Here at Diocesan School for Girls, we are proud to have a connection with Te Tāpui Atawhai Auckland City Mission that has been strong and active for many, many years. Earlier this year we held a food drive for the Mission and collected over 5,000 items for food parcels for hungry Aucklanders.
See story on the Chaplaincy pages of Dio Today, pages 40/41.
Photo courtesy of Dio Marketing Department and Chaplaincy.
With 2024 drawing to a close, it’s a busy time for us all. But as the holiday season approaches, it’s also an important time of reflection and gratitude. As members of the Diocesan community, we are fortunate to enjoy advantages that many do not have – and that is why our school motto is such a wonderful reminder of our responsibility to help others.
This issue of Dio Today features some outstanding examples of women giving back and paying it forward. We celebrate the decades of commitment to excellence by our long-serving staff and profile Dio alumnae achieving confidently in traditionally male-dominated careers. They serve as inspiration for our students and every member of the Dio community.
Throughout the year, Diocesan students lived out Ut Serviamus in a number of different ways. They have participated in community service projects to help those experiencing food insecurity and hardship. Junior High and Senior students took part in service initiatives such as the William Pike and Walk the Talk Challenges, Relay for Life, the ‘Be the Change’ programme and the Dio Blood Drive.
Congratulations to all those whose sporting, arts and academic achievements were recognised at end-ofyear prize-giving events. Equally importantly, to every student who overcame a challenge, grew in confidence, experienced a personal win, or gave something their very best this year, we hope you feel a sense of pride and accomplishment.
We wish you and your families a joyful Christmas and a safe and relaxing summer break.
Liz McKay, editor Deirdre Coleman, Alumnae editor
“Our motto Ut Serviamus is central to our life as a Dio community. Over their time at Dio, our students learn the value of sharing what they have with those who, at the current time in their lives, do not have enough. Through our commitment to following Christ, we are committed to serving others – not just for the time we are students or staff members at the school, but hopefully for our whole lives.”
Rev’d Sandy Robertson, Chaplain
At Dio we have always been proud to innovate, trial and to explore programmes and technologies that will prepare our young people for the future. Almost all HBR and research articles are focused on rapidly changing artificial intelligence and how the next generation of young people will be influenced in their world of work, and indeed the world in general. Our students and staff are already using bots for learning. To know just how far we have come, and how far we must go, let’s explore a little bit more about the power of the human brain.
I have often told the story of my sonin-law – a neurosurgeon who, after an exhausting day of intense surgery, was slumped on the couch. As a scientist myself, I was always interested in his work and how he navigated the vagaries of brain surgery. After a deep sigh, he said he wished he had a job like mine. According to him, mine was about hope and growing great young people. He explained that at times, a patient has a 90% chance of a successful procedure, then for unexpected reasons, they do not survive. For others, with about a 5% chance of survival, you do your absolute best with sometimes little hope. Surprisingly they pull through. He felt there was so much more to the human brain – to its link with emotions and our inside world. While neurosurgery was developing dramatically with new technology, he felt we had a long way to go before understanding how to replicate the brain’s capacity for conscious thinking and life.
In education, it is certainly true that we are privileged to grow amazing young people. It is their physical, visual and emotional interactions with their brain that enables them to learn. While brains have traditionally been studied in isolation, that approach overlooks the fact that an enormous amount of brain circuitry has to do with other brains. We
are deeply social creatures, and it is the brain that receives and monitors other people, communicates with them, feels their pain, judges their intentions and reads their emotions.
An example of how our brain works can be demonstrated by a blind Olympic skier called Mike May who lost his sight at the age of three and a half. An explosion scarred his corneas leaving his eyes with no access to photons. After forty years of blindness, Mike learned about pioneering stem cell treatment to repair the physical damage to his eyes. When the bandages came off, videos caught his shock as the new corneas received light just as they were supposed to. But his brain could not make sense of the information it was receiving. He recalls that he had no face recognition at all. He found skiing more difficult than when he was blind because he had no depth perception. Our visual system is not like a camera – for vision you need far more than functioning eyes. You need the coordination of billions of neurons working together in a complex symphony that learn over time through physical movement and social interaction.
Our brain also has plasticity that enables us to adapt and learn in our environment. Imagining technologies that may be plugged into the human brain are already well developed. We have brain computer interfaces (BCI) which direct communication links between the brain's electrical activity and a computer or robotic limb. But can we make an artificial brain? This has long challenged scientists.
So far scientists have made some artificial brain cells and synapses that can work like a small brain network. Some computers can carry out a conversation online – however, the chatbots I have interacted with such as online banking are most frustrating with no ability to deal with what I really want to know. They certainly are not convincing enough to pass the Alan Turing test – that is,
they can pass themselves off as thinking people. Gordon Moore’s prediction that the rate of progress in computing power will increase exponentially is currently still true and he predicts there will be 20,000 years’ worth of progress in the next 100 years.
Because of Moore’s prediction and the rapid development of computer neural networks, Professor Geoffrey Hinton resigned from Google in May 2023, to speak out freely about the risks of AI. Regarded as the grandfather of AI, he voiced concerns about the deliberate misuse, technological unemployment and existential risk from artificial generative intelligence. After receiving the Nobel Prize for creating neural computer networks, he called for urgent research into AI safety to figure out how to control AI systems smarter than humans. Hinton has expressed concerns about the possibility of an AI system capable of self-improvement stating that it is not inconceivable that by becoming smarter than human capacity, AI could wipe out humanity.
Sobering but important thoughts as we prepare our young women for the future of technology. In our capacity as humans to learn, we create equal amounts of brilliance and new challenges for society and the environment. In maintaining learning relevance and context at the heart of academia, it must correspond with the values, ethics and virtues that make us human. Perhaps that was what my son-in-law couldn’t see in surgery –he could see the orchestra but not the symphony of the brain’s neurones. Our feelings of hope, optimism, honesty, empathy integrity and respect – these cannot be seen in the intricate synapses but they are critical values we must hold onto that make us human.
There are hundreds of AI operations already in play at Dio and we are fully engaged in using AI for direct feedback
to students using NCEA criteria and marking schedules. This high level of individualised feedback made famous by Professor John Hattie is producing the biggest positive effect size on learning, but always alongside great teaching. Many AI programmes are hurriedly rushed to market and illicit caution for IP and privacy issues. Rob McCrae, our ICT Director, teachers and students critique and learn about ethical use but we cannot escape wondering how these tools might overtake our capacity to evaluate them for safety. As with nuclear energy, humans have developed many powers to destroy ourselves, either quickly, or more slowly via social media. As scientist Carl Sagan warned, humanity has become powerful more quickly than it's become wise.
Computer networks are a new orchestra but can they play the symphony of human emotions? Medical doctor Robert Brooks says that: “Consciousness allows us to empathise with others, connect on emotional levels and form meaningful relationships. It is the driving force
behind our desire to seek knowledge, explore the universe and make sense of the complexities of existence.”
It is not just the academic outcomes we celebrate tonight but the relationships, the love and caring within our community that are part of deep learning at Diocesan. Learning that forms compassionate neural networks and a sense of belonging to humanity. We will always have one wise eye on the future and the other on embedding a heartfelt belief in the human spirit to flourish and thrive.
Kia kaha, kia maia, kia manawanui. Ut Serviamus
Heather McRae, Principal
References:
• Eagleman, David (2015) The Brain, The Story of You. Canongate, Edinburgh, London.
• Forbes, May 4, 2023. Editors Pick: Geoff Hinton, AI’s Most Famous Researcher, Warns of Existential Threat from AI.
• Harvard Business Review, September-October 2024, Embracing Gen AI at Work, pages 151-155.
Diocesan School for Girls
Clyde Street, Epsom, Auckland, New Zealand
Private Bag 99939, Newmarket 1149
P. 09 520 0221
E. office@diocesan.school.nz
DIOCESAN.SCHOOL.NZ
BOARD CHAIR
Mrs Jenny Spillane
PRINCIPAL
Ms Heather McRae
CHAPLAIN
Reverend Sandy Robertson
ASSISTANT CHAPLAIN
Reverend Bryan Haggitt
HEAD OF SENIOR SCHOOL
Mrs Margaret van Meeuwen
DEPUTY PRINCIPALS SENIOR SCHOOL
Mrs Dian Fisher
Mr Simon Walker
ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL
Mrs Kate Burkin
HEAD OF JUNIOR SCHOOL
Mrs Sue Cattell
DEPUTY PRINCIPAL JUNIOR SCHOOL
Ms Nicole Lewis
DIRECTOR OF BUSINESS
Ms Kerry Burridge
DIRECTOR OF MARKETING
Ms Shelley Johnston
DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT
Mrs Angela Coe
DIRECTOR OF PEOPLE AND CULTURE
Ms Adrienne Calder
DIRECTOR OF ADMISSIONS
Mrs Kate Jones
HEAD PREFECT
Edith Li
DEPUTY HEAD PREFECT
Harriet Fletcher
DIO TODAY is produced through the Marketing Office of Diocesan School for Girls and is designed and published by Soar Communications Group Limited. For information about this publication, contact:
Editor, Liz McKay
E. lmckay@diocesan.school.nz
Alumnae liaison and proofreading, Deirdre Coleman, E. d.g@slingshot.co.nz
Commissioned photography by Nicola Topping, Real Image (realimage.co.nz).
Why is it that every year we shock ourselves by realising how quickly the year has passed? For me, this realisation came with the thought that I have now experienced one full cycle of the school year as Board Chair.
I came to the role knowing a bit about the School, so I asked myself the question – what do I appreciate now that I didn’t know a year ago? And there was one answer that rang out the loudest. This organisation, our School, is a complex organism and at any one time there is a lot going on. Think, if you will, of watching Simone Biles competing in all four artistic gymnastics disciplines at the same time - and nailing every landing.
Continuing with that analogy, the reason she nails that landing every time is because of hard work – lots of hard work, discipline and community support.
While there was an element of surprise for me in seeing and experiencing the complexities of Diocesan School for Girls, it is less of a surprise to see how we nail our landings. Although we don’t always talk in these terms, it was interesting for me to reflect on this in the context of our three strategic pillars – Our Education, Our Place and Our People.
When Heather returned from her sabbatical earlier this year, we caught up to talk about the term that had been. We touched on a whole heap of subjects and then Heather said: “And then there’s our girls, our wonderful girls… they’re fabulous.”
The amount of hard work, care and passion that goes into providing a world-class education for each and every student who comes through our gates is nothing short of eye-watering. That this is valued by so many in the community is evidenced by the incredibly healthy roll that Dio continues to maintain. However, it is not a lop-sided relationship because what I have seen is that Heather, her executive team and all the staff at Dio value all those students and their education as well.
When I consider the second strategic pillar ‘Our Place’, my first thought is our campus – also complex. Given the work currently underway on our beautiful chapel and about to start on breathing many more years of life into the Shrewsbury Building, it will come as little surprise to appreciate the amount of hard work and disciplined thinking that has been going on around the management and Board tables on these projects.
Everyone involved with this school is the grateful recipient of the hard work, disciplined thinking, and generosity of many others that have gone before us. I am very conscious of the responsibility of this Board and our whole community to do the same for all current and future generations of Dio students.
However, ‘place’ is not just the bricks and mortar. Our Dio place is also our Dio community. Community is created when we have shared interests and a sense of belonging, pride and trust. The Dio community is an exceptional thing – I have always known that. What I have observed over the past 12 months is, firstly, that it is founded on equally exceptional leadership and teachers who, live and breathe the Dio values of honesty, integrity, respectfulness and empathy, every day, and, secondly, that no-one involved in this organisation takes the Dio community for granted.
Finally, ‘Our People’ – arguably our strongest pillar. After all, what is a school without its people? Education is constantly changing, not only in terms of curriculum but also how the School educates. Ensuring that our people are best placed to provide a world-class education doesn’t happen by accident. It takes thoughtful assessment of what the best education looks like, complex planning (and more planning, then a considered reaction when plans change) and an unwavering dedication to being the best and providing the best. One of my greatest privileges over the last year has been getting to know some of our Dio people better. They are quality people who step up for every challenge and work incredibly hard to provide the best education, environment and care for all our girls.
Diocesan School for Girls is a busy place - a very busy place. Hard work, dedication, discipline and a genuine love for the School and for all students, staff and families involved in it, means that, incredibly, it does nail every landing.
Jenny Spillane, Board Chair
Educate Plus, the network of advancement professionals, was established in 1987. It now represents over 2000 members across Australasia who work in the educational sectors of admissions, alumni and community relations, fundraising, marketing and communications, leadership, and people and culture.
The Educate Plus Empowering Success International Conference was held in Perth in early September. During this conference, Angela Coe was awarded the prestigious Mentor of the Year award where she was recognised by industry peers during the Excellence Award lunch.
Angela Coe, Diocesan School for Girls’ Director of Development, has held a number of roles at Dio; alumna, past teacher, past parent, former Board member and former Board Chair, her knowledge, wisdom and passion for the School is incredible.
Her work in advancement at the School began at the end of the nineties when she was Board Chair and when the campus development programme was in its infancy. She returned to Diocesan School a decade ago to lead the capital campaign for the new Arts Centre, raising close to $9 million. With her team, Angela continues to grow the culture of philanthropy across the Diocesan community.
Another of her passions at the School, which Angela initiated with her team, is the Ko Ta¯tou Scholarship. Established in 2022, this 100% scholarship is for two students to attend Diocesan each year, starting in Year 9. It is a very exciting opportunity for students that continues to add great diversity to the School.
Angela always provides valuable guidance, knowledge and encouragement on all the Educate Plus pillars. In addition, during her time as a member of Educate Plus, Angela has always promoted the organisation and warmly welcomed new members.
Her team say she is the most amazing boss, who truly cares and wants the best for everyone.
Kate Eatts, Development and Community Relations Manager at Dio says: “Angela Coe is one of the hardest working, most treasured people you will ever meet in the advancement sector. She gives up her time in bucketloads to anyone and everyone.
“Angela Coe is one of the hardest working, most treasured people you will ever meet”
You name it, she has done it, yet you never feel like the lesser person in the room.
“I personally feel incredibly grateful to have learnt and continue to learn from Angela. She’s a doer and will always guide you in the best way possible. Nothing is ever too much trouble and if she doesn’t know the answer, she’ll do her best to find out. We all know how valuable time is in our jobs, yet it is never a problem to interrupt Angela’s precious time. She always wants to assist in every way possible to enrich people, share the knowledge she has and make a difference to young lives.”
Heritage Foundation 2023-24 Impact Report
Diocesan School for Girls is able to provide its world-class education and co-curricular activities because of the foresight and philanthropy of generations of the Dio family that have gone before us.
Today’s Board of Governors is very aware of this heritage, and values the hard work of the Heritage Foundation trustees in ensuring that it continues into the future.
I am often reminded of the quote “A society grows great when people plant trees, the shade of which they know they will never sit in.”
The Board is looking forward to continuing to work with the Heritage Foundation to plan, plant and nurture metaphoric trees so that Diocesan and all its staff and students can continue to flourish into the future.
Jenny Spillane Board of Governors Chair
Over the years
Let's break it down.
15
24 Girls on 100% scholarships
across different year levels. Girls on scholarships/ bursaries
188 Donors
$18,000
Total of grants awarded in 2023
contributing to various sport, art and academic programmes, sending students to places both nationally and internationally.
$13,000
Total of grants awarded in 2024
1996 1990 2003 1998
GRANDPARENTS
SPONSORSHIP
We extend our heartfelt thanks to all our generous donors whose support has profoundly impacted the Diocesan School community.
Angela Coe Director of Development
Through our collective generosity we continue to provide an exceptional education to generations of students. The Diocesan Heritage Foundation plays a pivotal role in channelling this philanthropic support, helping us to improve facilities, expand scholarship opportunities, and enrich the overall educational experience for our students and staff.
1.75M contributed over 2023-24
Your support strengthens our School and nurtures a culture of philanthropy that inspires others to give and make a difference. On behalf of the Foundation and the School, we sincerely thank you for your ongoing generosity and commitment. We will continue to provide exceptional opportunities and experiences for our students, both now and for generations to come.
Leaving a bequest to Diocesan School for Girls - big or small - creates a lasting impact by providing life-changing educational opportunities for future generations. It’s a meaningful way to honour a loved one and shape your legacy, often inspiring others.
SAM SCOTT
The Withiel Fund is aware that quality education, alongside opportunities to experience and participate in a variety of sports and the arts, gives young people the chance to discover their strengths, become aware of the joy of being part of a team, and start to find the way that they can contribute to community.
Marty and I were happy to see our daughters benefit from a Dio education; and we are delighted to support the Ko Tātou fund, giving more girls the ability to be more than they (and their parents) imagined.
We believe it is important to make opportunities available to people who are ambitious and disciplined, and who embody a hopeful spirit for their future.
We support the Ko Tātou Scholarship because we believe that a Dio education equips young women with the knowledge, values and attitudes that empower them to achieve great results in their lives.
Sometimes believing in someone and giving them an opportunity to strive and grow is all it takes for them to become more than you ever imagined.
The Diocesan Heritage Foundation was established to bring our community together and to enhance opportunities for all girls to grow the courage and confidence they need to positively shape the future.
For nearly 25 years, the Foundation has led fundraising efforts to support the School as a leading independent girls’ school in New Zealand.
Learn more here: diocesan.school.nz/our-community/ heritage-foundation/
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It was wonderful to see our Diocesan Arts Centre showcasing the Night of Art event in August. The foyer was the perfect backdrop for a vibrant exhibition, and it was a joy to see it filled with alumnae (some who had not been back for many years), friends and families celebrating Dio’s Head of Visual Arts, Shelley Ryde, and her contribution to Dio over the past 42 years.
On display was some seriously impressive artwork created by our Dio alumnae and visiting artists. As they say, a picture can tell a thousand words, and these ones told stories of creativity, passion and fun.
We are delighted to have raised funds on the evening as a foundation for the Shelley Ryde Visual Arts Bursary.
“A fabulous night, a great initiative, and what a room full of talent!”
Dio alumna
Shrewsbury is set for an exciting transformation during 2025. With a comprehensive overhaul of the entire building and the addition of 181m² on the mezzanine level, it will feel like a brand-new space, tailored to inspire and support our students' creativity.
Our redesign will focus on how our students learn today and in the future. Whether students want to study independently, work or collaborate in small groups, or be part of larger group learning sessions, our learning spaces should allow for all these diverse needs. Flexibility will be the key.
Melissa Brady is responsible for this project. Here is her take on the project: “With an aging building, it is always a tricky decision between completely rebuilding or renovating and improving. We are fortunate that Shrewsbury
has good bones, so taking time to completely refresh this space was the most practical and cost-effective solution … and the most sustainable. Shrewsbury houses our ‘hands on’ creative subjects and being able to alter the spaces and give students the opportunity to design in an inspiring space that can cater for many learning styles is exciting.”
Shrewsbury is a hub of specialist spaces allowing students to develop a range of skills through practical learning where knowledge and skills are applied through a creative process.
Shrewsbury currently consists of 16 classrooms and houses various visual arts and creative subjects including painting, photography, printmaking, design, materials design technology and food technology.
Under the re-design, the new mezzanine floor will provide 181m² of additional teaching space. This area will serve as a base for senior art students, providing room for individual studio work and a hub that includes equipment for silk screening and etching. This space will have airy classrooms with adaptable layouts for both group learning and individual study, along with mobile furniture to easily convert the area into an exhibition space. The mezzanine will also feature display cases for student artwork, creating a dedicated gallery space to inspire creativity and showcase student projects.
To unify creative subjects under one roof, some creative industries areas will move from the Centennial Building to Shrewsbury. Matt Bennett (HOF
Creative Industries) explains that this project will allow Dio to broaden our creative industries offering. We will be re-introducing the workshop/ maker-space area within Shrewsbury building. This new maker-space will allow students to model and develop products in a variety of materials and we will be creating another Fab Lab within this space to support the production of creative projects.
As part of the redesign process, Dio is involving students. Six students are collaborating with Faculty Head Matt Bennett on a key element: the designed ‘wrap’ for the new stairwells. This initiative provides students with practical design experience, from aesthetics to functionality, ensuring they leave a lasting mark on the building. This is similar to the approach taken on the Performing Arts Centre, where student design was used on the intricate metalwork outside the building.
Sustainability is a core focus of this project, and the remodel incorporates features to reduce Shrewsbury’s ecological footprint. Solar panels, high-efficiency systems for lighting, hot water and air conditioning, and building material upgrades will improve energy efficiency. A photovoltaic (PV) array will reduce energy consumption by 137,000 kWh/year, cutting carbon emissions by over 15,000kg of CO² annually. The building will also have 27,000-litre water tanks for greywater, which will be used for toilets and irrigation, further reducing its environmental impact.
During the year-long renovation, teaching must continue. Initially, the plan was to move the creative industries and visual arts classes to temporary buildings on the school field. However, the technical requirements for creative
industries could not be easily replicated in a temporary setting. Consider for example the needs of our food technology area, which includes three suites of six ovens and two commercial turbo ovens!
As a solution, the English department, which does not need the same level of technical infrastructure, will be temporarily relocated to prefabs on the School field. The prefabs, designed to be modern and comfortable, will feature six double classrooms with air conditioning. The planning and scheduling have been carefully thought through to ensure minimal disruption to teaching.
Construction will begin in December 2024. By Term 1 2025 the temporary village will be in place and the project should be complete by the end of 2025.
Throughout the project, we will provide regular updates to keep the School community informed.
We are excited to announce that we will be refreshing the Junior High School (Years 7-10) uniform, starting from 2025. After community feedback and careful planning, the change will be phased in over two years to give families time to adjust, with all students wearing the new uniform by the start of 2027. Traditionally, girls have worn the same tunic from their Junior School years, and it was no longer meeting the needs of today’s young women. After consultation, 74% of girls said they would prefer a skirt and shirt option.
The new uniform will better meet students’ needs, and also aligns more closely with the Senior School uniform, offering consistency. Students will also
no longer need a different summer and winter uniform. Key changes include separate skirts, summer and winter blouses, and the introduction of a navy cardigan. Our much-loved Trelise Cooper designed blazer will be retained as part of the Junior High School uniform.
The uniform items to be phased out are the navy summer dress, the navy winter tunic, winter jumper, the blue blouse and the tie.
The new Junior High School uniform was launched on 25 September at a full School assembly. A history of Diocesan uniforms from the 1940s to the 1980s was modelled, with one uniform coming complete with matching bloomers – much to the amusement of the girls!
At a full staff meeting in August, seven staff were recognised for their long service to the School:
Shelley Ryde (HOD Art) – started at Dio in February 1983 and will have completed 42 years’ service when she retires at the end of 2024.
Marilyn Carter (mathematics and science teacher) – taught full-time at Dio from February 1983 to June 2012 and from 2019 to the present has done relief work and then taught continuously on short-term contracts.
Liz McKay (Publications Co-ordinator) – started at Dio in March 1989 and is now in her 36th year at the School.
Craig Harrison (ISS Manager) – came to the School in September 1993 and has now completed 31 years at Dio.
Lynette Quin (science and religious studies teacher) – Now in her 30th year, Lynette taught full-time from January 1990 to December 2016, then did some day relief until mid2019 when she came back to teach religious studies full time. She has since taught a mix of religious studies
and science, sometimes full time and sometimes part time.
Scott Christie (Chief Financial Officer) – Starting in March 1999, Scott is now in his 26th year at Dio.
Dian Fisher (Deputy Principal, Senior School) – Dian joined the staff in April 1999 and is now in her 26th year at Dio.
Six staff members who started at Dio in 2003 are still with us and were acknowledged for their contributions to the School at an assembly in May: Nicki Anderson (social sciences teacher), Mary Brooks (Business Information Manager), Jane Fleming (ISS Administrator), Jane Hart (English teacher), Rob McCrae (ICT Director) and Rev’d Sandy Robertson (Chaplain).
Many people in our community will remember the Labour leader Norman Kirk who was the Prime Minister for a short period in the early 1970s, before his sudden death in 1974. He had a reputation as an orator and debater, but he also endorsed a simple political philosophy believing that a healthy country was one where its citizens could realistically expect to have the four things that matter to people: “that they have somewhere to live, they have food to eat, they have clothing to wear, and they have something to hope for". Fifty years on nothing could be truer than that!
If we apply this to our community here at Dio it’s hard to argue with. While members of this community have ready access to those necessities of life, it is the last aspect that can be elusive for any one of us. In particular, the happiness of our youth under any study is seen to be in decline. Economic challenges, social and technological pressures, climate change and political divisions in our society worry our young people and feelings of hopelessness and anxiety can prevail.
A study by the world economic forum suggests that students who show resourcefulness and perseverance develop the resilience and self efficacy that will help to mitigate those pressures. In that respect schools are safe places to experience challenging situations and learn from them.
There is a whakatauki that inspires us in this regard:
Whāia te mātauranga hei oranga mō koutou Seek after learning for the sake of your wellbeing
This whakatauki refers to the importance of learning for it is key to wellbeing. If you follow the path of learning, the world will be your oyster.
At Senior Prize-giving we congratulated the students who received awards for academic, sporting, artistic and service endeavours. But it is important to remember that any learning students have had this year – especially from a disappointment or a challenge or a failure – will have in fact enhanced their learning and made them stronger and wiser for the next challenge.
Margaret van Meeuwen, Head of Senior School
The Proxime Accessit to the Dux for 2024 – Harriet Fletcher and Vanessa Huang
Harriet has completed another impressive year of academic results – a full set of Excellences, and a willingness to stretch herself further with entry into 3 Scholarship papers. Harriet’s teachers describe her lateral thinking, her analytical and perceptive approach to her studies and the ability to write essays which reflect her detailed command of resources and data. Her subject choices span the sciences, the social sciences, English, mathematics and media studies – a true Renaissance woman! Alongside her academic success Harriet has led the School as Deputy Head Prefect with an energy and enthusiasm that has had an immeasurable impact on everyone around her. Harriet is going to study towards a BSc.
Vanessa is an outstanding student whose achievements in all her subjects this year have been at the highest level. She had also been judged the top student in three of her classes: digital technologies, Latin and physics. Vanessa’s teachers use phrases like ‘impeccable work ethic’, ‘meticulous attention to detail’, along with ‘a selfmotivated and independent approach to her work’. She demonstrates skills and strategies that will benefit her in her
tertiary years. Alongside this Vanessa is an absolute giver of her time and energy to helping others, as a tutor in science, as a librarian, in the Chapel and Dioversity groups. She is also a very talented fencer whose team took out the National Secondary Schools’ Foil title this year. Vanessa is heading to the University of Sydney to start a BSc in Physics and Computer Science.
The Dux award represents our most outstanding academic achievement.
The NCEA Dux for 2024
– Anno Fukutake
Anno’s progress through the Senior School has been nothing short of outstanding. While she has always been a hard-working student who achieved well, she has this year collated a string of Excellences in her assessments, been awarded the prize for top in class in all of her subjects: art design, economics, business studies, mathematics and statistics. Her teachers comment on her positive attitude and proactive approach to challenge herself further. Her critical thinking, depth of analysis and engagement with all the subject matter has meant that she is well placed for her future studies. Anno is returning to Japan to Waseda University to begin a Liberal Arts degree.
The IB Dux for 2024 – Lucy Kilgour and Amelia McIntosh
Lucy has completed her two years of the IB Diploma with outstanding results across her six subjects. She works hard but also with a real passion for learning that means she shows great joy in the daily accomplishments of the programme. One teacher described her as having ‘lofty goals and working with a laser focus to achieve them’. Lucy is a principled critical thinker, who demonstrates a solid ethical foundation in her approach to learning and problem-solving. This is demonstrated in her CAS projects where she developed a crochet club and volunteered at the Everybody Eats organisation. Lucy has not let the demands of her academic programme stand in the way of a wider commitment to the School, especially in debating, mooting, underwater hockey and the Ethics Council. Lucy is heading to the University of Auckland to start a BCom/LLB.
Amelia has had an outstanding two years in the Diploma programme always approaching her work with an open mind and a positive attitude. Amelia has been a key contributor to all her classes where her insightful contributions enhance the level of discussion, and she fosters a collaborative and inclusive atmosphere. A key part of the Diploma Programme is the Theory of Knowledge or TOK. Her TOK teacher noted that she is the perfect TOK student – constantly asking questions that challenge her own preconceptions of the world. Her natural curiosity has benefitted her across all her subjects. Amelia has been a valuable contributor to the cocurricular life of the school, particularly in orienteering, and as the Deputy Head of the Academic Council.
Amelia is going to Canterbury University to study to Engineering.
We congratulate all our award winners on their achievements.
Harriet Fletcher and Vanessa Huang
Ut Serviamus Award
– Maya Willis
This award acknowledges what sits at the heart of our school values. Ut Serviamus as our motto recognises the importance of servant leadership. Mark’s gospel reminds us that Jesus explained to his followers that their practice of leadership was to be distinctly different than the selfseeking, self-serving, and domineering style of leadership often found in the world: ‘Whoever would be first among you must be servant of all.’
Here at Diocesan each year level has service learning challenges to seek out ways in which we can support the wider community, be that local communities or further afield. This award celebrates a student who goes beyond that and uses initiative to genuinely look for ways to improve the world for others.
Shrewsbury Bursary is named after Miss Shrewsbury, a former Headmistress, and is awarded to the Top Academic Student in Year 12. This year we had a joint award from both IB and NCEA –
This prize was first awarded in 2023 and it is a pleasure this year to acknowledge the service to the community that Maya has completed. She currently has two significant organisations that she works with. She is a Youth Ambassador for the Tear Fund, focusing on anti-sex trafficking in the Pacific and Southeast Asia. Maya is also on the North Shore Local Youth Board initially as the engagement officer and events coordinator before stepping in to the role of co-chair. This is a non-profit organisation dedicated to encouraging self-expression, amplifying youth voices and fostering a community where young people can thrive. This takes the form of organising art exhibitions, open mic nights, tree planting, and university question forums all offering valuable network opportunities for young people. Maya loves dance and she regularly gives of her time to perform at fundraisers for local charities. It is no surprise that Maya has been our
Casey Lam lives and breathes the Christian qualities identified by the Apostle Paul. She is a most deserving recipient of this special award. She is the ultimate all-rounder, excelling in many areas of school life – premier hockey, Diocesan Symphony, Community Service Council, Head of Edwards House, and a successful academic. But this award is not about how much Casey has achieved, it is about the person that she has become. Casey’s
Ethics Prefect this year, her personal values align closely with those of the school and especially the school motto Ut Serviamus. Maya is heading to the University of Sydney to begin a conjoint Arts and Law degree.
willingness to support the initiatives of others, her communication skills, and her reliability make her an exemplary leader. Kind, considerate, and talented, her understated leadership style has inspired others. This is evident on the hockey pitch where her grit and determination are inspiring. She demonstrates this in the symphony orchestra where her warm smile to the younger musicians is encouraging, and in the classroom where she shows a natural aptitude for abstract, lateral thinking. She has an inquisitive nature which enhances the classroom discussions with her positive contributions.
This award is named after former Principal Eliza Edwards and the qualities that define it are etched on the window at the back of the School Chapel. Casey embraces those qualities: ‘Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Goodness, Kindness, Humility, Faithfulness and Self-Control’.
Next year Casey heads to Otago for her first year of Health Sciences.
The full lists of all the awards made at the Arts Awards, Sports Awards, Senior Prize-giving and the Junior High School Prize-givings are available to view on the School website News & Successes section.
The Ethel Sandford Bursary for Music Ethel Sandford was Headmistress from 1926 to 1932. She was noted for her energy and determination as well as musical abilities.
Awarded to Madeleine Christiansen
The Mary Pulling Award
Mary Pulling was our Founding Headmistress from 1904 to 1926.
The award recognises students who show potential and an outstanding contribution to the School in a wide range of areas. In making the selection, academic ability is a consideration, but
the likely contribution of the student to the School is the deciding factor.
The Mary Pulling Award Year 11 – Sophie Pearce
The Mary Pulling Award Year 12 – Belle Opie
The Hassall Deputy Head Prefect Cup for Leadership commitment and dedication to Diocesan School for Girls – Harriet Fletcher
The Hassall Head Prefect Cup for Leadership commitment and dedication to Diocesan School for Girls – Edith Li
Academic Scholarships – Year 11
Linda Qian
Anya Taylor
Ruby Walker
Chloe Xiao
Academic Scholarships – Year 12
Ivy Barrington
Ella Bosselmann
Holly Bricklebank
Jane Li
Arts Scholarships
Wendy Chen
Eloise Voss
Sports Scholarships
Abigail Welsh
Jacqueline Nasrabadi
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:
- Reliability and commitment
- Creative thinking and innovation
- Resilience and persistence in accepting challenges
- Personal excellence
- Demonstration of the School motto Ut Serviamus.
Principal's Awards – Year 11
Stella Benton
Emily Cowan
Zara Johannink
Lily Kane
Zari Lindsay
Anna Preece
Anya Taylor
Celest Vo
Principal's Awards – Year 12
Francesca Ashford
Holly Fendall
Hannah Flay
Evie Houtman
Charlotte Sawden
Honor Small
Erin Veal
Sophie Yan
Principal's Awards – Year 13
Isabella Cockle
Jaime Gadsdon
Rachael Griffiths
Olivia Kim
Sabine Messer-Goodall
Hannah Thorpe
Nancy Winlove
Yu Han Zhang
Dio’s highly acclaimed and much-loved Head of Art, Shelley Ryde, is retiring this year after more than 40 years at the School.
Shelley, who has headed up Dio’s Visual Arts Department for the past 42 years, is farewelling the School “because it’s time”, she says. “And it’s always better to call time when things are going well.”
The revered creator, examiner and assessor who started her teaching career in 1971 at a South Auckland school, says she doesn’t have any set plans for retirement, but she and her husband Andrew have family all over the world and would like to travel.
She’s also determined to give some focus to her own personal art practice, an area of her life that has been somewhat neglected over the course of the past four decades, given her packed schedule of teaching, advising, assessing and guiding.
Shelley has been heavily involved in assessments, examination criteria and curriculum development since she first started marking School Certificate Art portfolios in the mid-1980s, and she wants to stay involved – albeit from a distance.
“It helps keep me current and honest,” she says. “I’m keen to stay in touch with what’s happening in education, both here and internationally. It matters too much to me just to let go.”
Shelley says although there’s been a huge shift in the delivery of art education over the past 40 years, learning to think creatively is what still defines students. “Back in the 1970s, the role or place of art and craft varied according to a
school’s policy,” she says.
“Core art programmes were designed to give a range of experiences in the making of art and craft objects and the primary objectives were activity based and product orientated, but many were limited by the materials and equipment available. Clay ashtrays and papier-mâché masks were the standard.
“In my experience, core art used to be very activity and skills based. Students were kept occupied, and the practice of streaming classes often meant the less able classes in particular were timetabled to do more art and craft than the academic stream. There was not a lot of encouragement to specialise beyond the core art programme.”
By the mid-1980s, many schools had introduced art as an option at Year 10, and core art was limited to Year 9 with classes being taught basic principles such as tone, form, line, shade, colour theory, composition, scale and perspective to begin with. More sophisticated drawing and painting skills came later, says Shelley.
“The standard of art education in this country is one of the highest in the world in terms of structure and results.”
Shelley Ryde
By 1990, Shelley says ‘somewhat clumsy’ criteria had been developed for assessment, including perception, skill, creativity, technique and understanding, which were to act as the frontrunner for the practice of using evaluation as an educational tool.
“The other key influence for me at that time was the emphasis on Ma¯ori art as part of an art education in New Zealand. We became more aware of Ma¯ori art and began to slowly introduce aspects into courses of study for each year level.”
Shelley says that the introduction of the curriculum framework in the 1990s had a substantial influence on visual arts education, particularly in its emphasis on
Te Tiriti o Waitangi and the development of a multicultural approach to education.
“The curriculum encouraged us to celebrate our cultural diversity, and this is becoming more evident in the artwork produced by our students,” says Shelley.
“What I’ll miss most are the conversations with students – I call them ‘Dio-logues’ where we discuss and exchange ideas,” says Shelley. “That’s been my highlight of teaching – seeing the creative outputs of our young students, how they’re doing it and why.”
Shelley has taught a roll call of some of the country’s leading artists, and many have returned to Dio to teach alongside her.
Multimedia award-winning artist Katie Blundell went on to do a Master of Fine Art at Elam when she left school in the late 1990s. She majored in printmaking and currently produces works from her gallery and studio in Clevedon.
“Shelley has been an important influence in my life,” Katie says. “She taught me at Dio when I was a bewildered country kid who just really loved art. She was kind and supportive, encouraging my passion for her subject, eventually helping me apply to Elam Art School where I studied printmaking – her joy for the medium had clearly rubbed off on me.
“Later, when I became an art teacher, she of course was an inspiration. I knew I could learn more from her, so I went and worked for her. I’m very grateful for all the energy she has put into me over the years. She has always stretched and challenged me. We’re not similar, in fact, I think it’s because we’re so different that I have learnt more from her than most who have tried to teach me.”
Another former student of Shelley’s, costume designer Chantelle Gerrard, studied performance voice and spatial design before training as a teacher. For 25 years she worked in costume, designing over 120 productions in New Zealand and internationally, including Game of Thrones and the Pop-up Globe Theatre in London.
“I always chose art over music in my
options, as the passion for art that Shelley fostered in me was overwhelming and boundless. Her teaching, humour and eye for detail were unmatchable.
“The facilities and resources she provided, the guidance and knowledge, and the fact that she was able to see something in each of us that was unique and not just getting us to ‘follow her style’ was truly brilliant for a young art student.”
Auckland-based portrait photographer Luci Harrison attributes much of her success to the guidance and inspiration she received from Shelley, particularly the unwavering support she gave Luci through academic challenges stemming from dyslexia.
“Shelley’s belief in my talent has extended beyond mere mentorship,” she says. “She has become a cherished friend and confidante.”
So, what’s Shelley’s secret to longevity as an art educator?
“Constant thinking and reinvention,” she says. “We’re not here to train our students to be artists; we’re here to train them to ask questions, think, express themselves, be creative and explore that side of themselves.
“The standard of art education in this country is one of the highest in the world in terms of structure and results. That’s based on the understanding that we can teach everybody – and I’m really proud of that.
“Every year when you meet a new bunch of students in art, you’re reinventing yourself. Every year is different, and every student is different. I’ll really miss that.”
Shelley has been a very precious taonga at Diocesan over many years – we all wish her well as she leaves us to enjoy some travel and more time with her family.
He taonga rongonui te aroha ki te tangata – it is a precious gift to have someone who has given so much goodwill to others.
Thank you, Shelley. Kia kaha, kia maia kia manawanui.
There is always an exciting ‘learning buzz’ in our Junior High School classes. It’s the sound of learners who are empowered by 21st-century skills, knowledge and understanding, and who are actively making connections between their learning and the real world. It’s the sound of inquiry-based collaborative approaches to teaching and learning expertly guided by our passionate and skilled teachers. These new and inspiring features of learning and teaching in our Junior High School demonstrate the value of the IB Middle Years Programme framework at Diocesan.
Diocesan is already well known for offering the IB Primary Years Programme (PYP) and the IB Diploma Programme (DP), which give our students a learning framework for academic and holistic growth in the Junior School and Senior School.
The addition of the MYP at Diocesan further enhances our educational offering. It creates a coherent learning pathway as a three-programme IB continuum school that includes the PYP in the Junior School, the Middle Years Programme (MYP) in the Junior High School and the IB Diploma in the Senior School.
It also demonstrates the value we place on learners and their learning across Years 7 – 10, an important period of growth for adolescents holistically and academically.
The IB Diploma is considered the gold standard in education worldwide. At Diocesan, the IB MYP provides our students with the perfect preparation for undertaking the IB Diploma in Years 12 and 13.
In 2025 our Junior High School will prepare the final steps to become authorised to offer the International Baccalaureate Middle Years Programme (MYP).
Our MYP journey began in 2019 when we applied to become a candidate school. Since that time, and throughout the challenges and interruptions of the pandemic, our teachers have been working together to implement the internationally
benchmarked standards and practices of the MYP to the highest quality for our students.
This year we reached an important milestone on the way to authorisation. We successfully introduced the MYP at Year 10 for the first time, including the MYP culminating service-learning project, the Year 10 community project, and completing our four-year MYP pathway for girls through the Junior High School from Years 7 to 10.
The IB Middle Years Programme in the Junior High School is a rigorous and holistic age-appropriate curriculum framework focusing on intellectual challenge through which we teach the content of the New Zealand Curriculum.
In the MYP, students make practical connections between their studies and the real world. They develop as active learners and internationally minded young people who can empathise with others and pursue lives of purpose and meaning.
Teaching and learning in the Junior High School empowers students to inquire into a wide range of issues and ideas of significance locally, nationally and globally. The result is young people who are creative, critical and reflective thinkers.
The MYP enhances the content of the New Zealand Curriculum by fostering thinking skills, that are essential for preparing young people to become successful in school and beyond. A driving force behind the IB Middle Years Programme is international mindedness, which is both an aim and an outcome for students.
The International Baccalaureate mission statement strives to “develop inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect. These programmes encourage students across the world to become active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that other people, with their differences, can also be right.”
The MYP programme model consists of eight programme elements.
The learner is at the centre surrounded by the IB Learner Profile which consists of ten attributes that support the holistic development of each student and develop international mindedness. These attributes include inquirers, thinkers, knowledgeable, principled, communicators, open-minded, caring, balanced, risk-takers and reflective.
The eight subject groups of the New Zealand Curriculum and the MYP are perfectly aligned and include language and literature (English), mathematics, science, individuals and societies (humanities), languages, physical and health education, arts and design (creative industries).
Learning in local and global contexts
Students learn best when their learning is relevant to their own experience and the world around them.
Concepts as transferable ‘big ideas’
Each subject has either three or four prescribed concepts as transferable ‘big ideas’ to enhance understanding within and across disciplines.
Developing and applying social/collaboration, thinking, research, communication and self-management skills helps students ‘learn how to learn’ and develop 21st Century skills to be successful in and beyond school.
Our PYP, MYP and IB Diploma teachers practise contemporary approaches to teaching based on research-informed principles:
• Based on inquiry
• Conceptual understanding
• Developed in local and global contexts
• Focused on teamwork and collaboration
• Differentiated and designed to remove barriers to learning
• Informed by assessment – summative and formative.
Years 7 to 10 service learning occurs in tutor groups, year-level activities and units of inquiry, supporting our Anglican identity and motto ‘Ut Serviamus’, which translates to ‘that we may serve’. Service learning in Years 7, 8 and 9 is coordinated by the Deans and in Year 10 service learning is developed in the culminating Community Project.
Year 10 MYP students develop a culminating, in-depth community service project during Terms 2 and 3, working in groups to identify a goal to address an identified need in a community based on personal interests. Students are mentored throughout, and a supervisor assesses their project. The Community Project concludes with a celebration and showcase of learning in the Performing Arts Centre.
This may be a new and different approach to learning. However, with the focus on developing inquiring, knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding and respect, the IB Middle Years Programme (MYP) aligns with the Diocesan mission and Anglican identity of ‘Ut serviamus’ and enhances the way we teach the New Zealand Curriculum.
Throughout the curriculum and pastoral programmes our caring team of Junior High School deans and teachers have embedded opportunities for students to develop global competence by developing the attributes and capabilities of the IB learner profile in every girl in Years 7-10.
Our students strive to develop the IB learner profile and international mindedness. All units of inquiry provide students with opportunities to inquire into the IB learner profile and undertake learning engagements to demonstrate their development of the attributes. Students reflect on their development and teacher feedback can include commentary on student development of the IB learner profile.
“The learner profile is the IB mission in action. It requires IB learners to strive to become inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers, communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced and reflective. These attributes of internationally minded people represent a broad range of human capacities and responsibilities that go beyond a concern for intellectual
development and academic content. They imply a commitment to help all members of the school community learn to respect themselves, others and the world around them.”
The IB mission and the IB learner profile align with our school mission and with our Diocesan Anglican identity as demonstrated by the alignment of our values and our emphasis on service at each year level.
Led by our experienced Heads of Faculty, our Junior High School teachers have created new and inspiring interdisciplinary units of inquiry. These units include MyDio – English and social studies (Year 7), Vertical gardens – mathematics and sciences (Year 8), Dragon’s Den – social studies and English (Year 9) and Stage Spectacular – dance and PHE (Year 10). In developing these exciting interdisciplinary opportunities, our teachers have set a high standard to provide students with authentic opportunities to learn about their world in ways that reach beyond the scope of individual subjects through interdisciplinary learning.
2027, who will be well prepared to undertake Year 11 and their choice of either NCEA or the IB Diploma in Years 12 and 13.
IB frameworks, including the MYP, are relevant in preparing students for an uncertain future because they are intentionally research informed. The MYP reflects the latest in contemporary educational research and thinking by the global educational community. The MYP provides opportunities for students to:
Cultivate dispositions for global competence
In IB frameworks, global competence is referred to as international mindedness and developed through the IB learner profile. Veronica Boix-Mansilla from Harvard University Project Zero, describes global competence and global-ready students demonstrating the disposition to inquire about the world (engage with questions of significance, explore localglobal connections, and seek information beyond the familiar); understand multiple perspectives; develop respectful dialogue; and take responsible action in collaboration with others.
Develop 21st century skills
In the MYP, these are called approaches to learning (ATL) skills. At Dio, teachers plan and explicitly teach 21st Century skills across all subjects in Years 7 to 10, helping students to ‘learn how to learn’ as they prepare for senior secondary studies including the IB Diploma and NCEA.
Engage with inquiry as practice
In the MYP at Dio, Junior High students learn through dynamic cycles of inquiry including inquiry (asking), action (doing) and reflecting (thinking). Our teachers use professional inquiry to strengthen their practice and innovate new learning opportunities.
This year, with the introduction of the MYP at Year 10 for the first time, we have reached a significant milestone: we can now celebrate Diocesan’s first IB Middle Years Programme graduates. We are very proud of our current Year 10 students, the Class of
As we continue our journey toward becoming an authorised MYP school, our commitment to providing high-quality, challenging international education for our Years 7 – 10 girls reflects our mission statement: We lead boldly so our students can do the same.
Our pursuit of becoming an authorised MYP school is a testament to our dedication to offering a world-class education in our Junior High School – an education that prepares our students to be active, compassionate and internationally minded people who can make a positive difference in their own lives and the world around us –and we can’t wait to get started!
Helen Hopping IB Middle Years Programme Coordinator
Diocesan School for Girls is a candidate school for the Middle Years Programme (MYP). The School is pursuing authorisation, expanding its status to a three-programme, IB World School. These are schools that share a common philosophy – a commitment to high quality, challenging, international education that Dio believes is important for our students.
Only schools authorised by the IB Organization can offer any of its four academic programmes: the Primary Years Programme (PYP), the Middle Years Programme (MYP), the Diploma Programme (DP), or the Career-related Programme (CP). Candidate status gives no guarantee that authorisation will be granted.
For further information about the IB and its programmes. visit www.ibo.org
“You can go to Mexico, but you can’t go where we went and interact with scientists on your average family holiday.”
Mia Montgomery
Over the July holidays, 30 Year 12 and 13 students had the opportunity to travel to Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula as part of the senior biology trip. The purpose of the trip was to pair with Operation Wallacea, a global biodiversity and conservation research organisation, to give the students the chance to be part of real-world conservation efforts in protecting Mexico’s biodiversity hotspots.
Our first week started with an eight-hour bus ride to the depths of the Mexican jungle in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. It was a definite shock to the system, and we got a real glimpse of how challenging conservation field work can be. But the payoff in the experiences we had was immeasurable. We spent our days tracking jaguar, tapir and other large mammals, using mist nets to catch and release beautiful local birds, and hunting stunning butterflies. Mist nets are used for live bird and bat capture and are set up in flight paths to catch targeted species for tagging programmes. The net is made of a very fine diameter cord that is almost invisible when set up.
By night, we went out into the rainforest searching for snakes, frogs, lizards and turtles, and again used mist nets to catch the many different species of bat that live in the rainforest. Everyone got up close and personal with the wildlife, working with scientists to measure the length of snakes, size of bat wings, weights of birds and all kinds of other data to record the health of the biodiversity in the area. This data will be essential for protecting an area that is under real threat from climate change and local construction projects like the Tren Maya.
While in the rainforest we also had the unbelievable opportunity to visit two sites of ancient Mayan cities, one of them the largest to have existed in Mexico. The experience of climbing ancient Mayan pyramids hidden away for thousands of years and to sit in the sun above the rainforest was one that words cannot describe.
Our second week delivered us to the relative luxury of Mexico’s Caribbean coast, in the town of Akumal. Here we spent every day at the beach either snorkelling or scuba diving in the stunning cobalt waters of Akumal Bay. Once again, we were paired with scientists carrying out active research in the protection of Akumal’s sea turtle populations and biodiversity of the coral reef.
“My highlight was meeting scientists and talking to them about how they got into their work and what they do.”
Katie Lott
Over six days we racked up nine dives, exploring the amazing underwater environments on offer. No two dives were the same, with everyone swimming with turtles, nurse sharks, moray eels, eagle rays and the countless tropical fish and corals. We also learned about essential underwater research techniques and gained a real insight into how much more challenging being underwater makes a task that seems as simple as ‘count the number of fish’. The week in Akumal was an absolute highlight, with some of the best diving in the world being balanced out by exploring the local town and cuisine and working on our tans on the white sands under the palm trees.
Both staff and students returned home tired, but with a collection of experiences and memories that will stay with us forever.
Kit Bushell
Like many different areas here at Diocesan, Ethics continues to be busy during the second half of the school year.
In June, the Ethics Council, alongside the Sustainability Council, held a successful DioThrifts event. Students and teachers were encouraged to bring in clothing that they no longer used or wanted and the committees held a week-long sale for students to purchase new items for their wardrobes. Everyone was a winner! Unused clothes were rehomed and profits were donated to the Kindness Collective to buy pyjamas for its appeal.
Recently I have enjoyed working with our Year 6 classes as we’ve continued to explore ethical decision making. This term we used the story of Aladdin to consider different ways that people might respond to ethical questions.
Students were challenged to apply ethical theory and frameworks to questions such as: Was it ok for Aladdin to steal bread, and did it make a difference that he shared the bread with vulnerable children? Should Aladdin have pretended to be someone else or did he have a duty to be honest about his back story?
I was impressed with the discussion around these questions, considering both the fictional story but also how it applies to us in real life. And we look forward to continuing to discuss these kinds of ideas with students as they move through into the Senior School.
I have enjoyed my first year working as the Director of Ethics and look forward to what next year will bring in this space. Thank you to our amazing Ethics Prefect team of Maya, Lucy and Talia, our Ethics Council and everyone else who has supported our ethics initiatives this year.
In Term 3, all Years 5 and 6 students were challenged to write a soapbox speech. The Year 6s wrote speeches based on UN Sustainable Development Goals and our Year 5s had a selection of themes to work with.
It was great to be able to introduce the idea of soapbox speeches to the students and then work with them as they prepared these. For the final, I was joined by our Ethics prefects and we were all blown away by the standard of the speeches. Congratulations to Stephanie Watt, who won this competition and to all participating students for the way they challenged their audiences through their call to action, encouraging others to do something about issues they care passionately about.
The Ethics Olympiad continues to go from strength to strength with teams at all levels of the competition.
It has been exciting to work with teams in preparation for the various Ethics Olympiad events. Enthusiastic Years 8 and 9 students have been working with amazing student coaches (from our Senior teams) to prepare for their November event. The Junior School competition took place in September. Congratulations to our Year 5 students who were awarded second place, with our Year 6 team coming in the top half. In this version of the competition, with very few New Zealand schools taking part, using Zoom we had the opportunity to discuss ethical cases with students from around Australia. Students discussed themes ranging from lying to using AI in art creation; from the power of leaders to the ownership of an idea.
Rebecca Berry Eden, Director of Ethics
What’s the point of making films if there’s no chance to show them? This was the question that set the wheels in motion for Term 3’s Dio Oscars. Not simply a rehash of the Birthday Concert theme for the year, this was to be a celebration of the talent, efforts and dedication produced by the media studies class of 2024. A truly star-studded night with many students, parents, teachers, and even Ollie the School cat, turning up to take their turn strutting the red carpet.
Organised and held together by Zara Tucker, 2024 Media Prefect, films were selected, shortlisted and judged before making the lineup for the evening. Her dedication and focus to bring the night together and showcase the talent in the year group was incredible and matched only by the enthusiasm and support of her peers.
Not one for the spotlight, Zara stepped aside and left hosting duties to her amazing deputies, Alyssa Richardson and Ava Schofield. Presenting each film and providing a wonderful tone for the evening, both were dressed as the menacing antagonist of the Year 12 horror franchise A Nightmare on Clyde Street, Tate Andrews.
This segued beautifully into the first portion of the evening, featuring the cohort’s 2023 media projects, mini slashers in the nightmare franchise. Here, the audience was steeped in the schlocky conventions of the trash-tastic genre, with a good few good scares going down. These productions follow the class unit of studying the genre for the external exam. How better to show student understanding than by applying it to film? At night. In the dark. With fake blood and even faker crowbars. Nothing like confronting a monster like Andrew Tate, uh Tate Andrews, to give you a craving for popcorn.
Notable highlights included the very chilling entry from Harriet Fletcher and Ava Schofield, Lily Galvin’s screamqueen worthy award-winning scream, Ash’s cat, actually seen behind the Science Block, and knowing everyone was completely fine and it was all just a school project.
Lightening up the tone were the 2024 mockumentaries where the girls took a ridiculous topic and played
it straight for laughs. Each film was tasked with fulfilling four key roles – the documentary subject, their supporter, their detractor, and an expert to weigh in on such lofty topics as ghost-hunting, gnome civil rights, or making it work with an invisible boyfriend.
The line-up included:
Real Love by Harriet Fletcher, Stephanie Holden and Indigo Kirk
Little Green Girl by Ishani Patel and Maddi Walker
Louise by Lia David, Alyssa Richardson and Louise Masefield
Gnome More Lies by Sophie England, Ava Schofield and Maya Willis
Disaster Hike by Harriet Hope and Eva Pritchard
School Spirit by Lily Galvin, Indi Parkin and Emily Young.
Following the screening, awards were presented:
Best Slasher Scream – Lily Galvin
Most Obscure Mockumentary Storyline
– Gnome More Lies by Sophie England, Ava Schofield and Maya Willis
Funniest Mockumentary – Gnome More Lies by Sophie England, Ava Schofield and Maya Willis
Best Leading Actress – Lia David (Louise)
Best Leading Actor – Ian Thomas (School Spirit)
Film of the Year – Louise by Lia David, Alyssa Richardson and Louise Masefield
Audience Choice – Little Green Girl by Ishani Patel and Maddi Walker.
“The work that you do in media, no matter how small or unrecognised or behind the scenes it is, it all collects into a force that drives meaningful change to create a lasting impact.”
Zara Tucker, Media Prefect, 2024
The audience choice was hotly contested with literally less than 1% difference between the first and second choice, with Little Green Girl by Ishani Patel and Maddi Walker pipping Disaster Hike by Harriet Hope and Eva Pritchard to take out the award.
Wrapping up the evening, Zara congratulated not just the winners, but her peers on their talent and hard work in bringing their films to completion as well as acknowledging the wonderful audience reaction and support. She encouraged more students to take media as the value, challenges and strength she has found in the subject are common across the classes and other media students. Special thanks went to Mr Thomas, Mr Garrett and Mr Cossio for their tireless and not always grumpy support with cameras, batteries, tripods, ideas, and often straying in front of the camera to be in the films.
The year continues to be dynamic and full of exciting programmes and innovations. From the classroom to extracurricular activities, there’s always something happening, and we wouldn’t have it any other way. Our School is a hub of innovation, exploration, and learning, where students are constantly engaged and inspired.
Classrooms buzz with energy as teachers bring innovative approaches to aid learning. Whether it’s in mathematics, literacy, the arts, or in our well-being programmes, there are new and exciting lessons that are more interactive and engaging than before. Students enthusiastically embrace new challenges and their dedication to learning is truly contagious.
The flow of activities, ideas and learning has cultivated an atmosphere where innovation and hard work thrive together. We have seen how a busy school is necessary for creativity, success, and lifelong learning. Students
have delved into rich units of inquiry through central ideas such as: ‘Changes in technology impact people’s lives’, ‘Past events impact our present and future’ and ‘Advertising influences what we think and the choices we make’. The learning the students were involved in has deepened their understanding of important concepts and conceptual understandings.
Speakers and guests who have come in and worked with our students have been phenomenal and we are so fortunate to have access to these amazing people. From the celebrated and award-winning author Stacy Gregg to the very talented and celebrated sculptor Richard Wells, to our own Chris Clay and his Futures Thinking programme, our students have been exposed to authentic and inspirational people.
New initiatives have made their mark on our year and will now become part of what we do. Initiatives such as the Wellbeing Programme that was developed for our Junior School by a
parent, have proved their worth and value. Initiatives such at the wha¯nau picnic during Te Wiki o te Reo and the Community Picnic earlier in the year will certainly have a place on our calendar for next year. The STEM programme that was started this year has been fantastic with a renewed focus on science and technology and its place in our lives.
We also had an inaugural Year 1-3 production, something not done before, which was fantastic. To see these young students on stage performing as they did was incredible, and a testament to the high calibre of students (and staff) we have. Holding two productions in one year was a massive undertaking but a highly successful one. The Jungle Book was a hit and is still being talked about long after the show’s end.
Beyond the classroom, the School is also very busy. Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) covers trips connected to the units of inquiry as well as the camps we lead. The class trips have been very worthwhile experiences
where learning has been enhanced and connections to concepts being learned are deepened. Camps are a special part of our EOTC programme and while earlier in the year we had the Year 5 and 6 camps, this half year has seen the Year 3 and 4 students go on their camps. Having opportunities like these for students to further develop skills in areas such as communication, resilience, risk-taking, social and emotional wellbeing and independence (to name a few), are very important.
The growing number of after-school activities and sports teams have offered students more opportunities than ever to get involved and there is a place for everyone to explore their passions. Sports teams have grown and the numbers of students playing sport now is larger than ever before.
This year has been a whirlwind, but it’s been one filled with growth, discovery, and a constant pursuit of excellence.
The Primary Years Programme (PYP) Exhibition is a highlight in our Junior School calendar and a significant event for an IB World School. It is a time for our Year 6 students to synthesise the essential elements of the PYP and share their knowledge with the School community. This culminating experience and celebration of learning in the Junior School allows the girls to exhibit the attributes of the IB Learner Profile, while investigating an issue they are passionate about through collaborative inquiry.
As part of ‘How We Organise Ourselves for Exhibition’, Year 6 explored the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals,
Opening Kapa Haka
a set of 17 ambitious targets aimed at creating a better world by 2030. By exploring the Global Goals, our girls gained a deeper understanding of challenges around the world like poverty, inequality and climate change. They learned about the importance of taking action to protect our planet and create a more sustainable future for all.
The PYP Exhibition process was ignited with Year 6 Service Week. Throughout the week, girls visited local organisations to see service in action and participate in a range of activities for
“Congratulations Year 6! You carried out exceptional research and confidently communicated your new knowledge to our community. You were passionate and inspiring, educating us all about the UN Sustainable Development Goals and what we should do to ensure a positive future.”
Nicole Lewis
the community. The girls learnt about the huge impact these organisations are having on communities and reflected on how we can use our head, heart and hands to make a difference and contribute to positively shaping the future.
The PYP Exhibition gave Year 6 an opportunity to learn about these goals, research to find out more about the issues (locally, nationally and internationally), connect with local organisations and carry out service in the community. Thank
you to organisations ATWC, Kura Kai, Fair Food, Cancer Society, Ambury Park (Riding Therapy), Pourewa Community Hub, Nurturing Families, Ihumatao, Domain Lodge, Elizabeth Knox Home and Hospital, Hotel Britomart, Auckland Botanical Gardens, and Eastern Bays Songbird Project for being part of our Service Week. This was a huge inspiration for our girls for their exhibition and encouraged them to provide service and take action in their community.
As part of PYP Exhibition, teachers challenged Year 6 girls to include an interactive component so they could engage and advocate during the Exhibition. Groups then reconnected with an organisation to raise awareness, take action and serve.
Throughout the exhibition, Year 6 were confident communicators as they shared their new knowledge with our parent and local community. Our girls encouraged others to take action so we can collectively work together for a positive future. It is wonderful to see our Year 6 girls live our School motto Ut Serviamus and be knowledgeable inquirers of the world around them.
Our Junior School Kapa Haka opened the exhibition with a spectacular mihi whakatau. This was a special moment for our Year 6 girls to celebrate their achievements and hard work throughout the exhibition with their whanau.
Nicole Lewis, Deputy Principal Junior School and PYP Coordinator.
An eagerly anticipated annual Junior School event is Book Week, culminating in the book character parade.
We were very fortunate to have Stacy Gregg, a wonderful author, come and speak with our students. She had them enthralled as she brought the art of writing to life. The week saw much excitement around all things to do with reading, including ‘mystery readers’ visiting many classes. Head of Junior School Sue Cattell said: “As one of these, it was great fun to read to the students who enjoyed it as much as I did!”
An annual competition is run by the Dorothy Butler Bookshop where students design bookmarks. We congratulate Lola Tan who won the Years 4-6 age group with Mila Ip being runner-up. This is the third year in a row that Dio has won prizes in this competition!
The Junior School’s Arts Extravaganza was a spectacular celebration showcasing the incredible talent and dedication of our students in the performing arts. This year’s event featured 140 girls, from beginner to advanced musicians, in a vibrant 75-minute performance.
The evening highlighted the diverse opportunities available at the Junior School, with performances from our choirs, string orchestras, concert band, Jump Jam teams, marimba orchestra and our Kapa Haka group. It was heartening to see the theatre filled with enthusiastic supporters, creating a memorable experience for all involved.
Special thanks to the conductors, itinerant teachers and accompanists whose efforts made this evening possible. Their guidance and dedication have been invaluable in nurturing the talents of our junior students.
This annual event stands as a testament to all the hard work and achievements of our girls throughout this academic year in the performing arts. Congratulations to all involved for making this evening such a resounding success.
Mehernaz Pardiwalla, Assistant Director of Performing arts / Junior School Performing Arts Coordinator
In Term 3, the Performing Arts Centre turned into a vibrant jungle for the Years 1-3 students’ first production, Disney’s The Jungle Book KIDS.
The stage was alive with energy from the moment the curtain rose. Bright lights highlighted the performers, who dazzled in colourful jungle costumes, bringing characters like Mowgli, Baloo, and Bagheera to life with charm and enthusiasm. The younger students captured hearts with their adorable expressions, singing and dancing, making the show an unforgettable for audience members.
The production’s success was due to a true community effort, with teachers and parents working tirelessly behind the scenes. Led by our director Danielle Tollemache, this collaboration showcased the power of teamwork and
support for young learners' creative potential. The result was a polished, professional and heartwarming performance that will be fondly remembered.
As the final curtain fell to a round of applause, it was clear that this was more than just a school play – it was a celebration of creativity and community. Disney’s The Jungle Book KIDS set the bar high for future productions and left everyone eagerly anticipating the next opportunity to see our young stars shine.
Congratulations to all the students, teachers, parents and everyone involved in making this magical evening a success!
Mehernaz Pardiwalla, Assistant Director of Performing arts / Junior School Performing Arts Coordinator
Auckland is one of the world’s most liveable cities but it is also a place where food insecurity is a critical issue. For many families, the daily question isn’t about what they will eat but whether they will have enough to feed their families.
This is an increasing issue for the whole country: “A new UN report shows that New Zealand has much higher rates of food insecurity than comparable countries - and those rates are growing.” 1
Food insecurity, defined as the lack of reliable access to sufficient, affordable and nutritious food, has been on the rise in Auckland for several years. The economic pressures of housing costs, inflation and the impact of global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic have placed more families and individuals in vulnerable positions. For many who don’t own homes, and increasingly for some who do, the choice is stark: rent/ mortgage or food.
According to recent data from Te Ta¯pui Atawhai Auckland City Mission, the number of people seeking food support has more than doubled in the last five years. In 2023 alone, the Mission distributed over 50,000 food parcels, a significant increase from previous years. These parcels serve as a lifeline for individuals and families, providing them with essential supplies to get through challenging periods.
The face of food insecurity has also changed. It is no longer just the homeless or unemployed who are reaching out for help. Increasingly, it is working families, single parents, students and elderly individuals on fixed incomes who are struggling to make ends meet. This diversification of need makes it clear that food insecurity is not just an isolated problem but a community-wide issue that requires urgent and sustained action.
Te Ta¯pui Atawhai Auckland City Mission is an Anglican organisation
that has been a pillar of support for over a century, providing food, shelter and holistic care for the city’s most vulnerable populations. Their work goes beyond simply handing out food parcels; it is about offering dignity and hope to those who have been or are in danger of being left behind.
One of the services the Mission provides that has the most impact is its emergency food parcels, which include nutritious food items that can sustain a family for several days. But the City Mission’s work doesn’t stop there. They also offer wrap-around services, including housing assistance, healthcare, counselling and advocacy. This holistic approach aims to break the cycle of poverty by addressing the root causes of food insecurity, such as unemployment, lack of affordable housing, addiction and mental health issues.
Te Ta¯pui Atawhai Auckland City Mission operates in the heart of Auckland and partners with Nga Whare Waatea Marae in Mangere, Papakura Marae and Manurewa Marae to provide nutritious food parcels to those in need across the city. The Haeata Community Centre, located at the Mission in central Auckland is where meals are available seven days a week, 365 days a year. Unfortunately, a recent government decision to reduce funding to community providers post-COVID means that the Mission will have to significantly reduce the number of food parcels that are distributed to families in need.
For those of us who are grounded in Christian faith, the call to respond to food insecurity is not just a social imperative but a Biblical one. Scripture is full of commands to care for the poor, feed the hungry, and help those in need. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus reminds us of this ethical obligation, saying, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink… whenever you did it for the least of these, you did it for me.” (Matthew 25:35,40).
The story of Jesus feeding the 5,000 (John 6:1-14) is another powerful reminder of the importance of sharing what we have. In this story, a small offering of loaves and fish becomes enough to feed thousands, reminding us how acts of generosity can multiply when we are willing to be generous. As Christians, we are called to follow this example, knowing that even small efforts can have a significant impact on the lives of those who are struggling.
In the First Testament, the concept of justice is deeply connected with how we treat the vulnerable in society. Proverbs 31:8-9 urges us to “speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves... defend the rights of the poor and needy.” This is not just about charity but about advocating for systemic change that ensures everyone has access to basic necessities. In Micah 6:8 we read, “…and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness and to walk humbly with your God?”
Here at Diocesan School for Girls, we are proud to have a connection with Te Ta¯pui Atawhai Auckland City Mission that has been strong and active for many, many years. Earlier this year we held a food drive for the Mission and collected over 5,000 items for food parcels for hungry Aucklanders. But we can do more as a wider Diocesan family to support our Anglican City Mission in its work with those in our city who are vulnerable to food insecurity. Below are some suggestions of how we can become more involved with the work of the Mission either in a one-off or long-term capacity.
Our motto of Ut Serviamus is central to our life as a Dio community. Over their time at Dio, our students learn the value of sharing what they have with those who, at the current time in their lives, do not have enough. Through our commitment to following Christ, we are committed to serving others – not just for the time
we are students or staff members at the School, but hopefully for our whole lives.
The benefits of charitable giving are numerous, and studies have shown that giving service to others improves one’s own mental wellbeing by lowering stress levels, increasing a sense of belonging, and helping to keep our own lives in perspective. Not that we should serve merely to receive a boost to our own mental wellbeing, but it is an added bonus that we can keep in mind. In Psalm 22 we read, “The generous will themselves be blessed because they share their food with the poor.”
May we all be blessed through our generosity, as we give our service to those in need in our community here in Ta¯maki Makaurau Auckland. Ut Serviamus.
Rev’d Sandy Robertson, Chaplain
There are a number of ways to be involved with the work of Te Ta¯pui Atawhai Auckland City Mission.
Volunteer:
The Mission is very short of volunteers at the present time, both individual and corporate. Find out more at www.aucklandcitymission.org.nz
Donate food/toiletries/household items:
The Mission always needs items to include in food parcels but they also
have an Op Shop that you can donate household goods to.
Donate money: One-off donations are welcome! Regular donations help the Mission plan for the support they can provide into the future.
Learn more about the Hungry for Change Campaign: https://donate.aucklandcitymission. org.nz/hungryforchange
The Service Council theme for this year was ‘giving back to pay it forward’ and has been led by Kanishka Kapadia, Issie Clayton and Poppy Tingey. The council’s goal was to foster a culture of kindness, empathy and social responsibility to encourage acts of service and positive change. Our three leaders were an incredible example of servant leadership and I have thoroughly enjoyed working with them.
This years’ Service Council coordinated a number of service opportunities for the School, as well as collaborating with other prefects and councils. Dio students contributed to the Anglican Trust for Women and Children, Nurturing Families and Paper Pens Pencils by way of collections. Our Tuia Days supported Sustainable Coastlines, the PJ Project for Kindness Collective and Daffodil Day for the Cancer Society. We also celebrated Red Nose Day for Cure Kids and had a very successful Feed it Forward campaign for the Auckland City Mission.
In the Junior School, our Year 6 girls participated in Service Week in Term 2. Focusing on six of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (No Poverty, Zero Hunger, Good Health and Wellbeing, Climate Action, Life on Land, and Life Below Water), the week aimed to inspire by learning about local organisations and their community service. The girls put the service model of ‘Head, Heart and Hands’ into action, living out our motto, Ut Serviamus. They connected with a wide variety of organisations including Nurturing
Families, the ATWC, Pourewa Community Gardens, the Kindness Collective, the Auckland City Mission, Ihuma¯tao and Whenua Warrior, Kura Kai, Fair Food, Cancer Society, Elizabeth Knox Home and Hospital, Ambury Farm Riding Therapy, Auckland Botanical Gardens, Hotel Britomart, Quan Am Foundation, Sustainable Coastlines, and the Eastern Bays Songbird Project.
In Year 5 I was asked to create a small programme for the PYP unit ‘Where we are in place and time’ in relation to migration and refugees. We invited the senior manager from the Refugee Education Centre to speak to the girls about why someone is forced to become a refugee, what their journey to safety may look like and how families come to be part of New Zealand’s refugee quota. The Year 5s generously donated gifts of stationery to primary age students and we were invited to bring a small group of students from Year 5 and Year 9 to visit the Refugee Resettlement Centre. We met children from Afghanistan, Syria, Iran, Congo, Myanmar and Columbia.
In the MYP Years 7 - 10, students engage with service as action in various programmes to make a positive difference in the lives of others. In Year 7 students explored the MYP global context of Globalization and Sustainability ‘How is everything connected? The impact of decision-making on humankind and the environment’ by investigating food waste and food poverty in New Zealand. While learning the role that community organisations play in rescuing food and re-purposing it,
students considered the ethical implications of their actions. Our Year 8 students have again participated in the William Pike Challenge. A great way to kick off the programme was by incorporating service into their EOTC Week. I have been so impressed by the variety of service initiatives that our students have undertaken such as fostering animals, planting trees, fundraising for charities, learning to sew or delivering baking to those in need. One Year 8 even donated her hair to enable wigs to be made for other children.
The Year 9 programme focused on the MYP global context of Fairness and Development ‘What are the consequences of our common humanity?’ by understanding the refugee crisis. We aimed to help students advance as IB learners and develop their attributes of empathy and compassion. They have heard from guest speakers and participated in tutor activities to unpack the reasons why and how someone can become a refugee. They sought sponsorship for their Walk the Talk challenge, which fundraises for Operation Refugee. Students participated in an afternoon experience where they put themselves into the shoes of a young person fleeing their home in search of safety and coming up against various scenarios such as preparing a safe place to sleep, crossing a body of water or providing first aid.
In Year 10, the Community Project is a key component of the Middle Years Programme, designed to encourage students to engage with and address real-world issues within their communities. It involves students identifying a problem or need, planning and executing a project to address it, and reflecting on their experiences and outcomes. We saw 74 groups of students prepare an exhibition to showcase their projects.
At the end of Term 3, our Year 11 cohort hosted a Relay for Life in support of the Cancer Society. Students took turns relaying around the Sports Centre over the space of seven hours while celebrating survivorship, remembering those who have lost their battle against cancer and fighting back to show commitment to the fight against cancer. A student-led event, the committees worked over two terms to plan and execute the day, while encouraging each other to fundraise for ground-breaking cancer research to help prevent and treat cancer in New Zealand.
The Year 12s completed a programme called ‘Be The Change’ during their religious study classes in Term 1. Students split into groups to identify a need in the community and create a service project around it. They proposed a wide range of service projects such as donating stationery packs to children in Cambodia, beautifying a public space, writing cards to kids at Starship and volunteering with the elderly. One of the groups volunteered at one of ATWC’s community days during the July holidays with a group of Year 8s. They set up a face painting stall at Winter Wonderland and brought smiles to lots of children.
The Year 13 initiative proposed by Issie Clayton was a Dio Blood Drive, which took place over two weeks, including a mobile drive on site at Dio. All students over the age of 16 along with their families and staff were invited to donate and contribute to the 5,000 donors needed every week in New Zealand.
Our Service Learning programme aims to combine meaningful community service along with classroom learning and the opportunity to reflect on these experiences. I look forward to growing our programme further in 2025.
Lucette Chu, Service Learning Manager
I love overseeing this thriving co-curricular programme; there’s simply no other role like it. Along with an awesome team of tutors, directors and teachers who are passionate about what they deliver, we remain the top school nationally across the Performing Arts. There is no doubt about it, this School supports and cherishes the arts in all their forms and our beautiful theatre represents the heartbeat of this thriving culture.
Shelagh Thomson, Director of Performing Arts
In June, seven groups with Dio students involved participated in the NZCT Chamber Music competition: Amanda Yu, Wendy Chen, Madeleine Christiansen, Angel Tao, Eve Lu, Ella Zhang, Zi Xuan Wang and Verity Jin.
Every group played in a variety of ensembles, including trios, quartets and quintets. At the Auckland finals our Dio instrumentalists took home some great awards, with the Chiron Junior Trio awarded first place at the regional finals.
Other notable results were:
Junior Award, Highly Commended Award and National Finalist Award – Debussy Trio (Angel Tao and Ella Zhang)
Adjudicators Award, Highly Commended Award and National Finalist Award – Chiron Junior Trio (Ella Zhang)
SIC String Award – Ruzena String Quartet (Eve Lu, Angel Tao, Verity Jin)
NZ Composer Award – Camryn Nel (teacher at Dio) with Percussion Quartet
In August, Angel Tao and Ella Zhang performed magnificently at the national finals in Wellington – we are very proud of these high-performing JHS instrumentalists for competing at this incredibly high level.
In August our six large instrumental ensembles excelled themselves at the KBB Festival and once again brought home some fabulous awards. This instrumental festival is the only event of its kind in Australasia and involves the very highest levels of music-making for secondary school orchestras, bands and chamber orchestras. This year we had six large ensembles competing in four different categories. Over 150 schools competed at Holy Trinity Cathedral over a period of six days, with nearly 5,000 students involved.
Dio had seven awards presented, and the Chamber Orchestra was selected to perform at the Gala Concert at the conclusion of the festival:
Diocesan Chamber Orchestra – Gold Award and Most Outstanding Performance Award
Director – Shelagh Thomson, Leaders – May Wang and Amanda Yu
Diocesan Symphony Orchestra – Silver Award, and only one mark off gold!
Director – Shelagh Thomson, Leaders – Hannah Wellington and Casey Lam
ConcorDio Intermediate Strings – Bronze Award
Director – Shelagh Thomson, Leaders – Adalyn Tao and Xinzi Yang
Wind Band – Highly Commended
Director – Jono Tan, Leader – Elizabeth Flint
Dio/Dilworth Concert Band – Silver Award
Director – Rhys Kingaby, Leader – Grace Hegley
Dio/Dilworth Big Band – Silver Award
Director – David Stent, Leader – Catarina Young
In late August, Dio Hip Hop students participated in Dance NZ Made, a day of diverse workshops and performances from teams across Auckland. The girls had the opportunity to showcase their talents and our Dio AIMS Crew proudly took home first place across the entire competition.
At the AIMS Tournament, our AIMS Hip Hop Crew took fourth place out of 30 crews across the motu. We are very proud of dancers and their coach, Ashleigh Medcalf, for another fabulous set of results.
Our Dio K-pop troupe has exploded this year, with performances at Night of Dance, Arts Showcase and the JHS Christmas Revue. This group of student-led dancers has created a buzz with their very professional, high-energy performances. Arts Prefect Amada Yu has galvanised the dancers, creating a vibrant scene which has captured the attention of everyone. This genre is here to stay and we are very proud to have so many dancers involved.
Congratulations to all the students from Years 7 -13 across both these highly successful and popular genres of dance.
With our choral competitions over for another year, we are so proud of the achievements of all the choristers from across Year 5 to Year 13.
At the Big Sing finale in Wellington, our premier choir, St Cecilia Singers under the direction of our new Director of Choirs, Mr Jono Palmer, sang magnificently and brought home a Silver Award.
In September at the NZCF national Kids Sing Festival in Holy Trinity Cathedral, we had an incredible run with both Dio choirs at the top of their game and taking out nearly every award possible.
Awards for our choirs included:
St Cecilia Singers (Director – Jono Palmer) Silver Award (just one mark off gold!) Virtuoso Voce (Director – Andrea Creighton) Gold Award, Best Performance of Test Piece for Intermediate Choirs, Adjudicators’ Award Chapel Choir (Director – Mehernaz Pardiwalla) Gold Award, Best Performance of Test Piece for Junior Choirs, Best Performance of a New Zealand Work
We are thrilled that our choral programme continues to go from strength to strength, with choir numbers rising every year. We have a fantastic line-up of talented and extremely experienced choir directors on board and it’s another winning combination – go Dio!
Huge congratulations to four talented St Cecilia choristers – Joia Jackson (Yr12), Lotosina Tavui (Yr12), Imogen Cullen (Yr10) and Annabelle Frankham (Yr12) – who have been selected to join the prestigious New Zealand Secondary Students’ Choir for 2025.
This is an amazing accomplishment for these students to be chosen from hundreds of applicants across the motu. Well done to each of you for this remarkable achievement – and for Lotosina, this is the second time she has been selected for this fantastic choir!
With standards rising year on year, it becomes harder for the selection panel to choose finalists. With over 50 entries this year, the panel chose 23 finalists from Years 7 to 13. Both the audience and the adjudicator, international opera singer Katherine Wiles, were blown away by the stylistic performances from all these young vocalists. The repertoire on display was challenging and the adjudicator commented on the sophisticated and poised performances.
The results were:
Years 7 and 8
1st prize - Jasmine Hughes
2nd prize – Monica White
3rd prize – Mia Zhou and Isabella Bines
Years 9 and 10
1st prize – Gabriella Ram
2nd prize – Anna Yuan
3rd prize – Eve Lu
Years 11 - 13
1st prize – Amanda Yu
2nd prize – Lotosina Tavui
3rd prize – Emilia Young
Susan has been a loyal and dedicated itinerant music teacher at Dio for over 20 years. She started teaching piano in 2003 and has been the much-loved teacher of so many Dio girls over the years, taking students from beginner through to Diploma levels.
Sue has had an illustrious career as one of New Zealand’s top accompanists, working for NZ Opera, accompanying the Mobil Song Quest, examining, teaching, advising and performing at Auckland and Waikato Universities, and playing for stars like Dame Kiri Te Kanawa and Dame Malvina Major, to name but a few.
For 30 years she was New Zealand’s top examiner on the International Examining Panel of The Associated Board of the Royal Schools of Music, travelling the world in this capacity.
Over a 20-year period, she has been the chairperson of both the Dame Malvina Major Trust Board and the NZ Institute of Registered Teachers.
Susan was Director of Music at Avondale College for 10 years, and over this time, the music department flourished, becoming multi-gold award winning and renowned as one of the most diverse and highachieving departments in the country. She nurtured the talent of some of New Zealand’s finest young Pasifika singers, contemporary musicians and concert artists.
At Dio, Susan has accompanied every choir over the years, from Bella Voce through to St Cecilia Singers, she has accompanied NCEA and Scholarship exams, played organ for hundreds of chapel services, and as if that is not enough, has always maintained a very busy private piano studio, now with third-generation students. This is true testament to her professional skills as a teacher, but also her kind, caring and forever upbeat personality.
Susan is a tour de force with a work ethic and talent for music teaching rarely seen today. She is a fabulous colleague, with a wicked sense of humour and formidable memory – she has kept us entertained over the years regaling stories spanning 70 years.
Her dedication is second to none and she will always step up to help, organise or host any event, no matter how humble or prestigious. She is a committed Anglican with a very strong faith, having been a longstanding member of St Andrew’s parish church.
In 2004 Susan was awarded the Distinguished Officer of the New Zealand Order of Merit for her contribution and services to New Zealand music.
She will be sadly missed at Diocesan and we wish this truly remarkable lady all the very best in her retirement.
Shelagh Thomson, Director of Performing Arts
Despite a knee injury and being on crutches, one of Diocesan’s most acclaimed singers, Year 12 student Lotosina Tavui, took to the stage at the recent Big Sing finale in Wellington to perform a final rousing recital as a member of the highly esteemed New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Choir.
For Lotosina, who was one of the youngest members of the 60-member choir, it was an emotional end to a twoyear stint in the choir and the chance to perform in front of her school choir, the silver medal-winning St Cecilia Singers.
“I was so excited to perform our repertoire for the top school choirs in New Zealand, and hopefully influence others to audition for the choir later this year,” she says. “It was a great way to finish the cycle and having my school there watching was very moving.”
The choir, made up of secondary school students from throughout the
country, recently travelled to Shanghai, Hangzhou and Beijing as part of its 2024 international tour, performing in international competitions and festivals and taking part in cultural exchanges. Lotosina, who has won the School’s Aria Competition for three consecutive years and had one of the lead roles in this year’s record-breaking production of The Sound of Music, says the trip has been the highlight of her year.
“It was great to immerse myself in a whole new culture and environment, learning about different customs and traditions, as well as building my relationships with my fellow choir members,” she says.
“The most special thing about the tour was sharing not just New Zealand culture with China and its people, but also my Samoan culture.
“The NZSSC had prepared Māori pieces to take with us, as well as a Samoan piece.
Performing these pieces was always really special and it made us incredibly proud to represent New Zealand.”
Lotosina is hoping that her experience of being in the national choir will inspire other students at Dio to follow her path. During every school holiday, the choir meets for a week in a different city throughout the country to rehearse together, and then perform for the public.
“Being with a group of people who are just as passionate as you are about singing is truly amazing,” she says.
“I found it a life-changing experience, and it’s helped convince me that I want to follow a future career path as a singer and musician. I’d love to join the New Zealand Youth Choir, and study voice or music at university.”
Shelagh Thomson, Director of Performing Arts at Dio, paid tribute to Lotosina’s talent and dedication.
“Lotosina knows what it means to perform at a very high level, to commit and work as part of a team,” she says. “For her to be selected for the New
Zealand Secondary Students Choir at such a young age is true testimony to her advanced musicianship. To be working with the very best choral directors in the country and singing alongside the very best young choristers nationwide, has been a lifechanging experience for her.”
Lotosina has loved performing from a young age, and in addition to her singing success, has played principal euphonium in both the Symphony and Concert Band for many years. However, one of the roles she’s most proud of is her leadership of the school’s Pasifika Group.
“I’ve always been very involved with my Samoan culture and it’s something that I grew up learning about and embracing, so when I came to Dio there was no question about continuing to explore and celebrate my culture here as well.
“What I love most about singing and music is that it’s a universal language that brings people together, helping them connect on a deeper level. It transcends boundaries, unites people, and speaks directly to the heart.”
Cups and trophies were presented to Year 13 girls with an exemplary level of commitment, ability and participation.
At the end of Term 3, once again we combined two iconic Dio arts events, Showcase and the Arts Awards to create one celebratory evening showcasing our performing arts along with awarding trophies.
Sculpted by Imogen’s father, Richard Wells, this bronze is presented to a student showing all-round excellence in the arts. One hundred per cent dedicated to the performing arts, Ella has represented Dio in choirs, orchestras, dance shows, singing competitions, drama productions and taken lead roles in every School production – the list goes on. Her ability to share her enthusiasm, along with a professional approach to performing on stage, is infectious.
Service underpins all that we do here at Diocesan. The arts need people who show a level of commitment and perseverance that goes beyond just being involved. We honour these two recipients for giving their energy, time and talent very generously as performers, helpers and mentors across multiple disciplines, music, dance and drama. They have been excellent role models for our younger students and are totally deserving of this award.
Camryn Nel
Camryn has been unwavering in his dedication to our orchestras and bands this year. As a full-time economics teacher, he has somehow found time to train our percussion section, take orchestral rehearsals and play guitar at staff briefings! Camryn is an exceptional musician himself, both as a professional percussionist and a composer, this year winning the NZ Composition Award at the NZCT Chamber Music Competitions. He has just completed writing a symphony and we hope that a Dio group will get to perform one of his compositions in the near future.
Hannah Wellington
Hannah is one of our few outstanding brass players and has been an exceptional role model over her years at Dio. She is the longest standing member of the Dio Symphony Orchestra – seven years of leadership and dedication and three gold awards to her name. This year she has committed herself fully to the orchestra leadership role. Over many years she has also taken the leadership roles in the Concert Band, Big Band and chamber groups as principal trombone. Entering the Concerto competition since Year 7 and winning the brass cup three times, Hannah has played a huge part in the success of our orchestras and bands, especially when female brass players are a rarity.
The Rosey Eady Cup for a ‘special individual who will make a difference’
Amanda Yu
Amanda’s talents have been clear from a very young age. In music, Amanda has represented the School in choirs and orchestras at both regional and national level. In rhythmic gymnastics she has won awards at both regional and national level, she has taken lead roles in all our school productions, initiated and led our K-pop troupe, and this year her crowning glories were the lead role of Maria in The Sound of Music and winning the Senior Aria Competition. Amanda has phenomenal talents as a designer and graphic artist and this year she also won gold and Supreme Winner at the national finals of the Shakespeare Festival for her costume design. Her mentorship and leadership skills are exemplary, and she has played a big part in making 2024 move forward in a very positive way. Amanda is definitely an individual who will make a difference.
As usual, Dio students delivered a feast of performance styles, representing some of New Zealand’s finest young singers, instrumentalists and dancers. This evening did not disappoint with its award-winning choirs, rock bands, orchestras, dancers, Kapa Haka performers and visual artists, who displayed artworks on the screens around the foyer. Families and community enjoyed watching awardees perform on stage, putting our 2024 successes into perspective in a true celebration of the amazing talent here at Dio.
On Thursday 24 October, we celebrated Diocesan’s sports achievements for 2024 at our annual Years 11–13 Sports Awards, this year with the addition of Years 9 and 10, showcasing even more successes in our celebration of our young athletes.
We were honoured to have Dio alumna and Paris 2024 Olympian Kate Haines as our guest speaker this year. She shared a compelling message on women in sport, highlighting the values of hard work, resilience, and the friendships that sport fosters. Alongside Kate, former student and current sports department member Gabby Olopau reminded us of the powerful impact Dio’s sporting community had on her own personal journey. She reflected on how Dio had sparked her love of sport and, during her most vulnerable moments in and out of the pool, taught her the tools to face challenges.
Sport can be challenging, but finding your place and role can positively impact others and build resilience that extends far beyond any game. We are grateful to all the coaches, managers, staff and students whose efforts have made this year in sport unforgettable.
Top sports awards
Spraggon McFarlane Cup for Outstanding Code Captain
Jade Miller and Lexy Fletcher
Dio Student Official of the Year
Ruby Thomas
Dio Student Coach of the Year
We could not run sports as we do without our student coaches. We have over 100 students each year giving up time to volunteer and give back to our younger sports teams. Due to the incredible commitment shown by our student coaches we have split this award into two categories: Dio Sport Senior Coach of the Year (coaching Years 7-10) and Dio Sport Junior Coach of the Year (coaching Years 1-6).
Dio Student Coach of the Year (Senior School) Ruby Hulme (football) Dio Student Coaches of the Year (Junior School) Sophia Jackson and Louise Masefield (flippa ball)
Coach of the Year - Hitu Patel
Under Hitu’s guidance, this year the Diocesan Premier hockey team achieved its first National hockey title since 2009 - a remarkable accomplishment that speaks volumes about his dedication and passion.
Vicki Hearfield Cup for Enthusiasm and Passion to Sport Lily Shanley and Mia Buckland
Alison Roe Cup — Service to Sport
Anaïs Hamilton
Volunteer of the Year Blair and Julia Shanley
Bayley’s Award for Staff Contribution
Jessica Thompson
Team of the Year 1st XI Hockey
Alexandra Fletcher, Amy Shennan, Anaïs Hamilton, Evie Houtman, Hollie Lawson,
Indigo Riley, Isla Barker, Katherine Wyber, Katie Astwick, Laura Bowden, Livvy Barker, Olivia Carpenter, Poppy Tingey, Samantha Ford, Sara Revell, Casey Lam, Sophia Dobby, Sophie Tierney and Zoe Paterson.
Del Hooper Cup for Individual Achievement Rachael Griffiths
Barabara Kissling – Premier Sportswoman Vita Yarrell-Stevenson
The Junior Honours Award recognises achievement at the highest level. The recipients have demonstrated exceptional ability in their chosen code. Our winners have all represented New Zealand at a world championship event (either in Year 9 or 10 or in an U-16 age group world championships).
Junior Honours Awards – Bowie Wang (fencing), Teresa Wang and Queenie Lang (golf), along with members of the NZ U-16 water polo team Charlie Sawden, Erin Veal, Jemma Mckinley, Olivia Patterson, Sophie Walter and Violet Smith.
The Senior Honours Award recognises achievement at the highest level. The recipients have demonstrated exceptional ability in their chosen codes. Our winners have all represented New Zealand at a world championship event at age 18 and above level.
Senior Honours Awards – Rachael Griffiths (underwater hockey), Abby Welsh and Ellie Millard (water polo).
Dio has been well represented on the international sporting stage this year, with more than 30 students and coaches representing New Zealand in their chosen codes. We congratulate all our girls who have proudly worn the Silver Fern on their achievements this year.
Jacqui Nasrabadi (Year 12) was a member of the national U-18 Track and Field team that competed in the Australian U-18 National Championships in Adelaide in April. Jacqui competed in the long jump despite a challenging lead-up to this event with a niggly leg injury. She persevered and secured the bronze medal for New Zealand, while also setting a new Personal Best. We are very proud of Jacqui’s hard work, determination, and resilience.
A huge congratulations to Maddie Worrall (Year 10) for her amazing performances at the AUS/NZ Cross Country Championships, held recently in Adelaide. Maddie represented New Zealand as part of the NZ Secondary Schools’ team and secured two remarkable top five finishes – coming fifth in the U-14/15 Cross Country and fourth in the Time Trial. Her selection to be part of the New Zealand team is a testament to her hard work and dedication, and her success in Adelaide reflects her talent and determination.
Congratulations also goes to Indie Williams (Year 10) who was selected as a non-travelling reserve for the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Cross Country team.
Isla Sellar (Year 12) represented the New Zealand as part of the Junior Development Diving team at the Dubive event in Dubai in March this year. Isla competed in three events and won gold
in her age group platform event. She added two silvers in the 1m and 3m springboard events.
Sophia Hitchin (Year 11) also represented New Zealand in diving at the Australian Age Group Championships.
New-to-Dio student Bowie Wang (Year 10) was part of the New Zealand fencing team that competed in Australia earlier this year, where she placed sixth in her individual result in the Australia Youth Circuit, ninth in the Australia/Oceania U-20, and second in the NZ/Oceania U-20 team.
Bowie also competed in the 2024 Commonwealth Cadet (U-17) and Junior (U-20) Fencing Championships during the school holidays in July. She did exceptionally well, including third place in the Junior Team Women’s Foil along with Chantelle May (Dio alumna 2022) who was also part of the New Zealand team.
Year 12 student Zoe Schnuriger represented New Zealand in the Black Ice New Zealand synchronised iceskating team, competing in Scotland at the Trophy d’Ecosse earlier this year. The team put in an outstanding effort and was awarded a well-deserved bronze medal. They were also awarded another bronze medal at the Hevelius Cup in Poland. The team scored new Personal Bests and enjoyed competing against other teams.
Christine Aixinjueluo (Year 11) was selected to represent the NZ ‘A’ team at the Swan Trophy, an international skating competition in Australia this year, and was placed fourth.
Teresa Wang (Year 9) finished in fifth place at the FCG Calloway World Championship in California, USA, and first place at the New Zealand National Age Group Championship.
Queenie Lang (Year 9) also represented New Zealand at the FCG Calloway World Championship and achieved success across numerous national competitions.
Congratulations to Louella Chabal-T (Year 10) who attended the Rhythmic Gymnastics LA 2024 Competition in January this year, winning her age division and placing sixth overall out of
40 contestants in Level 7.
Congratulations also to Sarah Kennard (Year 9) who was selected for the NZ Step 9 Gymnastics Team in the WOGA Classic in Texas.
Special congratulations to Liv Barker for being selected for the New Zealand U-18 Future Black Sticks camp. Liv was the third top goal scorer at Federation Cup and one of only four Year 12s in the country to be picked for the camp.
Brooke Chandler, Diocesan Hockey captain of 2023 and current Diocesan Years 7/8 and 2nd XI coach, was also selected for the squad.
Congratulations to Anna Green on her selection as a non-travelling reserve for the U-20 New Zealand Women’s World Cup Lacrosse Team which competed in Hong Kong in August.
As one of the top 10 Junior (U-15) orienteers in New Zealand, Cerys Findlow (Year 10) was selected to participate in the Southern Cross Junior Orienteering Challenge, held in Armidale, NSW, Australia, during the recent school holidays. The New Zealanders were divided into two equal teams who compete against the top orienteers from each of the seven Australian states for the Southern Cross Junior Challenge Trophy.
Cerys was in Karahiwi (spurs and high points) who won the competition, narrowly beating Harua (depressions and low places) by just two points. New South Wales were twelve points behind that, continuing the New Zealand dominance in this competition since its inception in 20023.
Cerys also placed ninth in the W16A orienteering sprint, as part of the National Australian Orienteering Championships, held in conjunction with the schools’ events.
Congratulations to Sophie-Jo Hawkins (Year 13) who competed in the Youth International Match Racing Cup earlier this year.
Anna Yuan (Year 9) was selected to represent New Zealand in the U-14 Ski Squad in the Youth FIS Whistler Cup Ski
Racing event held in Whistler, Canada earlier this year.
Anna competed against 140 athletes from 18 different countries in her category. Despite the intense competition and the high skill levels of her peers, Anna achieved remarkable success by placing 10th in the Slalom and 13th in the Giant Slalom events.
Congratulations to Rachael Griffiths (13SE) who was selected for the New Zealand U-19 Underwater Hockey team that travelled to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in July to compete in the age group world championships. The team won bronze in a very tightly contested grade. Montana Wilson (2018) played in the New Zealand U-24 Women’s team, with Georgia Child (2011) as assistant coach, and they completely dominated the competition, taking out the gold! Thomas Holdom (Dio Senior coach) was also a member of the New Zealand U-24 men’s team that won gold!
The New Zealand U-16 water polo team was selected to attend the World Aquatics U-16 World Championships in Manisa, Türkiye at the end of June. Diocesan Year 12 students Violet Smith, Erin Veal and Charlie Sawden, along with Year 11 students Olivia Patterson, Sophie Walter and Jemma McKinley, were part of the team. This was the first time that New Zealand has sent a team to this event.
Ellie Millard (Year 13) and Abby Welsh (Year 12) were selected for the New Zealand U-18 Water Polo team which finished in eighth place at the World Aquatics Women’s U-18 Water Polo Championships in September. Lia David (Year 13) and Lucy Gilleece (Year 12) were non-travelling reserves for this group. The coaching staff included Facundo Policarpo, who has been working with some of our junior teams, as well as Diocesan Director of Sport, Angie Winstanley-Smith.
In addition, Sophie O'Leary, Leni Webster, Holly Bricklebank, Lucy Gilleece, Paige Ellis and Annabelle Imlah were selected for the U-17 Australian State Championship team, and Chloe Sandor, Charlotte Manks and Henrietta Yarrell-Stevenson were selected for the U-15 Australian State Championship team.
Eight-year-old Sina caught TV attention after a record throw
Twelve-year old shot putter Sina-Maria Su’a has her sights firmly set on the Los Angeles Olympics in four years’ time, after a world record-breaking throw at a recent international athletics meet in Auckland.
The Year 8 Dio student threw 12.87m in the 12-year-old girls’ category, smashing the previous world record of 12.80m. She threw a 4kg shot – something generally reserved for much older competitors. She was also ranked first equal in the national U-20 competition, second in the New Zealand U-18 competition, and fifth in the New Zealand Senior Women’s competition.
Sina-Maria is also a champion discus thrower, and she currently holds 16 world age group records across both disciplines.
She lists world-renown New Zealand shot putters Dame Valerie Adams, Lisa Adams and Jacko Gill as her heroes and mentors, and followed the New Zealand athletics team closely in the recent Paris Olympics and Paralympics.
“I’ve met Dame Valerie and Lisa Adams at my Dad’s SUP2 clothing shop in Auckland,” she says. “I’m lucky to be coached by Jacko Gill's mother and father and see Jacko at training and competitions up and down the country, so I get to rub shoulders with such fantastic athletes. They really inspire me.”
Sina-Maria’s father, Winston, first signed her up for the Takapuna Athletics Club when she was eight years old, and he says she fell in love with discus and shot put straight away.
“When I first broke the world age group record for eight-yearold girls and there was TV coverage of it, that really opened my eyes and inspired me to keep at it!” Sina-Maria says.
Northcote-based Sina-Maria comes from a sporting family
– Winston is a former professional rugby and rugby league player, and both parents are still heavily involved in sport and supporting Sina-Maria. Her older sister Summer-Hope is a fulltime dance and ballet performer, while her older stepbrothers Roman, Max and Sam all play football.
“Dad is always at my training sessions and both him and Mum share attending my competitions and training,” SinaMaria says. “They’re both always there to support me in all my achievements.”
Sina-Maria trains five days a week – often in the early hours before school starts with her schedule including regular gym work and throwing practice.
She’s also in the Year 8 Dio A basketball team and plays weekly matches on a Friday evening. She’d also like to give women's rugby a go one day, if her schedule allows!
When she’s not involved in her many sporting activities, SinaMaria loves art, reading and writing in her journal. She has plans to become a vet once she leaves school, but for now, she remains steadfastly committed to the job in hand.
“Every month I set new goals for training and school and also to become a better person in general,” she says. “My long-term goal is to compete in the Olympics. I’m currently throwing 13m in the 4kg category and the qualifying throw is usually 18 to 19m to make it into the top 32 women in the world, so I’ve got a way to go. But I’m determined!”
In the meantime, Sina-Maria has her sights set on making the New Zealand team to compete in the Youth Olympic Games in Dakar, Africa, in October 2026.
We all wish her well!
1st XI football travelled to Nelson to compete at the NZSS Lotto Premier Tournament. After great pool matches against Selwyn College, Rangi Ruru Girls’ and Otumoetai College, without losing a game, the team moved through to the top 16. The next few games were more challenging, but the girls finished on a high, again playing Otumoetai and winning in a penalty shoot-out, finishing fifteenth. Congratulations to Holly Webster and Ava Carey for an outstanding tournament and receiving a joint MVP award. Huge thanks to Ashleigh Taylor and Kit Bushell for coaching, and to all the parents for their support.
Congratulations to our 1st XI hockey team who won the Federation Cup for the first time since 2009, and only the third time in history. The Federation Cup and Marie Fry Trophy is played every year as part of Winter Tournament Week, and is the tier 1 and 2 tournament for the top 32 1st XI hockey teams in New Zealand. The team played the whole tournament without conceding a single goal. The final game against St Cuthbert’s, the defending champions, was tense and exciting. The score was locked at 0-0 with four minutes left to play. Liv Barker scored, and then Sara Revell scored from a penalty corner in the final 30 seconds of the game; the final score 2-0 to Dio. Congratulations to the players, captains, coaches, team management, and the Dio hockey programme – we are all so proud!
The 2nd hockey team headed down to Dunedin for the Chris Arthur Tournament, the National 2nd XI tournament. Despite a tough start to the week, the girls had lots of great learning experiences, great weather, a trip up to Knox College, and finished with an awesome 4-0 win against King’s College. Thank you to our parent helpers, coaches Brooke Chandler and Anna Bannatyne and to our amazing manager, Mr Woodall!
UNISS (Upper North Island Secondary Schools) began with a strong performance from our premier netball team, securing three consecutive wins to top our pool. Our first crossover game on Day 2 was a tough challenge against Botany, a team we had faced twice earlier in the season with both matches ending in losses. However, our players put on an outstanding team performance and claimed a hard-fought victory by a single goal. Day 3 presented another tough test with two challenging games against strong opponents. Losing to Lynfield and Mt Maunganui, despite the team’s best efforts, placed Dio in the 9-16 pool. The following day saw another double-header; a win against Tuakau and a narrow loss to Massey in a fiercely contested game. This set up a semi-final against a strong Whakatane team. Despite a determined effort, we were unable to secure a win, placing us in a final match against Otamatea High School. After a well-deserved win, Dio finished the tournament in eleventh place. It was great to see the players demonstrate resilience, skill, and teamwork throughout a challenging week of competition.
Our Diocesan Fencing A Team qualified for the NZSS Nationals event by winning the Northern Secondary Schools’ Teams Foils Competition in May. The Team of Vanessa Huang, Bowie Wang, Joanna Chen, and Wendy Chen had a fabulous event and won the gold medal in the Teams’ Foils Competition. In the Individual Women’s Foil event, Bowie Wang won silver, and our code captain Vanessa Huang won bronze. Many thanks to our coach Rory Ogg, our parent supporters on the day and congratulations team on your amazing success!
The Diocesan Equestrian team had an outstanding NISS Championships during Winter Tournament Week in Taupo.
The Dressage team of Piper Hayton, Coco Fougere, Parker Feuchs and Holly Tongue won first place, an incredible result given the event had over 800 horses or ponies competing.
We had further amazing results:
Coco Fougere: Dressage 70% 1st, 71% 6th, 72.7% 2nd / Show Hunter –6th / Show Jumping – 4th / Overall Individual Dressage – 3rd / Overall Individual Jumping – 3rd
Holly Tongue: Dressage 65% 10th / Show Jumping – accumulating points for the team
Congratulations to our Dio athletes who competed in the inaugural New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Road Race Relay Festival that was held in Auckland. Dio entered a Year 9 team – Luisa Haines, Isabelle Brunton, Maggie Croft and Grace Larsen, and a Junior Girls’ team –Maddie Worrall, Scarlett Gwin, Hannah McManus and Indie Williams.
On the first day of racing, our Junior team picked up the gold medal, and our Year 9 team claimed bronze. Day 2 of the Road Race event featured the regional relay races, where our Year 9 and Junior athletes represented Auckland.
Congratulations to Maddie Worrall, Hannah McManus and Indie Williams who won gold for their age group, and also our Year 9 Auckland reps Grace Larsen; Luisa Haines and Maggie Croft who came first and second in their respective Auckland Year 9 teams.
Congratulations to Teresa Wang who won the 2024 NZ National Age Group Championships, and also won the NZ Secondary Schools’ Individual Girls Championship.
Teresa overcame three rounds in brutal conditions at the New Plymouth Golf
Parker Feuchs: Dressage 66.1% 3rd, 62.6% 8th / Show Jumping –accumulating points for the team
Piper Hayton: Overall Individual Dressage - 4th
Brooke Marlo: Show Hunter - 4th
Maggie Allen: Arena Eventing –accumulating points for the team / CTRAwesome ride gaining points for the Years 7 and 8 team
Allegra Francis: Arena Eventing - 7th / Show Hunter – accumulating points for the team
Club, with 40kph winds. She was consistent throughout the tournament, winning five shots ahead of the runnerup. Congratulations Teresa – an amazing achievement!
The Premier Lacrosse team competed in Te Awamutu at the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Lacrosse Tournament, finishing fourth in their pool. They continued to improve throughout the tournament and finished off in style beating Paeroa 20-1, placing ninth overall.
Dio Basketball competed in the Northern Regional Cup at the Trusts Arena. The team played well over the tournament, placing eleventh overall. Thanks to coach Johansen for all your support throughout the season.
Dio Underwater Hockey was represented by a Junior and a Senior team who competed well throughout the tournament. Both teams earned sixth place. Thank you to superstar team managers Lisa Hopwood-Craig and Josie Lambert, and the coaching team of Thomas Holdom and Jess Huddart for all your support over the weekend and throughout the season.
The Dio Cycling Squad had an amazing weekend at the Cycling New Zealand NZSS Northern Tour with some fantastic results across all age groups. These girls have all trained incredibly hard through the cold and dark winter months and let it all out in the sunshine across three grueling events: Individual Time Trial, Hill Climb (up Mt Wellington) and Criterium. Dio featured prominently on the podium:
Individual Time Trial:
U-13 Alyssa Burrows 2nd, Lily Worthington 3rd
U-15 Mika James 1st
U-16 Indie Williams 1st (and broke Coach Georgie’s record from 2009)
Hill Climb:
U-16 Indie Williams 1st (and National Hill Climb Champion)
U-20 Lily Shanley 3rd
Criterium:
U-13 Alyssa Burrows 2nd
U-15 Mika James 2nd, Alice Wellington 3rd
U-17 Indie Williams 2nd
U-20 Lily Shanley dominated the first two sprints before being caught up in a crash and unable to finish the race.
Overall General Classification:
U-13 Alyssa Burrows 2nd
U-15 Mika James 2nd
U-17 Indie Williams 2nd
Isabella Riley was also awarded the Spirit of Cycling prize for being an amazing teammate and helping a fellow competitor down off an incredibly steep and windy Mt Wellington.
Congratulations to the entire squad on their achievements over the weekend!
A huge thanks to our amazing coaching team – Georgie, Eloise, Adam and Will – and all the parents for their help and support throughout a very busy weekend.
Jasmine Hughes got into the A Final with placings of first and third in her heats. The final was brutal, canoes upside down and paddling into each other. Jasmine remained calm and finished sixth in the individual event. Jasmine also paddled in a composite Year 8 Girls’ team, also winning bronze.
Jessica Wang had an exceptional tournament at AIMS over three days of singles tennis, moving through the initial two rounds winning in straight sets. Jess comfortably moved through to the finals, and put up a huge fight, but lost her final game 6-2, 6-3, winning herself the silver medal.
Our Year 8 girls put in a fantastic effort, running through the heat and racing a fast pace to claim second place in the team event. Congratulations to Grace Dearlove, Noomi Riley, Abi Bethell and Clementine Coney.
Yachting had three breezy days on the water, with weather conditions suiting Flora Stephens and Jessica Lee, but unfortunately never both on the same day. Final results saw Flora come home in third individual place, and with Jessica’s finish contributing, the Year 8 Girls’ team won bronze.
Placed 14th in B Grade and 46th overall out of 143 teams.
The AIMS Years 7 and 8 hockey team had a great start to their week, scoring over 50 goals in pool play! The girls went through to quarters, then semis and only narrowly missed out on making the final after losing to a strong Kamo Intermediate team in a sudden death penalty shoot-out! The girls were determined to medal, and that they didbeating Otumoetai 4-2 to secure bronze. Special thank-you to Coach Vic Stratton and manager Fiona Thomson for all their help and care throughout the week.
At the end of pool play, the Dio Ducks were placed first equal with RI and St Cuthbert’s but unfortunately were seeded third going into the semi-finals. The semi-final was played against St Cuthbert’s College who won by a goal. They went on to win bronze against Carmel College.
Emily Wang competed in rhythmic gymnastics earning a 9.250 (3rd) on the clubs and a 9.150 in the hoop (2nd), finishing fourth overall.
Lulu Lang had two very consistent days at Te Puke and Tauranga Golf Courses, hitting 79 on each course to be in the top 10. Lulu played her final round on Thursday at Mount Maunganui, finishing 20th overall.
After a few chain malfunctions, Phoebe Ulmer kept her nerve, narrowly missing the podium by finishing in fourth spot. A great result for Phoebe after also competing in cross country and hockey during the week.
Our swim team was exceptional with every swimmer earning personal bests in their events and even a few medals!
The 4x50m relay team of Ella Van Schaik, Catherine Li, Sienna Webby and Anna Li won a silver medal.
Our 6x50m Relay team of Ella Van Schaik, Connie Chen, Rosie Karpik, Catherine Li, Sienna Webby and Anna Li won the gold medal for this event.
The 4x50m relay team of Ella Van Schaik, Rosie Karpik, Sienna Webby and Anna Li also won the silver medal.
To medal in all three relay events is exceptional and a great achievement for Dio swimming.
Catherine Li also won bronze in the 100m breaststroke (12-year-old division).
Placed 22nd overall.
Placed 12th overall.
The Year 8 Girls’ team (Flora Stevens Oskam, Ellie Cumberland) finished fifth in the Rogaine challenge. The Year 7 pairing of Abbie To and Isabel Wong finished 18th.
Our Junior School sports programme provides a fantastic vehicle for raising young girls with the characteristics required to succeed. Through sports our girls are challenged, they learn, grow stronger, improve their skills and build positive relationships with others while they have a ton of fun. We love that our girls show up in such large numbers to play sports and are absolutely brimming with enthusiasm. We certainly saw many shining examples of courage, resilience, determination, commitment, effort, teamwork and sportsmanship over the winter months.
Term 3 was our busiest term for sports this year, with the two biggest winter codes in full swing – netball with 107 girls participating, and hockey with 93 girls participating. We facilitated 540 individual sport registrations for netball, hockey, flippa ball, artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, jump jam, futsal, football, ski racing, taekwondo and playball. As well as taking our netball, hockey, football and artistic gymnastics teams to Zones tournaments, we also
hosted the Junior School cross country event.
There were many successes to celebrate. Our top Year 6 netball team placed first equal in Pool B at the Auckland Central Zones tournament. (Auckland Netball do not publish winter league results and there are no final placings as the emphasis is on fun and participation, rather than results.)
Our top Year 6 hockey team placed second at the Auckland Central Zones tournament and were the top all-girls team and they placed second in their Auckland winter hockey league.
Of note, our Year 6 mini polo team, the Mermaids, placed with gold in the Term 3 Mini Polo league. Our Year 3 artistic gymnasts placed with gold at the greater Auckland Champion of Champions event in September. Our Years 5 and 6 Jump Jam team, the Dio Divas, placed second at the Auckland Strictly Jump Jam competition and won the Best Sportsmanship award and our Years 3 and 4 Dancing Queens
placed fourth. Both teams qualified for Nationals in Tauranga in November. Our Years 5 and 6 cross country team placed first overall at the Auckland Zones event. Our Dio ski racing team placed first overall at the Auckland Primary School Ski Champs held at Snowplanet.
Lucinda Batchelor, Junior School Sports Manager
Over the course of 2024 Parents & Friends has turned to the Year 13 theme ‘looking back to move forward’ as we planned events and upcoming projects. Borrowing from the girls, we too have taken time to reflect on what has worked, our successes, our trials and tribulations, using these reflections to develop a plan to try new things, grow and move through 2024 and into 2025 ready for what’s next.
In Term 4 we held a new event, a Junior School Parent Daughter breakfast. Expanding on our original Father Daughter breakfast of years gone by, we had already gone off book in Term 2 with a Senior School Father Daughter Quiz. Promising not to leave out the young ones, we were thrilled when Brett Fairweather, world aerobic champion and creator of Jump Jam agreed to travel to Auckland for this event. Brett not only has years of awards in his field of aerobics, but he took his passion for this sport and decided to focus on bringing fitness and fun to young children across New Zealand and Australia. Jump Jam has been a longstanding morning activity in the Junior School: the music kicks off at 8:15am every morning, rain or shine, and the girls get out and wake up their bodies and minds with joyful movement. The breakfast was an action-packed and inspirational event and we thank Brett and Linda Fairweather for joining us at Dio to celebrate the importance of health and physical wellbeing.
We held our annual cocktail party in November, a favourite event with parents across the entire school and especially those with girls in Year 13. The year-end cocktail party, like the Dio brownie, never goes out of fashion and is always well attended.
Speaking of the brownie, our café did a roaring trade over 2024, giving girls a chance to pick up a treat, parents a chance to not pack lunch for a day, and many volunteers a chance to step behind the scenes and engage with the Dio community. Our staff keep the menu fresh with pressed paninis and salad creations, alongside the fan favourites like the Dio brownie and mince pie. All funds from our café are put back into areas of the School, from the arts and sports to learning environments and recreational spaces. We are proud to contribute these café funds to improve many aspects of the School. Moving forward, P&F hope to redevelop the Café kitchen in 2025, to ensure we can continue to cater to our Dio girls and staff by providing healthy and delicious lunch and snack options.
Scholarship as initiated in 2024, work with DIO property on the Café kitchen redesign, and build our committee with parents from across the whole School.
Any parents interested in volunteering with our committee are welcome to attend meetings, step into the Café for a morning, or join us at specific events. We would love to hear from you if you would like to learn more or volunteer at PFA@diocesan.school.nz.
As we begin to plan for 2025, we are excited to continue to work with the Heritage Foundation on the Buchanan
P&F wish all students and families a wonderful holiday season and we look forward to seeing you all in 2025.
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As we approach the end of another fantastic year, it’s time to reflect on the many highlights that have brought our alumnae community together during 2024. I hope you enjoy reading about them in the following pages, as well as fantastic stories of the far reach our Dio Old Girls have.
This year, the Alumnae Committee has spent time rediscovering our ‘why’ to ensure our offerings and how we connect align with the needs and desires of the alumnae community. With members aged three to 93 and beyond, located across the world, this is no small feat!
We’re working hard to tailor our events and initiatives to reflect the diversity of our community, and we sincerely thank everyone who provided feedback in the Alumnae Engagement Survey to help shape our direction, especially with regard to events and networking opportunities. It was wonderful to hear from so many of you, offering insights about what you’d like to see from us. There are strong and valid ideas about how we, as an alumnae collective, can offer value and impact, so stay tuned to our social channels for updates.
The call for recommendations for the Alumnae Merita Award is now open. If you know a Dio alumna making a significant impact in the community, this
is your chance to help us celebrate their incredible achievements. Submit your recommendations via dioalumnae@diocesan.school.nz
The Graduation Ball is one of the year’s alumnae highlights and we officially welcome the Class of 2024 as ‘Old Girls’. We cannot wait to see where their journeys take them.
Have a wonderful Christmas and New Year break.
Ut Serviamus
Emily Steel President, Diocesan Alumnae Association
AUCKLAND DIOCESAN ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION (INC)
PRESIDENT
Emily Steel (Houlker)
VICE PRESIDENT
Sheryl Tan
TREASURER
Felicity Buche (Olson)
EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT
Nicki de Villiers (Dods)
EDITOR – ALUMNAE ASSOCIATION DIO
TODAY PAGES
Deirdre Coleman d.g@slingshot.co.nz
COMMITTEE
Sarah Mackenzie (Macalister)
Damaya Pasupati (Rasanathan)
Sarah Liebmann (Gibbons)
Danielle Harper (Benjamin)
Auckland Diocesan Alumnae Association PO Box 28-382, Remuera, Auckland 1541
The Women2Watch Committee invites your nominations for this special award to our younger alumnae. Presented at a special School assembly, it recognises those aged 35 or under on 31 December 2025 who are demonstrating excellence in their chosen field. Nominate yourself or someone else. A name and occupation are enough – we’ll do the rest.
Contact Georgina Shaw: frandgs@xtra.co.nz.
Finding new ways to challenge herself physically and mentally has been central to how Amy Hitchcock (PY1997) has approached life since her time at Diocesan.
Amy has spent the past 20 years working in finance, including in her current role as Head of Investment Operations at the Guardians of New Zealand Superannuation, which manages the $76 billion New Zealand Superannuation Fund.
During her school days at Dio, Amy’s academic interests leant more towards the sciences, and in her final year she was in the top 5% for geography. She went on to study at the University of Auckland. However, with a Bachelor of Commerce in economics and a Bachelor of Science in mathematics, a career as a financial analyst was a natural choice.
After a stint in London working as a consultant, Amy returned to New Zealand in 2010 and became a Project Manager at BNZ before joining the Guardians in 2015. While working there, she’s been involved in numerous advocacy groups and started an in-house women’s network. She’s also spoken at various events aimed at helping women in the financial sector to develop their careers.
“There’s been a big change in ensuring that diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are actively promoted,” she says. “I’m a big advocate of these ideas and being in a senior position, I feel like I can help create that change.”
Amy’s pursuit of new skills and knowledge has seen her take on learning Te Reo Ma¯ori, and she can now converse in basic Te Reo. “That began because the Guardians offered basic courses to staff for Te Reo Ma¯ori. Once those had finished, I’d developed a hunger for further learning.”
Amy continues her Te Reo journey through Te Wa¯nanga Aotearoa, which, to her surprise, is hosted at Dio. She believes her study has given her a deeper appreciation of Ma¯ori culture as well as the language and a highlight for her has been visiting and staying on the marae as part of her study.
“It opens your eyes completely,” says Amy. “To be immersed in that language adds a whole new dimension to your understanding. I’m happy to see that Dio still offers that to students, as it was just being introduced in my final year.”
Amy also challenges herself physically. An active runner, she’s done Macpac’s trail run series over winter and raised funds for the rainbow community through ‘Sweat with Pride’ – a monthlong campaign in which participants are sponsored to work up a sweat for at least 21 minutes every day of June.
“It just feels like the right thing to do,” she says. “Supporting minority groups, whether it’s our rainbow community, women in finance or whoever else, I’m a strong believer in helping in whatever way I can.”
It was only after Amy had left Dio that she understood how fortunate she was to have been educated there. In particular, she says it was the fact the teachers cared enough to be honest with their students that helped her achieve.
“When I got my top marks in geography, my teacher called to congratulate me and say they were proud of me. I was glad they’d given me honest feedback before and had pushed me to succeed.”
The Women2Watch Awards celebrate the achievements of Diocesan alumnae under the age of 35 who have completed their education at Dio to Year 13. The 2024 winners, Alice Mander (2017) and Tessa Vincent (2010), were honoured at a special School assembly in August.
Alice is a lawyer, a disability advocate and a writer who currently works in the litigation team at Simpson Grierson in Wellington.
In Year 13, Alice was Deputy Prefect –School Events. She received academic honours and was also a talented singer and actress who was involved in choirs and school productions.
This year, Alice graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a Bachelor of Law (Hons) and a BA in sociology and film studies. She collected several prestigious awards during her studies and was the student speaker at her graduation ceremony.
While attending university, Alice changed her perspective on her place in the world. She has Limb Girdle Muscular Dystrophy and, while she used to want nothing to do with disability, she’s now proud to be a disabled woman.
“I couldn’t stand the word disabled,” she says. “I didn’t think it described me and I didn’t want it to describe me because everything I thought I knew about the disabled community was negative.”
Alice says we’re told to feel sorry for disabled people, not to aspire to be like them. However, she came to realise that she was not the problem; rather it was the negative attitudes toward disability that needed to change.
“If I hadn’t learned to embrace that part of my identity, I would never have achieved the things that got me to where I am today.”
Her journey into disability activism began with a fortnightly column in the Victory University magazine Salient – Token Cripple explored her experiences as a disabled woman.
Alice has been heavily involved in the student and disabled communities, participating in national and international panels on disability and student voice. President of the Victoria University Disabled Students Association, she established the National Disabled Students Association in 2020. Alice and other disabled student advocates worked alongside national student organisations, government departments, politicians and educational institutions to achieve a more equitable tertiary system. These efforts saw her receive an Attitude Impact Award and a NZ Local Hero Award.
Her work with the community and her legal studies gave Alice the unique opportunity to be appointed as a panel member on the Independent Electoral Law Review, where she’s involved in policy and legal discussions across all areas of electoral law.
Alice counts herself incredibly fortunate to have received a Dio education and she urges young women especially to speak up about injustices in the world.
“As Dio students, we get opportunities so many young people don’t and we’re also often sheltered from some of the harsh realities of the world, so it’s important we use what we learn here and the voices we develop to contribute to important conversations and call out injustice where we see it.”
She also says it’s easier to excel at things you love doing and to keep at it when things get tough.
“Some of the best things I’ve done in my life have terrified me at first, whether it was starting the National Disabled Students’ Association or moving away for university. But I took that leap of faith because it’s where my heart was. Passion is often the best place to start and it’s often the only place to start.”
Tessa Vincent
Tessa works in public policy and the challenging areas of climate action and food waste. She spoke via pre-recorded video about how much she loved her time at Dio and how she’s now a proud DOG (Dio Old Girl).
During her 13 years of schooling at Dio, Tessa was an outstanding student who received academic honours with distinction in her final year. She was also a talented sportswoman, winning awards in athletics and distance running – she’s still a keen runner and outdoors adventurer. In 2010, Tessa was school Head Prefect and a sports code captain.
After school, she studied law and politics at Otago University, graduating with first class honours and receiving the top grade in International Human Rights Law and International Environmental Law. Tessa then got a coveted job as a judge’s clerk at the Wellington High Court. She also became involved in politics, working as a researcher for the office of thenLabour leader Rt Hon Jacinda Ardern. She was admitted to the bar and worked as a ministerial advisor at the Ministry of Conservation, Land Information and Environment, in particular in waste minimisation.
Tessa has been championing environmental and food waste issues from early in her career. She’s had part-time roles as a charity lawyer, founder of the Aotearoa Food Rescue Alliance, and founding director of NZ Food Waste Champions, leading roundtable discussions with government stakeholders to develop a Food Waste Reduction Roadmap and a pledge to halve food waste by 2030.
“Most of my career steps have been informed by the issues I care about,” says Tessa. “I set up a food rescue charity alliance when I learnt that a third of the food we produce is wasted.”
After moving to the UK, Tessa attended the University of Oxford where she completed a Master of Public Policy and became a public service scholar in the Blavatnik School of Government.
Since 2022, she’s been the policy and engagement lead for the Race to Zero Campaign, which is working to halve global greenhouse gas emissions by
2030. In this role, Tessa has attended international conferences and events on climate action, including the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference. She also supports businesses to advocate for climate policies and is currently editing a book on showcasing climatic solutions in New Zealand.
“I work on trying to protect our environment through reducing carbon emissions,” she says. “It’s not an easy problem to solve and at school I didn’t predict I’d be working on environmental issues.”
Tessa happily described her career as more like a jungle gym than a ladder.
“Over the past decade, I’ve worked as a lawyer, a political advisor, a charity founder and a campaigner. My job titles will probably continue to evolve.”
She points out that no one cruises through their life or career without failures or setbacks – herself included – but that friends and family can be a wonderful source of support.
“For me, working in politics was particularly gruelling. I had to learn a very hard way the importance of worklife balance, and at that time I turned to
my family and friends. Still to this day, my friends from Dio are some of my closest.”
With Tessa currently living in London, her sister Kate accepted the award on her behalf.
Kathie Bartley was raised with a love of food. She’s turned that into a fulfilling career, promoting New Zealand food and wine for more than three decades.
“My father was a very good cook and we grew up with amazing food,” she says. “He was quite a gourmet and probably should’ve been a chef rather than a doctor.”
Kathie attended Dio from Years 7 to 13 before doing a BCom in marketing management at the University of Otago. She says Dio instilled in her academic discipline and a good work ethic.
Following an OE, she took a marketing job at UEB Packaging. It was 1987 and the company was producing wine cask packaging, and that led Kathie to her first marketing job at Corbans Wines.
“I didn’t know a lot about wine when I started but it was a fun industry to work in,” she says. “When I joined Corbans, the New Zealand wine industry was in its formative years. Müller-Thurgau was the most popular varietal wine and sauvignon blanc and chardonnay were very new. We were starting to produce
Two Diocesan alumnae are among Cuisine magazine’s 2024 Top 50 Most Influential
and Inspiring
Women in
Food and Drink. Kathie Bartley (PY1980) and Sophie Gilmour (PY2004) have each made significant contributions to New Zealand’s food and beverage sector, and were recognised among the leading lights and young, up-and-coming achievers in the industry.
some amazing varietal wine; export opportunities were growing, and our local market was evolving as well.”
Kathie counts herself fortunate to have worked in senior marketing roles at Corbans for a decade. During that time, the company was looking for ways to build its relationship with restaurants, so Kathie pitched a revolutionary idea: a food and wine-pairing competition designed to make chefs think carefully about matching three-course menus to New Zealand wines. In 1992, the Corbans Food and Wine Challenge was launched. It was just the first of a long list of food and beverage industry awards that Kathie has started and nurtured.
While working as a consultant at Cuisine magazine for 18 years, she started its Restaurant of the Year Awards in 2004 – now known as the Cuisine Good Food Awards. Kathie also managed the magazine’s wine endorsement programme.
In 2008, she launched the Cuisine Artisan Awards, which gave small New Zealand food and beverage producers the chance to showcase their product innovation. Three years later, she won a Magazine Publishers’ Association Award when the Cuisine Artisan Awards was judged the best marketing campaign by a media company.
“It’s so rewarding to see businesses grow and evolve,” she says. “Pics Peanut Butter was one of the first winners of the Artisan Awards and they’ve gone on to do amazing things.”
Among the wine companies Kathie has helped with her communication, brand and strategy expertise are Saint Clair Family Estate, Burn Cottage Vineyard, Matahiwi Estate, Tiki Wine & Vineyards and Villa Maria Estate Wines.
She’s also shared her marketing knowledge as a part-time lecturer at Auckland University of Technology where she taught the Strategic Brand Management paper for six years.
At the 2016 International Sauvignon Blanc Celebrations in Blenheim Kathie met Nicola McConnell. The following year, they combined their complementary communications skills and set up Marvellous Marketing. Together, they’ve created a portfolio of local food industry awards including the Outstanding NZ Food Producers Awards and the NZ Chocolate Awards. Kathie and Nicola also manage the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards and the NZ Ice Cream & Gelato Awards on behalf of the respective industry associations.
“They call us the awards queens,” laughs Kathie. “We run the whole process, from the entries and judging to the awards event, and all the publicity and marketing around the awards. We’re a small agency with minimal overheads and we get to work with the owners of the businesses. We’ve found this niche and it’s very rewarding to be helping small businesses. Winning an award can make a huge difference to their visibility and that endorsement gives consumers the confidence to buy and try a new product.”
Sophie Gilmour’s seven years at Diocesan taught her that there’s no substitute for hard work if you want to be successful in your career.
And she’s done just that, enjoying the rewards of a satisfying career in food. Sophie studied law, politics and French at the University of Otago, completing her LLB on exchange to Charles University in Prague and the University of Copenhagen in Denmark in what she describes as a brilliant OE.
Back in New Zealand, she worked at Kensington Swan and was a junior barrister at Shortland Chambers until a very different opportunity came her way. What was intended to be a side project morphed into something much bigger when Sophie bought a shop on Ponsonby Road with three friends and launched the free-range rotisserie chicken restaurant Bird On A Wire. “The aim was to help busy people outsource their dinner by providing tasty, nutritious takeaway food,” she explains. “I hung up my legal gown for a chicken-shop apron and haven’t returned to practising the law since.”
“I certainly credit some of my ‘girls can do anything’ attitude to my time at Dio.”
In 2018, Sophie and her husband, David Holmes (head of Business Studies at Dio), sold Bird On A Wire and bought into Fatimas, an Auckland stalwart specialising in Middle Eastern-inspired street food.
“Being in restaurants is my nirvana, whether I’m dining or working. It’s in my blood! My mother owned and operated restaurants when I was small, and our home was always filled with people and delicious food and wine. My sister and I got loads of practice at home before
getting jobs in restaurants as soon as we were old enough to carry three plates and earn a wage.”
In 2018, Sophie set up the hospitality consultancy Delicious Business.
“It’s aimed at sharing the lessons we learned and helping others in our industry avoid mistakes we made at Bird On A Wire after a successful exit,” she explains. “I work with some clever contractors and we do everything from hosting events and cooking classes, to brand activations for ad agencies, and working with restaurants, cafés and global hotel brands on their hospitality offerings.”
Sophie also fulfilled her dream of travelling to Ireland to study at the Ballymaloe Cookery School. “I went to reset and level-up my cooking after a busy and stressful six years in business, and it inadvertently felt like some kind of spiritual experience – eating organic food, making new friends and experiencing a digital detox.”
next generation across Asia and the Pacific rim.
Her strong sense of responsibility to care for those less fortunate has led to Sophie’s involvement in several food-industry related charities. She’s a board member of Everybody Eats, a volunteer-run initiative that feeds chef-prepared meals to ‘everybody’ (including those experiencing food poverty) on a pay-as-you-feel basis, using mainly food diverted from landfill. She’s also on the board of the charitable trust DineAid, where participating restaurants raise money to support food banks and emergency campaigns. And as a member of the steering committee for Future Food Aotearoa, Sophie is lending her knowledge to help grow New Zealand food and foodtech companies to sustainably feed the
“The more you do this kind of work, the more you want to,” she notes. “It couldn’t be more rewarding. It’s amazing being able to work with others who share my love of food, wine, hospitality, service, hosting and celebration. As a business owner, I’ve gained some really broad skills and valuable experience and I’m able to contribute to other organisations.”
Recently Sophie became a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors and was one of five women out of about 40 on the Company Director’s course.
“I certainly credit some of my ‘girls can do anything’ attitude to my time at Dio. We need more female directors in New Zealand and I’m currently on the hunt for a business that I can add great value to.”
Fourth-generation Dio alumna Dr Emma Nolan (2007) explains how she became a breast cancer researcher and how she’s helping improve the odds for the 3500-plus New Zealand women diagnosed with the disease annually.
In 2023, Emma received an $800,000 Rutherford Discovery Fellowship award. Administered by the Royal Society of New Zealand (Royal Society Te Apãrangi), this prestigious award is given to early-mid career researchers on the basis of research excellence, impact and leadership. It will help fund her laboratory for the next five years and enable her to accelerate her research goals.
Did you always have a passion for science?
Science was always my favourite subject at school, especially biology and chemistry. I have great memories of biology with Mrs Boasman, who was an amazing teacher and made class so engaging and interesting.
In my second year at the University of Otago I switched from medicine to a Bachelor of Science. It wasn’t an easy decision as I’d worked so hard to get
into med school, but I’m so happy I changed paths so I could have a career that I love so much.
What got you interested in cancer research and breast cancer specifically?
As terrifying and devastating as cancer is, from a research perspective, it’s fascinating because of its complexity. Cancer cells are constantly adapting to their environment in the human body, allowing them to spread to other organs and sometimes evade treatment. It’s an incredibly dynamic field to work in. Our understanding of how cancer cells grow and behave is constantly changing as new discoveries are made.
Breast cancer has been my research focus for the past decade. It’s the most common cancer affecting women worldwide, with one in nine diagnosed during their lifetime (roughly half of whom are under 60). In New Zealand,
nearly 700 women still die from this disease every year. My research could have an impact on so many women and their loved ones.
Tell us about your experience living and working overseas.
I began my PhD in Melbourne at the Walter & Eliza Hall Institute of Medical Research (WEHI), Australia’s most prestigious research institute. It was an exciting and inspiring place to
“It’s
so gratifying knowing my research may have a positive impact on their lives and on future generations of women who inherit this breast cancerrisk gene.”
begin my career as a cancer biologist. Probably the most rewarding moment in my career so far was seeing a discovery I made during my PhD lead to a clinical trial involving nearly 3000 women worldwide, which is still underway. My research showed that an existing osteoporosis medication could potentially prevent or delay breast cancer in young women who inherit the BRCA1 gene mutation, which gives them a 70% chance of developing breast cancer during their lifetime. If this clinical trial is successful, this drug could be an alternative for these women to having their breasts removed before they develop cancer. It’s so gratifying knowing my research may have a positive impact on their lives and on future generations of women who inherit this breast cancer-risk gene.
After five years in Australia, I moved to London and worked at the Francis Crick Institute, a state-of-the-art biomedical research institute employing over 1500 scientists. Everyone there was so passionate about their research, it was such an inspiring place to work and it had a big influence on my thinking and approach to research.
In the UK, my focus shifted to late-stage
breast cancer – understanding why cancer cells could spread elsewhere in the body, and why breast cancer cells preferred growing in organs such as the lungs. My discovery that healthy stem cells in our lungs can help cancer cells survive and grow was published in the international science journals Nature and Nature Cancer. I hope this knowledge could lead to new treatments for patients in the future.
Overseas, I was also exposed to advanced technologies and different techniques that play a huge part in my research here. I learnt how to grow human cancer cells in the lab so that they form ‘mini tumours in a dish’, known as organoids. These lab-grown tumours look and behave a lot like tumours in patients and respond to cancer drugs in the same way.
How did you set up your own lab when you returned to New Zealand in 2022? I was ready to lead my own breast cancer research laboratory, and I wanted to take this next big step in my home country. I was awarded a Douglas Goodfellow Repatriation Fellowship from the AMRF (Auckland Medical Research Foundation), which gave me the financial support to set up
the new lab. It’s part of the Auckland Cancer Society Research Centre at the University of Auckland. It’s been a busy few years getting the lab up and running, starting several new research projects and building an amazing team of staff and students. This has been such an exciting and challenging moment in my career, and I have big plans to grow the lab over the next few years.
What are your main areas of research?
The first is to help facilitate ‘personalised medicine’ by growing breast cancer cells in the lab that have been donated to research by patients currently undergoing surgery and treatment in hospitals across Auckland. We test the efficacy of different cancer drugs on these cells and compare what we see in the lab to how the patients respond to the drugs in real time. The long-term goal is to hopefully predict what drugs a cancer patient will respond best to, so they receive the drug with the best chance of success while avoiding unnecessary treatments.
My second area of research is understanding how cancer cells and healthy cells (eg fat cells and immune cells) co-exist within the breast environment, and how and why they communicate with each other. These interactions influence how well a tumour grows and whether it will respond to therapy. We’ve seen that fat cells might protect cancer cells from the toxic effects of chemotherapy. Digging into this further will be a focus in the coming months.
How does it feel knowing your research might be saving lives?
It’s incredibly motivating to work in cancer research because of the scale of impact a new discovery can have. Since having my daughter, it means so much to me that perhaps breast cancer will be a completely treatable disease when she’s older, and that I’ve played a small part in that.
What do you do to relax when you’re not working?
My two main hobbies are skiing and golf. I also love to travel, and lying on the beach with a good book is definitely up there with my favourite things to do. Although, now with an 11-monthold baby, my weekends look a little bit different (but are far more special too).
Thanks to everyone who joined us on Saturday 2 November for our Founders’ Day celebrations. We were thrilled to welcome more than 300 alumnae back to Dio to share in a day full of warmth, laughter and memories. It was wonderful seeing old friends reconnecting and new bonds forming as Old Girls attended a range of events from the Senior Alumnae High Tea and the chapel gathering to the AGM, school tours,
cocktails in the Performing Arts Centre, and the off-site decade reunion dinners for the classes of 1984, 1994, 2004, and 2014.
We are grateful to all those who helped organise and run this event, with special thanks to Nicki De Villiers and Sarah Mackenzie for their efforts.
The Diocesan Alumnae Association is excited to be involved in the Junior School Leadership Programme for Year 6 students. As soon as girls start at Dio, they are considered part of our alumnae community. In recognition of this, and as a way to be more present with our junior members, the Alumnae Association is thrilled to contribute to this initiative to help Year 6 girls learn new skills to develop their leadership potential.
President Emily Steel says one of the DAA’s most valuable contributions has been tapping into our alumnae community’s knowledge and experience by inviting Dio Old Girls to speak to the juniors about their journeys and learnings.
In 2024, the Alumnae Association arranged for Jenny Dwyer to speak to the Year 6 girls about believing in yourself. Claire Le Grice talked about being unique and being you. Later in the year, Qiujing Easterbrook-Wong shared her experiences of how life evolves and the importance of being open to new learning, and Gabby Oloapu spoke about being persistent. The Junior School also welcomed alumna Stella Brawn.
“We’ve loved the opportunity to engage our future alumnae and future leaders in this way,” says Emily. “We’re excited to continue this initiative and look forward to seeing the positive impact it has on our students.”
Emily notes that while the Dio alumnae speakers this year have presented encouraging messages to the girls, they’ve also reminded them that life is full of adversity so it’s important to be tenacious and resilient.
“Both Jenny and Claire touched on times when they just didn’t know the answer or they were scared or worried about some of life’s big decisions,” she says. “But they also kept at it, asked for support and worked through the challenging moments.”
Nicole Lewis, Deputy Principal Junior School and a Dio alumna, says the Alumnae Association’s involvement brings an extra dimension to help the Year 6s better understand leadership in practice.
“Having Old Girls come back to talk about their journey post school and share valuable life lessons helps connect what the girls are learning in class to the real world,” she says. “The stories of our alumnae are so interesting and we are lucky that with the Alumnae Association’s support we have wonderful women come and talk to our Year 6 students.”
Nicole, who has taught and been a Year 6 dean for a number of years, says the goal for creating this programme was to help Year 6 girls identify and celebrate their strengths so they can be confident young women who lead with honesty, integrity, respectfulness and empathy – all with Dio’s vision front of mind: ‘We lead boldly so our students can do the same. Everything we do helps to instil in every Dio girl the courage and confidence to positively shape the future.’
Alumna Jenny
spoke to the Year 6 girls about believing in
Her talk was part of the Alumnae Association’s speaker-series partnership with the Junior School Leadership Programme. Jenny is an organisational psychologist who advises businesses on all aspects of talent management. Her insights into what can happen when we believe in ourselves resonated with the girls, leaving them with a newfound sense of empowerment.
During the year, the DAA also contributed to the Junior School Leadership Programme by funding the purchase of copies of The Big Life Journal for the girls. This illustrated journal helps children develop strong Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and growth mindset skills through inspiring stories, colourful pictures, and engaging guided activities. While using it, the girls learn about believing in themselves and facing challenges with confidence.
Nicole says the journals have been a hit, as the girls use them in groups and individually to reflect, take time out, and hone their journaling skills.
“Classroom teachers have been exploring key themes with Year 6 students throughout the year, and the addition of The Big Life Journal has ensured the girls have relevant, meaningful and appropriate follow-up tasks to reinforce the lessons,” she says.
The Alumnae Association is excited to continue this initiative in 2025 and beyond, and looks forward to seeing the positive impact it has on Diocesan students.
The Junior School Leadership Programme would love more Dio alumnae to join the speaker series in 2025. If you feel confident speaking to 10- and 11-year-olds, we can suggest themes based on the outcomes of the programme and you can speak about your own journey and the lessons you’ve learnt. Contact Nicole Lewis on 09 550 2897 or email: nlewis@diocesan.school.nz if you’d like to be involved.
On Monday 9 September, a small but enthusiastic group of Dio alumnae gathered at the Royal Freshwater Bay Yacht Club in Perth for an unforgettable reunion. The setting was perfect, but what really stood out was the shared warmth and connection, a true testament to the enduring Dio spirit. Thank you to everyone who came – those who attended had an absolute blast.
Correction
In the June 2024 issue we featured a gathering of Dio Old Girls from the year of 1965. We incorrectly stated that this was a year-group reunion. Understandably, this upset some of our alumnae who believed they had missed out. This gathering was in fact a morning tea arranged for some overseas Old Girls visiting New Zealand to catch up with friends.
We invite Dio Old Girls from peer year 1965 to gather next year to celebrate their 60th reunion. For information about reunion options, please contact Kate Eatts in the Development Office: keatts@diocesan.school.nz
Rebecca Brimble-Rajay gained a Postgraduate Diploma in Obstetrics and Medical Gynaecology.
Amy Hill completed her Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery at Otago University in 2022.
Sally Horwood graduated with a Bachelor of Veterinary Science from Massey University (1989) and a Postgraduate Diploma in Science (Conservation and Biodiversity) from Auckland University (2022).
Lynda Newman (Fluskey), emergency medicine physician, was recognised as 2022 Physician of the Year by Saint Joseph East hospital in Lexington, Kentucky, USA.
Brenda Paschke (Laing) gained a PGradDip Counselling Theory from the University of Auckland (2021).
Rebekah Stewart gained an MA in Criminology (First Class Hons) from the University of Auckland (2024).
Amanda Surrey gained an MA in English literature from the University of Auckland (1990) and a Grad Dip in Information Management from Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (2001).
Lisa Williams graduated with a Bachelor
of Applied Science from Deakin University (2006) and gained a Diploma in Events Management, Hospitality and Tourism from Box Hill Institute.
Jennifer Bull (Quartly) – a girl, Amelia, on 19 February 2013, and a boy, Reuben, on 15 February 2021
Sally Horwood – a daughter, Alexandra, on 7 February 1998, a daughter, Georgina, on 5 April 2000 and a son, Max, on 7 February 2004
Chelsea McCLure (Henry) – a son, Flynn, on 19 December 2020
Yvette Audain to Chris Artley on 17 July 2024
Rebecca Brimble to Aakash Rajay on 15 December 2023
Jennifer Quartly to Brian Bull on 21 January 2012
Helen Baxter (McClean, PY1954) on 6 October 2024
Anna (Catherine) Beadle (PY1960) on 22 May 2024
Enid Bull (PY1954) on 20 October 2024
Mary Clarke (PY1967) on 9 June 2024
Susan Collins (Webb, PY1963) on 22 June 2024
Susan (Sue) Hedley (Allen, PY1962) on 31 August 2024
Diane Hill (Hattaway, PY1968) on 27 August 2024
Francis (Jannie) Hunn (Tattersfield, PY1955) on 25 May 2024
Patricia Kenny (Ball, PY1962) on 13 December 2023
Enid Lyon (Dyer, PY1953) on 19 June 2024
Jocelyn McKenzie (Stewart, PY1942) on 22 October 2024
Susan (Wendy) Parsons (Alleman, PY1953) on 13 June 2024
Antoinette Pheasant (Loten, PY1961) on 26 August 2024
Moira Phillips (Dunn, PY1952) on 14 October 2024
Barbara Smith (Hebditch, PY1956) on 9 September 2024
Pamela Theakston (Jacobsen, PY1955) on 21 June 2024
Kathryn Wall (Smyth, PY1968) on 6 October 2024
Note: PY is short for ‘Peer Year’ and indicates the year an alumna (Old Girl) would have been in Form 7 (Year 13) had she continued her schooling at Dio through until the end.
Farewell to...
Enid Bull
Dio Old Girl and staff member
Enid Bull attended Diocesan from 1950 to 1953. Enid worked as a nurse and was a house mistress at St Cuthbert’s College during the 1980s. In 1993, she returned to Dio as a house mistress at Innes House for six years where she was much loved and respected. Our condolences to Enid’s sister Patricia Barfoot (Bull) and the rest of their family.
Susan Hedley (Allen)
Former Diocesan Old Girls League President Susan Hedley (PY1962) recently passed away while on holiday with her family in Italy. She had a close lifelong connection with the School as a student, parent and active League member and will be sadly missed by her family, friends and the Diocesan community.
Susan started Diocesan in 1952 as a seven-year-old in Cowie House and was one of the original pupils to shift to the new state-of-the-art primary school in 1954. After school, Susan became a member of the Diocesan Old Girls League and then joined the OGL committee.
She and her husband, Richard, moved to England where their children, Andrew and Sarah (who later attended Dio), were born. While there, Susan was the Old Girls League UK representative and when the family returned to New Zealand in 1991, she re-joined the OGL committee as secretary, before serving as vice president (1993 – 1995) and president (1995 – 1997). Susan also spent some years helping keep the School database updated and dealing with enquiries in the School Development Office.
If you have any deaths or achievements to share, please contact keatts@diocesan.school.nz or use the Stay Connected form in the latest Diocesan Alumnae Association email.
