Principal's Message
Kia ora koutou e te whanau
Phew- Emma Wright’s coming to St Matthew’s
The other day I was looking at Facebook, as you do, and I encountered a post of this young woman who has had countless surgeries to look nothing like the person she was born to be. Two posts later I find that you can download an app that will completely alter your image online to create the ‘perfect’ you. By this stage I am aghast and wonder about my own children; did I raise them to love who they are? To love how they look? To celebrate the aging process? To understand that their bodies are their temples- wondrous constructions to be nurtured as was intended and not to be reconstructed by unhealthy obsessions or technological interventions.
So, I asked myself who in our existence can help us to help others in teaching our tamariki to be confident in the body they have- Emma Wright can. You can link into this video where she was interviewed on ‘The Project’ (3).
We have attempted more than once to get Emma here and through sheer tenacity we have managed to secure her, and her wisdom, and her experience - to talk BODY CONFIDENCE in the MODERN AGE for Parents, Teachers, and Coaches.
Basically, folks we are opening this opportunity up to the wider community, but we are making the first invites to our St Matthew’s community- so if you want to secure a seat book now see the links below for booking to be in Emma’s audience on October 26, 7-9pm
That is all I want to say this Friday folks.
Have a great weekend and be your best selves
Ngā Mihi
Kiri
Around School
Boarding Note
On Wednesday, boarders returned from a busy day at school to a sign that read - “All boarders Years 7-10 are to be outside between 3.30-4pm today.” Although there were quite a few who were clearly not happy, they all soon realised it was a beautiful day and being outside was a great option, so much so that most Year 7&8 boarders didn’t return until 4.45pm.
With house music practices ramping up in preparation for our House Music competition on the last Thursday of the term, we are pushing our traditional End of Term Dinner forward to Thursday Week 9. If your daughter is not in boarding on a Thursday but would like to attend the dinner, please email before Sunday night.
Jo
Inter-Collegiate Speech Competition
The 2023 Intercollegiate Speech Competition took place at Wairarapa College on the evening of Monday 4 September. There was a degree of rejoicing, as this was the first time in three years that the competition has been able to take place “in the flesh.” In the immediate past, the event has been held online, with each school submitting videos of their candidates.
There were three competitions: Year 9, Year 10 and Senior. The St Mattthew’s entry in the Year 9 competition was Isabelle Lynn, whose speech as entitled “Why Read?” – an exposition of the importance and the value of reading in our lives. The judges, Mr Bob Frances and the Hon Kieran McAnulty, affirmed that the competition was very tight, praising the candidates for their depth of thought and preparation, and the effective delivery of the speeches
Our Year 10 speaker was Ruby Netley. Ruby’s speech, entitled “Is it the Car of Your Dreams?” opened a discussion on the problems with electric cars. The judges of this competition, Ms Erin Banks, Mr Gary Caffell and Mayor Ron Mark, again praised all candidates, and commented specifically on Ruby’s use of language, and the clear structure of her speech.
Our Senior speaker was Francesca Shaw who spoke very eloquently on “I Don’t Owe You Pretty.” As the judges, Mr Piers Fuler and Mr Luther Toloa said, this senior competition was also very close, with eight fine speeches all making very serious and important points.
For our girls, the results of the three competitions were very pleasing indeed, and a fine reward for their work. Well done.
- Year 9 Isabelle Lynn 3rd place
- Year 10 Ruby Netley 2nd place
- Senior Francesca Shaw 1st place
Inter-Collegiate Solo Music Competition
Our girls had a strong showing at the Inter-Collegiate Solo Music Competition last night. St Matthew's had two entrants in the competition: Charlotte Austin - Piano, and Jenna Portman - Saxophone. Charlotte and Jenna placed 2nd and 3rd in their respective categories and performed very well. It was wonderful to be able to support our talented musicians at this event.
Andrew Atkins - HoD Music and Drama
Dress A Girl Around the World - New Zealand
Below was a post on the DAGATW Facebook page from a service trip in a remote area of Vava’u, Tonga.
“This little girl ran up to me with excitement showing me her dress! Her mum expressed her gratitude in the gifts I had given her children. Thank you so much for helping these children smile!"
The orange and blue dress was one of 12 made by Olivia Guscott and Hannah Gardner as their level 1 NCEA Technology Manufacturing unit.
NZ Fashion Week
On Saturday 2nd Spt the work of 4 of our Fashion students hit the runway at NZFW.
At the conclusion of the parade the designers stood with their models and were interviewed by Steve Dunstan of Huffer about their inspiration and the story behind their design. Following the interviews the audience were invited to inspect the garments closely and talk to the models and designers.
It was a very interactive show that has reviewed well and has given our designers and schools a very high profile in the Fashion World. A once in a lifetime opportunity for our Tamariki.
Kohara Exhibition
On Monday 4th September an exhibition was set up in Block 12 at Massey University Wellington to show the work of Fashion, Design and Technology students in regional schools.
The work of Kersha Napier was selected to represent our schools. The Mihi Whakatau began at 4.30 followed by Kai. The exhibition ran until today.
Emma Wright
We’re hosting BODY CONFIDENCE in the MODERN AGE for Parents, Teachers and Coaches. Get 26 Oct in your diary!
Eating and body issues are among the least understood and most damaging to our kid's mental health. A recent survey shows 90% of youth are concerned about body image, 70% experience body-related teasing, and 2-thirds are deterred from physical activities. Emma's talk will arm you with practical tools and strategies to help your child have a long-term healthy relationship with food and their body.
Event details:
- Who: Parents, teachers, coaches of 3-17-year-olds
- Where: St Matthew’s Collegiate School Hall
- When: Thursday 26 Oct 7-9 pm
- Price: Free with koha for refreshments
LINK: GET YOUR TICKET HERE
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
- Sunday 10th September - Sheppard House Chapel
- Thursday 21st September - House Music event
- Monday 9th - Friday 13th October - Y11 Derived Grade Exams
- Saturday 21st October - Exeat
- Sunday 22nd October - Exeat
- Monday 23rd October - Labour Day public holiday
- Thursday 26th October - Emma Wright Presentation
- Sunday 29th October - Wake House Chapel
- Thursday 2nd November - Last day for Y11-13
- Thursday 2nd November - Senior College Prize Giving
- Monday 6th November - NZQA Exams begin
- Saturday 2nd December - End of Year Prize Giving
2023 Term Dates
- Term Three - Monday 17th July - Friday 22nd September
- Term Four - Monday 9th October to Saturday 2nd December