Acting Principal's Message
What a whirlwind of a week it has been! We've all been working tirelessly, juggling multiple responsibilities and deadlines. We’ve had the school production of Moana, a music festival, NCEA literacy and numeracy tests, a boarding sleep-over for new students, and Melbourne Cup day events and prizegiving at Senior College.
Amidst all this hustle and bustle we must take a moment to look after ourselves. With half the term still to go, why not take a breather and recharge your batteries this weekend; whether it's enjoying a quiet moment with a good book, going for a walk in the hills, watching a movie, or simply taking time out for a stroll around Rathkeale’s Christmas fete.
Enjoy the weekend and see you on the other side.
Mrs Sandie Sherwen
Around School
Boarding Note
Thank you to all Main and Hampton House boarders who contributed to the Wairarapa Foodbank Collection on Wednesday afternoon. Although a fire engine was organised to come and collect the foodbank items from out the front of Main House, this never quite eventuated due to the fact there was an unplanned call out to St Matthew’s boarding earlier in the afternoon! Fortunately, it turned out to be a false alarm but nevertheless, it is always good to practice what our boarders need to do should an actual emergency occur.
With NCEA exams starting next week, can all Year 11-13 boarders please remember to keep their Orah passes up to date.
Enjoy the weekend.
Jo
Student Librarians
The annual morning tea for the Student Librarians was held on Tuesday to thank them for doing Library duties at Interval and Lunch times throughout the year. We appreciate the voluntary service these students give to the school community. We also farewelled the Year 11 Librarians who will be at Senior College next year.
Aratoi Visit
On Friday 27 October the year 7 / 8 department visited Aratoi to view the latest Art display of New Zealand Artist Rita Angus. The Year 8 girls attended for the morning session and the Year 7 in the afternoon. We visited the main Gallery and had a tour of the Rita Angus works by Aratoi’s education tutor. We sat, studied and had a good discussion on two of the works before moving to the classroom for a painting session. We looked at some different styles of paintings and then did our own. It was a great day out. Photos are of the girls in the classroom.
HETTANZ Fashion Awards 2023
Another successful year at the HETTANZ Fashion Awards. Suffice to say that Mrs Bucknell continues to be a very proud teacher.
First XI Cricket
The 1st Xl Cricket team take another win!
On Tuesday this week the 1st Xl Cricket team played Wairarapa College in the final game of the Inter Regional interschool Cricket competition. St Matthew’s batted first making 178 for 10 wickets off 9.5 overs. Wairarapa College fell short being bowled out for 51 runs off 12.3 overs.
This was a fantastic result from the team!
Standout performances were Emma McLeod making 104 runs off 54 balls and Anita Lyford taking 6 wickets at bowl.
Music Festival
A great atmosphere at school today. The Year 10 Music class organised a music festival this afternoon. The Year 9/10 Rathkeale boys were invited too. We had food trucks, face painting and Year 10 Commerce were selling their wares.
It was also the last day for our Year 11 girls as they depart for study leave. Look luck girls and prepare well!
Dress A Girl Around the World
Over the years our girls have been involved with Dress A Girl Around the World. They have made dresses for young girls in developing countries. Below are some photos and messages from girls that have received dresses from our girls. Featured below are photos and messages for Madison Bowden, Sophia Hallett and Isabelle Judd (all Year 12).
Girls Who Grow
Girls who Grow was born out of a weekend at Lake Hawea Station where we took industry leaders, entrepreneurs and visionaries away to NZ's only Climate Positive Farm to curate a program for our next generation of female leaders, change makers and environmental guardians in agriculture and farming.
Girls who Grow was born out of a weekend at Lake Hawea Station where we took industry leaders, entrepreneurs and visionaries away to NZ's only Climate Positive Farm to curate a program for our next generation of female leaders, change makers and environmental guardians in agriculture and farming.
In September last year, we were grateful for the opportunity to join CreativeHQ's GovTech Accelerator to dig deep into the problem we were working to solve and design a solution to spark the imaginations of young women all over New Zealand by changing the narrative aligned to food and fashion and how they could be part of the solution. We presented Girls who Grow at The Beehive in December and have been activating our pilot program in Otago this year.
The work of Girls who Grow is activated through Imagination Centred Workshops in Colleges across New Zealand, 1 day Imagination Challenges working on real world problems, On farm Lunch and Learn educational experiences bringing the Future Farmers NZ manifesto to life and 3 day immersions to connect young women and their parents to the land to craft out a meaningful and values aligned pathway.
So here is where we need your support
Girls who Grow will be live on One Good Kiwi launching today (Tuesday 1st August) for the entire month giving us the opportunity to secure further funding to be able to continue our work in Otago, Wellington and the Greater Wellington region, Christchurch and Canterbury in 2024.
We are on a mission to engage thousands of young women, activate scholarships to support them on their journey and create meaningful education that aligns to Climate Positive Agriculture and farming in New Zealand.
So we would love your support in 3 steps
- Download One Good Kiwi from the App Store or Google Play
- Give your luscious green coins to Girls who Grow and other projects you connect with on the platform
- Share the experience across your social media, office intranet, friends, family and others in your network that know the importance of nourishing the hearts and minds of our next generation of leaders.
One Good Kiwi are giving everyday kiwi's the chance to give to the things that are important t them with $1.2 million contributed over the next 12 months.
Thanks for your support and we look forward to you being part of our journey
Catherine van der Meulen & Aimee Blake - co-founders of Girls who Grow
School App
If you are new to St Matthew's Collegiate, or have yet to download, please follow the link to install our school app https://schoolappsnz.co.nz/install
For current families, please update your subscription groups by clicking on the cog in the top right hand of the screen. It will take you to the groups for you to change.
Key Dates
- Monday 6th November - NZQA Exams begin
- Friday 1st December - Carol Service
- Saturday 2nd December - End of Year Prize Giving
2023 Term Dates
- Term Four - Monday 9th October to Saturday 2nd December
2024 Term Dates
- Term One - Monday 29th January to Friday 12 April
- Term Two - Monday 29th April to Friday 5th July
- Term Three - Monday 22nd July to Friday 27th September
- Term Four - Monday 14th October to Saturday 7th December