L I F E LON G F R IE N DS
Above: Jenny and her husband, Charles, at the 2019 Dio Graduation Ball with their daughter Eleanor.
Members of the Diocesan Old Girls’ League with Margaret Van Meeuwen, Heather McRae and Lynn Tonking, Year 13 dean.
President’s column I am so very grateful for the hard work that our Dio Old Girls’ Committee members put into everything they do for the League. The care and attention that Committee members Emma Cleary and Tania Fairgray put into organising the 2019 Graduation Ball are worthy of not only my thanks but also the gratitude of all 368 guests at the event. As always it was a very special evening for everyone there and all the more auspicious for me (and fellow Committee members Sarah Couillault and Mel Eady) because I got to welcome my eldest daughter to the wonderful alumnae that is the Diocesan School Old Girls. Much of the Committee’s hard work goes into organising our very important events like the Grad Ball, the Bryan Bartley Golf Day and the Senior Old Girls’ Morning Tea. However, with such a close connection to a freshly minted Dio Old Girl, the Grad Ball gave me pause for thought – what can we do to serve all our alumnae? I am not the only person pondering this question. Committee member Penny 68
DIO TODAY
“The Dio Old Girls’ community is big – in fact, it’s massive – it is full of strong and compassionate women who are doing all sorts of amazing, caring and marvellous things.”
Tucker works tirelessly thinking of ways that we can improve and enhance the connectedness of our Dio Old Girls. When I addressed the glamorous guests at the Grad Ball, I asked the graduates to remember one thing that sparkling evening: the Dio Old Girls’ community is big – in fact, it’s massive – it is full of strong and compassionate women who are doing all sorts of amazing, caring and marvellous things. Recognising that it will mean different things to them at different stages in their lives, I asked the graduates, when they are ready, to lean in to the Old Girls’
community because, no matter how long we were each at Dio, we are all Dio Old Girls and we care for and serve each other. Now I ask the same of you. We want to serve our whole Old Girls’ community – young, old, New Zealand-based or international – but we can’t do this alone and we need your help. We are continually working on the picture of what that ‘service’ looks like, and this has never felt more important than in our current pandemic world. Service may take the form of mentoring young Old Girls or current students (even from afar) or simply ensuring an elderly Old Girl or parent of an Old Girl receives their groceries. The Old Girls community wants to help. If you know of someone who needs help in this environment of lockdown and isolation, or if you have any ideas of other League initiatives, please get in touch. You can email either Penny at pennydtucker@gmail.com, me at spillanej01@gmail.com or oldgirls@diocesan.school.nz. Ut Serviamus. Jenny Spillane, Old Girls’ League President
