News
Another Brilliant Brainy Bee
We are so proud of Rachael Wiltshire (Y11) who has been crowned individual North Island Brain Bee Champion in the annual international neuroscience quiz run in New Zealand by the University of Auckland. The Brain Bee Challenge was contested by more than 150 Year 11 students from Northland to Wellington.
Rachael now prepares to take on the best brains from the South Island and Australia at the Australia - New Zealand Brain Bee Challenge, held as part of a large international neuroscience conference in Auckland early next year. Read University of Auckland article.
Kate Burgess (Y12) won the New Zealand final this year and goes to San Diego in August to compete for the international title.
We would like acknowledge the extra time and effort that Mrs Gabrielle Gunn, Head of Science, has put in to prepare the girls for these competitions. (28/07/2010)
World Top 20
We are very proud of Anna Roche (Y13) who has overcome injury to be placed in the world top 20 for her event at the World U20 Athletics Championships in Canada last week. She was 17th making the semi-finals in the 800m. (28/07/2010)
Dance Academy
Congratulations to Sarah Botherway and Karina Llanillo (Y13), who have both been accepted into the Tanya Pearson Classical Coaching Academy in Sydney. This is a dance academy specialising in Classical, Contemporary and Character dance and Sarah and Karina begin full time study there in 2011. (28/07/2010)
Basketball
We are delighted for Hannah Sampson (Y10) who has been named as captain of the Wellington U15 Basketball Representative Team. We know she will enjoy the challenge. (28/07/2010)
Samoan Outreach
Fifteen of our Y13 students travelled with Principal, Ms Jenny Williams, to Samoa during the holidays to work with Safotu School in northern Samoa. They presented the school with laptops, calculators, digital cameras and sporting gear - the result of fundraising before they went. They were overwhelmed with the warm hospitality and generosity of the Safotu community.
"A lasting memory I have is watching our girls dance and laugh with the local children and of the wide-eyed excitement when the children looked at the computers and books we took." Principal Ms Jenny Williams (21/07/2010)
Youth Olympics
Head Girl, Kate McCaw (Y13), has been named as vice captain of the New Zealand Women’s U17 Hockey team to compete at the inaugural Youth Olympics in Singapore in August. Madeleine Simmonds (Y12) has been named in the same team as the non-travelling reserve. This is an incredible achievement and we wish them all the best. (21/07/2010)
Diving
We are thrilled for Fiona Cameron (Y9) who won two golds and a silver at the New Zealand Diving Nationals during the holidays. She followed this with eighth and ninth placings out of 16 divers at the Australian Junior Under Elites 13 yrs and under in Perth. Fiona was a member of the New Zealand Junior team. (21/07/2010)
Orienteering
Lauren Turner (Y11) continued her outstanding form this year to win the intermediate section of the New Zealand Secondary Schools Orienteering Championships in Auckland during the holidays. Hannah Sampson (Y10) was third and the Marsden relay (Lauren, Hannah and Morgan Archer (Y10) was second. Cool running! (21/07/2010)
Get 2 Go
Congratulations to Sophie Snaddon (Y10) who combined with Onslow College students to form a team which won the Wellington regional Get2Go Challenge on 29 June against tough opposition from twelve other school teams.
The Get2Go Challenge is a multi-discipline event for Year 9 and 10 students, run by the Sir Edmund Hillary Outdoor Pursuits Centre (OPC). Students compete in orienteering, mountain biking, kayaking and indoor rock climbing around Wellington City. The team will go on to represent the Wellington Region in the Youthtown Get2Go Grand Final, which will be held at OPC on Great Barrier Island in December. (21/07/2010)
Basketball Reps
Sisters, Hannah and Jessica Sampson have both been selected for Wellington representative basketball teams. Hannah (Y10) will play for the U15 team and and Jessica (Y6) the U13 team. Maddie Chapman (Y12) and Lauren Spring (Y11) are also U17 basketball reps.Well done girls! (12/07/10)
Animation Winners
Congratulations to Stephanie Hpa, Oksana Gogan and Harriet Aburn (Y10) whose animated entry "My family" has won the Intermediate Level in the 2010 Marvinator Competition. Microsoft NZ, Partners in Learning and collaborating organisations launched a NZ School Competition to give primary and secondary students the opportunity to use the MARVIN animation software. Stephanie, Oksana and Harriet created their clip to help Primary Students learn German. Sehr gut! See clip (12/07/10)
Artist in Residence
Marsden welcomes Wellington based mixed media artist Caroline McQuarrie as the 2010 Mercedes Benz Artist in Residence. Caroline is a senior tutor in Photography at Massey School of Fine Arts. She incorporates crochet and embroidery with photographic processes to create unique art. While at Marsden she will work with senior students as well as on her own creations for an exhibition in September. (30/06/2010)
Shave for a Cure
Hettie Morrison and Maddie Chapman (Y12) took the brave step of having their hair shaved off yesterday as part of their own fundraising initiative to raise money for leukaemia. The girls had their beautiful thick dark ponytails cut off and heads shaved in front of a very supportive lunch-time crowd in the auditorium. 
Their hair will be sent to an organisation that makes wigs for people who have lost their hair due to illness. Through school and online donations Maddie and Hettie have raised more than $10,000 already. We were all very impressed by their courage and afterwards there were lots of hands ready to give them a congratulatory pat on the head. (23/06/2010)
Peter Pan - The British Musical
Do YOU believe in Magic? The cast of Peter Pan - The British Musical convinced their enthralled audiences that magic really does exist. The auditorium was transformed into Neverland featuring wonderful costumes and stage sets. The musical by Piers Chater Robinson involved students from Years 7-9 and was directed by English teacher, Ms Annemarie Josie. (23/06/2010)
Hockey Umpire
Congratulations to Penny Thompson (Y11) who has been selected to umpire at the premier Collier Trophy (national U13) hockey tournament in September. She has also been nominated to umpire at the second ranked Marie Fry secondary schools tournament in Palmerston North. Penny umpires Wellington P1 secondary school games each week. (23/06/2010)
Netball Umpire
Congratulations also to Dee Renai (Y12) who has recently been awarded with her “Centre Court” badge by Wellington Netball. Dee is one of two school girls with this badge, a well deserved reward for her outstanding contribution and level of umpiring over the past three seasons. (23/06/2010)
Rogaining
Never heard of it … ? "Rogaining is the sport of long distance cross-country navigation for teams travelling on foot. The object is to score points by finding checkpoints located on the course within a specified time. Checkpoints may be visited in any order."
The results from the Metlink City Safari held recently had the "Mugby" team, Hannah Barnes and Lauren Turner (Y11), coming first in the Schools category for the 6-hour event, while the "Bush Bashers" team of Hannah Fletcher and Sophie Snaddon (Y10) completed the 3-hour event. (23/06/2010)
Science Fair
The standard of this year's exhibits at the Year 9 Science Fair was very high. Congratulations to the following students whose projects were selected for the NIWA Wellington Science Fair in August.
Annabelle Blue and Emily Janus, Laura Gower and Madison Young, Rachel Habershon and Emily McKane, Madeleine Hazelton, Alexandra Heather Sclater, Katie Jackson, Nicola Mah and Olivia Payne, Libby McGuire and Ella Morrison, Ashlee Mulcahy and Charlotte Russon, Islay Payne and Catherine Stevens, Nicole Rennie, Jialin Sae-Jiw, Emily Schwer and Holly Thomas. (23/06/2010)
Cross Country
Marsden had a great day at the Western Zone cross country competition with a high number of girls in the top 10 of each race. Special mention goes to Ilena Shadbolt (Y4) and Harriette Dunphy (Y8) who won their races, Jessica Seow (Y6) who was second and Rachel Witkowski (Y8) who was third. (23/06/2010)
St George's Exchange
The Marsden Primary A hockey team showed the benefits of early morning fitness training in its 9-0 win over St George's in the annual friendly exchange. The Primary A netball team played its best match of the season against strong opposition to lose 36-33 in the last few minutes. (23/06/2010)
Tech Hui
More than 300 students from lower North Island schools took part in the Tech Hui 2010 yesterday at Marsden. Tech Hui has been running successfully since 2006, organised by a group of students from Marsden, Wellington College, Scots College and Wellington Girls. The day involved presentations by New Zealand IT leaders, as well as student presentations, competitions and visits to Natcoll, Massey, Victoria and Weltec. Full details are on the Tech Hui website www.techhui.org.nz Pictured Brenda Frisk from NextSpace demonstrates geological 3D modelling on an iPad. (16/06/10)
Big Sing
The Marsden Choir gave a superb performance at the 2010 Wellington Region BIG SING (NZ Choral Federation's Secondary Schools' Choral Festival) last week. Over 1,400 secondary school students in 38 choirs from 26 schools around the region took part. Marsden won an award for the best 20th Century piece. Congratulations to Head of Music, Mrs Marian Campbell, and the musicians involved for this well deserved award. (16/06/10)
Underwater Hockey
Marsden had its best ever result in the Central Zone Underwater Hockey tournament held on 12-13 June, finishing runners-up to Aotea College in the U15 girls' division. At the completion of the tournament an U18 squad was named for the inter-zone competition which included five of our players. Congratulations to Emma Marsland, Emily Fiennes (Y10), Kaitlyn Booth, Lantarna Manuel-Arnold and Kathrynn Jelas (Y12). (21/06/10)
Western Zone Hockey
The Marsden A Hockey team from Years 5 and 6 was too good for all its opponents, not conceding even a goal in winning all its games. The B team won six from nine games. Good play!! (16/06/10)
Netball Star
Congratulations to Rachel Helu (Y110 who was named "Best attacker" playing for the Wellington U15 team in the recent interprovincial tournament in Palmerston North. (16/06/10)
Gymnastics
It was a super effort by Maddie Lath (Y11) to win three firsts and one second in level 9 section of the Wellington Open rhythmic gym competition over the weekend. Finishing in overall first place for level 9, achieving the highest single routine score of 18.7, Maddie has qualified for the Nationals in September. (16/06/10)
Prime Minister's Visit
The Prime Minister, the Hon. John Key, visited our Preschool yesterday at the invitation of the children. They wrote to him last week when they were learning the letter "J" in the alphabet. He listened to them sing, read them a story and answered their questions. The children really enjoyed his visit. (03/06/2010)
Orienteering Stars
The Marsden orienteers were the stars of the Wellington team in their inter-provincial competition against Auckland and Hawkes Bay in Auckland at the weekend. Lauren Turner (Y11) won the top Women's 16 yrs (W16) grade, with Hannah Sampson (Y10) second, Jessica Sampson (Y6 and 10 years old) won W12, Chelsea Sampson (Y3 and seven years old) was second in W10 and Emma Carruthers (Y8) 3rd in W14. Best wishes now for the NZ Secondary Schools' Championships in Auckland in July. (09/06/10)
Fencing
Amanda Cundy and Anna Mackinnon (Y12) finished well above their expectations in the North Island Open Championships for foil last weekend. Among their opponents were fencers who had travelled from Europe and Asia to compete. Anna was 12th and Amanda 17th. This is an enormous achievement for them, and will impact on their national ranking. Well done girls. (09/06/10)
Cricket Tour
Old Girl, Sian Ruck (Y13, 2001) will play against England at the traditional home of cricket, Lord's Cricket Ground, as a member of the White Ferns, the New Zealand Women's Cricket Team during their tour of England in June and July. Many congratulations. (03/06/2010)
Chinese Success
Marsden students excelled at the national Chinese Bridge speech Competition in Auckland at the weekend. Kate Burgess (Y12) was one of three winners in the Secondary category who qualify for an all-expenses paid two week trip to China for the world final in October. Lauren Spring (Y11) won a second prize in the same “second language” Secondary section for Years 11, 12 and 13 and Sabrina Koh (Y10) was a winner in the native speaker Intermediate Section. (03/06/2010)
Hiphop
Exciting times are ahead for Karina Llanilo (Y13) who will travel with her Hiphop team to Las Vegas in July to compete at the World Championships. Karina is a member of Emerge, a Wellington group of 11 dancers, the only Wellington team to represent New Zealand at the championships. (03/06/2010)
Stage Challenge
Our talented Stage Challenge team led by Sarah Botherway (Y13) came fourth in the recent Wellington Competition winning awards in Excellence for Visual Enhancement, Set, Design and Function, Soundtrack and Costuming Character. Congratulations to Rachel Upchurch (Y13) who won the only lighting award given on the night. We are proud of all involved. (03/06/2010)
Old Girls' Reunion
Our Principal, Ms Jenny Williams, and Development Director, Mrs Martine Foster, enjoyed meeting with Old Girls at reunion cocktail party in Sydney last week. Pictured is Ms Williams (left) talking to one of the Sydney Old Girls. (03/06/2010)
Fencing
Marsden's fencing team improved in this year's Wellington Secondary Schools' competition to be second in the sabre and third in the foil. In the individual foil results, Anna MacKinnon (Y12) was fourth, Amanda Cundy (Y12) fifth and Imogen Roberts (Y11) seventh.
Anna and Amanda were selected to represent the Central Region (Wellington-Hawkes Bay) in the prestigious North Island Women's Open Foil in Auckland in June. Anna says the competition will be very hard as they will be fighting against a former Chinese Olympic gold medallist, Yuan Ping, and some of New Zealand's toughest opponents. Best wishes girls. (27/05/10)
Cross Country Winners
Well done to Anna Roche (Y13) who won the senior girls' race and Bridget Kiddle (Y9) who won the Year 9 event at the CSW Cross Country competition at Waikanae yesterday. Great racing. (27/05/10)
Netball Success
It was an outstanding day for our young Senior A Netball team at the regional competition day last week at Taita to come third out of 24 schools, with some exciting and intense games. Marsden defeated Taita College, Tawa College, St Oran's, Onslow College, Wainouiomata and Wellington High on the way through before losing to St Mary's in the semi-final. (27/05/10)
O for Oarsome!
The Marsden Rowing Club was delighted to launch its new $30,000 rowing four at a lunchtime ceremony on Monday. The Principal, Ms Jenny Williams, and student head of rowing, Tessa Ralston (Y13) pictured, launched the boat which was funded through the New Zealand Community Trust and club fundraising. New oars are also to be bought with a grant from the Trusts' Charitable Foundation. (19/05/2010)
Chinese Competition
Congratulations to Sabrina Koh (Y10), Lauren Spring (Y11) and Kate Burgess (Y12) who have won the first round of the Chinese speech competition held at Wellington College last Saturday. They will represent the Wellington region at the national competition on 29 May in Wellington. Good luck! (18/05/2010)
Film winner
Hannah Sampson (Y10) is the weekly winner of the New Zealand schools' online animated film competition run by Microsoft Partners in Learning NZ and software company MARVIN. Hannah was assisted by Bryony Shelton (Y10). The winning clip, Eva visits the Pet Shop, was created to help young children learn German. The Marsden Preschoolers loved it! Hannah won an MP3 player and her entry goes into the final competition which will be judged on 23 June. See winning entry (19/05/2010)
Irish Essay Win
We are very proud of Enakshi Chakravorty (Y13) who entranced the judges with her entry and has won the annual Rodney Walshe Essay Competition. The prize is an all-expenses paid trip to Ireland. The competition was won two years ago by another Marsden student, Maria English (Y13 2009). Read Enakshi's essay "Blarney Talk" (12/05/2010)
Orienteering Reps
Marsden has five orienteers in the Wellington regional schools' team to compete against Hawkes Bay and Auckland in Auckland over Queen's Birthday weekend. Congratulations to Megan Engleback (Y13), Lauren Turner (Y11), Hannah Sampson (Y10), Sophie Snaddon (Y10) and Emma Carruthers (Y8). (12/05/2010)
Netball Reps
Ruby Lawler, Charlotte Stephen and Rosie Ward have been selected for the Year 7 Wellington West Netball team and Ella Macaskill the Year 8 team. Well done girls. (12/05/2010)
Tennis Reps
Marsden students have been playing good tennis and three have been picked out of a possible total of 11 for Wellington rep teams. Emily Fiennes (Y10) and Ruby Lawler (Y7) are in the B team and Madison Young (Y9) is a reserve. (12/05/2010)
China Trip
Six Year 11 and six Year 12 Chinese language students, accompanied by their teacher Ms Chunrong Song and Academic Director, Ms Margaret Adeane, have recently returned from a wonderful 16 day trip to China. Through Wellington’s sister-city relationship with Xiamen and the Wellington-Xiamen Association they were fortunate enouch to receive an invitation to visit Xiamen on an educational exchange programme. See photos of their amazing trip. (05/05/2010)
International Science
Congratulations to Kate Burgess (Y12) and Imogen Payton (Y13) who have been selected by the Royal Society of New Zealand from more than 300 applicants to represent New Zealand at international science events. Kate will attend the BioFutures Forum in Brisbane in July and Imogen has been chosen to go to the Raffles International Science Camp in Singapore in June. (05/05/2010)
Orienteering
Well done to our orienteers who finished in the top three at the first CSW races in Newtown last weekend. Hannah Sampson (Y10) was first in the Intermediate Girls, Emma Carruthers (Y8) first in Primary Orange and Chelsea Sampson (Y3) first in Primary White. Lauren Turner (Y11) came second in the Senior Girls and Sophie Snaddon was third in the Intermediate Girls event. (05/05/2010)
Recipe Book success
Congratulations to sisters, Alexandra (Y9) and Charlotte Stephen (Y7) who, together with their mother, well-known food writer, Margaret Brooker, co-authored "It's My Turn to Cook" which last night won Best Children's Cook Book category of Le Cordon Bleu World Food Media Awards. More than 700 entries were received for this prestigious competition, which was judged by an international panel of 60 jurors and included entries from USA, France, Australia, Spain, Cambodia, Slovenia, and the United Kingdom. In the food writing world this is a really big deal - the equivalent of the Oscars. Their book was launched at Marsden late in 2007. Media release ... (04/05/2010)
Girls' school graduates have an edge
For the first time, educators have solid evidence of girls' schools' effectiveness. In April 2009, UCLA's Graduate School of Education & Information Studies released the results of a well-documented, national study which shows the statistically significant edge girls' school graduates have over their coed peers. Read more ... (30/04/2010)
Geography Trip
Students from the Year 12 Geography class enjoyed gorgeous weather for their trip to Tongariro National Park last week. They looked at the live volcanoes' impact on the environment and collected data for their research. (28/04/2010)
Brainy Bees
More success for Marsden students in the Australian neuroscience quiz, the International Brain Bee Challenge. Samantha Elston, Jane Holt, Imogen Roberts, Rachael Wiltshire (Y11) have all qualified for the second round in Auckland in June. Marsden won the teams' challenge in Auckland last year and Kate Burgess (Y12) was crowned individual New Zealand Champion. (28/04/2010)
Athletics
Anna Roche (Y13) has been selected to represent New Zealand at the World Junior Track and Field Champs in Moncton, Canada in July. We are thrilled for Anna and wish her all the best. (27/4/2010)
Story Competition Winner
Well done to Harriet Dunphy (Y8) who has won second prize in the National Schools Challenge, Year 7-8 Story Challenge, sponsored by the Telecommunications Industry Group. Harriet won a telescope for the school. (27/4/2010)
International Cricket
Congratulations to Madeleine Chapman (Y12) who has been selected to play cricket for the Samoan National Team. She will travel to Japan at the end of April to participate in an ICC World Cup qualifying tournament. Go Maddy! (22/04/2010)
Yachting
We are delighted for Hannah Scott-Mackie (Y12) who has been selected to take part in the Harken Ladies Yachting Regatta, in Sydney representing the Port Nicholson Yachting Trust Youth Scheme. This is a great privilege, highly prestigious and the first time she will represent the Youth Scheme.(22/04/2010)
Hockey
Well done to Kate McCaw, Anita Chandler (Y13) and Madeleine Simmonds (Y12) who have been selected for the U21 Capital Hockey Team which covers Wellington, Nelson, Marlborough and Buller districts. They will play in the National U21 Hockey Tournament in Palmerston North on 1-8 May. Anna Brow and Kristin de Lisle are non-travelling reserves. (22/04/2010)
Surf Lifesaving and Kayaking
Congratulations to Grace Acheson (Y13) who won three gold medals at the Wellington Regional Surf Lifesaving Championships last Term. She came first in the U19 Women's single surf ski, U19W double surf ski and Open Women's double surf ski. Grace also finished second in the Open Women's Ironman event, which includes surf ski, surf swim, board and sprint. A great effort.
These wins follow Grace's success at the National Kayaking Championships, at the Blue Lake Rotorua in February. She won four medals: Gold: U19 K2 500, Silver: I19 K2 200, Bronze: U19 K4 500 and Bronze: U19 K4 200. (22/04/2010)
Badminton
Well done to Charlotte Burger (Y8) who has been selected for the Wellington U13 badminton team. (22/04/2010)
Orienteering
Our orienteers ran well at the North Island Secondary Schools Orienteering Championships at Waitarere Beach on 16-17 April, contributing to Marsden's top four finish in the Top Girls' School competition. Emma Carruthers (Y8) was second in the Y7/8 Championship. Hannah Sampson (Y10) ran up a grade and finished third in the Intermediate Girls. She was also part of the Senior Girls relay team, with Lauren Turner (Y11) and Megan Engleback (Y13), which came second. The Y7/8 relay team of Ruoniso Mashingaidze, Emma Kerr and Emma Carruthers were fourth. Our Intermediate team of Morgan Archer, Brittany Hooper and Sophie Snaddon (Y10) were sixth. A good result for a growing sport at Marsden.
Tennis
We wish Anna Ruben (Y11) well as she travels to Germany this term to spend 6 weeks playing interclub tennis for a senior one and junior team. She will be training most days with the club, staying with a local family and playing tournaments. Anna is going with her coach who will also play interclub for a German team. (22/04/2010)
More Tennis
Marsden's Junior A Tennis team finished in first place with a convincing six wins from six games and they will automatically go into the Regional Junior A competition in Term 4. Their dominance was so good that they did not drop a game during the term. (22/04/2010)
Cricket
The 1st XI has had a successful start to the year remaining undefeated we go into Term . The batting and bowling has been impressive with a number of stunning catches. (22/04/2010)
Orienteering
Our orienteers had excellent results at the National Orienteering Champs held in Dunedin over Easter. Hannah Sampson (Y10) elected to run up a grade in W16 finishing second in the middle distance event, third in the sprint and eighth in the long distance. Megan Engleback (Y13) came second and fourth in the Women's Open (short distances). Jessica Sampson (Y6), competing in the Women's U12, was second in the long distance, fifth in the sprint and sixth in the middle distance. Lauren Turner (Y11) finished fifth in the U16 sprint and sixth in the U16 middle distance. Chelsea Sampson (Y3) placed sixth in the U10 long distance and seventh in the middle distance . A great effort from all. (12/04/2010)
Fencing
We have three keen fencers who have been selected to compete at the National Fencing Championships in Wellington in the holidays. Imogen Roberts (Y11) will compete in the U15 tournament, Anna MacKinnon and Amanda Cundy (Y12) have been selected for the U17 competition. Anna won a gold medal in the plate round of the Wellington/hutt valley mixed club foil competition last weekend.
Unfortunately Amanda will be in China so she will not be able to attend the nationals. (31/03/10)
Karate
Lucinda Wong (Y11) is very serious about her karate and we are thrilled to hear she has been selected to compete for New Zealand at The International Youth Karate Championships in Tokyo later this year. All the best Lucinda. (29/03/2010)
Hockey Scholarship
We are delighted for Jessica McFadyen (Y13 2009) who has been awarded a hockey scholarship (valued at $US 54,000 per annum) to Wake Forest University in North Carolina. She will take up this scholarship in September. Jessica was an outstanding player for the Marsden Hockey 1st XI and the Marsden Cricket 1st XI. She is a member of the Wellington Women’s NHL hockey squad and the Wellington Women’s Blaze cricket squad. In attending Wake Forest Jessica is following in the footsteps of PE teacher, Nicola Kaiwai, who was a recipient of a tennis scholarship to Wake Forest in her student days. Jessica is coaching hockey at Marsden this season and we value the expertise she has to offer. (29/03/2010)
Science Award
Congratulations to Morgan Archer (Y10) who received one of two Peter Spratt Memorial Awards at the 2010 Realise the Dream Awards Dinner last week. Morgan attended the six day science symposium in December after her success at the NIWA Science Fair. Her project studied whether peppermints refresh your breath and stimulate your brain. Photo courtesy Realise the Dream - Morgan (on left) receiving her award. (24/3/2010)
Diving
Fiona Cameron (Y9) continues her diving success winning three gold medals in the 1m, 3m and Platform events at the DNZ Autumn Championships in Auckland at the weekend. As well as achieving personal bests she has qualified for the Australian Junior Elites Championships to be held in Perth in July this year. The NZ team for this event, will be announced at the North Island Championships in Auckland at the end of April. (23/3/2010)
Athletics
Well done to Anna Roche (Y13) who ran a personal best to finish second in the senior women's 800m at the International Track Meet in Christchurch last Thursday. She has qualified for the World Junior Athletics Championships in Canada in July. This is an amazing comeback after being away injured for eight months. See Dominion Post article (24/3/2010)
Wellington Youth Orchestra
Congratulations to Chelsea Grant (Y13) and Claudia Smith (Y12) who have both auditioned successfully for the Wellington Youth Orchestra. Chelsea plays the French horn and Claudia is a violinist. Members of this prestigious orchestra include performance music students from the New Zealand School of Music and it aims to expand and extend classical music education, training and experience. (23/3/2010)
Wild Food Challenge
We are delighted for Rebecca McIntyre (Y8) who came fourth in the Eastbourne Wild Food Challenge on 13 March. This was especially notable as Rebecca was competing against adults. She cooked a fish dish that obviously impressed the judges. Well done to a budding gourmet cook! (23/3/2010)
Y11 Family BBQ
Year 11 students and their families enjoyed a BBQ at Ohariu Farm, generously hosted by Jude and Greg Best, on Sunday 14 March. They were blessed with sun, good food and even an impromptu soccer game. You can't beat Wellington on a good day! (23/3/2010)
Tornado hits Marsden
Marsden is mopping up this week after a tornado ripped off part of the auditorium roof during a freak storm which swept through Wellington on Friday. Fortunately there were only a few students and staff present at 4.30pm when the tornado hit. The auditorium roof has been extensively damaged and five classrooms are out of action. (Photo courtesy Don Mackintosh) See TV1 News item (17/03/2010)
Athletics Reps
Well done to Bridgett Kiddle (Y9), Morgan Archer (Y10) and Anna Roche (Y13) who have been selected for the Wellington team to compete at the North Island Athletics Championships. This follows their excellent performances at the recent Wellington Regional Athletics Championships. (17/03/2010)
Speech Scholarship
Congratulations to Rachael Wiltshire (Y11) who has been awarded a Speech New Zealand Grade Six Scholarship. She received a cheque from Speech New Zealand to further her studies. Rachel applied for the scholarship after gaining Honours in two modules and Honours Plus in the third module of her Grade 6 examinations. (17/03/2010)
Prestigious Girdlers' Scholarship
Last year's Head Girl, Maria English, has won the prestigious Girdlers’ Scholarship to study at Cambridge’s Corpus Christi College. Administered by the New Zealand Vice-Chancellors’ Committee, the Girdlers' Scholarship is funded by the Worshipful Company of Girdlers which traces its foundation back to medieval times as a craftsmen’s guild. The award, worth £25,000 per annum, is offered to one New Zealand “all-rounder” each year. Currently at Otago University, Maria will commence studying for a degree in Politics, Psychology and Sociology (PPS) at Cambridge University later this year. She is the 46th recipient of the scholarship and the first to study for the PPS degree. We wish her all the best for this exciting new challenge. Press release (11/03/2010)
Swimming
Oliver Lusk (Y10) Whitby broke a Wellington swimming record at the National Age Group Swimming Championships in Christchurch last week.He took the 14yr boys 100m breaststroke record and gained a bronze medal. He was also third in the 50m breaststroke and fourth in the 200m. Well done. (10/03/2010)
Ironwoman
We are proud of our Head of Science, Mrs Gabrielle Gunn, who completed the Taupo Ironman race last weekend in a time of 14hrs44mins, to finish 14th in her age group. She had a 3.8km swim in a wetsuit, a 180km bike ride and a 42.2km run. Phew! An inspiration to us all. (10/03/2010)
Triathlon
Congratulations to Bridget Kiddle and Alexandra Heather-Sclater (Y9) who had excellent performances in the College Sport Wellington triathlon at Scorching Bay last Friday. Bridget was third in the junior girls' section and Alex was seventh. (3/03/2010)
Athletic Sports
Marsden's 2010 Athletic sports were held at Newtown Park in February. It was a fabulous day with several records being broken. Anna Roche (Y13) broke the Senior 800m and 1500m records and was named Senior Athletics Champion, Brianne Egley (Y7) won the Junior 100m sprint record; Emma Fulbrook (Y8) broke the record for the Junior Vortex Throw and was runner up Junior Champion. The Junior 4 x100m relay was won by 8BN in a new time of 1.01.44 secs.
School Champions | Runners- Up |
Senior : Anna Roche (Y13) | Senior: Madeleine Simmonds (Y12) |
Intermediate: Morgan Archer (Y10) | Intermediate: Hannah Sampson (Y10) |
Junior: Rachel Witowski (Y8) | Junior: Emma Fulbrook (Y8) |
Hadfield-Beere won the March Past and overall House Winners were Richmond. See Sports Gallery for photos
Wellington Youth Sinfonietta
We are delighted for talented Kate Burgess (Y12) who has been appointed principal cellist with the Wellington Youth Sinfonietta. Kate will also be sitting her ATCL Recorder Performance exam in early June before leaving for California to represent New Zealand in the International Brain Bee Challenge. (24/02/2010)
Touch Rugby
Congratulations to Kate McCaw (Y13) who has been asked to trial for the Wellington under 19 Touch Rugby team following her outstanding play at the Wellington Secondary Schools tournament held today. (24/02/2010)
Orienteering
Our orienteers continue their great success. Lauren Turner (Y11) won her first event in the Women’s U18 class at the “Sprint the Bay” competition in Hawkes Bay. Hannah Sampson (Y10) competing in the Woman’s U14 class won all her events convincingly. She was the overall winner in her class for the series. Well run girls! (24/02/2010)
Cycling
Two Marsden students hold Wellington Junior Track cycling records. Ione Johnson (Y8) holds the U13 Girls 200m sprint, 500m Individual time trial and 1 km time trial records for the season. Ione also holds the 200m sprint record and the 1 km time trial for the U15 girls. Ione is joint holder of the U13 and U15 girl’s 2up 500m Wellington records. Hannah Barnes (Y11) holds the records for the U15 girls in the 200m sprint and 1 km time trial for the season and also holds the Wellington record for the 2000m individual pursuit. (24/02/2010)
Silver Crest Award
Congratulations to Rachael Wiltshire (Y10) who completed a Silver Crest award in 2009. CREST is the Royal Society of New Zealand's international awards scheme designed to encourage years 6–13 students to be innovative, creative, and to problem solve in science, technology and environmental studies. Rachael carried out a study on the effectiveness on different types of weed matting. (biodegradable vs commercially produced ). (24/02/2010)
Realise the Dream Forum
It was a great experience for Morgan Archer (Y10) who spent the week from 6-11 December in residence at Weir House Victoria University with selected students from New Zealand and overseas as a result of her great success at the NIWA Science Fair. She participated in excursions to science and technology organisations and hands-on workshops. (24/02/2010)
Skiing
Marsden has three students in Europe competing for New Zealand. Taylor Smith (Y13) and sister, Hunter-Rose (Y10) and Chelsea Wallace (Y11) have had some brilliant results. Hunter-Rose and Chelsea have had several top 5 finishes on the Junior skiing circuit. Unfortunately Taylor has had some injuries lately but hopes to resume racing on the women’s circuit shortly. (24/02/2010)
Debating
We are proud of last year's debating students, Maria English, Dipti Manchanda and Anna Robinson (Y13, 2009), who will join seven other teams in the final round of the International Public Policy Forum debating tournament to be held at New York University on 16-18 April.
They have qualified for an all-expenses-paid trip to New York City to compete for the $10,000 grand prize. The competition includes written and oral debates in front of a panel of some of the world's leaders in debate, business, law and politics. Go girls! (22/02/2010)
More Debating
The World Schools' Debating Championship has just concluded in Qatar. While the New Zealand Team was beaten in the quarter finals we congratulate Captain, Maria English (Y13, 2009), who was named as the 8th best speaker at the largest WSDC ever! A great achievement. (22/02/2010)
Athletics
Anna Roche (Y13), has been selected to represent New Zealand in the 800m at the Trans Tasman Under 21 Test Meeting in Auckland this Saturday. We wish her all the best for a great race. (18/02/2010)
Swimming
Congratulations to swimmer, Maggie Burns (Y8), who won four gold medals at the Capital City Mazda Sprint Competition in the weekend. She achieved this in four different strokes and set a Wellington record in the 11yrs 50m freestyle sprint. Maggie's twin sister Georgia won a silver medal in the breastroke. (18/02/2010)
Spanish Skype
A new initiative at Marsden Karori is allowing two Y12 students join a Spanish class that is being taught at Marsden Whitby. Twice a week Tessa Grafton and Juliet Whittaker join Y12 Whitby students by using Skype (an online video call) to participate in tutorials. Resources created by their teacher, Mr Leslie Stewart, are uploaded to a virtual classroom using our learning management system. Students can access this from either campus or from home. Feedback from those involved has been very positive. (17/02/2010)
Scholarship results 2009
Our 2009 school leavers had outstanding scholarship results and we congratulate all those involved.
Hilary Beattie topped New Zealand in History as well as gaining two more Scholarship passes, while Maria English gained four Scholarship, Hannah Kitchen, Anna Robinson and Chara Sherwood achieved three Scholarship subjects each. Amanda Tan-Delli Cicchi also gained Scholarship in Statistics from Y12. There was a total of 36 Scholarships including six Outstanding. This is a voluntary exam for top students who also sit NCEA Level 3. More …
Hannah Kitchen: United States Presidential Scholars' Programme
We are very proud of Hannah Kitchen (Y13 2009) who is one of 3000 students out of 3.2 million American high school graduates to be selected for the 2010 United States Presidential Scholars' Programme. Her invitation is based on her outstanding results in the SAT examinations, the entrance process for American Universities. Hannah, as an American citizen, chose to sit SATs as well as her New Zealand qualifications. Hannah starts studying later this year at the prestigious College of William and Mary in Virginia, the second oldest college in the US. This is an outstanding achievement. We wish her well at university and in her application to advance to the next stage of the Scholars' Programme. (09/02/2010)
Cycling
Congratulations to Hannah Barnes (Y11) who has been selected to represent Wellington in the RaboPlus Junior, Masters and Paracycling NZ Track Championships to be held in Invercargill 3 to 6 March. We wish her well. (08/02/2010)
New Director of Whitby
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Mrs Anne Winnall as the new Director of Marsden Whitby from the beginning of March. 
In making the announcement, Principal, Ms Jenny Williams said: "Anne is coming to Marsden Whitby after being Deputy Principal at Corran School in Auckland for the past seven years. In addition to her extensive experience in educational management, Anne is an exceptional teacher of English, Drama and Media studies. Anne brings with her a love of reading and singing and a wonderful sense of humour.
She is a passionate and enthusiastic leader and is very excited to have the opportunity to lead Marsden Whitby into the future." (03/01/2010)
Academic Results (Provisional)
Congratulations to all of our students for their superb efforts in the 2009 examinations. They can be proud of their achievements. National statistics are not yet available but we are thrilled with the successes of Marsden students in both NCEA and Cambridge exams. See results (03/01/2010)
Top of the World
We are very proud of our students who performed at a world class level in the Cambridge examinations. Last year's Head Girl, Maria English topped the world by gaining 99% in A Level Literature. Olivia Norling (Y13) also achieved 99% in AS Level Literature. In AS Maths 82% of students gained an A Pass and in AS English 94 achieved an A Pass. See Maria's interview with John Campbell from Campbell Live TV3 2 February 2010 (03/01/2010)
The Brainiest Bee
What a brilliant result for Kate Burgess (Y12) who outsmarted hundreds of other Kiwi students to be crowned the 2010 New Zealand Brain Bee Champion in a neuroscience quiz in Sydney.
Kate now heads to the International Brain Bee Challenge in California in August. The competition, which tests neuroscience knowledge, started in the United States and has been organised in New Zealand by the University of Auckland. (03/01/2010)
World Debating
Best wishes to Maria English (Y13, 2009) who is preparing to lead the New Zealand Secondary Schools Debating Team to defend its title at the World Debating Championships in Qatar next week. Maria was the Captain of the team that beat England in Greece last year. (03/01/2010)
Scholarships
Marsden is very proud of the large number of students who have won 2010 tertiary scholarships.
Cricket
Congratulations to Old Girl, Sian Ruck (Y13, 2001) who has been selected for the New Zealand White Fern's Cricket Team to play in the Rose Bowl Women's One Day International and Twenty20 series against Australia in February and March.(03/01/2010)
School Leaders 2010
We are delighted to announce that Kate McCaw (Y12) is Head Girl for 2010. Kate will be supported by her deputy, Grace Acheson and a team of enthusiastic and supportive school leaders. See full list (11/11/09)
Dragon Boating
Y12 and 13 students who would like to try dragon boating should bring PE gear on Wednesday 3 February and meet at the Sports Education Centre at lunchtime.
Students Overseas
Our German exchange students will soon be coming home after spending Christmas away. Pictured left are Amelia Aburn, Enakshi Chakravorty, Maddie Ollivier, Sophie Kyrke-Smith, Miriam Moore and Harriet Westrate . Augusta Wills (Y12) is in France and Lucy McLeod (Y12) leaves soon for her year long Rotary exchange to Denmark. Read excerpts from our students' blogs ...