Evergreen Ties - November 2019

November — 2019

Evergreen Feature

Launching our new uniform

Ties

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Also

The Language of Education — And

Old Girls’ “better work stories” —

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Making girls amazing Making Amazing Scholars Making Amazing Athletes Making Amazing Artists Making Amazing Discoveries Making Amazing Friendships — It’s amazing what you will achieve

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Evergreen Ties —

Inspiring thoughts about everlasting friendships, everblooming, everchanging and everyone!

Meet our Leaders

Evergreen Ties is published two times a year by the St Cuthbert’s Communications Office.

EDITOR Communications team

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From the Desk of Justine Mahon

DESIGN & LAYOUT EDITOR Janice O’Kane ADVERTISING Holly Palmer Holly.Palmer@stcuthberts.school.nz OLD GIRLS’ ASSOCIATION Penelope Peebles PresidentOGA@stcuthberts.school.nz PARENTS & FRIENDS’ ASSOCIATION parents.friends@stcuthberts.school.nz NEXT ISSUE June 2020

Making Girls Amazing

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Follow us on: StCuthbertsCollege

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StCuthbertsCollege

Sport Snapshot

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St Cuthbert’s Hottest Fairtrade Baker

Featured Stories 4

Launching our new uniform

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Youth Parliament 2019

Contents Meet our Leaders 01 — From the Desk of Justine Mahon 02 — Cultural connections confirm career paths 03 — Introducing Guy Williams

Making Girls Amazing 04 — Launching our new uniform 05 — The importance of serving the community

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Into the Woods

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The launch of the Kahunui Experience

06 — Let curiosity guide your career journey 07 — The language of education 08 — Better Work Stories 09 — Youth Parliament 10 — The incredible effects of nature 11 — Into the woods 12 — Sebastian Squad 13 — Performing Arts news 14 — The launch of the Kahunui Experience 15 — Sherilyn White Scholarship 16 — Spotlight on Sport 17 — Orienteering

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Wearable Art Competition

18 — Sport Snapshot 19 — St Cuthbert’s Hottest Fairtrade Baker 20 — School Ball BLOOM

Our connected community 21 — Wearable Art Competition 22 — Shifting gear on transport 23 — St Cuthbert’s Old Girls’ Association News and Events 24 — Parents and Friends’ Association 25 — 2019 Donors

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From the Desk of Justine Mahon

BELOW: Parents and Friends’ Association 2019

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OUR LEADERSHIP

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Tenā koutou katoa, welcome to our Christmas Edition of Evergreen Ties.

In this issue, we celebrate everything our girls have achieved this year, both academically and across a diverse range of cultural, sporting and service involvements. I’m extremely proud not only of the girls’ successes, but also how they have handled the everyday pressures and challenges.

They have demonstrated resilience and gained an understanding of the world beyond themselves.

Our focus is to prepare girls for their futures, and a crucial part of this is the innovative Global Citizenship framework that is engrained across every aspect of the school. Global Citizenship equips young people with the knowledge, skills and values to be accountable and active citizens, both within the school and the wider community.

Our Global Citizenship framework is based on UNESCO’s pillars of learning and encourages our girls to truly understand their individual and collective role in the world, and to accept responsibility to make the changes required to achieve a sustainable society.

The many opportunities and experiences we offer at St Cuthbert’s support these goals. On a recent Global Exchange trip to Rarotonga, a group of Year 12 girls travelled to the Cook Islands to work at Rarotonga Hospital. The trip was a life changing experience for the students, who even saw the delivery of several babies!

Read more about our very talented girls, or, should we say, future doctors, on page 8.

Our school community is coming together ahead of the holiday season to celebrate the past year, through many special events and ceremonies. Congratulations to all our girls who will be honoured during this time. I’d also like to acknowledge those that have recently joined the school community and those that we will be farewelling.

Firstly, welcome to the newest member of our Trust Board, Guy Williams. Guy has two daughters, Hannah in Year 10, and Sienna in Year 8. You can find out more about Guy on page 10, including why he is passionate about supporting girls to take more risks in their learning and careers.

It’s with great sadness we farewell two longstanding staff members, English Teacher Patsy Moy, who has been at the school for 27 years and Mathematics Teacher Vicky Binedell, for over 22 years.

Patsy, hundreds of girls have passed through the gates of the school feeling truly blessed to have been a student in your stimulating English classes. They leave with a passion for literature, feeling affirmed as young women.

Your warmth and understanding have also benefitted students in the wider school, of note, our international girls and exchange students whom, you ensured, had an easy integration into the College community. Your legacy is extraordinary.

Vicky, not only are you a scholar of maths, you also have a real ability to connect with girls, developing trust and confidence in them so that your classroom is a place where they know they will receive guidance and affirmation and forever feel positive about mathematics! We will always be grateful for your years at this school and the energy and integrity with which you involved yourself in service projects. You will be dearly missed.

To our wonderful Year 13 girls leaving St Cuthbert’s, I trust that you will enter the world with confidence and self-belief.

Girls, waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toiroa; let us keep close together, not far apart. You will always be a part of St Cuthbert’s, and we look forward to keeping in touch with you through our Old Girls’ Network.

I would like to make a special mention of our student leadership team, Head Girl Johanna Setefano, Deputy Head Girls Amanda Ross and Angela Xu, and Head Boarder Lucy Watson. You have done an exemplary job leading the school in an inspirational way, helping to make St Cuthbert’s a more diverse and inclusive school. I’d also like to thank Lisa and Rod Marvin, Diana and Stuart Ross, Frank Xu and Jenny Zhang, and Catherine Watson for the ongoing support you have given your girls and the school throughout the year, especially in organising the school ball.

Finally, I would like to thank our school community including our Old Girls’ Network, The Asian Friendship Group and the Trust Board for all you do to support our girls throughout the year. A special thank you to the Parents and Friends’ Association, who organised the stunning Christmas tree in the foyer of Robertson Building that is decorated in silver and blue to reflect the original colours of St Cuthbert’s. It is reusable, meaning it will be part of the way St Cuthbert’s celebrates the holiday season for many years to come.

On behalf of our staff, and the senior leadership team, I wish you all a safe, peaceful and relaxing holiday season, and I look forward to seeing you in 2020.

Ngā manaakitanga (with best wishes), Ms Justine Mahon — Principal

OUR LEADERSHIP

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Cultural connections confirm career paths Five of our Year 12 girls recently travelled to Rarotonga to experience a week in the life of doctors. Three of the girls, Paloma Nicholls, Tulyahna Pulotu McCarthy, and Lynette Mottram, share with us the special cultural connection they have with the islands, and the emotional experience of delivering a baby!

Family togetherness is an intrinsic part of Cook Islands’ culture. It is said all are welcomed to the islands as though they’ve returned home.

This is a feeling shared by five of our Year 12 girls, who recently visited Rarotonga Hospital to explore their joint goal to enter medicine.

The girls all share a strong connection to the islands, being of Pacific Island and Māori descent, and grasped onto the opportunity to learn more about their culture.

“I think it was important to see how people in our families and cultures are affected by different health problems and diseases.” says Paloma.

The girls worked in the hospital for a week across different wards, mentored by the hospital’s doctors.

They examined patients, witnessed

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GLOBAL EXCHANGE

surgeries, and most of the girls witnessed a child birth.

Lynette says this was a scary, yet incredibly special experience.

“At first it was scary as we had never seen a birth before, but we put that behind us and were quite intrigued. When they baby came out, I started tearing up, as it was like that was our baby.” Lynette says.

“It was quite emotional as at times the mother was having trouble pushing the baby out, and everyone was trying to encourage her. It got to a point where we weren’t there to observe anymore, we were there to support her, and then the baby came out we were all really happy.” says Tulyahna.

Science teachers Tom Curtis and Michele McMahon travelled with the girls. Tom says it was incredibly special witnessing the strong bond the girls formed with their patients.

“It’s about forming a relationship with a patient rather than just treating them. For a lot of the girls that became quite clear, and the hardest thing for them was saying goodbye after forming those bonds.” says Tom.

Supporting the girls, while giving them space to learn and grow, was extremely important to Tom and Michele. They held a reflection session at the end of each day for the girls to unpack their feelings in a supportive environment.

“I think it was really nice to unwind every day and share what we saw and how we felt. We were lucky to have each other’s support.” says Lynette.

The girls say it was extremely special connecting with the locals and forming close relationships with the nurses and doctors.

“It was really great how welcoming the community was when we were sitting in with the local people that would start conversations and ask us about where we were from.” says Paloma.

For Tom, his highlight was the sincere bond the girls had with the culture.

“I think the biggest highlight for me was the genuine connection the girls had with Rarotonga due to that Pacific link. Every one of them came back and said I want to give back to the islands. That’s the success of the trip.”

241 Parnell Rd - www.orsini.co.nz

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Introducing Guy Williams Our newest member of the St Cuthbert’s Trust Board, Guy Williams, joined the Board in August and is also a member of the Audit and Risk Committee. Guy has two daughters Hannah and Sienna who have both been with the school since Year 0. We sat down with Guy to find out why he was inspired to join the Board, and why he is passionate about encouraging girls to take more risks in their learning.

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OUR LEADERSHIP

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I don’t think my daughters have ever come home from school and said they’ve had a bad day. So, that was one of the attractions, to understand how the school manages to educate the children so well and also get them home so happy.

Can you tell us a bit about yourself?

I am married to Michelle, we married on Waiheke in 2013, and we have two daughters Hannah in Year 10 and Sienna in Year 8.

They have been at the school for ten and eight years respectively and have loved it.

I spend my working life advising companies on strategy and transactional change, so I’m hopeful this and my financial experience will also be helpful for the school.

What inspired you to be on the St Cuthbert’s Board?

One of the things I reflected on when I was contemplating the role was, I don’t think my daughters have ever come home and said they’ve had a bad day, which is quite amazing considering how many days I come home from work and have had bad days! So that was one of the attractions, to understand how the school manages to educate the children so well and also get them home so happy.

I think very highly of St Cuthbert’s, not only as a place of education, which speaks for itself, but as a place to mature our children and prepare them for life, whether it’s through sport, friendship groups or Kahunui. Our daughters arrive as five-year olds, who can barely hold a pen and leave as wonderfully mature well-rounded young women.

What challenges do you think you will face on the Board?

It is still very early days for me but a big challenge for everyone is improving a school that is already in a particularly strong spot.

Keeping at the forefront is important and making sure that we are progressing and evolving as fast, or faster than others in the sector, all while providing a broad range of opportunities and skills for the girls to take with them for life.

What are your key focus areas?

Part of my interest and enthusiasm for the role are two things that I feel quite strongly about, and St Cuthbert’s is ahead of the game in both. Financial literacy in a lot of schools is non-existent and I’m keen to see

this improve across schooling more broadly.

Following on from that, the finance industry has a disappointingly small proportion of women in it and I’d like to see more entering the industry. The legal and accounting professions have done a much better job of encouraging young women to take these career paths, whereas the finance industry has struggled to get a good mix of boys and girls applying for graduate programmes.

Why do you think that is?

That is a really good question. I’ve been told it’s because finance is seen as being a risky industry. Girls are said to be generally more conservative, and they find the legal and accounting professions a lower risk career path than finance. I understand that, but it’s good to take calculated risks in our lives and with risks generally come rewards. So, it would be nice to see a few more young women progressing to be leaders in our finance industry.

Given girls are generally risk adverse, what would your advice be for our girls?

People don’t like to fail, and be seen to fail, but there is a lot to learn from giving something a go. What’s the saying… “Better to try and fail than never to try at all”. I think in business there is a lot of conservatism and that’s the same in education. Being prepared to accept failure and learn from it and move onto the next challenge is a skill we all need to work on.

Finally, and this is an important one! What do you love about being a parent?

I love spending time with my daughters. We have a place on Waiheke that we spend most summers and that’s a good chance for me to totally de-camp from work and spend quality time with them. I’ve got them into fishing, and we have a dog, Braxton, that they love taking for walks. I thoroughly enjoy spending time with my children and seeing them develop into well rounded young women is a complement to my wife, and the school as well.

ABOUT Guy Williams Guy Williams has been with Forsyth Barr as Head of Investment Banking since 2010 where he specialises in advising clients (including in the education sector) on strategy, mergers, acquisitions, divestments, equity and debt raisings and IPOs. Prior to this he was Head of Investment Banking at Craigs Investment Partners and a Managing Director at ABN AMRO New Zealand.

Guy was educated in the United Kingdom and he started his career in London with Coopers & Lybrand where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant. Post qualification he moved into Investment Banking first with Barings and then ABN AMRO. Guy has an Economics and Accounting degree from Bristol University, is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and is a fellow of the Institute of Finance Professionals New Zealand.

Welcome to the Trust Board Guy!

OUR LEADERSHIP

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Launching our new uniform St Cuthbert’s is entering a new era with a refresh of some of our school uniform items.

We have been really excited to launch beautiful new uniform items this year, including an entire new active wear range for PE and Sports, a new modern Senior Academy uniform for year 11–13 girls, and a smart new blazer which will be worn across the whole school. We also have a new school scarf, new winter knitwear, and bespoke ties for Year 11, 12, and with both a formal and casual tie for Year 13 girls!

Our new uniform range is contemporary, but also pays homage to the rich heritage of the school. Our current long navy skirt for our senior academy has been replaced with a new preppy skirt, taking our stunning black watch tartan right across every year level.

We have introduced a beautiful new blazer in a classic navy. While green remains a core St Cuthbert’s colour,

BELOW: Left to right Year 11, 12 ties: and formal Year 13 tie —

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and is the dominant colour in our black watch tartan, and also in our new sports and PE active wear, our original school colour was navy blue. With the smart silver logo, and Black Watch Tartan trim, the new blazer enables our unique tartan to really stand out, and presents a more modern look that is reflective of the school.

We are also introducing the option to wear pants for Year 11–13 girls which are both practical and stylish, and very similar to what young women wear to work.

Girls will be able to wear this option year-round, and we feel that including pants as a uniform option better reflects the modern and progressive environment that we offer at St Cuthbert’s. It also offers girls a choice in what they wear. The black watch tartan skirt, shirt and blazer will be the Senior Academy formal uniform.

FAR LEFT: Nellie McKegg is wearing the Year 13 casual tie around her wrist!

TOP RIGHT: Year 0 –10 jersey LEFT: Year 12 tie BOTTOM: Our new pantsuit, pictured with our Year 7 summer uniform and blazer —

NEW UNIFORM

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Our new PE and Sports uniform Our new PE and sports range is both stylish and comfortable. As part of the design process for the new range, we were cognisant of the need to be more sustainable in our selections. Instead of multiple items for each code, the items were designed to work together and be multi-functional, thereby reducing the total number of items families need to purchase.

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NEW UNIFORM

The importance of serving in the community

By Love Serve is so much more than our school motto. It is an ethos which lives across all aspects of school life and prepares our girls for the future.

We spoke to Chaplain Joubert about why it’s so important for girls to serve in the community.

Evidence in New Zealand and abroad demonstrates schools with clearly defined service programmes produce stronger academic results. There is also proof that helping others has a calming effect on the brain and reduces individual stress.

One of the key components of Global Citizenship ‘Service’ comes from UNESCO’s fifth pillar of education: Learning to Transform Oneself and Society. As such, a large amount of time at St Cuthbert’s is devoted to service projects.

Various service projects take place at St Cuthbert’s including providing practical help and fundraising to organisations such as the Make a Wish Foundation, supporting communities coping with natural disasters, and helping peers with personal adversity.

Chaplain Joubert says serving not only enriches the communities the girls are a part of but provides our girls with a great sense of fulfilment.

“It’s not just about going in there and giving, it’s about what we can go in and learn.

One time in assembly I said, ‘By Love Serve’ is our motto, not ‘By Guilt Serve’. We serve because we love, not because we feel guilty or condemned.”

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just want to receive, they also want to give back, and build their own identities and selfesteem. To me that is the sign of a project that is going to work and work well.”

Another is with Elizabeth Knox Retirement Village. Girls from across the school have visited the rest home, performing musical instruments and spending time with the residents.

“The girls go there to give but also are receiving from the residents, being acknowledged, being loved and being appreciated.”

All projects provide the girls with strong values they can take with them long after their time at St Cuthbert’s.

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When we do services or build any form of relationships it teaches the girls it’s not about me it’s about the person next to me, and the more I give, the more I receive. For me, that is what prepares them for life.

The service programme also enables our girls to combine both their academic studies and life skills.

“I believe in a holistic approach- spirit, soul and body, and we need to prepare the girls in all aspects. With services, it is a combination of soul and spirit, as we teach them resilience and show them how to put their faith into action.”

One of the service projects achieving amazing results is with Manurewa East School.

“Our relationship is very significant with Manurewa East as the students there don’t

ABOVE: De Paul House for Emergency Housing for Families. The girls made 90 plus parcels of winter PJ’s, personalised with the children’s names. TOP: They also spent time with the children that were at the Kindy.

SERVING THE COMMUNITY

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6 Let curiosity guide your career journey Old Girl Georgia Nixon has always had a passion for physics and mathematics. As the recipient of a highly competitive scholarship to the University of Cambridge, she will now be combining her interests to pursue study in quantum computing.

Georgia shares with us why it’s important to let curiosity and passion for the subjects you love guide your career journey.

Old Girl Georgia Nixon (peer year 2012) has always had a strong curiosity. A curiosity, she says, was nurtured during her St. Cuthbert’s days, and by the school’s focus on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics).

“The teachers at school had an opendoor policy and always took the time to answer our questions.” At school, it felt safe to explore knowledge – “There was a lot of support in the technical subjects and success was celebrated. Those priorities carry on with you.”

STEAM is an essential part of the school curriculum and is used by our girls every day as they explore, play, and try new things. The arts play an important role, as they help build essential interpretative skills, and develop creativity and critical thinking.

Georgia’s curious nature led her to not only have a fondness for the more technical aspects of STEAM, mathematics, science, and computing, but also a love of the arts.

This passion was infused throughout her education and her undergraduate degree was in piano performance.

Both interests ultimately shaped Georgia’s impressive career path. As the recipient of the highly competitive Rutherford

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OUR CONNECTED COMMUNITY

PhD Scholarship through the Royal Society, she will spend the next few years at the University of Cambridge studying quantum simulation and its applications to quantum computing.

So, what is quantum computing? This fascinating area of research takes advantage of the strange ability of subatomic particles to exist in multiple states at the same time. This means operations can be done more quickly and more complex systems can be modelled.

Quantum computers have the potential to revolutionise computing capabilities and could solve problems in areas such as chemistry, climate modelling, and disease diagnosis. One of these processes is protein folding, which is essential to understanding a wide range of biological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

“I have the opportunity to contribute to exciting research in an area that is rapidly changing. Contributions from today may drastically change the direction of the field,” says Georgia.

Georgia’s curiosity doesn’t stop there – she also has her own start-up company, Nebula Data. Nebula Data is a natural language processing (NLP) company that analyses large bodies of text on a range of hot topics such as climate change. It measures

how topics are being reported, what people are saying about them, and how this has changed over time.

“There are a huge number of potential applications of this type of analysis and I think it is becoming critically important for many organisations. It’s great to be able to shut the textbook and work with real clients on real issues,” says Georgia.

Most people think of computing and mathematics as highly practical, however Georgia explains they share many similarities with more “artistic” subjects such as music.

“It’s about identifying patterns. Music theory, at its core, is mathematical. You may not necessarily be thinking about it, but the mathematics underlies why it sounds good to you. It’s about patterns and structure, but there is a huge amount of creativity needed to put it together. Both music and mathematics share that.”

This balance between structure and creativity will shape Georgia’s next few years at Cambridge. While at Cambridge, Georgia will be working with world-leading academics in the Cavendish Laboratory, where, she says, she will be embracing the opportunity to learn, discover new ways of thinking, and will grasp every opportunity to be involved in research across physics and maths. And of course, she’ll be finding a music group; ever keeping her curiosity alive!

OUR CONNECTED COMMUNITY

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The language of education New Zealand’s relative geographic isolation has meant that, traditionally, there has been less of an emphasis on learning a second language than in other countries around the world. However, as New Zealand’s population changes, so too has the nation’s sentiment towards embracing different languages.

We want the students to be excited about learning languages, interested in discovering different cultures, captivated by a whole new world beyond their own

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Right: Trips to Acropolis, Venus and Pompeii House —

With more people choosing to make New Zealand their home, it is no surprise that, in recent years, more Kiwis than ever are choosing to learn a second language. In 2015, the World Migration Report stated that Auckland is considered to be more culturally diverse than major cities such as New York and London and the last New Zealand Census revealed that 18.6 percent of New Zealanders could speak at least two languages. Interestingly, it was also reported that New Zealand women were more likely to be multilingual than their male counterparts, with 19.3 percent of women able to speak more than one language!

St Cuthbert’s recognises that learning a second language has proven to have positive benefits and, over the years, has grown the Languages Faculty to encompass six languages taught at the school – Chinese, French, Latin, Spanish, te reo Māori, and ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages) – as well as the subject of Classics. The school boasts one of the largest languages faculties in New Zealand secondary schools. There are over 15 teachers in various different roles, plus three Language Assistants for French, Spanish and Chinese.

St Cuthbert’s Head of Faculty – Languages, Rob Griffiths, likens the Languages Faculty to the United Nations “… with our teachers coming from all around the globe and bringing a rich variety of different backgrounds and experiences to their work in the classroom.”

“Our wonderful group of staff are responsible for their individual subjects but we work together as a team to realise our collective vision as a Faculty: to develop confident and articulate students with a love of language learning and a deeper understanding of themselves and others,” says Rob. “We want the students to be excited about learning languages, interested in discovering different cultures, captivated by a whole new world beyond their own.”

Rob, who teaches Latin and Classics,

says that there are many aspects of teaching Languages that he particularly enjoys, including “… when a concept finally clicks for a student; an insightful comment which makes me stop and think; …[and] the tangents as a result of a great question.”

Rob is quick to point out that the benefits of learning a language are not just reflected in the academic success of the school’s languages students. Rather, learning a second language has both cognitive and social benefits.

“Most of all, I think that teaching privileges us with the opportunity to invite wonderful young people into our lives and share in our love of learning. I love getting to know them not just as students but as people when I meet them on their first day in Year 9 and farewell them on their last day in Year 13. I have taught some students for all of their five years in the Senior School and, when they send a postcard full of excitement after visiting Rome for the first time, that’s what reignites my love of the job.”

“The knowledge of another language allows you to cross boundaries and transcend differences in a spirit of mutual harmony and shared understanding.”

The Languages Faculty’s passion for teaching their respective subjects is reflected in the successes of their students, with St Cuthbert’s language students consistently performing well in language competitions domestically and internationally.

This year, Year 9 Mia Vanderkolk took part in the Chinese Bridge Speech Competition in Auckland and placed second.

Year 13 students Joy Tong, Jian Pan and Cybella Maffitt won silver medals in the international American National Latin Exam, with Amelia Cai winning a gold medal for her outstanding knowledge of Latin language, literature and culture.

“A shopkeeper in France or a market stall holder in China will immediately embrace your efforts even if they are faltering. It’s about making an effort and having the confidence to make a mistake.” he says.

Deputy Head of Faculty, Sue Birdsall, agrees: “Learning languages gives you a different way to see the world and makes you more culturally aware and empathetic towards others. It also builds your language competency in your own first language.”

The research backs up Sue’s assertions: a 2012 study by the US-based brain research organisation, the Dana Foundation, found that studying the vocabulary of second language increases the brain’s capacity for memory and general mental alertness. When a person is concentrating on communicating in a language that isn’t the one they are used to conversing in, they need to make a more Continued over...

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concerted effort to look out for both verbal and non-verbal cues.

Consequently, this means that bilingualism (being able to speak two languages), or even multilingualism (speaking more than two), improves a person’s social skills as they become more finely attuned to the subtleties and nuances in both languages.

Cultural exchanges An important aspect of learning a language is to experience and appreciate a country and its culture firsthand. St Cuthbert’s Chinese teacher Sylvia Chen calls learning a second language an “essential tool to understand another culture.”

“By understanding another culture, it can open up your world and allow you to understand different perspectives – essential for becoming a global citizen.

Learning another language allows you to get first-hand, unbiased information,” says Sylvia.

Rob agrees that the opportunity to travel can not only bring a language to life but enhance a student’s learning experience. “I

think that an exchange brings the language and culture to life in a way that can never be truly replicated in a classroom. We do our very best to create an authentic environment in the classroom, but it needs to be experienced in real life to be truly appreciated,” “Whether it is the smell of a French patisserie, the sight of the Great Wall of China, the dinner party with a Spanish family long into the night – a language comes to life in its country,” says Rob. One student who says that travel, or the prospective thereof, can lead to a love of languages is Lola Cox. Lola, who is in Year 12, first developed an interest in learning languages in Year 7 after watching a video that some older girls had made about their cultural exchange.

“At my primary school, they didn’t offer languages, so I only started studying languages when I first St Cuthbert’s. I really wanted to do lots of travel, and I remember seeing a video for the French Exchange and thinking ‘I want to go on that!’,” she says.

French, as well as Classics, was one of a handful of students who travelled to the UN headquarters in Geneva in January for a week of debates, meetings and language lessons all focusing on international diplomacy.

“There were lots of people from all around the world and I got to speak both French and Spanish, so it was really good practice!” says Lola.

For Lola, learning several languages has opened doors to a number of opportunities, and she actively encourages others to give it a go: “I think everyone should learn another language because, overseas, its compulsory to learn one or two languages so it can take you to lots of places; it’s a great opportunity.”

For some students learning a language is about connecting to their own culture.

Sammy Cole currently studies French, Classics, and te reo Māori, the latter of which she picked up in Year 9 in order to connect with her own whakapapa.

“My Dad’s Māori and he never really got to learn the language because he grew up

Lola, who currently studies Spanish,

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I have always been interested in the history of Europe. Classics gives you an appreciation for what we have now, based on whatever we had then.

Above: Lola in Geneva Right: Sammy and French exchange student 20

NURTURING CREATIVE WRITERS

around the time that speaking te reo Māori in schools was banned, so I thought that I would try and learn it,” says Sammy.

Sammy is studying te reo Māori in Year 12 along with two students who have joined St Cuthbert’s from Kura Kaupapa Māori (Māori-language immersion school) and she says that she is enjoying learning the language in such an intimate classroom setting.

“In class, you get to learn not only about the language but the history, so I get to learn a lot more about where that side of my family comes from. I also really enjoy writing and translating text,” she says.

Sammy has also enjoyed learning about European history through both French and Classics. A highlight for her was spending six weeks in Paris as part of a French exchange and being able to travel and see some of the historic sites that she’d learned about in her French and Classics classes.

“I have always been interested in the history of Europe. Classics gives you an appreciation for what we have now, based on what we had back then.”

The school’s exchanges, like the one Sammy participated in, are not only physical, however. Rob says that technology has opened an entirely new range of possibilities, with the school creating a number of innovative ‘e-exchanges’, which use Skype or email to connect to girls to young people from around the world.

“We have just started to run a type of e-exchange for younger students whereby they can communicate with a student in a school in their target country by computer or the old-fashioned way like a pen pal. It is our hope that these students might be able to visit the school and meet their buddy in the senior years of their language study,” says Rob. A successful example of this type of exchange is how the Year 8 Chinese students recently participated a paper doll exchange with a class of Year 6 students in Taiwan.

“They each took a paper doll from a Taiwanese student to a place in New Zealand and filmed themselves with the paper doll and introduced the place to the Taiwanese student. The Taiwanese students did the same with the paper dolls which they had received from their students in New Zealand,” recounts Sylvia.

Similarly, the Year 9 Spanish students have established contact with a school in

Spain and send an e-mail to a digital penpal at least once a term.

The future of languages

An increased use of technology, which has been harnessed by schools and businesses alike, has changed many people’s perspective on what skills add to a person’s future employability.

“I think that, traditionally, other subjects have been emphasised and prioritised for their apparent economic and employment benefits, without actually taking into account that our country is part of a much bigger global economy where commercial interests and negotiations can actually be hugely enhanced by an understanding of another language and culture,” says Rob. New Zealand businesses and organisations are increasingly placing an emphasis on the perceived benefits of hiring multilingual employees. However, it is not just learning foreign languages that will increase a person’s likelihood of securing a job in the future – embracing our nation’s official languages also opens up a myriad of opportunities for our students.

For example, in 2018, the Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment estimated that the Māori economy – that is, iwi-owned enterprises such as forestry and agriculture, as well as small to medium enterprises such as law firms – to be worth approximately $40-$50 billion to New Zealand, thus illustrating that having a command of te reo Māori is a strategic asset when promoting New Zealand to the rest of the world, and, that commercial interests and negotiations can be enhanced by an understanding of another language and culture.

Ultimately though, Rob says that embracing a different language has the opportunity to teach the students much more than just syntax and grammar.

“It teaches students to have a greater understanding and respect of different cultures, an appreciation and celebration of diversity, an awareness of the common bonds of humanity. It enhances their communication skills, their ability to critique the written word and their capacity to articulate their thoughts and feelings,.”

EXCITING CHANGES TO THE SCHOOL CURRICULUM From 2020, St Cuthbert’s girls will have the opportunity to explore a breadth of language options at an earlier age. Our Year 7 girls will be introduced to a new language at the beginning of each term and will explore Chinese, French, Latin and Spanish. Throughout each term, they’ll learn new language skills such as basic greetings, counting, the alphabet and the days of the week.

Our girls will also learn te reo Māori for the duration of the year.

St Cuthbert’s believes that by having an understanding of tikanga Māori (that is, protocols, etiquette and customs and how to behave in a way that is culturally appropriate).

The girls will be more conscious of te ao Māori (the Māori worldview), better connected to our country, and will acquire the skills and knowledge to be more active and effective Global Citizens.

In 2021, the programme will further extend to include our Year 8 girls, who will be able to select two languages and dedicate two terms each to learning more about their languages and cultures of choice.

They’ll also continue on their te reo Māori journey for the duration of the year. In Year 9, students must continue at least one language and have the option of continuing with two.

“It’s not just about the individual subject but the skills and competencies which it develops.”

NURTURING CREATIVE WRITERS

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8

What led Old Girl Alex Mills to get

“better work stories”?

Old Girl Alex Mills (peer year 2008) has always had a passion for justice. Instilled within her from her time at St Cuthbert’s, Alex strives to make a difference in the community, and ensure fair treatment for all.

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MAKING GIRLS AMAZING

“

Go with your gut if this is what’s going to make you happy,” said police officer and Old Girl Alex Mills’ mother. So, she did. After three years as a criminal defense lawyer, Alex’s desire to prevent her clients from heading down the criminal path led her down a new path of her own.

Alex began her career as a criminal defense lawyer representing many clients who were brought up in horrific circumstances. They had never seen what a healthy relationship looked like, had a hard exterior, and acted like they didn’t care about anything.

“They had never been told they were loved. Never received a hug.

Most of them often came from poverty and most weren’t in school – they’d left school at 12 to 15. It was all they knew,” says Alex.

Even though Alex’s caseload was extensive with sixty to seventy cases at a time, she paid specific attention to her client’s story in each case and wanted a fair trial for all.

With an interest in the underdog, she says, “I’m not condoning the crime that was committed by my clients. You have to somehow switch off that part of you, and represent the person, be their voice, and put forward their story. The goal was getting them a sentence that would allow them to rehabilitate and not come back to the criminal justice system.”

After seeing so many horrific cases with similar back stories, Alex started to consider why her clients ended up in trouble. How could she set her clients on the right path, help them make positive changes, and get themselves out of the dire circumstances that they were in?

“What’s the root of the problem that’s causing them to become entrenched in the criminal justice system?” she says. “For many of the younger ones – seventeen- to nineteen-year-olds – you know there’s more chance for them to make positive changes and to get themselves out of the circumstances that they’re in.”

Alex began looking at the police officers she worked with and contemplating not only what an exciting job this would be, but how this could help her make those preventative changes. She spoke to a colleague’s son who was a police officer, and at the end of the conversation, Alex was sold.

Becoming a police officer lit a new fire in Alex. Both careers are similar as they serve the community and play a role in how justice operates. However, as a frontline officer, Alex could also change the possible trajectory of people’s lives.

Alex says, “If we go to family harm jobs and a family is obviously struggling, we can refer them on to agencies that can help them.

Or if we see children in those situations that we’re worried about, we can make referrals to child protection teams so they can do their investigations as well.”

Also, just by being in the police force meant Alex was playing a role in expanding diversity. The changing ethos of the police is prominent in its award-winning recruitment videos, “Transforming New Zealand Police Recruitment to Drive Diversity”.

“I feel like stereotypically it’s been seen as a male’s job. Though I think now it’s becoming less and less.”

She says the strengths that women bring are particularly notable in challenging situations.

“Having a female presence in those family harm environments is definitely an advantage, especially if the victims are female. They’re more inclined to open up and speak to a female officer than they are to a male officer.”

Alex says many of the skills and values she required for the police force she learned at St. Cuthbert’s, including strong communication and problem-solving skills, being physically fit (though she confesses donuts do appear), having integrity, and valuing diversity.

She adds the police force is also a field that welcomes people who have life experience. In fact, it’s preferable. Alex is glad she took the path she did before entering the police force and has this advice for St Cuthbert’s girls:

“Though it’s an exciting and fun job, I’d suggest current students wanting to join the police wait a few years. Enjoy being young, because as soon as you join the police you can’t be as carefree anymore. Even in your plain clothes, you’re representing the police. There’s a lot of pressure to make sure you do your work impeccably.”

Alex says the motto “better work stories” holds true. No two days are the same, there’s tremendous variety, and you make a huge difference in the community.

“You are actually having a huge impact on people in their lives. I feel like one thing everyone has in common is a passion to make a difference.”

MAKING GIRLS AMAZING

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9 Youth Parliament is a programme that takes place every three years and invites students from across the country to experience New Zealand’s Parliamentary process first-hand for a six-month tenure.

Youth Parliament 2019 According to the Ministry for Youth Development, the organisers of Youth Parliament, this initiative provides “...an opportunity for young New Zealanders to learn first-hand about New Zealand’s democracy and to influence decision making” and emulates a reallife parliamentary process so that young people develop confidence and experience in advocating for issues about which they are passionate.

Each elected Member of Parliament selects a young person to represent them and their respective constituencies. Similarly, the Parliamentary Press Gallery selects 20 Youth Press Gallery Journalists to observe and report on the activities of the Youth Parliamentarians, much like the real Press Gallery would report on parliamentary processes such as Question Time and General Debates.

This year, St Cuthbert’s was represented

by Amelia Cai, who was invited to join the Youth Parliament Press Gallery.

We caught up with Amelia, who told us more about what it was like to see the inner workings of the Parliamentary press gallery.

Amelia Cai first found out about Youth Parliament late last year after a friend with

close connections to a sitting Member of Parliament suggested that she may like to apply. Although the idea of being a Youth Parliamentarian didn’t quite appeal, Amelia was particularly drawn to the idea of applying for the Youth Parliament Press Gallery in order to further challenge her journalistic writing skills.

A keen writer, Amelia attributes her interest in English and journalism to the tutelage of her English teacher, Ms Ros Ali, who inspired her to put her application in late last year.

“I have always seen writing as a hobby, I never saw myself being chosen for an opportunity as amazing as this! I didn’t realise that people enjoyed my writing enough to want to select me for Youth Parliament,” says Amelia, modestly.

In order to be considered, Amelia had to put together a resume of her achievements – “I wrote one for the very first time!” – and a portfolio that showcased examples of her writing.

“Along with my CV, I submitted one of my English internals along with an essay on one of the two topics that Youth Parliament gave us. I chose to write mine on the topic of an issue that is facing young New Zealanders that politicians don’t seem to be addressing; the excessive drinking culture in New Zealand,” says Amelia.

not a good thing all the time, so for me the workshop helped because it taught us what made a good article and how to write a good profile.”

Press Gallery operates. Amelia was especially impressed by the metrics that journalists use to determine how interesting their content is to their readership.

For Amelia, the highlight of being accepted as a member of the Youth Press Gallery was covering the two-day Youth Parliament event and the networking opportunities that this afforded her.

“Newshub showed us their office and how their site works. Apparently, they track how far people read their articles online! We got to talk to several journalists about their work. We also heard from two journalists who were Youth Press Gallery members who ended up working in Parliament as journalists. It was just really inspiring to hear how people took up writing as a hobby and made it into their career; made it big.”

“That’s one of the best things about Youth Parliament, that people who are interested in politics, or who want to be interested in politics, can find other people who share similar interests.”

“A lot of people my age aren’t very interested in politics, which is why it was so amazing to meet the Youth MPs, people who were young and cared so much about New Zealand. I think that was incredible – I definitely see why they were all chosen to be Youth MPs!” As well as covering the Youth Parliament event, the Youth Press Gallery members. were given an insight as to how the actual

Although Amelia doesn’t intend to pursue journalism as a future career – she currently has her heart set on Law and Global Studies – writing will always be something that Amelia does for fun.

“I love writing a lot. I would love to get involved in a student magazine at whatever university I go to next year. The subjects I’m thinking about taking, they’re all quite writing-based and they’re all quite politicsbased as well.”

“Youth Parliament has definitely helped me to become a better writer.”

After a nail-biting few weeks of waiting for a response, Amelia received a call confirming she’d got the gig right before an external Latin exam, which, Amelia says, made it tricky to concentrate on the task at hand!

Several months prior to the start of the three-day Youth Parliament event, Amelia and the 19 other Press Gallery members, including St Cuthbert’s Old Girl Sophie Dixon (Class of 2018), gathered in Wellington to undertake an intensive writing workshop.

“The workshop focused on skills such as how to be a good interviewer and how to keep in contact and build relationships with the six Youth MPs that you were assigned,” says Amelia.

This training, says Amelia, was particularly valuable because it taught all 20 aspiring writers how to be objective in their approach to tackling potentially contentious issues.

“Personally, I like to put a lot of my own opinions into my writing and that’s probably LEADERSHIP SPECIAL

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10

Sunshine over screen time:

the incredible effects of nature

Francis Bryden, Head of Department- Physics, and wife and science teacher Monique Bryden have been taking St Cuthbert’s girls on tramping trips throughout New Zealand for over 20 years. Francis and Monique share why it is so important for girls to spend time in nature.

Twenty years ago, Francis Bryden organised what was going to be a one-off weekend tramping trip for a group of Year 9 and Year 10 girls. 66 trips and over 700 girls later, the trips have become a special part of St Cuthbert’s. Francis and Monique, alongside Physics teacher Dave Howard and wife Co-Director of Sport Liz Howard, take four trips a year, with 10 to 20 girls at a time.

Monique adds that being in touch with nature is an extremely important part of looking after the girls’ mental health and wellbeing.

“It’s so much fun tramping with the kids, our surrogate children. They call us “Mum” and “Dad”, we have so many laughs. It keeps us young.” says Monique, Francis laughs- “Yes it definitely keeps us young.”

Francis and Monique have taken the girls on many of New Zealand’s most picturesque hikes. Trips include weekend tramps for beginners to the Kaimai Ranges, The Pinnacles on the Coromandel Peninsula and the Northern Circuit at Tongariro. As well as longer eightday trips for more experienced trampers, including the Heaphy Track and Abel Tasman in Nelson, and Kepler Track and Routeburn Track in Fiordland.

In a world where screen time takes up so much of the girls’ lives, it is sometimes easy to forget the beauty and benefits of nature.

“It is about making the kids aware that you can go walking in the bush and get away from the city and civilisation and do without your cell phone. It’s about giving them the opportunity to get out there and be a part of nature.” says Francis.

RIGHT: Left to right: Dave Howard, Monique Bryden and Francis Bryden.

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TRAMPING TRIPS

“If you are not in touch with your natural environment, it can lead to depression and anxiety, it’s so important for our girls to get out in nature and appreciate the benefits of time outdoors.” says Monique.

For Francis and Monique, the trips are extremely rewarding.

“I think the most rewarding experiences that we ever have are when you take kids away tramping and they say I’m going to take my mum and dad tramping now.

We also get emails from girls that have left 15 years

ago saying, “I want to do a tramp with my new baby, where should I go?” You build a real connection and have a lot of laughs. You get to know them really well.” says Monique The girls are encouraged to give things a go without fear of failure, an invaluable attribute the girls develop which will stay with them for life.

Francis and Monique say an important part of tramping is that the girls are both physically and mentally challenged.

“We tell the kids that tramping is all in the mind, everyone gets tired, we get tired at the end of a long tramp, but we are going to get through it” says Francis.

“It is mental toughness really. We have girls that get to the top of The Pinnacles and they are just crying as they are so pleased with themselves as they never thought they would get to the top, and it’s so cool that they have achieved it” says Monique.

During the trips the girls are encouraged to make their own decisions including what time to get up and go to bed, as well as buying groceries.

“We say to them right at the beginning, our job isn’t to lead you and take you where you are going. We will give you the map and follow you while making sure you are safe” says Francis.

Monique says there is a real sense of pride being with the girls in the community.

“When you go into a hut everyone says ‘Where are these girls from? They are absolutely amazing, they interact so well with the public.”

Francis adds “A lot of people say, “I would love it if my daughter turned out like this.” They see these girls and the way they are interacting with each other and us, and how well balanced the girls are.”

Francis and Monique encourage girls of all abilities to give tramping a go and say there is nothing to stop any girl from being involved. They even have equipment to lend girls including backpacks, clothing and tents.

“I think it is so important to get the kids out there and show them what New Zealand has got to offer, because unless they actually participate and see what is out there, they are never going to fight for New Zealand and a clean green environment.” says Monique.

ABOVE: Trips to Lake Tarawera, Tongariro Crossing and Kepler Track.

TRAMPING TRIPS

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Into the Woods

After ten weeks of intensive rehearsals involving 48 cast members, this year’s major Senior School production, Into The Woods

by Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine, was heralded by staff, students and audience members alike as a great success.

“Into the Woods” is a musical that interweaves characters from familiar fairytales by the brothers’ Grimm: Little Red Riding Hood, Cinderella, Rapunzel, and Jack and the Beanstalk as they all venture

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PERFORMING ARTS

into the woods to make their wish come true and live happily ever after.

Directed by notable Auckland theatre director Cherie Moore, in conjunction with

Music Director and Conductor Robin Kelly, as well as St Cuthbert’s very own Deputy Head of the Performing Arts Faculty, LauraBeth Warne, as Choreographer, “Into the Woods” wowed the St Cuthbert’s community over four nights.

St Cuthbert’s Director of Performing Arts and “Into the Woods” Production Manager, Aaron Tindell, says that the school’s annual musical production is a fantastic way for aspiring young performers to build their confidence on-stage and to showcase their abilities to the wider St Cuthbert’s community.

“School musicals are fantastic in

that students build their confidence and collaborative skills, discover their creative expression and explore the human condition.

Musicals are demanding vocally, physically and mentally, requiring discipline and selfmanagement. Our students develop an appreciation for others’ talents whether they are in the cast, as musicians, or part of the crew, developing strong friendships with people of like interest.”

Year 9 student Giselle Patrick, who shared the role of The Wolf alongside Rosie Lammiman, said that the experience of playing one of the leads in “Into the Woods” was an “exciting opportunity.”

“

Being part of a production is an experience where students can celebrate their achievements in front of family and friends and make memories that last a lifetime. says Aaron Tindell.

Continued over...

PERFORMING ARTS

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Victoria Ryan won Best Female in a Supporting Role (Musical) at the annual Auckland Live Showdown Awards

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PERFORMING ARTS

Student Perspective – Into the Woods Year 11 student Hayley Minturn played Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods When “Into the Woods” was announced at the end of last year as the school musical for 2019, I was so excited, as it is one of my favourites.

Through the audition process, I was very fortunate to land the part of Little Red Riding Hood. This was such a fun role to play and when I wasn’t Little Red on my alternate night, I enjoyed supporting the other cast while still being in the ensemble.

“The school musical was a great way to make friends with girls and boys from different year groups and I made life-long friends,” “The show helped me to see my true love for musical theatre and has inspired me to follow my dreams.”

A particularly exciting aspect of this year’s school production was that, following a successful collaboration with of Auckland Grammar School’s 150th Anniversary production of 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, St Cuthbert’s extended an invitation for Auckland Grammar boys to audition for roles in “Into the Woods”. Five boys were cast in the production, playing the Baker and doubling the roles of the two Princes. Additionally, Year 12 AGS student Ed Nelson volunteered to be Stage Manager, where he ensured each performance ran smoothly.

Auckland Grammar student Oliver Christie, who played The Baker across all four nights, says that “Into the Woods” was “…an amazing opportunity to meet some incredible people whom, I hope, will stay close friends.”

“From doing the show I am now a more confident and, hopefully, able performer.

Ultimately the show has been one of most fun and rewarding experiences which I’m sure I won’t forget.”

Aaron says that it is anticipated that St Cuthbert’s and Auckland Grammar will develop this relationship further with next year’s production.

“It is not often we have opportunities for St Cuthbert’s girls to work with boys and it was fantastic to see the boys and girls working together in the production.

“Into the Woods” is one of the most challenging musicals to stage, and Aaron says that approaching this production with a double-cast was logistically testing at times. However, all the students rose to the occasion and the musical was a fantastic performance delivered by a dedicated cast.

“On a very busy campus, and with students involved in multiple activities across these ten weeks, “Into The Woods” was a huge challenge. Ultimately, it was a fantastic and successful project that we are all proud of,” says Aaron.

Aaron acknowledges that these large scale productions cannot happen without the support of the wider school community.

“From the people that help partner the productions, to families who have the huge task of ensuring the girls make it to each rehearsal, are fed, rested and well, and even to those who attend our performances; staging our annual Senior School production wouldn’t be possible without your participation and encouragement.”

With the incredible professional support of Mr Robin Kelly, our Musical Director, Ms Cherie Moore, our Director, Ms Warne, our Choreographer, and Mr Tindell, our fabulous Producer, the show came along very quickly due to the quality of the rehearsals.

My favourite song in the show that I performed was ‘Your Fault’ as it is such a technically challenging song to sing alongside five other cast members.

The cast consisted of many St Cuthbert’s girls along with the amazing talented boys we were able to recruit from Auckland Grammar School. I saw for the first time in many years, a combined school production that proved incredibly successful. Not only did we all learn many new skills in singing, dancing, and acting, but we all developed very close friendships with each other that we will treasure.

On behalf of all the cast, I would like to thank Mr Tindell, Robin, Cherie, Ms Warne, Mrs Burrows, Ed Nelson our Stage Manager, the band, the lighting crew, the backstage crew, the parents who kindly provided food for the cast and decorated the hall, and all the people who came and supported this fabulous show.

St Cuthbert’s would like to thank the show’s major production partners for Into The Woods: JUCY Rentals, Bluestar, Continental Cars, and Art + Object.

PERFORMING ARTS

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12 Sebastian Squad Sebastian Squad is St Cuthbert’s Senior String Ensemble for Year 9 – 13 students.

With a long history of excellence, this music group caters for an outstanding group of young musicians with a strong sense of family.

Named in honour of the great baroque composer Johann Sebastian Bach by the group’s founder, Graham McPhail, Sebastian Squad’s performance repertoire is advanced and the group performs items for St Cuthbert’s Day, Senior Prize-giving, and other important events in the school calendar.

There are currently 26 students in the group who play violin, cello, viola, and double bass, with the occasional appearance of a grand piano or harpsichord.

The Sebastian Squad is directed by Mark Bennett, who has been overseeing the group for two years. Originally from Auckland, Mark studied violin at both Auckland University and the Royal Academy of Music in London. He worked for several years as a London freelancer before taking up a position with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra, where he is a First Violin. Musical talent runs in the family as his daughter, Lauren, is also a First Violin in the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra.

Mark, who is also an Artist Teacher at the School of Music, University of Auckland, says “I enjoy the challenge of working to help develop young performers to a high level. It’s rewarding to mentor the group so their performance progresses by helping the girls deal with obstacles and challenges and to function as a successful group.”

“The skill we try to develop is to connect to the dramatic, emotional and rhythmic elements of the music and delivering this to the audience in an expressive way that makes an impact on them.”

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One of the real highlights of directing the Sebastian Squad, according to Mark, is the sense of community and camaraderie amongst the musicians. “There is a real sense of family spirit in the ensemble. Students learn a lot of skills including functioning as a team, discipline, listening, musical (and personal) empathy, giving back to the community all while having a lot of fun.”

Those in the group all love music and have a passion for the string orchestra timbre. It is a chance to explore creativity through an extraordinary repertoire of interesting, stimulating and challenging classical works both contemporary as well as from earlier periods.”

This sentiment is echoed by Year 13 student Lovina de Silva, who calls Sebastian Squad “a family of musicians.”

“I’ve been playing for Sebastian Squad since Year 9 and it has always been my favourite part of the week; being able to come together for rehearsals with such a talented group of girls and make beautiful music together.”

Cellist Regina Baek, who is in Year 13, agrees.

She describes Sebastian Squad as “not an ordinary school orchestra, but a second family.”

“We share the same love and passion for music.

We are taught professionally by our conductor Mark Bennet and we strive to give an emotional polished performance that reaches the audience’s hearts.”

Sally Tibbles, Director Co-Curricular Music,

oversees all of St Cuthbert’s musical groups and guides the direction of the programme.

“I think it is particularly wonderful how they are able to enjoy the treasures of the string orchestra repertoire and also explore new New Zealand music,” says Sally.

Sebastian Squad competes annually at the KBB Music Festival, which showcases the best in secondary school orchestras, concert bands and stage bands in Auckland. The KBB Music Festival has now grown to see over 4,500 students in 145 groups taking part from more than 50 schools across the greater Auckland region and beyond and, each year, a select number of groups are invited to play as part of the KBB Gala Concert.

This year, Sebastian Squad received a number of high accolades from the music festival including a Gold Award, as well as additional acknowledgements for Best Performance of a Baroque Work and Best Performance of a Romantic Work, which was a heartfelt performance of Faure’s Elegie with Regina Baek as soloist.

ABOVE: “Sebastian Squad ...has always been my favourite part of the week; being able to come together for rehearsals with such a talented group of girls and make beautiful music together.”

Lovina de Silva, Violinist.

“Although the highlight of their annual calendar would be the KBB Gala, the girls also get joy from their visits to Sistema Aotearoa in Otara,” says Sally.

The school’s music programme has an association with Sistema Aotearoa who work to bring about social change, community empowerment and personal growth for children from vulnerable communities. The programme fosters confidence, teamwork, pride and aspiration in the children and their wider community through orchestral music making.

Giving back is an important part of being a member of the Sebastian Squad, says Mark, and the girls love to share their music with the wider community.

ABOVE: Sebastian Squad is a place for girls to gain confidence both in themselves and their musical abilities.

“To use music to share with other people is important and while it is beautiful, expressive and communicative, the gesture of taking the time to share the music is the most important part. This is a hugely rewarding part of being in Sebastian Squad.” says Mark.

Ultimately, Sebastian Squad is a place for girls to gain confidence both in themselves and in their musical abilities. As Regina says: “I have gained many skills as a musician but also the capacity to love music even more. Sebastian Squad reminds me every day that we should be doing what we love in life, and I am grateful for that.”

All images courtesy of Deane Cohen

“In June, the group headed to Manurewa East School, where giving back is an important part of being a member of the Sebastian Squad, says Mark.”

ABOVE: “Sebastian Squad reminds me every day that we should be doing what we love in life, and I am grateful for that.” Regina Baek, Cellist.

PERFORMING ARTS

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13 With over 4,500 students from 50 schools participating, the KBB Music Festival showcases the best in secondary school orchestras, concert bands and stage bands in Auckland.

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Performing Arts

NEWS KBB Music Festival

The 2019 Music Festival ran from Monday 12 to Friday 16 August, with the Gala Evening taking place on Saturday 17 August. The Sebastian Squad performed as part of the KBB Gala Night at the Holy Trinity Cathedral and were given a Gold award, as well as prizes for the best performances of both Baroque and Romantic works.

The Black Watch Orchestra were also acknowledged with a Gold award, while the Concert and Stage Bands were awarded Silver. Additionally, the Stage Band was recognised with the Chairman’s Command Performance nomination for their rendition of “A Tisket, A Tasket”.

Kids Sing

Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival

The Kids Sing festival was held at the Auckland Town Hall in August.

A number of St Cuthbert’s girls placed in the 2019 SGCNZ’s National University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival (UOSWSF), which was held over Queens Birthday Weekend.

Both the Junior Black Watch Singers and Song Squad received Gold awards for their performances and Voichestra received a Bronze. In addition, The JBWS picked up an award for the best performance of a New Zealand work.

The Big Sing The Black Watch Singers performed as part of The Big Sing Cadenza (the Regional event for the 36 choirs who narrowly missed out on being selected for the Big Sing Finale). The Upper North Island Cadenza was held at the Rotorua Energy Events Centre on the 25–26 August and the girls were awarded Merit for their performance.

Saints Alive were selected to perform at The Big Sing Finale at the Dunedin Town Hall from the 29–31 August. They returned home with a Gold Award.

SGCNZ/Adam Foundation Static Image Design Competition

SGCNZ/Morrison Music Trust Music Design competition

2nd Selina Nan – King Lear

3rd Grace Mora – Do Remember Me

SGCNZ/Adam Foundation Shakespeare Video Title Design Competition

SGCNZ/Adam Foundation Shakespeare Poster Design competition

1st Selina Nan 3rd Stella Stiven Highly Commended Cybella Maffitt

1st = Renee Zhang – Othello 1st = Starr Zhang – Twelfth Night 3rd Rosa Yan – Twelfth Night

SCCNZ/Ida Gaskin Shakespeare Essay competition with English at Otago 2nd Cybella Maffit

The NZCT Chamber Music Contest Auckland District Round Results An impressive 27 St Cuthbert’s girls participated in the NZCT Chamber Music Contest. Congratulations to the following winners:

Best Overall at District Finals Delamére featuring Regina Baek (Year 13) and students from St Kentigern College and Westlake Girls’ High School.

Highly Commended Wicz featuring Regina Baek (Year 13) and students from Epsom Girl’s Grammar, Kings College and St Kengitern College.

Junior Award (Year 9–11 Students) Éclatant Trio featuring Megan Brook (Year 10), Stephanie Liu (Year 11) and a student from Auckland Grammar School.

Auckland School Jazz Band Competition The Auckland School Jazz Band Competition Finals were held at the Point Chevalier RSA on Saturday 10 August. The Stage Band, Milestones and B Bands all gained Silver awards for their performances.

PERFORMING ARTS

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The launch of The Kahunui Experience Kahunui, meaning ‘big hawk’ in Māori, is a month-long residential experience that introduces our Year 10 girls to a very different way of learning about themselves, their peers, and their environment. The girls are encouraged to think deeply about the world in which they live and delve into problems developing innovative solutions to the obstacles they may face along the way.

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14 Kahunui is often described as a transformative and life-changing experience as it challenges each girl’s perceptions about the world and themselves.

To watch the documentary, visit vimeo.com/stcuthbertscollege

In February, St Cuthbert’s followed the second Kahunui intake of 2019 and, in particular, the respective journeys of three girls – Ella Nesdale, Grace Tian, and Lilith Tupuola-Faalogo - as they navigated the challenges and triumphs of living away from home for a month among their peers.

St Cuthbert’s would like to thank Ella Nesdale, Grace Tian, Lilith Tupuola-Faalogo and their families for allowing us to capture this special part of their daughter’s St Cuthbert’s journey. We would also like to extend our gratitude to Peter Evans, Director of Kahunui, and his team, as well as Kahunui Intake 2 for allowing us to film their Kahunui journey.

Starting from one week prior to leaving for Kahunui, the girl’s experiences were captured by a professional filmmaker from respected Aucklandbased communications agency Real TV, who followed the girls at pivotal moments on their Kahunui journey.

This 13-minute documentary realistically showcases the creation of newly-formed friendships, the development of personal growth, and each girl’s appreciation for the environment and for one another.

Every girl’s experience at Kahunui is uniquely their own but we hope that this short film illustrates the significant benefit of Kahunui and the positive impact that this programme has on the lives of each of our Year 10 girls.

KAHUNUI EXPERIENCE

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15 Katie Doar Sherilyn White Scholarship Recipient

The Sherilyn White Memorial Scholarship was established in 1989, in remembrance of a much loved Old Girl and top sportswoman, Sherilyn White, who passed away suddenly just two months after she graduated in 1988.

The Trust was set up by Sherilyn’s family and friends to ensure Sherilyn’s contribution to sport at St Cuthbert’s is remembered and to assist other girls in achieving their sporting ambitions.

The recipient of this year’s Sherilyn White Scholarship, Katie Doar, has represented her school and her country in her chosen sporting code of hockey.

Year 13 Katie arrived at St Cuthbert’s in 2016 as a Boarder. Since joining the school, she has been an instrumental part of the St Cuthbert’s premier First XI Hockey team that took out this year’s regional Super City Tournament and the most coveted trophy in secondary school hockey, the Federation Cup. What’s more, she already has seven caps to her name with national hockey team, the New Zealand Black Sticks.

What makes this achievement particularly special is that she got to share it with her sister Maddison, who was also in the team.

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“I am extremely passionate about the sport of hockey and I aim to continue playing and enjoying the sport I love to the best of my ability for many years to come.”

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Katie first discovered hockey at the age of nine. She and Madison were originally keen football players in their hometown of Whangarei but grew increasingly frustrated as their matches were often cancelled due to rain. Next door, the hockey players seemed to always play through the rain and Katie

thought that seemed a lot more fun, so they switched codes. The rest, as they say, is history.

One of the most important criteria that the recipient of the Sherilyn White Scholarship must fulfil is displaying the potential to be a role model and serving the community through sport leadership or values projects.

Throughout her time at St Cuthbert’s, Katie has continually given back to her sport and the school through her service as a Peer Support mentor and hockey coach.

Says Katie: “I love taking time to support hockey. I spend Wednesdays helping out with the junior hockey squad. This is not only fun, but it’s time to pass on some of my skills to the junior players and give them confidence.”

“I pride myself on being a good team member and my style of leadership is to lead by example and to treat others, as I would want to be treated myself… with respect and kindness. I believe that by creating a positive team culture, we will be able to achieve great things and have a “sisterhood” that we all feel connected to.”

Amelia McKibbin, St Cuthbert’s Head of Faculty – Health and Physical Education, says that the Sherilyn White Trustees and Selection Panel were thrilled to offer this year’s scholarship to Katie.

“Katie is humble and grounded about her outstanding sporting successes. She has participated at the highest levels of her sport and also has a passion for growing her sport through giving numerous hours as a coach to younger students over her years at St Cuthbert’s,” “It was clear during Katie’s interview that she prioritises kindness and giving back to others. Her philosophy is to lead by example, always treating others with respect, which exemplifies St Cuthbert’s ‘By Love Serve’ motto, says Amelia.

Katie is truly humbled to receive the Sherilyn White Scholarship noting the amazing company she is in with past recipients. She feels so grateful to have been awarded the $6,000 scholarship which can go towards expenses such as equipment, coaching, conditioning, entry fees plus travel and accommodation costs.

Katie is in her final year at St Cuthbert’s and is now looking towards tertiary studies.

She hopes to one day represent New Zealand in hockey at the Commonwealth Games and the Olympics.

Katie says, “I am extremely passionate about the sport of hockey and I aim to continue playing and enjoying the sport I love to the best of my ability for many years to come.”

“Katie is a truly deserving recipient and we wish her every success in her future endeavours.” says Amelia McKibbin.

About the Sherilyn White Memorial Scholarship Sherilyn Jean White attended St Cuthbert’s from the age of six in 1975 till her final year in 1987.

During her time at St Cuthbert’s, Sherilyn won a range of awards and accolades, including Auckland’s Secondary School 1987 Female Triathlete of the year, and she was regarded as one of New Zealand’s most promising young athletes.

On February 7th 1988, Sherilyn fatally collapsed during a Half Ironman event.

Immediately after the tragic death of Sherilyn White her close school and sporting friend Diana Foote (nee Irvine); with the support of Sherilyn’s family, decided that Sherilyn’s past school efforts and achievements should always be remembered.

Consequently, a Trust was established to ensure that Sherilyn’s name and contribution to the school lived on. The school’s Principal at the time, Miss Joan Holland, stated: “There are other criteria for measuring a life as well as its duration – quality and intensity. As [Sherilyn] lives on in us, she transmits permanently something of what she was”.

The Sherilyn White Memorial Scholarship is now firmly established as one of the main St Cuthbert’s Senior Sporting Scholarships available to Year 12 and 13 students.

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16

Spotlight on Sport:

Profiling the Athlete Pathway Programme

St Cuthbert’s has long been renowned for fostering the talents of sportswomen across a range of sporting codes. From the Black Sticks to the Black Ferns and the Silver Ferns; our Old Girls have represented New Zealand on the international stage in a range of sports.

Below: Tiana Brown.

Far Right: Emma Irwin.

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In order to better support the school’s up-andcoming athletes, St Cuthbert’s has created a specialised programme, the Athlete Pathway Programme (APP), which is designed to support the talents of our most promising sportswomen in and around their academic commitments.

With approximately 80 Year 8 –11 students participating in the programme, the APP was established in 2015 and supports girls who display significant talent in the fields of hockey, netball, athletics, orienteering, swimming, cycling, water polo, gymnastics, skiing, sailing, football, and more.

Right: Anna Stanley.

Far Right: Kaushik Talukdar.

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In order to be considered for the APP, student athletes must have represented St Cuthbert’s in their sport at the highest level relative to their age. Traditionally, the programme is offered to students who compete within their chosen sport at a regional or national level and who demonstrate commitment, discipline, hard work, and the characteristics of a good school role model.

The programme is overseen by the school’s Athlete Pathway Manager, and former Silver Ferns Captain, Anna Stanley.

Having competed at an elite level of netball for 12 years, Anna is uniquely placed to have an understanding and appreciation of the physical and psychological pressures that aspiring sportspeople face on their journey to representative-level sport.

“We live in a generation where athletes are exposed to a lot more competitive sport from an early age, the load is significantly greater and expectations seem to be higher,” says Anna.

“My role is to help ensure our APP athletes at St Cuthbert’s are provided with the necessary tools and resources to achieve success, and ultimately enjoyment, in the sports they love.”

The APP encourages a holistic sport/ life balance and Anna takes a particular interest in the mentoring aspects of the programme. The mentoring module works to the mantra “Better People make Better Athletes.” Throughout the programme, Anna addresses key issues such as performance pressure, mental skills, leadership, and educating parents on how to best support their daughters. Additionally, Anna often

arranges for outside experts to come in and work with the girls. This year, the programme has had the expertise of Exercise and Sport Psychology lecturer from Massey University, Dr Warrick Wood. Warrick is currently completing his Ph.D. in Sport Psychology and works with various athletes and teams; currently working mostly with Cycling New Zealand’s track programme, the Auckland Women’s Cricket team, and the Massey University Academy of Sport.

Anna says: “It’s hugely important that our athletes are playing sport because they enjoy it. When you enjoy it you are more likely to stay connected in that sport for longer and perhaps even push for higher honours,” “We also advocate for our students not specialising too early in one sport. We want to ensure our athletes gain many different skills sets from a range of sports, as this will ultimately benefit them later on in their sporting careers.”

Planet Hockey magazine

The programme is included in the student’s academic programme half-year course that is spread over the school’s 10 day timetable and include up to four movement science sessions, one mentoring session, and up to two code-specific sessions.

The Movement Science aspect of APP is run by the school’s Head of Movement Science, Kaushik Talukdar. Kaushik aims to ensure that the APP appropriately challenges the athlete’s physical ability.

A former competitive cricketer in India, Kaushik is currently pursuing a PhD in Youth Athletic Development with AUT. He teaches students about the importance of developing sound movement skills. As students are still SPORTS SNAPSHOT

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growing and bones tend to grow faster than muscles and tendons, that can negatively impact movement and performance.

Kaushik ensures that through correct training techniques, the girls are learning correct movement techniques to limit injury and strain and promote mobility, strength, agility and fitness – keys to long-term athletic development.

“My goal is to help young athletes remain injury free and optimise their performances,” says Kaushik.

“Movement competency is key to building resilient athletes. A significant part of the human brain is devoted to movement, more than language. Therefore, creating an environment to solve movement problems through both cognitive and mechanical skills will be the essence of youth athletic development.”

One of the major benefits of the programme, according to Tiana, is the emphasis on mentoring and the psychological development of our young athletes.

“The mentoring programme allows me to think more deeply into what it means to be an athlete and what an ideal athlete’s mindset should look like. This is something I really feel privileged to be able to know at such a young age.”

“The teachers are awesome and are always looking for ways to help us as athletes and students. APP is definitely an amazing programme to be a part of.”

As the girls reach their final years of school, the in-school contact hours lessen as their academic and sporting commitments increase. However, the girls are more than welcome to remain in the programme, with access to support by way of mentoring as well as strength and conditioning training sessions. These sessions are conducted outside of class time and are scheduled based on the needs of the student athlete.

One promising young athlete who has experienced the benefits of the APP is Year 10 student Tiana Brown. Tiana has been part of the programme for two years and is currently in the St Cuthbert’s Premier netball team.

The APP supports and challenges students to achieve their personal best, both on and off the sports field.

“I’ve been a part of the Athlete Pathway Programme since Year 8 and it’s helped me grow stronger and smarter in regards to my approach to my sports,” says Tiana who, earlier this year, was part of the Pacific Rim team at the International Schoolgirls’ Netball Challenge in Palmerston North.

“Most importantly, the APP teaches our sportswomen how to be a good role models to other students within their sport and the wider St Cuthbert’s community, how to display characteristics of sportsmanship and fair play, all whilst striving to achieve success in their chosen sport,” says Anna.

“

I have been part of the Athlete Pathway Programme since Year 8 and it’s helped me grow stronger and smarter in my approach to my sports.

Tiana Brown

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17 Earlier this year, Zara Stewart, Pippa Dixon, Olivia Power, Sofia Toes and Ellie Evans were declared the 2019 World Schools Orienteering Junior Girls Champions. Supported by their coaches, Elizabeth Parsons and Jeff Greenwood, the team spent three active weeks in Finland and Estonia, training and competing against teams from Northern Europe and across the globe. Here, we catch up with the girls and one of their coaches, Elizabeth Parsons, to find out what it takes to become world champions in a sport that is both mentally and physically demanding.

Orienteering Orienteering is defined by the domestic governing body, Orienteering New Zealand, as a sport where competitors use maps to complete navigational challenges in unfamiliar areas. Or, as Sofia Toes says more succinctly, “Orienteering is like running but using your brain at the same time.”

“Basically, you have to find checkpoints along the way, in a specific order, and the fastest time wins,” says Zara Stewart, who is the current World Schools W2 Girls individual gold medalist in both the Long and Middle distances as well as the 2019 Intermediate National Secondary Schools long distance champion.

“It’s not like a normal sport. You’re in a team but it’s an individual sport too, so you get to know yourself and your strengths a lot better,” adds teammate Olivia Power.

Orienteering at St Cuthbert’s was originally championed by Ms Maggi Salmon, who helped develop and grow the sport until she left in 2018. With the support of Year 7 teacher Elizabeth

Parsons and parent Jeff Greenwood, the St Cuthbert’s Orienteering team has really hit its stride.

Elizabeth and Jeff first started coaching together when Jeff’s daughter Rebecca (now in Year 12) was in Year 7. Elizabeth and Jeff realised that they needed to work together to increase participation in the sport and have now been coaching the St Cuthbert’s teams together for five years.

“If you’re a parent, it can be difficult to coach a school sport. You need to be able to bump into the students during the day to say “I didn’t see your name on the signup list for the next event?” says Elizabeth.

The two coaches have found a way to divide up their respective responsibilities so that the girls get the best possible coaching and mentoring. “I get the groundwork done and Jeff’s at all the events. He’s at the start and he’ll give the students a quiet word about a race strategy as they leave and then he discusses their race when they return.”

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Elizabeth says that one of the most important aspects of developing interest in the sport has been the passionate volunteers at school level who dedicate their time to the sport and that this is reflective in the emerging interest in the sport across New Zealand schools.

“Certainly, in terms of the numbers, at Nationals there are in excess of 450 competitors, whereas perhaps it was around 250 when I started. I think this is because there are more pathways to represent your school and country with the World Schools competitions, the New Zealand Secondary Schools team to compete in the Australian Championships, and Junior World Champs,” says Elizabeth.

One of the many benefits of Orienteering, according to Year 9 orienteerer Ellie Evans, is the networking and travel opportunities that the sport provides. “You meet so many great people through Orienteering and I’ve been to so many places around New Zealand that I’d never visited before to race on awesome terrain,” she says.

Getting Started Zara was first introduced to the sport of Orienteering through her older sister, Hannah.

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“When I was in Year 6, my sister got into Orienteering through Rebecca Greenwood,” says Zara. “Then in Year 7, Sofia and I were in Ms. Parsons class, and we got quite into Orienteering.”

Sofia and Zara soon convinced their friend Olivia Power to join their team, as many Orienteering events are run in groups of three. They immediately proved themselves to be a dynamic team, winning a number of competitions, including the recent Intermediate Girls Relay at the 2019 National Secondary Schools Orienteering Championships.

Year 10 student Pippa Dixon jokes that she first joined Orienteering as a Year 7 and soon discovered that it gave her a new perspective on running, something that she previously wasn’t too enthusiastic about.

Meanwhile, Ellie Evans, had previously competed in Orienteering events at her primary school and decided to pursue the sport further after joining St Cuthbert’s in 2017. “I saw there was a meeting, so I went to it and after the first couple of races I knew I really liked it, so I kept going from there,” says Ellie.

Many members of the St Cuthbert’s orienteering team first try out the sport in

Years 7 and 8. “I think I have an advantage being a Year 7 teacher in that when the girls are first introduced to this unfamiliar sport, there’s a teacher they know, so it’s less intimidating to give a new sport a go,” points out Elizabeth. Additionally, Orienteering is offered as a unit in students’ Year 7 PE classes.

The road to Estonia Selection for the World School’s Championship teams is keenly contested and the teams are picked based on both participation and performance in domestic and school events throughout the course of the year.

This culminated at the 2018 New Zealand Secondary Schools Orienteering Championships, in Christchurch. The Junior Girls performed exceptionally well, placing first in their division, and this gained them the international selection.

The girls are quick to acknowledge how the performance of their other team mates allowed these five to pursue the trip of a lifetime.

“It was really close. If we hadn’t had all of our team members compete at Nationals, we would never have got to Estonia,” says Pippa.

Elizabeth adds: “Orienteering is an inclusive sport. Girls may compete at a championship

grade or at standard grade. If you’re in the team, but not the fastest , you still know that you’re contributing to the collective points for the team.”

It was this approach that saw St Cuthbert’s Orienteering finish second in the Top Schools Competition at the recent New Zealand Secondary School Championships in August.

Selection and Training The St Cuthbert’s team were selected to represent New Zealand as the W2 (Junior) Girls Team in July 2018, allowing the girls adequate time to train and prepare for the road ahead.

“Orienteering is not a sport where you are able to train at the same court or field each week; you’ve got to be out in the back of beyond. From January to April, Jeff and I and the five girls spent Sundays in the forest training. Jeff drew a new course each week and the parents got the girls to Woodhill, Riverhead or Waiuku,” says Elizabeth.

Two weeks prior to the ISF World School Championships, the girls, along with the M1 and M2 boys’ teams, from Mt Albert Grammar School, flew to Finland to undergo intensive training in a Northern European.

They were later joined by W1 Girls team from Diocesan.

while we were running, there were remaining bits of snow on the ground,” explains Sofia.

“We were confronted with some tough stuff.

The training week in Finland was really hard.

It was a lot of new terrain for us, and it was hard physically and mentally,” says Pippa.

Despite the cold and the challenges of racing in an unfamiliar environment, one of the aspects that the team contribute to their success was the support of the wider New Zealand delegation.

The girls agreed that, while there were definitely challenges in getting used to this rigorous routine, the additional training was really beneficial in adapting their racing style to their new environment.

“In the morning and afternoon, we ran with different maps in the forest. Afterwards, we reviewed what we had done that day and talked about what we could do to do better,” says Zara.

The World Schools team all have GPS watches and, after training sessions, their traces are sent to Jeff Greenwood, who provides an in-depth analysis. “He puts their traces on the map, he looks at what they’ve done, and offers feedback, That’s where Jeff is absolutely invaluable,” says Elizabeth.

Once the girls reached Estonia, they felt a lot more confident in their surroundings, and the fact they were racing in the end of the northern European winter. “When we were on the start line in Estonia, it was snowing and,

“Because we were from so far away, we had the most parent support on the sideline and the race commentator really enjoyed the visible and vocal New Zealanders.” says Elizabeth.

Winning the World Schools Championships For Elizabeth, part of the apprehension of competing on a global stage is that there were few teams the girls could benchmark themselves against domestically. The only benchmark that the team had was Baradene’s 2017 performance, where they finished third in the same event.

Adds Pippa: “I went into this with absolutely no expectations. I told people before we left “yeah, it’s awesome that we’re going, but don’t expect a big result.” These northern teams, they even have Orienteering schools. For a lot of Northern Europeans, orienteering is like our version of rugby.”

One of the real highlights for the New Zealand representative team was watching Zara Stewart individually place first in both the W2 Junior Girls middle and longdistance races.

Of her success, Zara says: “it was very surreal. I didn’t know what was happening because I was just processing the race and there was a guy speaking and I was like ‘is that me they’re talking about?” “I’m getting emotional now just talking about it,” says Zara quietly. “It was an amazing feeling to have all that support from everyone.”

Ultimately, each of the girls say that the experience of returning home to New Zealand as the official W2 World Schools Girls Champions for 2019 and to be seen as ambassadors of this emerging sport in New Zealand, is an unexpected privilege.

“I think I speak for all of us when I say it was the best three consecutive weeks of my life. It was the girls, the awesome New Zealand team, the places we saw, meeting all these new people,” concludes Pippa.

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18 Cross Country Congratulations to our Year 5 Girls who were awarded 2nd place at the Year 5 and 6 Remuera Cross Country event. The team comprised of Jackie Xu, Meher Randhawa, Aimee Bradley, Rachel Wight, Amelie Jarvis, Imogen Gifford-Maposua, Alesha Mehta and Zara Sharp.

Hockey In August, the Year 5 Slicksticks and Year 6 Unbelievable Sticks competed at the Remuera Zone Hockey Day at Lloyd Elsmore Park.

Both teams showed fantastic skills and improvement throughout the day playing various teams from throughout Auckland.

Our Year 5 Slicksticks came 5th overall (they were the only Year 5 team at this event) whilst our Year 6 Unbelievable Sticks came 3rd after a thrilling game against Kings Prep in the 3rd/4th play-off.

Water Polo Our combined Year 6 and 7 Water Polo team gained a bronze medal at the Tim Sonderer Memorial Water Polo tournament. This is a great achievement as the team is made up of predominantly Year 6’s and they were playing in the Year 7 and 8 competition. This is the first time that Year 6 students have ever been permitted to play in the Year 7+ tournament, which makes the win even more special! This team also went on to win first place at the November North Island Intermediate Championships winning a thrilling semi-final against Diocesan, and then beating Remuera Intermediate 6–4 in the final to claim the gold medal.

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Sport Snapshot

Junior School Sport

WINTER FIELD GAMES

North Island Primary Schools Skiing Competition The St Cuthbert’s NIPS team were blessed with a great few days for their ski races on Mount Ruapehu and St Cuthbert’s placed an impressive 8th out of 124 schools and the individual results were: Years 1–4 Amelia Huang 27th Lexi Lui 51st This category had 75 racers.

Hockey 18 girls from Year 5 and 6 represented St Cuthbert’s in Hockey as part of the August Winter Field Days competition.

The Hotshots and the Astros teams both had some tough matches throughout both teams took advantage of attacking opportunities and defended well. We were so impressed by the strong team spirit and good sportsmanship.

Special thanks to our senior student hockey coaches for their ongoing support and leadership throughout the season which has really benefited our Junior School girls.

Football Our young and enthusiastic Year 5 and 6 footballers played five matches in the annual Winter Field Days Sports Day held on Tuesday. This was a challenging task as our opponents were mostly boys, but our girls came 2nd in each match and showed plenty of spirit and teamwork.

Netball St Cuthbert’s had three teams of netballers play at Windmill Road Mount Eden Courts at the Winter Field Games in August: The Year 5 Firecrackers, the Year 6 Diamonds and the Year 6 Combined Team.

Our Year 6 Diamonds team competed in the top Year 6 grade, narrowly missing out on the semi-finals after five games of pool play. The team played some really good netball over the day.

Years 5 and 6 Dina Ehsankya 2nd Christabella Amos-Hourigan 12th Imogen Stewart 13th This category had 133 racers.

In particular Year 6 student, Dina Ehsankya, had an amazing winter season! Not only did she come first in the Whakapapa Junior Interfield for her GS and Slalom races, she also won the Waimarino Junior Trophy GS and Slalom.

Our Year 6 combined team played a total of 7 round robin games. Winter Field Day was a great experience for the girls to play more than one game during the day which was reflected by their improved skills.

Our Year 5 Firecrackers advanced to the finals after five games of pool play.

The girls played a great final, narrowly missing to the Victoria Avenue Tuis by a closer margin than the pool play result earlier in the morning.

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Middle School Sport The AIMS games were a huge focus for our Year 7 and 8 girls in September, see more on the next two pages.

In addition our Middle School girls have participated in a wide range of sports during the year!

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Cross Country

August’s Central Zone Cross Country achieved some fantastic results. Samantha Bradley achieved 2nd overall in the Year 7 individual event, Sophie Robb 1st place in the Year 8 individual event, and the Year 8 girls team comprised of Sophie Robb, Renee Zhang, Islay Boyes, Milana Henderson, Lilly Allen, Zara Ford, and Lilly Hay, achieved 1st overall.

Gymnastics

Our Year 7 and 8 gymnasts competed well in the Central Zone Gymnastics Competition and a series of exceptional performances saw the girls win the overall competition. In the individual events Year 7 student Bella Fairbairn came 1st overall, while Natalia Wilcox (also Year 7) placed second.

Netball

Netball is well represented in Year 7 and 8 and we are incredibly proud of the progress all of our girls have made this season. Both our Year 7 –1 and 8 –1 teams won their finals at the Central Zones tournament. This gave both teams entry to the highly-esteemed Interzone tournament in which our Year 8 team made the top 8 playoffs and our Year 7 team had a number of closely fought games. Congratulations to all of our players on a very successful season.

Orienteering

The New Zealand Secondary Schools Orienteering Champs was held over three days. We fielded a team of 33 orienteers who competed in Relay, Long Distance and Sprint events. The Intermediate Girls added to their Auckland Regional and North Island titles with a win and the Year 8 Girls placed 2nd in the Year 7 and 8 Relay. Grace McGregor-MacDonald secured the win with Ketelin Toes taking 3rd.

These performances helped the team tie with Northcote Intermediate in the Year 7 and 8 Girls’ Top School Competition.

Snow Sports

A special congratulations to Year 8 student Coco Shale (pictured here) who secured a number of impressive wins in the South Island this season.

Meanwhile Sophia Starrenburg competed for St Cuthbert’s at the North Island Snow Boarding Championships bringing home a silver medal.

Water Polo

Water Polo continues to be a very popular sport at St Cuthbert’s with a total of five teams in Year 7 and 8. All of whom grew in skills and confidence over the season. Special congratulations to the A team who gained a bronze in the Open A Grade of the Tim Sonderer Memorial Tournament. At the Winter Fest Water Polo Tournament, the team were awarded a silver medal, and also won the Auckland League as well as took out 1st place overall at AIMS.

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This year, the AIMS Games saw over 11,500 competitors representing over 365 schools from throughout New Zealand, Asia and the Pacific. It was a fantastic week away for all the students and teachers that travelled down to participate or support those competing in 12 of the 23 different sporting codes available at the Games.

Here are just some of the highlights over the course of the competition…

AIMS Games In early September, over 75 of our Year 7 and 8 girls competed at the 2019 NZAIMS Games.

The Anchor AIMS Games are an annual sporting event for Year 7 and 8 students hosted in Tauranga by Sport Bay of Plenty, the four Western Bay Intermediate Schools and the Tauranga City Council.

Cross Country Sophie Robb, Grace Meredith and Samantha Bradley represented St Cuthbert’s in the cross country.

Sophie Robb achieved a great result and came 3rd place overall for the Year 8 division of Cross Country.

Gymnastics Chloe Lindon and Milana Henderson competed in the Junior Advanced category of the gymnastics competition, with Daniella Van Delden, Madeline Vinall and Freya Reid competing in the Open Junior Grade.

Freya Reid had an exceptional day, placing 1st in floor, 7th in Vault, 3rd in Beam and 4th on the Bar. These results enabled Freya to gain 1st overall for her division and declared the gold medal winner.

Charlotte Cameron, Bella Fairbairn, Emma Glengarry, Sasha Lockington and Natalia Wilcox all competed in the Women’s Artistic Twisters competition for gymnastics.

Tennis Renee Zhang, Xin-Xin Zhu and Marina Krzanic-Sullivan were our tennis players for 2019. Our tennis players were very strong this year, with Renee Zhang winning the Singles tournament and Xin-Xin and Renee taking out the Doubles tournament as well.

Coco Zhu, Gianna Lee, Akhila Chandrakkanth and Chloe Li were our Badminton team this year at the NZAIMS Games. Coco Zhu won the singles final for Badminton and, along with Gianna Lee, won the doubles title for Badminton as well. The duo also came first in the teams for the single grade.

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Credit: Anchor AIMS Games

Badminton

In golf, Chloe Lam came 3rd overall after three great rounds throughout the 18hole courses.

Multisport Samantha Bradley competed in the Multisport event, which includes kayaking, running and mountain biking.

Samantha did extremely well, placing 13th overall.

Football Our football team were enthusiastic throughout the week and showed some great improvements from game to game.

They placed 34th but never dropped their spirits when out on the field.

Hockey Our Hockey team came 9th place overall this year after only losing one game for the duration of the tournament.

Netball Netball had some strong games throughout the week and finished 5th in the B division.

Swimming Islay Boyes, Emily Chapman, Hannah Piper and Elisha Lam were our NZAIMS Swimmers.

All four swimmers did an amazing job in the pool and made multiple finals. As a team, the girls made the final for the 4 x 50m Freestyle and 4 x 50m Medley Relay. Elisha Lam won a silver medal in the 12-year-old 50 m Breaststroke.

Water Polo Our Year 7 and 8 Water Polo team had an extremely successful week. They fought hard and managed to beat Dio in the final, winning the gold medal at the NZAIMS Games for the first time ever!

Credit: Anchor AIMS Games

Credit: Anchor AIMS Games

Golf

St Cuthbert’s would like to extend a huge thank you to all of the staff, teachers and parents who helped make the school’s participation in the AIMS Games possible.

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Senior School Sport Athletics The New Zealand Cross Country Championships were held in Upper Hutt in August and our St Cuthbert’s girls did exceptionally well representing the Auckland region.

The Under 18 team, comprised of Isabella Richardson, Chloe Browne, Bella Browne, and Peyton Leigh came 1st. In their individual race, Isabella came 3rd, Chloe placed 5th, Bella placed 8th and Peyton finished 11th.

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The Auckland Under 20 team came 2nd with Emily Hacket-Pain placing 13th and Elliette O’Brien 14th in their individual races.

2019 Oceania Athletics Championships Isabella Richardson represented New Zealand at the 2019 Oceania Athletics Championships in Townsville, Australia, last term. Isabella gained a bronze medal in the Women 1500 Metre Under 18 and Gold in the Women 3000 Metre Under 18.

New Zealand Athletics Road Race Championships The New Zealand Athletics Road Race Championships were held in September and our girls achieved some impressive results.

Isabella Richardson won the U18 New Zealand Athletics road race championships, whilst Elliette O’Brien came 3rd in the U20 New Zealand Athletics Road Race Championships.

Cycling Northern Cycling Tour In September, Lancely Yung, Maddy Lamb and Kate Waters represent St Cuthbert’s in the Northern Cycling Tour.

Lancley placed 10th in the U20 Girls Hill Climb and Kate placed 3rd in the U16B Grade Criterium.

Football This season we had five Senior school teams up from three teams last year. It was so pleasing to see more students keeping active and playing the game.

We were delighted to have Haley Gleeson start as our Director of Football.

She oversaw the school football programme and worked with each coach to ensure all of the students footballing needs were met.

Premiers: Nicola Demaine was appointed as the new Premier team coach for the season. As one of the few full-time female football coaches in New Zealand and with her background and passion for the game she had plenty to offer our team.

The season started with an exhilarating win against Tauranga Girls College, in a New Zealand Secondary Schools qualifying match, earning the right to compete in the New Zealand National tournament in Christchurch. The team finished 2nd in their pool which meant progressing to the top 16 playoffs among the 32 teams. Achieving this meant automatic qualification for next year’s tournament and our Year 13 players were especially pleased leaving this ‘legacy’ to the 2020 team.

Credit: Shane Wenzlick – www.phototeknz

Senior C: We fielded both a Year 11 team and a combined Year 12 and 13 team in the Senior C Grade. The Year 12 and 13 started with a loss but finished the season strongly to finish 3rd in the grade.

Under 15’s: Our 2 Under 15 age group teams played in the Junior B grade with our top team finishing 2nd in their group before ending up as runners-up in the Grade final.

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Equestrian North Island Secondary School Horse Trials St Cuthbert’s students Ginny Parker (Year 11) and Holly Richardson (Year 10) came 2nd in Division B at the recent North Island Secondary School Horse Trials at the National Equestrian Centre in Taupo.

They combined with Massey High School to form a four-rider composite team and competed strongly in both the Showjumping and Dressage events to finish just behind St Peter’s School (Cambridge) and ahead of 11 other teams.

Tennis In June, Year 9 student Sasha Situe was named as the Tennis Auckland Junior Girl Player of the Tear for the 2018 – 2019 season.

St Cuthbert’s was well represented at the Junior Masters Singles Tournament in Wellington with Renee Zhang (Year 8) winning the Under 14 tournament. In the Under 12 age group Xin-Xin Zhu (Year 7) finished 3rd and Mala Krzanic-Sullivan (Year 8) finished 11th overall.

K2NISS Ski Championships Whakapapa

competitors in this division and we achieved excellent results with Jaime in 7th place, and both Hana and Maggie both placing in the top 30.

Our senior school ski team had a wonderful day of competition with excellent conditions for the final race day of the 2019 K2NISS Ski Championships. Our ‘A’ team of Bella & Chloe Browne, Jaime Francis, Hana Ehsankya & Maggie Meyers gained 5th place in the highly competitive Giant Slalom event. Over 500 competitors from 108 teams compete in this event, so this is a fabulous result.

Squash

Bella had a superb run and placed 4th in the Senior Women’s division with over 80 competitors, she was closely followed by Chloe in 9th place, another strong result.

Our Junior Women had over 130

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SPORTS SNAPSHOT

We were lucky enough to field a team in the competitive Premier girls school competition again this year. With one of the team members, Georgia Fyfe making the finalists of Young Sportsperson of the Year awards.

Tough Gal Secondary School Challenge The Year 12 PE class made up of Annaliese Skipper, Hannah Stewart and Molly Want, with Emma Hamilton from Year 13, made a superb effort in the Secondary School Tough Guy and Gal Challenge last Friday.

Lacrosse Year 13 student Kayla Nuzum represented New Zealand in the Under 23 Women’s Lacrosse team. Kayla travelled to Gyeongju, South Korea, in June for the ASPAC competition.

Orienteering

New Zealand Orienteering Team Selection Sofia Toes and Zara Stewart were selected to the 2019 New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Orienteering Team to compete for the Southern Cross Trophy against Australia in the 2019 Australian Schools Championships.

Rebecca Greenwood was named as a Reserve.

The girls raced against 1200 students over a muddy course, which was a tremendous effort in challenging conditions.

St Cuthbert’s was named the Toughest School – Female based on our top three results in the 6km race team event. Emma Hamilton placed 3rd, with Hannah Stewart finishing 6th and Molly Want 7th overall.

Water Polo Year 13 student Libby Alsemgeest was selected to the New Zealand Women’s Water Polo team to participate in the FINA World Water Polo Championships in Gwangju, South Korea. This is an especially notable achievement as Libby was the youngest player selected for what is the highest ranked water polo tournament below the Olympic Games.

Georgia Milne (Year 12) and Libby Alsemgeest (Year 13) were selected for the New Zealand U20 Women’s Water Polo Teams for the World Championships in Funchal, Portugal in September.

Jessica Ingram (Year 12) was selected for the New Zealand Youth team to attend the Pythia Cup in Greece. The Pythia Cup is an invitational tournament which is held every three years and features some of the best water polo teams in the world such as Greece, China, and Serbia.

New Zealand Secondary Schools Orienteering Championships The Seniors placed 2nd in both the Girls’ Top School Competition and the Premier Schools Competition.

Ella Palmer (Year 11) and Chloe Tattersfield (Year 12) were selected for the New Zealand U18 team to attend the InterState Championships in Sydney, Australia in July. The team played several international teams as well as various Australian State representative teams.

SPORTS SNAPSHOT

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Spotlight on Hockey Federation Cup win The Federation Cup is the top tournament for New Zealand Secondary Schools nationwide and we are very proud that our St Cuthbert’s First XI are this year’s winners of the Cup, making them the national champions for 2019. This is an extremely tough competition with 32 pre-qualified teams taking part. The first two days are pool play, after which it becomes instant knock out meaning the girls also have to cope with continual pressure, sometimes playing two games in one day.

The 1– 0 win was against Christchurch Girls in the final. Katie Doar was voted the Most Valuable Player and Breana Catley top goal scorer of the whole tournament, as awarded by the Federation Cup Tournament officials. The trophy now takes pride of place in our cabinet.

Super City Tournament St Cuthbert’s achieved some amazing hockey results from our three senior teams this season. St Cuthbert’s were the only school with two teams in the top four A-Grade competitions.

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The 1st XI were declared the winners of the Premier Super City Tournament when they defeated the Dio 1st XI 6–2.

Our 3rd XI were the winners of the B Grade, taking out the title match 2–1 against the Papatoetoe 1st XI. The 2nd XI team placed 3rd equal in the A Grade, with a score of 2–2 against the St Kentigern 1st XI.

Under-18 Championship selection Nine St Cuthbert’s girls were selected in the Auckland U-18A Representative Hockey team, which is assistant coached by Old Girl and ex-Black Stick, Julia King.

Abby Jackson, Abby Lane, Breana Catley, Ella Greenwood, Emma Thompson, Hannah Stewart, Katie Doar, Keita Elliott, and Rose Parkinson all competed at the national tournament last week in Wellington. Abby Jackson (Year 13) captained the team.

The girls lost the final to threetime national champions, Central, and came away with the silver medal. Katie Doar (Year 13) won MVP for the entire tournament.

Netball Netball continues to be the school’s largest participation sporting code with over 300 students involved. Not only does netball provide pathways for players it also continues to build its pathways for students wishing to coach, manage and umpire. Our premier team had another successful season in the Premier 1 division in the Auckland competition and at tournament week secured a place in the top 16 for Upper North Island. Four of our Premier team members were selected for representative teams including Tiana Brown, Brooklyn Tharp, Ruby Sussock and Ofa Vatikani.

We also saw a number of successes in our age group teams with special mention to our Year 10–2 team who were undefeated throughout the season.

Our Year 7–1 and 8–1 teams both succeeded at central zones and competed at the highly esteemed interzone tournament this year which was a wonderful result for these players.

A number of our umpires achieved high honours with special mention to Crystal Bellingham, Anna Hill, Sylvia and Geneva Burns who turned out week after week supporting the netball programme as umpires.

SPOTLIGHT ON NETBALL

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19 In 2018, as part of St Cuthbert’s Sustainability Week, the school introduced a fun new way of introducing girls across the school to the importance of sourcing ethically sourced food and ingredients.

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HOTTEST HOME BAKER

St Cuthbert’s Hottest Fairtrade Baker St Cuthbert’s Hottest Fairtrade Baker is designed to illustrate the importance of providing farmers and workers globally with decent working conditions and a fair wage for harvesting and producing products such as chocolate, sugar, and bananas.

After the success of last year’s inaugural Hottest Fairtrade Home Baker competition, this years’ event, held on the 9 August, saw a record number of St Cuthbert’s girls and parents bring in their culinary creations to compete for a baking prize pack, courtesy of The Caker.

To be eligible for a prize, each entry needed to contain at least one Fairtrade ingredient. The girls found a variety of creative ways to incorporate ethically sourced, edible products into their baked goods, which were then either sold to hungry students at Morning Tea and Lunch (via a silent auction) to raise money for the charitable

organisation Duffy Books in Homes, which delivers brand new books to over 100,000 New Zealand children, as well as towards Global Citizenship initiatives on campus.

This years’ Hottest Fair-Trade Baker Grand Prize was awarded to Year 9 students Grace and Isla McCarthy for their incredible Amethyst Geode cake. This cake was praised by the judges for its intricate detailing and complex sugar work. The winner of the participation prize was Junior School class 4TYL, who had the highest number of competition entries. Their prize, a pizza party, was enjoyed by the whole class the following week.

The 2019 Hottest Fair-Trade Baker competition successfully raised over $1000 for Duffy Books and an additional $300 for school initiatives such as future Sustainability Week events.

Isla and Grace McCarthy have been avid home bakers for as long as they can remember.

years we started to help her more and more and now we’ve just taken over!” laughs Isla.

The twins, who were crowned this year’s Hottest Fairtrade Bakers, were first introduced to baking by their Mum, who has always encouraged the girls to bake weekly so that they have delicious homemade treats for their lunchboxes.

Although Isla and Grace are now well versed in the art of making cakes, their Amethyst Geode cake, which was made with Fairtrade sugar, was the girls most ambitious project to date.

Grace and Isla say that they’ve been baking cakes in their spare time for about two years now, fitting them in around their sporting and academic commitments.

“We hadn’t really done a lot of cakes in the past, but there are five of us in our family, so there is always a birthday coming up, and Christmas, of course, so there is always an excuse to make cake,” adds Grace.

The girls had always enjoyed their family’s annual tradition of creating the Christmas cake together but after one Christmas when Grace challenged her family to recreate a cool cake she’d seen on Pinterest, have progressed from baking assistants to the unofficial artistic directors, too.

“Our mum generally used to always do the birthday cakes and then slowly over the

They both admit to spending quite a bit of time debating what the creative concept for this years’ cake was going to be.

“It was a bit of a mash-up of ideas we’ve seen all over the place. We got Instagram for the first time this year and that’s given us a lot more ideas because there’s just so much content available. But before that, we first saw the idea on a TV show, Extreme Cake Makers,” says Isla.

Grace and Isla estimate that their masterpiece took them four afternoons to complete and involved several key steps. The first night, the girls made the cake itself and, once it had cooled, worked on the crumb-coat, which is, as Grace explains, “when you collect all the crumbs on the outer layer to make sure you can’t see them. Then you leave it in the fridge, which is generally overnight.”

“The next day, we do the outside layer; that is, what everyone is going to see, and that goes back in the fridge. Then you normally do the decorations last, as close to presentation time as possible,” says Grace.

One of the biggest challenges in creating their stunning creation was working with materials they’d not previously attempted before. To make their cake look like it had real amethyst growing out of the side, the girls needed to work with isomalt, a sugar substitute that, unlike sugar, turns clear when it is exposed to heat.

“This cake took a little bit longer than usual because of the decoration on top because it was the first time we had worked with isomalt and we were very worried that it would go wrong!” says Isla.

Both girls agree that their geode cake is definitely their favourite creation to come out of their kitchen so far because of its minimalist yet stand-out design.

“It just looked so clean,” says Isla. “I’m such a perfectionist, so Grace is always telling me to just…”

“Stop!” interjects Grace, jokingly.

“Yes, just to step away from the cake!

Especially when it comes to doing the edges, they never look quite right to me but with this one, I felt really happy with the end result, and even the little imperfections I felt like they worked well with the cake,” says Isla.

The best thing about participating in the Fairtrade Baking competition was seeing how impressed people were with their creation.

“Bringing it into school and seeing people’s reactions made it worthwhile because when people see and people know now what we do, it’s definitely the most rewarding part,” says Grace.

“Since then we’ve done our sister’s birthday cake and we’re making a cake for a friend. So, it’s a cake a week at the moment, just because lots of people seem to have their birthdays!” says Isla.

The girls were delighted with their grand prize of cake-making kits from The Caker and, unsurprisingly, the girls already have plans: “We’re going to make some fancy cupcakes!”

Left: The Amethyst Geode cake created by Grace and Isla.

Inset: Grace and Isla — HOTTEST HOME BAKER

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20 Hundreds of paper flowers made a striking statement at this year’s School Ball at the Pullman, which was themed ‘Bloom’. A special thank you to Year 13 girls Sarah Peart and Olive Desbonnets, the Visual Arts Committee, prefects and parents for their hard work bringing the theme to life.

Enjoy this small selection of the gorgeous official photos taken by White Door Photography.

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School Ball

B L O OM

SCHOOL BALL

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SCHOOL BALL

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21

Wearable Art Competition The St Cuthbert’s Wearable Art Competition is a vibrant, and highly anticipated event on the school calendar.

New categories for this year included Year 9 No frills frock, Year 10 Dancing Queen, Year 11 Flights of Fancy, Year 12 Dressed to Impress and Year13 Belle of the Ball.

The overall winner this year was Lindisfarne in 1st place, followed by Dunblane in 2nd and York in 3rd.

Here’s a small sample of the girls stunning creations!

WILDCARD WINNERS The Wild Card winners were from Year 11 Elgin and Year 11 Yorke. Congratulations to all for your gorgeous garments.

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Shifting gear on transport Getting to St Cuthbert’s has never been easier! This year, St Cuthbert’s has introduced a number of exciting new transport initiatives that provide more safe, easy and reliable journeys for our students.

Leadership and personal growth This year, St Cuthbert’s has established a studentled transport focus group with representation from Year 6 –13. This group meets once a term to discuss transport-related initiatives that they would like to introduce to the school.

Private Buses While many of our girls choose to take Auckland Transport buses or trains, St Cuthbert’s offers a private network of buses for students from north, south, east, west and central Auckland. Our private buses, with the exception of the Devonport route, are now all operated by Coachways and are equipped with a GPS tracker so all journeys can be tracked in real-time.

Thanks to the introduction of a new technology system, which allows girls to swipe on for each trip using their student IDs and enables fares to be charged directly back to school accounts, buying tickets is also easier than ever.

One such initiative that our students are championing is the introduction of a ‘bus buddy’ system to ensure younger girls are looked after on their end-to-end journey to and from the school.

This will not only provide girls with leadership opportunities on the school’s private bus routes but continue to foster our culture of sisterhood.

Getting on board with private buses Taking the bus is not just a means of transport. It helps girls develop their independence and is fun too! We would love to see more students getting on board and enjoying this popular service next year.

In 2019 alone, we have seen a 30% increase in the demand for private buses. As the demand grows for our private network, we will be able to build in some flexibility regarding routes and the number of stops, to meet the needs of our students.

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If you would like to know more about our services or would or would like to book a seat on one of our buses please contact transportenquiries@stcuthberts.school.nz or visit stcuthberts.school.nz/transport

22 TRANSPORT

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23 As we edge closer to 2020 we can’t help but remember where we were at the turn of the century. The last twenty years have flown by and I bet we have all had a range of life experiences, laughter and perhaps even tears since the year 2000.

In another 20 years it will be the year 2040 and we will have nearly 10 billion people on our planet and be living in a very different world – one that is steeped in technology but importantly still anchored by the importance of our relationships with people and the values we are taught at St Cuthbert’s College.

The Old Girls’ Association is a multi-generational network of women and as we head toward our 104th year in 2020, I am confident that our network will be a valuable asset to our alumnae over the next 20 years. With a committee now made up of a quite a number of our younger Old Girls, I am seeing first-hand how us “older” Old Girls can benefit from the optimism, dynamism and love of learning of our younger alumnae and in turn, how much they appreciate and value the support of our global network.

A message from our Old Girls’ President Penelope Peebles Update your details at alumnae@stcuthberts.school.nz for: – Changed address, email, and mobile – Qualification obtained/date obtained/tertiary provider – Job Title/Company – Family notices: Births/deaths/change of surname and other news

You can read about some of our new Committee members on page 76 and in 2020 we will have our new Old Girls’ website up and running to allow both young and old to connect with their peers and the wider Old Girls’ network for personal connection and professional support.

One of our core purposes is connecting our community and over the last few months the Old Girls’ community has been busy. Our alumnae in Perth, Sydney, Dunedin and Bay of Plenty have held reunion events and we had our annual Club 50 morning tea, where our junior school students sang and danced for us with absolute joy and a lot of confidence.

This year we have applied some insight from last year’s Alumnae Survey, and we ran a very successful pilot event during New Zealand Fashion Week at the Kathryn Wilson fashion show. The committee also held a professional networking event in Auckland this month where a panel of our younger Old Girls in the media sector shared their career journeys and experience.

We are preparing for the 2019 Graduation Ball and of course planning for our March 2020 AGM and year group reunions. We will hold a summer lunch event in early 2020 and have some fun events and fundraising activities in development for 2020.

Have a wonderful end of 2019 and a very happy holiday and summer.

Warm regards Penelope Peebles President, Old Girls’ Association

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Making their Mark Awards The Making their Mark, Marking Service Awards, and Old Girls’ Honours are held annually to celebrate our inspirational Old Girls.

Old Girls’ Honours Award 2019

Marking Service Award 2019

Alison Andrew 1979 – 1979

Margaret Vazey (Hopkins) 1950 – 1956

The Old Girls’ Honours is presented annually to an Old Girl, nominated by her peers. As an esteemed award, it is made to an Old Girl who has made an outstanding contribution, nationally or internationally, in her field. Our 2019 recipient is Alison Andrew, Chief Executive of Transpower and one of the top CEOs in New Zealand. Alison’s achievements as a senior executive in the commercial arena have been as significant as her values driven leadership style and her commitment to friends and family.

Alison’s background demonstrates from an early age her diligence and work ethic. At St Cuthbert’s, Alison was Head of Hostel and Dux in 1979. She then went on to complete a Bachelor of Engineering in chemicals and materials with 1st class honours from the University of Auckland and an MBA from Warwick University, where she achieved Distinction and was awarded the Jaguar Prize for outstanding overall achievement.

While she trained as a chemical engineer, she quickly became a commercial generalist and worked in a variety of roles including 11 years at Fletcher Challenge and nearly seven years at Fonterra. Alison led the Orica New Zealand business before taking the role of Global Head of Chemicals. She is a Director for Port of Tauranga and has been a Director for Genesis Energy.

We welcome nominations for these awards for 2020. Nominations close 1 May – find out how to nominate a fellow Old Girl on our website stcuthberts.school.nz/old-girlsassociation/ 68

OUR CONNECTED COMMUNITY

Her commitment to her team is evidenced by those who work alongside her who say she is a classically trained executive and well-rounded person, who is very approachable. Described as “the best CEO I have ever worked for”, the consistent theme is that she inspires both performance and loyalty.

Margaret Vazey has led the way in bush conservation in Australia’s Malabar Headland, New South Wales. Margaret says that by being a volunteer bush regenerator, she “can take the time to smell, paint, and photograph the flowers and the landscape, gaze across the Tasman, hug the trees, watch the lizards, do research in the library, and enjoy the company of fellow volunteers.” With her Marking Service Award, Margaret has taken the spirit of By Love Serve into her life and work for the greater good of society.

This commitment began in 1994, when she founded Magic Point Bush Regenerators.

This extended in 2000 to the founding (with her late husband Brian, and others) of the Friends of Malabar Headland. Through their letter writing, community stalls, art shows, and awareness raising, the group’s activism saw the bush being protected and transformed into a new national park.

Margaret and her co-conservationists have received recognition for their valuable work, including the Randwick City Council Australia Day Award (2006). Margaret and Brian were awarded a National Parks and Wildlife Service certificate of appreciation for contribution to the environment and NPWS in 2017. Also in 2017, Margaret and Brian (posthumously) received the Vi Robbins Volunteers of the Year Award. The award recognized the considerable advocacy, long service, work, and lasting contribution that Margaret and Brian have invested in their community.

Tracey Andrews Smith 1970 – 1981 Tracey is a Capital Programme Director with the New Zealand Defence Force, where she currently manages the Ohakea Infrastructure Programme and a development team, to rebuild the RNZAF military air base within the Manawatu. Her role encompasses the development and management of land, property, and infrastructure assets in order to support NZDF military operational capabilities.

She is a member of a number of professional organisations and societies including the New Zealand Society of Construction Law, Arbitrators and Mediators Institute of New Zealand, Project Managers Institute, the Directors Institute, and the Designers Institute of New Zealand. She was also a Foundation Member of the Property Institute.

In addition to her professional interests, Tracey has volunteered extensively in the Northland region with the local iwi and supporting rangatahi initiatives. She spent six years as a volunteer board member of the Northland Conservation Board, where she was instrumental in supporting and writing the Northland Conservation Strategy.

Of the importance of community engagement, Tracey says “communities are made through connectedness, a series of relationships based on commonality: college, sport, friends, interests, faith, or the town we grew up in. Not all of us, through position of birth or lack of resources, have equal opportunity or ability to change circumstances for ourselves or those we love or those around us. It is our duty to provide scaffolding and support to enable those around us.”

Andrea Rickard 1983 – 1987

Jennifer Jin Ma 1999 – 2002

From a young age Andrea Rickard aspired to have an interesting and fulfilling career that would leave a positive legacy for forthcoming generations. Andrea says, “We know what an important role infrastructure plays in the future of our communities. It feels purposeful being part of creating the future form and function of our cities and our regions in partnership with our clients. I love that it is all about people, and helping people see that change is about realising a vision for the future. It doesn’t surprise me that a career involved in infrastructure found me!”

Jennifer is truly global in her outlook and experience. Based in Beijing, she regularly returns to Auckland with her husband and children (Lucas, eight, Jacob, six, and Mason, two) as both sets of grandparents live in the city. Jennifer has also worked as a marketing manager at L’Oréal (Australia) and consultant at Nestlé (UK). This international outlook, coupled with the idea of a creating a village, proved invaluable when she developed her early childhood education family clubs.

Andrea was recently appointed as Beca’s General Manager of Transport and Infrastructure leading a team of 600 futurefocused professionals. Beca is the largest professional services consultancy in New Zealand. Over her career as a manager and environmental advisory specialist in urban growth and regional development strategy, industry, infrastructure and place-making, Andrea has held senior management roles delivering major infrastructure projects, including the Waterview Connection, Victoria Park Tunnel, and Newmarket Viaduct.

In 2014, Andrea was recognised as a Beca Technical Fellow, specialising in Resource Management. Technical Fellow is a title given to recipients who demonstrate outstanding technical skills, expertise and leadership, and a commitment to excellence.

She is passionate about engaging in and supporting professional organisations, having served on the national board of the Resource Management Law Association.

Andrea is a third-generation St. Cuthbert’s student (mum Viv Baxter and grandmother Joan Good, who attended the Presbyterian Ladies College, the predecessor of St. Cuthbert’s). Andrea says, “I come from a family of trail-blazing women, and I don’t think it’s an accident they were educated at the college. The broad education and lifelong friendships I made at school have been a continuing influence.”

Jennifer is the founder of little oasis, the first lifestyle-based early childhood education brand in China. Little oasis, which has ten locations across China, places a strong emphasis on the emotional and physical wellbeing of both parent and child and promotes education through the power of play.

Jennifer says, “I saw the need in China where young women, in their transition into motherhood, were not supported at all in what they needed as a new parent.”

There is the expression for raising a child: it takes a village. Jennifer says, “For me, St. Cuthbert’s is at the very heart of this village.

The connections I built, the things I learned in school, the experiences – I really feel like they planted seeds inside me.”

Sharing her experiences and knowledge is another way to give back to the community and nurture the next generation. Jennifer has spoken at prestigious events including Beijing Design Week and even a Yale Guest Forum.

Jennifer has been featured in Forbes and was a representative for women entrepreneurship in China at the Davos World Economic Forum 2018.

Jennifer’s love of working with children is not limited to her professional life. In addition to running little oasis, she is also instrumental in the Summer Children’s Foundation, a charity that organises fun activities for kids undergoing leukaemia treatment in hospitals across Beijing.

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Events Club 50

Coffee and Dessert

Our annual Club 50 morning tea in the Melrose Lounge is truly an occasion that brings together all ages of the school community. Our Club 50 ladies braved the Auckland rain to be entertained by our junior school students’ joyful singing and dancing, while eating the Old Girls’ Association Committee world famous St Cuthbert’s chicken sandwiches.

The Coffee and Dessert Evening is a special occasion that celebrates Old Girls’ daughters and granddaughters starting at the school. It is always a wonderful event that acknowledges the strength of family connections that play a part in our heritage.

ABOVE: Top Gay Scaniglia (Cox) and Christine Jarman (Bartlett) Bottom: Anne Tattersfield, Rosie Armstrong (McNaughton), Wendy Innes (Nairn)

ABOVE: Top Georgina Fenwick, Harriet Booth, Lucy Whineray Bottom: Alana Barron, Fenella Becroft, Penni Glengarry

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New Zealand Fashion Week A fashion-forward event brought Old Girls together for a night of glamour. The evening started with an elegant gathering at Mezze Bar before the NZFW Kathryn Wilson show. The evening included goodie bags, captivating footwear, and great company.

Births Georgina Fenwick (Allen) and Andrew Fenwick, a daughter – Ella Valerie, on September 19, 2019 Emma Popping and Tim Bern, a daughter – Frieda Marguerite, on September 14, 2019 in Los Angeles

Deaths Ann Ash (Bickerton-Fisher) 1968 Nicky Bason (Playle) 1988 Mildred Hughes Bayley (Glasgow) 1960 Helen Craddock (Stewart) 1956 Anne Dijkstra (Meredith) 1956 Diane Dobierzin (Cobb) 1954 Irene (Rene) Fisher (Watson) 1945 Patricia Hayes (Hanna) 1945 Ruth Haywood 1976 Lady Dawn Hellaby (Trotter) 1950 Pamela Morris (Murray) 1944 Anne Ridgley (Grey) 1949 Judith Rowley (Wyatt) 1949 Joan Sloman (Crouch) 1933 Nora Thomson (Lyons) 1945

The Old Girls’ Chapel is your Chapel.

If you would like to use the Chapel for a wedding, baptism, naming ceremony, or any other special occasion, please contact: alumnae@stcuthberts.school.nz

Family Connections New students with mothers, grandmothers or great-grandmothers who are Old Girls

Current Student Grandmother Kate McGregor

ABOVE: Top: Nicky Pennington, Sarah Walsh, Kim Grenfell, Brooke Fenton Bottom: Clare Turner, Nicola Green, Natalie Norman

Penny Kerr (Howie)

Apologies for the omission in the last issue.

A lively group of Old Girls came together for Connect Auckland, a networking event with a twist. India Leishman (One News reporter and podcast host) skilfully moderated a panel discussion where Emma Mellow (ANZ), Kate Milliken (Remix Magazine), and Minta Smith (Home Recruitment) generously shared their experiences about their career and professional development.

The insightful panel discussion covered tips and tricks about starting out, getting ahead, developing your personal brand and leveraging your networks and connections within the St Cuthbert’s global Old Girls’ community.

Photo credit: Izak Van Der Merwe

Connect Auckland

The Connect event was generously sponsored by Jarden.

ABOVE: Top: Caroline Rainsford, Amanda Jordan, Joanna Pidgeon Bottom: Minta Smith, Stephanie Meech, Jamie Wiles, Mandy Wiles

Dunedin Old Girls’ Reunion The first Dunedin reunion was held in the depths of winter, but that didn’t stop our southern Old Girls from braving the chill and making it a memorable night. The convivial atmosphere brought together current University of Otago students and Old Girls who have made Dunedin their home for their families.

Ombrellos provided the perfect backdrop with its enclosed courtyard and toasty fireplace.

LEFT: Claire Williams, Sarah Averill, Emily Borich, Jessica Marvin, Jo Davison, Trish Stace, Sarah Millar, Eva Newell, and Holly Palmer (Director Development) 72

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SAVE THE DATE Thursday 12 March Italian Lunch at NSP 12 – 3pm A fundraiser for the Old Girls’ Scholarship fund Old Girls, St Cuthbert’s mothers, families and friends are welcome

Limited Edition St Cuthbert’s Jewellery Shop online: www.orsini.co.nz/st-cuthberts

Contact: Penelope Peebles presidentoga@stcuthberts.school.nz

Violet Wood Advanced Studies Grant 2020 The Violet Wood Advanced Studies Grant 2020 grant is a wonderful opportunity to support your professional development. It is available to Old Girls in postgraduate study in any field including academic, music, sport, or art. The $5,000 grant is intended to help with costs and enable you to further your education through postgraduate study. It can be used to cover general or specific costs, such as paying for course fees, purchasing equipment, and travel costs.

Previous recipient Paula Seymour is doing an Executive Masters of Business Administration (EMBA) through Massey University, and used the grant to support two of her postgraduate papers. Paula says, “I am really grateful for the financial support from this grant as within the health sector there is minimal funding for those who choose a management pathway. I would really encourage Old Girls who are contemplating or in the middle of postgraduate study to apply as it has made a big difference to me.”

The application form is available at our website: www.stcuthberts.school.nz/old-girls-association/scholarships/violet-wood-grant/ Please send your completed application form to: St Cuthbert’s Old Girls’ Association PO Box 26 020, Epsom Auckland 1344 Or email alumnae@stcuthberts.school.nz For any questions, contact the alumnae office on 09 520 4159 ext. 7607 Applications must be received no later than 31 January 2020.

Special conditions apply.

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Old Girls’ Reunions Bay of Plenty Reunion The 2019 Bay of Plenty Old Girls’ Reunion Lunch and AGM was held at Mills Reef, a lovely venue that offered the perfect environment for Old Girls to gather and reminisce. The reunion is a highly anticipated annual event for all attendees and a strong contingent of Old Girls enjoyed a delicious meal, excellent service, and the usual glorious Bay of Plenty weather and buoyant atmosphere. Old Girls’ President Penelope Peebles attended the reunion along with Nina Seja, the newly appointed Alumnae Experience Manager, and Principal Justine Mahon. Ms. Mahon provided fascinating insights on the societal challenges facing young women today and shared a new video on the Kahunui experience, which was well received. The visitors from Auckland reluctantly left late afternoon happily clutching bags of homegrown avocados – a Bay of Plenty Old Girls’ tradition! Grateful thanks to Dawn Davenport who thoughtfully shared a newspaper clipping capturing photos from the 1986 BOP reunion. The photo has now been included in the St Cuthbert’s archive and we welcome your archival material to share!

Perth Reunion Celebrating ten years since the first Perth reunion, four St Cuthbert’s Old Girls met for lunch on Saturday, June 8 at Nobu, Crown Casino Perth for a delicious Japanese lunch.

They are: Marg Shorter and Anne Abbott seated and Lynnie Butler and Heather Curley standing.

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FROM TOP: Left: Jeanette Wood (Jury), Adrienne Lambert (Parker), Glen Cole (Parker), Dianne Cummings (Darley) Right: Kaye Baldwin (Sing), Jan Wilson (Cooper), Lynn Taylor (Maxted) SECOND ROW: Left: Judy McLennan (Harbutt), Sylvia Bethell (Aldridge), Joy Hayes (Gatman) Right: Patricia Coxhead (Kennedy) and Sue Wright THIRD ROW: Left: Fiona McKissock, Kate Harris, Jennifer Corson Right: Gaye Fowler (Guthrie), Jan Russell (Middleton) BOTTOM: Left: Adrienne Lambert (Parker), Isabelle McKissock (Daniel) Right: Justine Mahon, Anna Finlayson-Smith (Smith), Jennifer Corson, Liz Parker (Robinson)

Historic BOP OG gathering. Provided by Dawn Davenport.

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Decade Reunion March 2020 For all students whose third form / Year 9 was 1950, 1960, 1970, 1980, 1990, 2000, 2010. Or who would have been in the seventh form / Year 13 in a year ending in 1954, 1964, 1974, 1984, 1994, 2004, 2014.

If you wish to volunteer to be a class contact please email alumnae@stcuthberts.school.nz

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Sydney Reunion Sydney Old Girls came together for a lovely evening in October at the prohibitionthemed Palmer & Co. Special guests included principal Justine Mahon and Director of Development Holly Palmer. Our Sydney Old Girls are already planning a big 2020 with another event in the first half of the year and the establishment of a Facebook group to grow our energetic Sydney group.

New Old Girls’ Association Committee Members Vianne Avery Ashvini Soysa Steph Peploe Ana Tu’inukuafe Simran Saseve-Dale Eleanor Gregan

Branch Contacts

TOP: Amy Zhang, Angela Pan, Olivia Cen, Sarah Wynyard CENTRE: Virginia Poppe, Olivia Cen, Justine Mahon BOTTOM: Cherry Richardson (nee Wagstaff), Suzanne Robertson.

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WAIKATO Contact: Catharine Stuart (Murray) Phone: 07 827 1766 Email: bandcstuart@gmail.com BAY OF PLENTY Contact: Anna Finlayson-Smith (Smith) Phone: 07 579 2265 Email: dameanna@talk.co.nz TARANAKI Contact: Elizabeth Utting (Gray) Phone: 06 927 4909 Email: Johnandelizabeth.50@gmail.com SYDNEY Contact: Sarah Wynyard TBC Email: sarahwynyard@gmail.com BRISBANE Contact: Trish Cotterell Email: trish07.cotterell@gmail.com PERTH Contact: Marg Shorter (Hartnell) Phone: 08 9388 2221 Email: margshorter@westnet.com.au LOS ANGELES Contact: Amanda Wong Phone: 1 310 963 3302 Email: kiwi_esq@hotmail.com LONDON Contact: Kate Turner Phone: 44 78374 57882 Email: katwmacsween1@gmail.com CHINA (Beijing) Contact: Jennifer Ma Email: jenniferjinma@littleoasis.cn DALLAS Contact: Clair Robinson (Menzies) Email: clairmenzies@gmail.com NEW YORK Contact: Ashleigh Hunt Email: ahunt@cgr-law.com Old Girls interested in setting up branches in other cities and countries please, contact alumnae@stcuthberts.school.nz

Steph Peploe, Old Girls’ Association Committee Profile Steph started St Cuthbert’s in New Entrants and finished in 2013. She went on to attend the University of Otago, completing a Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Marketing. She still remembers Selwyn College and her time at Otago fondly. Once graduated, Steph was offered a role at Heinz Wattie’s in the marketing team and has since

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moved to an advertising agency as a Senior Account Manager for TRACK NZ, a customer experience agency, which is part of DDB group. Steph has recently joined the Old Girls’ Committee to encourage younger Old Girls to get involved and reconnect earlier with the school.

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News of Old Girls Natasha Eady (2016)

Rochelle Williams (2010)

Athlete

Digital Product Designer

Natasha was a member of the national 4x100m relay squad that recently won bronze at the World University Games, in Naples, and set a New Zealand record of 44.24 seconds. The squad made history by winning New Zealand’s first medal in the sprint relay event. Nat has been selected to join the development program for the team aiming to qualify for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK. Nat began her athletics career at four years old and was undefeated athletics champion at St Cuthbert’s from Years 5 to 11.

Olivia Monks (2012) Aspiring Actress Aspiring actress, Olivia Monks had her television debut earlier this year in The Gulf.

Playing a fun-loving 21-year-old caught in a sticky situation, the Toi Whakaari graduate was thrilled to take part in this local production. Now, with theatre credits under her belt and her involvement in another television series currently being pitched to US production companies, she is planning a move to Canada in 2020 to pursue acting and music on the global stage.

Bianca Barbarich-Bacher (2010) Pilot

Rochelle is based in London; she has been living and working in the city for the last three and a half years. In March this year she started working with a fin-tech startup, Bud, to develop products utilising “open banking” technology, and creating a financial services marketplace for top tier banks and other financial institutions. In her spare time, Rochelle sings with the London Philharmonic Choir, most recently performing at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall.

Rebecca Mahoney (2008) Corporate and Consumer Communications Specialist Rebecca has a background in fashion PR with agency Showroom 22 before joining David Jones. Rebecca got her first break in PR after working part time in retail stores while studying and freelancing in marketing, brand, and social media. Her agency won the David Jones account in early 2016 just prior to the first international store in Wellington and then she joined the in-house David Jones Public Relations team and made the jump across the ditch to Australia.

Based in Melbourne, she loves her dynamic role where no two days are the same and thrives on writing, connecting with people, building exciting communication strategies and seeing campaigns take shape.

Nicola Mirza (Morris) (1996 Head Girl) Bianca has been named the inaugural winner of the Young Aviation Professional Award 2019, which celebrates younger aviation professionals who have significantly influenced safety performance and behaviour.

Earlier this year, she was accepted into Mt. Cook Airline as a first officer and has been an instructor at the Marlborough Aero Club and a pilot for RidgeAir Blenheim.

Has joined the partnership of Hobson Leavy Nicola has a BA/LLB from the University of Auckland and a postgraduate diploma in Management from Birkbeck, University of London. A qualified Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand, she worked overseas as a solicitor before moving into legal recruitment and returned to New Zealand in 2010. Nicola also founded luxury bespoke jewellery business, Miramôr, which she sold to one of New Zealand’s leading jewellers, Sutcliffe, in March 2018.

Diana Thomson (Garlick) (1988) International Speaker, Author and Speaking Coach

Got something to share?

Send your Old Girl news to alumnae@stcuthberts.school.nz OR reunion info box. Note: if Reunion info remains on previous page then it needs a header or to draw the eye.

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Diana is committed to helping women be confident in finding and using their voices.

Her business, SpeechMarks Coaching, supports those with speaking struggles or those with new goals in public speaking.

Diana has recently released her first book The Naked Speaker: The Public Speaking Recipe Book to help readers with this.

The book offers encouragement, technical advice, and tips to help speakers inspire and connect with their audiences.

Key Dates Roz Henry (1987) CEO Cooperative NZ Roz Henry (Peer Year 1987) recently joined Co-operative Business New Zealand (CBNZ) as their CEO. CBNZ is the professional body representing New Zealand co-ops, a significant employer and provider of GDP to New Zealand hiring 50,000 people and contributing 16% of our GDP. CBNZ has a very broad membership including organisations such as Fonterra and FoodStuffs through to small start-ups.

“It’s a fantastic role – aside from getting to work with some amazing leaders, it allows me to make use of my broad range of skills and experience. It’s great to be working in an area that is core for New Zealand and being able to give back.”

Roz went to the University of Otago where she completed a Bachelor of Consumer and Applied Sciences. Subsequently she had the opportunity to join the New Zealand Dairy Board (now Fonterra) gaining commercial experience. She then moved into management consulting learning about strategy and business optimisation. Over the past ten years she been in a variety of leadership roles, had three children, and moved between New Zealand, Australia, and Europe.

Melinda Cates (1983) Author Melinda returned to New Zealand three years ago and this year published her book I Make a Difference: A Process to Heal and Dissolve the Layers of Your Past and Discover the Jewel Within. She has a long history of facilitating and training others and for over ten years delivered pre-employment programmes for disengaged youth, Aboriginal Australians, long-term unemployed, individuals who had experienced workplace injuries, and migrants and refugees.

Maxine Lesley Amos (1964) formerly Fowler (née Holt)

Business Owner and Magazine Editor Maxine has lived in Auckland, Wellington, Sydney, Brisbane, Airlie Beach, and finally settled in Townsville. Twentyfour years ago, Maxine established Distinctive Promotions, providing clients with customised promotional products. In 1998, she was a finalist in the Townsville Businesswoman of the Year Awards and was also nominated for the North Queensland Management Excellence Awards. For the past four years, Maxine has been voluntary editor of the Family History Association of North Queensland’s magazine Relatively Speaking.

Friday 6 December 2019 Graduation Ball Year 13 Hosted by the Old Girls’ Association Committee 6.00pm Ellerslie Event Centre

Thursday 12 March 2020 Italian Lunch at NSP 12 .00– 3.00pm As fundraiser for the Old Girls’ Scholarship fund – Old Girls, St Cuthbert’s mothers, families and friends are welcome Contact: Penelope Peebles presidentoga@stcuthberts.school.nz

Friday 20 March 2020 Decade Reunion Cocktail Party: Peer Group 2004 & 2014 6.30pm at St Cuthbert’s College Peer Year 2004 will open their time capsule

Saturday 21 March 2020 Old Girls’ Association Annual General Meeting 9.00 – 10.00am in the Joan Holland Auditorium 10.15 –11.00am Morning Tea, outside the Old Girls’ Chapel or in the Boardroom (weather dependent) Old Girls’ Chapel Service 11.00 –11.45am in the St Cuthbert’s Old Girls’ Chapel Old Girls’ Lunch – special welcome to Peer Year 1954 Midday at St Cuthbert’s Boardroom, Robertson Building Decade Reunion Dinner Party 7.00pm for dinner, venue to be confirmed, Peer Years 1964, 1974, 1984, 1994

Sunday 29 March 2020 Waikato Reunion Luncheon and AGM 11.30am for lunch at midday The home of Catharine Stuart, Cambridge Contact: Catharine 07 827 1766, bandcstuart@gmail.com

Tuesday 26 May 2020 OGA Coffee and Dessert Evening 7.30pm For Old Girl mothers and grandmothers of 2020, hosted by the Old Girls’ President and joined by principal Justine Mahon. All current Old Girl parents are welcome to attend.

Boardroom, Robertson Building, St Cuthbert’s

June 2020 (Date tbc) Bridge Day 10.00am Auckland Bridge Club, Remuera Making their Mark 7.00am Joan Holland Auditorium For details on events in 2019 please call 09 520 4159 ext 7607 or email alumnae@stcuthberts.school.nz OUR CONNECTED COMMUNITY

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24 Our vibrant school community is supported by our Parents and Friends’ Association.

The Committee organises events and other activities to bring us all together, and to help to create a warm and caring environment in which our girls can learn.

St Cuthbert’s Parents & Friends’ Association This year, Elisabeth Bell has taken on the role of chair, ably supported by a talented and enthusiastic committee. Elisabeth says she is passionate about providing a vibrant social platform for St Cuthbert’s parents to meet and develop relationships with each other while their daughters are at school.

“There are significant benefits to the girls to see their parents placing value on their school by being involved in it themselves,” she says. “I also believe it is important for parents to know each other well enough to be able to keep in touch through the many years of education and different stages of our girls’ growth and development.”

In order to strengthen and more easily enable the parent community to volunteer, the role of volunteer co-ordinator has been created.

Committee member Jacqui Lockington has taken this on and is managing the volunteer database.

“This new role is a great addition,” says Elisabeth. “It as it enables the PFA and school to not only get volunteers more easily but get the right volunteers, and to make sure we don’t keep asking the same people, which means the fun is more widely spread.”

Elisabeth has also ensured the class coordinators are more extensively supported and helped by two class co-ordinator liaisons – Jacqui Lockington in the middle school (she will support the senior school next year) and fellow committee member Zarina Sheikh in the junior school. Jacqui and Zarina are working together to ensure next year’s class co-ordinators are included more in the P&F Committee’s work, so the social events throughout the school are better co-ordinated.

Retaining her position as vice-chair, Kathryn Chrystal is a very much valued member of the committee. She has volunteered tirelessly since the first of her three girls started here and has been on the committee for 10 years.

“Kathryn has wealth of experience and wisdom that we, as a largely new committee value and appreciate,” says Elisabeth.

Another familiar face on the committee, Caroline Rolls has again been elected treasurer.

She brings her expertise as a chartered accountant to the role, and with rules and protocols being much tighter these days, her qualifications and experience are much valued.

Lauren Milne has stepped into the role of secretary and Elisabeth says Lauren’s calm and thorough organisational skills are much appreciated by the committee.

“She even set us up on WhatsApp! Now, why hadn’t we thought of that before?”

The AFG (Asian Friendship Group) represents a large portion of our parent and friends community, consequently Alex Wang (AFG Chair) has been elected onto the PFA. He is supported

by Nancy Zhang (AFG Deputy Chair) who attends committee meetings when Alex is unable.

Elisabeth says Alex and Nancy’s involvement has allowed the two groups to become more integrated through better communication and more team work.

Finally, one of the more mundane tasks Elisabeth has initiated is updating the rules governing the committee – the last time this was done was 30 years ago!

“Reference to the original seal continues to be included as it is legally required, but it is a delightfully obsolete tool which is treasured, although not used,” she says. “The committee are now officially allowed to notify our community through email.”

Elisabeth says more plans and exciting ideas are being developed by the Committee and will be revealed as the next few months rush on.

“Stand by for a refreshed Parents and Friends’ logo!”

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Father Daughter Breakfast The bi-annual Father and Daughter Breakfast was held in Term 3 and the PFA worked with the wider school community to select a science theme that was educational and relevant, while fun and exciting for Year 0 – 8 students (and of interest to the Dads)!

The event sold out in record time with 363 tickets purchased and 19 guests hosted! Head of Science Faculty, Tom Curtis introduced Professor Boom from The Imagination Experience who unlocked the magic of science with BIG experiments that wowed the audience. In addition, attendees heard from our Principal, Justine Mahon and PFA Chair, Elisabeth Bell over a delicious breakfast provided by Eat My Lunch (founded

by Old Girl, Lisa King) – the event directly benefited 393 children-in-need with lunch that day. Dads also enjoyed premium coffee from Eighthirty, spot prizes from Matawhero Wines and a raffle with prizes from JUCY, Leonard’s and Eighthirty which generated over $2,000 toward a commercial BBQ for Kahunui!

A special thank you to Phil McDonald, Rachel Taylor, Jacqui Lockington and Elisabeth Bell for their hard work pulling the breakfast together. The event had wonderful feedback from attendees and the wider school community, and we are looking forward to the next Father and Daughter Breakfast already!

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Mooncake Festival Party A beautiful event was organised by Nancy Zhang and her team from the AFG with support from the PFA committee for all parents and friends of the school. This was a fun evening celebrating the traditional Chinese autumn full moon. A delicious dinner was served at the Cornwall Park Bistro that was especially decorated for the occasion by Jessica Wu. Live traditional Chinese music was provided by two Year 11 St Cuthbert’s girls Yvetta Xiang and Grace Pui. Nancy was the MC for the evening and ran a lively quiz which filled the restaurant with lots of laughter and fun banter.

Guests enjoyed prizes donated by Stella Zhang, Chinese tea provided

by Seagull Cheng and mooncakes sponsored by Annie Chen. Harry was kept busy on the night as official photographer with many beautiful scenes to record. Alex Yang, Ouyang and Amy Fei also helped to pull this splendid event together. A particularly joyful way to celebrate and share the Chinese culture with a wonderful full moon overhead.

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ABOVE AND BELOW: Mooncake festival

Smencils The Junior School girls (kindly assisted by their teachers) have been busy designing beautiful artworks, which KidsArtWorks have converted into calendars, greeting cards and diaries. Parents are able to purchase these for home or as fabulous Christmas presents, along with packs of the highly coveted Smencils (scented pens and pencils). All profits will be donated towards the purchase of a commercial BBQ for Kahunui!

A huge thank you to our school families and our sponsors for their terrific support.

For parents wanting to get involved with Parents and Friends, or help out with specific events or activities, please contact parents.friends@stcuthberts.school.nz.

Mums Movie Night ABOVE AND BELOW: Ladies lunch

The annual Mothers Movie Night was held on the last week of Term 3 and was a wonderful evening for Mums across the entire school. The movie selected was ‘Ride Like a Girl’, a film based on the inspirational story of Michelle Payne becoming the first female jockey to win the Melbourne Cup and her struggles on her way to acceptance in a maledominated world. An amazing story and perfect evening to catch up and connect with other Mothers over a well-deserved glass of wine and leave with a goodie bag in hand. Several forward-thinking ladies took full advantage of the midweek outing to book dinner together before the movie and, hence, completely escaped dinner hour at home!

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25 From Auckland to LA, our generous community responds with kindness Over 170 Old Girls, parents, grandparents, staff and friends of the school have chosen to give generously to our 2019 annual appeal. Over half of these donors have given a donation to the school for the first time, and we are delighted to welcome Paul and Wendy Carter, Alistair and Charlotte Sutherland and James Brown & Katie Buchanan to the Robertson Circle as new members.

Thanks to the generosity of all our appeal donors, over $62,000 will be distributed to help girls facing financial hardship attend our school and participate fully, and to buy the materials and equipment needed for the girls’ Kahunui campus ‘footprint’ sustainability projects. We look forward to updating these donors on the girls whose lives they are changing and enriching here at the school.

Given the overwhelming response, it was a joy to call and email many of our donors to thank them personally and discover more about their interests and motivations for giving to the school. This was such a rewarding experience, and we are thankful to everyone who took the time to talk and write to us.

The common thread across the conversations we’ve had has been love: of the school, of friendships made, of experiences shared and the girls who come here.

These are just a few of the comments we received from donors via email: “I’m glad to make a small contribution to scholarships at the school, especially as I would not have been able to attend St Cuthbert’s without a scholarship myself.”

“I am very willing to donate to our school, it is my pleasure because I love St Cuthbert’s.”

“I absolutely loved Kahunui and hope that heaps of girls get to have an equally incredible experience!”

“We appreciate the many blessings and opportunities that St Cuthbert’s has given our daughter and she has become a very independent, positive and loving young lady. Very proud mother right here.”

Some of our most memorable conversations included an ’55 Old Girl who is planning a holiday to Rarotonga with a group of her school friends, a parent whose two daughters benefited from Principal’s Fund when they were at school, and an Old Girl in Los Angeles who is expecting her first child.

Without the generosity of our supporters at the school, including our dedicated volunteers, much of what our girls experience and enjoy would not be possible. We are very grateful to you all.

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A big thank you to our 2019 donors!

Through your generosity you have made an enormous difference here at the school.

Our 2019 donors

Clare Andrew L & M Battersby Phoebe & Isla Bint Chloe Mackay-Booth Amy Boroevich L Brittain J Brown & K Buchanan Kelly Cameron Lisa Cameron Paul & Wendy Carter Mary Challis Paulina Chen Jackie Clark Debbie & Greg Cook Andy Coster Melinda Crookenden J Duncan Brent Egerton & Sara Dennis Emma Feng Mr A M & Mrs E J Fraser M Gardner & S Duncan Max & Colleen Goode Sherry Guan Qiong Yang & Emily Guo Hiro J & P Hanson Harford Family Anne Hargreaves Rosemary & Grant Harris Maryan Harrison Sarah Heady Amy Henwood Henwood Family Julie Hoskins Arpakorn Insiri The Jackson Family Rosemary Jones Ann Louise Jordan A Kendall Deepak & Sadhna Lala Vijay & Jayna Lala Eric Ewe Louise Lauer Jade Leung Jane Leung H Liang & D Luo Inge Lodder HUAI Lu Juliet Maclean Isabel Mahon Justine Mahon & Gregory Heap Mr Zhaorong Mai & Mrs Cong Zhang John McCallum H McCullough Philippa McKegg Christine McLaren (nee Partridge) Emma & Marion Mellow Leigh & Donald Melville L & F Milne Frank Min Charlotte Mackenzie & Family Sandra & Mackenzie Morrison Liz Morrow Ali Nelson Abigail Parry North Tara O’Connor R & F Paine Holly Palmer Parents & Friends’ Emma Popping Akram & Humaira Qureshi Alisa Rao & Ashley Rao Louise Reid Gillian Robertson Margaret Sinclair Drs Ellis Situe & Nina Vasan Richard & Kristen Slade Brian & Barbara Smith Old Girls’ Association Sarah & David Stewart Alistair & Charlotte Sutherland Anne Tattersfield Marie Taylor Kathryn Chrystal & Maurice Toes Tupuola-Faalogo Family Valentine Family Vinall Family The Vincent Family Trust Philippa Walker Anna Wallace The Waller Family Rachel Walsh Anna Wang Xiaoli Jing Michelle & Guy Williams Karin Xu Ming Xu Year 13 2019 Lam Yeung & Lucyana Lai Gary Zhang & Amma Feng Mike Zhang & Madeleine Guan Peng Yi (Ella) Zhang 88 Anonymous For a full list of Robertson Circle members please visit our website www.stcuthberts.school.nz.

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