President’s column

Old Girls’ League President Jenny Spillane and former League member Kimberley Sumner (back) with Alumnae Meritae recipients Nicola Legat and Jenny Wheeler (front).

FROM THE OGL President

I have recently had the privilege of hearing from Old Girls in several different forums about what makes Dio so special for them. And, although it may have been expressed in different ways, the messages were remarkably similar.

The Old Girls’ League is currently looking at what we, as an alumnae association, can do to best represent, support and grow our wonderful community of Old Girls, wherever they may be. As part of that process, we have taken the opportunity to sit back and reflect on how the League’s core mission – to encourage fellowship among Old Girls of the Auckland Diocesan School for Girls and to foster their continued association with and interest in the School – can best be achieved today and into the future.

Two things have become very obvious as a result of this…

First, a Dio education produces incredibly capable and empowered women who know how to lead through service, and this is as true in 2021 as it was in 1904. At the recent Alumna Merita assembly, award recipient Nicola Legat spoke about the life of Mary Pulling and what a capable and empowered young woman she was when, with the support of Bishop Neligan, she founded the School in 1903. Nicola described her as a “guiding star” serving and leading Diocesan for 22 years. Incredible women doing incredible things is inherent in the foundation of Diocesan and, as an Old Girls’ association, we must continue to support and represent that increasingly diverse group of women.

Second, while we may look to introduce some changes as a result of our reflections, it is patently clear that there is a certain special something at the heart of Dio that we must always respect and protect. This has been variously described as our ‘heritage heart’, or as ‘Dio pride and whanau’. Whatever the label, it is represented in the special buildings that are central to the School and, for the Old Girls especially, in the traditions that are so much a part of who we are and what we do.

As we develop the vision for our Old Girls’ association for future generations, we think of it as developing strands to

DIOCESAN OLD GIRLS’ LEAGUE COMMITTEE CONTACT DETAILS

Email oldgirls@diocesan.school.nz for all enquiries.

PRESIDENT

Jenny Spillane (Orsborn) M. 027 603 6990

TREASURER

Felicity Buche (Olson) P. 09 521 8387

SECRETARY

Tania Fairgray (Railley) P. 09 529 1736

FELLOWSHIP SECRETARY

Emma Cleary (Dillon) P. 09 522 9564

COMMITTEE

Sarah Couillault (Willis) Annabel French (Smaill) Penny Tucker (Macdonald) Sheryl Tan Lena Saad Rachael Brand

Dio Today Editor, League pages Deirdre Coleman

E. d.g@slingshot.co.nz

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

“Incredible women doing incredible things is inherent in the foundation of Diocesan”

promote and support the School’s vision for its graduates as strong, independent, capable young women making a difference in the world – strands that all start from (and have the utmost respect for) our heritage heart.

Ut Serviamus