In our English classrooms this term, novels have been consumed and critiqued, films have been viewed and reviewed, creative juices have flowed and speeches have persuaded and informed.

In the senior years our Year 11s and 12s have been discussing key ideas and characters with each other in small Book Clubs, and Year 13s have become the teachers to one another, delivering mini seminars. Our junior classes have delved into various New Zealand novels, and experimented with visual and verbal language features.

Our keen writers have had a couple of great opportunities this term as well. In mid-June, three Year 7 students (Yolanda Liu, Sophie Wagner and Sophie Audeau) were selected to attend an afternoon junior writers’ workshop Capturing Tiny Tales, held at Port Chalmers School. The 30 students from across Dunedin schools thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to explore the creative writing process with talented and energetic writer, Heather McQuillan. The Writing Club also had their own opportunity to participate in a workshop with poet and founder and editor of Starling: Online Literary Journal, Louise Wallace. This was a unique experience for our students as she was able to help outline what makes an effective piece of writing, with the students paying close attention as Starling has an upcoming submission deadline.

There’s never a dull moment at school, and that is certainly the case for the Arts Department. Dancers, artists in residence, performances, artwork, drama. We've no shortage of drama, that's for certain. The list is full, and can seem hectic at times but is very much “situation normal” for anyone involved in the arts. Never a Dull Moment is our job, and should perhaps be our motto.

We count ourselves lucky that this year we are able to produce what seemed impossible twelve months ago. Be sure to read onwards to the Arts Liaisons’ reports for further detail on all the amazing mahi that has taken place.

The link between positive states of being and involvement in the arts is well documented, and one which we celebrate here at St Hilda’s. If you’ve ever found yourself turning a quick 15 minutes of your art inadvertently into an hour or two, chances are you have been in a meditative state described by psychologist Mihaly Csiksentmihalyi as “Flow”. Allowing yourself to "be in the moment” is a key part of artistic practice and we should embrace it.

As the challenge of meeting assessment deadlines looms closer on the horizon, however, maybe we have states of “ebb and flow”, and that in itself is a pattern to be acknowledged. It's important, though, to remember why we are in the arts: communicating, relating thoughts, ideas and feelings to others is key to our practice. Developing skills and techniques and exploring the wide range of media available is satisfying and, more importantly, fun. As we reach the half-way point in our year, the arts staff have one key message: Love your art; find your flow. When you are immersed in your art, and art-making drives the process, then everything else will fall into place.

Have a restful break - James Sutherland

Next term we welcome Helen Badcock as acting Acting Arts Coordinator while Lisa Parsons is away on maternity leave. See below for a message from Helen.

Hello, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. I am the new Art’s Coordinator while Lisa Parsons is on maternity leave. I am excited about this opportunity in supporting the Arts within St Hilda’s Collegiate School and the wider community.

I have an extensive background in the visual arts, growing up in a family surrounded by artists, completing post-graduate study at the Otago Polytechnic School of Art and later returning to teach drawing. I look forward to meeting you all and being a part of the amazing creative talent within the St Hilda’s community. Feel free to pop in and say ‘Hi” - Helen