3 minute read
From the Desk of Justine Mahon
Welcome to the June 2021 edition of our school magazine, Evergreen Ties. At St Cuthbert’s, excellence is about every girl achieving her personal best and we really encourage our students to give new things a go.
At my first assembly this year, I shared with the girls that I see 2021 as the year of courage; a time to try new things, join a cultural group, sports team, get involved in a service project or just dare to do something completely different from anything they have tried before.
In this edition, we meet both current students and Old Girls of the College who are focused on becoming the very best version of themselves. Whether it be following opportunities to express their creative side such as the Shakespeare Soirée, or finding a way to connect with their culture through events such as Po Fiafia, our girls share their experiences in this edition of ‘giving it a go’, while our Old Girls, including professional Dancer Ling Zhang (peer year 2014), express how St Cuthbert’s taught them to be open to every opportunity.
The beginning of this year has been a busy and very rewarding one, with new initiatives at the College. Thanks to our community’s generosity, we were able to open the new Parents & Friends Dance Studio. We celebrated this addition to our exceptional Performing Arts facilities with a special event for our donors.
We launched our exciting new After School Care programme ‘Club Evergreen’ earlier this year. Club Evergreen offers a convenient, safe, and caring after school programme for our Years 0–8 students at a fantastic new location in our Junior School; you can learn more about this on page 12.
We have recently rebranded our Personalised Learning Centre to become ‘The Pōhutukawa Learning Centre’. This better reflects the way in which our leading programme supports the girls to really flourish and discover their own personal strengths and talents. The Pōhutukawa Learning Centre provides support for students who, for different reasons, need some targeted assistance to enable them to reach their full potential. We are enormously grateful for the wonderful generosity of St Cuthbert’s parent, Anna Mowbray, who has made a significant donation to the PLC to support the continual development of world class programmes for our diverse learners. I would personally like to acknowledge Anna’s contribution; every donation we receive at St Cuthbert’s really does make a difference to our girls, and we are very appreciative of her support.
In February, the first group of Year 13 girls were thrilled to participate in our new leadership training programme when they had the opportunity to experience a specialised five-day, four-night Kahunui residential stay. This amazing trip provides students with the chance to revisit Kahunui and take part in an outdoors-based programme, with leadership opportunities embedded in the day-to-day curriculum.
The first intake of Year 13 girls who travelled down in February, were also privileged to take part in the official opening of our new house at Kahunui, “Farmer House”; this special event was attended by local iwi, the Kahunui team and the Development team. I would like to thank our wonderful benefactors, the Farmer family, for their generosity over many years in supporting the College and for donating the new residence.
In this edition of Evergreen Ties, it is our absolute pleasure to introduce you to our amazing student Leadership team for 2021; Head Girl, Carmel Ah Chong, Deputy Head Girls, Katya De Silva, Florida Mataio and Helena Haldane, and Head Boarder, Charlotte Berry. I have already been so impressed by their leadership this year, particularly the way in which they have been looking out for our younger students as we went in and out of two lockdowns. They are wonderful role models for our students.
I’d like to make special mention of the girls who have contributed articles to this edition, in the true spirit of‘By Love Serve’. Your stories are beautiful, and I have thoroughly enjoyed reading about these experiences through your eyes, and I am sure our readers will too!
Staying connected as a community continues to be vitally important to us. My heartfelt thanks go out to our Parents & Friends, Old Girls’ Association, and Asian Friendship Group for continuing to find ways to connect with one another, whether this be in person, or remotely. Your care and dedication to our girls, the College, and to one another, is a wonderful part of St Cuthbert’s and makes me feel so very proud of our vibrant and connected community.
I hope you enjoy reading our May edition.
Ngā manaakitanga,
