PrinciPal’s Message

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil”.Ecclesiastes 4:9

Dear Parents, Caregivers and Friends of St Hilda’s

Recent exciting events and celebrations at school have once again reinforced the importance of community and how the magic we create here happens because of people coming together with a common interest. Whether it is the Tournament Week successes, the musicians and choir starring at the music festival or the support in chapel for Anglican Family Care Services, I know that we all work well together when we have passion and purpose.

We are very lucky to have such strong partners in our community who are also committed to offering wonderful opportunities for our girls.

Two groups that come to mind, are our Arts and Sports Councils. These two groups are appointed by, and report to, the Board of Trustees, and have the responsibility of enhancing the co-curricular opportunities in their respective areas. Comprised of staff, students, seconded parents and community experts, the councils bring experience, expertise, dedication and innovation together for the benefit of St Hilda’s Collegiate.

The Sports Council was formed in 2011 and the Arts Council at the end of 2014, to support and sustain high levels of participation in sports and arts activities through clear communication, strategic development and recommendations to the Board of Trustees.

Arts Council Members:

Chair: Donna SmithPrincipal: Jackie BarronDeputy Principal: Geraldine CorkeryArts Coordinator: Barbara PowersArts Department Staff: Hunia Dean, Glenn Smith, Rachel McMillan and Michael GrantBOT Representative: Lynda DavisonArts Prefects: Madi Heyward and Maddy HolmesCommunity Members: Doug Kamo and David Bell

newsletter

St Hilda’sCollegiate School

No. 6 | 25 September 2015

In this issue ...

Page PagePrincipal’sMessage 1-2 SpecialCharacter 2-3ParentsSeminar 3 Cultural 4-7Sports 7-8 Departments 8-10Prefects 10-11 BoardofTrustees 12Community 12 Term4Dates 12

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Sports Council Members:

Chair: Lindsay DeyPrincipal: Jackie BarronAssistant Principal: Hazel DeySports Coordinators: Trish Conrad and Lana MorrisonHOD Physical Education: Alan WestBOT Representative: Lynda DavisonSports Prefects: Paige Cotton and Annabel GirvanCommunity Members: Peter Gallagher and Mike Kernaghan

I have profiled the backgrounds of Messrs Kamo, Bell, Dey, Kernaghan and Gallagher below, which clearly outline the wealth of experience, community links and expert knowledge that they being to their respective roles on our councils.

Doug KamoDoug is based in Dunedin and with twenty years in the performance and entertainment industry, he is one of the busiest producers and entertainers in the country. As a producer and director, Doug has been responsible for over fifty national and international musical theatre productions including The Rocky Horror Show, Les Miserables, Cabaret and Chicago to name a few. David BellDavid has a background in secondary school art and art history teaching, and has contributed to curriculum courses for the Graduate Diploma of Education: Secondary since 1986, as well as a range of other art education courses at the College of Education. David continues to teach in this area, and takes an active role in secondary art education curriculum review, as well as in the development of assessment for Art History with the Ministry of Education and the New Zealand Qualifications Authority.

Lindsay DeyLindsay is an accountant with consulting and management experience, as well as 10 years involvement in tertiary business education. He has served as Executive Director of Sports Medicine NZ and as Chairman of Sport Otago for six years. Lindsay has involvement in top-level triathlon, duathlon, hockey, multisport, running and cycling, as both coach and competitor.

Mike KernaghanMike is Chief Executive of the Otago-Southland Cancer Society. Mike has formerly been Deputy Chief Executive of Badminton New Zealand and New Zealand Football, as well as Chief Executive of Triathlon New Zealand. He is currently an Olympic & Commonwealth Games Selector. He has also served on the Board of the NZ Olympic Committee and his daughter is an old girl of St Hilda’s.

Peter GallagherPeter started his working life in hospital physiotherapy before heading from his hometown, Dunedin, to Christchurch where he soon began to do weekend work with SportsMed. His first rugby appointment with the Canterbury Rugby Academy then led to a role with the Highlanders and, eventually in 2005, the All Blacks role. Peter is currently in England at his third Rugby World Cup. Peter is a current parent in the St Hilda’s community.

We are very fortunate to have such professional, knowledgeable and committed community members assisting us with the strategic development of our co-curricular programmes and helping us focus on the best outcomes for our girls.

Enabling the delivery of high quality, relevant and engaging arts and sports opportunities is the key focus of these two councils and we look forward to working alongside you as we review the constructive feedback received at the parents’ Sports forums recently, and contemplate the possibilities for the proposed Arts building.

These are exciting times ahead and having your support and input into the developments will be an integral part of the process.

“None of us is as smart as all of us.” Ken Blanchard

Mrs Jackie BarronPrincipal

sPecial character

Chaplain’s ChatSince we are now in the middle of the Rugby World Cup, did you hear what Steve Hansen said about Richie McCaw when he became the most capped rugby test player recently? Hansen said, “He’s just an ordinary bloke from Kurow, but by God he can do extraordinary things.” In chapels this term we have looked at ordinary people who have lived extraordinary lives so it felt as if Steve Hansen was supporting our theme! In particular, we have looked at three women in Luke’s Gospel with the “ordinary” name of “Mary.”

Luke’s Gospel tells the story of how an ordinary young woman called Mary was spoken to by an angel and told that she would be the mother of a special baby, one who would save his people. There doesn’t really seem to be anything about Mary that would make her an obvious choice for God to choose. Although a whole lot of legends were later developed by the church to try and make it obvious why she was so special, I like the simple story of the Gospel which means she wasn’t Dux, she wasn’t Head Girl or a Prefect; she wasn’t the captain of the All Blacks or the Silver Ferns, she was simply ordinary. And yet God asks her to do something quite remarkable

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and she responds with, “Yes!” Over the centuries an extraordinarily rich culture of art, music, and veneration developed around Mary, but behind all of this is the ordinary young woman who trusted in God.

Mary Magdalene is one of the most well-known and yet probably the most misunderstood woman in the Bible. She is commonly portrayed in Christian art as a forgiven prostitute, or, according to Dan Brown’s Da Vinci Code, as Jesus’ wife — the “holy grail.” But neither of these depictions bears a shred of evidence. The only things we know for sure about Mary are that she was most likely from the small fishing village of Magdala, and that she is described as once possessed by seven demons. Luke’s Gospel also tells us that along with some other women, Mary financially supported Jesus in his ministry (8.1-2). She also remained committed to Jesus during his arrest and crucifixion and is the first one to have a conversation with the risen Jesus, becoming the first apostle when he sends her to tell the other disciples that he has risen.

Giotto (1304) - Mary Magdalene meets the risen Jesus

As with many extraordinary women, attempts have been made to distract us from the significant aspects of her story through a preference for sensational speculation and slander.

Another Mary in Luke’s Gospel is the one who has an (older?) sister, Martha, and a (younger?) brother, Lazarus. Mary and Martha invite Jesus and the disciples to stay with them for a meal, and while Martha is doing all the work, Mary sits at Jesus’ feet. Martha complains to Jesus about this, but quite remarkably, Jesus says that Mary has chosen the better thing. She has chosen to be a disciple, someone who sits at the feet of the rabbi (teacher) in order to learn about faith and discuss theology. It’s interesting in this story to consider where Lazarus and the other disciples are – outside kicking a rugby ball around perhaps? We don’t hear about what happens next in this story, but I like to imagine that Martha throws down her tea towel and sits with Mary to rest in the presence of Jesus. And what happens when all those boys come back inside, expecting to find a big lunch put on for them, but instead find the two sisters talking theology with Jesus?

Well, perhaps they can get the lunch ready for a change! That would be quite extraordinary wouldn’t it?

Dr Gillian TownsleyChaplain

Amnesty International

Amnesty International’s aim for 2015 is to persuade the Government to double New Zealand’s refugee quota from 750 to 1500.

One of the main ways that we focused on achieving this was the Freedom challenge, an annual event held by different Amnesty International groups from around New Zealand to raise awareness for the issue.

Around 20 out of 40 Amnesty members were involved in our Freedom Challenge. During our freedom challenge, we held Amnesty members captive, to demonstrate the danger which many asylum seekers face. In order to free the girls, postcards addressed to parliament were signed as a form of petition. We also sold badges in order to raise money. From this we gained over 250 postcards to send to the Government to show our support for an increase in the refugee quota.

We were extremely happy to see the change made recently to let more refugees into New Zealand, but we hope that with continued work, we will see the refugee quota set at 1500.

Maddie Gabbusch Amnesty International Co-President

Parent seMinar

Cyber Safety with John Parsons Monday 19 October, Chapel at 7:00 pm

John Parsons is an Internet Safety and Risk Assessment Consultant to schools, the private sector and the health sector, providing specialist advice and direction on the safe use of Digital Communication Technology. He delivers workshops to those who work with young people in areas of health, education and safety. His focus is child protection.

We thoroughly recommend that you all attend this seminar - the opportunity to have John speak to students, staff and parents is generously supported by the PFA.

Please RSVP to admin@shcs.school.nz if you would like to attend.

Mrs Hazel DeyAssistant Principal

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cultural

Arts Corner

An Introduction from our Arts Coordinator:

It is hard to believe we are at the end of Term 3, another sucessful one for arts and culture at St Hilda’s. There is so much to look back on. For instance, we have all enjoyed the performances at our regular arts assemblies from our students and the wider arts community which have highlighted the immense talent we have at our fingertips and which have also helped to bring arts activities into the spotlight.

Looking forward to Term 4 we will be awarding our Cultural Blues Awards at a special assembly at 11.30 am on Wednesday, October 14th.

In October, The Royal New Zealand Ballet are holding a lunchtime workshop for students based on their current production of “A Midsummer’s Night Dream”.

Thanks to all who have contributed to our arts programmes this term.

Ms Barbara PowerArts Coordinator

NZCAF Aerobics and Hip Hop Nationals - Wellington

Hannah Alcock and Zara Anthony-Whigham with their coach Erin Maw

We had a fantastic weekend away with the girls this weekend. If ‘Personal Best’ was a quantifiable achievement, everyone certainly achieved that!

Hannah Alcock and Zara Anthony-Whigham retained their title as Junior Secondary Open Pair, and Madi Thomson and Libby Ward came 5th as a pair on this category. Zara Anthony-Whigham gained first place in the Junior Secondary Open Novice Category. This was the tightest category of the whole competition.

Isabel Woodhouse, Lily Mole and Lydia Holmes were also in the category and were all incredibly unlucky to miss out on the finals...it was very competitive.

Amelia Phillips was competing in the Junior Secondary Open Category. Amelia was carrying significant injuries but was a trooper. She was placed 6th in her category.

“Flexi Five” (Hayley Wright, Sophie Sinclair, Sophie Turner, Abbey Cochrane and Poppy Smith) gained second place in the Year 9-13 Fitness Teams. These students were coached by Cara Thomson and 4 of the 5 were competing in aerobics for the first time this year.

There is also a separate ‘Round up’ competition where all girls from St Hilda’s take the stage for a self choreographed 32 beat routine to ‘introduce’ the school. This is judged, and was won by us this year. We have a new speaker system as our prize. The girls would like to donate this prize for use in the Fitness Room.

There is another award presented for sportsmanship. The St Hilda’s Squad were in second place for this award too.

In the Hip Hop section the talent was incredible! This is a huge competition in the North Island and was evident in the high quality of performance on stage.

Our Year 7-8 crew, “Atmosphere” (coached by Hannah van Plateringen) achieved a 4th place in the Year 4-8 Same Schools’ section.

Our other three crews were in the tightest competition of the weekend. “Cryptic” (Georgia O’Malley, Tessa Forde, Casey Brown, Maddy Holmes, Clair Lau, Lola Garden and Amy Kornyei) fought incredibly hard (including an extra round of competition) to take 4th place. It was a fabulous display of self belief and persistence.

Both “Illusion” (Kaitlin Jaeger, Helen Knott, Zara Anthony-Whigham, Lili Clouston-Cain, Cameron Taylor, Samara Ali) and “Mayhem” (Emma Alcock, Abbie Laughton, Kate Johnston, Emma Burnside, Clem George, Izzy Gold) represented St Hilda’s in a fantastic manner. Although they did not make it to the final round, they both stepped up to the challenge of a national competition. They were placed 7th and 8th respectively.

The future of aerobics and hip hop at St Hilda’s is well in hand!

Mrs Donna SmithTIC Aerobics & Hip Hop

Music

Sings HildaA very successful Sings Hilda Fundraising Concert was held on Wednesday, 5 August at the Otago Boys’ Maurice Joel Theatre.

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There were a number of acts which included girls from school, as well as special guests “Rusty Pilot”, Sophie Morris and Ben Madden.

Sings Hilda then travelled to the National Finals of the Big Sing competition in Wellington and gained a Bronze Award. It was a wonderful experience and a very busy weekend, the girls benefitting by performing at the top level and learning about the choral craft from other top choirs from around the country.

Congratulations to Sings Hilda who have been invited to perform at the Dunedin R.S.A concert as a guest choir on November 17.

Otago Secondary Schools’ Music FestivalThis year’s festival was enjoyed by all those involved in the combined orchestra, choir, jazz band and the small orchestral ensemble performing with the choir.

In addition there were individual performances from Sings Hilda, singing “Prayer of the Children”, and ‘Volceiino’, a combined percussion ensemble created especially for the event which included Megan Kyte and Adithi Alexander playing glockenspiel and vibraphone.

Old Girl, Sophie Morris, was awarded with the Trustpower Scholarship as a former participant of the Festival.

AMPED“Like a Kid” registered for this mentoring programme run by the Dunedin Fringe Trust. It involved weekend workshops and live gigs and the girls in “Like A Kid” were mentored in songwriting, stagecraft and the recording process. Another key component was to gain knowledge and understanding of the music profession in NZ. Also included in the experience were radio interviews and networking with famous professional musicians. Through the programme, “Like A Kid” has been professionally recorded, and the finished track will be released on a compilation CD available later this year.

John McGlashan College ProductionSt Hilda’s students (27 of them) were involved in the John McGlashan College Production, “The Idiot’s Guide to Broadway” which was directed by Kimberley Fridd. Musical direction was by Michael Grant and Bruce James, and the show was choreographed by university student, Andrew Coshan.

The production incorporated musical numbers from Broadway shows including “West Side Story”, “Chicago”, “Les Miserables”, “Miss Saigon”, “Jesus Christ Superstar” as well as others. Overall, it was a great experience for all involved and a really successful production.

Mr Michael GrantTIC Music

Kapa Haka - Otago Polyfest 2015

St Hilda’s Kapa Haka Group performing at the Edgar Centre at the recent Otago Polyfest

One of the main events for the year for our Kapa Haka group is the Maori and Pasifika Festival, or Poly Fest, that is held every year in September.

This has now become the largest festival in the South Island with students from pre-school to secondary level performing over four days.

Our amazing group of 16 girls, now under the tutelage of Mariana Te Pou, performed again this year and were able to entertain the audience with the strength of their haka and some beautiful harmonies. It was wonderful to see the newer members of the group taking some leading roles and to see our group of Year 7 students taking part along with the older girls. The group continues to go from strength to strength and their next big performance will be during prize giving at the end of the year.” Ms Judith TurnerTIC Kapa Haka

Stars on Stage

Spice Girls

All of Year 7 and 8 experienced the thrill of performing on the Regent stage for Stars on Stage. The atmosphere was pumped with a full house of cheering family and friends. Seeing what other schools produced was super inspiring as we were able to watch most of the other wonderful items.

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Charlston Dancers with their Year 10 Leaders

The Year 10 Performing Arts class who produced our performance, which was about dance genres through time featuring dances by celebrities such as Michael Jackson, the Spice Girls, Marilyn Monroe, Elvis and Beyonce, was incredibly proud of their younger peers. This was a rich learning opportunity for everyone involved. Insight around the germination to fruition of a performance (and the career pathways around that) was gained. We are grateful to the Stars on Stage team who made this such a seamless, enjoyable experience.

Farley’s Arcade performance Thirteen students attended a promenade performance of ‘Farley’s Arcade – The Wildest Place in Town’ by WOW Productions. This unique performance explored early Dunedin and the carnival atmosphere of a gold rush town. It was a rich part of the Dunedin Heritage Festival 2015. Our girls enjoyed the original melodrama, ‘The Golden Handkerchief,’ and being taken back 150 years in the recreation of the arcade itself. This was an experience that was both educational and insightful.

Drama and Theatre Sports About 10 girls (from Year 9-13) have been involved in Theatre Sports this year.

Seven teams from as far away as South Otago entered the Theatre Sports interschool finale held recently at the King’s/Queen’s Performing Arts Centre, and Pom Pom, Tamara and Eve formed a team with Otago Girls’ High School students.

They were incredibly clever and imaginative tackling tricky improvisation games. A King’s High School team won this event which was judged by two ‘Improsaurus’ stars (Otago University students). The Drama workshop/warm up pre-competition was a lot of fun and students at St Hilda’s have been including some exercises in their classes since then.

The junior students who participate in the Marzipan Drama classes are preparing for a performance for their parents and friends, which will be performed at the end of the term.

Mrs Rachel McMillanTIC Performing Arts

Artist of the Month - SeptemberArt Awards

Recently, 10 Senior Visual Arts Painting and Photography students participated in the inaugural Celebrate 2015- Dunedin School of Art Otago Secondary Schools’ Art Awards Exhibition held at the Dunedin School of Art.

This exhibition was the first of its kind and showcased the best of secondary school visual art in Dunedin. The exhibition was only open for 10 entries from each school, currently studying Year 12 and 13 Visual Arts subjects although Imogen Corbett and Amy Jones (both Year 11) participated in this exhibition as both are currently studying Year 12 Painting.

The standard of entries was very high and two St Hilda’s girls featured as major prize recipients.

Ainslea Boult with her photographic submission

Ainslea Boult received a Certificate of Excellence for her photographic submission, a photograph from her NCEA Level 3 folio, and Grace Heenan received the Dunedin School of Art drawing prize for her drawing/ painting submission.

Grace Heenan’s Drawing/Painting submission

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These awards were among the top awards for the exhibition.

Congratulations to these girls and all of the St Hilda’s students who exhibited in this exhibition. The quality of their work was exceptional.

Mr Hunia DeanHOD Art

sPorts

Basketball

Junior Basketball Team - Winners of the South Island Junior Basketball Tournament

The Junior Basketball Team competed in the South Island Junior Basketball Tournament in Nelson recently. This is a competition that St Hilda’s had won for the last two years and the team was hoping to complete a three-peat. Comfortable wins against Rangiora and Nelson Girls’ were a welcome start for the team as their half court trap made offence difficult for the opposition. Winning margins of 60 points and 22 points set the standard for future games.

On the second day the team played Kaiapoi and Greymouth. Megan Borst starred against Greymouth scoring 50 points in an easy win. Kaiapoi proved a tougher test as starting power forward, Kendra Robinson went down with a foot injury in the first half. The team rallied behind some strong defence, however, and pulled away in the fourth quarter leading to a 37 point win.

Day three consisted of an easy win against a short-handed Columba team followed by the semi-final against Rangi Ruru. Despite some early foul trouble St Hilda’s used a balanced attack to win by 11 and move into the final. A stand out performance from Olivia O’Neill led the way with excellent defence and shot making. The final was against Ashburton the next day. While the first quarter was close, 12 all, St Hilda’s blitzed the second and third quarters opening up a 62 – 34 lead at one stage. The team would eventually win 70 – 58 securing the title for the third year in a row.

Mr James Ross Coach

Curling

Curling is a relatively new sport at St Hilda’s as a couple of weeks ago we finished off only our second season. After being founded last year by the ‘Spice Curls’, the four member squad has grown to a strong sixteen. Over Terms 2 and 3 we have had four teams competing weekly in the Dunedin Secondary Schools’ Competition, both in the novice and experienced leagues.

At the beginning of September, two teams competed in the South Island Secondary Schools’ Competition which was held in Dunedin. Despite curling being a minority sport, it is incredibly strong at schools such as Maniototo Area School and Otago Girls’ High School, and considering that these schools are home to several New Zealand curlers and National title winners, both of our teams did extremely well as St Hilda’s was placed 3rd and 4th in their section. This tournament was a fantastic opportunity to gain experience as well as improving play techniques.

Next year we aim to organise a training camp in Naseby to implement and develop skills within the squad. I also hope to continue raising the profile of curling within the school next year and get as many girls playing in the local tournament as possible.

Jamie MacKenzieYear 12

Rowing 2015

The season has officially started with the selection of nine new novices for the 2015/16 rowing squad. We had an awesome turnout to the open ‘learn to row’ weekends and it was definitely a hard selection! The new girls have been learning a lot and are improving their technique in the bigger boats.

Eliza Adams has been awarded a rowing scholarship to Oregon State University in the USA which is an amazing achievement for which she has worked very hard. Claudia Maker has been selected for the Otago Under 20 Interprovincial Crew where she will compete at the Interprovincial Regatta in early October and Lili Sabonadiere has been selected for the Otago development squad. Many of the squad were also selected to take part in the Otago Rowing Association winter development program.

The racing season will begin in October with the Ruataniwha 2K Singles Regatta which a number of our squad is attending. We also have the Cromwell to Clyde long distance race for the more experienced rowers and our first harbour regatta at the end of October. We are looking forward to the larger regattas early next year and a great season ahead.

Mia KnottYear 12

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Sports Congratulations

Congratulations to the following Girls who have made the Otago Secondary School Girls’ Rugby Team.

Jade Clark, Elle Perriam, Alys White, Holly Wright, Ali Adams, Caitlin George, Olivia George and Izzy Perkins

Sports Awards

At the recent Sports Awards evening the following students were nominated for the major sports awards to be presented at the 2015 Prize Giving evening.

Nominees for the Shirley Henderson Cup- Contribution to Sports Organisation

Elle Perriam, Abbey Hawker and Jamie MacKenzie

Nominees for the Pinckney Macfarlane Cup - Outstanding Assistance in Coaching Cara Thomson, Olivia Gold, Charlotte Cotter, Alice Morrison and Whitney Keenan

Nominees for the Fogarty Cup - Best All Round Junior Sportswoman of the Year

Olivia O’Neill, Cecilia Crooks, Megan Borst, Olivia Gain, Hannah McStay, Arnika Buchan, Amelia Scully, Beryn Abbott and Phoebe Aburn

Nominees For The Wood Cup – Best All Round Senior Sportswoman of the Year

Nicole Ruske, Laura Taylor, Meg Timu, Mikayla Thorn, Libby van Harselaar and Ali Adams

Nominees for the Sports Committee Trophy – Best All-Round Sports Team of the Year

1st X1 Cricket TeamSenior 4 X 100M Relay TeamJunior A Waterpolo TeamBasketball - Junior A Team Senior A Waterpolo Team Senior A Basketball TeamJunior 6 Man Cross Country Team

Edgar Cup - Best Individual Sporting Performance

Danica Davies, Nicole Ruske, Libby van Harselaar, Anna Lindsay, Cecilia Crooks, Aleisha Ruske and Emma Alcock

Mrs Trish ConradSports Coordinator

DePartMents

International Department

It is with a mixture of sadness and excitement that the International Department farewells Sumire Aikawa (Year 12). Sumire joined St Hilda’s in February this year and has really experienced what life in New Zealand is like, having lived in Tolcarne for the past two terms. Sumire’s smile has always been visible around St Hilda’s and will be missed. We know though that the next few months will be exciting ones for Sumire, as she and her school group will be spending time in Singapore and then experiencing language school in the Philippines, before finally heading back to Tokyo to be reunited with family and friends. Sumire, we wish you well and safe travels.

Ms Kirstyn Mawdsley Director of International Students

Languages Department

During the week of 17-21 August, we celebrated International Languages’ Week at St Hilda’s. We had an International Chapel where Mia and Helen Knott spoke about their time spent living in Spain, Sarah Hurdle about her time living in France over the summer and a special video sent in by Zoe Sabonadière who is currently living in Belgium about her experiences so far. There was a form class and tutor class quiz with Mrs Gabbusch’s Tutor Group 7 winning the senior section and Mrs Smith’s 9H class taking out the junior section.

Both classes enjoyed their delicious prizes of German chocolate.

Alliance Française Speaking Competitionon Saturday, August 15, Holly Armstrong, Lili Sabonadière, Bronté Chamberlain, Sarah Cochrane, Gabby Hunter, Yvie Finn-House and Helen Knott took part in the annual Alliance Française Concours Oral (speaking competition). The girls represented our school very well with many girls being placed in the top three. The results are as follows:

Year 103rd Yvie Finn-HouseExcellence Certificate Helen Knott

Year 11Excellence Certificates Bronté Chamberlain Sarah Cochrane Très Bien Gabby Hunter

Year 122nd Holly Armstrong3rd= Lili Sabonadière

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Spanish Speech Competition Winner

Helen Knott (Year 10) competed against many other students of Spanish from around New Zealand in the National Spanish Speech competition in the NCEA Level 1 category. Not only did she win, but she won against students a year older than her. For a Year 10 student this is an amazing achievement. She gained 98% for her speech and the comments mentioned that she had perfect pronunciation and sophisticated vocabulary. Credit must also be given to her Spanish teacher, Miss Allott.

Mrs Nicki HoltzHOD Languages

PE Department - Get 2 Go Challenge

Year 9 Get2Go Team

Recently a group of eight Year 9 girls and four Year 10 girls in a combined team with John McGlashan boys took part in the Get 2 Go challenge. It was great with teams participating in a variety of challenges such as mountain biking, orienteering, kayaking and problem solving.

Our Year 9 team did very well, coming first in the All Girls category and 7th overall which was a great effort. Our Mixed team had a fun day and thoroughly enjoyed the different activities. Thanks to the girls for being such great sports and to Trish Conrad for her help before and during the event.

Mrs Bee Bradfield PE Department

Science Department Science Report to the Board of Trustees

2014 was a very successful year for the Science Department in terms of NCEA results. Overall results in Science, Biology, Chemistry and Physics were all significantly above the national average.

This is a summary of the results:Level 1 Science: the overall achievement rate was 87% (compared with 76% nationally), with a combined Merit or Excellence rate of 56% (compared with 40% nationally).

Level 2 Biology: the overall achievement rate was 85% (compared with 75% nationally), with a combined Merit or Excellence rate of 45% (compared with 37% nationally).

Level 3 Biology: the overall achievement rate was 92% (compared with 79% nationally), with a combined Merit or Excellence rate of 47% (compared with 37% nationally).

Level 2 Chemistry: the overall achievement rate was 82% (compared with 76% nationally), with a combined Merit or Excellence rate of 41% (compared with 38% nationally).

Level 3 Chemistry: the overall achievement rate was 80% (compared with 73% nationally), with a combined Merit or Excellence rate of 40% (compared with 37% nationally).

Level 2 Physics: the overall achievement rate was 95% (compared with 74% nationally), with a combined Merit or Excellence rate of 83% (compared with 41% nationally).

Level 3 Physics: the overall achievement rate was 95% (compared with 73% nationally), with a combined Merit or Excellence rate of 40% (compared with 33% nationally).

Two students, Ireland Jacobs and Polly Tenci were awarded a scholarship in Biology.

We have a large number of students who carry on studying sciences into the senior school. At present, in Years 12 and 13, we have 43 students studying one science subject, 44 students studying two sciences and 19 students studying three sciences.

There are a range of opportunities available to students to widen their knowledge, get extended, become involved in a long term project or attend prestigious science related events. These include:

Science BadgesScience and Technology FairThe International Science CompetitionYear 10 Science QuizSenior Chemistry QuizUniversity of Otago Hands-on (previously known as Hands-on Science)The Rotary National Science and Technology ForumHealthy Harbour WatchersMarine Science Gifted and Talented programmesThe International Biology Olympiad

Healthy Harbour Watchers’ Group

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Presently some Year 10 students are aiming to complete a Level 1 Achievement Standard (this is a trial run this year), and some of our very talented senior students are aiming to complete an extra standard above normal expectations.

Year 13 Biology classes enjoyed field trips to the Portobello Marine Laboratory, the Albatross Colony, Penguin Place and a trip on the Monarch.

Year 12 Biology students also spent a day at the Portobello Marine Laboratory and spent one day at Blueskin Bay to collect ecological data.

A large group of Year 11 students spent a half-day at the University of Otago Microbiology Department. Here they were given a valuable introduction to bacteria and fungi and how these micro-organisms can be used by, or be harmful to, people. This experience will benefit students as they work on their final science unit this year.

The use of i-pads in Year 9 has given us the ability to do things in new and innovative ways. It has been a learning process for students and teachers alike. Observing and communicating are two very important science skills, and we encourage students to take photos or video recordings of practical activities and then take these home and talk to their parents about them. Describing, in their own words, what they learnt in a practical activity can greatly enhance student learning.

2015 International Competitions and Assessments for Schools – Science

The Science competition is designed to cater for a wide range of student abilities. Skills tested are: observing and measuring, interpreting visual data, predicting and concluding, investigating, reasoning and problem solving.

A Distinction Certificate was gained by:

Year 12 Kaya Fukushima (NZ percentile 94)

The following students gained a Credit Certificate.

Year 7 Rosalie Leaper, Analee Toro, Emily WilsonYear 8 Lily HornalYear 9 Phoebe Aburn, Sophie Allison, Meg Anderson, Lily Chamberlain, Sophie Conner, Molly Gow, Ellen Horner, Lily Mole

Year 10 Catherine Davidson, Jillian Heng, Isabelle Robertson, Victoria TongYear 11 Beth Fitchett, Hillary Hunt, Gabrielle Hunter, Emma Taggart

Year 12 Holly Armstrong, Katie KnowlesYear 13 Meghann North

Kaya Fukushima

Congratulations to these students for an outstanding effort, in particular Kaya Fukushima who gained either a Distinction or a High Distinction every year since starting at St Hilda’s Collegiate in Year 7 in 2010.

John Janssen HOD Science

Prefects

Lucy Bell - Head Boarder

Hello, my name is Lucy Bell and I am one of the Head Boarders this year. It has been four and a half years since my first day at Tolcarne and as cliche as it is, it seems like yesterday, and time has truly flown by. Moving to Dunedin was a big change from the farm where I live on the Pigroot and it was difficult at the start, however, it was amazing how quickly everything became normal.

St Hilda’s has given me so many opportunities over the years including being a part of many clubs and sports’ teams. This year some of the opportunities I’ve had is being the secretary of the TeenAg Club and I am currently in the process of completing my Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award. I have really enjoyed and learned much from completing these awards, whether it’s from our tramps or the service section, where I have volunteered at places such as the hospice and currently Anglican Family Care.

Unfortunately this year due to a knee injury I have been unable to play any sport, but this has led me to help manage the B Hockey team and be the Number One supporter of the ‘Basket Bandits.’

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With only a few weeks left before study leave, making the final decision on what to do next year is drawing closer. Next year I will either go to Lincoln University to do a AgScience degree, or do first year Health Science and hopefully be able to go into Physiotherapy second year at Otago.

So far this year I have enjoyed working alongside Amelia to help make Tolcarne the best ‘second home’ we can for the girls. Our main new initiative this year has been ‘Tolcarne Tribes,’ which is like the house system we have at school but within Tolcarne, which is a chance for girls to make friends in other year groups, while having a bit of fun. I am looking forward to the rest of the year and making the most of the time left with our wonderful year group.

Lucy BellHead Boarder

Amelia Hewett - Head Boarder

Before coming to St Hilda’s, I came from a town near Lawrence called Waitahuna, with a population one third the size of my year group! It was a huge change coming to St Hilda’s in Year 9 as a fresh faced boarder, wondering what the next five years would bring. But I made so many friends in my first year and we have just grown closer and closer as the years have gone by.

Being a boarder taught me to be organised and that if I need something done, I can’t rely on someone else to do it for me, Otherwise my options for clothing will decrease as my washing pile grows! It didn’t take long to figure that one out.

I never would have guessed that I would have the amazing opportunity to lead the hostel in my final year with my good friend, Lucy Bell, and be able to have an influence on the happenings at Tolcarne. This year we have introduced a “Tribe System”, which is like the school house system, which encourages mixing through the year groups with points being awarded throughout the year for winning things like tug-of-wars and performing good deeds. This is continuing to shape the amazing atmosphere at Tolcarne and a trophy will be awarded at the end of the year to the Tribe with the most points.

As well as being a prefect, St Hilda’s has given me so many other incredible opportunities, such as being a member of the choir for the past five years and annually competing at Big Sing competitions. This year we were selected to travel to Wellington and compete in the Big Sing National finals at which we won a bronze award as well as winning the best New Zealand Composition Performance award.There is no way that I can write about all of the fantastic things that have happened to me while at St Hilda’s, as I would take up the entire newsletter, but what I can say, is that the memories and friends

that I have made here will last for a lifetime. I am eternally grateful that I have had the opportunity to complete my education here at St Hilda’s.

Amelia Hewett Head Boarder

Sarah Wyber - Liaison Prefect

I am writing this in complete anxiety that the year is almost over and pressure for exams and important life decisions are weighing on me! I can’t believe my St. Hilda’s days are coming to an end. It is a little bit daunting but at the same time I am ready for the next step in life. In 2016 I hope to study either a Bachelor of Zoology at the University of Otago or a Bachelor of Nursing at Otago Polytechnic.

I hail from the small town of Milton, just 45 minutes down the road. I came to Tolcarne in Year 9 and have loved every minute of the boarding lifestyle. I was so keen to get out of town I filled in my application forms for St. Hilda’s all by myself, much to my mother’s concern! Coming to St. Hilda’s was definitely the best decision I have made, as the opportunities I have received have been incredible and the friendships I have made will be lifelong. Our hostel year group has such a strong bond and has been the main reason for my thorough enjoyment of my time at St. Hilda’s.

Throughout my five years I have tried out almost every sport offered but when I hit NCEA I soon realised I had to narrow things down. My main sporting highlights throughout my years at school include winning a gold medal at Maadi Cup in 2011 for the Girls’ U15 coxed Quad. This year I was fortunate enough to play for the Senior A netball team, and a highlight was winning Otago Secondary Schools’ Competition and being placed 9th at the South Islands. Another huge highlight whilst at St. Hilda’s was playing for the First XI Cricket team and attending 3 + (1 more to go) national tournaments in Palmerston North.

This year has been incredibly busy trying to keep up with my prefect responsibilities, school work, sports as well as making time for social activities. My role as prefect has taught me many things like being organised and always having a back up plan, and that confidence is a key even when you have no idea what’s going on! I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as Liaison Prefect and wish the 2016 prefects the best of luck for their year in the role, It has been incredibly rewarding and I am very sad I only have a few assemblies left.

I wish my fellow Year 13’s all the best for their futures as they venture out into the world and hope they all get the marks they deserve in end of year exams!

Sarah Wyber Liaison Prefect

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BoarD of trusteesThe Board of Trustees met on 16th September 2015.

Departmental PresentationThe Board received a presentation from Ms Judith Turner – HOD Social Sciences Department as to the 2014 academic year and innovations currently being implemented for 2015. Subjects offered in the Social Sciences Department are Economics, History, Geography, Religious Education and INTS.

Level 1 standards have been offered to Year 10 students through the Gifted and Talented programme.

The Level 2 trip to Mt Cook took place earlier in the year and was successful despite the girls being snowed in for a couple of days. The department has also subscribed to ETV which consists of a huge catalogue of movies and documentaries which are coded through the New Zealand Curriculum. ETV is most useful in History.

An external review of each department is undertaken each year, with the Social Sciences Department being reviewed this year.

Reports from the Principal and Student TrusteeMrs Barron informed the Board that the trip to Australia to research flexible learning environments was successful. Mrs Barron and Mr Dean (HOD Arts) have also reported back to staff.

Mrs Barron has received positive feedback around the new report format that was sent to parents via Kamar. These reports have provided good insight for parents in the lead up to parent teacher interviews.

Mrs Barron reported that the recent Sports Forums that were held had good attendance and helpful feedback was provided to assist the school in moving forward with its sporting programmes.

The Student Trustee’s report to the Board provided results from Winter Tournament Week. Ihlara has been talking to students about the St Hilda’s ‘vibe’ and one student mentioned the importance of helping others. The prefects are currently planning a service day for Term 4 which junior girls will take part in, visiting various organisations or locations to provide service.

Student Representative 2016Presentations by nominees were made to the student body last week and voting is underway. Postal voting remains open until October 2. The 2016 Student Representative will be announced to the school at a full assembly on October 14 and the elected student will attend her first Board meeting on October 29.

GeneralThe meeting schedule for the remainder of 2015 for the Board of Trustees is:29th October19th November 17th December

All meetings will be held in the Richards Library commencing at 5.30pm. Members of the school community are welcome to attend Board meetings.

Ms Nicola WilliamsChair, Board of Trustees

coMMunity

Parents and Friends Association

It has been an active term for the PFA.We have continued to support teaching and learning by providing funds for the purchase of equipment that assists teachers in delivering the curriculum and we have provided strong financial support to sporting and cultural activities. We also support those events which we see as supporting our girls in other ways. The upcoming visit of John Parsons, an expert in the area of cyber safety, is a great example. We encourage all parents to attend John’s seminars.

Our focus is now shifting to the School Fair. This will be a major social event and fundraiser for the school. We have chosen Saturday 12 March as the date for this special event.

We will be sending out both an electronic and printed newsletter to keep the school community informed about progress. At this stage we are seeking responses from anyone who is keen to assist in any way. There are a number of roles that are available and we encourage you to put yourself forward. This is definitely a case of, ‘many hands make light work.’

We have sent out our annual Christmas raffle card for you to sell. We will be seeking donations for the hampers next term. Part of the money that we raise from this is donated to the Anglican Family Care charity. We have also included a form for Christmas Pavlovas (a new initiative) - these are a great addition to the Christmas table and we have managed to get these for a very reasonable price from Cowells. Your support for these and other fundraisers is always appreciated.

Over the last few months it has been great to see some new faces at our meetings. We are always keen to grow our committee and would welcome any new recruits.

Our next meeting will be held on 27 October at 7pm in the school staff room. Nick Simpson, Chairman

terM 4 Dates Monday 12 October - Thursday 10 December

Tue 3 November Last day for SeniorsFri 6 November NCEA Examinations beginWed 9 December Leavers’ Service and DinnerThur 10 December Last Day of Term 4 Prize Giving - Edgar Centre

The school calendar and 2016 start up dates are detailed on the Parent Portal site: http://parents.shcs.school.nz.