12 minute read
Campus Life, Po Fia Fia
Campus life
St Cuthbert’s had to be agile yet again this year with the spread of Covid-19. Here we share just a few of our favourite Term 1 moments from our Junior School, Senior School and Kahunui Campuses. Our guiding principle was that girls benefit best from a face-to-face environment and so our campuses were still very much active, albeit slightly adapted from previous years to operate within the guidelines.
Po Fiafia, held in Clouston Hall on 22 March 2022
Junior School Campus
Wow, what variety we had in Term 1 in our Junior School! We’re so proud of our youngest girls for continuing to learn in these Covid times; they didn’t let a little mask get in the way of funfilled opportunities. From our St Cuthbert’s Day service in Clouston Hall, to working on GEM (Gratitude, Empathy and Mindfulness) as part of the Resilience Project, and so much in between, Term 1 flew by! It’s been wonderful to welcome a new committee of Year 13 girls who love working with our Juniors. The Easter Bonnet parade and service were adorable and it’s lovely seeing our girls look up to their Big Sister role models. The role of the Senior School was also evident through the teaching of Science in Senior School labs. The Junior girls loved taking their lessons with Senior School Science teachers and the talk of dissecting rats and frogs is still part of playground chatter!
Finally it’s brilliant to see and hear our youngest musicians back in the Performing Arts Centre. Thank you to Andrew Stewart for all you do to help our budding stars shine!
Senior School Campus
House Flowers
The House Flowers theme of 2022 was ‘Global Environments’. It was incredible to see our Year 13 girls shape, mould, weave and generally sprinkle magic onto flowers to create impressive arrangements. Their creations not only met the theme of Global Environments, but they also brought House Spirit to life, evident through the colours of which they are so proud. We’re very grateful to our parent judges Rachel Taylor, Fiona Geary and Jo Mann who together with Principal, Justine Mahon determined the winners as follows: •Melrose First overall and Winner Most Original Display for their ‘Firebird’ •Lindisfarne Second overall and Winner Most Visually Stunning, Wow Factor for their ‘Melting Monument’ • • Elgin Third overall and Winner Form, Balance and Proportion for their ‘Goddess of Life, Te Fiti’ • • Dunblane Winner Best Team Presentation for their ‘Tiger’s Head’ • • Iona Winner Most Effective Use
of Colour for their depiction of ‘Unpredictability in our Environment’
• • Kelso Winner Most Successful Response To Theme for their whale tale depicting ‘Overfishing’
• • York Winner Best Use of Texture for
their ‘Volcano’ • • Durham Winner Skilful and Innovative Use of Materials for their ‘Flamingo’
Kahunui, our unique Bay of Plenty Campus
Kahunui has been busy over the summer break. Evergreen 1 & 2, which are made up of the 2021 intakes unable to attend during lockdown last year, have enjoyed the first part of their journey and are looking forward to returning during the October school holidays to complete their Kahunui experience.
The Kahunui staff were excited about welcoming Intake 1 2022, onsite before school started in February, and the opportunity to enjoy their outdoor experience technology and mask free, has been appreciated. The wharf jump, Kohi Point walk from Whakatane to Ohope, kayaking, tramping and sleeping out in the beautiful Kahunui bush continue to be highlights for the programme. Leaving home after so much time in house-bound lockdown, has proved challenging for all. However it is heart-warming to see the students relax and enjoy the freedom from the current restrictions.
Thirty Year 13 students descended on the camp over the mid-term break and thoroughly enjoyed taking part in the team
building opportunity. The Year 13 cohort enjoyed welcoming Intake 2 onsite at the end of their programme. The Big Sister, Little Sister bonds were evident and the loyalty of the Year 13 cohort to their houses, the P&F, Wairaka and Old Girls was integral to settling Intake 2 into their respective houses.
The Kahunui instructor team, ably led by Head of Campus Lauren Moyes, is a young and vibrant one. They have adapted and introduced many new programmes and initiatives to Kahunui from beach art, to bush first aid, to K-Challenge in the bush, to double overnights. An excellent pastoral support programme has been cemented to provide a safe and connected journey for all students and has direct links to the Epsom campus with Head of Kahunui, Gail Morrison, having oversight.
The Study Guide Drive – an initiative to help other students
Mia Vanderkolk from Year 12 has an amazing heart: she’s on a mission to help other schools to have what they need so students can study, especially when they don’t have the resources to provide for the necessary materials themselves.
Mia is coy about where her generous spirit comes from but she says she is often thinking about how items might be reused or recycled.
“Studying is hard and my textbooks have been really helpful tools for me,” Mia says. “We are so lucky at St Cuth’s that we get new resources all the time but it occurred to me that my old text books had a lot of use left in them, and I didn’t want them to go to waste.”
In Term 1, Mia asked Senior School girls from Years 9 - 13 to bring in any study guides, pull-out notes, textbooks and lightly-used workbooks that were no longer needed so they could be donated.
In April, Mia was able to deliver a donation of 244 text and workbooks to Tangaroa College in Manukau.
Kirk Jennings, from Tangaroa College wrote a lovely email regarding the donation. He expressed his gratitude when he wrote “We wish to thank Mia (and St Cuth’s) for this generous donation. The books were snapped up on the same day by our Science teachers. One teacher in particularclaimed a good number of theBiology books to send up to Samoa. So, once again thank you very much,the books are really appreciated.”
Mia, we applaud your generosity and thoughtfulness and we know you will go far in the world with such a giving nature. This is a true act of ‘By Love Serve’.
Cook in Style in our Limited Edition Apron
The chefs in your household will love this limited edition, Black Watch tartan apron! It features an embroidered St Cuthbert’s crest and is sure to add a sprinkle of ‘By Love Serve’ to all your dishes.
Child size (4-9 years old) $45 Adult size (10 years old plus) $60
To purchase or find out more, email
blackwatch@stcuthberts.school.nz
‘By Love Serve’: Supporting Save the Children’s Ukraine Appeal
The conflict in Ukraine has caused the fastest and largest displacement of people in Europe since World War II.A child from Ukraine has become a refugee almost every single second of the war. Senior students at St Cuthbert’s have been moved by this distressing situation, as have we all. Looking to implement something practical to help, the prefects organised a school wide ‘yellow and blue clothing’ day to support Save the Children’s Ukraine Appeal.
Students came dressed in the colours of the Ukrainian flag, and were asked to make a donation to help the children of Ukraine. All funds raised went directly to Save the Children – Ukraine Crisis Relief Fund, which is helping Ukrainian families meet their basic needs such as food, medicine and shelter.
The College was awash with blue and yellow in support. We were able to raise $5375to go directly to Save the Children’s Ukraine Appeal. This was a lovely act of ‘By Love Serve’.
“It is very important for St Cuthbert’s students to engage in the current issues affecting other parts of the world. With the news of the Ukraine war, the Prefect team wanted to help in any way we could. We are so proud to see that the students engaged strongly in our Mufti Day and other activities. It was so special to see everyone supporting the children of the war and keeping the people of Ukraine in our minds.”
—Layla Al-Abid, Year 13 Prefect
The Whispering Tree
When students and teachers strolled in between the magnificent magnolia trees outside Clouston Hall during the week of ANZAC commemorations, they brushed past delicate tags hanging from the branches, featuring poignant reflections of our collective thoughts and wishes.
This striking and thought-provoking artwork was created by gifted Year 12 IB Art students, Debbie Hang and Wendy Ding, who were extremely moved by ANZAC Day reflections, and motivated to create a space that commemorated those who offered their services and their lives, and also to give students an outlet for how they are feeling today.
The pair were influenced by Japanese artist Yoko Ono’s famous installation series, the ‘Wish Tree’, which they studied in art class.
Students were able to write a message of hope, share a wish, or reflect on their feelings by writing on plywood tags which were then intricately hung from the trees. The small tags have light bells on them, which Debbie and Wendy wanted to whisper gently in the breeze.
In term one, the girls had obtained large wooden boards from our Technology department which they then trimmed down using school machinery. Over the holidays, each tag was crafted by the girls. A painstaking process, they hand-sanded every one, affixed a small bell to each, and hung the tags on long lengths of white and red satin ribbon (ANZAC colours).
To coincide with the school’s ANZAC service, Debbie and Wendy were there to oversee the writing of messages, from girls across Years 7 to 13.
Wendy enjoyed watching how everyone interacted with the installation, “I loved seeing what everyone chose to write and how the different year levels came together,” she says. “Seeing people engage with the tree brought me so much happiness! It was also a relief, as at one point, we were nervous that no-one would interact with the tree!”
They needed not have worried as quite the opposite occurred, with a steady stream of girls excited about taking part.
Messages were shared anonymously, and varied from hopes of peace and an end to war, to remembrance of lost great-grandparents, as well as more personal wishes.
Debbie describes how they wanted to give students an opportunity to speak their minds and share their thoughts on the world, “I feel that all our hard work over the holidays paid off. We hope students will get lots of benefit from it too,” she says.
Head of Art, Deb Culliane, said the beautiful installation coincided well with the Year 13 Communications Committee, who hung poppies in the Atrium. She says, “This all helped students reflect and take note of why they are there.”
