan McDowall and Alice Haslett

Sarah Hirini and Georgia Skelton

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SPECIAL AWARDS

The Spraggon McFarlane Cup, awarded to an outstanding sports captain – Mackenzie Alderson and Eleanor Spillane

The Dio Sport Student Official of the Year – Gabby de Latour

The Fuji Xerox Staff Contribution to Sport Award – Kit Bushell

The Dio Sport Student Coach of the Year – Victoria Hutt

The Dio Sport Coach of the Year – Jose Fowler

The Vicki Hearfield Cup, awarded to a student showing an exceptionally high level of initiative, enthusiasm and passion for their chosen sport – Lauren MacGillivray

The Angela Coe Cup for Volunteer of the Year – Sarah and Warren Couillault

The Allison Roe Service to Sport Award, awarded to a student who has contributed to Diocesan sport as an athlete and a leader over her secondary school years – Ella Cooper DIO TODAY

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Our special sports culture At Dio Junior School we are incredibly proud of our young sports girls on a number of fronts and it’s not all to do with their results.

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ur values are aligned with Sport New Zealand as we focus on participation, fun and development, and push back on early specialisation, over-training and an over-emphasis on winning. At the Junior School our mantra is sports for all in a fun, supportive, fair and organised environment.

Our participation rates have been very high this season. We just love the enthusiasm our girls have shown for their winter sports. We offered a range of options including netball, hockey, futsal, flippa ball, ski racing and playball for our younger girls. The schedule enabled the girls to play more than one major sport code. We are very proud of the way the girls developed through the season from a technical standpoint, while in their team sports learning about spatial awareness and the finer points of attacking and defending. We’ve also loved seeing the fun factor in action, supported by our families.

WINTER SEASON SPORTS

Emeralds Year 5 netball team

Year 6 hockey trials

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Twelve netball teams and 12 hockey teams from Years 1 to 6 participated in the Auckland Netball and Auckland Hockey leagues respectively. Meanwhile five flippa ball teams from Years 3 to 6 and three futsal teams from Years 1 to 6 also competed during the winter months.

To top this all off, we sent three ski racing teams, comprised of girls from Years 3 to 6, to the NIPS Ski Championships at Mt Ruapehu.

On the sports turf, courts, slopes and in the pool, we’ve seen some characterbuilding moments, examples of resilience, commitment, determination and good sportsmanship. We’ve seen friendships grow. Some of our results have been fantastic but more importantly, we’ve observed some superb development over the course of the season. The girls have had so much fun playing their chosen sport and at the same time, they’ve enhanced their health and well-being and brought our community together. It’s been a joy to watch the girls in action this winter.

LIVING Junior ski racers preparing for their warm-up

On the sports turf, courts, slopes and in the pool, we’ve seen some character-building moments, examples of resilience, commitment, determination and good sportsmanship.

Year 1&2 netball Red Fun Ferns with their coaches

DIO SKI RACING TAKES OFF We’ve seen a big increase in the number of girls participating in ski racing this winter. Just over 20 girls signed up for the race training programme at Snowplanet and we were able to enter three teams into the North Island Primary Schools’ Ski Championships competition at Mt Ruapehu.

The NIPS Ski Champs event was huge, with 123 North Island primary schools competing. Teams comprised of up to five skiers. We estimate there were at least 700 young skiers competing at this event.

Each skier had to complete an individual giant slalom race on the first day and then a dual slalom race against another competitor with a similar speed on the second day. Points were aggregated into an overall team score to give the final team rankings.

Our Dio Blue team finished in sixth place overall. This was an amazing achievement as the team was comprised of a mix of four Years 3 and 4 and two Year 6 girls. All of them were pretty fast on their runs to achieve this result! Our Dio Red team were very competitive and finished in 20th place; and our Dio White team did so well to finish in 52nd place, putting them in the top half of the table.

Apart from their results, our girls were commended for their behaviour and attitude. The event was nerve wrecking as each girl attempted to race at her best – this required a fair amount of courage and resilience and our girls certainly delivered in this regard. They were also observed being good sports to the opposition, shaking hands, smiling and waiting patiently in the long, and at times, boisterous queues.

THANKS TO OUR EXTENSIVE SUPPORT NETWORK To enable our winter sports programme, we utilised a large support network of 70 coaches, including some outstanding external coaches, parents and senior Dio student coaches; 35 team managers and 20 umpires. Thanks to all our support network for their commitment and effort. At Dio Junior School we have a very special and unique community of highly engaged junior sports girls, senior student coaches, parents and supporters. Thanks to all our teachers too for coming along to encourage the girls on game days.

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AIMS

GAMES The 2019 edition of the AIMS Games again reached new heights this year, with over 11,500 participants converging on Mt Maunganui in September for a week full of sport and activity across 23 different codes.

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fter 15 years, what started as a small festival of sport has now grown into what is now considered the international championships for intermediate and middle school students. The AIMS Games provides students the opportunity to compete at the elite level against the best, while embracing fair play and the joys of being active.

This year, Dio had 77 students representing the School across a range of sports – hockey, netball, futsal, basketball, badminton, gymnastics, water polo, swimming, hip hop and cross country. Congratulations to our futsal and water polo teams for taking out gold and silver medals – two very exciting finals to watch and two great team performances.

Every student represented themselves and the School with pride and the famous ‘Team Dio’ spirit was on display for all to see as students got out and supported each other throughout the week. With competitors playing up to three games a day, the week was not only physically exhausting, but mentally tough as well, and the Dio team were well supported by a great bunch of coaches, managers and staff.

Thank you to everyone who was involved for what was an incredible week.

From top: The water polo silver medal-winning team; netball players; one of Dio’s greatest supporters, One of Dio’s greatest supporters, Old Girl Fay Moorhead with Dio girls at the games.

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We had a lot of great results throughout the week but also saw some incredible improvement from our girls and we always had such amazing support on the sidelines. At the end of the week it is always hard for the girls to come home as they have had so much fun, made new friends, and have memories they will cherish for a long time.

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GOLD MEDAL IN THE GIRLS’ COMPETITION Team: Kate Beagley, Jessica Druskovich, Samantha Ford, Ruby Hulme, Indigo Kirk, Ava Leach, Meg McKinnon, Anya Stephan, Felicity Tongue, Erin Veal.

Water polo SILVER MEDAL IN THE GIRLS’ COMPETITION Team: Arabella Duncan, Arabella O’Donnell, Louise Masefield, Sophia Jackson, Madi Clark, Lucy Gilleece, Ellie Millard, Lia David, Paige Ellis.

Hockey FOURTH PLACE IN THE GIRLS’ COMPETITION Team: Elly Lau, Phoebe MacGill, Sammi Edgar, Amelie Moor, Sydney Bell, Anais Hamilton, Amy Shennan, Alexandra Fletcher, Ana Wijffels, Hattie Fletcher, Sophie England, McLane Parore, Olivia Judd, Casey Lam, Poppy Tingey, Alice Christie.

Gymnastics FOURTH McKenna Chan (Open Junior) FIFTH Danica Nali (Open Advance)

Hip Hop FOURTH PLACE Team: Maddie Vincent, Ella Reid, Amelia Porter, Annika Lin, Maya Willis, Hannah Gray, Yu Han Zhang, Zoe Fisher, Sophie van der Meijden, Bella Cockle, Alice McKendry, Izzy Aitken.

Badminton TOP 8 Melody Cheng

Netball Team: Jemima Dryden, Izzy Epke, Aniela Farac, Olive Reynolds, Lily Double, Jade Miller, Chloe Luo, Isabella Ballard, Kate Wyber, Riley Shrive, Harriet Hope, Sophie-Eloise Tierney.

Basketball Team: Frankie Ashford, Honor Small, Sienna Fletcher, Annie Hope, Evie Iles, Violet Smith, Violet Tucker, Zoe Paterson, Saskia Collins.

Swimming Team: Arabella Duncan, Molly Sherrad, Milla Barclay.

Cross Country Team: Phoebe MacGill, Sophie Sullivan, Jacqui Nasrabadi, Imogen Worrall, Amelia McIntosh, Amy Stafford, Amy Shennan.

From top: Gold medal-winning futsal team, hockey players, Hip Hop team.

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WINTER TOURNA The pinnacle of the winter season for many codes took place in early September during the annual Winter Tournament Week. The week is set aside for winter codes to run their national or regional tournaments – an opportunity for the best school teams from across New Zealand to come together and compete.

a determined Opotiki College and managed to hang on for a 32-28 win to put them through to the final against Bay of Islands College. A lot of nerves in the final saw a game with several unforced errors – the girls did their best but unfortunately went down 33-22. With the team making the final and finishing in second place, they qualify for B grade next year. Well done girls!

This year Dio had a number of teams competing around the country across a range of sporting codes. Thank you to the coaches, managers, staff and volunteers who supported our teams throughout the week, and congratulations to all our athletes who took part and represented the School.

1ST XI FOOTBALL The 1st XI football team was offered a place in the Lotto Premier Tournament that was held in Taupo. With another relatively young tournament team, the girls had an outstanding week only losing one game throughout the whole tournament. Unfortunately tough pool competition meant that one result was enough for them to miss out on the top half of the draw, but the team played some amazing football throughout to end up winning the Trevor Osten Memorial Trophy for 17th place against New Plymouth Girls’ (5-0), which is their highest ranking at the NZSS tournament in over eight years – an awesome achievement!

PREMIER BASKETBALL For the third year, Diocesan competed at the NZ Basketball Northern Cup held at North Harbour. The girls arrived in strong spirits ready for a big three days of basketball. The team played extremely well throughout pool play, which saw them progress into the semi-final. They unfortunately had a tough game in the semi-final, losing in overtime, but they went on to win the bronze medal for third place in the playoff against Rutherford. A great finish to the tournament for the team!

1ST XI HOCKEY The 1st XI hockey team finished fourth in the Federation Cup, held in Auckland. Coming up against eventual champions St Cuthbert’s College in the semi-finals made for a tough match where the girls held on at 0-0 until the last five minutes before unfortunately losing the game. They had a tough play-off for third and fourth against St Margaret’s College, which saw a 1-1 full-time score head to a shoot-out where the girls again narrowly lost. An outstanding week for the group and a remarkable fourth place finish is something of which to be very proud.

UNDERWATER HOCKEY The underwater hockey senior and junior teams competed at the New Zealand Secondary School Championships held in Wellington. The competition was extremely challenging this year, and both teams were relatively young and new to competing at this level. All our girls played their hearts out and battled through a number of injuries. The improvement throughout the course of the year and the tournament was outstanding and both teams finished in fifth place. Well done to our girls!

PREMIER NETBALL The premier netball team competed in the UNISS tournament, held at North Harbour. The team went through pool play unbeaten against some tough opposition, which set them up for a semi-final. The girls fought well against 68

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2ND XI HOCKEY The 2nd XI hockey team travelled down to Stratford, competing at the Chris Arthur Cup, a tournament solely for 2nd XIs. The young team had a great week with some outstanding performances, finishing seventh overall after just missing out on the semi-finals, losing in another shoot-out.

LIVING

MENT WEEK 2019 In and around Winter Tournament week, many individual sports held their National Championships.

These events often see competitors compete individually but combine points and/or times with other Dio students to compete as a team.

On the podium In first place Lena Jacob and third equal Chantelle May and Alice Sharpe.

FENCING

Prudence Fowler

Arabella Tuck

CYCLING

It was a podium-filled tournament for our Dio fencers. Our foil team won gold after a dominant performance in the final, with our girls Lena Jacob, Chantelle May, Alice Sharpe and Jemima Box winning 45-14 to take the title. In the individual competition, all but one medallist were Dio fencers, with Lena finishing first with a convincing 15-5 win in the final, and Chantelle and Alice finishing third equal with impressive performances throughout the competition. It was also a point of pride for the Secretary of Fencing New Zealand, Amanda Hopkins, herself a Dio Old Girl, to see so many Dio shirts on the podium. Amazing achievements from our fencers!

The Diocesan Cycling team had a great season this year – growing in numbers, the club has seen some impressive improvement from all riders, with the girls also having a lot of fun. The team produced some well-earned results at the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Road and Points Race Nationals in Palmerston North over the last weekend of Term 3. Unfortunately, the Senior Time Trial team did not finish the race due to a crash, but the junior teams put in strong performances.

Prudence Fowler showed her class again dominating the Points Race on the final day of racing, finishing first in New Zealand for the U-17 Girls, and young Arabella Tuck had an outstanding race to finish in second place in the U-16 Girls.

All members of the team rode really well throughout the year and we are very proud of everyone’s efforts. We are also extremely grateful to Jose Fowler and all the parents for their help throughout the season.

SWIMMING Another amazing weekend at the pool saw our swimmers again finish the year in style. The premier swimming team took out second place overall at the NZSS Swimming Championships in Hamilton. This is a pretty amazing achievement considering we had a much smaller team this year and not all girls entered as many events – 16 girls took out 24 medals between them. This included three gold, 13 silver and eight bronze medals. All the girls swam extremely well and supported each other in great spirit throughout the course of the weekend.

At the North Island Ski Championships Left to right: Meg Wallace, Molly Crawford, Anabella Eady and Alexandra French.

SKIING Dio sent two ski teams to compete at the North Island Secondary Schools’ Ski Championships, which were held at Turoa, Ohakune, with 104 teams competing. With many top-level junior and senior skiers at Dio, making the Dio team is a feat in itself! Both Dio’s A and B teams performed exceptionally well: Dio Team A came second overall with 77 points and Dio Team B finished eighth overall with 68 points.

This is the fifth year in a row that Dio has won the North Island Championship Girls’ Trophy. Three Years 7 and 8 teams waited out a couple days of bad weather before taking to the mountain. Once they put their skis on the girls performed outstandingly as a team and also had some great individual results. A total of 97 teams competed in the championships with Dio Team A coming second overall with a total of 78 points, and Team B placing 10th overall with 70 points.

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SPORTS SCHOLARSHIPS Part 2

Libby Gault is on a sports scholarship at the University of Hawaii.

What inspired you most to study overseas?

I think moving away from home was really daunting but seeing girls who had gone before me and their positive experiences helped me to take the leap.

What are the hardest things to adjust to?

Personally, the hardest thing to adjust to was being so far away from home. I had never gone through a significant change in my life (like moving countries or school), so not being around my normal support system and routine was an enormous challenge.

What are the best things about college abroad?

The best part of college abroad is the people that you meet. I am lucky enough to go to a college that has a huge foreign athletics community.

I get to meet and learn from people from all around the world, and some of them I would now consider family.

What things from sport at Dio made your transition easier?

I think Dio sport was challenging, but also encouraged a communal and family-like environment. I identify both these qualities as being similar to my experience overseas. The overseas practices themselves are highly challenging and competitive, but this is all made easier by the family feel, closeness, and support of the coaching staff and teammates.

Dio helped me to have realistic expectations of what college sport entails, but also the values of what it takes to be a good teammate. It’s important to lean on your sports community and learn to trust and love those around you. After all, sport (especially team sports) is all about interaction.

What are your next steps with sport?

In terms of my sport, I want to keep improving and hopefully get more chances to represent New Zealand on the world stage.

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What would your top five items in a care package from home be?

My top five items would be: Cadbury chocolate, Anti-Flamme cream, Scorched Almonds, Marmite and Weetbix!

What would you say to anyone at Dio considering following in your footsteps?

I think the single most important thing to understand when you have a goal or dream like playing overseas, is that you have to actually respect and learn to love the process. It’s easy to emphasise all the glory and the good parts of college sport, but what you don’t see is the 4 or 5am starts, the killer swim sets, the tears, and the letdowns. I am lucky that I have always been a ‘weirdo’ who actually enjoys training hard; but I think before anyone chooses to take big steps and huge goals, they have to have a healthy, positive relationship with their sport, and understand that practice and hard work is a necessity at such a high level. At its highest level, college sport is a lifestyle where you train 20 hours a week. You have to love your sport!

LIVING

“I’ve been working really hard over the past six months to get my body into the best condition to play and compete at an international level against the world’s best. I still have a lot of work to do, but the ultimate goal, like many athletes, is the Olympics.”

Gabby Oloapu left Dio at the end of 2012 to take up a water polo scholarship at the University of Wagner, Staten Island, New York.

She is now coaching water polo back at Dio and continuing her studies in psychology at the University of Auckland.

What inspired you most to study overseas?

The opportunity to be able to play division one sports while studying was a huge draw card in my decision to play overseas.

The level of competition is amazing and to be able to compete and get a degree at the same institution is an opportunity that’s difficult to turn down.

What are the hardest things to adjust to?

Being away from my family was definitely the hardest thing for me. Having family around at home is easy to take for granted, so moving away and having to experience things for the first time alone was quite difficult. But it was also a huge blessing, as I was able to create my own family away from home and cultivate relationships with other people who I now consider family.

What are the best things about college abroad?

The people that you cross paths with! You meet people with both similar and different mindsets to you, and you learn about other walks of life that you wouldn’t necessarily be exposed to if you stayed at home. I met a lot of people who challenged my own way of thinking and I learnt to view someone else’s perspective.

What things from sport at Dio made your transition easier?

Dio sport has all the facilities to be able to compete at a high level. While I was at Dio I was blessed to be coached by one of

New Zealand’s best water polo coaches, Kurt Goldsworthy, and everything that I was able to learn from him helped prepare me for division one sport. As a coach at Dio now, I’m able to see how the sport has grown at Dio and how Angie WinstanleySmith has been able to build a programme that is fundamentally sound, and would allow almost any girl to be able to play after high school if she wanted to.

What are your next steps with sport?

National League is coming to a close right now, so I’ll be transitioning into a small break before getting back into some off-season training. I’ve been working really hard over the past six months to get my body into the best condition to play and compete at an international level against the world’s best. I still have a lot of work to do, but the ultimate goal, like many athletes, is the Olympics.

What would your top five items in a care package from home be?

Easy - Tim Tams, Chocolate Thins, Cheese and Bacon Shapes, chicken chips and Whittaker’s chocolate.

What would you say to anyone at Dio considering following in your footsteps?

The opportunity to compete in your chosen sport overseas in the States is one of a kind, and if you’re even considering it a little bit – do it!

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SPRING

in the archives Once again, another spring comes to the south of the world and the sequence of blossoming trees and vivid new green lifts the spirits after the long dull months of winter. Particularly lovely from the archivist’s point of view is a new young Awanui cherry sapling planted on School House lawn – just now in full flower – a joy to see not just because of its current profusion of blossom, but also because of the promise it represents for years of blossom to come.

Returning to our roots Sir Edwin Mitchelson in the School gardens with Headmistress Miss Ethel Sandford.

As a reasonably competent gardener, the archivist knows what an act of faith it is to plant a tree. One plants not knowing what the coming years will bring, but in hope that such a tree will thrive and will grow to delight those who are not yet here.

I can imagine that for founding Board Chair Sir Edwin Mitchelson, establishing the School was something similar. In fact, at his passing, Miss Pulling recorded the many times Sir Edwin, commenting on the School’s opening on a mortgage debt, had said, “This School was built on faith and nothing else.”

But then Sir Edwin was a keen gardener too, often coming up to the School with gifts of flowering shrubs and perennials. Born in Auckland around 1846, raised with stories of gardens back in England, like many inhabitants of early Auckland, the young Mitchelson must have taken so much pleasure with each new introduction of European garden flowers and trees.

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LIVING Fenton family members at the dedication ceremony.

A fitting tribute Mitchelson family members at the plaque dedication at Purewa Cemetery in September. Right: The Mitchelson plaque.

Recently the archivist was privileged to join with descendants of Sir Edwin, together with Principal Heather McRae and Development Director Angela Coe, to represent the School as a memorial plaque in Sir Edwin’s honour was specially dedicated in the Mitchelson plot at Purewa Cemetery. It was a glorious morning and the event coincided with the feast of St Matthew the Evangelist. Sir Edwin had a long association with St Matthew’s Hobson Street, attending the Church School built on the site in 1849 and eventually donating two (possibly three) windows in the morning chapel of the present church. These windows by Clayton and Bell are very fine examples of late Victorian church glass and depict Christ in majesty, St Mary mother of the Lord and St Matthew.

his community in long years of service as a member of Parliament, as Acting Premier, as Mayor of Auckland and in service to the Diocese and many other positions on local boards and societies.

Clearly Sir Edwin would imagine the School he helped create from scratch would also be doing well enough to give back and blossoming like the trees of which he was so fond.

In reflecting on Sir Edwin’s life and achievements in both business and politics, it was an inspiration to hear just how he used the wealth and position he earned by hard work in the colonial timber trade to give back to

Modern historians disparage his establishment of the Ma- ori Land Court as a means by which land was expropriated from Ma- ori. However, on Saturday we heard how Fenton was concerned that Ma- ori could hold titles

Also dedicated last weekend was a plaque commemorating early Auckland solicitor Francis Dart Fenton. Fenton has a somewhat mixed reputation. He arrived around 1950, a young London-trained solicitor, and proceeded to work in a variety of legal and governmental roles including some 30 years presiding over the Native Land Court.

to land in a manner which European law would be able to recognise, in order for Ma- ori to be better able to safeguard their ancestral lands and papaka- inga. Fenton was also a keen amateur musician and did much to develop and support the Auckland Choral Society.

In so far as Diocesan goes, at least two of Fenton’s granddaughters are known to have attended the School in the past. In fact, family were very proud to note two of their ancestresses are named on honours boards in the School Hall. Mitchelson family members were similarly proud that we may soon have a fifth generation of Mitchelson girls enrolled at Diocesan.

As spring moves into summer, perhaps it’s a time to consider the ways in which students and staff, parents and all the School family are planted in the deep soil of this place, seedlings and grown trees alike, each planted in faith and coming to flower in their own way.

Evan Lewis, Archivist DIO TODAY

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BIG NIGHT OUT

In early September over 250 guests attended the Dio Big Night Out hosted by the Diocesan Parents and Friends’ Committee.

T

he night was the first P&F fundraising initiative for the Norfolk Pines Redevelopment project, towards which the Committee has pledged $250,000 over the next two years. This exciting project will significantly enhance the existing outdoor play and recreational areas around the Junior School and open up and develop the unused areas around Centennial Building for the entire School to enjoy.

With the theme ‘Be more than you imagine’, the costumes were incredible and inspired, and included the cast of Harry Potter, Pan Am flight attendants, the band Kiss, superheroes, and even a table of tacos!

The night’s entertainment included a quiz and silent auction. Auction Items were generously donated by many Dio families and their extended networks.

The auction was online via Gala Bid, giving those who were unable to attend the event the ability to bid on items. This ensured a bidding war on many hot-ticket items, including holidays, stunning homeware items and the year-long use of a Diocesan car park swipe key.

With a mini food truck collective assembled, guests feasted on Stumpy’s pizzas, Double Dutch Loaded Fries and delicious dumplings and meatballs.

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“P&F is a wonderful group of Dio parents who are incredible supporters of our School in so many ways, giving the community opportunities to build friendships with each other while raising funds for projects within the School. Thank you!”

Angela Coe, Director of Development

The night was a huge success with approximately $70,000 raised.

This event would not have been possible without the continued support of our principal sponsors ASPEC Construction and New Zealand Sotheby’s International Realty, as well as the hard-working team of volunteers led by Jeremy Hill. And, of course, the wonderful and supportive parents and friends who came along With this our last major fundraiser for 2019, we look forward to seeing you at our end-of-year cocktail party.

Corrine Wallis, President of Diocesan Parents and Friends’ Association

“It was fantastic to see so many of our Dio parents get involved and go to so much effort with their costumes” Corrine Wallis

Parents & Friends of Dio announces that Corrine Wallis has stepped down as President of the Association. Until the 2020 AGM, interim positions on the Executive of the committee will be: President: Robin Bell Vice President: Lisa Manks Treasurer: Tina Tsui Secretary: Jacinta Chow

Proudly supporting DIOCESAN COMMUNITY

L I F E LON G F R IE N DS

President’s column In September, we once again hosted the Senior Old Girls’ Morning Tea and Chapel Service. This is always a very special event for the League and this year we were overwhelmed by the number of Old Girls who responded to the invitation. It was a very successful day and we all breathed a collective sigh of relief that the rain held off so that our senior Old Girls could enjoy a dry gathering.

All our invited Old Girls receive this fabulous publication and learn about the many incredible achievements and initiatives at Diocesan School for Girls; some even have granddaughters at Dio. But there are many who have no regular contact with the School. For them, and for everyone who attends this annual event, their return to the School for the Senior Old Girls’ Morning Tea and Chapel Service is a very special occasion. It is so heart-warming to read the RSVP messages from Old Girls who are genuinely excited about the prospect of coming back to Dio with their classmates.

As a committee, we were keen to extend the attendees’ connection with the School beyond the traditional service in the Chapel of our Glorified Lord and morning tea in the School Hall. We also wanted to give them a chance to experience ‘the current Dio girl’ – and what marvellous young women they are.

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We invited talented Year 13 student Sadie Sumich to speak to the Old Girls about what it is like to be a Dio girl today. While education has changed a lot since many of these Old Girls were at school, thanks to Sadie, they were left with the knowledge that a Dio education is still underpinned by the same core values they remember from their days as students.

DIOCESAN OLD GIRLS’ LEAGUE COMMITTEE CONTACT DETAILS Email oldgirls@diocesan.school.nz for all enquiries.

PRESIDENT Jenny Spillane (Orsborn)

We also took advantage of another wonderful opportunity when we were contacted by Year 11 student Holly Hunn. As part of her Level 1 Food Technology course, Holly had been tasked with preparing a birthday cake for the Old Girls’ League to mark the School’s birthday in June. Holly and her teacher, Ms Pattison, were happy to delay the presentation until the morning tea so the Senior Old Girls could join in the festivities.

M. 027 603 6990 VICE PRESIDENT Melanie Eady (Perkins) E. melanieeady@me.com TREASURER Felicity Buche (Olson) P. 09 521 8387 SECRETARY Amber Oram (Railley) M. 021 757 504 FELLOWSHIP SECRETARY Emma Cleary (Dillon) P. 09 522 9564 COMMITTEE Sarah Couillault (Willis) M. 021 489 102

Fostering an ongoing relationship with the School is an important focus for the Old Girls’ League, and it’s something we aim to promote through our reunion programme and events like the Senior Old Girls’ Morning Tea. Despite the busy lives we lead, it’s heartening to return to Dio from time to time and be reminded about those values that make our School so special.

Annabel French (Smaill) P. 09 575 1175 Penny Tucker (Macdonald) E. pennydtucker@gmail.com Tania Fairgray (Railley) P. 09 529 1736 Kimberly Sumner (Wragge) E. kimberlysumner@happinessblindspot.com Kirsty Eady (McDonald) P. 09 522 2652 Dio Today Editor, League pages Deirdre Coleman E. d.g@slingshot.co.nz

Ut serviamus Jenny Spillane

Diocesan School Old Girls’ League PO Box 28 382, Remuera, Auckland 1541

LIFELONG FRIENDS

VIRTUAL SCHOOL TOURS LAUNCHED Now there is a whole new way to visit us at Diocesan without even leaving the comfort of home. We’re pleased to announce the launch of a virtual tour of our School campus and grounds, taking you on a visual journey while school is in session.

If you haven’t visited Dio in a while, why not have a look at the orchestra playing in our new Arts Centre, peek inside the Junior School classrooms, take a virtual dip in our world-class Aquatic Centre, wander through the boarding facilities during a mealtime or check out some of our spectacular new science labs?

There are 360 images of classrooms and an incredible aerial shot of the entire campus. This is just the start; we’ll be adding more locations to these tours in 2020, including a walk-through of the new Arts Auditorium once it’s open.

Our virtual tour is live on the homepage of our Dio website now; it can be viewed from any country on any device.

N NE CO

C TED

STAY

To take the virtual tour for yourself visit diocesan.youtour.nz

JOIN THE AUCKLAND DIO OLD GIRLS’ LEAGUE FACEBOOK PAGE

Join us online and be part of a 6000-strong community of former students, staff and parents sharing news, opinions, updates, profiles, photos and Dio memories. OGL Committee member Penny Tucker runs the page and would love to hear your stories and updates.

PHOTOS OF DIO EVENTS You’ll find all of the photos taken by photographer Nicola Topping of events such as the Senior Old Girls’ Morning Tea, Grandparents’ Day, Dio productions and many others online. Photos loaded to the gallery stay online for a year from the date of the event.

To view and purchase any of these images, visit realimage.co.nz

Nicola Topping nicolatopping@xtra.co.nz 021 721 085

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E

very year Kiwis send 157,389 tonnes of edible food to landfill. New Zealand supermarkets waste 60,500 tonnes of food a year, with meat and fish accounting for around one-fifth of that wastage. Janene and Leysa are passionate about doing something about this issue – and are seizing the chance to help some worthy charities in the process.

“Food wastage is a huge problem,” says Janene. “We’ve got enough food wastage in New Zealand to feed the city of Dunedin for two years. I’ve been frustrated with how we have handled the meat wastage we have at Farro, and in the food industry as a whole.”

Across Farro’s six stores, there’s approximately 20kg of wasted meat per week, which was equating to about six tonnes of meat thrown out a year.

FOOD FOR

Dio Old Girl Janene Draper (Eder, 1982) founded and co-owns the hugely successful Auckland chain Farro Fresh with her husband, James.

Now Janene has joined forces with her sister, Leysa Ross, to tackle the growing problem of food wastage. Their initiative, Waste-Not Kitchen, takes meat that would otherwise be thrown out at expiry date and makes it into a range of hearty soups that are both sold and given to community groups.

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“It just sickened me,” says Janene. “We know that more energy is required to produce meat than any other food source, so my philosophy is, if we have gone to the effort to make it, let’s not waste it!”

Janene and Leysa carefully worked on the recipes for their Waste-Not Kitchen soups to ensure they were hearty and nutritious with around 20 percent protein. Turners & Growers have donated surplus and ‘ugly’ veggies to complement the surplus Farro meat, and Davis Food has also helped with gifting all the dry ingredients.

“At the end of the last day of retail, we freeze down any surplus meat just like you’d do at home with meat that’s about to expire – you put it in the freezer for another day. We do this in a commercial environment, so we ensure the meat remains fresh.”

Over winter the soups have been sold at Farro. For every soup bought at retail, the registered charity will donate one to families in need at the Auckland Women’s Refuge or children participating in the I Have A Dream Charitable Trust. Waste-

some of our soups to feed those who attend the Trust’s day programme.”

Within just two months of launching, Waste-Not Kitchen has saved one and half tons of meat from landfill and donated over 2,000 meals to nourish the lives of those in need. Leysa now works full time as its GM. Dio Old Girl Nina Welanyk Brown, is also on the Trust’s board, bringing a wealth of knowledge in both community not-forprofit and financial understanding.

Over summer the Trust is keen to help low-decile schools and other community groups that might need surplus meat to cater camps or other gatherings.

Big plans for the future The Waste-Not Kitchen is a twofold initiative that not only makes use of surplus meat that would normally end up in landfill, but it also helps women and families in dire situations. The second phase of the project for 2020 is to take things to the next level.

“We want to not only hand out the soups, but to give women a step up,” explains Janene. “Next year we’re hoping to have kitchens where we can bring the women in to learn basic cooking techniques and take the meals they have cooked home for their families. We would also like to do ‘Soup Sundays’ to give the children a healthy nutritious meal before they go to school on a Monday.”

Many of the women who end up in a refuge have little work experience and few job skills. Some have never really learnt to cook, so Janene sees this initiative as a great way to teach these women valuable skills, give them confidence and help them feed their families nutritional meals.

It’s not just Women’s Refuge that’s benefitting from the Waste-Not Kitchen initiative. Janene and Leysa are also helping the I Have a Dream Charitable Trust, which pairs kids growing up in material hardship with mentors to help them to achieve academic and life success.

“We’re been providing soups to their after-school programme, giving them a really nutritious meal at the end of the school day. We’re also working with The Attainable Trust in South Auckland, which helps people with disabilities to achieve to their full potential. They have a working kitchen and we pay them to make our soups and we also gift them

“We’re starting with small steps, but one day hope to be able to take all the surplus meat from every supermarket nationwide. It’s exciting. We’ve already had meetings with a few other retailers and they’re keen to come on board next year. The mission is zero meat wastage nourishing the lives of those in need.”

Within just two months of launching, Waste-Not Kitchen has saved

1.5 tonnes of meat from landfill and donated over

2,000 meals to nourish the lives of those in need.

Where it all began In the academic stream at Dio, Janene took maths and sciences, but she always loved food tech – a subject at that time she was steered away from at school. After leaving Dio, she studied optometry, established her own practice and worked in this field for 10 years. But throughout it all, her passion for food and cooking never died.

“Every spare minute outside of examining a patient, I was always in a cookbook and going to cooking lessons.

Once a week, I’d visit an ex-cordon bleu chef and she would teach me recipes and French techniques. Food has always been my passion.”

When she was pregnant with the second of her three sons (all now in their early 20s), Janene stopped practising optometry and took a break to raise her boys. In 2006, she and James established Farro after three years living in Wellington where James had been running driving ranges

LIFELONG FRIENDS

Not Kitchen also works with The Attainable Trust.

and golf shops. Janene says it was the perfect way to combine their complementary skills and passions.

“I always had a mindset that I wanted to have my own business. In Wellington I loved the Moore Wilson concept. There was nothing really like it as a one-stop shop in Auckland, so I thought I’d like to open something like that here. I had the food passion and James had the business acumen. We shared an office the whole time we were in at Farro on a day-to-day basis. We never overlapped in what we did in the business. I’d always work on the products and the marketing side and he did the business, so it worked really well.”

With six Auckland stores and a loyal customer base, Farro recently turned 13. Janene and James took on a CEO two years ago and the plan is to open more Auckland stores.

“It’s been fantastic for us to step back and work at board level, working on the business rather than day to day in it. It’s freed us up a lot, which has enabled me to do other projects – such as Waste-Not Kitchen – and to play a bit of golf with other Dio Old Girls.

“It’s been a really lovely transition. I still work on new product development and the recipes for the videos for Farro.

I’ve been able to work out what my passions are in the business and where my value-add is.”

Janene is also now enjoying the chance to mentor other entrepreneurs and start-ups, as they go through their own business growth.

Looking back to her Dio days, she says she thrived there. A prefect and head of Cochrane house, she was also SubSacristan and in the top netball team from Form 4 (Year 10).

“I loved school and I have very fond memories of Dio. It was a really lovely solid background that I grew up with, a real community, and it gave me a desire to want to achieve. Today I still have that community that I can reach out to. A lot of the people who have become great friends over the years weren’t even necessarily in my year at School. If I’d had daughters, Dio certainly would’ve been my first option for them.”

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If you watch TV, you’ll probably have seen actor and comedian Kimberley Crossman on your screen at some point – perhaps on The Project or Funny Girls. The Dio Old Girl and former Deputy Head Prefect in 2006 is one of New Zealand’s successful comedy exports and now splits her time between the United States and New Zealand.

“I’m very nomadic in this chapter of my life,” she says. “I spend about half my time in LA [where her cat, Powder, and pet tarantula, Prince Harry, live] and the other half in New Zealand. But I’ve also spent a significant amount of the last year in New York City and Boston.”

It was during her final year at school that Kimberley got her first big break, a role on Shortland Street playing teenager Sophie McKay until 2012.

“I started working full time at Shortland Street halfway through my final year at school so I had to balance that with not getting behind in my studies,” she says.

“I was always so appreciative for all the teaching staff helping me with any work I missed. A lot of the skills I learnt at Dio have continued to help me through my adult life – specifically, the importance of time management and putting 110% into all I do.”

At Dio from Year 4 to Year 13, Kimberley was heavily involved in the arts, particularly dance and drama.

She studied ballet from a very young age, and also did contemporary dance, hip hop and cheerleading (including competing in the World Cheerleading Championships).

“I love performing and really feel like being at Dio helped me hone my skills and desire to pursue an artistic career path. Mrs Reynolds in the Drama Department was a real dream 80

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and taught us so much about running productions and not being afraid to give things a go.”

Trying out for Shortland Street was Kimberley’s first formal audition, and she loved every minute of the seven years she spent on New Zealand’s longest-running soap. Plus, it was a fantastic springboard to even bigger things.

“I knew I wanted to pursue a career in America and it helped so much having a large body of work behind me when I first started making trips to LA. I was doing trips back and forth to the US for Nickelodeon and the dream felt like it could actually be a reality, so I decided to make the move.”

In recent years, Kimberley has starred in films including Strangers in a Strange Land, Get You Back and comedy The 60 Yard Line, as well as the 2019 short film Stalled. She’s appeared on numerous US network shows, such as the comedy series SMILF, The Great Indoors with Stephen Fry and Joel McHale, and has had regular roles in New Zealand shows Step Dave, Terry Teo, The Almightly Johnsons and sketch comedy show Funny Girls as well as Family Feud and TVNZ’s Have You Been Paying Attention?

As a US correspondent for TV3’s The Project, Kimberley’s been lucky enough to meet and interview many famous

people, from Jason Statham, Milu Kunis and Denzel Washington to Kiss, Shania Twain and Shawn Mendes.

“My role on The Project in New Zealand means I get to travel a lot and interview big stars. I think The Rock has been the most impressive and enjoyable person to interview.”

Kimberley has just wrapped up a new Netflix show called Happy Merry Whatever (with Dennis Quaid) due out in November and a second season of her show Golden Boy has been confirmed. But one of her proudest accomplishments dates back to 2012 when her book Love You: Be Your Best and Live Your Dreams was published.

She wrote it mainly for young women aged 16 to 24 to help them build their confidence and achieve their goals.

“I think I’m most proud of writing my book. It was a massive task and I had no idea what I was doing, so to have it all come together felt like a huge achievement.”

Despite the success she’s enjoyed to date, Kimberley’s seen her share of ups and downs – like everyone working in the entertainment industry, she’s missed out on plenty of roles she really wanted.

“It’s a difficult career to be an artist of any kind,” she says. “You’re always working hard, never really switching off and have no guarantee of employment.

The disappointments can be heart breaking, but there really is nothing else to do but to have a cry then get back to it.”

But the work she does off camera helps put things into perspective. Kimberley is an official ambassador for two charities that are very dear to her heart: World Vision and the SPCA. “I’ve been a World Vision Ambassador for about four years – I was always active in the 40-Hour Famine, so it felt like a great fit. In 2016, I went to Jordan with World Vision and it was life changing for me. The heart-breaking stories from families in refugee camps who had to run through the night to safety and who have been split up from other family members were hard to

LIFELONG FRIENDS

Meeting Megha In September, Kimberley travelled to India to meet her sponsor child, Megha, and promote World Vision’s 1000 Girls campaign. It aims to protect girls from child marriage and ensure they can access education, healthcare, good nutrition and clean water.

“I’ve been a World Vision Ambassador for about four years. In 2016, I went to Jordan with World Vision and it was life changing for me.” hear, let alone for them to live through. I did get to see first-hand some of the amazing work World Vision had been able to do with funds raised

by Kiwis through the 40-Hour Famine the year before.”

Kimberley recently returned from a trip to India where she got to meet Megha, a young girl she has sponsored through World Vision. She describes their first face-to-face encounter as one of the best days of her life.

“When we arrived, Megha’s village put on a sort of a welcoming ceremony DIO TODAY

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with signs and a blessing – all organised

by Muskan, a wonderful 12-year-old girl who is president of the village’s World Vision Children’s Club and wants to be a doctor. The last people to greet me were Megha and her mum, and I burst into tears. She came and sat on my lap immediately and had the biggest smile in the world.”

World Vision has been working with communities like Megha’s as part of its #1000Girls movement to help restore rights to girls around the world who are forced into arranged marriages and denied access to education, and information about hygiene and nutrition.

“There was so much love in that community and a piece of my heart will be with them forever,” says Kimberley.

“I feel more compelled to keep helping these vulnerable communities in India and giving girls like Megha the opportunity to break the cycle and grow up with independence and education.”

As well as visiting Megha, Kimberley’s goal was to raise awareness of the plight of young girls in India and encourage more Kiwis to sponsor girls and give them a better shot at life.

“This year I was approached by the SPCA to be an ambassador and I couldn’t be happier to lend my voice to a charity that means so much to me. The work they do is phenomenal, and I am so happy to be working with two amazing charities.”

A huge animal lover, she’s also passionate about protecting animals from harm – even going so far as to dress up in a cow onesie and skydiving to promote the NZ SPCA’s cause to adopt neglected animals, “This year I was approached by the SPCA to be an ambassador and I couldn’t be happier to lend my voice to a charity that means so much to me.

The work they do is phenomenal, and I am so happy to be working with two amazing charities.”

Another project Kimberley recently launched is a company called Joyable.

She’s joined forces with her sister Rochelle Sheldon, and friends Belinda Nash and Igor Anany, to create a collaborative gifting hub where friends and family can come together to take the stress, waste and excess out of gift-giving.

“The goal is to keep doing what I love and following my joy,” she says. “If I can do that, I think I’ll be pretty happy!”

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Famous faces Above: As US correspondent for TV3’s The Project, Kimberley has interviewed The Rock and numerous other celebrities Left: She has been filming the Netflix series Merry Happy Whatever with Dennis Quaid.

LIFELONG FRIENDS

REUNIONS

DIO OLD GIRLS IN

D

IO

R E U NIO

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Dunedin Dio recently hosted our first Dunedin reunion in many years and we were delighted so many of our recent leavers were able to take a break from their studies to join us at Joe’s Garage.

Dunedin

Over 40 Old Girls responded to the invite and 30 attended the event, mostly leavers from 2015 to 2018.

Principal Heather McRae made a special trip to Dunedin for the event, joining Angela Coe and Aly Lubecker from the Development Office who were there for a conference.

Thank you to all who came – we enjoyed hearing all your news since leaving Dio and hope next time to catch up with more of you. It’s surprising how many Dio Old Girls there are in Dunedin!

In the future we plan to get to Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin regularly, so make sure you keep us up to date with your contact details so that you don’t miss out on an invitation. Email

development@diocesan.school.nz DIO TODAY

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REUNIONS

1958 THIRD FORM A delicious sit-down reunion luncheon was held on Wednesday 9 October.

The intimate gathering of 18 girls who were in the Third Form (Year 9) in at Dio was spearheaded by Old Girls Julien Hunt, Shirley Ann McNamara and Margaret Tapper. Diocesan Development Manager Angela Coe greeted the group at School House and then took them on a tour of the School.

CLASS OF 1969 On 19 October, Dio Old Girls who were in Form 6 in 1968 or Form 7 in 1969 gathered to celebrate a significant milestone – 50 years since they left school. The event was organised by Christine White (Mitchelson) and Sonja Clapham.

CLASS OF 1989 Old Girls from the class of 1989 gathered on 2 August for cocktails and canapés at School House to reminisce and celebrate 30 years since they left Dio.

CLASS OF 1999 On 19 September, around 36 girls from the class of 1999 held their 20th year reunion in School House. Over cocktails and canapés, they shared old photos and memorabilia from their school days.

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Class of 1989 reunion

A huge thank you to Year 13 student Francesca Sansom and her helpers who willingly gave up their early Friday evenings to take our Old Girls on tours around Dio. Despite some challenging weather conditions, the student guides were always friendly and informative, and the Old Girls have responded with their thanks and positive feedback.

LIFELONG FRIENDS

Women2Watch The Women2Watch awards celebrate the emerging careers of Old Girls aged 35 and under on 31 December 2020.

The Diocesan School Heritage Foundation, in conjunction with the Old Girls’ League, recognises Diocesan Old Girls who are demonstrating excellence in their chosen fields.

Women2Watch invites you to nominate yourself, a family member or friend. Nominations are simple – we only need your nominee’s name and occupation – the Women2Watch Committee will do the rest.

Nominations close on 31 March 2020.

The 2020 awards will be presented at a special school assembly.

For nominations and further information, please contact Angela Coe: P 09 520 9378 E acoe@diocesan.school.nz

CLASS OF 2009 On Friday 18 October, cocktails and canapés were served at School House for a reunion of Dio Old Girls from the Class of 2009. Head Girl Keshni Rasanayagam was instrumental in contacting girls in her year, leading to a good turnout of 30 girls on the evening.

Women2Watch is proudly supported by Diocesan School’s Heritage Foundation

DIO TODAY

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WELCOME BACK! On Tuesday 3 September, around 125 Old Girls gathered for the annual Senior Old Girls’ Morning Tea, hosted by the Old Girls’ League Committee.

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LIFELONG FRIENDS

This was a record number of attendees for recent years and it made for a convivial atmosphere in the School Hall. But first, many of the Old Girls attended a Eucharist Service given by Rev’d Sandy Robertson, with the St Cecilia Singers choir leading the hymns.

The Hall looked wonderful, with spring flowers on each table and the Rose Bowl filled with bright roses.

The event was catered by Let’s Eat, with brownie from the Dio Caf. A huge thank you to Annabel French from the OGL Committee and Jenny Speed for organising the catering.

This year, morning tea became a light lunch, with soup also served.

A highlight was the presentation of two cakes for the School’s birthday, one red velvet, the other lemon and elderflower like the cake at Prince

Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding.

They were made and decorated by Year 11 Food Technology student Holly Hunn as part of her Level 1 NCEA assessment, taking inspiration from Claude Monet’s 1919 painting Water Lilies. After everyone sang Happy Birthday, Bobbie Hepworth, the most senior Old Girl present, blew out the candles.

The OGL Committee was also delighted to welcome another current student, Sadie Sumich in Year 13, who spoke to everyone about a day in the life of a present-day Dio girl.

The Committee is grateful to the Old Girls who took the time to share their positive feedback on this year’s event.

Many thanks to Angela Coe and Aly Lubecker from the Development Office for helping everyone to park on the field.

DIO TODAY

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LIFELONG FRIENDS

MILESTONES Births Kate Allen-Rogers (1997) a son on 14 January 2019 Tracey Chaney (Thomson, 1999) a son on 21 September 2019 Bronwyn Erickson (Holmes, 2001) a daughter on 19 June 2018 Sarah Minhinnick (Raudkivi, 2000) a son on 11 January 2019

Marriages Sarah Bradfield (2004) to Tony Sundman on 26 January 2019 Anna Hollies (2003) to Ben Lai on 27 November 2018 Bronwyn Holmes (2001) to Timothy Erickson on 25 January 2019 Sarah Jecks (2003) to Sean Greenway on 5 April 2019 Tracey Thomson (1999) to Rex Chaney on 17 March 2017

Deaths Elizabeth Burchfield (Knight, 1945) in 2019, aged 91 years Kathleen Margaret Cooper, (1938) on 11 September 2019, aged 97 years Joan Culpan (McGuigan, 1946) on 14 April 2019 Nola Dickie (Fort, peer year 1951, attended Dio in 1939 and 1940) on 13 March 2019 aged 85 Andrea Oliver (Brickell, 1955) on 27 October 2019

Barbara Rowarth (Macky, 1941) on 5 July 2019 aged 95. In addition to being an Old Girl, Barbara was a social sciences teacher at Dio from 1963 to 1965 Barbara Sutton (Roffey) on 24 August 2019 Audrey Wells (Kerridge, 1948) on 4 July 2019 Jessie Wilson (Wyman, 1937) on 21 September 2016 in her 97th year Elisabeth (Beth) Wilson (Horton) on 23 September 2019. Beth was the daughter of Edwin Horton, one of Diocesan School’s founders. She started at Dio in 1942 and stayed for 12 years.

Sunday Millar (Stratford, PY 1933) died on 4 October 2019 aged 103.

Sunday attended Dio from 1928 - 1931 and was our oldest Old Girl. New Zealand's oldest Justice of the Peace (she took up the role in 1949), Sunday was also an avid bridge player who played up to four times a week and competed in tournaments. She was one of the subjects of Renee Hollis's book Keepers of History: New Zealand Centenarians Tell their Stories, and spoke at the Auckland Writers Festival in May about what she believed had changed and remained the same over the last 100 years.

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Achievements Tracey Chaney (Thomson, 1999) earned a Graduate Diploma of Commerce from the University of Auckland in 2015 Catherine Eaddy (2013) graduated with a Bachelor of Dental Surgery (with Distinction) from the University of Otago in 2018 Bronwyn Erickson (Holmes, 2001), Bachelor of Nursing, University of Auckland, 2015 Rebecca Gray (2009) gained her PhD from Princeton University in September 2019, Postgraduate Certificate in Health Sciences/Nursing, and Bachelor of Science (majoring in Biological Science) from the University of Auckland, 2008 Sarah Greenway (Jecks, 2003), Bachelor of Arts, Monash University, Melbourne, 2006 Krishna Shah (2015) graduated with a Bachelor of Science from the University of Melbourne, 2019 Rebecca Sherie (Dearing, 2000) was awarded a New Zealand Police District Commander Certificate for Bravery in 2018 Hope Whitehead (2015), a BA Hons (First Class) in English literature from the University of Cambridge, 2019

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