Director of Development and St Hilda’s Old Girls’ Association

It has been wonderful to be able to have some events again after the past couple of Covid disrupted years. We have enjoyed reconnecting with the school community and our Old Girls at various events in 2022.

The 125th Anniversary Chapel Appeal was held in March and was a great success. Our target was $50,000, and we managed to raise $75,945, thanks to our generous supporters. This was our first online appeal and it was wonderful to see our Old Girls, current families and friends of the school helping us to reach our target. It was quite exciting watching the total increase on the website - the funds raised were contributed to the Chapel extension project, which will transform Chapel services and create an amazing space for all sorts of gatherings.

In October, we celebrated our Distinguished Alumni Award recipients at St Hilda's Day at St Paul's Cathedral. This was a wonderful service involving kapa haka, music, inspiring words, prayer, and a lovely sense of community. We were able to acknowledge our Distinguished Alumni Award recipients for both 2021 and 2022, and we were lucky that four of them were able to attend with their families and friends: Catherine Fitzgerald ONZM; Nicola Jackson (Frances Hodgkins Fellow); Honor McKellar QSM, and Louise Petherbridge QSO. Dr Norman Fitzgerald, a recipient from 2021, was unable to attend but was acknowledged at the service. A small celebration was held with the award recipients and their families at St Hilda's afterwards.

We enjoyed a wonderful St Hilda's Old Girls' Association event on Waiheke Island in November, hosted by Dr Andrea Shepperson at her amazing conference venue. We would like to thank Andrea, who attended St Hilda's in the 1970s, for her generosity, and also for her thoughtful words - she talked about how her education at St Hilda's sparked a lifelong curiosity for learning, and how the principals from her era encouraged the students to believe that girls could do anything. These ideas were echoed in Jackie Barron's presentation, encompassing all the attributes of the St Hilda's Graduate. It is lovely to have these connections between our alumni and the school - the Old Girls at the event were especially interested in hearing about the new uniform and the changes to the House names.

The year will finish off with the Leavers’ Service in December, where the newest group of Old Girls - the Class of 2022 - will be welcomed into the Association. We have some exciting events in the pipeline for 2023 - stay tuned for more information about these in the new year!

Amanda Burke - Director of Development and Old Girls’ Association President