Jess Tyrrell and Elizabeth Purvis

Jessica Tyrrell

Jessica Tyrrell is a remarkable young woman who has excelled in academic and sporting arenas. As one of our Academic Prefects this year she is a fabulous role model who always displays maturity. She is conscientious, totally focused, and displays extraordinary time management skills. Jessica upholds our school values of Respect, Positivity and Integrity at all times.

Jessica loves learning and this is reflected in her academic achievements. She obtained Levels 1 and 2 NCEA with Excellence, and in 2020 as a Year 12 student she gained a Scholarship in Chemistry. She has obtained Scholar Blues in 2019 and 2020 and last year she obtained a School Board Academic Scholarship. She also received a Year 12 prize for Academic Excellence. This year she has taken on a substantial academic load and is taking six subjects at Scholarship Level. In 2020 she was selected for the New Zealand Chemistry Olympiad (NZCHO) and following on from this she was selected as one of 30 in New Zealand to attend the NZCHO Training Camp. Jessica is always willing to assist others academically and organised Peer Tutoring for her peers.

Not only is Jessica extremely talented academically but she also excels at netball. She is in her third year in our Senior A Netball team and is co-captain of the team. She received Netball Blues in 2020 and 2021. Over the years she has been selected for the Dunedin Under 17 Netball team (2019), the Netball South Level 3/Under 18 Steel Steps Accelerator Programme (2020), the Netball National Secondary School Development Camp (2021) and is currently Captain of the Dunedin Under 18 Netball team. Last year she received the OGHS Paterson Trophy for the Most Valuable Senior Netball Player.

Jessica is a talented all-rounder and we look forward to seeing her excel in academia and sport.

Achievements
Academic Prefect 2021
Levels 1 and 2 NCEA with Excellence
Scholarship Chemistry in Year 12, 2020
Year 12 OGHS BOT Academic Scholarship Academic, 2020
Sitting six Scholarship subject 2021
Scholar Blues 2020, 2021
Dalrymple New Zealand Blue (New Zealand Chemistry Olympiad) 2020.
Selected in the NZ Chemistry Olympiad (NZCHO) Training Group in 2020, and then following on from this was selected as one of 30 in the country to attend the NZCHO Training Camp.
Year 12 Academic Excellence Prize 2020
Organising Peer Tutoring 2020
Selected for Talent ID Netball squad at Otago/Southland tournament 2020
Senior A Netball team 2019-2021, Co-captain 2021
Netball Blues 2020, 2021
Dunedin U17 Netball representative 2019
Received Paterson trophy for Most Valuable Senior Netball Player 2020
Identified as a ‘talented player’ at the Otago-Southland Secondary Schools Netball tournament 2020
Selected for Netball South Level 3/Under 18 Steel Steps Accelerator programme 2020
Selected for Netball National Secondary School Development Camp 2021
2021 Captain of Dunedin U18 rep Netball team
2021 Selected into Otago Academy of Sport this year for Netball

Elizabeth Purvis

Elizabeth Purvis is a talented vocalist and performer who is a star on the stage and has provided many memorable performances during her time at Otago Girls’ High School. She also works at an Excellence level in her academic pursuits and gained NCEA Levels 1 and 2 with Excellence and was awarded Scholar Blues in 2020 and 2021. Elizabeth is a natural leader and in Year 12 she was awarded the Learmonth White Dalrymple Prize for Leadership. She is a role model and exhibits our school values at all times.

This year Elizabeth was appointed Arts Prefect reflecting her wide-ranging achievements in the Arts field. She has been a member of our school choir and our combined OGHS/OBHS Choir for five years. She received Choir Blues in 2019 and 2020. Last year she was named as a member of the New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Choir for a two-year period and received a Marchant New Zealand Blue for this achievement. This year she is the school’s Choir Coordinator. Elizabeth has also been a key member of the School Production teams in her five years at Otago Girls’. Initially in the Junior Production, she has had lead roles in the last two Senior productions - as Tracy Turnblad in Hairspray in 2019 and as Lenora in Cry Baby in 2021. She is also the Senior Production Coordinator and received a Blue for Production in 2019. Elizabeth is also the co-leader of the Otago Girls’ High School Arts Council. In the last three years Elizabeth has also won a range of prizes in the local Junior Vocal Competitions and has also been awarded various Arts prizes/scholarships during her time at Otago Girls’ High School.

Elizabeth is a most talented performer and we are privileged to have had her perform at school events on many occasions. Elizabeth even performed solo in the staffroom post COVID-19 lockdown, singing an inspired cabaret version of New York New York for a staff member who was supposed to be spending her 50th birthday in New York - saying that she was grateful for having a performance opportunity after the disappointment of so many cancelled events in 2020. A highlight for the school will be having Elizabeth perform at the school’s 150th Jubilee at Labour Weekend. We know Elizabeth will go far and look forward to seeing where her talents in the Arts take her.

Achievements
NCEA Levels 1 and 2 with Excellence
Arts Prefect 2021
Scholar Blue 2020, 2021
Choir Blue 2019, 2020
Production Blue 2019
OGHS BOT Scholarship Cultural Year 12, 2020
New Zealand Secondary Schools’ Choir 2021
Otago Girls’ Choir (5 Years)
Combined Choir (5 Years)
Choir Co-ordinator
Senior Production Co-ordinator
Marchant New Zealand Blue 2020
Four years in Senior Production – lead role in last two productions
Co-Leader OGHS Arts Council
Senior Production Co-ordinator
Year 12 Learmonth Whyte Dalrymple Prize for Leadership 2020

The information above is what the school submitted to the Otago Daily Times. What was printed in the ODT supplement differs from this.