On Thursday the 11th March, our Year 3-6 students enjoyed a performance of Peter and the Wolf by Prokofiev performed by the New Zealand Symphony Orchestra.

Junior School visit the NZSO
This performance was held in the Christchurch Town Hall and students were introduced to many orchestral instruments and the elements of music.
Chris Lam Sam was the narrator for the show and had the students in the palm of his hand giving them some warm-up activities such as rhythm and clapping exercises to get them ready for the story. He explained the different elements in music and introduced the students to the conductor and some of the players in the orchestra. It was an enjoyable and educational experience! Thank you to the Junior teachers for their support and supervision.

Speech and drama success
Congratulations to Georgia Lassen, Lara Chiswell and Lucy Johnston who have all been awarded Distinction in their Speech New Zealand Associate Diploma Exams. Congratulations too to Ha Nghiem who achieved Distinction in the Oral Communication in English for Speakers of Other Languages exams. Girls this is a fabulous achievement and we are all very proud of your achievements

Debating Success
Last weekend we had three teams participate in the Canterbury Regional Debating Tournament, a fairly gruelling two-day event consisting of six consecutive debates.

Our Year 13 team broke through to the semi-finals, beating Christ's College to enter the finals against STAC. We lost the finals by a 2-1 adjudication, placing second in the tournament. Very well done to Alexandra Lehmann, Yani Rutherford and Phoebe Jennings for their team success.

Congratulations are also in order to several girls for individual achievements: Sara Gillman (Y12) was awarded Most Promising Speaker of the tournament, and Sara Gillman and Phoebe Jennings have both been selected for the 2021 Canterbury squad to compete at Nationals later this year.

Emily Harris and Claudia Hundleby (Y11) have both been selected for the Canterbury Development Squad.

Can you sing well, or play an instrument well??
The opportunity is here for the best singers and musicians in Canterbury Primary and Intermediate Schools to perform publicly at the highest level.

Singers and instrumentalists in Year 5 - 8 can now apply to audition for a place in one of the Representative Groups of the Christchurch Schools' Music Festival - the equivalent of a place in a Canterbury representative sports team.

Make sure your school's best singers and instrumentalists grasp this annual opportunity to perform in the Town Hall in front of sell-out audiences over four nights in November.

https://www.facebook.com/CSMFA/posts/10164979721025187

To compete or not to compete… that is the question
This Sunday two groups from St Margaret's College will be performing at the regional University of Otago Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Festival. Alexandra Lehmann and Georgia Lassen have directed a 15-minute version of Much Ado About Nothing celebrating the bonds of female affection and exposing the destructive forces of toxic masculinity. They are supported by a bevvy of talented actors and musicians.

Ruby Gilligan has directed a 5-minute version of Macbeth and will be performing alongside two Christ's College boys. Ruby will be portraying Lady Macbeth in the chilling scene in which she forswears her gender.

The performances will take place at Christchurch Boys’ High School on Sunday 28th March and tickets cost $5. Doors open at 12:45pm for a 1pm start.

Things I know to be true
The Year 11 - 13 Drama Classes and IB Theatre Arts students attended the play ‘Things I Know to be True' at The Court Theatre on Monday evening. Written by Andrew Bovell and directed by Shane Bosher, ‘Things I Know to be True’ was an insightful piece of drama that was not only thought-provoking but also very relevant in our society today. ‘Things I Know to be True’ is a heartfelt play that examines the dynamics of family, love and how we understand the truth in the face of adversity. From my perspective, the essence of the play was in the script; the language used was not only quick and witty but also came from a place of genuine emotion. The cast provided comedic relief as well as bringing their characters to life, allowing the audience to fully interact and relate with them. Pairing the ingenuity of the creatives and the talent of the cast, it is no surprise that this show captured the attention of the whole audience, and received a standing ovation. With the addition of the forum at the conclusion of the show, it was a valuable learning experience for all our theatre students, and one I would absolutely recommend for future years. - Georgia Lassen

Twilight Concert
Tuesday 30 March will see the return of the annual Twilight Concert. This is an evening of fabulous performances from our talented girls. This year will feature debut performances from 4 bands as well as the first public performance of the wonderful Middle School Choir as well as the return of some old favourites. The concert will begin at 5pm in the Charles Luney Auditorium

Orchestral Extravaganza
On Wednesday 31 March the orchestras from St Margaret’s, Christ’s College and Rangi Ruru are joining together for an ‘Orchestra Extravaganza’ concert. This is the fifth year that we have run this successful event. Each school orchestra will present a bracket of music and there will be a combined concert band and string orchestra, the whole evening culminating in three combined orchestra items. The concert will be held at Christ’s College Hall, starting at 7.30pm. Gold coin admission with all proceeds going to Ronald McDonald House.

Please come along and support the girls!

Open Day
Open Day showcased our talented musicians with soloists, rock bands, the percussion ensemble, SMC Orchestra, Chamber Choir and A Capella groups all taking part. It was wonderful to see such fabulous performances from the girls - what a wonderful welcome you gave all of our visitors.

Open Day is one of our highlights here in Dance at SMC. It's our chance to get our Dance groups and Senior dance classes together to showcase our passion for Dance. This year was extra special with a record number of students strutting their stuff out in the quad. Once again we are reminded of how hard-working and talented our students are.