Wide Sky Winter 2020 by Rangi Ruru Girls' School

WIDE SKY • THE RAN GI R URU BI-ANNUAL MAGAZIN E

PREPARING THE GRADUATE FOR HER FUTURE The importance of a Growth Mindset and unlocking your own personalised ‘Key’

LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE Our Senior Leaders unpacking the cliché

A JOURNEY TO JOY Olympian, Eve Macfarlane on her journey with depression and her impactful new book 1

1ST EDITION • 2020

WIDE SKY

WIDE SKY is produced bi-annually for students and their families, alumnae and the wider Rangi Ruru Girls’ School community. It provides a forum in which to celebrate the successes of current and past students and staff, while sharing the latest in events, happenings and developments.

EDITOR’S NOTE Sian Fremaux

DESIGNER Charlotte Wood

EDITOR Sian Fremaux

PROOF READING Barbara Smith & Kerry-Anne Murnane

PHOTOGRAPHY • Tony Stewart, photoshots.co.nz • Rowing Celebration • Rangi Ruru Teaching & Admin Staff

PUBLISHER Ovato Printing

PRODUCTION ASSISTANCE Jude Connochie & Katrina Topp

RANGI RURU GIRLS’ SCHOOL 59 Hewitts Road, Merivale Christchurch 8014 New Zealand rangiruru.school.nz facebook.com/rangiruru instagram.com/rangiruru

COVER IMAGE Isis Ward by Tony Stewart

This note without doubt has been an interesting one to write. And yet, as I do from my desk in the beautiful Te Koraha on our campus, I am reminded of how lucky we are. All the things we once took for granted now seem extra-special. The pandemic has definitely changed what we all thought 2020 would be. As this issue came together, common themes of finding positivity and resilience emerged, which I suppose is hardly surprising given the challenges we have been facing. I hope that reading this edition will uplift you and remind you how wondrous, clever, and creative our community is. Many members of our staff have contributed features for this issue, along with our Senior Leaders who expand on their theme of ‘Live Laugh Love’. We are also privileged to feature Old Girl Eve Macfarlane in this issue. Having overcome her own challenge with depression, she now wants to help shed light on how other young New Zealanders have made it through their own battles. Her new book, “How We Got Happy”, which features on page 20, could not be more poignant or timely. Finally, you may notice a few QR codes scattered amongst our pages. We have been working away to bring you more quality content in a new and dynamic way and are excited to include these codes that link to bonus content for you to view. You do not need to download an app to view these, all you need to do is be connected to the internet on your phone, open your camera and hold it over the code itself. This should connect and bring a ‘link to view’ notification at the top of your screen – click this and you will be able to view the bonus content. I would like to think that the many stories from around our school in this issue will assist you in finding joy, positivity and inspire you to look to the future with hope in these ever-evolving times.

Preparing the Graduate for her Future

CON TEN TS

DR SANDRA K HASTIE

A New Learning Landscape MELANIE Lâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;EEF

Digital Wellbeing

Creativity and Collaboration

HANNAH CLARKSON

KATE RIVERS

Innovation in Isolation

Live from the Theatre

A Technical Edge

Rowing Report

Live Laugh Love

A Journey to Joy

Mathematics and beyond

New Challenges = New Experiences

JANET KINGSBURY

PETER RUTHERFORD

MANDY ANDERSON

OLIVIA LING

SOPHIE PYE

SIAN FREMAUX

CRAIG BRADLEY

ERIN FITZPATRICK

Women of the Future

2020: The Year So Far

Development Update

1st Century Language 2 Learning

KRISTEN FOX

BRIDGET WOODHAM

TANIA MORGAN

Science for All

Make your own: Baking Soda Rocket

ANNE BISSLAND

PRINCIPAL REPORT • 2020

PREPARING THE GRADUATE FOR HER FUTURE Words by Dr Sandra K Hastie SCHOOL PRINCIPAL

I am sure that, like myself, many of you when you attended Secondary School, found there was not a great deal of options and subjects, especially as we moved through our senior years. We were given a short opportunity to experience different subjects, however, it became apparent as to whether we were an Arts or Science student very early on in our secondary life. This in turn, led us down a narrow pathway for our future focus, leaving few opportunities in terms of choice for our career or further study. The diagram opposite shows this approach as a “T” shaped Graduate where we had an early introduction to a range of subjects but then, once we specialised, our expertise became very narrow and on a specific area. Today, the changes are rapid and fast moving. The World Economic Forum has identified essential skills that they believe future employees need to have in order to thrive in the workforce. These are the ability to solve complex problems, think critically with strong negotiation and cognitive flexibility, be able to manage people, coordinate with others and demonstrate emotional intelligence. Some refer to these as “soft skills”, however, I consider that they are actually “essential.”

The graduate of the future needs to leave with their own personalised “Key” crafted individually by themselves which allows them opportunities to try and experience different areas to retrain, change direction and open many doors to their futures. In order for our students to achieve success in achieving these skills there is an underlying critical component – that is the ability to learn, unlearn and then relearn – in other words to have a “growth mindset”. Success is no longer determined solely by grades alone and students cannot simply rely on being a top academic achiever. Rather it is the ability to have a “growth mindset” that will ensure they are able to cope in this rapidly evolving world. We are amidst some of the most impactful intersections of technology with human life, making this an unpredictable era which is both exciting and scary. It signals a time when education must prepare our young women for extraordinary roles in different ways – for experiences that examine how people will contribute to an automated and artificially intelligent world. These technologies will continue to change, adapt and perhaps even think for us in the future so our girls will need to be prepared for, what I coin, the speed of life. While some academic traditions prepare us well, other areas of design, creativity and ethics are becoming the new skills demanded for human capability alongside resilience, resourcefulness and adaptability.

At Rangi we recognise this and as a result our programmes of learning are constantly evolving. As a school we strongly believe in NCEA, which is a globally recognised qualification as well as being well suited to how girls like to learn. Its’ modern, broad flexibility gives us the ability to design varied courses to provide academic outcomes as well as personalise the level of study to each girl’s individual strengths and interests. One of the advantages of NCEA is that it encourages and assesses skills and attributes such as research, analysis and critical thinking that are not subject specific. Another way that Rangi promotes the skills of the future is through our Global Living Programme. We recognise the importance of continually ensuring that our students are developing their creative skills, an area which will always be in demand. We encourage this through project-based learning led by the students which have real world outcomes. Last year one of our students decided to challenge student leaders across Christchurch to commit to promoting a culture of service in their schools and community. When asked about this initiative her comment was: “Global living has given me the time and resources to create the change I want to see. I always thought I’d have to wait until I was out of school – I know now that if I want something done, I can do it now.” Our connection with Crimson Education, a global company through which we have employed

The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high, and we miss it, but that it is too low, and we reach it.

As a school we need to continually reflect, assess and move forward ensuring that our decisions are based around our students and their preparation for the future. The great artist Michelangelo sums up all that Rangi Ruru will continue to be: “The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high, and we miss it, but that it is too low, and we reach it.”

T-shaped Graduate BROAD SKILLS DEEP EXPERTISE

a Careers and Pathways Strategist, has also allowed us to be future focussed and ensures that our students are mentored allowing them to build personalised and strategic roadmaps. Today we remain the only school in New Zealand which has this unique offering. This programme also ensures that we are maintaining connections to the business world and giving our students relevant and up to date information, especially as new courses and opportunities are developing at such a rapid pace. This approach gives our students the edge and support when making these decisions with regards to their pathways.

Ruth Bridgstock (2017) Graduate Employability 2.0 Findings

‘Key’-shaped Graduate BROAD SKILLS DABBLE

VERY DEEP

SOME

DEEP

Findings from Successful Innovators Study - Ruth Bridgstock Graduate Employability 2017

TEACHING & LEARNING • 2020

A NEW LEARNING LANDSCAPE Words by Melanie L’Eef ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL | TEACHING & LEARNING

Being adaptable, agile, responsive, innovative, flexible and able to selfmanage, are critical dispositions we endeavour to foreground in all aspects of our learning programmes at Rangi Ruru. They are essential skills for thriving in the future – a future that will without doubt, contain a higher degree of uncertainty and complexity. These qualities are essential not just for students but also for educators. The importance of these qualities has indeed been amplified this year. Faced with the challenges of moving so rapidly from facilitating learning at school, to a fully integrated online model when we experienced nationwide lockdown to flatten the Covid-19 curve, both students and teachers were thrust into a situation where these qualities were truly tested to ensure sustained learning from home. The learning curve was steep, but we were fortunate in that we had a platform in place we were already using to support the management of learning. Microsoft Teams, enabled students to access the learning from home, to communicate with teachers and their peers via class video conferencing, as well as individual video chats, and to receive feedback on learning via the Assignments and OneNote facilities. A fully integrated platform accessible to all. A Remote Learning Timetable provided structure to the school day with subject specific sessions and whānau connecting time, along with wellbeing time, but it also allowed for students to lead their

own learning and to focus on areas they chose, supported and scaffolded by their teachers. Immersed in learning, students could direct what they were learning and how and when they learned throughout their school day. They were proactive in connecting with their teachers when they needed clarification or wanted to share the progress they were making. They adapted well and enjoyed the flexibility of this different way of learning, showing just how successfully they could manage their days. Teachers modified their programmes, engaged in professional learning, designed activities that incorporated a variety of digital tools and strategies and mapped out learning and assessment in differentiated ways to accommodate learners. They adapted, flexed and responded, just as they have always done, but with a greater sense of urgency to get this right. Teachers produced instructional videos that were watched over and over again; students self-paced through learning modules receiving feedback at various checkpoints; while others were able to connect in small groups with teachers at mutually convenient times that may or may not have aligned with the structure set by the timetable. Full class video conferences were differentiated to enable students to flesh out big ideas as a group or collaboratively complete a task, by working in ‘break out’ groups – the teacher able to move seamlessly from one group to another, just as they would when

facilitating learning on site. Teachers evolved their practice, they modelled adaptability, creativity and flexibility in ensuring learning was meaningful and that students experienced success. They learned from trial and error and worked exceedingly hard to make the learning accessible. We also know that this mode of learning did not work for every learner in every context. Some students certainly thrived while learning remotely, while others did not. Some students crave that direct connection with their teachers and depend on the frameworks and direct instruction provided by them to ensure they learn well and confidently. They feel that they lack motivation when learning in isolation, and solve problems when learning collaboratively, closely guided by their teachers. This strong scaffolding by teachers does build learning power. We are becoming increasingly appreciative, however, of the powerful learning that occurs when students have increased autonomy when learning. Some students could not contain their excitement when they returned to school, while others although ecstatic to reconnect with their friends and teachers on site, relished being in the learning groove at home and many felt the noise and energy of a peopled campus, overwhelming and distracting. They were in control of their learning at home and they liked it that way.

We know that quality relationships at Rangi Ruru are at the heart of quality learning.

Feedback from parents, teachers and students has provided great insight into what worked well and what did not, along with helping us to identify some aspects of the remote learning approach that could be incorporated into the way we enable learning on site. A student commented ‘I enjoyed doing what I wanted when I wanted. I also felt like I didn’t waste much time because I was in control.’ While another stated ‘The late start worked really well because it meant I could do exercise before school started and still be organised and arrive at video calls on time. Also, the independence that we were given to complete our work was great because self-regulated learning works really well for me.’ The structure of the remote learning timetable was welcomed by many students, and endorsed by many parents who provided feedback. A student ‘really enjoyed the concept of contact and non-contact classes as it gives a lot more opportunity for self-managing, with the option of help from a teacher when needed…’ while another shared that ‘ the flexibility in

deciding what to prioritise and being able to focus on a project for longer periods of time, and reaching out to teachers for guidance when I needed it, meant that I was more productive and focused’. Opportunities have been presented and there is much to ponder. One thing is very clear, that we have a responsibility to ensure that our students develop true learning agency; having greater control of their learning will enable them to learn in an increasingly self-directed manner. Teachers are reviewing and embracing models that are a blend of face to face/synchronous/ relational time with online/distance/ asynchronous time. These models enable greater personalisation along with maximising various digital tools, as well as providing screenless time while learning. We will continue to reflect on this feedback, along with our comprehensive research, to ensure we make the most considered decisions that benefit all our students and prepare them for their future.

We know that quality relationships at Rangi Ruru are at the heart of quality learning. Learning from a distance revealed that it is the strength of these relationships that enable learning in such a way that will give increased agency to learners. The greater the sense of agency, or control of their learning that students have, the more capable they will be to self-direct and manage their learning. It is only then that they will be fully equipped with the knowledge, skills and dispositions for truly great accomplishment long term.

WELLBEING • 2020

DIGITAL WELLBEING @ RANGI Words by Hannah Clarkson CO-ORDINATOR OF WELLBEING & DIGITAL ENGAGEMENT, HEAD OF DANCE, DRAMA TEACHER

Our students are growing up in a world where technology has always been present for them and this can have both a positive and negative impact on their lives. On the one hand, going online can mean being connected to friends, sharing experiences and discovering new information, but all of these encounters can also be joined by challenges. With the online world being such a huge part of young people’s lives today, it’s very important that we help them to understand how to use it safely, sensibly and with an awareness of how it can impact on them. As a school we follow the clear guidelines provided by The Harmful Digital Communications Act. We use this to help the girls to understand the boundaries around their behaviour and how to keep themselves safe. We also have the assistance of http://www.netsafe.org. nz who provide incredible support, expertise and education for students, teachers and parents. What we have noticed over the last few years is that the connection between school and home is of utmost importance when giving students guidelines around their online behaviour. They need clear boundaries in the classroom and in their homes. Leading cybersafety expert John Parsons talks about the dangers of unregulated

activity. “Cyber-separation is the disconnection that develops between the child and their parent when the parent has little understanding or involvement in their child’s online world”. His main advice for parents is to remain present in their online lives and empower them with limitations, routines and conversations. Net Safe offers brilliant advice on a wide range of topics. We strongly urge you to have a look at their site. The following seven steps are a helpful place to start: 1. U nderstand potential 1. Understand potential risks, challenges and risks, challenges and sometimes illegal sometimes illegal behaviours behaviours 2. Learn about their daughter’s 2. Learn about their activities daughter’s activities

3. 3. E Explore for forthemselves themselves the xplore technology their daughter uses the technology their daughter uses 4. Agree and set expectations as4.a family on what to do online A gree and set expectations as a family 5. Teach basic online safety on what to do online concepts 5. T each basic online safety 6. Model the behaviours you want toconcepts see your daughter use

6. M odel the behaviours 7. Plan what to do if things go you want to see your wrong daughter use 7.

P lan what to do if things go wrong

Many New Zealand students will have been given more freedom online over the last few weeks. Unfortunately, more time online often means that more risks can arise. We all need to remember that the internet is a criminal friendly environment, it is a big data space and a big gathering space. As parents and teachers, we cannot stop the negative areas from existing, but we can help our girls to understand the pathways that exist to keep us safe and away from the more risky environments. We hope that as a community, we can all play a part in guiding the girls towards navigating the online world using the same values that we use in our everyday lives.

We are delighted to introduce you to our new wellbeing framework The SEARCH framework is the culmination of 20 years of high-impact research in psychology and education conducted and published by Professor Lea Waters. Lea Waters, PhD, is a psychologist, researcher, speaker and author. She is one of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s leading experts on Positive Education, Positive Organisations and StrengthBased Parenting and Teaching. As a University researcher, Lea turns her science into strength-based strategies to help educators and parents around the world build resilience in their students, helping them to thrive. After looking at many different options we felt that her focus and framework would perfectly underpin our direction. We pride ourselves in delivering a wellbeing programme that is designed specifically for Rangi and our ever-changing needs. We know that each student, each year level, each experience and each day, is different. Because of this we shape our programme around current needs, and each term offers a range of learning which touches on the six areas of the framework. Term 1 often has a focus on understanding our strengths, developing our goals and building our relationships as we start the year. From here each year group will split off to focus on various topics that are most useful for those students at that time. They may look at areas such as understanding anxiety, managing change, the importance of sleep, dealing with conflict, decision making, study skills, online safety or risk taking. It is a moveable feast.

CREATIVITY AND COLLABORATION Words by Kate Rivers HEAD OF LEARNING AREA – VISUAL ARTS, HEAD OF JUNIOR ART & PRINTMAKING, DIRECTOR OF SUSTAINABILITY

Talent is a dirty word in the Art Department at Rangi Ruru, ‘talented’; is a word you will not hear in our classrooms. Deep thinking, independent decision making, taking risks, and putting in time to practice and develop both thinking and practical skills, is our proven recipe for successful artmaking.

Year 11 Art - Still Life

The exciting thing is everyone can make successful artworks when myths around talent are dispelled; follow the recipe and the results speak for themselves! Evidence of this can be seen when senior art students teach drawing, painting and printmaking classes for staff. By breaking down drawing into scaffolded steps, our Principal, Business Manager, teachers administration and support staff, produce stunning, well observed and well resolved artworks. Like many of our students in their first year at Rangi, most of these staff genuinely believed they could not draw. Like our students, they all discover they can! Rangi’s Visual Art Faculty have inspired, challenged and empowered students with this recipe and our philosophy for the past twenty years. In this time, eight students from the faculty have been awarded Top Scholar in New Zealand and numerous girls have gained NCEA scholarships and outstanding scholarship. 8

ART • 2020

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Every year since NCEA began, Visual Arts students have gained scholarships, with a single faculty contributing significantly to school results overall, year after year. Level 1-3 NCEA results are consistently outstanding across Visual Arts subjects, with very high rates of Excellence Endorsement. ‘Hei a koe te tikanga’ meaning ‘You’re the boss’ is our motto in the Art Department. Students drive their own independent research and inquiry learning from Year 10, allowing each girl to develop an individual programme based on her interests and stylistic approach. Working collaboratively, sharing ideas and peer critique underlies all we do. As a community of learners, we support each other and celebrate successes together. Once a week, at the end of the day, large numbers of girls from Years 7-13 flock to after school extension art classes run by senior students, to learn alongside each other and develop friendships. Having students teach others provides leadership opportunities and allows our seniors to flourish and gain confidence in their own ability as a leader. We celebrate our Rangi old girls by supporting their businesses, attending their exhibitions, book launches, going to their galleries, reading their reviews and PHD research, buying magazines they have been involved in, connecting with them online, going to their film screenings, inviting them to speak to classes, wearing clothes they have designed, visiting their studios with classes, seeing buildings they have designed, attending lectures

they present, having them as our Artist in Residence and generally showing an interest in their careers. Sharing stories on the various roles these women play in our society and seeing their works in our extensive art book collection, inspires our current students. Showing work is an integral part of artmaking and this is encouraged at Rangi. All senior students have learning on display to inspire others. This shows we value independent thinking and all stylistic approaches. It also signals we value the learning process and journey as much as the finished outcome. It opens up possibilities for our juniors and shows the calibre of practice and expectations of this area and shows where our course could take them. Critique notes are pinned to walls and staff from different subject areas contribute to ideas. When artmaking is not private, but a public affair, more people can be involved in helping with ideas and solutions to problems allowing students to feel supported. Exhibitions provide an opportunity for our wider community to view and celebrate learning. Our annual One Day Art Display is a visual feast of finished portfolios. Year 10 students have their artist’s books exhibited in the Baird Gallery each year and the student run Art Committee curate shows as part of the Performing Arts Showcase. Staff members have also enjoyed successes in art in the last year with Melissa Macleod winning the Zonta Art Award and Kate Rivers selected to represent NZ and Te Wai Pounamu in International Printmaking exhibitions in Hong Kong and Australia.

Creating a positive culture, a negativity free zone, and an environment where students are encouraged to think independently and feel safe to make mistakes and question assumptions, is important to us. We believe we equip young women with a repertoire of skills they will need in the future, regardless of their profession.

MUSIC • 2020

CONNECTING THROUGH MUSIC Words by Janet Kingsbury DIRECTOR OF MUSIC

Times of crisis really test who we are – our values, our ability to cope with uncertainty, all aspects of our physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. Our largely comfortable, predictable patterns of everyday living and working are totally redefined and reshaped, with us having to learn and accept a ‘new normal’ for a shorter or greater period of time. 2020 – the year of Covid-19 - will undoubtably go down in world history as a significant time that will ultimately change the way that we all live, work, think and respond to the world around us and to each other - on a family, community, national, and global level. Musicians across the world – at all levels and of all genres – found creative ways to keep people connected during the Covid-19 pandemic that kept us apart, giving us back some control of our day to day lives. The wide variety of creative and innovative music making provided a sense of belonging, allowed participation and collaboration, and showed gratitude – for example YouTube parodies; online collaborative ‘isolation performances’ using platforms such as Zoom; solo artists sharing their music from their homes; families working together in their ‘bubble’ to create, make and share music; using music as a way of acknowledging and thanking all of those who have been selfless in navigating through these extraordinary times for the benefit of

us all. It has been documented that ‘audience’ numbers for many online performances have well exceeded those that would have been present at a live performance in a physical venue. All these, and more, provided personal and social development, mental health and well-being benefits, and brought established and new communities together. Rangi music students would have been inspired by this innovation. Without a doubt, music making has continued in the girls’ homes, both as individuals, in family ‘bubbles’, and collaboratively using social media. Music lessons have taken place online, group rehearsals have happened via Zoom, girls have been able to continue to practice in their homes. They have continued to write and share their own compositions and songs and have largely been able to continue many other aspects of their music programme through independent learning, supported by one-one and small group video chats through Teams. Our senior leaders ran ‘Rangi’s Got Talent’ in an online format and shared the performances via Instagram. Now that we are physically back together, we can reflect on these new experiences and look at ways to adapt our previous ways of doing things to incorporate the best of what we learned during lockdown.

There has been much talk for some time in education circles about learning being future focused and real world – and the most significant learning can best be achieved through the collaborative efforts of many individuals. It empowers the learner to change the world for better, enabling at its very core imagination, arts and creativity to come into play. With Covid-19 globally affecting the way we all live, work and think, these parameters have clearly come into sharp focus and are vital tools in the global recovery. What is the role of the Arts – and more specifically music – in all of this? Music, as a social document, allows us to look at ourselves, to express emotion, to be empathetic and kind, and above all, to feel loved and connected. And in this case, in a way that we would never have thought possible, with many new opportunities and ways of thinking becoming apparent. The lockdown has highlighted the importance of music as a community – a physical and an online one, a local and a global one. The focus moves away from having to always strive for higher and higher standards – being ‘the best that we possibly can’. Instead, the first and primary focus has been on engagement, connecting and kindness through music – which in turn brings out the best in both creators, performers and listeners.

Lydia Robinson and Kareena Singh in Percussion Ensemble

Through the development of skills, provision of opportunities and a strong sense of music community at Rangi, our girls are well placed to collaboratively use their creative and innovative skills to build, connect and enhance communities within Rangi, Christchurch, New Zealand, and globally â&#x20AC;&#x201C; in this fast paced and ever-changing world and times in which we live. â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;In the face of uncertainty and panic, music is a social balm for soothing anxiety, enhancing community connections and acting in defiance of a threat to community spiritâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; World Economic Forum 2020

Elise Tian, Year 7

Polly Lee, Year 8

Peter Rutherford

HEAD OF THEATRE ARTS

With the ever-evolving nature of the coronavirus restrictions, many of the performing arts events we are regularly involved in have been cancelled. Fortunately, others have reworked their plans in order to go ahead. The fabulous DanceNZ Made interschool festival are committed to continuing their work this year but are waiting for a little more certainty before communicating their plans. This dance festival aligns with our ethos of inclusive opportunities that promote a passion for the arts as community events. Our dance companies have been working towards this since early in Term 1, and it is wonderful that the DanceNZ Made team are determined to find a way to include all the groups and schools that put so much effort into preparing for the festival. Another performance festival still going ahead is the Otago University Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival who are accepting all regional performance entries via online video submission, allowing us to continue the work we have already started. Whether the finals in Wellington, usually later in the year, will be live or by video submission is yet to be finalised. To use a term coined by Shakespeare himself in The Merchant of Venice, we ‘wait with bated breath’. EVITA, our senior co-production with Christ’s College, is postponed until September with both schools committed to maintaining the excellent quality expected. The effort and energy the students have been putting in is, since the pre-audition movement and singing workshops which began at the end of 2019, massive. We are grateful that both school leadership teams have seen the value in making room for this later in the year. We look forward to seeing you there – tickets will be available through the Rangi Ruru website.

LOCKDOWN EDITION

‘A New Argentina’ For a sneak peak at the upcoming performance of EVITA, scan the QR code below to see the cast performing a lockdown edition of ‘A New Argentina’ from their homes.

THEATRE ARTS • 2020

LIVE FROM THE THEATRE

SPORT • 2020

A TECHNICAL EDGE Words by Mandy Anderson DIRECTOR OF SPORT

Over the last three years in the Rangi sport programme we have seen the introduction of two key technologies designed to enable us to better support our student athletes – the use of GPS units and wellness monitoring. GPS-based technologies are increasingly used throughout many sports to support performance monitoring. GPS units are small

devices about the size of a box of matches which contain a global positioning system (GPS) that updates five times per second, monitoring all necessary movements. The unit is fitted inside the back of a vest worn by the athlete. The device tracks a wearer’s distance covered, speed, number of high intensity sprint efforts (among other

data) and then gives an intensity rating out of 100, which reflects how hard the athlete has worked during a game or session. Monitoring the workload and intensity of our athletes using GPS units has been extremely useful on both an individual and team level:

Individually Access to data provided by the GPS units has enabled us to further support and care for students, ensuring athletes are not being overloaded and equally important, are working at an appropriate intensity.

Teams Monitoring athletes within teams has helped to minimise rates of injuries due to fatigue and burnout, which has helped to boost enjoyment and performance. Thanks to the GPS data which we collect, player loading can be discussed and managed by Team Management to help our athletes make it through a season injury free. Utilising this technology can be particularly helpful during tournament situations. At last year’s Federation Cup, for example, the kilometres covered and the minutes played for 1st XI hockey players was recorded. Where an athlete showed comparatively high levels of kilometres or minutes, a conversation followed between the player and management team to ensure that player welfare was at forefront of mind during the week.

The Komodo platform allows us to track trends and helps identify when students are at a greater risk of injury or illness due to overloading.

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Morning conditioning with Strength & Conditioning Coach, Ross Kennedy

In response to concerns about the increasing demands on student athletes to balance their academic, sporting and personal lives, four years ago we instigated a Wellness monitoring programme for our senior athletes. Initially students sent their wellness ‘scores’ via Facebook to our Strength & Conditioning coach, who manually loaded these onto a Google spreadsheet….how times have changed! Last year we commenced monitoring the girls’ wellness using a platform called Komodo Monitr. Twice a week, before school starts, student athletes in senior teams answer an online survey, rating five indicators of well-being (sleep, mind state, muscle condition, energy levels and nutritional quality) along with the intensity and duration of their workouts. This process takes less than 60 seconds to complete and the girls can do this via an app or on their laptops. The feedback which is provided allows our team to help identify when students may be feeling overwhelmed or showing signs of an imbalance in their weekly schedule. The Komodo platform allows us to track trends and helps identify when students are at a greater risk of injury or illness due to overloading. Ultimately this allows us to be proactive in adjusting training schedules/loads. We have found that by partaking in the Wellness monitoring programme, the girls themselves are having greater awareness on how they are managing their personal workloads and recovery. Both Wellness and GPS monitoring have become two key elements in the sports programme at Rangi Ruru. The data gained from utilising GPS units and wellness monitoring provides coaches and the management team with an opportunity to instigate “How’s it going?” conversations with student athletes. In an ever-changing sports environment these two technologies help us to ensure we are keeping the welfare of our student athletes at forefront of mind, supporting them in and out of sport to perform to the best of their capabilities.

Morning conditioning in action at Founder’s Day 2020

First X1 Hockey at Federation Cup 2019

ROWING • 2020

ROWING REPORT Words by Olivia Ling ROWING MANAGER

The Rangi Ruru coaching team is immensely proud of the efforts of our 65-girl strong squad throughout the season. The highlight of the season came from what we thought would be the penultimate event, the South Island Secondary Schools’ Regatta. With two eights in every age group and category, the results saw us taking home Gold and Silver in the U15 and Novice eights, Gold in the U16 eight, Silver in the U17 eight and Bronze in the U18 eights. We were particularly proud of how our number two crews held their own against our competitor’s ‘B’ boats in all event classes. The U18 pair event was an extremely competitive field this season with the final two crews finishing within a second of each other. We are very proud of Samantha Vance and Tessa Reid for claiming Gold in this event. The talent in the senior squad has also been highlighted with three of our athletes named by Rowing New Zealand on the junior trialist list; we would like to congratulate Kyla Otway, Samantha Vance and Tessa Reid on this incredible achievement. Although we do not know what this trial will look like at this time, we are pleased that the efforts of these girls have been recognised.

Under 16 Four

Under 18 Pair

At the boat park

Under 17 8+ South Island Secondary School Championships

Our results from the South Island Secondary Schools’ Regatta culminated in our award of the Top Girls’ School and 3rd overall school, behind Christchurch Boys’ High School and Timaru Boys’ High. Our medal tally in the end was 13 medals: 4 Gold, 6 Silver and 3 Bronze. These are exceptional results as many of our crews were rowing in the age groups above to prepare them for the tight competition at Maadi Cup. These crews held their own in tough fields. Of special note would be our U16 eight taking Silver in the U17 event, and our U15 four claiming Bronze in the U17 four event.

Naturally, both the squad and coaches were disappointed with the cancellation of Maadi Cup, however, everyone has taken these trying times in their stride. We are very proud of our girls who have consistently demonstrated resilience, perspective, and social responsibility throughout this disrupted season. Next season we are excited to have Fiona Paterson take on the position of Head Coach with the support of Gary Hay. Fiona has coached at Rangi for many seasons and is very familiar with the culture, the girls and has always been a big asset to our team.

A HUGE THANK YOU

to our Sponsors

Gary Hay, who was meant to join our team as Head Coach this season, is remaining at Lake Karapiro to see his crews through to the Olympic Games next year. However, we are fortunate enough to still have Gary involved with our team and he will be overseeing the programme for next season, as well as attending our camps with us. The combination of Fiona and Gary together makes us excited for the season ahead.

STUDENT LEADERSHIP • 2020

LIVE, LAUGH, LOVE Words by Sophie Pye and Senior Student Leadership Team RANGI RURU GIRLS’ SCHOOL

The word live is all about taking opportunities, embracing school spirit and enjoying co-curriculars. Laugh is about looking after yourself, having fun and making memories with your friends. Love is aroha - spreading kindness, giving through service to your community and generosity of spirit. By embracing a little bit of the live, the laugh and the love, you have it all! Covid-19 was certainly unexpected and unfortunately resulted in a lot of disappointment. However, our theme shone throughout the seven weeks of lockdown. From day one we kept up our Rangi spirit by staying connected through a brand new @rrgsstudents Instagram account. On this account, we kept everyone up to date with the happenings of girls at our school as well as running a bunch of fun competitions and activities. Some of these were:

• The famous ‘Great Bake Off’ competition, in which Holly

Lill took out the 1st prize with her creative cake.

• A Les Mills instructor did a

live workout tutorial on the Instagram just for Rangi girls

• A newly formatted ‘Rangi’s

Got Talent’ took place on the Instagram story, which

allowed us to watch the talent of our school perform from their homes

• Our Kapa Haka group ran a

Te Reo quiz every Thursday featuring a Māori word of the week

• Our Wellbeing Council shared their Wellbeing Wednesday tips to help us keep on top of our self-awareness

• Teachers also popped in to say hi through some lovely videos, along side other recognisable faces including Brodie Kane, Art Green, Suzie Cato and Rachel McCann.

• Student involvement and

connection on this platform was a highlight throughout the lockdown.

We certainly kept up our ‘living’ through the Rangi Roadie Clan Competition and ‘laughing’ through daily morning tutor check-ins or virtual pet days. However, it was the spreading of aroha from the Rangi community that really stood out during lock down. A group of Year 11s spent their lockdown knitting peggy squares to make a blanket for the Salvation Army. The wonderful Kate Brown volunteered hours of her time at the Evergreen Club for elderly where she put together handmade booklets and care packages to entertain them. Agave Yu was also working hard, putting together online chapels and assemblies for us all to enjoy, which created some normality in our online school day. Coming back to school was the most exciting thing in the world! Because of the difficulties we all experienced through the pandemic, it felt like we had become a whole lot closer when we finally could come back together. There’s a Te Reo saying: He aha te mea nui o te ao? He Tāngata, he Tāngata, he Tāngata. What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people. We became a whole lot more grateful for simple things – especially people. We were more grateful for our families of whom we spent more time with than we had in years, for our friends who we now didn’t get to see every day and for our teachers who worked twice as hard to deliver classes from their homes to ours while being understanding each and every day. Now that we have returned to our beautiful campus, it has been great to see our community back together, safe, well and in good spirits. In order to celebrate our reuniting we held Let’s Laugh Week, where we danced to Jump Jam in the sun, wrote thank you cards to our staff, came to school in our PJ’s for mufti day, and grabbed a free hot chocolate and joke on the way to the first class of the day. After so long apart, the laughter around the grounds was a welcome sound. There is still a lot to look forward to for the remainder of 2020 and we are confident that there will be plenty more laughs, a lot more love and some good old living to be done!

A JOURNEY TO JOY Words by Sian Fremaux

EDITOR AND COMMUNICATIONS MANAGER

EVE MACFARLANE • OLYMPIAN

Old Girl, Eve Macfarlane, (Boarder 2006 to 2010) is a go getter. A natural athlete during her time at Rangi, she participated in many sports including netball, basketball, athletics, volleyball, touch and cross country. However, it is her meteoric rise in the sport of Rowing that has seen her compete on the world stage; a sport she only took up in Year 12. After three World Rowing Champs and two Olympics Games, Eve took a two-year break from rowing and went through a remarkable personal journey that has led to her becoming an author. She is also a Yoga Teacher, Massage Therapist, Artist, is currently studying permaculture and is again returning to the international scene as a member of the NZ Women’s Squad aiming for the Tokyo Olympics. As busy as she is, we were lucky enough to squeeze in some time with her to ask a few questions about all of the above and more: Eve, you picked up the sport of Rowing at Rangi, what lessons did you learn early on that have helped you in your career in the long run? Rowing at Rangi, I learnt the power of a team spirit, which still actually applies at the top level of the sport. At Rangi, we always had fun, encouraged each other, and built each other up. For me nowadays it is more important than ever to carry that through. When the pressure at the top end builds, I believe it is key to have that team spirit no matter what, to enjoy it and boost teammates up. “Are we having fun because we are going fast? Or are we going fast because we are having fun?” After the last Olympics you took some time off and during this period of time you were also diagnosed with depression, could you tell us a little bit about this time and your journey with your diagnosis? After the 2016 Olympic Games, my body and mind needed rest, so I listened to these signs and I took time away from the sport. During this time I fell into a post-Olympic void, I became extremely lazy with low energy, I lost all motivation, I didn’t even want to go outside, see people or do the things that I knew I loved, simply put, I was sad. I visited the doctor to see what was going on and that’s when I was diagnosed with depression. It took me a while to accept the diagnosis but the sooner I did the better. The first step was telling close friends/family, talking with a counsellor and then I slowly started to put focus into helping myself and made positive changes towards my wellbeing.

code t op this n a

ppy’. Ha ot

se ‘How We ch G r u

Co-autho ur’s - Jon athan and Eve

Sc You’ve recently written a book with your friend, Jonathan Nabbs, called ‘How We Got Happy’ which shares young Kiwis stories of their recovery from depression - what moved you to create this book and what do you hope for those that read it? We created ‘How We Got Happy’ Stories of Health, Hope and Happiness from 20 young Kiwis who overcame depression with the idea that through sharing each other’s stories and wellness tools in a positive, constructive way we would be able to help others to do the same. Sharing knowledge is powerful. We have come to realise it’s not a ‘one size fits all’ approach to wellness. So, with the idea of telling stories from a diverse group of 20 young Kiwis who have overcome depression we have the hope that anyone can pick up this book and discover something for themselves. The idea behind this book being a large hardcover coffee table book is that it means we can’t shy away from the topic; we want to spark conversation through this positive and proud book. We are a non-profit project with all proceeds from book sales going directly to The Mental Health Foundation of New Zealand. You have had some incredible support on this project and have talked to some truly inspiring people, what has been your favourite part of the ‘How We Got Happy’ journey so far? The journey has been incredible so far. One of my favourite parts to the process

has been working with the individuals who have shared each of their stories in the book. I was honoured to be able to listen, engage and write their stories along with fellow co-author, Jonathan Nabbs. Each individual has incredible awareness and understanding of themselves that I was constantly inspired by. Their honesty and openness were so warming to witness and a model for us all. Another highlight of the project was the photography side, as an artistic character this was right up my alley! We had the incredibly talented Mark Hamilton work on the project with us capturing the true essence of each individual. You will feel more than you see when it comes to his work in the book, the individual characters and energy leap off the page! Being an elite athlete, you have already had an incredible career and you are also now training for Tokyo 2021. How are you looking after your mind and body through this time leading up to the Olympics? After experiencing depression, I have learnt so much about myself and what makes me tick. With training full time towards the Tokyo Olympic Games next year, I have adopted certain tools into my life to keep me well. A big one is that I take notice of my life balance allowing myself to have work and play. It’s important for me to have interests outside of my career. Understanding that I am more than an athlete and more than my wins and losses has been valuable learning for me.

I like to think of my wellness as both external and internal. My external wellness is what keeps me well outside of myself, so my connections with my friends/family, living a simple life in our tiny house with my partner, looking after the environment around me, creating art and being able to do activities that bring me joy such as surfing and paragliding. My internal wellness is just as important, if not more. These internal wellness tools are the likes of my meditation, yoga, positive self-talk, and my favourite, breathing using the Wim Hof Method. These are the tools that don’t require external things to bring me happiness yet more from within, I think that’s where the real power lies. I am very excited as to where life may take me in the future, the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2021 are a wicked goal for me to strive towards. But for now, I shall be present and enjoy what today has to offer. I send my best wishes to all of the young women at Rangi, keep learning and keep loving!

This interview has been condensed.

MATHEMATICS • 2020

MATHEMATICS AND BEYOND Words by Craig Bradley HEAD OF LEARNING AREA MATHEMATICS AND STATISTICS

We are writing at a time when the job market has been turned on its head. However, regardless of the ramifications of Covid-19, we live in a world where data is everywhere and numeracy and the ability to use, interpret and critique data is becoming more and more important. We are fortunate in the way that Statistics is taught and assessed in the NCEA curriculum, as it has placed New Zealand right at the leading edge when it comes to Statistics Education. Alongside the numeracy and data skills needed for everyday life, the value of careers with strong mathematical foundations cannot be underestimated. We are going to touch on how we are working at Rangi to develop skills, confidence, and passion in mathematics. We will also reflect on how the remote learning period has been a timely reminder for us all about how girls learn and how we work with them.

Teaching girls Mathematics and what we “learned” at Rangi Ruru during the Remote Learning period: While Mathematics has not really changed for centuries, the way that Mathematics is taught has certainly changed a lot. There have been cycles and trends and a variety of theories and styles that have had merits and faults. However, it is only in recent years that Mathematics specific evidence-based teaching methods have emerged from the fog. We are looking to develop independent problem solvers but firstly it is confidence that is key to attaining fulfilment and success from Mathematics. At Rangi Ruru we plan for achievement to build that confidence.

iors with jun working ls ir g Seniors

Pringle). Isabella , s rd a eg Edw urray, M , Lucy M n a m e hneid belle Sc s. (Anna n io s s e gs m solvin e proble m ti h c n in lu

It was the remote learning period that highlighted to us how valuable relationships are in our community.

Year 10 class doing “People Graphs” on the main field.

Girls need a solid base before they leap into problem solving so, while we will use a little bit of inquiry learning at times and will always use mathematics in context when appropriate, we are aware that students can’t solve problems in any domain unless they have a certain amount of domain-specific knowledge. The best way to develop to this knowledge level is for teachers to teach the girls carefully and explicitly. It is a 2020 version of “chalk and talk”. This involves planning examples and problems very carefully, using technology to enhance learning, often teaching the “how” before the “why”, differentiation through time spent on a task and choice and low stakes quizzes. This is all great, but we are also acutely aware that the overriding factor to achieve fulfilment and success for girls is relationships. We work very hard on developing relationships and know that girls like to collaborate physically together to make progress and reach success. They enjoy problem solving together, are often inspired to achieve by others around them and they will rise to the teacher’s expectations when the relationships are strong.

We have an extensive support programme for girls at Rangi with teachers and senior students regularly working and supporting younger girls with general numeracy support and with extension work in terms of competition problem solving. It was the remote learning period that highlighted to us how valuable relationships are in our community. While learning remotely was a real challenge for the girls, we were so pleased with the learning outcomes for most of them. They worked very hard, self-monitored their progress through the programme and communicated with their teacher when necessary. The structured nature of remote learning meant that teachers were able to individually monitor girls progress, give specific feedback (in video form where appropriate), make recommendations for future success, and generally keep up an individual relationship between teacher and pupil - essentially like a one-to-one learning ratio. As teachers, we now have a greater appreciation of the information that we get about a girl’s learning (or readiness for learning) and general wellbeing from visual clues like body language, demeanour and posture.

We felt a little bit “in the dark” with a lot of girls in the remote learning period and it took a lesson or two back together to motivate, encourage and inspire the whole class that understanding was possible, that success was achievable, that they weren’t being asked to understand something beyond them and that with a little bit of effort and self-motivation they could all understand and learn. We ask girls to persevere, display patience and to think “how” and “why” whenever possible when working on their Mathematics, and we are pleased to say that Rangi girls respond and will continue to be numerically aware citizens, and that hopefully an increasing proportion of them, will move into Mathematical and Statistical based careers.

ENGLISH • 2020

NEW CHALLENGES AND NEW EXPERIENCES Words by Erin Fitzpatrick HEAD OF LEANING AREA -ENGLISH

One of the key revelations of life under lockdown in 2020 has been the importance of imagination and creativity and the need for artistic stimulation in our lives. Imagine the lockdown without books, films or TV - how would we have fared without written or visual language in this quiet and potentially isolated time? Writing has always been an important artistic outlet for many people, and we have been delighted at the way writing has flourished in lockdown. Here at Rangi Ruru we are proud of the community of young writers we have established. Every week girls in the Creative Writing Club from Year 9 through to Year 13 come together in order to share ideas, develop their writing skills and support each other. The group is headed by Year 13 student Katherine Rutter, who helps run sessions and encourage girls to enter competitions. While there is a focus on supporting students to enter local and national competitions, we also love to celebrate the smaller successes – writing as a daily habit, or finally sharing a new piece of work with others for critique. There is no prerequisite to join, simply a passion for writing and a desire to spend time crafting work is all we ask. 2020 brings with it new challenges – but with those challenges, new experiences and ideas that will help shape future writing.

On whispers of wind, Beneath rainbows of

If I

old leaves,

Had the power

The new season comes.

To change the past I wouldn’t Change a thing

HEIDI CAUGHLEY, Year 12 (daily haiku)

Because it would mean I never met you KATHERINE RUTTER – Poem written for ‘Spread the Aroha’ week

English Class

Another key focus in our faculty is on the importance of reading. Interestingly, as soon as our Prime Minister announced lockdown, the first place our students rushed to was the library. Competition was rife as girls rushed to issue a stock of books. Over the last two years, our Faculty has decided to foster a vibrant community of readers who LOVE to read and WANT to read, knowing that reading will not only improve their vocabulary, but enrich their writing, enhancing their curiosity and understanding of our world. To that end, at the beginning of 2019, we created The Reading Project, led by Kerry-Anne Murnane. This project has involved a variety of activities all designed to highlight the act of reading in a positive way and to encourage reading throughout our whole school community. Beginning with surveying both staff and students, we came to realise that many of our students struggled to find a text they enjoyed. Once they did find that crucial text, however, they were happy to read so we decided that our challenge was to

create opportunities for them to be exposed to a variety of texts. Year 9 and the Staff had the opportunity to take part in Book Tasting events, and Isabel from the Gibson Centre came to classes to talk about texts available to loan. We also had visits by authors and some of us participated in First Chapter Fridays where we read the first chapter of a text to expose our students to different genres and authors culminating in a Book Character Dress-Up Day. 2020 sees more of the same focus on reading but with more activities such as the simple but most effective ideas of staff posting on their doors a sign that states: What I have Read, What I’m Reading and What I Want to Read role-modelling to our students that we are all readers and also providing them with other reading options. Attending live theatre performances is also something we promote strongly. The shared experience of viewing a performance allows our students to become increasingly curious about the world around them. In the last twelve months, we have welcomed the Poetry in Action team who performed to

Years 7-10. We also greeted the Young and Hungry theatre troupe and their production of I AM MĀORI for our Year 12. This performance was based on excerpts from six New Zealand plays. In the classroom, one Year 12 English class has been visited by the New Zealand poet Bernadette Hall and editor of Lorna Anker’s poetry collection ‘The Judas Tree.’ Moreover, students have collaborated across disciplines in order to apply the knowledge gained in one discipline to another different discipline. This is a way to deepen the learning experience. Class outings have included outings to the Christchurch Art Gallery, Te Puna o Waiwhetū, as a stimulus for creative writing. As another example, a Year 10 English class attended a ballet lesson with Ms Bell whilst studying ‘Hope in a Ballet Shoe.’ STEAM education highlights the importance of the ability to express innovative and creative ideas. In the English faculty, we look forward to continuing to work collaboratively with Science, Maths, the Arts and Technology.

CRIMSON EDUCATION • 2020

WOMEN OF THE FUTURE Words by Kristen Fox CAREERS & PATHWAYS STRATEGIST What happens when you have Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths (STEM) without the Arts? The loss of creativity, imagination and non-linear thinking? How does one dream up the solutions to the world’s scientific problems? Develop cures? Design bridges? Push our world further. Without these creative solutions, STEM would not be as powerful. I would argue that those who are accomplished in the STEM industries,

have a creative side that has allowed them to flourish and outpace their peers. These are the leaders in the world that have designed, created and pushed boundaries. At Rangi Ruru, our values have always included the Arts. When STEM became all the rage, Rangi Ruru continued to offer their liberal arts courses and valued them as much as the sciences. Instead of opting to solely focus on

the current educational trends, Rangi pushed past the noise and embraced what the Arts bring to a curriculum. They never put students in a box and made them choose. Students could have both – be both – study both. This freedom has not only pushed Rangi Ruru’s students to incredible heights, but has given Rangi graduates the advantage of stretching beyond the bounds of what society deemed essential.

Rangi’s students push the boundaries of groupthink, using creative strategies to hit bold targets in their fields. They question and challenge the way things are done. Take one of our most recent graduates, Anneka Calder (class of 2019). In her first year of tertiary studies at the University of Auckland, Anneka received the inaugural ‘Bachelor of Design Game Changer’ scholarship worth $15,000. Using personal experience, and her creative drive, Anneka explained how she can use her design skills to be a game changer in the future. Combining elements of environment, technology and design, Anneka will assist those who previously had barriers (specifically students with dyslexia) to succeed and achieve in their chosen fields.

Claire (Yu) Liu (class of 2018) is studying geophysics at Imperial College London. She is completing a four year Bachelor-Master’s degree. As a student at Rangi Ruru, Claire was unsure of what she wanted to major in for the majority of her school career. She did know one thing though – that she wanted to work in academia, and be called “Dr. Liu.” This drive pushed her to succeed, but the breadth of courses she took at Rangi Ruru developed her interests, as she narrowed her choices of what to study. Claire had a passion for reading – anything from psychology to neuroscience and zoology to philosophy. She had a keen interest in the world around her and so many things she wanted to explore. Rangi’s Ruru’s offering of various liberal arts courses in addition to her sciences helped define her future studies.

This freedom has given Rangi graduates the advantage of stretching beyond the bounds of what society deemed essential.

Sophia Batchelor (class of 2012) is another star graduate from Rangi Ruru. Sophie has completed quadruple degrees at the University of California, Berkeley (San Francisco) in Neuroscience, Psychology with Honors, Computer Science and Bioethics. Her main area of research is memory acquisition in Virtual Reality with brain computer interfaces (BCI). She landed an internship in New York producing the world’s first brain computer (Notion) last year (2019)! To add to these incredible accomplishments, Sophia assisted the neurosurgery to embed one of her BCI’s into the brain of a patient at John Hopkins Hospital with remarkably successful results for the patient. Given her love for STEAM, Sophia has spent time teaching and mentoring students at MIT and Berkeley just as she was mentored at Rangi Ruru. As the future unfolds, Sophia now finds herself starting her PhD’s in neuroscience and psychology at Leeds University in Great Britain. Continuing her research, Sophia will be advising government health officials in Britain on safe guidelines for us the use of VR in children as part of her involvement in “The Bradford Study.” As an accomplished speaker, consultant and researcher, Sophia explained to her last audience of 10,000 teenagers at a science conference about “the wonderful Rangi Ruru teachers who fanned the flames of passionate learning inside her” and “who never doubted for a minute that I could achieve more than I could dream possible”.

Rangi’s appreciation for the Arts truly compliments STEM education, and as evidenced by our graduates, this vision has proven to be effective. With graduates studying all over the world

in a variety of STEAM careers, Rangi Ruru’s development of their students has stood the test of time. With an emphasis on “out of the box” thinking,

development of the personal journey, and encouragement to see past what is in front of them, Rangi Ruru’s graduates are outpacing the rest.

TWENTY • TWENTY THE YEAR SO FAR

Swimming Sports

Pride Day antics

a bang at Athletics’ Day. Mr Kaa andThe MrYear Thinstarted showingwith their support on Pride Day

Showing true clan colours and spirit Doune supporters in action

A return to school after lockdown

Clan dance-off Issac Giesen Presentation

First Assembly 2020

Stirling supporters

Cutting the cake at Foundersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Day 2020

Kapa Haka performance

Swimming Sports

Athletics Day 2020

DEVELOPMENT â&#x20AC;˘ 2020

DEVELOPMENT UPDATE Words by Bridget Woodham HEAD OF DEVELOPMENT

The role of the Development Office within Independent schools is as prevalent today as it ever has been and has never been more important. As the education landscape continues to evolve and ways of learning advance, Rangi Ruru needs a reliable resource of supplementary support, over and above tuition and boarding fees, to keep up with this and help it seize opportunities for continued advancement.

landscape. With many families facing genuine uncertainty, we needed to look for new ways to help the school and our Rangi Whanau navigate their way through a somewhat unstable and unknown post COVID-19 climate.

The schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s strategic goals often dictate the work stream for the Development Office whether that is securing support for: building new facilities, developing sophisticated curricular and co-curricular programmes, or providing additional scholarships and bursaries. However, every now and then work streams are interrupted by unexpected events.

The tuition and boarding fee rebate from the Board was a welcome and generous start of that support. Next, a Community Business Directory was established in order to create awareness of businesses owned and services offered by current families of Rangi Ruru. This was initiated in a bid to encourage business support whilst also helping create new, or strengthen existing, networks within our community.

Following the earthquake events ten years ago, the recent global pandemic has once again seen the Development Office reviewing its planned work programme against a new and evolving

At the heart of this work, guiding decisions regarding new initiatives was a desire to look for ways to help keep our community strong and the Rangi Ruru sisterhood together.

With several families signalling they were unsure whether their daughters would be able to remain enrolled

at Rangi, the next stream of work ensued. The COVID-19 Fees Assistance Fund was launched early June to try and keep our Rangi Family together. Donations to this fund would help the school underwrite tuition and boarding fees in the short term needed by current families to ensure their daughters remain enrolled. As I write, the initial response to this fund has been overwhelming, a true illustration of the deep rooted affection for this School and the strong sense of belonging held by our Rangi Ruru Whanau. A strong community is a community that stands together, supporting each other through the tough times and our Rangi Ruru Whanau are exemplifying this through their actions. Thank you to all who have given so far. Further support will be needed as many families are yet to feel the full impact of the recession ahead, so if you are in a position to help others at this time, please give to our COVID-19 Fees Assistance Fund.

Rangi Ruru and You. Stronger. Together.

COMMUNITY BUSINESS DIRECTORY A comprehensive listing of businesses and services offered by members of our Rangi Ruru Community. Visit www.rangiruru.school.nz/support to view or register.

COVID-19 Fees Assistance Fund Working together to care for Rangi families. If you are able to help others during this challenging time please give today by going to www.rangiruru.school.nz/support to donate.

Alternatively you can send a cheque made payable to the Head of Development, Rangi Ruru Girlsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; School, 59 Hewitts Road, Merivale, Christchurch 8014. To allow funds to be distributed accordingly all donations should be made before 25 September 2020. All donations over $5 may be eligible for tax rebate. A tax receipt will be issued for all donations.

LANGUAGES • 2020

21ST CENTURY LANGUAGE LEARNING Tania Morgan HEAD OF LANGUAGES LEARNING AREA, HEAD OF COMMUNITY & GLOBAL CONNECTIONS The inclusion of Arts in the term STEM Education provides opportunities for educators and students to use Arts principles and practices, such as communication and expression, in their otherwise technically-focused teaching and learning. A key aim here is to produce well-rounded and well-grounded global citizens, for the coming century. This focus on preparing our students to be well-rounded and well-grounded 21st Century global citizens is a core principle of our Languages Teaching programmes at Rangi. We want to ensure that we are providing motivating, engaging and real-world contexts in which students can acquire and apply the skills that they will need to flourish in the world of the future.

Some of the real-world contexts for learning that the French Department has provided this year so far include the Year 10 ‘Café Français’ unit which saw students using the language they had learnt in class in conversations around ordering drinks and talking about themselves in a French cafésetting. In addition during this year’s French Film Festiva,l the French teachers took a group of French students to the new Lumière Cinema to watch a feminist comedy called “Cette Belle Équipe” (Queens of the Field). The Spanish Department would also be normally offering students the opportunity to participate in some of these more real-world learning activities, but unfortunately some of these activities have not been able to take place due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. We would usually take part in the Spanish Immersion Day for senior students in collaboration with the University of Canterbury and the Spanish Embassy, as well as the National Spanish Dance Video Project led by the Spanish Programme of the University of Canterbury. Every year our Spanish students enjoy these opportunities to connect with students from other schools in these projects that have an emphasis on using the ‘6Cs of 21st Century Learning’: Critical Thinking, Collaboration, Communication, Creativity, Citizenship

and Connectivity. Unfortunately we have also had to cancel our much anticipated July 2020 France/ Spain trip. This is a three-yearly trip for senior students of French and Spanish that offers them the opportunity for immersive language learning in language schools in Nice, France and Salamanca, Spain, while staying with host families. The itinerary also includes organised excursions to visit local sights and cultural activities, as well as tours around the wonderful sights of the capital cities, Paris and Madrid. We are hopeful that once some semblance of normality is restored to international air travel, we will once again be able to offer this amazing learning opportunity to our students. Some of our senior language students have been lucky enough to travel overseas this year to participate in our language exchange programmes. At the start of the year, two Year 13 French students, Lydia Robinson and Addison Drake, participated in the inaugural Lycée La Mennais exchange, where they travelled to Guérande, France for six weeks. The exchange seems to have been very beneficial for these students as Lydia reports, “The experience of being so fully immersed in the French language and culture was one I will never forget, and I truly learned the value of this in terms of my learning. It allowed me

to become so much more confident, not only in my French, but in myself, to an extent that I never expected.” Over the September/October school break last year, three Year 12 Spanish students, Brooke Kingsbury, Lily King and Phoebe Sugrue took part in a fourweek exchange to Argentina at Colegio Pestalozzi, Buenos Aires. As well as extending their language skills by immersing themselves into a Spanish speaking country, they challenged their boundaries by adapting to an entirely new way of life. As Phoebe said, “What I personally gained from it was an amazing growth in my independence and a greater global awareness. The fact that life in Buenos Aires was completely different to Christchurch pushed us outside of our comfort zone and into a space where we grew as people. The fact that we were so immersed and engaged in this fantastic experience meant we came back as different people, with our eyes open to a new way of life.” Last year we welcomed Sherrilee Hearangi-Harrison to our Languages team. Sherrilee brings not only her Te Reo Māori skills, but also a wealth of knowledge of ‘Te Ao o Te Māori’. This year our Languages Area goal is “To integrate ‘Te Ao o Te Māori’ into our learning area so that all staff and students become more confident and knowledgeable about Māori tikanga and protocols” and we are thus very grateful to be able to use Sherrilee

Argentina trip

and her students as our resources and guides along this journey. The Te Reo Māori classroom is now physically part of the Languages area in L5, making it much easier for the Languages team to work collaboratively together. The Te Reo Department is leading the way with making gradual changes to our Rangi culture, including Te Reo learners wearing mini poi on their blazers to identify themselves as a group of Te Reo Māori ambassadors. They are also proposing that as a school, we establish closer connections with our local Marae, Rehua Marae and plan more regular Marae visits for not just our Te Reo learners, but other school groups as well. In addition our Languages team are hoping to increase our school’s awareness of, and celebration of, key events in the Māori calendar like Matariki and Te Wiki o Te Reo Māori.

Online Languages Competition, where girls will try and earn as many points on languages activities as they can in a week - with lots of cool prizes for motivation of course! They are also looking forward to organising a Languages Showcase night and lots of events for International Week for Term 3.

Our Head of International this year, Lydia Robinson, has been busy during our recent lockdown thinking of new ways to promote language learning at Rangi. One of the ways she and her committee are planning to do this is through Education Perfect’s Global

French Class

100 of $ ics s y Ph The

SCIENCE FOR ALL Words by Anne Bissland HEAD OF LEARNING AREA - SCIENCE

Tyla Gilberd hollowing a Canoe

Students enjoyed experiencing the university’s laboratories and handling equipment they would not normally get to see.

The Physics of $100 You may not think that New Zealand’s $100 note and Physics have a lot in common, but in fact they do. Our Year 12 Physics students recently found this out when they headed to the University of Canterbury to learn about Ernest Rutherford’s research on atomic structure. Our girls were able to interact with lecturers and students as they looked at the evolution of models of the atom. Following this, under the close supervision of lecturers, they used radioactive sources and measured the effectiveness

of biological material in absorbing radiation as well as investigating half life. No students were harmed in the process, as the biological material used were carrots! So, what does the NZ $100 note and physics have in common? Well, our $100 dollar note depicts Ernest Rutherford, a New Zealand scientist who is best known for “splitting the atom”, and beside him is a scientific graph known as an exponential decay curve. The students were able to plot this curve during their radioactivity lab.

Students enjoyed experiencing the University’s laboratories and handling equipment they would not normally get to see. They particularly enjoyed seeing the cloud chamber but the highlight was definetly getting to ride a hovercraft.

e tsid s ou s a l c nce Scie g n i Tak

Our senior scientists have had a strong start to the year engaging in a range of activities across the curriculum. The girls are encouraged to delve deeply into the content of their chosen topics, investigate future pathways in Science and make links between their learning and the “real world”. This has seen our Year 11 students researching socio-scientific issues such as 1080, IVF treatment and the use of vaccines. Our Chemistry students have been learning to work with accuracy and precision, reading spectroscopy data and determining the properties of molecules. Our Physicists have tackled the complexities of medical imaging and radioactivity, while in Biology, students have focussed on cell biology and the diverse ways in which animals and plants carry out life processes.

SCIENCE • 2020

Senior Science @ Rangi

Our senior scientists are encouraged to make the most of opportunities available within our community; an example of this is our Year 12 students studying radioactivity at University of Canterbury.

Junior Science @ Rangi If you venture over to the Science Faculty at any time of day you will find a hive of activity. Our junior programme encourages the girls to engage in authentic learning contexts and support their learning in Science, through a range of “hands on activities”. Our Years 7 & 8 students have had a busy start to the year. Our Year 7 students have been studying Combustion, using their knowledge to support their understanding of fire prevention in the home, has seen them venture to Canterbury Museum and try their hand at traditional fire lighting. The students also tried a range of other activities having the opportunity to try hollowing out a canoe, carving and flax weaving. Meanwhile our Year 8 students have

risen to the challenge of remote learning and we have enjoyed seeing the results of the weather instruments that they have designed. In Year 10 Science, the girls have learnt about the human body, and their return to school in Term 2 has seen them deliver a “TED Talk” on a global issue of their choosing. The girls have tackled complex issues such as Sea-level Rise and Ocean acidification coming up with recommended action towards a sustainable future for their class. It was fantastic to see our girls embrace the idea of the “ripple effect” – meaning that every small action makes a difference. If you have happened upon a relaxed group of girls down at Millbrook Reserve looking like they were enjoying the May sunshine you would have

Year 12 physics at Canterbury University 35

found our Year 9 students. They are taking part in a longitudinal study of the ecology and biodiversity of the Reserve. This study will continue throughout the year and students will have an opportunity to investigate the health of our small section of the Avon River. Covid-19 meant our Year 9’s turned their eyes skyward exploring Astronomy, with their passion and creativity clearly evident in the range of work they produced from Minecraft environments of Mars to posters, diorama’s and children’s story books. Our remote learning experience has inspired us to give you a challenge on the next page that you can do at home – a baking soda and vinegar rocket for you to try!

Using traditional drills at the Museum

Scan the QR Code to watch our experiment

RANGI ROCKETS

What youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll need

Here is a safe and fun science experiment for you to try at home!

Safety Glasses

One Teaspoon

Baking Soda

A small square of paper towel

White Vinegar A film canister

(approx 4cm x 4cm)

Chopping board

The method 1 2 3

ead outside or into the kitchen H Put on your safety glasses Place your film canister on the chopping board, so that any spilt vinegar or baking soda will not cause a mess 4 Pour vinegar in a film canister so that it is approximately 3/4 full 5 Add Âź teaspoon baking soda

6 7 8

Quickly snap on the lid tightly Flip upside down onto the chopping board Stand back and watch your rocket!

Extra for experts:

Decorate your rocket or change the amount of baking soda. 36

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He aha te mea nui o te ao? He tāngata, he tāngata, he tāngata What is the most important thing in the world? It is people, it is people, it is people

59 Hewitts Road, Christchurch 8014, New Zealand p: +64 3 983 3700 | e: office@rangiruru.school.nz

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Wide Sky Winter 2020

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