Queen Margaret College

Queen Margaret
CALLING
Issue 35 – December 2009
LEADING
From the Principal
On the notice-board outside my office is a display entitled
QMC Family One World. Marked on a map of the world are the
various places our girls and staff are linked to through cultural
and familial connections: Angola, Australia, Colombia, France,
Guernsey, Peru, Zimbabwe to mention just a few. Over 42
countries are indicated. We celebrate the cultural diversity of
our students, a feature of the school from early in its history,
located as it is in the middle of a cosmopolitan capital city, close
to embassies, high commissions and Parliament.
O
ur girls are fortunate: most have
travelled overseas and many
have done so extensively. Our
association with the Margaret Schools also
fosters this wider, international perspective.
This year we hosted students and in return
our girls were hosted by Margaret Schools in
Tappahannock (Virginia, USA), Melbourne
and New Zealand. In April, 26 of our girls
visited St Margaret’s, Chile, and 10 girls,
all studying Japanese, spent time at St
Margaret’s in Tokyo during the September
break. Throw into the mix our international
students or newly arrived immigrants – and
we have an enriching and sophisticated
culture at the College.
We live in a world so small now that the
‘community’ is the people on the planet. Our
girls are not only citizens of New Zealand –
they are global citizens and as such require
an education which prepares them to live
and compete in a dynamic and ever changing
world. We have to envision a new set of global
skills which include understanding world
languages and an appreciation of cultural and
intellectual diversity to retain our edge in an
increasingly interconnected economy.
The three International Baccalaureate
(IB) programmes we are implementing
provide an holistic education with an
international perspective and a rigorous
credential benchmarked against global
standards. A compulsory second language
is a feature. Fundamental to the IB is the
concept of international-mindedness, made
explicit in its mission.
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IB MISSION STATEMENT
The International Baccalaureate aims to develop inquiring,
knowledgeable and caring young people who help to create a better
and more peaceful world through intercultural understanding
and respect. To this end the organisation works with schools,
governments and international organisations to develop challenging
programmes of international education and rigorous assessment.
These programmes encourage students across the world to become
active, compassionate and lifelong learners who understand that
other people, with their differences, can also be right.
I am delighted to announce we, along with Scots College, have
been authorised to deliver the IB Diploma in 2010 as part of
our dual qualification pathway with NCEA. Being an IB World
School means we are part of an active and supportive worldwide
community of over 2,750 IB schools in 138 countries who share
knowledge and experience.
Look for the College on the IB website (www.ib.org) – you will
find we are in great company.
A very merry Christmas to you all.
Carol Craymer – Principal
QUEEN MARGARET CALLING – Issue 35 – December 2009
Defeated but united we stand!
International
Baccalaureate
Diploma 2010
QUE
QUEEN
MARGARET COLLEGE
GE
AND SCOTS COLLEGE NOW
W
IB WORLD SCHOOLS
LS
While the final result of six points to seven saw Queen Margaret College reluctantly but graciously concede
defeat in this year’s QUOTS competition and the Head Prefect, Nicole McCallum, hand over the much
prized trophy at the Scots Final Sports Assembly for 2009, the link between our Colleges remains strong.
In fact, Nicole and Harrison were the face of a combined IB Diploma promotion run over the past few
months which saw them feature larger than life on a billboard at the Capital’s airport and in various print
media.
Contents December 09
LEADING
Queen Margaret College,
53 Hobson Street, PO Box 12274
Thorndon, Wellington 6144
TELEPHONE 04-473-7160
FACSIMILE 04-471-2773
EMAIL administration@qmc.school.nz
WEB www.qmc.school.nz
2 From the Principal
3 Defeated but united we stand!
4 90th Jubilee & QM Day speaker perfect
match
5 Impressive record of service
‘Outrageous’ Prize giving
6 IB lures new Deputy Principal
New and effective teaching concepts
MYP workshops
9 Katherine Mansfield award winner
10 Realisation of a ‘Grand’ dream
Give the gift of music this Christmas
Musical exchange
11 Year 9 travel back in time
QMC’s Got Talent!
16 Second placing for QMC tennis player
College Sport Wellington Award Winners
In other successes
Abel Tasman Prep
LINKS
LEARNING
7 Year 6 transition celebration
Our 90th Jubilee front cover
This year’s Top Academic Achievers
8 Global Young Leaders Conference
Zofia’s opportunity to ‘Realise the Dream’
9 Annual Wellesley visit
12 Grandparents’ to School Day
Year 9 help refugee twins
Kimi Ora Xmas Party
13 Carols On The Lawn
Parents’ Association News
14 From the Development Office
Front Cover – 90th Jubilee Wall Hanging created by Michelle Cox, Year 13. See page 7 for the full story.
Issue 35 – December 2009 – QUEEN MARGARET CALLING
3
LEADING
90th Jubilee & QM Day speaker
perfect match
As was only fitting in this our 90th Jubilee Year, the 2009 Queen Margaret Day guest speaker
Claire Shirtcliffe has both current and historic links with the College.
innocently ‘God be at my end and at my tea
party’.”
Claire spoke of the “hated, thick, blue
scratchy woollen bloomers with elastic
round the waist and thighs, worn under our
tunics”, and of being checked out at the end
of each day by perfects …”hats on straight,
hat badge centred on the hat band, blazers
done up, gloves on”.
“We were fiercely competitive when it
came to House Choirs, House Entertainment,
Q
ueen Margaret College Old Girl and
current Preps’ grandmother, Claire
Shirtcliffe began her address to the
Queen Margaret Day Assembly by speaking
of the pride she feels every time she visits
the College … “that same pride I felt when I
was a student here”.
“For me personally it is an honour to
be standing at this lectern, carved with
the Celtic Cross, which was presented
to the school by my parents on the
opening of the Hall,” she said. “My father
was a Board member for 19 years and
chairman for 12. He was president of the
Parents’ Association, and my mother was
a long-standing member of the Parents’
Association and Vice-President for seven
years. Together they served over 40 years.”
Claire went on to compare her time at
Queen Margaret with the College of today.
There was no silent walk to Assembly.
Instead they marched into Assembly singing
rousing songs. It was during the Second
World War and the songs were those sung
to troops as they left our shores for the war.
“When the whole school was assembled
and absolutely silent, the headmistress read
out the order for the placing for the banners,
just like today. Then we sang ‘God be in
my Head’. As a five-year-old, I sang most
4
“…speaking of the pride she
feels every time she visits the
College … that same pride
I felt when I was a student
here”.
drama and speaking contests. Sports
days were exciting events on the school
calendar.”
Claire says when she reads of the
activities which take place at QMC today
she feels quite overwhelmed.
“Underwater hockey, hockey, football,
skiing, education outside the classroom,
Outward Bound, science fairs, international
trade challenges were not found in my day.
Neither were cultural exchanges to other
countries. How lucky you are to have these
options open to you.”
Claire closed her address by again paying
tribute to her “far-sighted and wonderful”
parents, Oswald and Margaret Mazengarb.
“They were the visionaries behind our
family. They, together with the whole Queen
Margaret family, helped fashion my life. ‘By
the light of truth’ stands for all that is pure
and true. That is the same today as it was in
yesteryear.”
(Left to right): Carol Weston (Parents’ Association Treasurer and Member of College), Audrey Hodson
(Member of College), Marion McCee (former Pirncipal and Member of College), Claire Shirtcliffe, Georgia
Dry (President of Old Girls’ Association), Margaret Mayman (Presbytery representative on the Board),
Carol Craymer and front Alexandra Shirtcliffe.
QUEEN MARGARET CALLING – Issue 35 – December 2009
Impressive record of service
The Board invited Dr Oswald Mazengarb, as
the driving force behind the project, to lay the
foundation stone for the new Assembly Hall. On
November 13, 1954 he did just that watched by
students resplendent in their panama hats.
Dr Oswald Mazengarb’s record of service to
Queen Margaret College was impressive and
he retained his interest and concern for the
school’s welfare right up until his death in
1963.
Dr Mazengarb was a Board member for
19 years and Chairman for 12; President of
the Parents’ Association and representative
of parents on the Board. On his retirement
in 1953 Te Karere recorded the school’s
appreciation: ‘He has given most generously
of his time and attention to College affairs,
and has never failed in his warm interest in
everything connected with the life of the
school. The reputation of the College which
he helped to establish is the most eloquent
tribute possible to years of leadership”.
His wife Margaret also generously helped
the school, not just through her husband’s
positions but independently in the Parents’
Association as a long-standing Committee
member and as a Vice-President for seven
years. Her service in all ways was recognised
by her election as a member of the College.
Oswald and Margaret’s three daughters
all attended QMC: Claire (Mazengarb)
Shirtcliffe
(1940-1952),
Rosemary
(Mazengarb) MacLeod (Prefect 1934-1945)
and Dawn (Mazengarb) Ralph (1932-1938).
Now a new generation continues the link
with Claire’s granddaughter Alexandra, a
Preps student.
Margaret and Oswald Mazengarb with two
of their daughters Claire (now Shirtcliffe) and
Rosemary (now MacLeod).
‘Outrageous’ Prize giving
There was definitely a somewhat ‘outrageous’ element to this year’s Senior Prize giving. It had
nothing to do with anyone’s behaviour, but was all firmly down to the Guest Speaker, QMC Old
Girl Antonia Prebble aka Loretta West of New Zealand’s hit comedy/drama television series
Outrageous Fortune.
A
ntonia’s acting ability was very
much to the fore during her QMC
days. Throughout the late 1990s
she had starring and guest roles in several
television shows. Two of her larger roles
included that of Mandy McFarlane in Mirror
Mirror 2 and as Trudy in The Tribe.
As she told her Prize giving audience one
role required her to get special permission to
change her hair colour – and she spent some
time walking around Wellington streets
kitted out in QMC uniform and sporting
purple hair.
Antonia took the starring role of Sarah
Brown in the College’s production of Guys
and Dolls. In her final year (2001) she was
Head of Arts Prefect and named Proxime
Accessit.
During her address Antonia also spoke
of the values she had gained from her QMC
schooling; about character, manners and
having a passion for what you do in life.
Principal Carol Craymer with Antonia Prebble at
the Senior Prize giving.
She finished in ‘outrageous’ fashion.
While she refused to give away any of the
plot lines in the upcoming sixth series she
did reveal a video clip featuring several of
her co-stars who each gave Year 13’s some
“valuable” advice. For example Grandfather
Ted West (Frank Whitten) advised the girls
“now they had left school, to look left and
right”. Antonia’s on screen hubby Hayden
Peters (Shane Cortese) struck a more
serious note telling Year 13 what a “fantastic
ambassador” Antonia is for Queen Margaret
College.
The ending, while not anywhere near
as dramatic as Series Five, was a combined
“From all of us here at Outrageous Fortune:
Good Luck QMC Year 13 of 2009.”
N.B. For those who do not follow
‘Outrageous Fortune’, the central plot is
that a family of criminals who decide to go
straight after the patriarch is jailed. Like
the show itself, episodes take their names
from Shakespearean quotations. The main
characters each walk a fine line between right
and wrong according to their respective values
– the law, the criminal code of honour, loyalty
to family, and respectability.
Issue 35 – December 2009 – QUEEN MARGARET CALLING
5
LEADING
IB lures new Deputy
Principal
The opportunity of working in an IB World School was one of
the main draw cards which lured QMC’s new Deputy Principal
Barbara Mavor away from the sunny Hawke’s Bay.
Barbara Mavor.
“I felt it was time for me to tackle a more
challenging role, to extend my own learning,”
she says. “I have always been interested in
the IB and have done research around the
edges. I am absolutely passionate about
getting students to think for themselves
and do their own learning which is the
underlying principle of IB.
“This will be my first involvement with
IB and with the Diploma about to come on
stream and with the other IB programmes
at pre authorisation stage, QMC is in an
exciting phase of development.”
Barbara Mavor has taken on
responsibility for curriculum, teaching and
learning and professional development.
She arrived at QMC for the last few weeks
of term from a Deputy Principal position at
Taradale High School which she held for six
years. Before that she completed a six year
stint with the Education Review Office.
“I am absolutely passionate
about getting students to think
for themselves…”
The reputation and culture of Queen
Margaret … “I know people whose children
went here” … were other factors in Barbara’s
decision to head south.
QMC’s lovely historic buildings were
another pull and are evocative of Glaswegianborn Barbara’s years spent at St Andrew’s
University on the east coast of Scotland
(Botany Hons degree) and postgraduate
study in the old buildings of Magdalen
College, Oxford. Her daughter has just been
awarded a Rhodes Scholarship to study at
Oxford. She also has a son who is a teacher in
Christchurch and passionate about Maths.
Barbara will travel to Adelaide in January
to attend an IB Theory of Knowledge
workshop which will cover a core component
of the IB Diploma programme.
“There’s lots for me to absorb, all very
exciting”, she says.
New and effective teaching concepts
Staff professional development and the
resulting sharing of information and ideas
are central to the International Baccalaureate
programmes … and effective as evidenced
by recent teaching in QMC’s Junior and
Pre-School classes.
During this term Deputy Principal
Kathleen McDonnell and teachers Jo
Carroll and Ying Zhao had the opportunity
to attend an Inquiry Learning Seminar at
Selwyn House, Christchurch as part of the
New Zealand Primary Years Programme
(PYP) Network.
“This Seminar was given by Dr Kathy
Short who is based at the University of
Arizona where she is renowned for her
work on Inquiry Learning,” says Kathleen
McDonnell. “She works with many
international and IB Schools.”
INTO PRACTICE
On their return the trio “shared” with the
rest of the Pre-School and Junior School
staff which saw many new ideas put into
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practice in classrooms.
“The whole focus for teaching through
Inquiry is presenting concepts in a way
which connects with the students,” says
Kathleen. “You ensure the ideas get through
to students first and then you invite them
into the learning you are offering. From
there the students develop their own ideas
and own investigations.
PROPERTIES OF CHANGE
“The concept driving the Preps and Years 1
to 6 Unit of Inquiry this term was change.
For example classes looked at how things
change and with the help of their colleagues
from the Science Department teachers set
up experiments and activities to incorporate
into the unit. In this way together with their
students they explored the properties of
change like the chemical reactions which
cause pop corn to pop, ice cream to freeze
and hokey pokey to harden.
“Denise Whitely set up a ‘Change
Museum’ which enabled her students to
QUEEN MARGARET CALLING – Issue 35 – December 2009
keep going back to revisit their ideas,
drawing on their experience to widen their
thinking.”
Kathleen says Junior School teachers are
now preparing for authorisation in PYP by
August 2010.
MYP workshops
A pre-authorisation visit this term for the
IB Middle Years Programme also provided
an opportunity for staff professional
development.
MYP Manager of Asia Pacific Curtis
Beaverford spent four days at QMC. The first
two days were spent on pre-authorisation
checks and during the second half of his
visit he ran workshops on topics such as a
general introduction to the elements of the
programme and planning and assessment.
Curtis Beaverford also met with all
Heads of Departments to discuss the parts
of MYP relevant to them.
LEARNING
Year 6 transition celebration
Parents and other family members were invited to QMC recently to help Year 6 students celebrate
the end of their Junior schooling and their transition to Middle School and Year 7 in 2010.
Deputy Principal Kathleen McDonnell holds the
microphone for Madeleine Knowles as she shares
her reflections on her Junior School years.
The girls had the opportunity to reflect on
their time in Junior School before each being
awarded individual citations celebrating
their successes and achievements.
Thirty-four girls are moving onto Middle
School next year where they will join with
the 35 new students enrolled for Year 7.
Moving forward to the Middle School
girls will have specialist teachers in all their
subjects, experience camp life at Teapot
Valley in Nelson and increased sporting and
cultural opportunities.
(Left to right): Brittany Phillips, Mia Vinaccia and
Nicole Bewley proudly display their citations.
Our 90th Jubilee front cover
Michelle Cox, Year 13 Materials Technology student, was specially commissioned by Principal
Carol Craymer to create the 90th Jubilee commemorative wall hanging featured on the front
cover of this edition of Queen Margaret Calling.
The work, carried out over Terms Two and
Three, was Michelle’s major client project
for 2009.
Head of Technology Barbara Knight
says Year 13 Dean Milada Pivac, with her
extensive knowledge of QMC’s traditions,
acted as Michelle’s key client stakeholder
and a number of Old Girls were also
consulted as part of the research into the
appropriate visual images to feature in the
Jubilee banner design.
Jane Dagger, who apart from working
at QMC as School Nurse, is President of
the Wellington Quilter’s Guild, acted as
Michelle’s skills base resource.
“There are lots of different techniques in
the work,” says Barbara. “Photography screen
printing, silk screen printing, appliqué of
macramé, embroidery and it uses multiple
layers of fabric to show effect.”
Barbara says Michelle, as the 2009
Special Character Prefect, wanted to leave
a gift behind to show her appreciation of
her time spent at QMC. The wall hanging
has a permanent home on the staircase wall
opposite the Technology Department.
This year’s Top Academic Achievers
Rachel Arthur
Dux
Julia Thompson
Proxime Accessit
Annika Stahlberg
Proxime Accessit
Natalie Brown
Top Scholar
Emma Greenbank
Top Scholar
Issue 35 – December 2009 – QUEEN MARGARET CALLING
7
LEARNING
Global Young Leaders Conference
Rosie Kós, Year 13, who attended the recent Global Young Leaders Conference in Washington
DC and New York, says it helped further her understanding of world issues
“At the conference we were separated into
groups and assigned a country, for example
mine was Japan,” she says. “As this country
we participated in simulations dealing with
issues like health and food crises, and drafted
and voted on resolutions. Our work in these
groups ultimately led to the simulation of
a Global Summit which took place at the
United Nations Headquarters.”
Rosie says during the 10-day conference
they heard from a number of influential
speakers including an independent
filmmaker called Molly Blank; the coordinator of the Speakers Bureau of the
World Bank Group, Angelica Silvero
and Glary Clements from the Bureau of
Economic, Energy and Business Affairs for
the US Department of State.
While the daily sessions were lengthy
and started at 7am, Rosie says she and the
other participants, who came from over
the world, also had time “to sightsee, visit
embassies, see Times Square and a play in
New York, and had social activities in the
evening”.
Rosie Kós (right) with other conference delegates in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington built
to honour the 16th President of the United States Abraham Lincoln.
Zofia’s opportunity to ‘Realise The Dream’
QMC’s Zofia Arthur was one of 31 students
from around the country who attended the
Genesis Energy Realise The Dream event
held in Wellington over five days in early
December.
The event was designed to celebrate
and reward students who have carried
out an excellent piece of science research,
or a technology or engineering project.
There were many prizes on offer
including scholarships, cash prizes and
international travel to destinations such
as China and Europe. Zofia, a Year 8
student, won multiple awards at the 2009
NIWA Wellington Regional Science and
Technology Fair including Best Overall
Exhibit. Her competition included all year
levels up to Year 13.
Royal Society of New Zealand organiser
8
Debbie Woodhall said the work the students
produced is really innovative.
“To be selected is a real achievement as
all the entries are of a very high standard,
with students completing some outstanding
projects.”
Zofia’s project, “Need A Break: Get
A Wind-Break”, investigates some of the
different material and designs for windbreaks. She devised an experiment, with
scaled down fences and a fan to create wind,
and she monitored the disturbance to light
objects on the downwind side of her fences.
At the end of day, it was not the solid wall
nor the perforated fences which performed
the best, but a flexible hedge which could
absorb some of the energy of the wind. So,
do not built fences – grow hedges.
During their week, the students were
QUEEN MARGARET CALLING – Issue 35 – December 2009
able to choose from a wide range of places
to visit, including Geological and Nuclear
Sciences, Industrial Research Ltd, Island
Bay Marine Education Centre and Karori
Wildlife Sanctuary. Massey University
in Wellington also organised a full day
programme.
Along with the other students 12-yearold Zofia also took part in a full day
workshop on public speaking and how to
write news media stories. As well students
were required to present an oral presentation
to the judges about their research and then
answer questions.
Over the next few months Zofia will
be required to share her work with her
community, before an awards dinner next
year on March 10 where the award winners
will be announced.
Annual Wellesley visit
Year 8 spent the day at Wellesley College, Eastbourne this term.
As well as the annual Wharf Jumping, the QMC girls played soccer and tennis against their
Wellesley counterparts and debated the moot “Celebrities are good role models”. QMC took
the affirmative losing the debate by a mere whisker.
The day also included a concert with the rock bands from both Colleges performing.
Singing by candlelight was a feature of the
traditional QMC Carol Service held on the last day
of the school year.
Katherine Mansfield award
winner
Year 13 student Rachel Arthur has won a
Katherine Mansfield Birthplace Literature
Award for 2009. She received her award
from guest speaker New Zealand poet
Glenn Colquhoun.
Each school selected their own winner
for this award and Rachel was chosen as
QMC’s best student of literature.
Issue 35 – December 2009 – QUEEN MARGARET CALLING
9
LEARNING
Realisation of a ‘Grand’ dream
Term Four has seen the realisation of a six-year goal for the QMC Music department with
the arrival of the new Grand Piano. The 6’ 6’ Yamaha is the much needed replacement for the
College’s 50-year-old Assembly Hall piano.
H
ead of Performing Arts Tim
Jenkin says fundraising for the
Grand was kick started by a
substantial donation from an anonymous
QMC parent and in the past six months
the whole school community had really got
behind the project.
“The Old Girls’ Association gave $5000
and we were surprised by a very generous
donation of $7000 from Fuji Xerox,” he says.
“The balance of the purchase price came
from pledges, other QMC parents and staff
members as well as sales of the College’s
first-ever music CD.”
Tim says the Yamaha Grand did not
come to the College unaccompanied. “The
purchase was a two for one deal and we
did really well by scoring a regular, older
upright piano as well.”
The Yamaha itself is pre-loved, with the
Japanese import having had just the one
private owner in its 10 year life.
“I am very happy to say we should get
another 30 to 40 years out it,” says Tim.
And feedback on the new addition has
all been positive.
“Everyone who has played it so far has
said it is lovely. One of the girls said she
planned to come in late at night and take it
home.”
While the old piano has been excused
official Assembly Hall duties it has not been
retired and is still in use in the music room.
Give the gift of music this
Christmas
Year 9 music student Jessica Palairet tries out the “new” Yamaha Grand piano.
Musical exchange
A musical exchange for the Junior School took place this term. Organised by Music teacher, Susie
Hardie (pictured above), the exchange saw our Minificat and Junior Choirs rehearse and then perform
a concert with Masterton’s Hadlow School Choir. Next year, the QMC choirs will travel to Masterton
overnight to again perform with Hadlow choir.
10
QUEEN MARGARET CALLING – Issue 35 – December 2009
Head of Performing Arts Tim Jenkin with QMC’s
first-ever music CD.
QMC’s first-ever music CD has proved
something of a chart topper but there
are still copies available for that perfect
Christmas gift.
The CD features music groups across all
the different year levels and was recorded
at the Adam Concert Room, Victoria
University under the direction of Richard
Hardie (brother of QMC’s Susie Hardie).
“The CD is of a really high quality.
It does justice to the high quality of the
musical achievements of the QMC girls,”
says Tim Jenkin.
CDs can be ordered through the Music
Office at a cost of $20.
Year 9 travel back in time
Year 9 took part in a special Elizabethan Day celebration as a finale to the term’s English and
Humanities programme.
Dressed in appropriate costumes, each Year 9 class performed one act each from A Midsummer Night’s Dream and played Elizabethan games
before partaking of a Elizabethan Banquet.
1
2
3
4
1. (Left to right): Sou Mieng Tran, Rose Fleming
and Ella Sheedy.
2. Bronwyn Ensor (left) with Emily Small.
3. Top Left: Kathy Marshall, Hillary Smith and
Isabella Trotter.
Bottom Left: Mirae Wilson and Lia Penny
4. Caroline Hill helps Mallory Bishop with her
ties.
5. (Left to right): Sasha Haymer, Charlotta
Cutfield. Jessica Palairet and Grace Huang.
5
6. Looking coy: (from left) Sophie Macadré,
Courtney Yule and Kate Collins.
6
QMC’S Got Talent!
While it didn’t discover any singing sensations to rival Britain’s
Susan Boyle, this year’s QMC’s Got Talent (formerly known as
QMC Idol) attracted an impressive lineup of entries including
dancers, singers and pianists which made for an entertaining
and closely fought final.
“The level was so high, the talent so good
it made it very hard for me and my fellow
judge Jen Lloyd to reach our decisions,”
Judge Sarah Moran said.
As in past years the event was open to
both groups and individuals from Year 7
and above. There were a total of eight entries
which were whittled down to five after the
two preliminary heats.
The Final, which was held in the lunch
hour, played out in front of a capacity
audience.
Organiser Jemma Hartley was ably
assisted by Lydia Burston who acted as MC.
Both Lydia and a fantastic Year 13 dance
routine kept the crowd entertained while
the first time judges deliberated.
QMC’s talented Nicole McCallum (left), her
brother co-opted from Scots College to provide
the pipe music and Harriett Phillips.
And the winners were:
First Place – Nicole McCallum, Harriett
Phillips (Scottish Highland Dancing)
Second Place – Elsie Jacobsen and Souhoy
Tran (Ukulele)
Third Place – Sophie Mackie (Played and
sang original song)
Issue 35 – December 2009 – QUEEN MARGARET CALLING
11
LINKS
Grandparents’ to School Day
The spotlight fell on older family members this term when Junior girls invited their grandparents
to school. And they came in their numbers to this annual highlight of the Junior School Term
Four calendar.
The day began with the girls’ and their grandparents attending a church service led by Junior School Religious Education teacher Monica
Demuth-Barber at which junior classes contributed prayers, songs and stories.
Then it was back to school for morning tea, entertainment provided by the two junior choirs and a tour of the school.
Sisters Bella and Anna O’Carroll-Nicholson
with their Grandad.
Student Jennika Patel with her
Grandma Jusi Patel.
Elizabeth Keats with her
Grandmother Diana.
Year 9 help refugee twins
Year 9 students raised nearly $1,000 at their Community Fair which they
donated to ‘The Refugee Reunification Trust’ to help bring 10-year-old twin
girls, Yilma Tafere Tasew and Samson Sahele, from Ethiopia to this country.
The girls arrived at the end of October ready to start school the following
week.
In addition Year 9 students collected
supplies for two school bags and two mufti
bags to help set the girls up in New Zealand
12
and these were presented to the twins when
they visited Year 9 at QMC just before they
started school.
QUEEN MARGARET CALLING – Issue 35 – December 2009
Jemma Sergent and her
Gran Shirley Sergent.
Kimi Ora Christmas Party
Year 11 hosted the annual Christmas Party
for our Kimi Ora neighbours on December 8
and in so doing kept alive a tradition dating
back to 1954.
The girls entertained their 33 guests with
a king size game of “Pass the Parcel” and
Christmas Carols.
Year 11 organised the party menu (fruit
platters and pizzas prepared by Julia Coffey
of Year 13). Therapists from Kimi Ora helped
with the food preparation.
The girls made a donation to cover the
costs of the party and the presents for the
Kimi Ora students. They spent a lot of time
choosing the right gifts (with guidance from
Christine Jones of Kimi Ora) – and these
were without exception a great hit.
Carols On The Lawn
The less than summery weather saw the school community and its
Thorndon neighbours picnic on the floor of the Atrium rather than
the College front lawn for this year’s Carols On The Lawn event.
Guests later moved in the Old Hall and such were their numbers,
those present overflowed onto the stairs and the gallery. The Junior
School presented a Nativity Tableau and this was followed by carol
singing led by the Queen’s Singers. Bible readings were also part of the
evening’s programme.
Parents’ Association News
As the school year drew to a close the Parents’ Association was in celebration mode. There was
the December 13 Leavers’ Dinner to organise and once again it went off in fine Queen Margaret
style proving yet again a delightful way to finish Year 13. The girls looked exquisite, the new
venue – the Intercontinental – was fabulous, and our guest speaker, Old Girl Pirimia Burger
proved inspiring as she shared her journey since leaving school.
The Prize giving is always special for the Parents’ Association as this
is the occasion when it gifts a cheque to the incoming Head and
Deputy Prefects to enable them to attend the Leadership Conference
in Australia. Run by the Alliance of Independent Schools, the
conference takes place before the start of each school year. Strong
leadership is important and this valuable opportunity provides the
learning which certainly enhances leadership skills.
The Staff Christmas Lunch was another highlight with Parents’
Association members serving up sumptuous salads, an array of
breads, pickles and sweet treats. As always it was much appreciated.
It is the Association’s way of saying “thank you” and acknowledging
the input, care and compassion our teachers at Queen Margaret
College show to our girls.
I thank very sincerely the Parents’ Association Committee and
“Friends of the Committee” for their time, energy, support and
friendship throughout 2009. This has been an enormous year for us
– the biggest yet, and I want you to know your input is truly valued.
Jo Brown – President
The Parents’ Association Committee at the year’s Christmas Staff lunch with
staff members in a festive mood.
Issue 35 – December 2009 – QUEEN MARGARET CALLING
13
LINKS
From the Development Office
We were very lucky this term to have had some illustrious Old Girls address our students at
various events.
Dr Jane Bryson (Head Prefect 1978) spoke at the Year 13 Mentor’s
breakfast about her career pathway and about following your
dreams and passions. Jane is a registered psychologist specialising in
industrial and organisational psychology who has worked in HR both
here and overseas, including a stint in the armed forces. Currently
Jane is a senior lecturer at the Victoria Management School.
marking the 25th year of the support of the Association by the Olave
Baden-Powell Society.
Pirimia Burger (Head Prefect 1995) pictured below with Georgia
Dry, President of the QMCOGA, addressed the Year 13 Leavers’
Dinner about the non-linear path her life has taken since she left
QMC and how the ‘loops’ in the path shape you as a person. Pirimia
has been a journalist, presenter, script writer and is currently working
in the policy area of the Ministry of Education.
Alex Short (2008) is heading off to the Art Institute of Portland, in
Oregon, USA, in January where she will be studying Digital Film
and Video for a Bachelor of Fine Arts.
Margaret Rankine (1946) won the Community Service Award in the
recent Wellingtonian of the Year Awards for her selfless leadership of
Red Cross volunteers in the Eastbourne area for more than 50 years.
Obituary
It is with sadness we mark the passing of Honoured Old Girl
Gabrielle Blyth (nee McCallum) in June of this year. Gabrielle
was a QMC boarder during the 1930’s. Upon leaving school
she qualified as a Pharmacist and then went on to undertake
a successful nursing career at Wellington Hospital. Gabriel
made the 75th Jubilee banner, hand weaving the crest – a huge
task as her eyesight was failing. Gabriel was followed by two
further generations at QMC – her daughters Lindy (Blyth) and
Denny (Evison), and a third generation represented by Denny’s
daughter Sarah Evison. Our deepest sympathy is extended to
Gabrielle’s family.
What are they up to?
Alanna Cameron (2007) is doing a 12-week internship at Malaghan
Institute working on one of the many cancer research projects the
Institute is involved with. She received a scholarship to do this
research and is considering pursuing it at post graduate level.
Chantelle Cole (2006) visited with Leah Woolfson (2004) who is
now living in Melbourne. Chantelle is doing a Bachelor of Design
at Massey and is interested in book cover illustration or a career
as a concept artist. Leah is doing a Bachelor of Business degree at
Monash University part-time and working at an Investment firm
doing PR.
Anna Fitzgerald (2008) is off to Oakridge International School in
Hyderabad this summer to teach French.
Ginny Radford (1968) was presented with the Bronze Medal
of the World Association of Girl Guides and Girl Scouts for her
outstanding service to the Movement during a ceremony in Seoul
14
QUEEN MARGARET CALLING – Issue 35 – December 2009
Let us know
If you have any news you would like to share with us and the QM
community about yourself or other old girls, please email the
Development Office at development@qmc.school.nz.
QMC Foundation
Much of the work of the Development Office is in support of the
Foundation whose role is to raise funds to secure the independent
future of our school and to provide it with excellent teaching and
learning facilities to keep it at the leading edge of girls’ schools in
the country.
The Foundation is currently seeking $4 million for the school’s
Development Plan. This plan includes a new full-sized gymnasium
and classrooms designed specifically for the teaching of languages.
If you would like to assist the Queen Margaret College Foundation
Trust and enjoy the opportunities and rewards that philanthropic
giving can provide, please go the ‘Support Us’ us pages of the new
website: www.qmc.school.nz/support-us.
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Issue 35 – December 2009 – QUEEN MARGARET CALLING
15
LEARNING
Sports
Second placing for QMC tennis player
Bridget Liddell, Year 9, missed part of the tennis season due to a left wrist strain, but the
14-year-old still managed to come runner-up in the recent College Sport Wellington Junior
Regional Singles Tennis Championship played at the Renouf Centre.
She has also been named in the five-person Centrals team to compete at Nationals in
January.
Bridget joined Khandallah’s regional one team for the last three rounds of the senior
women’s interclub competition and her inclusion coincided with the team’s unexpected wins
against the favoured Wellington club side and defending champions Thorndon.
Bridget Liddell.
In other successes …
QMC was well represented in the Wellington team which took part in the recent NZ U18
Underwater Hockey Tournament in Nelson. Fronting for Wellington were Nicole Privett
(Captain Wellington A team), Zoe Webster, Abbey Vorstermans, Louise Daley, Madeleine
Foley and Rose Barry.
Wellington A won the competition with Louise, Abbey and Zoe being selected for the
Under 18 NZ squad from which a team will be chosen to represent NZ at the Worlds in 2010.
Nicole is outside this age range and currently a member of the NZ Elite Women’s squad.
The Year 9 and 10 Touch Rugby Team won the College Sport Wellington Division One title
recently. This team went through the competition undefeated and won in the final against
Wellington East two to one.
Abel Tasman Prep
Year 10 spent a week near the end of term
preparing for their Abel Tasman expedition
in February next year.
The girls were split into four large groups
and spent three hour sessions with experts
who taught them various skills.
Bev Smith, formerly with the Sir
Edmund Hillary Pursuits Centre, took Year
10 through the whys and wherefores of
organising a pack for an outdoor experience
– the right clothes to wear, and food to take.
They practised with their tents and cookers,
and learned to orientate themselves on a
map with a compass.
QMC teacher Amy McMullan used her
surf life-saving skills to teach the girls how
to survive the capsizing of their kayak. They
covered floating, treading water, towing
another to safety and mouth to mouth
resuscitation.
St John’s personnel took Year 10 through
a basic first aid course including CPR. All
the students sat a test and earned their first
aid certificate.
16
Ferg’s kayaks took the girls for a paddle
and they also learned about Safety and
Action plans required when doing school
trips on the outdoors and what danger areas
to look out for.
Then it was off to practice their craft.
They tramped to the Orongorongo River
in the Rimutaka Forest Park where they
spent the night. The next day the girls were
dropped at the top of Wainuiomata Hill and
walked down to Days Bay via Mt Lowry.
QUEEN MARGARET CALLING – Issue 35 – December 2009
College Sport Wellington
Award Winners
Queen Margaret College scored particularly
well in this year’s College Sport Wellington
Sportspeople of the Year Awards with three
of our five finalists winning individual
awards from nominees over the entire
Wellington Region.
Amelia Smith won the Service to
Sport Award, Emma Garnham was named
Badminton Player of the Year and Nicole
Privett was awarded Underwater Hockey
Player of the Year.
Laura Campbell was a finalist in the
Official of the Year Award category and Old
Girl Nicola Douthett was a Coach of the
Year finalist.