On the very last day of Term One Otago Girls' High School proudly held the official opening of Te Toi Aweawe, The Cartwright Arts Centre .

The name, Te Toi Aweawe, is the result of consultation with our local runanga and refers to the whakatauki embed on our plaque, “Te toi whakairo, ka ihiihi, ka wehiwehi, ka aweawe te ao katoa. Artistic excellence makes the world sit up in wonder.” The facility is jointly named after one of our most famous ex-girls, Dame Silvia Cartwright. We were delighted that Dame Silvia was able to attend. The official opening duties were carried out by Dame Malvina Major, one of New Zealand’s most accomplished and well known opera singers. Both women are outstanding role models for our students and we were proud to have them in attendance. We would also like to acknowledge the guidance of our Maori community and representatives, in particular Paulette Tamati-Elliffe, Komene Cassidy and Kirsten Parkinson. Thanks must also go to Ms Linda Miller and Mrs Jane Smallfield for liaising, organising and securing the support of both Dame Silvia Cartwright and Dame Malvina Major.

The opening provided a platform for a number of talented performances including the combined Otago Boys' and Otago Girls’ Orchestra, Wairua Puhou, the Nautilus Singers, contemporary musicians Ella McCormack and Breanna Rowe-Clarkson, Maia Alderson-Muir and Mia Te Tana as well classically trained singer Sarah Hubbard accompanied by Lucy Pollock. The ceremony also included the singing of the Chambered Nautilus, which was especially appreciated by our ex-girls before an appropriate closing waiata and haka from Wairua Puhou.

Our newest facility, Te Toi Aweawe, includes a purpose built extension and refurbishment of the old music suite and a new access tower which provides covered and disabled access to all areas of the Visual and Performing Arts Department as well as our Siedeberg Block. The new and improved Music Suite now has two classroom spaces, six purpose built rehearsal spaces of various sizes, an Apple Mac computer lab, including iPads, prevision for a digital recording studio, this all set within the environment of a modern learning space where we believe students will be inspired to learn, perform, collaborate and record their creations to professional quality, both on site and beyond school.

Finally, it has been an absolute privilege to have been involved in a process where my vision and design ideas for the Music Suite have materialised. This of course was only made possible through the vision, leadership and trust of Principal, Ms Linda Miller, the backing and support of the Board Of Trustees and the innovative design concepts provided by our architects, Baker Garden Architects Ltd. The future of Music education at Otago Girls' and the creative possibilities within other curriculum areas has now been given a new lease of life where the essence of our whakatauki can be fulfilled - “Te toi whakairo, ka ihiihi, ka wehiwehi, ka aweawe te ao katoa. Artistic excellence makes the world sit up in wonder.”