Adding creative flare to ‘Parents and Friends’ Introducing Harriet Booth, our enthusiastic and creative new Chair of our Parents and Friends Association.

Our treasured Parents and Friends Association (P&F) is all about connecting with one another and helping to create a thriving College community. This year, we are thrilled to welcome Harriet Booth to the position of Committee Chair – adding yet another string to her bow at St Cuthbert’s.

Harriet has worn several hats here at St Cuthbert’s, such as student, Old Girl, parent, and most recently, a Senior Graphic Designer in our Advancement team.

Harriet has been the talented designer who has worked alongside our Lead Graphic Designer, Janice O’Kane, and has contributed to many projects such as the Gifting Amazing Campaign and the latest Chronicle. Both Harriet and Janice have helped to elevate our brand and reflect our strategic direction with the perfect look and feel of a design, across many marketing channels.

“Being creative is about expressing yourself in a unique way”, says Harriet, “tapping into your imagination, pushing the boundaries, and discovering new possibilities. The beauty of creativity is there is no right or wrong way to do it; it’s a personal journey that brings joy and fulfillment to both the creator and the audience. It’s a career that gives me immense gratification and pride.”

Harriet’s commercial career has seen her work in various areas of graphic design, including corporate branding, packaging, digital retouching, typography, art direction, web design, social media campaigns, photography and print management.

She has worked in-house at design agencies, The Warehouse HQ where she created the brand we are all familiar with, art directed at Webb’s and done contract design work for Watties-Heinz.

One of her long-standing roles was for Annabel Langbein, whose company ‘Annabel Langbein Media’ is one of New Zealand’s most successful publishing houses.

“I was responsible for the planning, art direction, digital retouching, and graphic design for promotional material, as well as every book and magazine produced from 2012 to 2021,” she says.

We are very impressed with the multiple cookbooks that won numerous national and international awards and, frankly, will make anyone salivate! The pages are full of incredible food photography, and the ‘look’ perfectly on-brand for a celebrated and stylish New Zealand food icon.

Aside from her design work that keeps her busy, Harriet is ecstatic about being involved in the College community in a different role as Chair of the P&F, inside a community for which she has so much genuine adoration – St Cuthbert’s.

“It’s been incredible to step behind the iconic green gates again, as a parent and be working alongside staff in my design work,” she says.

Harriet is a proud mum to Charlotte, currently in Year 5, and her 13-year-old son is at Auckland Grammar.“My husband and I have been blown away by the St Cuth’s community and teachers,” she says. “Things have certainly evolved since I started as a child, but the same values are strong.”Harriet says that her oldest and closest friendships were formed here, “My two younger sisters also attended, and all three of us have a large network of friends which has lasted well into adulthood.”

We ask her about plans for this year at the P&F. “I’m looking forward to bringing the College community together in many ways,” she says. “I still recall the inviting cup of tea that the P&F team served us on the first day of school, and all the super friendly emails we received. Now it’s my turn to pay it forward!”

The P&F team of today and yesteryear always manage to capture and promote our unique College spirit and culture. The team can be found organising quiz nights or class gatherings, providing entertainment at sports days, and lending a hand to fundraising for the benefit of our girls.

The team work hard to facilitate ways for parents to get to know one another, “I think it can provide a sense of kinship for many parents and help break down barriers, especially when people are new to the College,” says Harriet.

As parents of the College, you are already automatically a member of the Association.

Harriet describes her new role as Chair, as an exciting new challenge and a great way to give back, “I believe we’re in a very privileged position to attend such a special school, and the motto ‘By Love Serve’ has been a something I’ve tried to uphold.”

Harriet is no stranger to being community minded, having also volunteered at Riding for the Disabled, thanks to a love of animals and children. “We even have two dogs and have fostered multiple litters of stray kittens over the years!”

We also believe there will be a creative bent that comes in handy for this new role. “My husband Jamie, is an Industrial designer, so our house is always full of art and crafts!” says Harriet. “I like to think outside the square and do things a little creatively and be open to new things, so that’s a great starting point!”

We can’t wait to see what the year entails for P&F, their new Chair, and all our wonderful parents and friends.

As a current St Cuthbert’s parent, you are automatically a Parents & Friends Association Member. However, if you would like to play a more active role and be part of our Committee, please get in touch at P&F@stcuthberts.school.nz.