by Isla Huffadine

Tolcarne News

It is beginning to feel like the end of year at Tolcarne, with the hostel starting to look slightly empty and certainly quieter! The Year 10 students were away on camp this week, which we are looking forward to hearing about. It sounds like they have had a blast, although i'm sure there will be some tired girls once they return tonight!!

On Saturday morning Paxton headed down to the Dunedin Hospital to donate some special gifts she had been working on. Throughout flexi prep this year, Robyn has been teaching the girls to knit beanies - something which Paxton got the hang of pretty quickly! After learning the process, she has continued to knit in her own time and decided to donate wee baby hats to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at the Dunedin Hospital. This was such a thoughtful gesture and the hats were greatly appreciated!

She is in the process of creating even more hats that will be available for purchase! Make sure to check out 'Little Miss Mae' on instagram for more information. Well done Paxton 🥰

Image by: Isla Huffadine
Image by: Isla Huffadine

The weekend activity on Saturday was surfing, which was a hit across many of the year groups! The sun was out and everyone was right into it. Take a look below to see some photos from the activity 

Image by: Isla Huffadine
Image by: Isla Huffadine
Image by: Isla Huffadine

It has been great to see the sun this week, and thanks to Steve the pool was also up and running! I think this may have been a highlight for everyone, being able to take a dip after a hot walk up the bush track from school. On Tuesday for our after school activity we held a pool party - the pool area was packed! It was great to see the Year 9, 11 and 12 students all hanging out together, enjoying the sun, swimming and of course party snacks! We are looking forward to getting more use out of this great facility in the upcoming weeks 

Image by: Isla Huffadine
Image by: Isla Huffadine
Image by: Isla Huffadine

This afternoon we are heading off to Waihola for the annual Year 9 camp. Robyn, Mrs Rathbone and I are very excited to take the students for a night away, getting to experience a range of activities and challenges with one another. We are also finishing our wellbeing unit (Koru) for the year. So it will be a lovely chance to reflect on everything we've done together. We will be sharing photos of the camp across our social media pages - so keep an eye out for what we are getting up to!

We hope everyone has a wonderful weekend and feels recharged for Week 5! There is not long now until the Year 11 students finish for the year and our junior activities begin. Please remember to complete your/your daughters wellness declaration form before she returns to the hostel after any weekend or overnight leave. Thank you for your continued cooperation with our Covid-19 procedures. 

To finish, I wanted to share this lovely poem Ross wrote for the Year 13 group. They each received a copy of this at their Christmas and Leavers' Dinner, but it is too good not to share with our wider community. Enjoy reading his piece below 

Image by: Isla Huffadine