The Board of Governors and Board of Trustees have been busy supporting the College this past year, with Covid being a challenging constant. Earlier this week, we sat down together to reflect on the last 12 months.

Despite all the uncertainty, it was evident the entire college and wider community have maintained the momentum of ‘Our Story’ that began with the tenure of Mrs Duthie nearly three years ago.

After being forced to cancel a number of our ‘normal’ events this year, the College has still had stunning outcomes worth celebrating:

• The artificial turf was completed and is now embedded into daily life.
• The new Boarding Village Stage One is underway and running to schedule.
• A fabulous gala dinner fundraiser was held supporting the purchase of Sports Equipment and a forthcoming Virtual Cloud Suite for the College.
• The Parents' Association held a wonderfully successful garage sale and raffle.
• The College delivered the fantastic ‘High School Musical’ to our community, pivoting at short notice to provide an online edition after audiences were limited.
• Teaching staff and management were superstars, seamlessly delivering online teaching during lockdowns and beyond, keeping wellness and the health of everyone as a priority.
• The International Department is of special note, supporting the 26 girls who chose to stay on, despite it being another year where they are unable to return home to see their families.
• 25 staff across the entire college received Professional Development, bringing new knowledge to share and implement into their professional practices.
• Our student achievement levels remain extraordinary across all year groups, culminating with $425,000 of scholarships being awarded to our Year 13 leavers.

And yet, it’s been a tough year on everybody!

Recently, we had a lovely staff member tell us that he had worked in four different prestigious schools in NZ, and that the students at Columba are by far the nicest, most respectful, polite and well-mannered he has encountered, making it a terrific place to work.

It’s easy to forget in the current climate and lose perspective of how special our College is.

As Board Chairs, we are privileged to be in the engine room. Here we witness the wonderful, generous and largely unacknowledged network of people who quietly contribute to ensure Columba College is a supportive and quality educational experience.

We are grateful to our entire community. The College is in great heart. Together, on behalf of the BoG and BoT, we wish everyone a relaxing, safe holiday break and we look forward to the continuation of ‘Our Story’ in 2022.

Thank you,

Dr Doug Hill – Board of Governors Chair

Mrs Julia Scott – Board of Trustee Chair