It was a pleasure to reconnect last week with ākonga at St Margaret's College on the University of Otago campus after some fantastic Year 12 NCEA results and a long summer.

This cohort is full of ideas and enthusiasm about what they can give back to the community. There is a genuine willingness to embrace leadership opportunities within the school. Ms Nichol welcomed everyone to the overnight camp on Monday. Our two new chaplains, Chaplain Park and Rev Barlow, led a time of reflection, with an emphasis on the special character of our school.

We had a variety of sessions on leadership, including an engaging hour full of laughter and light led by Zara (head prefect), Monet and Milla (deputy head prefects). The house prefects worked with their teams to develop a new house chant for Girton, Braemar, Iona and Solway. Ms Evans, Ms Togneri and Rev. Barlow felt Girton had won the competition...but two teachers were disqualified for bias, being Girton members themselves.

On Tuesday, we focused on life after school, with a very useful session on University of Otago Scholarships by Ben Rickerby. This was followed by a campus scavenger hunt which got students out of their usual friend groups and had them exploring everything that is on offer at the University and Polytechnic. Mrs Piebenga then ran a session on So They Can to encourage the form classes to look beyond their own lives and think of service to those in need in African communities. Watch out for some creative fundraisers in March!

A big thank you goes out to Ms Togneri, Rev. Barlow and Chaplain Park for working so hard with the Year 13s over the two days. What a lovely start to their final year at Columba College and what a positive group of young women.