Meet the Prefects
My 13 years of school have been, to say the least, a little crazy. Let me take you back to the very beginning. In 2009 I began my first year of primary school at little East Taieri Primary, here I spent most of my time dancing, doing cartwheels, and painting a lot of very ‘creative’ pictures. My world was tiny and carefree. But in Year 4 my parents through a spanner in the works and made the decision to move to Melbourne, Australia. This began my life of repetitive change and was a challenge for everyone in my family. Straying away from little old Mosgiel, a town of 15,000 to Melbourne, a city of 5 million, was a large culture shock. Here is where I first fought the challenges of change. I finished my last few years of primary at a Hampton Primary and then went on to attend St Leonard's College for one year. Then again Mum and Dad shocked us with the statement ‘we are moving back to New Zealand’, and once again we packed up life as we knew it and moved on.
Coming back to Dunedin I hoped to attend St Hilda's as many of my relatives are old girls. At first, I didn’t know what to expect, I had old friends from New Zealand but I had missed out on 4 years of knowing them. We had all grown up and we all had to start fresh. I will be honest and say that coming back to Dunedin and starting at St Hilda's, a small girl's school of 450 was hard. Previously I attended schools with over 1,000 people, both girls and boys. I was a lost 14 year old girl in my own little world. Paving your way through high school and discovering who you are as an individual is not an easy challenge for anyone, but St Hilda’s holds such a tight community that supports you to make this daunting task easier.
The lifelong friendships that St Hilda’s has provided me with will be one of the things I cherish most about the school. People come from all walks of life but we all blend into one whanau. We have the borders, some fresh from the farms and others from little towns all around the lower South. We have day student’s scattered from around the city, and international students from all over the globe, but each and every person is unique in their own way and comes together to build a dynamic sisterhood.
As well as friendships, St Hilda’s has given me multiple opportunities to strive in all areas of life.
I grew my love for sports by participating in Netball, Aerobics, and Rowing. Rowing in particular grabbed my attention. Although I have never won a medal in the sport, I am forever grateful for the squad that took me under their wing. The early morning sunrises and the beauty of Lake Ruataniwha, helped reinforce my love for the environment. Rowing is one of my favorite things St Hilda’s has provided me with and I am thankful for the opportunity and all it has taught me. I also pursued my passion for Women’s rights, the environment, and our school community by joining a range of clubs. Being a part of these clubs has opened my mind to new ways of thinking and making change.
This year's prefect team aims to find happiness in the little things. Life is not always simple but what we can do is take a look around, take in our surroundings and see that life isn’t all that bad. As the first term draws to a close, I am proud to say that the team has conquered this task and I am sure we will continue to find ways to bring enjoyment in every student's life.
As a St Hilda’s student, I’ve had the freedom to take risks, make mistakes and begin to find out who I want to be. It hasn’t always been smooth sailing, but attending St Hilda’s has taught me patience, that good things will come in time and life is about enduring the rollercoaster not skipping out on it.
As next year looms closer, the thought of what to do next is on the top of everyone's mind. My life has been full of change and challenges and next year is another round of exactly that. Whilst I have somewhat of an idea of what I intend to do, I have learnt while at St Hilda’s, that as long as I participate in what I enjoy, life will pave its way for me. For now, I shall live in the moment surrounded by a school community that has supported me for over four years and continue to make memories I will cherish forever.