REMINDERS
Key Dates for 2020 Term 1
Wednesday 5th February – Athletic Sports at the Caledonian Sports Ground
Saturday 7th March – School Fair (see below for further information)
Friday 13th and Saturday 14th March – Wanaka Show
Friday 20th March – Staff Only Day
Monday 23rd March – Otago Anniversary Day
We have jars available for people to make jams and/or preserves – please get in touch with us if you are able to help. email:schoolfair@shcs.school.
Ichikawa visit March 2020 – request for Homestay families
Timetable
In response to the feedback from the extended learning time we had throughout 2019, we have made changes to how our timetable is structured. The start and end times for the days have not changed but we have made adjustments to where we have our breaks. This will give us the flexibility to meet more diverse learning styles.
The timetable follows a structure of two periods, chapel/assembly/Whanaungatanga followed by interval then two periods followed by lunch and then sustained silent reading followed by one period. This structure also allows for a second version of the week featuring double periods which in this term will happen every third week.
Sports Uniform Reminder
St Hilda’s new sports uniform is now available at NZ Uniforms on Moray Place.
It is compulsory for our students to have the PE top, Shorts, Trackpants, Dri fit and Hoodie. For all students who play in a weekly competition, travel on tournaments or as a PE class, these items are to be worn. No alternatives are allowed.
For students with the current style these can still be worn. Over the past few weeks, we have noticed a number of sports teams wearing a variety of shorts and trackpants that are not school regulation. If you are unsure on what these look like, then please head to the website: http//www.nzuniforms.com
Activities
On Monday we held our Mihi Whakatou in the Chapel to welcome our new students and staff. This was a lovely way to start the year and welcome the new members of our St Hilda’s family.
Prefects Commissioning
Chapel Matters
This week we celebrated the Prefects’ Commissioning. The Prefect system at St Hilda’s started in 1906 and the girls still say many of the same words that were spoken back then. For example, the prayer that they say goes like this:
Prevent us, O Lord in all our doings with Thy most gracious favour, and further us with Thy continual help; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in thee, we may glorify Thy Holy Name, and finally by Thy mercy obtain everlasting life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
This is old-fashioned English which can be a little difficult to interpret! But basically, the Prefects are asking for God’s help in all that they do – in all that they begin, continue with, and complete – so that God is glorified. This takes the form of needing God’s grace to enable them NOT to do certain things, and God’s help to do the right things. For God to be glorified means that through what they do (or don’t do), others see the love, grace, justice, and kindness of God – the qualities of God are made clear and bright. Then, ultimately, they ask that they might receive eternal life, not because they have done the right things, but through God’s mercy. Eternal life is not something we earn, but is a gift of God.
Perhaps this is a prayer we might all need to say on a day-to-day basis, although I suspect we might use simpler and more modern phrasing! “God help me today, to make good choices so that others may see your grace and mercy. Amen.”
Achievements
Congratulations to Lily Knox who came first in the Unpublished Poets section of the Robert Burns Poetry Competition 2020. Nearly 50 published and unpublished writers entered the annual competition, which marks the Scottish bard’s birthday on January, 25 1759.
Migrating
lace
of a wedding dress
that was silky to the touch until she wore it on her skin
the smoke
of a city
the gritty, spiny smoke and the streets that smelled of gin
honeyed tears she swallows as
she knows she can’t return
she yearns;
an aching for the God that only wallows in the Thames
his hand will not extend
to the crusted creaky ship
or the baby on her hip
oh mrs james inglis
whose maiden name was ingrid
torn by the wind on the salt stained deck
no more than the mermaid
lashed to the stern.
where did it go wrong
figurehead?
Click here to read Lily’s reaction to her achievement which was published in the ODT.
Co-curricular Performing Arts Opportunities
Tolcarne News
BLUE RIBBON INSTALLATION
This is a fundraising initiative that current families, Old Girls and past families can support – purchase a Blue Ribbon plaque with your/your daughter’s name on it, to be displayed permanently in the foyer of the new Arts Building.
Please contact the Director of Development at aburke@shcs.school.nz to reserve your Blue Ribbon today.
Information regarding Coronavirus
With recent concerns raised regarding the spread of coronavirus, we wish to inform you that we are following the Ministry of Health Guidelines regarding best practice for public health.
We have taken the necessary precautions to ensure the wellbeing of all our international students, when they arrived at school and at Tolcarne, and as most of them have been in NZ for at least a week prior to the start of school, they are at minimal risk of infection, however we will continue to monitor their health. We have no students from the Wuhan region.
The school and Tolcarne will be vigilant with hygiene instruction as well as providing masks as required, and hand sanitiser. They are all the necessary equipment to isolate infection. Frequent hand washing and practising cough etiquette will be encouraged.
Recognising that coronavirus is now a global issue, if you or your family members have been travelling in Asia or currently infected areas over the holidays, or have been in contact with international visitors, we trust you are monitoring your family’s health and following the Ministry of Health guidelines.
As stated we have in place precautionary measures, and are advised that the risk of infection is still very low. We will continue to monitor the health of any students currently considered to be low risk. The Ministry of Health has advised that there is no specific action to be taken at this time. Should the situation change, we will follow our pandemic plan for managing illness as we do with other infectious diseases such as measles, mumps, and influenza.
For those of you concerned about possible infection, the Ministry of Health has provided practical information on their website which we encourage you to read –
NoNovel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) guidance – Ministry of Health website:
included in there is some advice to help reduce the general risk of infection:
– avoiding very close contact with people showing symptoms
– frequently washing hands
– practicing cough etiquette (maintain distance, cover coughs and sneezes with disposable tissues or clothing, and wash hands).
the Ministry of Health will continue to update that content, as further information becomes available