Welcome back to Term 3! How crazy is it to think that we are already past the half way mark for the year... We are all excited for an action packed term, full of sporting tournaments, social events, activities and our favourite ski trip! The senior students also start preparing for their benchmark exams, so remember to make the most out of our in house tutorials! We hope you're all rested and ready for the term, we certainly enjoyed seeing all of the smiling faces back this week 😍

On Sunday night we held our Year 10 family dinner. This went very well, providing a chance for families to spend time together and catch up over a meal. It was certainly a full and very chatty dining room!

We were back into our after school activities, with Olympic themed baking on Tuesday. After baking cupcakes we were able to decorate them to theme. There were a range of creations, from the Olympic Rings, different countries flags and even a horse made from chocolate! Next week we are looking forward to heading to the Tūhura Science Centre at the Otago Museum (also excited to feel the heat from the Tropical Forest!).

Honor creating 'Olympic Rings' from white chocolate — Image by: Isla Huffadine

Koru this week started with the Year 10s. We had a focus on the concept of deeper listening, reflecting on whether we do this well or if it something we could work on. In pairs the girls were asked to find out what their partner would take in their 'care package' - for if they were leaving home and could only gather 10 items. These could be material goods, but also people, animals, food etc. Once each student had told their partner what they would take and why, we shared this with the group, also guessing what their number 1 item would have been. Everyone was engaged and had clearly taken the time to understand why each item was important. Robyn and I decided we would have to take our families, craft supplies and of course the pet cat!

The Year 9 group looked at courage and what this involved. It seemed very easy to talk about, but when Robyn decided we were all going to sing, finding the inner courage was a little more difficult. One by one the girls got up and performed part of a song. Although we all decided there were no up and coming singers in the group, everyone found the courage to sing - no matter the pitch 😉 From 2021 pop hits to our favourite childhood tunes and Chapel songs, we heard it all! Finding that inner courage when put on the spot is not easy, so we were very impressed with girls and how they participated in this activity.

It was a busy evening on Thursday, with the annual St Hilda's Open Night. Everyone headed back down to school, meeting lots of new faces who may be joining in 2022. After catching the bus back to Tolcarne, the girls were very excited to be met with hot savories, soup and other treats - along with the welcomed late start this morning!

Next week we are looking forward to heading along to the St Hilda's production 'Footloose'. This is going to be a great night out and we can't wait to the see final product after all the hard work our students have put in. Limited tickets are still available, make sure you purchase these from the Student Office before they sell out!

Looking ahead to Week 3 we have New Zealand National Boarding Week. This is a chance to recognise and celebrate boarding schools throughout the country. At Tolcarne we will be taking part in a variety of activities; from 'guess the staff baby photo' competition, a Grandparents High Tea and a St Hilda's staff lunch/tours. We are very excited for these events, so keep an eye out on our social media channels for more information!

With netball and other weekend sports back on for the term, we hope your games go well. Have a great weekend everyone - see you all on Sunday!

Chapel Matters