While being a student at Christchurch Girls' High School, House spirit and competition has been a massive part of my school life.

 It has been an awesome year for all of our school houses and I loved having the pleasure of leading Harper House in my final year.

2019 has been a very exciting, fun and successful year for Harper House. This year we were straight into the House events with Athletics Day in Term 1. Athletics has always been a strong event for Harper House and we kicked off the year with a bang. This year we competed hard and placed in the top three. It was exciting to see all the girls getting involved in a range of different events throughout the day, wearing their red clothing with pride. The next big House event was school cross country. It was great to see so many Harper girls giving it a go on the course, especially the senior girls who competed, even though it was not compulsory. This was another successful event for us Harper girls as we came out on top of the other Houses.

However, the biggest event of the year by far was Lip Sync. We had around 60 girls involved, who all practised tirelessly through lunchtimes and in the weekend, to produce our Iconic New Zealand themed item. I was extremely proud of our final product, and I had every confidence that we would be top contenders after doing well in previous years. The competition was very close and we were absolutely thrilled to take away third place. This was definitely the highlight of the year for us and it was so rewarding to see everyone out there enjoying themselves on the night. Throughout the year there were also many smaller in school House events, such as swimming sports and dodgeball where many girls chose to participate during their lunchtimes.

A massive thank you to Mrs Peawini. We are all so grateful for all the time you have dedicated to helping us through the year. We couldn’t have done it without you. I would also like to thank my House committee for all their hard work and effort in the House events this year. To my deputies Chloe Hagund and Jordy Williams, thanks heaps. You both were vital for all of our success. I would finally like to thank all of the Harper girls who participated in the House events this year and helped contribute to the successful year we have had as a House. I wish all the best to next year's House leader and all of Harper! GO HARPER!! 

Emma Hartnell