Tena koutou katoa

This is the last Tatler editorial from me as I prepare to depart from the role I have held at Avonside Girls High School over the past twelve years.

As I reflect over those twelve years, it is fair to say that I certainly had no glimmer of understanding what the next twelve years were going to bring when I started in January 2010. Such things as earthquakes and a global pandemic were not part of my thinking!

Avonside Girls’ High School today is different in many ways to the school I entered at the start of my role. We have the gift, acquired through adversity, of the fabulous facilities of our new school on a new shared campus; we have a new uniform; we have new pastoral structures; we have new staff structures and roles; our curriculum has evolved.

Yet so much is the same.

We are still Avonside Girls’ High School, committed to providing a quality education to ensure each student leaves our school equipped with the knowledge and skills she needs to succeed in the world beyond school. We have quality staff who give so much to their students to support them through their Avonside years of learning and personal growth. Our Avonside values of respect, integrity, self-discipline and contribution remain pillars to guide student choice and decision-making.

We continue the work that has driven educators at Avonside Girls High School throughout its 94 year old history; to engage with our students in and beyond the classroom and provide them with rich opportunities to learn and to grow. What that looks like has changed over the years, as our gallery of photos of Avonside students over the year testifies. Past students regard with a degree of envy, the opportunities that our students of today are given; the breadth of the curriculum, and the wealth of extra-curricular activities in academic learning, sports and the arts. For example, just last week I watched spellbound at the talent of girls in our Climbing Club as they scaled the climbing wall, overcoming the challenges that were set out for them. How our students of just ten years ago, let alone 94 years ago, would have loved to have such an option!

I had the great privilege of joining the Avonside Old Girls who met recently for their anniversary lunch, to celebrate 75 years since starting in the third form at Avonside Girls’ High School. That group of 89 year-olds talked of their shared Avonside experiences, of what they had enjoyed, of their teachers and fellow students, and it was clear that those Avonside years provided a shared experience that bonded them, even 75 years after starting at secondary school.

It was a reminder of another inescapable aspect of educating our young people within our school. While our school is made up of diverse individuals, we are in essence a community of learners, and we work within that community to support connections with each other, seeking to grow young women who are strong and resilient, empathetic and compassionate, who support all in the community to thrive. I like to think of year groups of students getting together in the future to share their memories and enjoying the occasion, just as our special group of 89 year-olds did a few weeks ago.

It remains for me to say thank you, Avonside. I shall always treasure my role as the tenth principal of Avonside Girls’ High School, leading the school over these tumultuous and demanding years. Thank you to the Boards, PTAs, Old Girls Association, staff, parents and students over those twelve years. It has been a privilege to work with and serve you all.

Very best wishes

Ngā mihi nui

Sue Hume
Principal