Old Girls' News 2009
Felicity Lusk
We are delighted for Old Girl, Felicity Lusk, who will become the first woman to lead one of Oxfordshire's top schools, Abingdon School, when she takes over in September, breaking a 750 year old tradition. Miss Lusk attended Marsden from 1968-1973, then studied music at Victoria University, before becoming a music teacher. She moved to England in 1990 and has been Headmistress of the all-girls Oxford High School for the last 12 years. We wish her well in her new role. (9/12/09)
Claudia Batten
A new advertising venture has been started by entrepreneurial Old Girl, Claudia Batten (1992), who sold her previous multi-million dollar company, Massive Inc, to Microsoft.
Claudia and two partners have formed Victors and Spoils, in Boulder, Colorado, specialising in the new advertising field of crowd-sourcing. This relies on asking for opinions and creative ideas, mostly on-line, for naming or promoting products.
Claudia, 35, a former Russell McVeagh lawyer, will be the agency’s chief operating officer. (18/11/09)
AMP Scholarship
Old Girl and mountain biker, Charlotte Ireland (Y13, 1992) has won an AMP Scholarship. The Scholarship recognises and rewards people who demonstrate they have the ability and the attitude to successfully achieve their dreams. Charlotte plans to compete at the World 24 hour Solo Mountain Bike Champs in 2010 and we wish her well. Read more (13/11/09)
Old Girls' Day
We were delighted to have guest speaker, Merrill Gray (Year 12, 1981) address our Old Girls' Assembly today. Merrill was the first New Zealand woman to graduate with a mining degree. She is managing director of Australian listed company, Syngas Ltd, and holds an MBA from Melbourne University, as well as Geology and Mineral Process and Mining Engineering degrees from Otago University. (30/10/09)
Mezzo-soprano
We applaud mezzo-soprano and Old Girl, Brigitte Heuser (Y13, 2001) who was understudy for Olga and part of the Chapman Tripp Chorus in the NBR New Zealand Opera production of Eugene Onegin. Recently selected as a PwC Dame Malvina Major Emerging Artist, Brigitte gained a BA from Otago University and a Bachelor of Music with 1st class Honours from the New Zealand School of Music. Last year she performed to a sold out audience in Tokyo for the International Foundation of Arts and Culture. Her competition successes include the PACANZ National Vocal performer of the year 2006, the Moyra Todd scholarship and the Les and Sonia Andrews cultural foundation scholarship. (23/20/09)
Swainson Room
The newly refurbished Swainson Room was blessed by Marsden Chaplain, Rosemary Poland, on Friday 16 October. It coincided with a strategic meeting of the Management Board and honoured lead-donor and Old Girl, Mrs Beverley Bennett. It has been repainted and recurtained and has purpose-built cabinets which will house Marsden's archive treasures. (23/10/09)
Dr Elsie Gibbons 1916-2009
It is with sadness we report the death of Old Girl, Dr Elsie Gibbons on 17 September, aged 93 years. Her funeral was held at St Alban's Anglican Church, Eastbourne on 22 September.
Dr Gibbons was a boarder at Marsden in 1929 at the age of 12. She was a hard working student, regularly receiving prizes at the end of the year and was Dux in 1933. As well as dedication to her studies she was an accomplished musician and sportswoman.
After leaving school she went to University and Medical School in Dunedin with several of her contemporaries. Once fully qualified, which included working in Britain, she returned to Wellington where she had a variety of medical jobs before taking up private practice at the top of Abel Smith Street.
Dr Gibbons always worked for the community – in her professional life she is remembered by many patients of the Home of Compassion hospital, Kimi Ora and at Marsden where she served on the Board of Governors (later the Board of Trustees) from 1966-1999. In 1965 she chaired the Old Girls division of the first Development Fundraising Committee which began the first major expansion of the school in Karori. In 1998 she gave a new set of handbells to the school to replace the ones bought in 1967.
In her retirement, she did not tramp as often as would have liked but continued her interest in gardening, music, travel her extended family and her community. She will be remembered with respect and admiration.
Showcase Concert
Marsden student musicians gave their audience impressive musical performances at the annual Betty Swainson Memorial Concert last night. The winners of the Nell Clere Scholarship awarded by the Old Girls' Association were Chelsea Grant and Enakshi Chakravorty (Y12) with Kate Burgess (Y11) the runner-up. The Swainson Memorial Prize was won by Maria English (Y13) with Isabel Kelly Y9)as runner-up. (09/09/09)
Rhodes Scholar
Marsden is proud of our first Rhodes Scholar, Nina Hall (Y13 2002) (pictured left with a colleague in East Timor) who will study for a Doctor of Philosophy in International Relations at Oxford University in September.
Nina has an MA (Hons) from the University of Auckland and will study global migration, with an emphasis on the settlement of refugees from Africa.
Her MA thesis took her to East Timor where she looked at women's issues, particularly Parliamentary representation and violence. She has also completed internships at the United Nations in New York and with UNICEF in Nepal. Her present job is with MFAT in Wellington. (11/08/09)
Music Scholarship
Another Old Girl to win one of New Zealand's most prestigious scholarships is Gemma New (Y13 2004) (left with the Prime Minister at Parliament).
Gemma won the Patricia Platt Scholarship in musical performance for 2009. She will use the scholarship (US$35,000 for the first year) for a two year Master's degree in orchestral conducting at the Peabody Institute, John Hopkins University in Baltimore, studying under maestro, Gustav Meier.
Gemma, who conducts the Christchurch Youth Orchestra and is assistant conductor at the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, is completing her honours year in Music at Canterbury University. She has won several scholarships towards her study, including a Freemasons' University Scholarship which she was awarded at a ceremony at Parliament recently. ((03/06/09)
Global Award
Valerie Cranfield (left) won a Global Innovation Award for having one of the best homeware stores in the world. Established in 1991, Cranfields is known for its beautiful furniture and homewares, much of which is crafted in New Zealand and Australia in conjunction with local artists.
British Author
Well known British author and Old Girl, Ann Thwaite (right), spoke at Marsden in May about her happy boarding school years here, when she was evacuated during World War Two. She has published a book, Passageways, about her expatriate New Zealand family and her journey here with her brother in the early years of the war.The author's eight great grandparents all arrived in New Zealand between 1858 and 1868. Their family names were Harrop, Sales, Campbell, Brown, Valentine, Maxwell, Jefcoate and Oliver. Both her parents were graduates of Canterbury University. They founded and ran new Zealand News in London and A.J. Harrop became a respected New zealand historian.
Walking for Charity
Former New Zealand rower, Clementine Marshall (Y13, 2004) walked the Camino de Santiago pilgrimage across the north of Spain in May with Jackie Gilbert (Y12, 1997) to raise money for the Arthritis Foundation.
Honorary Doctorate
Sarah (Sally) Billinghurst BA, Hon D Mus (Dux, Upper Sixth, 1959) was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Victoria University in May. Sarah is the Assistant Manager Artistic of The Metropolitan Opera in New York. she is acknowledged internationally for her role in increasing and broadening opera audiences through The Met's weekly radio broadcasts, inclding its expansion to New Zealand.
She has also found the time to maintain close links with New Zealand, giving advice and assistance through the Kia Ora Foundation (which funds scholarships for New Zealand students in musical performance) and acting as consultant to numerous oerpa companies.