Well, it’s been a while since I’ve written an article for the newsletter. While I’ve been gone all of our Otago Girls’ girls have been immersed in the wonderful culture of our school in one way or another. Term 3 began, and so did the busyness that this term brings.

Open night was on 2 August and it displayed all the wonderful aspects of our school. Most students attended either being guides - meeting the future students and their families while showing them around our school, or being a demonstrator in one of the many departments, engaging in fun activities with the prospective students. Open Night brings the school together as we all work as one to showcase our achievements and skills to the public.

At the start of the month we welcomed students from both Japan and China. We had girls from Yasuda in Japan stay with us for 15 days. During their stay they were hosted by girls here and many commented that they loved their hosting experience. We also had girls from Hong Kong, China visiting our school around the same time. These girls were apart of the a touring choir called the children’s YIP choir. They were performing all around the South Island of New Zealand and around Australia. Likewise they were hosted by girls here. My family and I hosted two of these lovely girls, Coral and Else. I love hosting students from oversea as I find it gives you a different perspective on many aspects of life. The small things that we take for granted others from around the world are amazed by. Something as simple as seeing the stars shine at night was like seeing an undiscovered magical creature to Coral and Else, who stood outside gazing in amazement. It’s special sharing your culture/ traditions with someone from another country, and equally special learning parts of their culture.

The annual school ski trip to Coronet Peak was another successful event with girls returning with massive smiles. The trip consisted of four days skiing up on the beautiful slopes of Coronet Peak and it gave students the chance to bond with others from all year levels that they may had never interacted with previously.

The Year 13 PE classes have returned from skiing, but unlike the school trip which is downhill they went cross country skiing at the snow farm in the Cardrona Valley. This is a part of their practical assessment and also contributed to their two written reports. The week was incredible and filled with many laughs. All girls not only learnt how to cross country ski brilliantly but learnt valuable lessons about themselves. You can achieve anything if you truly put your mind to it.

On top of all of these amazing extra-curricular activities students have still been focussed on their pile of school work. With parallel exams coming up in Week 7 (next week), senior students are revising through their work in preparation. I would like to wish all girls the best of luck for these practise exams, but also want to inform you to not stress too much about them. Try your hardest but remember it will be the end of the year when you will really shine.

Have a good weekend.

Over and out,

Eliza.