Cultural Assembly Well-being Assembly

Specialassemblies

Cultural Assembly

There were many highlights at the Cultural Assembly on Thursday 18 August, but the biggest of all was the surprise announcement of Head Prefect, Grace Lawrence (Year 13), as the overall winner of the prestigious Play It Strange 2022: The Lion Foundation Songwriting Competition. Grace did a superb impromptu performance of her winning song, Differently Now.

Several music and performance groups also entertained the assembly, including the Mini Pipe Band, a group of performers singing a spirited version of Classic; the Māori and Pasifika Group harmonising beautifully during their performance of Ko te ata mahina and Noqu Masu; choir VOX16 delivering a stunning version of Billy Joel’s And So It Goes; and the Soul Band getting everyone’s toes tapping at the end of the assembly, with their performance of Many More.

Cultural Captains, Rachel Holyoake and Lucy Ojala (both Year 13), delivered an inspiring address, and many awards were presented, including Cultural Colour Awards, and presentations to Jasmine Hooker (Year 10) who is a member of the Berlin Trio which placed second in the NZCT Chamber Music Competition, and the Rector’s Medal to the Year 13 World Champion International Mathematics Modeling Challenge team of Luke Zhu, Toby Harvie, Corin Simcock and Tom Edwards.

Well-being Assembly

On Friday 5 August, separate Girls’ and Boys’ Well-being Assemblies were held, where a panel of teachers and students had an open conversation about this important topic. The panel discussed ideas about what matters most for their well-being and courageously shared insights about overcoming challenges in their own lives. Students enjoyed listening to their peers, and appreciated the opportunity to hear about diverse experiences and perspectives.

As part of Well-being Week, the Well-being Committee organised a ‘Puppy Power’ lunchtime. Staff and students’ dogs and puppies were brought into the Quad and walked around, with students enjoying a few cuddles. Unsurprisingly the puppies were very well received.