In 2018, it was decided to try a new format for two of the most well-received and popular inter-House events, by combining Arts Day with the house music solo and groups events and on Friday 3 August that is what happened.

The following reports by the Arts Portfolio prefects sum up the fun had by all:

St Paul’s has an extremely unique culture of celebrating every aspect of a child’s life. This August, arts-inclined students had the opportunity to showcase their creative talents at our annual Arts Day. Comprised of a music video, wearable arts, slam poetry, painting, pencil drawing, photography, string art and chalk art categories, the seven houses presented their most artistically talented students to showcase their creative genius. While many categories were close, the winners for each are as follows:

Short Film: Clark and Fitchett

Wearable Arts: Williams and Fitchett

Slam Poetry: Fitchett

Painting: Williams

Pencil Drawing: Sargood

Photography: Clark

String Art: Hamilton

Chalk Art: Hamilton

As you can see, all of the Houses succeeded in different elements. Every entry was unique in its own right, and the students this year certainly outdid themselves with their originality. However, the overall house placings were:

1st - Hamilton

2nd - Fitchett

3rd - Williams

4th - Clark

5th = Sargood and Hall

7th - School

A very special thank you to Mrs Saunders and Mrs Coates who spent numerous hours organising the day. All the students who participated and supported their peers should be immensely proud of the results.

Also on Arts Day was an event that allowed other creatively inclined students to showcase their talents: House Group and Solo Music Competition. For weeks, students had practised to perfection in anticipation for the event. That Friday morning, the House Solo musicians (who were elected by their House) performed, with the repertoire ranging from classical to musical theatre, to contemporary, and instruments that included voice, piano and violin. It was extremely impressive to see how vastly talented our school is. Due to the wide range of skills on show, the adjudicators (Maria Colvin and Corinne Schuitemaker) had their work cut out for them. In the end, the top three placings were Macy Coffin (Hall), and second - with only a point between - was Victoria Chanwai (Hamilton) and first place was Anna Hamilton (Clark).

High on adrenaline, the school came to support their peers in the highly anticipated House Group Music Competition. Presenting numbers from all eras - jazz, classical, hip hop, pop and country - meant that the school was thoroughly entertained as their House band each presented a “mash-up” of three songs. Yet again, the top three placings were extremely close with Hall (Dillon Mulgrew, Dallas Taikato, Charlie Downey, and Michael Brandt) in third; Clark (Veronica Bagley, Bobby Chungsuvanich, Net Boonwipas, Harry Forte and Anna Hamilton) placing second; and Williams (Ariana Halley, Cameron Coull, Mark McCluskey, Christian Collingwood, Hamish McKinley and Jack Walters) taking out first place.

Despite the placings, every house gave it their all and the standard this year - from every house - exceeded all previous year’s competitions. A special thank you to Mr Gilbert and Mr Carpenter for ensuring the day ran smoothly and assisting the students with their musical brilliance. It was an awesome day for everyone, and thank you to all the students who spent weeks preparing - they did their houses proud.