Meet the Prefects
Beginning my St Hilda’s journey was quite a daunting experience for a wee 10-year-old! Moving into a huge school, or what felt like a huge school, coming from the small East Otago Primary in Waikouaiti. It wasn’t easy, but it was a stepping stone in my journey to becoming the St Hilda’s student I am today.
With a lot of my family coming through St Hilda’s I knew that I was destined to end up here one day, if not as a Day Girl in Year 7, it would be as a Boarder in Year 9. And I was fortunate enough to experience the best of both sides. I joined the St Hilda’s community in 2016 as a little 10-year-old day girl and will be finishing up my 7th year here as a confident, proud and hopefully much more mature 17-year-old boarder. I moved into the boarding house in 2018 after my parents realised that my afternoons would be better spent with opportunities provided at the hostel, than on the bus traveling home every day. I can safely say that this was their best decision!
A sheep and beef farm about ½ an hour north of Dunedin is where my real home is, but for the last 5 years my temporary home has been at Tolcarne, busying around the corridors or lurking in the dining room is where you were most likely to find me!
I have truly thrived at Tolcarne over the past 5 years, as I am someone who loves getting involved! From Tribe singing competitions on Monday evenings to social basketball games on Friday nights, I found a way to build connections at the hostel and this is something I truly value. As a spring chicken starting as a day girl and then a boarder, I really looked up to the older girls as role models, as I wanted to be just like them in the future. I am grateful for the systems in place such as buddies and whanau groups, which initiate interactions between year groups so we can continue to build the sisterhood of the school every day. I think that having real friendships outside of your own year group is something really special and something St Hilda’s promotes.
I always seem to have a busy schedule during the day and after school, taking part in a variety of extra-curricular activities. I have spent a lot of time throughout high school playing sports, but none of them took me any further than the 2nd XI and that's alright! I find the commitment and exercise aspect of playing sports more appealing than being better than everyone else, and I think that’s why I have enjoyed and continued to enjoy playing such a variety of sports. Hockey would have to be my favourite, but the others come close behind are netball, basketball, volleyball, tennis and badminton. Challenging yourself and pushing yourself outside your comfort zone is what will take you places, not watching everyone else do it before you - so I recommend getting involved amongst the action!
This year I have been lucky enough to be recognised as a student leader and role model for the school. I have thoroughly enjoyed all aspects of my role as Head Boarder so far. I am so lucky to be working with Kaylee Bond to achieve the goals we set at the beginning of the year! We have come so far and there have definitely been obstacles that we have had to overcome to get the results we wanted. Still, I have learnt so much about organisation, time management and collaboration, which are going to be very useful to take on with me next year. I have also learnt to speak up and that no idea is a bad one, as there is no harm in trying!
I actually can’t comprehend where time has gone, but even with the past 7 years zooming past, I know that I have learnt so much that I can take with me onto the next stepping stone in life. I find thinking about the future slightly overwhelming, and wouldn’t mind sticking around at school for another year while I sort my plans out... But I know wherever I go and whatever I do I will always have my connection to St Hilda’s with me. Thank you to all of the students and staff for helping and guiding me to where I am today!