Dear Parents and Caregivers
You are cordially invited to the AGM of the St Hilda’s PFA.
Prior to the AGM there will be a short talk and an opportunity to network.
The AGM agenda items will include annual reports and the election of officers.
If you would like any further information before the meeting, please contact secretary Ali Copeman at ali@akb.nz
Please RSVP to the School Office at admin@shcs.school.nz or 03 477 0989 ext 0.
The school has been advised that the PPTA all year levels rostering home action planned for Wednesday 19 June has been cancelled. All students will have school as usual.
As we get any further information, we will advise you immediately.
Staffing
Rachel Parker has been appointed to the role of Head of Sport. Rachel has a background in sports administration and coaching, predominantly in netball, but has also worked in the commercial and private sector.
We have appointed Erin Wellington to the role of Sports Coordinator. Erin is an old girl with an interest in hockey and water sports, who has a background in sport and as a manager of a retail outlet.
We are delighted with both these appointments, and both women bring passion, enthusiasm, and a wealth of knowledge to the roles.
Parent Advisory Group
Thank you for all the interest in the Parent Advisory Group so far, I look forward to seeing you all next Thursday 20th June.
If you have not responded but are interested there is still time.
This Parent Advisory Group will help us shape and further refine the strategic vision and planning for St Hilda’s Collegiate. Having input and contributions from our parents, and tapping into the wealth of experience, knowledge and energy that sits within that group, is critical to our continued development as a school and as a community.
This could be you if you:
Sounds like a good initiative to be part of?
If you are interested in being part of this group you will need to:
The first meeting for this proposed advisory group will be Thursday 20th June at 7.00pm in the school library.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss this initiative further please do not hesitate to contact me.
Jackie Barron
Principal
An invitation is extended to parents/caregivers of current Year 10-12 students to our Course Design Evening, which will be held at 6:00 pm on Thursday 4 July. The evening will be focused on looking at the resources that are available to assist families in supporting your daughter to make an informed course selection for 2020 along with resources for career pathway exploration.
The evening will begin with a welcome and brief introduction of NCEA, followed by two workshops on:
ART AUCTION – SOLD OUT. Thank you to all who have supported us by buying tickets for this gala. Apologies to those who may have missed out.
Stuart Wright delivered a study skills programme to our Year 10 students where he looked into the working of the brain and how to maximise this knowledge to improve study skills, especially those linked to memory.
The government have removed all examination fees for NCEA. If you had already paid these this amount has been credited to your account.
The Big Sing
On Wednesday the annual New Zealand choir competition “The Big Sing” came to the Otago region and St Hilda’s Collegiate School was represented by Sings Hilda and Nga Korimako. This year saw Mr. Ben Madden take over as choir director both of our choirs and we are grateful for the extra effort he puts in rehearsing them to perform at a high level.
Sings Hilda sang “Kafal Sviri” a tadeonal Bulgarian tune, arranged by Peter Liondev, “Ave Maris Stella” by New Zealand composer David Hamilton, and “Psallite” by Kyle Pederson. Nga Korimako sang “A Distant Shore” by Mary Donnelly, “Niska Banja” a traditional Romani Dance arranged by Nick Page, and “Abendlied”. A special mention needs to be given to Helena Fitzgerald and Sarah Lee on piano, Stephanie Post on violin, and Anna Engelbrecht on tambourine who were student accompanists for Nga Korimako’s performance.
The standard of the 25 choirs competing at this year’s Big Sing had risen making it tight competition between the choirs. We were very excited for Sings Hilda to gain a Highly Commended Award at the end of the day. Well done to everyone for all the hard work that was put in to achieve great performances from both choirs.
Sings Hilda
Nga Korimako
Rockquest
Rockquest heats were held last weekend 8 June. Rockquest is a nationwide, live and original music youth event. It aims to motivate young musicians to prove their ability and realise the heights they can reach in their music careers, and to encourage their peers to support original New Zealand music.
We had 5 students enter in 1 band enter called Ricochet. The band consists of Ava Beens (voice), Kate Beaton (bass), Elisa Fitzgerald (guitar), Georgia Chambers (drums), Emma Collett (keyboard), and they performed their original song, “Circus”. It was tough competition with 30 bands across all the Dunedin and wider Otago area schools performing.
They performed superbly and have improved dramatically from the start of the year. They should be very proud of themselves and it is clear, that these students have a lot of potential for the coming years.
Chamber Music Competitions
On Sunday a group of three St Hilda’s students competed in the New Zealand Schools’ Chamber Music Competitions held at Marama Hall, Otago University. The competition gives students the opportunity to hone their skills playing chamber music in a small group setting and perform in a professional space.
Our students were Stephanie Post – violin, Katharina Rumbach – cello, Helena Fitzgerald – piano, who went by the name “96 Strings”. They played the piece “Terzette for Piano Trio, Op.97” by Theodor Kirchner. The group dynamically conveyed the emotion of the piece and gave an enjoyable performance they can be proud of.
Sophia Liu – piano, also competed in the Chamber Music competition with the group DimiTrio, which included students from Otago Boys and Otago Girls High Schools. They performed “Prelude, Gavotte, Elegy, Waltz and Polka” by Shostakovich and made it to the District Final. Well done to all involved.
Netball
St Hilda’s had a great two days of Netball at the Otago Secondary School Netball Championships which were played over Sunday 9 and Monday 10 June with all St Hilda’s teams doing very well.
Congratulations to:
The Senior A‘s who placed second going down narrowly to Columba in their final
The Senior B’s went through their grade unbeaten eventually winning the final 27 – 20 against Otago Girls Senior B
The Year 10A team placed 5th after winning their final play off game.
The Year 9A’s had a very dominant tournament beating Columba A 33 -15 in their final.
Well done to all players, coaches, managers and parents supporters!
National Cross Country Championships
Good luck to Anna Carswell, Megan Foster and Zara Geddes who are participating in the National Cross Country Championships in Timaru on Saturday.
The Outdoor Ed class out enjoying the sunshine at Forrester Park, NEV.
From Tuesday 11th June, Roslyn Physio will be operating a physiotherapy clinic at St Hilda’s on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am-1.30pm during term time. The clinic will be staffed by female physiotherapists from the Roslyn Physio staff and will operate out of the main office block at school.
Having a physiotherapy service on site will limit time out of class, enable access for assistance and support and will help to provide timely diagnosis and treatment for students, as well as cohesive advice, guidance and communication for students, parents, teachers and coaching staff. Communication regarding your daughter’s injury/condition will be made by Roslyn Physiotherapy directly to you and your daughter, thus maintaining the strict privacy and confidentiality requirements currently maintained by the practice.
Appointments can be made by ringing Roslyn Physio on 4771744 or through the school student reception
Treatment costs are as follows:
ACC Initial appt (30mins) – $27
ACC Follow-up appt (20 mins) – $20
Private Initial appt (30 mins) – $72
Private Follow up appt (20 mins) – $55
Payment is by invoice. This will be sent out by email directly from Roslyn Physiotherapy monthly and payment can be made online.
We are delighted to be working in partnership with Roslyn Physiotherapy to support and enhance your daughters wellbeing by making available this professional and expert assistance on site.
Being a parent to an adolescent is a challenging, rewarding, and at times, confusing experience. Click here for some advice from the team at ‘Hey Sigmund’ on how to navigate this time of change with your child.
As I am sure you know, at this time of the year we celebrate Matariki here in Aotearoa New Zealand. This is the Maori New Year – the time around May or June when the Matariki star cluster – or the Pleiades – the appears in the north-eastern sky. Traditionally, on a practical level, Matariki was a time to celebrate a successful harvest, and a time to prepare for the next growing season. And on a more symbolic level, it was therefore a time to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and plan for the future. And in particular, to remember loved ones who had passed on, and a time to reflect on your whakapapa, your family history and stories. Whanau would come together to share food, songs and dance, and kites – manu aute – were often flown.
Today Matariki is still a good time to come together, to pause and reflect on life; to appreciate those who have gone before us, to remember loved ones who have passed away, those we miss, and those who we no longer see for whatever reason. And also to take stock of things and think about the rest of the year ahead, and renew our goals and resolutions for this year.
An invitation is extended to parents/caregivers of current Year 10-12 students to our Course Design Evening, which will be held at 6:00 pm on Thursday 4 July. The evening will be focused on looking at the resources that are available to assist families in supporting your daughter to make an informed course selection for 2020 along with resources for career pathway exploration.
The evening will begin with a welcome and brief introduction of NCEA, followed by two workshops on:
In 2014 and 2015 St Hilda’s took part in the Mathematics trial for the Level 1 mCAT. In 2016 History, Geography and Spanish used the NZQA trials as preparation for the November examinations (all in Level 1), and English had volunteers taking part in the Level 1 digital external examination (called a pilot). In 2017 St Hilda’s was part of a group of thirteen schools that took part of a co-managed trial using the digital format for both school examinations and the November external examinations in English at Level 1 and 2. In 2018 digital trails expanded to include Level 1 Science, Level 2 and 3 Media Studies and digital pilots in all three levels of English.
In 2019, NZQA is offering 14 subjects digitally, across NCEA levels 1, 2 and 3 for the November external examinations. The subjects for St Hilda’s are Art History, Classical Studies, English, Media Studies and History.
Students voluntarily enter these digital examinations. There will be familiarisation activities provided by NZQA and our benchmark examinations will also be offered in the digital format.
A form has been sent out for students to complete.
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Saturday 8th June – Rockquest heats at Taieri College Performing Arts Centre. 1pm-4:30pm, $10 on the door. We have 1 band entered.
Sunday 9th June – Chamber Music at Marama Hall (Otago University). 12:30pm-2pm, $5 on the door. We have 1 group entered.
Sunday 9th June – Sings Hilda and Nga Korimako (junior choir) performing at Knox Church. 4pm-5:30pm, gold coin donation entry. This a performance alongside the OB’s and OG’s choirs in preparation for Big Sing.
Wednesday 12th June – Big Sing at Dunedin Town Hall. Evening concert is 6:30pm-9:00pm(ish) and can buy tickets here for $20 each (kids $5):
ART AUCTION – Only 3 tables of 10 left – please get in quick if you wish to reserve a table for this event. ($120 – includes canapés and a two-course meal – seating is in tables of 10). Email aburke@shcs.school.nz to reserve your table.
We are excited to announce that St Hilda’s is holding an Art Auction + Gala Dinner on August 24th, 7 pm, in the school Chapel. Thanks to the support of our Old Girls and families, and The Artist’s Room and Gallery De Novo, we have secured an amazing line-up of works from highly sought-after artists. With works by Ralph Hotere, Sam Foley, Frank Gordon, Marilynn Webb, Philip Frost, Nic Dempster, Tyler Kennedy-Stent, Anna Reid, Mary Macfarlane, Claire Beynon, Marie Strauss and many more, tickets to this event will be in hot demand. We will have entertainment from Old Girls Sophie Morris (music) and Lara Liew (guest speaker).
Thank you for all the interest in this group so far and just a reminder that I am keen to develop a Parent Advisory Group to help us shape and further refine the strategic vision and planning for St Hilda’s Collegiate. Having input and contributions from our parents, and tapping into the wealth of experience, knowledge and energy that sits within that group, is critical to our continued development as a school and as a community.
This could be you if you:
Sounds like a good initiative to be part of?
If you are interested in being part of this group you will need to:
The first meeting for this proposed advisory group will be Thursday 20th June at 7.00pm in the school library.
Please RSVP to principal@shcs.school.nz for catering purposes.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss this initiative further please do not hesitate to contact me.
I look forward to working alongside you to continue to strengthen and enhance our learning community.
Jackie Barron
Principal
On either Monday or Tuesday next week, your daughter will spend the timetabled day with Stuart Wright delving into the working of the brain and how to maximise this knowledge to improve Study Skills, especially those linked to memory.
Girls who are competing at the Netball Tournament on Monday have been placed in the Tuesday session.
The school would like to thank the PFA for funding the programme for yet another year. The benefit of the this programme extends well beyond the girls Year 10 study programme into future years of learning.
The government have removed all examination fees for NCEA. If you had already paid these this amount has been credited to your account.
Annually, the National Council of Women – New Zealand Branch in Dunedin sponsors the Dawn Ibbotson Essay competition. This years topic was ‘What is this Thing Called Equality?’ Four Year 13 students, Charlotte O’Brien, Jordan McArley, Holly Dufful and Grace Shaw, wrote passionate responses exploring this issue and all its complexities.
From Tuesday 11th June, Roslyn Physio will be operating a physiotherapy clinic at St Hilda’s on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9am-1.30pm during term time. The clinic will be staffed by female physiotherapists from the Roslyn Physio staff and will operate out of the main office block at school.
Having a physiotherapy service on site will limit time out of class, enable access for assistant and support and will help to provide timely diagnosis and treatment for students, as well as cohesive advice, guidance and communication for students, parents, teachers and coaching staff. Communication regarding your daughter’s injury/condition will be made by Roslyn Physiotherapy directly to you and your daughter, thus maintaining the strict privacy and confidentiality requirements currently maintained by the practice.
Appointments can be made by ringing Roslyn Physio on 4771744 or through the school student reception
Treatment costs are as follows:
ACC Initial appt (30mins) – $27
ACC Follow-up appt (20 mins) – $20
Private Initial appt (30 mins) – $72
Private Follow up appt (20 mins) – $55
Payment is by invoice. This will be sent out by email directly from Roslyn Physiotherapy monthly and payment can be made online.
We are delighted to be working in partnership with Roslyn Physiotherapy to support and enhance your daughters wellbeing by making available this professional and expert assistance on site.
We have had notice from Road Traffic Management that on Wednesday 12 June, parking in Cobden Street will be restricted because of work being undertaken in Herriot Row.
Essentially Cobden Street will be NO EXIT from the Heriot Row side. 8:30 am – 4:30 pm. Pitt Street/Royal Terrace expect delays.
As parents, it can be confronting when our children are involved in activities which may negatively impact their wellbeing. Pornography an issue that is becoming increasingly prevalent in our modern society but is also a topic that many parents feel ill-equipped to address. Often it is challenging to know what to say when a child comes to you for help. Click here for some advice on how to support your child if they have been accessing pornography.
This week in chapel we have had some visitors from Anglican Family Care come and share about some needs in the Dunedin community, and ways in which we as a school can help support them in their work. In particular, we heard about Play Therapy and the use of a “Reborn Doll” to help parents learn how to care for their new baby, as well as for those experiencing grief or anxiety. These lifelike dolls are also used for therapy for people with Alzheimer’s or Dementia. They are a bit like the mannequins used in First Aid for learning to do resuscitation etc. but are even more realistic in the way they look and feel.
AFC are hoping we will be able to raise enough money in our collection for the Founders’ Day Eucharist at the end of term for them to purchase one of these dolls. If you would like to support AFC in this way, then donations can be given to students to give to their Whanaungatanga teacher, or dropped into the office for Dr Townsley. Thanks!
An invitation is extended to parents/caregivers of current Year 10-12 students to our Course Design Evening, which will be held at 6:00 pm on Thursday 4 July. The evening will be focused on looking at the resources that are available to assist families in supporting your daughter to make an informed course selection for 2020 along with resources for career pathway exploration.
The evening will begin with a welcome and brief introduction of NCEA, followed by two workshops on:
In 2014 and 2015 St Hilda’s took part in the Mathematics trial for the Level 1 mCAT. In 2016 History, Geography and Spanish used the NZQA trials as preparation for the November examinations (all in Level 1), and English had volunteers taking part in the Level 1 digital external examination (called a pilot). In 2017 St Hilda’s was part of a group of thirteen schools that took part of a co-managed trial using the digital format for both school examinations and the November external examinations in English at Level 1 and 2. In 2018 digital trails expanded to include Level 1 Science, Level 2 and 3 Media Studies and digital pilots in all three levels of English.
In 2019, NZQA is offering 14 subjects digitally, across NCEA levels 1, 2 and 3 for the November external examinations. The subjects for St Hilda’s are Art History, Classical Studies, English, Media Studies and History.
Students voluntarily enter these digital examinations. There will be familiarisation activities provided by NZQA and our benchmark examinations will also be offered in the digital format.
A form will be sent out later this term for students to complete.
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
The St Hilda’s Z Club organised a fantastic Pink Breakfast fundraiser today. It was a lovely way to start the day. The guest speaker Dr Heather Cunliffe provided some fascinating insights into the latest research into breast cancer.
Thanks to all who supported this event.
Further industrial action will be taken by the Secondary Teachers’ Union on Tuesday of next week.
PPTA members have indicated they will withdraw their services from teaching any Year 9 students on Tuesday 5 June. All other year level classes are running as usual.
School will be open but the Board has requested that students in this year level remain home for the day if at all possible.
Some supervision may be provided for any Year 9 students who come to school. Please call Mrs Donna Madigan or email absences@shcs.school.nz if your daughter will be at school that day and requires supervision, so we can meet our Health and Safety requirements.
Other signalled PPTA action is as follows but is yet to be confirmed:
| Date of action | Year group |
| Tuesday 4 June | Year 9 |
| Tuesday 11 June | Year 10 |
| Wednesday 19 June | All year levels |
| Tuesday 25 June | Year 11 |
| Tuesday 2 July | Year 12 |
We will keep our school community up to date should any of these future actions also be implemented.
Thank you for your understanding as we work through the logistics and implications for our school community.
Otago Cross Country Championships took place on Thursday at Kaikorai Valley. Congratulations to Zara Geddes who achieved 1st place in the Girls U14 category and Megan Foster who came 1st place in the Girls U16 category over a 3km distance.
Zara Geddes
Megan Foster
We are excited to announce that St Hilda’s is holding an Art Auction + Gala Dinner on August 24th, 7 pm, in the school Chapel. Thanks to the support of our Old Girls and families, and The Artist’s Room and Gallery De Novo, we have secured an amazing line-up of works from highly sought-after artists. With works by Ralph Hotere, Sam Foley, Frank Gordon, Marilynn Webb, Philip Frost, Nic Dempster, Tyler Kennedy-Stent, Anna Reid, Mary Macfarlane, Claire Beynon, Marie Strauss and many more, tickets to this event will be in hot demand. We will have entertainment from Old Girls Sophie Morris (music) and Lara Liew (guest speaker).
Please email aburke@shcs.school to reserve your tickets ($120 – includes canapés and a two-course meal – seating is in tables of 10).
One of the petitions to God in the Lord’s Prayer is “Thy Kingdom Come” which reflects a desire that all the good things of God’s reign – such as justice, peace, compassion, and forgiveness – would be present here on earth. The Church of England in the UK has established a worldwide prayer movement called “Thy Kingdom Come” which takes place over 11 days, from May 30th until June 10th, asking people to pray for others to know God’s love in their lives.
So with New Zealand being the first country in the world to see a new day, we got to start this prayer movement off! I signed up on the website and you are able to create a light for your location on a world map in order to “Light Up the Word.” This is worth a look! You can zoom out to see the continents from afar, and zoom right in to see Dunedin and our wee star! I also took Night Prayers up at Tolcarne and we used the “Adventure Prayer Maps” that the Church of England has produced (see below), and we looked at some of the ways you can pray – expressing thanks for what we appreciate about our lives, saying sorry for things we have done to hurt others, considering the ways we can pray for others etc.
If you are interested, you might like to check out the “Thy Kingdom Come” website to find out more (and to see the world map) https://www.thykingdomcome.global/lightuptheworld
In 2014 and 2015 St Hilda’s took part in the Mathematics trial for the Level 1 mCAT. In 2016 History, Geography and Spanish used the NZQA trials as preparation for the November examinations (all in Level 1), and English had volunteers taking part in the Level 1 digital external examination (called a pilot). In 2017 St Hilda’s was part of a group of thirteen schools that took part of a co-managed trial using the digital format for both school examinations and the November external examinations in English at Level 1 and 2. In 2018 digital trails expanded to include Level 1 Science, Level 2 and 3 Media Studies and digital pilots in all three levels of English.
In 2019, NZQA is offering 14 subjects digitally, across NCEA levels 1, 2 and 3 for the November external examinations. The subjects for St Hilda’s are Art History, Classical Studies, English, Media Studies and History.
Students voluntarily enter these digital examinations. There will be familiarisation activities provided by NZQA and our benchmark examinations will also be offered in the digital format.
A form will be sent out later this term for students to complete.
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Building Heart Campaign
I spoke to the girls in assembly this week about the building projects and the launch of the Building Heart Campaign. It is important they have a sense of the history of the school, how we came to have these great facilities and why looking to the future has always been a part of the ethos and philosophy of who we are. We would not have survived for 123 years, if we had not had a community and Boards who contributed to the present with an eye to the future.
As I discussed with them, once we complete the first project in our campaign, we will move on to raising funds for our next stage – the redevelopment of the Chapel, Whitby Hall and the Humanities next door – classrooms/spaces.
We know we cannot keep sitting on the floor in Chapel and squashing them all in – We are not prepared to accept this long term, or give up on it, we know it is not the best. However we cannot use government money or attendance dues for the chapel – we have to fundraise it ourselves.
The Chapel adjoins Whitby Hall, and it is our vision to create an exciting new ‘connections hub’ in Whitby – a place of glass, light and warmth, where we can all be together, work together, eat together and where we can host school events, recognizing that a strong sense of belonging and connection with others are the keys to life long wellbeing, productivity and living with purpose.
We have to upgrade our current canteen anyway, for compliance reasons, and we want to make that space functional, but also inclusive and welcoming. Happy girls learn effectively, so if we want them to feel connected, with a sense of spaces where they belong, then we need to create warm, comfortable spaces for them.
It is proposed that the Library will move to a mezzanine space in Whitby, as we plan ahead to ensure our library remains a critical literacy and information resource centre which meets the needs of modern day learners.
I would also like to acknowledge the PFA – The Parents and Friends Association for their generous support. Every year they fundraise for all of us – for the sports and cultural funds, for furniture, for Apple TVs and materials for classrooms. Last year through the fair and the raffle they fundraised a huge amount towards the fit out of the new building, and in assembly this week Mrs Copeman on behalf of the PFA presented Mr Mason the BOT Finance Committee Chair with a cheque for $70,000, which is of tremendous benefit as we plan for the new building, and also a real credit to their hard work and perseverance, and the wonderful support we had from our wider community.
Please click on the video below to see a walk/fly through of the proposed Chapel/Whitby.
It doesn’t show some of the new proposed classrooms or work spaces for staff, as we don’t know what that might look like yet, but you will see the general buildings and where we hope to put the second tennis court – where the ‘secret garden’ behind the house at 16 Heriot Row is at the moment. It is a very exciting project to be working towards.
NCEA Change Package.
Please find here the link to the NCEA Change Package that the Ministry of Education announced last week.
The proposed changes validate all that we have been doing over the past three years in terms of the construction of our courses, our focus on deep, meaningful, future ready learning rather than the superficial chasing of credits, and our commitment to the wellbeing of students and staff. The Ministry has stated that it will now work with key stakeholders on the detailed design of these changes to understand the implementation implications, and we look forward to those discussions.
There are several points to note with this document:
– Fewer credits will be available, with a maximum of 20 credits per subject. 6 subjects, Level 1 & 2 = max 120 credits. Level 3, 5 subjects = max 100 credits. Currently we offer between 18-24 credits per subject.
– Fewer standards will be part of each course and assessments will be standardized to a maximum of 6 credits, and standards will cover more knowledge. i.e. More teaching, less testing
– Special Assessment conditions will be available as part of everyday teaching and learning, for more students. e.g. large print exam papers
– No exam fees
– Resubmissions will only be allowed to get a student to ‘Achieved’ level.
– The number of credits available between internally and externally assessed assessment standards in each subject will be rebalanced with an approximate 50:50 split.
– Numeracy and Literacy standards will be a co-requisite to NCEA – i.e. not part of the credit count. Students can meet the standard whenever they are ready
– Level 1 will remain optional
The timeline for these changes is yet to be confirmed and we have had not time as a staff to unpack, discuss or reflect on this Change package, but we will be doing so in the coming months and of course will keep our community informed as we get more information.
It would be great to have a number of parents who might like to be part of such an initiative. Interested?
This could be you if you:
– Want to have a voice in enhancing our strategic direction and focus
– Are committed to preparing our young women for the world that awaits them
– Enjoy contributing to a future focused, solution driven organisation
– Are interested in being involved in leading edge, best practice in education that leads the way for others
Sounds like a good initiative to be part of?
If you are interested in being part of this group you will need to:
– be prepared to commit to one meeting per term for 2-3 hours
– have the time to undertake background reading before each meeting ( 1 hour max)
– come with an open mind, finely tuned collaboration and communication skills and a commitment to improvement
The first meeting for this proposed advisory group will be Thursday 20th June at 7.00pm in the school library.
Please RSVP to principal@shcs.school.nz for catering purposes.
If you have any questions or would like to discuss this initiative further please do not hesitate to contact me.
I look forward to working alongside you to continue to strengthen and enhance our learning community.
Jackie Barron
Principal
The PPTA and NZEI have advised the Board of Trustees that their members at our school will be taking strike action on Wednesday 29th May 2019.
This will mean that all union members will be taking industrial action on this day and will not be at school.
The Board has carefully considered the availability of teaching staff and unfortunately decided that we can’t provide the normal teaching services during the strike so the school will officially be closed for instruction on Wednesday.
If this is difficult we can still supervise a small number of our St Hilda’s students in the library if required.
Please call Mrs Donna Madigan or email absences@shcs.school.nz by noon on Tuesday if your daughter will be at school that day and requires supervision, so we can meet our health and Safety requirements.
Thank you for your understanding.
The Z Club is holding a Pink Ribbon breakfast on Friday 31 May (Term 2 – Week 5) at 7:30 am in the school Chapel.
The tickets can be purchased either online by filling out the form which can be accessed via the link on the St Hilda’s School Facebook page or with cash at the student office in Term 2.
Students $10.00 Adults $20.00
All funds raised will be donated to the Breast Cancer Foundation to help women who are struggling with breast cancer and to help find a cure.
There will be plenty of yummy food and a talk from our guest speaker Heather Cunliffe who is a researcher at the University of Otago.
Come along and support this great cause – it is sure to be plenty of fun!
The Launch! Girls’ App development event took place at Balmacewen Intermediate on 23 May as part of New Zealand Tech Week. The event was focused on girls designing solutions to problems with software and was attended by more than 100 girls from 12 Dunedin schools. Cheryl Adams, CEO of Animation Research Limited, was the guest speaker and stressed the urgent need for more females to enter the tech industry. Females represent over 50% of the population, but software developers are predominantly males, which leads to apps that don’t always meet the needs and values of females. Both gender and ethnic diversity are required in the tech industry to ensure that future development addresses wider societal issues and needs.
St Hilda’s was represented by four teams at the event, in which each team had to prototype an app that would help solve an issue or need in society. It was clear from the teams’ app ideas that environment and well-being were at the forefront of the girls’ minds. The girls have the opportunity to develop their app ideas further as part of Tahi-Rua-Tora Tech, the New Zealand Digital Technologies Challenge for schools.
The Year 9 team of Eliabel Legrand, Emma Grindlay, Evie Rose Grace and Hannah McCoubry were specifically highlighted in the ODT for their “Little by Little” website idea, which aimed to help students understand different ways in which they could help the environment:
https://www.odt.co.nz/news/dunedin/girls-touch-finding-software-solutions
Our other teams also came up with excellent app prototypes. The Year 9 team of Rosa Smith, Victoria Avery, Zara Geddes and Amelie Warlow, designed a Well-Being Tree app that helps teenagers reflect on and grow their well-being.
The Year 10 team of Ella Hodgson, Lucie Holtz, Kate McEwan and Madison Khan, designed an app named Self-Estream, which is intended to help teens boost their self-esteem as they do activities that will help clean up our waterways.
The Year 12 team of Ginny Smith, Mya Tsakmakis, Olivia Andrew and Ella Dixon, designed and coded a web app, that allows students to self-regulate access to social media on their devices so that they can focus on school work and get more restful sleep.
It was a pleasure to see how our girls worked collaboratively as teams and focused on developing solutions that were highly creative and thoughtful to the needs of their peers. They all presented their ideas clearly and represented both themselves and the school well.
Julie McMahon
HOD Technology
On May 15th-17th the Year 12 Geography class went on a field trip to Aoraki, Mt Cook National Park.
It was a great opportunity to see the amazing natural environment that we have been studying in class. The girls gathered data for an achievement standard while walking up the Red tarns track to an altitude of 1020m.
We finished the trip with a ski-plane flight that landed on the Tasman Glacier. It was a fantastic experience and one the girls will remember for the rest of their lives.
Doing good does you good. Click here to learn more about how giving back and expressing gratitude can assist our own wellbeing.
Lucie Holtz represented New Zealand at the ISU Oceania International Novice Figure Skating Competition last week in Melbourne. In her grade, she placed 10th in a strong field of 21 skaters and was the highest placed NZ competitor in her grade. She also had the opportunity to perform in the gala, and be a skater demonstrator in the coaching seminar led by Misha Ge (former Olympic figure skater) following the competition.
If you are interested in seeing her performance she is on at 2:33:21 https://vimeo.com/
Netball
Congratulations to St Hilda’s Senior A who won three Premier Competition games in a row.
Swimming
St Hilda’s had a strong contingent of girls competing at Otago Secondary Schools Swimming on Sunday 19th May
Every swimmer made multiple top-eight /finals and the SHCS A teams were placed second in both the 200 free relay and 200 medley relay respectively.
Top 3 placings:
Olivia Andrew: 1st 50 backstroke, 2nd 100 freestyle, 2nd free relay
Ella-Rose Crooks: 2nd 100 fly, 2nd 100IM, 3rd 50 freestyle
Isabella Gold: 2nd 100 breaststroke, 2nd 50 breaststroke, 3rd 200 breaststroke, 2nd medley relay
Nicole Heaton: 1st 100 backstroke, 3rd 200 backstroke, 2nd free relay, 2nd medley relay
Anna Hutchens: 3rd 200 freestyle
Natalie Hutchens: 2nd 50 freestyle, 2nd free relay, 2nd medley relay
Andie McGrouther: 3rd 50 breaststroke
Meg McLaughlan: 3rd 200IM
Jessica Scott: 1st 100 fly, 1st 50 fly, 1st 200 fly, 2nd free relay, 2nd medley relay
Molly Whittaker: 1st 200 breaststroke, 2nd 100 breaststroke, 2nd 50 breaststroke, 3rd 200IM
Trapshooting
Tia Dougherty, Olivia Hazlett and Analee Toro went to the first trapshooting competition of the season on Sunday. They did a good job at representing the school and achieved very highly.
– Tia was the High Overall (HOA) for the Ladies (That is, Tia scored the highest score for all of the events combined
– Analee placed second in Down-The-Line (DTL) Point Score.
– The team won the DTL Points Score Event
This is an amazing achievement for the girls as this is only their second season together and they were up against some very experienced shooters.
Water Polo
Congratulations to the following girls who have been selected in Otago Water Polo teams.
U14 Otago Water Polo at St Hilda’s are Tiana Brummit Rodriguez, Luana Ashton, Honour Birks, Meg Pope, Lucy Higeholt-Martyn, Olivia Ollerenshaw and Hannah Hemi.
U16 Otago Water Polo from St Hilda’s are Quilla Cashell-Smith, Emma Andrew, Olivia Brown, Priynaka McKenzie-Patel and Amelia Lane.
We had our first Tribe Competition on Monday night. Each Tribe had to design and draw a visual graffiti of their Tribe chant. Congratulations to Falkland who took out the challenge.
Last weekend we had a number of students try Pole Fitness. They found it very difficult but still a lot of fun.
This weekend they are off to Laser Tag, which is always good fun.
We also have a group of students heading to The Regent Theatre to see Wicked. I am sure they will be amazed by such a fantastic show!
Happy Weekend!
In 2014 and 2015 St Hilda’s took part in the Mathematics trial for the Level 1 mCAT. In 2016 History, Geography and Spanish used the NZQA trials as preparation for the November examinations (all in Level 1), and English had volunteers taking part in the Level 1 digital external examination (called a pilot). In 2017 St Hilda’s was part of a group of thirteen schools that took part of a co-managed trial using the digital format for both school examinations and the November external examinations in English at Level 1 and 2. In 2018 digital trails expanded to include Level 1 Science, Level 2 and 3 Media Studies and digital pilots in all three levels of English.
In 2019, NZQA is offering 14 subjects digitally, across NCEA levels 1, 2 and 3 for the November external examinations. The subjects for St Hilda’s are Art History, Classical Studies, English, Media Studies and History.
Students voluntarily enter these digital examinations. There will be familiarisation activities provided by NZQA and our benchmark examinations will also be offered in the digital format.
A form will be sent out later this term for students to complete.
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
It was a real privilege to welcome Old Girls, past families, current families, staff and supportive members of our wider community into the Chapel on Tuesday night, to launch the Building Heart Campaign.
It was a very positive and affirming evening, with a positive vibe and a shared enthusiasm and passion for the school. I would like to take this moment to acknowledge our sponsors, Brent and Lada Chirnside from Fresh Choice Roslyn, who generously provided the refreshments for the evening.
We are excited about the Building Heart Campaign, and all the possibilities it presents.
What is it, and what are we fundraising for? These are challenging times for all schools, and St Hilda’s is no different. To ensure our St Hilda’s graduates have the skills and attributes they need to thrive in, and contribute to, the world, we want them as the school prayer says to ‘flourish and abound’! I can think of no better way to say it! And so we are really focusing on providing them with the best education we can – and a big part of that is to have modern, future focused facilities that allow us to teach as our girls need to learn.
We have been lucky that over our 123 year history, families and individuals have generously donated funds to be used to maintain, improve and upgrade our school facilities and programmes. We have also been very fortunate that we have not had to do any major fundraising since 1996, when the gymnasium was built. But just as our past families gave back in order to secure the school facilities that we enjoy today, we now need to dig deep to continue to provide a school with the values, Special Character, and educational excellence that we are known for.
You will see the Arts Centre currently being constructed – this facility will allow us to transform our teaching and learning programmes, and give every St Hilda’s girl an arts education. Not because everyone aspires to be an artist, dancer, actor or musician, but because an arts education involves learning how to collaborate with others, expressing yourself, building confidence and resilience, and experiencing other cultures and perspectives. These skills are vital to success in today’s, and tomorrow’s, world and are exactly what the St Hilda’s Graduate is all about.
We are delighted that we have secured the majority of the funding for this building through the generous support of the Endowment Society, the PFA fundraising and grants. The Boards have also secured borrowings, but we are seeking to repay these as quickly as possible, to free up funding for future projects.
We now need to fit out this building with state-of-the-art equipment and technology, not just so that our girls experience a quality arts education, but so that we can also facilitate other arts groups by providing a space for performances and exhibitions, outside of our school time. Those of you with an interest in the arts in Dunedin will understand just how valuable those spaces have become. St Hilda’s has always served its community, and we hope to continue to do so.
We need all of you, our current families, to assist us with this campaign as families in the past have done previously. History and legacy is not built on a single campaign or endeavour, but rather the combined, cumulative efforts of a community with a shared vision and commitment, over time. Just as we now enjoy the results of previous fundraising campaigns that provided for the gymnasium, the library and Geraldine House, to name a few in more recent times, we now need to ensure that our facilities continue to enhance the excellent teaching and learning that takes place here every day.
Once we complete the Arts building, we will move on to raising funds for our next stage – the redevelopment of the Chapel, Whitby Hall and the Humanities next door. You are all aware that due to fire regulations, our Chapel is too small for our whole school to sit together for Chapel services and other whole school events. Currently, we cannot seat the whole school in there and have removed the furniture to fit in the people. We are not prepared to accept this long term, or give up on it.
The only option is to enlarge the Chapel to accommodate our school. We feel strongly that this is a 123 year tradition we cannot forfeit – Chapel services are a time of reflection, spiritual growth and exploration, and a place where we learn respect for traditions, cultures, each other and ourselves. In this ever-changing and frantically busy world, we cannot lose this place of quiet and calm. It really is the heart of our school.
I am delighted to announce that we are already some way to reaching our first goal. We have received ($231,000) in grants and pledges from some wonderful St Hilda’s families. We are so grateful for the support of these individuals and families. Some of our donors wish to keep their identities anonymous, but we can reveal that we have received a donation to purchase naming rights to the multi-use exhibition space in the Arts Centre. This space will be named, at our donor’s request, for Hunia Dean, who passed away last year. Hunia had been the Head of Arts for 13 years and was a much-loved and respected teacher and colleague, as well as a talented artist. We feel that naming this exhibition space for Hunia is a fitting tribute to him and his family, and we thank the donors for this opportunity to do so.
We would also like to thank Kathy Grant for her generous contribution towards our campaign and the M Guthrie Family Trust for their thoughtful donation. Their commitment is much appreciated.
We know this Campaign is ambitious – but we have always been ambitious. We are a small school at the bottom of the world, but we have always punched well above our weight. We know we have a lot of supporters and that there is a lot of goodwill out there in the community. Our Boards commissioned a Feasibility Study last year and the results were overwhelmingly positive. So we may be ambitious, but we have done our homework and we will proceed with our campaign by being considered, prepared, innovative, and also brave, because success is never guaranteed. Funnily enough, these are the same qualities we expect of our girls.
We are grateful for any assistance we receive, and will recognise it appropriately. We continue to plan for the future, with the Building Heart Campaign recognizing the importance of a collaborative effort to strengthen the legacy of this wonderful school. We will keep you updated of the various stages as we move from the vision, to the concept, to the planning of each stage, as part of the overall 20 year plan.
PPTA has issued a preliminary notice of strike action by members for Wednesday 29 May. This will mean that all union members will be taking industrial action on this day and will not be at school.
Non union staff members will be working at school on that day but no classes will be running. Supervision will be available in the school library during normal school hours if required.
We are planning to take a cultural tour to Vietnam in 2020.
This trip will be very similar to the trips we have previously taken and will be open to any students who will be in Year 12 or 13 in 2020. Parents are also very welcome to join the trip.
The dates for this trip will be – 7th -26th April 2020
The estimated cost for this will be $6320 (student) and $5820 (parent)
If you are going to join the trip for 2020 could you please get back to us by Monday 20 May ,if you have not already, with the following details:
Student’s Name
Student’s Year Group
Names of any other family planning to travel
Please contact me if you have any further questions. My contact email is jmaw@shcs.school.nz
Come along and support this great cause – it is sure to be plenty of fun!
Technology department
The Level One Design and Visual Communication class took advantage of the extended learning time last week by visiting Van Brandenburg architects.
The students were able to listen to Damien Van Brandenburg talk about their design process, inspirations and projects that are being undertaken all around the world. They were lucky enough to see a model of the proposed waterfront project for the Dunedin harbour (pictured).
The DVC students used this experience to develop a deeper understanding of the design process, technological modelling and future pathways in the design.
Pictured from left: Mr Baydon Harris, Rylee Wagteveld, Annabelle Stewart, Imogen Keeling, Sophie Masters, Olivia Brown, Ria Dennison, Brooke Callon, Alika Croot, Maia Hunter, Maia Lamb, Gabi Horo and Jessica Christie
by Lily Knox
On Friday, the Junior Writing Group walked down to Otago Girls High School to listen to two amazing authors, John Boyne (The Boy in the Striped Pajamas) and Markus Zusak (The Book Thief).
John Boyne told us how he was struck by inspiration for The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and didn’t sleep until the first draft was finished. Although he didn’t recommend that method, he did share 16 of his favourite writing tips with us. Our favourite tip was to read, read, read!
Markus Zusak told two stories from his childhood that the audience loved: a tale of epic revenge, and the story of how he ruined Christmas. He talked about how little details enriched a story, and how the unexpected is often the best part. Both authors ended their talks with a Q+A to share more about their lives as authors.
We learnt so much and can’t wait to start writing more stories with the help of everything we learnt from John and Markus. We’d also like the thank Ms Van Rij, Mrs Almey and Mr Ross for making this trip possible.
41 St Hilda’s students participated in Show Quest at the Civic theatre in Invercargill on the 14th of May. We wanted to create an inclusive piece of work with the idea of exploring the world around you. We called our piece “There’s a whole world out there” as it was inspired by our Artist in Residence program. We are fortunate that our students get to see how artists get their work to ‘fly’. So we incorporated Shane Carter’s song; ‘Waiting game’, sung by Sings Hilda, using the idea of biding your time……waiting, and holding back. Contrasted by Emily Duncan’s play; ‘In Our Shoes’, promoting the idea of being adventurous, brave and having agency. Jerry Howlett’s artwork inspires the idea of looking at the world differently using a different scale. We wanted our audience to be motivated to ‘take flight’!
Special thanks to Ms Mangai, the Arts prefects, Arts subject liaisons, Trinity Maydone and Sophie Wispinski for all their creative input, in addition to Sophie Masters for the fantastic visuals.
What an evening!
Year 12 are currently on a field trip to Mount Cook. We received this picture yesterday of the girls’ walking up the Red Tarns Track just before the weather packed in – at least they all look prepared!
Adolescence is a time of significant change, great excitement and, at times, much confusion. Click here for some tips from the experts at Hey Sigmund about how to talk to your child about their amazing, and occasionally baffling, adolescent brain.
When the shootings at the mosques in Christchurch occurred last month, students and teachers here at school – like people all over Aotearoa New Zealand – responded with compassion. In particular, we made paper doll chains to show ourselves with our arms stretched out in compassion and linked together in solidarity. The students also decorated a banner with messages of hope and love.
For the last eight years, as part of the Y12 Religious Education programme, I have invited members of the Dunedin Abrahamic Interfaith Group (DAIG) to visit the class and share their stories of what it means for them to be Jewish, Christian, or Muslim (the Abrahamic religions are the sibling religions of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam). This is a great way to meet people from these faiths, to ask them questions about their religions and their life journeys, and to both learn about and learn from them.
So, this term, the current Y12 class were able to present the Muslim representative – Amal – with the paper doll chains and the banner to take to the mosque here in Dunedin where she worships. She was able to tell us what it was like for her, and her family and friends, on the day of the shootings, and how they have been coping since then. It was a moving experience to be able to give our items to her, and to have made a personal connection with her at this time.
Greg Hughson, a chaplain at Otago University, who has been involved with DAIG since its beginnings after 9/11, and who organises these visits with me, took a couple of photos of us!
Jessica was also recently accepted into the Otago Academy of Sport Talent Accelerator Programme.
Congratulations to our year 9A Netball team for winning their grade at the Roncalli tournament over the weekend.
Great work girls’!
In 2014 and 2015 St Hilda’s took part in the Mathematics trial for the Level 1 mCAT. In 2016 History, Geography and Spanish used the NZQA trials as preparation for the November examinations (all in Level 1), and English had volunteers taking part in the Level 1 digital external examination (called a pilot). In 2017 St Hilda’s was part of a group of thirteen schools that took part of a co-managed trial using the digital format for both school examinations and the November external examinations in English at Level 1 and 2. In 2018 digital trails expanded to include Level 1 Science, Level 2 and 3 Media Studies and digital pilots in all three levels of English.
In 2019, NZQA is offering 14 subjects digitally, across NCEA levels 1, 2 and 3 for the November external examinations. The subjects for St Hilda’s are Art History, Classical Studies, English, Media Studies and History.
Students voluntarily enter these digital examinations. There will be familiarisation activities provided by NZQA and our benchmark examinations will also be offered in the digital format.
A form will be sent out later this term for students to complete.
Victoria University will be holding an Information Evening in Dunedin on Tuesday 21 May. Students are welcome to bring their family and friends along to find out more about life at Victoria University of Wellington including the new Bachelor of Communication and Bachelor of Midwifery. Find out more
Board of Trustee elections will be held in June this year. At its last meeting, the Board resolved to move to staggered elections which means that 3 of the 5 elected parent representative positions will be for the full 3 year term and 2 will be for an 18 month term. Nominations will be called for from 10 May 2019 for both the 3 year and 18 month terms. If you are interested in contributing to the governance of the school, please consider standing for election. More details on the role of the Board can be obtained from the School Trustees Association website https://www.trustee-election.co.nz/. Nomination forms will be available on 10 May 2019 and will be posted to all eligible people on the voting role.
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
We look forward to seeing you at 6 pm on May 14th in the St Hilda’s Chapel.
This week we have had our next two extended learning days where students have again had the chance to explore aspects of their learning for a longer period of time allowing for a chance to delve more deeply into current learning topics in different ways.
Country visits were a great chance to meet prospective families and we are grateful to our current families for their assistance with this. We look forward to welcoming everyone to our Boarders Open Day on Thursday 16th May.
This week the senior drama girls performed ‘Daughters of Heaven’. Well done on a wonderful performance.
Our 7 & 8’s were busy this week as they prepared for camp at Camp Columba in Pukerau next week. One of the many preparations was learning about how to best use the clothing “layering system” which is essentially a way of layering clothes together to ensure you are comfortable during outdoor pursuits. This could be to keep you warm or to cool you down.
Year 12 chose a beautiful day to go rock climbing at Port Chalmers quarry this morning.
Come along and support this great cause – it is sure to be plenty of fun!
In today’s busy world there is a temptation to smooth the way for our children. Click here to read why Wanda Holland Greene, Head of School, The Hamlin School and Trustee of NAIS, believes we should embrace a No Rescue policy to encourage resilience in our children.
On behalf of NZQA, we collect a fee from each student that has entered NCEA – either internal or external standards. It is a flat fee of $76.70 except where they have entered for Scholarship subjects or where they are foreign fee paying students. Each Scholarship subject has a fee of $30.00.
No family needs to pay more than $200.00.
The NZQA fee have already been added to your daughter’s school Activities Account. The Scholarship entries will be finalised by mid-May and the Scholarship fee will be included from this time.
This fee needs to be paid by Wednesday 14 August to give us time to check we have correct payments before forwarding the amount onto NZQA.
Financial assistance is available to secondary school candidates entering standards on the National Qualifications Framework and Scholarship.
• To be eligible the parent or guardian of the candidate must meet at least one of the following criteria:
• Be receiving a Work and Income or Study Link benefit or have a current Community Service card.
• Have a joint family income that would entitle the applicant to receive a Community Services card.
• Have three or more children entered in the examinations
or two children, at least one of whom is entered in more than 2 scholarship papers.
Application forms can be obtained from Mrs Jones or the NZQA website https://www.nzqa.govt.nz/ncea/entry-into-ncea/fees-for-ncea/financial-assistance/
In 2014 and 2015 St Hilda’s took part in the Mathematics trial for the Level 1 mCAT. In 2016 History, Geography and Spanish used the NZQA trials as preparation for the November examinations (all in Level 1), and English had volunteers taking part in the Level 1 digital external examination (called a pilot). In 2017 St Hilda’s was part of a group of thirteen schools that took part of a co-managed trial using the digital format for both school examinations and the November external examinations in English at Level 1 and 2. In 2018 digital trails expanded to include Level 1 Science, Level 2 and 3 Media Studies and digital pilots in all three levels of English.
In 2019, NZQA is offering 14 subjects digitally, across NCEA levels 1, 2 and 3 for the November external examinations. The subjects for St Hilda’s are Art History, Classical Studies, English, Media Studies and History.
Students voluntarily enter these digital examinations. There will be familiarisation activities provided by NZQA and our benchmark examinations will also be offered in the digital format.
A form will be sent out later this term for students to complete.
Logan Park Road Race – This week on Tuesday there were a group of students that ran in the Logan Park Road Race. There were eight students that competed, four in the junior race and four in the senior race. Both races were run over 2.5km starting and finishing in the Caledonian ground.
St Hilda’s had a successful day with strong results in both races, the junior results were Billie Crowe 2nd, Zara Geddes 7th, Anna Carswell 10th and Molly Mckenzie 13th. The senior result were Megan Foster 3rd, Annabel Bilkey 7th, Jessica Scott 9th and Sarah Langsbury 12th.
Anna Carswell, Zara Geddes, Molly McKenzie and Billie Crowe
Megan Foster, Annabel Bilkey, Sarah Langsbury and Jessica Scott
Billie Crowe running to second place
Megan Foster running to third place
Table Tennis – Sophia Liu represented Otago in Table Tennis over the holidays and captained her U14 girls team to a win over Southland 10 games to 2. She did Otago proud and showed fantastic sportsmanship on and off the table
Ice Hockey – Breane Byck played for the Southern Knights Ice Hockey team in Japan recently taking a bronze medal at the tournament, with the Japanese paper reporting that the Hachinohe White Bears, whom have never lost the tournament until this year found the semi final proved difficult against the Southern Knights, due to Breane’s outstanding goal tendering.
Hockey – Congratulations to the following girls who have been selected into the Southern U18 Hockey Team and Southern U18 Development Team
Southern U18 – Olivia Hall, Eden Carson, Teea Francis
Southern U18 Development – Brooke McAlwee, Anna McIntyre, Molly Loe
Victoria University will be holding an Information Evening in Dunedin on Tuesday 21 May. Students are welcome to bring their family and friends along to find out more about life at Victoria University of Wellington including the new Bachelor of Communication and Bachelor of Midwifery. Find out more
Board of Trustee elections will be held in June this year. At its last meeting, the Board resolved to move to staggered elections which means that 3 of the 5 elected parent representative positions will be for the full 3 year term and 2 will be for an 18 month term. Nominations will be called for from 10 May 2019 for both the 3 year and 18 month terms. If you are interested in contributing to the governance of the school, please consider standing for election. More details on the role of the Board can be obtained from the School Trustees Association website https://www.trustee-election.co.nz/. Nomination forms will be available on 10 May 2019 and will be posted to all eligible people on the voting role.
Dear Parents and Caregivers,
Welcome back to the beginning of Term 2. I hope the holidays provided time to recharge batteries, reflect on a solid first term, and also enjoy time with friends and family, where ever you were. Term 2 is a busy term with lots happening, coming up we have Big Sing, Show Quest, winter sports and the formal. It will be great to share all these wonderful events with your daughters.
I went to a conference in the holidays and it was really interesting. It was also quite hard sitting listening to people all day, from 8.30-5.00, which reminded me what it was like to be in class.
But it also made me think. About my own learning and about our students. It made me think about how the world is changing and how school has to change with it.
The speakers at the conference were all world leaders in their field – from Finland, Canada and America. They were amazing, and also frightening because they had some pretty strong messages;
There is no doubt that your daughters will inherit a world that is different to the one we live in now – and to fix whatever problems there will be – we need them. We need your daughters to have the skills and attitude that we talk about all the time here. We need them to be Can Do – ready to find solutions, solve problems, think about and find different ways of doing things.
Micheal Fullan a world leader on educational leadership said schools should be teaching young people to be good at learning and good at life.
And people who are good at life, are good at connecting with others. Those emotional soft skills of compassion, empathy, love and showing emotions are going to be so important in the future
And I guess that is what we are trying to help your daughters to do and model ourselves.
Emotion – responding to events, having feelings good and bad. Some of the most admired people in the world are those who we feel relate to us, have shared experiences, understand our feelings, through performances, drama, music.
I played a song for our students about heartbreak and asked them to think about the emotion it evoked. How did it make them feel, did it remind them of their own experiences, feelings or describe how they have felt at any stage in their lives.
What was special about the song, was that is was completely generated by computer algorithms. Algorithms composed the music and the lyrics. A computer called Watson designed by IBM is even credited as co-collaborator. In the last few years, IBM’s technology platform has come a long way, exploring cognitive creativity in fashion, food, movies and more. Now a computer can create a song about heartbreak.
Watson collated five years of analyzed cultural data. He’s looking at patterns of cultural themes and social media and conversations and then providing it in a way that it was matched to music.
This really gets us thinking and questioning how we feel about this kind of advance. A challenge for all of us is how are we going to keep connecting, caring, sharing and giving in a world, where a computer can generate our emotions. How do we know what is real? How do we stay real and keep that sense of doing something worthwhile, engaging with the world in a real way?
Standing at the ANZAC service last Thursday, at dawn in the cold,watching soldiers talk of war, still such an important part of our history, singing songs and hymns, that were written about a real experience, made me wonder about how can you replace that?
All I ask is that we think, think deeply, about what is important to us, who we are, how we feel and who we care about and never lose sight of the importance of humanity, being real and sharing real emotions.
Jackie Barron
Principal
There will be no formal classes for Year 13 students on Monday 6 May
Dunedin Tertiary Open Day 2019 for Year 13 students and their families will be run over two days this year, Sunday 5 May and Monday 6 May. However, Monday is still the main day with all the usual activities – Expo, tours, presentations, sessions, etc. Sunday is a supplementary afternoon comprising of additional Health Science First Year presentations, college and campus tours, and a variety of other sessions and activities (see programme https://www.otago.ac.nz/about/otago708121.pdf).
This event gives Year 13 students an opportunity to explore the various options within the city, exploring facilities and tertiary study opportunities. This is a valuable part of their decision making process for next steps after school and as such there will be no formal classes for Year 13 on Monday.
Chapel Matters
ANZAC Blessing
God most holy,
If in war some by their actions brought peace closer, then strengthen our hope.
If some by their actions showed compassion to others, then strengthen our resolve to be kind and generous.
If we dream of a better world,
then strengthen our will to make this happen.
Renew in us the longing for your peace and also the will to work for it.
Take wing O messengers of peace;
Carry these words to the multitude.
Sow them in wisdom;
Sow them in truth.
May we be your messengers of peace O God.
This we ask in the name of the Jesus Christ, the Prince of Peace.
And may the love of God – Creator, Redeemer, and Giver of Life – enfold us all.
Amen.
Perfectionism has been a topic that has generated much discussion of late. Recent research has seen a dramatic rise in the number of young people being impacted by this never-ending search for perfection and its associated dangers. Click here to learn more about social psychologist Thomas Curran’s investigation into the causes of this issue and how we can turn the tide by celebrating the joys of imperfection.
On Thursday evening Sings Hilda performed at the opening ceremony for the National Sweet Adelines Convention. Sweet Adelines International is a worldwide organization of women barbershop singers that extends over five continents with more than 500 choruses and 1,200 quartets.
The organisers of this event asked specifically for Sings Hilda, based on the choir’s reputation from past years’ performances. The choir upheld our proud tradition of a high standard of performance where they sang Bring Me Little Water, Sylvie arranged by Huddie Leadbetter, Ave Maris Stella by David Hamilton, and Kaval Sviri arranged by Lyondev.
We are planning to take a cultural tour to Vietnam in 2020.
This trip will be very similar to the trips we have previously taken and will be open to any students who will be in Year 12 or 13 in 2020. Parents are also very welcome to join the trip.
The dates for this trip will be – 7th -26th April 2020
The estimated cost for this will be $6320 (student) and $5820 (parent)
If you are going to join the trip for 2020 could you please get back to us by Friday 17th May with the following details:
Student’s Name
Student’s Year Group
Names of any other family planning to travel
Please contact me if you have any further questions. My contact email is jmaw@shcs.school.nz
Congratulations to Nicole Heaton, Natalie Hutchens, Penny Keeling, Meg McLaughlan and Jessica Scott who qualified for the NZ National Age Group Swimming Championships and competed 2 weeks ago in Wellington. There were over 700 swimmers aged 12-18, all competing for a NZ ranking for their age group. Special mention goes to the finalists:
Jessica and Natalie who both won a Silver medal with their 400m Freestyle Relay Team.
Jessica who won a Gold Medal in the 200m Fly, 2 Bronze Medals in the 50m & 100m Fly, 5th in the 200IM and 9th in the 50m Free.
Natalie who came 7th in the 50m Free.
Nicole who came 9th in the 200m Backstroke.”
Commercial Vehicle Centre
Steph Post, Reany Rust, Sophie Conner and Lily Chamberlain – Photography and videography.
Board of Trustee elections will be held in June this year. At its last meeting, the Board resolved to move to staggered elections which means that 3 of the 5 elected parent representative positions will be for the full 3 year term and 2 will be for an 18 month term. Nominations will be called for from 10 May 2019 for both the 3 year and 18 month terms. If you are interested in contributing to the governance of the school, please consider standing for election. More details on the role of the Board can be obtained from the School Trustees Association website https://www.trustee-election.co.nz/. Nomination forms will be available10 May 2019 and will be posted to all eligible people on the voting role.
