Kia ora koutou. Mrs Davidson is currently on a New Zealand Principal’s delegation to China and will be returning in early October. While she has been away, the school has been celebrating the end of Term Three in rich and diverse ways and we are looking forward to more excitement and joy in Term Four. The junior production team took to the stage this week as they presented Cellbound, a satire on the scourge of phone-addiction and the future of artificial intelligence. Cellbound showcased some rising stars of music, hip hop and dance as well as extremely strong dramatic performances. Our cultural world is certainly in good heart and we congratulate all our students who worked hard for weeks to get the show on stage. Thank you, also, to Mr Curtis and Mr Richards who made cameo appearances as Frankenstein’s monster. They brought much mirth and colour to our show.

Over the weekend, we hosted the Otago E-sports Brawl which has been running for the last three years. Thank you to Mr. Trickey and his team for all the enormous energy that went into it. We are thinking of our students of Spanish who are enjoying an amazing trip to Spain with Mr. Herrera. We are looking forward to hearing about their adventures when they return in Term Four. A little closer to home, this week our senior students have been out on camps that are part of their NCEA programmes. The Year 12 students of Physical Education were at Moke Lake while our Year 13 Geography students explored the environment of Queenstown. Getting out and about in the wonders of our country is something Otago Girls’ is very proud of and we are grateful for the opportunities. And opportunities abound next term for our junior students in Year 10. Their camp is an important rite of passage in our school and is a wonderful opportunity for students to immerse themselves in nature, switch off from everyday life, challenge themselves and make new friendships. Keep an eye out for gear sales and get organised early. Items bought now will last students into their adult life. Comfortable walking shoes are the key to a successful and fun time on camp. As with all of our camps, financial hardship is no barrier to participation and students or parents can contact Ms Bray or Mrs. Tarapi the counsellors, or their dean, Ms Holmes to arrange this.

We wish all our students and their families a safe and restful holiday.