Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Our first assembly of the Term was an opportunity to recognise some outstanding achievements by students and staff as you will see below. It was a very positive way to start the term – celebrating successes and acknowledging the hard work and commitment of so many of our students. I hope you enjoy reading about them all in this newsletter.

We are pleased to announce that Claire Laverty has been awarded the Jim Campbell Teaching Award.  This national award recognises personal excellence in Primary or Secondary classroom teaching and support given to others in enhancing their classroom.  Mrs Laverty was nominated for this by the local association of Maths Teachers. At St Hilda’s, she is known as the singing Maths teacher but more widely, she is recognised for her writing of assessments and NCEA textbooks.  As well, Mrs Laverty has done considerable work running workshops and helping other teachers learn new skills and develop new ways of communicating maths. She is recognised nationally in particular for her work in teaching statistics and this award acknowledges her contribution to the teaching community and we were thrilled to welcome her back into school on Tuesday to acknowledge her achievements at assembly.

Continue reading Weekly News – Term 4 | Week 1 →

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

The highlight of the week was definitely our end of term Arts Assembly.  We saw performances from the hip hop and aerobics girls, our senior Kapa Haka group, and also a surprise performance from the newly formed St Hilda’s staff hip hop crew.  Arts Prefects Adithi Alexander and Molly Johnson did an amazing job putting it all together, the girls thoroughly enjoyed themselves.

Continue reading Weekly News – Term 3 | Week 10 →

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Seniors finished exams on Wednesday and have started to receive their results.  These results, along with the report that will be sent out at the end of next week, will form the basis of next term’s Learning Conversations.  The Learning Conversations will take place on Monday 16th October throughout the day beginning at 9.30am for all levels and on Thursday 19th October from 6.00pm to 9.00pm for senior students and their parents only. School will be open for Learning Conversations all day on the Monday and there will be no formal timetabled classes. Girls will not be required to attend classes, but will be expected to attend the Learning Conversation meetings as booked. Girls do not need to wear school uniform on this day.

Appointments can be made through the website https://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz/ and you can log in with the following details:

Code: k9u52

The site will open for bookings on Friday 29th September at 4.30pm.

Continue reading Weekly News – Term 3 | Week 9 →

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

A reminder that parents and students are invited to attend formal Learning Conversations in Week 1 of Term Four. For senior students these will be an opportunity to discuss in-depth learning strategies leading up to the external assessments. The timing of the report is to allow you to discuss the content with your daughter, make Learning Conversation appointments, receive valuable feedback and then have a plan for the remaining weeks of the school year and into the external assessment period in Term 4.

The Learning Conversations will take place on Monday 16th October throughout the day beginning at 9.30am for all levels and on Thursday 19th October from 6.00pm to 9.00pm for senior students and their parents only. School will be open for Learning Conversations all day on the Monday and there will be no formal timetabled classes. Girls will not be required to attend classes, but will be expected to attend the Learning Conversation meetings as booked. Girls do not need to wear school uniform on this day.  Details for booking interviews will be made available in next week’s newsletter.

Continue reading Weekly News – Term 3 | Week 8 →

We have had a number of teams competing in South Island Secondary Schools Tournaments and there have been some great results coming though. We will do a full report on these next week once all tournaments are complete.

A group of Year 7 and Year 8 students traveled to Christchurch last weekend to compete in the Tournament of the Minds competition. They performed very well and I am sure this will become a regular event.

Good luck to the girls who are performing at the Otago Secondary Schools’ Music Festival on Monday 11th September. This is always a great event. The evening performance starts at 6.30pm at the Dunedin Town Hall.

On Thursday 14th September our Kapa Haka group will be performing at Polyfest. St Hilda’s will be performing at 6.30pm.

Continue reading Weekly News – Term 3 | Week 7 →

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Notice of Enrolment Procedure
Pursuant to Section 11MA of the Education Act 1989, St Hilda’s Collegiate School Board of Trustees proposes amending its enrolment scheme for Year 7 enrolments to a ballot system.  If confirmed, the Scheme will apply to all applications for enrolment in Year 7 received after the 1st September 2017.  Earlier applications would be processed under the existing scheme.

Under the Education Act we are required to consult on this proposal and as part of this process, a Public Notice of the intended change will be given in the Otago Daily Times on the 2nd September 2017.

We appreciate that families have applied for a position under the understanding that, once special character preference criteria are met, places are allocated by reference to the date of application.  If the change is adopted that understanding will still be honoured, with all applications for enrolment in Year 7 which we have logged as received before the 1st September 2017, being processed under the existing system.

Please forward any comments to principal@shcs.school.nz by noon on the 28th September 2017.

Continue reading Weekly News – Term 3 | Week 6 →

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Parent Seminar: 7.00pm Monday 28 August, Chapel
It’s not too late to register for Monday’s parent seminar presented by Professor Erica McWilliam.  Senior students are also welcome to attend, either with their parents or without.  More information can be found here, please RSVP to admin@shcs.school.nz if you’d like to attend.

We are also holding a Community Health Consultation Evening at 7.00pm on Thursday 31 August in the library.  This evening provides an opportunity to discuss the health curriculum.  Please RSVP to admin@shcs.school.nz if you would like to attend.

Continue reading Weekly News – Term 3 | Week 5 →

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

Earlier this week we opened the application forms for students to apply for Cultural, Service and Sport Blues.  Forms can be accessed via the student homepage or the page ‘Blues Evening’ located under Informational Links to the right hand side of this page.  Applications must be made by the student using their St Hilda’s email log in details.

Applications close at 5.00pm on Tuesday 12 September.  Some dance genres have competitions and examinations later so we ask that students put in an initial application before the deadline, noting that results are pending. The site will reopen for one day on 25 September for updates to these applications.

Good luck to our students who are involved in the NZCAF Hip Hop/Aerobics Regional competition this weekend.

Continue reading Weekly News – Term 3 | Week 4 →