Meet the Prefects

Tēnā koutou katoa,

Ko Aoraki tōku maunga

Ko Taitarakihi tōku awa

Ko Philip Laing tōku waka

Ko Ngāi Tahu tōku iwi

Ko Kāi Tahu tōku hapū

Nō Ti Maru ahau

Kei Ōtepoti tōku kainga ināianei

Ko Cooper tōku whānau

Ko Mark tōku matua

Ko Deirdre tōku whāea

Ko Summer tōku ingoa

Nō reira, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā tātou katoa

My education journey started 13 years ago at my little house in Morgans Road, Timaru. My Mum was my teacher and my two older siblings were my classmates, that's right… I started school at home! With the recent covid-19 experience you all know what that is like.

Starting in the morning I would wake up to my siblings doing their piano practice, I would then come downstairs for breakfast while my younger brother would get ready for preschool. After breakfast, I would dutifully begin my piano practice and then begin learning some more academically inspired subjects, right there sitting at the table in the living room. Not long after these fond memories, I recall the big move to Dunedin, the excitement I felt for something new, all the new people I would get to meet and all the new opportunities I would get to have. I remember feeling a sense of loss and nostalgia about leaving this old life behind yet I was excited to start going to school for the first time in my life at Anderson’s Bay Primary School. 

In my first year at St Hilda’s my older sister was in her final years and I looked forward to joining her very soon! I was Year 7 and she was a Year 13, everything was so exciting, blue was my favourite colour and putting on a uniform almost entirely made up of blue, was more than I could put into words. And then getting my first device?!?! my good old iPad mini, well this kind of stuff was whatever came after amazing and utterly exciting. It was the year 2016 when I began as a year 7 at St Hilda’s, my blazer a bit long in the sleeves and my kilt almost tripping me on the stairs, I was ready for this new adventure, and my journey towards where I am now began.

This sense of excitement for the future and a sense of loss for what has passed has remained, yet I feel different about these things now. I have learnt to cherish all the memories I gather at each stage of my life journey, the memories in Timaru, primary school and in my younger years here at St Hilda’s. I have been so fortunate to experience such great opportunities and privileges. I have grown so much through these new experiences, friends and years of learning through study, each one making my journey a memorable one.

I have become involved in so many groups and initiatives throughout the years, whether it be sports, cultural or academic. Things such as football, futsal, volleyball, netball, basketball, adventure racing and aerobics. Along with other activities catering to my more musical side, choir, orchestra, production and Kapa Haka. 

Many who know me know how important my Christian faith is to me and through the years I have gained a strong sense of purpose and courage, from having such a deep faith set into my life. My expression of faith has seen me involved in the Chapel Committee since arriving at school in Year 7, it also prompted me to set up the Christian group called ‘Overflow’ with a few other friends here at St Hilda’s. I have loved forming such strong relationships with the girls who come and am so fortunate at St Hilda’s to be able to express this part of my life so freely and be allowed this opportunity to give back to my community in this way.

Highlights I have had over the years are so hard to list, as there have been so many! Making it to nationals for choir and going to Wellington when I was Year 9 was a massive highlight that I will cherish forever. Being able to hear such phenomenal choirs on stage and to be on stage ourselves and being awarded is such an unimaginable privilege. Being part of the Māori community here at St Hilda’s, I have felt supported and included in all the things that we have been invited to be a part of. Such highlights that immediately come to mind are going to see the Ngā Manu Kōrero speeches in Invercargill and going to Auckland for the Māori BEAMS trip. This was a trip where we spent a few days visiting the Auckland University and looking at the different things that could await students such as myself there, this was a definite highlight. In Year 10 I was awarded the Mana Pounamu Leadership Award, this was a great honour and reflecting on this makes me so proud to have been able to represent the school in such a way.

Academically I have always felt a sense of pressure with such a high precedent set by my older two siblings, my former ‘classmates’ if you will. However, here at St Hilda’s with such strong support for the growth of character and academic ability, I have been able to realise my potential in these areas and that through hard work, passion and dedication you can achieve anything.

At the end of 2021, I found myself at my desk in my room studying for NCEA exams, my phone started ringing and Mrs Barron announced that I had been confirmed as a prefect for 2022! It was not my brightest moment as my phone glitched out many times during the call, yet I was extremely excited for the news. At this point I still didn’t know what area of leadership I would have.

At prizegiving, it was then announced that I would be the ‘Māori and Pasifika Prefect for 2022’. This was such amazing news and I couldn’t believe what an extremely awesome opportunity I had been given, to work in an incredible team of young leaders in my last year at St Hilda's. 

I have shared with you some of the stages of my academic and schooling journey that I will forever cherish, now I will attempt to answer what could await me at the end of this journey at St Hilda's. I have a strong family network here in Otago so it is my preference at this moment to remain here and perhaps study Neuroscience and Psychology at the University, though this is subject to change! We all know what can happen in a year. 

As for right now, I am focusing on getting through those good ol’ internals and spending these last months of high school creating memories and providing support and encouragement where I can. We are all different, but look for common ground and try to grab every opportunity that comes before you. That is one thing I’ve intentionally tried to do and consequently my time at St Hilda’s has been full of exciting and rich memories and opportunities. I look forward to 2022 being more of the same!

“From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked.” Luke 12:48

Ngā mihi nui e te whānau!