At Avonside Girls' High School, learning enrichment happens in class and through co-curricular and extra-curricular activities in many departments. In the second half of this year, with Covid restrictions lifting, we were relieved to be able to once again go out of school and join students from other schools in learning enrichment activities. These events are particularly valuable because they allow our students to meet other students with similar interests and to spend time together working on challenging material.

The Model European Union is always popular with our students who are interested in international relations and civics. This year over a hundred students from all over New Zealand converged on the Engineering Department at the University of Canterbury for a series of lectures, including one from the EU Ambassador, Nina Obermeier, who talked about the relationship between the EU and New Zealand, outlined her path into diplomacy and took some very insightful questions from the students present. The main business of the event was the simulated European Council which allowed students to adopt the role of a Minister of an EU nation and represent the interests of their citizens regarding freedom of speech, a very topical theme. Students spoke in front of their peers from other schools, which was an excellent though somewhat daunting experience. The highlight, as always, was the pizza evening and EU quiz. Congratulations to Sunny Radzyner whose skill as a delegate has been recognised with a scholarship to take a first year European Union Studies paper at the University of Canterbury next year.

We were glad to welcome Julie Arliss back to Christchurch after three years away due to the difficulties of travelling from the United Kingdom during a pandemic. This year she presented senior and junior philosophy conferences over two days at St Andrew’s College. We were lucky enough to attend both. While most of the lectures were presented by Julie, Dr Andrew Pinsent from the University of Oxford presented a special lecture by Zoom in what was the middle of his night. He posed the question whether mathematics was discovery or invention, and during his talk covered topics as diverse as non-Euclidian Geometry and the story of the Snow Queen. During the conferences students were invited to think about a range of other ideas, including free will and quantum mechanics. In the junior conference, students took part in a community of learning with students from other schools, and in both conferences, they were able to express their views following the debate at the end of the day. These conferences always provide much food for thought.

Back on our own campus, we were excited to welcome the World Scholar’s Cup team, fresh from the Bangkok Global Round, to run our regional round in Christchurch. It was a small round this year as the programme is building back up in New Zealand as Covid restrictions lift. We enjoyed hosting teams from across Christchurch, as well as competing against them in this two day round. Friday saw teams debating, answering challenge questions and writing until after 9.30 pm. We were back again early the next morning for another busy day featuring the Scholar’s Bowl, which is a quirky team quiz bowl, a debate showcase, the untalent show, the very important alpaca adoption ceremony and the equally important award ceremony. Our teams had been preparing with the WSC curriculum for months and were pleased to finally put their skills and knowledge to the test. Congratulations to Eva O’Callaghan, Kayla O’Callaghan and Neve Overend who won the Collaborative Writing in the Senior Division. Congratulations too to Zoe Croot for being chosen for the debate showcase. And well done to all our Scholar’s Cup Club members for their enthusiasm and effort this year.

We are looking forward to more of our regular enrichment activities, such as the Canterbury Model United Nations, being available next year. We are also always on the lookout for new activities to try and new students who would like to join any of the things that we do.

- Francesca Hickey