SMC debaters have made a great start to the Canterbury Schools Council competition with Milly O’Brien and Aisha O’Malley selected for the national team, and our junior girls have enjoyed a fun show from NZ Playhouse, while arts co-curricular groups are up and running.

Debating Success
Well done to our senior debaters on an awesome start to the 2018 Canterbury Schools Debating Council Senior Inter-School Competition with a clean sweep of five wins in all five debates. It was great to see these articulate, thoughtful young women engaging in great topical debates around environmental issues. The early round was about whether we should aggressively wind down NZ's dairy industry to protect the environment. The late round was about whether we should hold CEOs of companies personally accountable for major environmental disasters. 

At the Regionals later in the week, four out of five of our teams won their first round, with a tough second round resulting in a win for our Year 13 girls who also won their third and fourth round, so debated in the semi-finals, but went down to Cashmere, who went on to take out the tournament altogether. 

Year 13’s Milly O’Brien, our Head of Debating, was selected for the Canterbury Regional Team for the second year in a row, joining students from Christ’s College and StAC, with Aisha O’Malley, SMC Deputy Head of Debating, selected as reserve.
SMC Y13s 1:  Aisha O'Malley, Milly O'Brien, Ruby Anderson
SMC Y12s 1:  Sarah Cosgrove, Sujean In, Lydia Munro
SMC Y12s 2:  Maddy Kerr, Grace Flint, Emma Taylor
SMC Y11s 1:  Lucy Jessep, Hattie Compton-Moen, Zelle Logan, Grace McMahon
SMC Y11s 2:  Sophie Benson, Elizabeth Cross, Amelia Parker  

NZ Playhouse: Red Riding Robyn Hood
Our Junior School girls enjoyed this year’s touring show from the NZ Playhouse team, Red Riding Robyn Hood where familiar fairy-tale characters worked together to combat an egotistical king and the day was saved by a courageous Red Riding-meets-Robyn Hood. There were lots of laughs and some interesting gender role challenges meaning our Year 1-6 girls walked away smiling and thinking!

Arts Photos
Arts photos have been rescheduled for Term 3.

Co-Curricular Arts Groups
Around 40 different arts groups are now up and running, with rehearsals and sessions held before and after school, at lunchtimes and at breaks. The definitive timetable, once updated, will be posted on the Arts Noticeboard outside the Ngaio Marsh Theatre and on the school website.

Middle School Drama Clubs
Our Middle School Drama Groups are up and running now! Year 9 and 10 Drama Group meets Tuesday mornings 7.50am-8.20am and Year 7 and 8 Drama Group Wednesday mornings 7.50am-8.20am in WN207, our Ngaio Marsh Theatre or “black box”. All girls are welcome and it’s not too late to join! The aim of the groups is to have some fun, meet some new people and build confidence. We will play all of your favourite Drama games. Pictured are our Year 7 and 8 girls with their senior leaders Cara Donaldson and Aspen Berry.

Cushion Cabaret #1
Sign-up sheets for this year’s first Cushion Cabaret, to be celebrated in the Ngaio Marsh Theatre on 26 March at 6pm are now full. These events, inaugurated last year, and organised by our student Arts Council, are informal gatherings where friends and family gather to be entertained by our performers. The intimate, relaxed atmosphere encourages soloists and small groups to showcase their talent in a supportive environment.

SMC Visual Art Competition
Our student Visual Arts leaders have organised a school-wide art competition to showcase the talent in the visual arts at St Margaret’s. Entries will be exhibited during Arts Week, the last week of term, in the Old Girls’ Atrium, and judged by Visual Art staff. Accepted media includes paint, pencil/coloured pencil, print, digital art, sculpture, collage and animation and there are three categories: Junior, Middle and Senior School. The theme is “Other Worlds” (your interpretation) and the deadline for entries is April 5th.

Twilight Concert
Our annual Term 1 performing arts showcase will take place in the Charles Luney Auditorium Thursday 5 April at 7pm. This event is a great opportunity for our Dance, Music and Drama groups to show their wares and to bring our community together. Everyone is welcome for the price of a gold coin, the proceeds of which will go towards one of the charities we support. We encourage you all to come and join us to support the girls and to enjoy a great evening’s entertainment for all the family.