News Archive

News from 2009

Students Overseas

We were excited to read the first blogs from our students currently overseas.  Our German exchange students 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 for her year long Rotary exchange to Denmark in January. We know they will enjoy the experience.  Read excerpts from our students' blogs ...

Round Taupo

 

It was a fantastic effort by the teachers who marked the end of the year by taking part in the 160km Lake Taupo Cycle Challenge.They joined 11,000 other cyclists for what is now one of the top seven cycling races in the world. Our Librarian, Mrs Rosalba Finnerty,  organised five-star food for the competitors and Principal, Ms Jenny Williams was there to cheer them on. It was a great team. (9/12/09)

Old Girl Heads English School

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. Dominion Post 26/11/09 (9/12/09)

Inter-zone Athletics

Congratulations to the following students who performed very well at  the Wellington Inter-zone Athletics Competition at Newtown Park last week.

Name	Event	Place
Bridget Kiddle (Y8)	200m; 1000m 100m	1st; 1st made final
Abigail Dorrington (Y8)	200m;  1000m	2nd; 2nd
Bethany O'Grady (Y7)	High Jump	1st
Nicola Tock (Y7)	Quoit; Vortex	2nd; 3rd
Rachel Witkowski (Y7)	Long jump; 1000m	3rd; 3rd
Pippa Gold (Y6)	High Jump	2nd
Brianna Egley (Y6)	80m	made final
Eleanor Schwer, Victoria O’Keeffe, Ruby Lawler and Brianna Egley (Y6)	Relay	4th

Duathlon

The whole of Marsden Primary and Preschool will take part in a cycling and running duathlon tomorrow in aid of the Mary Potter Hospice. Former World Mountain Running Champion, Melissa Moon, is coming to cheer the students on and the CEO of Contact Energy, David Baldwin, will start the race. (25/11/09)

Rotary Youth Exchange

Lucy McLeod (Y12) will be spending next year in Denmark on a Rotary Youth Exchange, sponsored by the Karori Rotary Club. She will live with three host families and leaves in January for Middelfart where she will attend the Fredericia Gymnasium. Lucy says, “It’s a huge privilege to be able to go to school in another country, and to be part of my host families’ lives for 12 months. Although it’s a bit daunting having to attend a Danish high school – and learn in Danish - I'm looking forward to the challenge”. We wish her well. See Rotary Club Press Release (18/11/09)

Gold Awards

We are proud of Hannah Kirk (Y13) and former Marsden students, Alexandra Archer, Fran Cooke-Willis, Frankie Delany, Kimberley Foo, Ishbel McLachlan and Courtney Rose who received Gold Hillary Awards (Duke of Edinburgh) from HRH Prince Edward in Wellington earlier this month. Pictured (left to right) Courtney, Ishbel, Kimberley, Alexandra and Hannah. (18/11/09)

Badminton Team

Holly Sutton-Williams (Y10) has been chosen for the New Zealand U15 Badminton team to compete at the June Bevan competition in Perth next April. Well done. (18/11/09)

Katherine Mansfield Award

Congratulations to Kate Gill (Y13) who received a Katherine Mansfield Literature Award at a ceremony at Katherine Mansfield House earlier this month.  This award recognises the writing talents of Wellington students. Well known poet and children’s writer, Glenn Colquhoun, was the guest speaker at the event. (18/11/09)

Athletics

Charlotte Smith (Y13) is currently ranked #3 in New Zealand for the Open Women's Long Jump after competing at the Central Region Open Team Athletics competition in Hastings at the weekend. She won the Women’s Long Jump there with a big PB of 5.44m. She is the top U19 Women’s Long Jumper. A fantastic achievement. Well done to our Head of Athletics. (18/11/09)

Diving

Fiona Cameron (Y8) continued her brilliant year when she won silver in the 3m spring board and the 5m platform dives at the New Zealand Nationals held in Auckland, at Labour Weekend. She was also 4th in the 1m spring board. Fiona has been selected for the New Zealand Squad for the 2010 season. (18/11/09)

Entrepreneurial Old Girl

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 three years ago.

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)

Maths Prizes

Marsden students have had some brilliant results in a number of national and international Maths competitions. See list  (18/11/09)

Football

Promising footballer, Eleanor Cook (Y9) has made the U15 Wellington Federation Rep squad. All the best for the season ahead. (18/11/09)

English Competition results

Congratulations to the following students who gained High Distinction Certificates in the ICAS English Competition for reading comprehension held earlier in the year.

Y7	Emma Carruthers, Harriette Dunphy, Gaenor Gibbs-Harris, Georgina Glover, Claire Luke-Krishnan, Olivia Pearless, Helena Scholes, Madeline Whyte
Y8	Rebecca Goddard, Molly Turner
Y9	Hannah Sampson
Y10	Rachel Henderson, Camille Wrightson
Y11	Kate Burgess

Athletics

Well done to the following girls who won places at the Western Zone Athletics Competition and will compete at the Interzones on 25 November:

HIGH JUMP Pippa Gold (Y6) 2nd Bethany O’Grady (Y7) 1st	LONG JUMP Brianna Egley (Y6) 1st Rachel Witkowski (Y7) 3rd
QUOIT THROW Tzu-Ting Lin (Y4) 1st Ruby Lawler (Y6) 1st Nicola Tock (Y7) 1st	VORTEX THROW Emma Fulbrook (Y7) 1st Nicola Tock (Y7) 2nd
SPRINTS Brianna Egley (Y6) 2nd, 80m Rachel Witkowski (Y7) 2nd, 100m Bridget Kiddle (Y8) 3rd, 100m & 1st, 200m Abigail Dorrington (Y8) 2nd 200m	RELAY Year 5 - 3rd Year 6 - 1st Year 7 - 2nd

Multimedia Success

We have just heard from Auckland that all our finalists have been successful in the TVNZ6 NetGuide Schools Multimedia Challenge. Year 10 students Rosanina Estrella, Elysia Tan and Shanella Nallaiah won the Secondary Group Game division, with Joseph Henshaw and Jordan Fleming from Whitby coming second. Nyere Gibson (Y7) was second in the Intermediate Games division and Hannah Strawbridge (Y10) third in the Senior Digital Animation category. A superb result! (13/11/09)

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)

Composer wins Competition

Congratulations to Jonathan Crehan, our 2008 Composer in Residence, who has won the International Classical Marimba League Composition Competition (CML) with his work, Bold Spark. Details ... (11/11/09)

School Leaders 2010

We are delighted to announce that Kate McCaw (Y12) has been named 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)

Scholarships

Congratulations to the following students who have won University Scholarhips for study next year:

Scholarship	Recipients	Amount
Victoria University Excellence	Hilary Beattie, Jasmin Booth, Natalie Foy, Kate Gill, Nina Leeb, Dipti Manchanda, Molly Marshall, Ruth Weatherall (Y13)	$4,500
Victoria University Equity	Chara Sherwood (Y13)	$4,500
Otago University Leaders of Tomorrow	2008 Head Girl, Olivia Blundell (Y13, 2008), 2009 Head Girl, Maria English, Hannah Kirk, Dipti Manchanda (Y13)	$5,000

CSW Awards

We are delighted for Jessica McFadyen (Y13) who has been named the Atiawa FM -  Female All Rounder of the Year at the 2009 College Sport Wellington Awards Dinner on Sunday 8 November. She also received the Female Cricketer of the Year Award. Jess is a member of the NZ Cricket Women's White Ferns Emerging Players Squad, Wellington Blaze training squad, Wellington U18 cricket team as well as playing for Wellington Hockey in their U21 team, Women's A team and the Wellington National Hockey League squad.  Congratulations also to Taylor Smith (Y12) who is CSW Skiier of the Year. Taylor is the current NISS Senior Skiing Champion.  (10/11/09)

Tennis

It was a great result for Leandra and Emily Fiennes (Y9), who won the College Sport Wellington junior tennis doubles championship at the Renouf Centre on 4 November. This was especially satisfying as they were one set down in the finals and fought back to win 2-1. Well played girls! (10/11/09)

Realise the Dream

Congratulations to Morgan Archer (Y9) who has been selected as one of 31 NZ students who will attend the Genesis Energy Realise the Dream event to be held in Wellington on 6-11 December.  This is a national event that rewards and celebrates students who have demonstrated excellence in scientific research and technological practice. (10/11/09)

Strawberry Angels

The Marsden Strawberry Angel Choir (Y2) is singing for the Mary Potter Hospice Appeal at Midland Park in central Wellington at lunchtime today. Don't they look divine?

Sports Awards

Our top sportswomen were honoured at the annual Marsden Sports Dinner last Tuesday.  It was an exceptional year with Marsden students winning New Zealand titles in Orienteering, Kayaking, Surf Life Saving, Swimming, Mountain biking, Skiing and Hip Hop Dance.  Seven students were selected for New Zealand teams.

A record 26 Marsden hockey players were chosen for Wellington teams, from Kate McCaw in the National Hockey League women's team through to U21 to U11 teams.  Sports Awards (4/11/09)

Old Girls' Day

We were delighted to have guest speaker Merrill Gray (Year 12, 1981), address 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)

Citizenship Essay Prize

Two Marsden students have done exceptionally well in the Department of Internal Affairs' Secondary School Citizenship Essay Competition.  Many congratulations to Head Girl, Maria English (Y13) who won the competition and Enakshi Chakravorty (Y12) whose essay was one of five to receive special commendation. Maria's prize is $1000 for herself and $1000 for Marsden. Her essay was judged a clear winner that "captured the spirit of New Zealand citizenship". (28/10/09)

Russell McVeagh Scholarships

Marsden's Head Girl and Deputy Head Girl have both won Russell McVeagh School Leavers' scholarships to study law at university.  Congratulations to Maria English and Natalie Foy (Y13).  The scholarship gives them $1000 in the first year and then $2000 a year to study law.  They also receive mentoring and summer clerk positions at the leading law firm. (28/10/09)

German Scholarship

Congratulations to Augusta Wills (Y12) who has won a scholarship to represent New Zealand at the 2010 International German Olympics (Internationale Deutscholympiade) in Hamburg for two weeks in July. Candidates will compete on their knowledge of Germany and German language competence. Viel glück!

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)

Tennis

Congratulations to Tessa Low (Y8) who is the AMI Wellington Intermediate Singles Champion. Tessa was undefeated in the tournament at the Renouf Centre last week and has qualified for the Central Zone competition in Wanganui next month. Ruby Lawler (Y6) and Georgina Glover (Y7) both made the semi-finals. (23/10/09)

Skiing

Congratulations to Taylor Smith (Y12) who won the North Island Secondary Schools' Skiing Girls' Championship at Mount Ruapehu in September. Taylor was the top individual female in the senior category. (14/10/09)

Cross Country

What a superb effort from Bridget Kiddle who won the Year 8 Inter-regional cross country race in Nelson in September. She was representing the North Island against the South Island along with Jessica Seow (Y5), Rachel Witkowski (Y7) and Abigail Dorrington (Y8). Well done girls. (14/10/09)

Football

Two promising Year 9 footballers have been selected for rep teams. Morgan Archer (Y9) will play for the U13 Hutt Valley Girls' team and Vishmi Helaratne (Y9) for the Western Zone U15 Girls' team. (14/10/09)

Smallbore Rifle Shooting

Congratulations to Ottilie Morrison (Y11) and Hannah Kirk (Y13) who have been selected for the College Sport Wellington Schools' Indoor Smallbore Rifle Shooting team to compete against the Hutt Valley, Manawatu, Christchurch and Marlborough. Vania Tan (Y11) is the non-travelling reserve. (14/10/09)

Symposium produces creative results

An exciting new initiative for Marsden called “Think Again - Make a Difference!” saw Year 8 students experience a three-day conference style event in September where they had the opportunity to inquire, experiment and explore solutions to issues associated with travel and pedestrian safety. Read more ...

Orienteering

Congratulations to our orienteers, Lauren Turner (Y10) and Hannah Sampson (Y9) who competed for New Zealand at the Australian Orienteering Championships in Melbourne these holidays. Lauren finished first in the middle distance and sprint championship for Women 14 and Under and was part of the Womens 16 and Under winning relay team. Hannah was second in the middle distance and her relay team finished third. The New Zealand team were overall winners of the Southern Cross Challenge. Superb results against an international field. Full results:

Australian Middle Distance Women 14 and Under	1st - Lauren Turner 2nd - Hannah Sampson
Victorian Long Distance Womens 14 and Under	4th - Hannah Sampson 6th - Lauren Turner
Australian Schools Individual Championships Junior Girls	4th - Lauren Turner 6th - Hannah Sampson
Australian Schools Relay Championships Junior Girls	3rd - New Zealand
Southern Cross Challenge Overall Winners	1st - New Zealand
Australian Long Distance Womens 14 and Under	4th - Hannah Sampson
Australian Sprint Champsionship Womens 14 and Under	1st - Lauren Turner 6th - Hannah Sampson
Australian Relay Championships Womens 16 and Under	1st - Lauren Turner and team 3rd - Hannah Samspon and team

World of Wearable Art

Marsden Art teacher, Sharon Bacchus, together with Barbara Knight, created "Jacques and the Jellyfish"  (pictured) which was accepted for the UV Light section of the 2009 Montana World of Wearable Arts.  The entry standard for this international show is incredibly high and we are delighted that their flair and creativity has been recognised. Well done! (30/09/09)

Dr Elsie Gibbons 1916-2009

It is with sadness we report the death of Old Girl, Dr Elsie Gibbons, 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 and was Dux in 1933. After leaving school she went to Medical School in Dunedin and eventually ended up in private practice at the top of Abel Smith Street. She served on Marsden's Board of Governors (later the Board of Trustees) from 1966-1999.  She will be remembered with respect and admiration. Read more in Old Girls' News (30/09/09)

Hip Hop Champions

Congratulations to our Senior A Dance Team, GDC, who are New Zealand Secondary Schools Hip Hop Champions for the second year in a row. The team of Olivia Buckner, Claire Cheng, Jamie Marriott (Y13), Sarah Botherway, Ruby Gray, Chloe Johnson and Karina Llanillo (Y12) beat strong competition to take out the championship title in Christchurch over the weekend. (21/09/09)

Singing for the Prime Minister

It was a proud moment for 11 year old Brontë Page (Y7 Whitby) when she sang a solo in front of the Prime Minister, John Key, at the opening of the National Party office in Johnsonville.  Bronte sang "Nation Prayer", by Marsden Whitby music teacher, Mrs Felicia Edgecombe, written on her return to New Zealand from the United Kingdom.  Brontë was congratulated by the Prime Minister and other Members of Parliament afterwards. (17/09/09)

Trees for Marsden

Thank you to the benefactor who donated three surplus macrocarpa trees to the Marsden Parents' Association to be cut for firewood in aid of the Sports Education Centre.  They have been felled by our groundsmen so they can dry out over the summer.  A parents' working bee will cut them up next year. (17/09/09)

Medal for Writer

We are proud of Nina Richardson (Y6) who has won a medal in the ICAS Writing competition. To achieve this medal Nina gained the highest mark for New Zealand in the Year 6 Writing competition. Well done Nina! (17/09/09)

Hockey

Congratulations to Kate McCaw (Year 12) who has recovered from injury and will be part of the Wellington women's team in the National Hockey League tournament in Christchurch.  Anita Chandler (Y12) and Jess McFadyen (Y13) have also been named in the Wellington Women's A Hockey team to compete in the National Senior tournament in Wellington the week after. (17/09/09)

Showcase Concert

It was a stunning musical performance from Marsden student musicians 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)

Football Reps

Two Marsden students have been named in Capital football representative squads. Emma Fulbrook (Y7) has been selected as a goal keeper for the U13 Girls' team and Marnie Fletcher-Jenkins (Y13) has made the U17 Girls' team. Eleanor Cook (Y9) was named earlier in the Capital Football U15 Girls' squad. (14/09/09)

Hip Hop Highlight

Our Hip Hop dance teams were in fine form at the Secondary Schools Regional Hip Hop championships. The Senior A finished second, which was a great result as swine flu had claimed one dancer and the team had to rework its routine three hours before the final.  The Senior B team was third.  Our Primary A team came first in the primary section with two teams competing. (14/09/09)

Rhythmic Gymnastics

Best wishes to Madelaine Lath (Y10) who will travel to Hamilton in the holidays to compete in the National Rhythmic Gymnastics competition. Maddie was selected for the nationals after winning Level 8 at the Spiralz competition in Hamilton in July. She will compete in the ribbon, ball, hoop and rope. (14/09/09)

Cycling

Hannah Barnes (Y10) continued her cycling success to be fastest U15 competitor in the Wellington Secondary Schools road cycling championships. She had to do a hill climb, a time trial and a criterium (points race). Hannah was placed second in the U17 event.  Great going Hannah!

House Music

Congratulations to Richmond who have continued their musical success winning  the annual House Music Competition for the third time in four years! Baber were runners-up. Each house had to perform a waiata, the compulsory song, Steal Away, and a song of their own choosing. Richmond's version of Somebody to Love by Queen was a standout. (04/09/09)

NIWA Science and Technology Fair

We were delighted with the success of Marsden Year 9 students at this years regional science fair. Congratulations to all the students who entered NIWA for their hard work. The winners were:

Marsden Karori	Project	Place	Prize
Morgan Archer	Peppermint Power	1st Class 3	New Zealand Statistical Association prize and a Realise the Dream Nomination
Vishmi Helaratne, Vita Morrison and Cassie O'Regan	Read My Lips	2nd Class 3	Wellington Medical Research Foundation prize
Praise Li	Super Natural Power	4th = Class 3
Stephanie Hpa	No Use Crying Over Cut Onion	Highly Commended
Isabel Kelly	Blurry Eyes		NZ Association of Optometrists prize
Marsden, Whitby
Angela Bauman, Pippa Inge and Jinelle Keats	Don't Be Blind to Your Blind Spot	Highly Commended	Victoria University of Wellington Faculty of Education prize
Jeremy Sheat and Timothy Clarke	Engulfed in Flames		Devereux-Blum Training and Development Limited prize

German Success

Our German language students had wonderful results in the annual German speaking competition held at Victoria University. Congratulations to:

• Enakshi Chakravorty - first in Year 12.
• Schyana Sivananatham - first in Year 10 and overall prize winner for the Junior section. Rachael Wiltshire (Y10) was second.
• Natasha Dowse - third in Year 9 and Caroline Moreau-Hammond, Hannah Sampson and Brittany Hooper were fourth equal in Year 9. (31/08/09)

 

Chess is BIG:

A giant chess set has been purchased for the school by the Marsden Parents' Association. Pictured are Whitby boys enjoying a game between classes on the Karori campus. Marsden has several thriving chess clubs. (18/08/09)

Debating: 

We are very proud of our Head Girl, Maria English (Y13) who has been named as Captain of the New Zealand Secondary Schools' Debating Team for the second year in a row.  She has been a member of the New Zealand team and judged Best Speaker at the Nationals for three years in a row.

Maria's Wellington team won the NZ Schools' Debating finals at Victoria University and she was named "Best Speaker" again for the whole competition. 
The 2010 World Championships are in Doha, Qatar in February.  New Zealand will defend the title it won in Athens this year. (10/08/09)

Cricket: 

Congratulations to Jess McFadyen (Y13) who has been named in the New Zealand Cricket Women's White Ferns Emerging Players Squad. Batting all-rounder, Jess, is already a member of the Wellington Blaze Women's Cricket Squad and the Wellington Women's NHL Hockey Squad.

Chinese Language:

...and well done to Lauren Spring (Y10) who won first place in the intermediate section of the Second New Zealand Chinese Speech Competition in Auckland during the holidays.

Diving:

It was an exciting competition for Fiona Cameron (Y8) who achieved a personal best and eighth place representing New Zealand at the Australian Junior Elite Diving Championships in Sydney during the holidays. Fiona will travel to Shenzen, China in three weeks for an intensive eight day coaching clinic.

Hockey:

Two Marsden students are in the National Hockey League Squad of 19 players to compete in the National competition which starts on 12 September. Congratulations to Kate McCaw (Y12) and Jess McFadyen (Y13).

Football Rep:

Congratulations to Eleanor Cook (Y9) who has been named in the Capital Football U15 Girls' squad. (12/08/09)

Hockey Reps

Florence Marshall (Y7) and Victoria O'Keeffe (Y 6) are through to the squad for the final selection for the Wellington U11 Hockey Team. Best wishes to them. (10/08/09)

Orienteering

Marsden's orienteering team raced well at the New Zealand Secondary Schools' Championships at Himatangi near Foxton in the holidays. The Intermediate team of Megan Engleback (Y12), Lauren Turner (Y10) and Hannah Sampson (Y9) won their event. Lauren was second in the Intermediate Girls' Championship and Hannah was third. The Junior Girls' relay of Hannah Barnes (Y10), Brittany Hooper and Sophie Snaddon (Y9)  was eighth. (29/07/09)

Rugby

Ione Johnson (Y7) was part of the winning Wellington U13 Girls Rep Rugby team during the holidays. Her side successfully defended the JRZE Interzone Tournament Cup at the Ngati Toa Domain. Congratulations Ione.  (29/07/09)

World Vision Success

Marsden intermediate students were among the most successful in New Zealand at fundraising for World Vision in the recent 40 hour famine.  As a result the school has been awarded a fully-funded scholarship for one student to attend World Vision Intermediate week in Auckland in September.  Congratulations to all those involved.  (30/07/09)

Fantastic Triathlon

We are very proud of Old Girl, Kate McIlroy (Y13, 1999), whose success and determination were outstanding in gaining a top ten finish in the recent  ITU World Championship Triathlon in Kitzbuhel, Austria. Kate came eighth in the race, a tremendous result after overcoming injury and switching to triathlon from running less than a year ago. (22/07/09)

Photography Assignment

Marsden senior Photography students have been asked to take staff photographs for the Parliamentary Counsel Office's new website. It is an exciting opportunity for the students to produce images for the website which will go live the following week. (22/07/09)

Basketball

Congratulations to Hannah Sampson (Y9) who has been selected for the Wellington Under 15 basketball team. (22/07/09)

Honorary Doctorate

We are very proud of Marsden Old Girl, Sarah (Sally) Billinghurst BA, Hon DMUS (Dux, Upper Sixth, 1959), who 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, including its expansion to New Zealand and, more recently, bringing live opera performances to worldwide audiences through digital technology. In addition, she has found the time to maintain very 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 opera companies. (01/07/09)

Teaching Exchange

Welcome to Jimmy Kasongo from Zambia who is here for a week's teaching exchange as part of the Child Fund programme. 

Earlier this year Marsden teacher, Holly Norton, travelled to Zambia for three weeks with Child Fund to experience teaching in Africa and to share ideas and information with the teachers there.  For her it was a "life changing experience" and we hope it will be equally as rewarding for Mr Kasongo in New Zealand. (17/09/09)

Chinese Competition

Fantastic results from the Wellington Chinese Speech Competition. Year 10 students Lauren Spring, Georgia Best and Rhiannon Gibbs-Harris won the first three places in the Intermediate Category and Kate Burgess (Y11) won the senior group, Alexandra Cliffe (Y11) was fourth. Lauren and Alexandra will represent Marsden at the final in Auckland as Kate, Georgia and Rhiannon will be away for the holidays. (01/07/09)

Orienteering

Our outstanding orienteers continued their success in local competition with three overall winners and four other placings in the latest race in the College Sport Wellington series of five winter races. Hannah Sampson (Y9) won the Intermediate Girls, Emma Carruthers (Y7) won the Primary Girls Yellow and Jessica Sampson (Y5) won the Primary White section. Megan Engleback (Y12) was fourth in the Senior Girls; Sophie Snaddon (Y9) third in the Junior Girls with Hannah Barnes (Y10) fourth and Chelsea Sampson (Y2) was second in the Primary White. (01/07/09)

Rowing

Congratulations to our two students who won prestigious trophies at the annual Wellington Rowing Club prizegiving. Petra Feickert (Y13) was awarded the cup for Best Schoolgirl Rower and Tessa Ralston (Y12) was awarded the Secretary’s cup for Most Dedicated School Member.
Coming up in Term 3 is a Learn to Row evening in which both parents and their daughters can hear about the upcoming season. The rowing team is now into winter training and if your daughter is interested in joining the rowing team this season please contact our Marsden Sports Administrator tom.davis@marsden.school.nz

Diving

Many congratulations to Fiona Cameron (Y8) who has been selected to represent New Zealand at the Australian Junior Elite Diving Championships in Sydney in July. This follows trials at the Diving New Zealand Winter Championships where she also won two silver medals. Fiona will compete in the 12/13 Year Girls section on the 1M and 3M boards. (24/06/09)

Hockey

We are proud of the record number of Wellington hockey representatives who have been selected from Marsden teams this year. Congratulations to Jessica Cook (Y11) U18 Dev, Kaitlyn Booth (Y11) U16A, Lara Vance (Y10), Isabella Harley (Y9) U16 Dev Squad, Lucy Chandler (Y7), Bridget Kiddle, Caitlin Chatfield and Jaime Laing (Y8) U13 Squad who join the 12 players chosen for other representative teams. (24/06/09)

Jump Rope for Heart

Sixty brightly dressed Year 8 students jumped and skipped for an afternoon last week to raise money for the National Heart Foundation. Challenging ten minute stations were set up, with specialised skills required at each. The red and pink costumes added to the exuberant atmosphere as the girls jumped heartily for charity. (24/06/09)

Taekwondo

Well done to Emily Heaney (Y9) who was second in two events at the Wellington Regional Taekwondo-do competitions on 14 June in Wanganui.

Brain Bee Challenge

Congratulations to Kate Burgess (Y11) who won the North Island final of the Australia-New Zealand Brain Bee Individual Challenge (neuroscience quiz) in Auckland this week. Kate will travel to Australia in January 2010 to take part in the national Australian Brain Bee Challenge (ABBC). Winners of this challenge will compete in the International Brain Bee Challenge in the United States later in 2010. Emily Hayward (Y11) was fourth.
Congratulations also to Kate, Emily, Avantika Singh, Kimberley Low and reserve, Rebecca Bullen (Y11) who were first in the teams challenge, winning a trophy, microscope and model of the brain for school. Superb effort girls!

Science Fair Winners

Well done to the Year 9 Marsden Science Fair winners who will go on to the 2009 NIWA Regional Science and Technology Fair in August:

Tech Hui

Marsden hosted the 2009 Tech Hui yesterday for 220 students and teachers from Wellington, Christchurch, Palmerston North and New Plymouth. Organised by a student committee from Wellington College and Marsden, the conference speakers concentrated on sustainability and innovation through Information and Communications Technology (ICT). Students also gave presentations on the latest developments in ICT at their school.  Marsden won the video competition, judged by external judges.

French Success

Many congratulations to Anna Robinson and Maria English (Y13) who have won a French writing competition, Les Jeunes Auteurs Pour l'Europe (Young Authors for Europe), run by L'Académie d’Orléans-Tours. They entered via The School for Young Writers (based in Christchurch) which is the New Zealand partner establishment for the competition. Kiwi writers were given special dispensation to enter the "French as a foreign language" section and had to write a 2-3 page story in French, beginning from one of 3 starters provided. (10/06/08)

Science Ambassador

A flight to Antarctica was the highlight of the Royal Society of Victoria Young Science Ambassadors' programme for Grace Wellington (Y13) who was chosen as one of 52 students to be in Melbourne in the holidays.  Students from Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Finland and the United Kingdom spent a week in an intense scientific programme, including a trip to a brain research centre, visiting the space centre and meeting the Prime Minister. (10/06/08)

Rotary Science Forum

Two weeks in Auckland during the summer holidays studying science were "amazing" for Hannah Kirk, Caitlin Duncan and Dipti Manchanda (Y13) who were selected to this year's Rotary National Science and Technology Forum. Seminars from leading international scientists and entrepreneurs were interspersed with laboratory sessions, scientific business visits and activities around Auckland.  A great experience for these enthusiastic science students. (10/06/08)

More Science Success

Hannah Kirk has also been selected for the Youth Australian and New Zealand Association for the Advancement of Science (ANZAAS) conference in Melbourne in July.  Six New Zealand students will join nearly 50 Australians for the week-long opportunity to discuss scientific endeavours, visit facilities and meet leading scientists.  Well done Hannah. (10/06/08)

Orienteering

Well done to the four Marsden students who represented Wellington at the Inter-regional school challenge in Hamilton over Queen's Birthday weekend.  Megan Engleback (Y12), Lauren Turner (Y10) and Hannah Sampson (Y9) won the Intermediate Girls' Orienteering competition. Sophie Snaddon (Y9) competed in the junior events. The team finished third overall. (03/06/09)

New Conductor

We are delighted to announce that Old Girl, Gemma New (Y13, 2004) has 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 of 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 (pictured right).

Global Innovation Award

Aren't our Old Girls amazing? Valerie Cranfield (one of our latest Business Hall of Fame inductees) has just returned from Chicago where she 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 collaboration with local artists. (27/05/09)

Marsden in Top Three

Marsden Karori had the best results of any independent school in New Zealand and was the third school overall in last year's NCEA results recently published by NZQA.  The Sunday Star-Times has admitted an error in the tables published in its last edition and has agreed to publish a correction next Sunday.  Go Marsden! (20/05/09)

Hockey Representatives

More hockey representatives have been named from Marsden. Congratulations to Jess McFadyen (Y13) who has been selected to play in the New Zealand Maori hockey tournament in Auckland in October. Kaitlyn Booth and Jessica Cook (Y11) are in the Wellington U16A squad and Lara Vance (Y10) is in the U16C squad. (20/05/09)

South African Visitors

Marsden 1st XI hockey team hosted St Stithians from Johannesburg South Africa in an evening game at the National Hockey stadium recording a very satisfying 4-1 win. The game was played in excellent spirits and we entertained the visiting team at a dinner following the game arranged by the Friends of Hockey. The visitors were billeted for two nights and thoroughly enjoyed their stay. (20/05/09)

Ann Thwaite

Well known British author and Old Girl, Ann Thwaite, spoke at Marsden this week 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. She looks at their reasons for migration, how they fared once settled, and at their participation in gold-digging, farming, road-making, school-teaching and surveying. Both of 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. (13/05/09)

Swimming

The Marsden junior swim team is glowing after very successful Wellington primary and intermediate championships. The Sports Department reports that we had the best team in the region, with the Year 8 relay winning with a faster time than the boys.
Congratulations to the whole team and particularly our individual medallists:
Georgina Peterson (Y4), Jessica Seow (Y5), Maggie Burns (Y7), Jennifer McTeigue (8) Abigail Dorrington (Y8) and Inika Gadgil (Y8). (13/05/09)

Netball

What a weekend!  Marsden was undefeated in the senior netball competition at Hataitai over the weekend, winning all of our 11 games with Senior A thumping Victoria University 32-20.
Three of our players have made the Wellington Under 15 squad, they are Harriet McGuire (Y11), Rachel Helu (Y10) and Lauren Spring (Y10).  Well done. (13/05/09)

Arthritis Walk

Best wishes to Old Girl and former New Zealand rower, Clementine Marshall (Y13, 2000) who starts a pilgrimage this week in an attempt to walk across the north of Spain to raise money for Arthritis New Zealand.
Clementine developed arthritis at the age of 23 in the prime of her rowing career, at the World Championships in Europe in 2006.  Since then she has endured a painful recovery time, emotionally and physically, as her Olympics hopes ended and she had to recover her strength.  She finished a Fine Arts degree in 2007 and works for an advertising agency but decided this year to give something back to the organisation which helped in her recovery.
With two friends, including Old Girl, Jacqui Gilbert (Y12 1997), Clementine intends to walk 800km in five-and-a-half weeks along the Camino de Santiago trail, an ancient pilgrimage route west from France to the cathedral at Santiago de Compestela.
To follow her progress or leave a message of support see http://clementinemarshall.com/walk/   

New Zealand Team

Congratulations to Old Girl, Lizzie Ingham (Y13, 2005) who has been named in the four person New Zealand orienteering team to compete at the World Games in Kaohsiung, Taiwan in July. The World Games are the equivalent of the Olympics for non Olympic sports, eg, karate, surf lifesaving, orienteering. (6/05/09)

Swimming

Marsden proved to have the best girls' swimming team at the Western Zone Swimming Championships on Monday. Well done to: Georgina Peterson (Y4), Jessica Seow (Y5), Maggie Burns and Georgia Burns (Y7),  Jennifer McTeique, Inika Gadgil, Abigail Dorrington (Y8), who were all in the top three in their events. We won the Year 7/8 relays, finished second in Year 5 and third in Year 4. (6/05/09)

Scholars' Assembly

At the end of Term One Marsden celebrated the achievements of our top scholars from 2008 with our annual Scholars’ Assembly.  Scholars’ Badges and Scholars’ Colours were awarded to those students whose performance was outstanding in NCEA, Cambridge and Scholarship examinations.  Full list of recipients (22/04/09)

Athletics

We are proud of Anna Roche (Y12) who has overcome injury to be selected for the New Zealand World Youth Championships team at the IAAF World Youth Championships in South Tyrol, Italy in July. She will run the 800m and we wish her well. (29/04/09)

Volleyball and Netball

Rebecca Purvis (Y13) has been selected for the North Island Secondary Schools netball team which will tour Brisbane in July, playing two tournaments. This follows her selection into the Wellington U19 Netball team and the Wellington U19 Volleyball team. Well deserved. (29/04/09)

Hockey Representatives

A record nine Marsden students have been selected in the Wellington U18A representative woman's hockey team and a further two in the U18 development team. Congratulations to:

Orienteering Representatives

Three Marsden girls have been selected to represent the Lower North Island for orienteering at the Inter-Region School Challenge. Congratulations to Lauren Turner (Y10) and Hannah Sampson (Y9) - Intermediate Girls and Sophie Snaddon (Y9)  - Junior Girls. (29/04/09)

More Orienteering

National 14 and under girls middle distance title holder, Lauren Turner (Y10) also won the intermediate girls race at the North Island Secondary Schools Championships in Auckland last weekend. The Marsden intermediate relay of Lauren, Megan Engleback (Y12) and Hannah Samspon (Y9) was fourth. Excellent results. (29/04/09)

Mountain Bike Championship

Hannah Barnes (Y10) showed great courage and form to win the U19 Women's class in the PNP Cycling Mountain Bike Championship in Wainouiomata earlier this month. Hannah finished 30 minutes ahead of the second placed rider. The event doubled as the College Sport Wellington championships. Well done Hannah. (22/04/09)

Orienteering

Our orienteers have continued their impressive results from local and national competitions in April. Special congratulations to Lauren Turner (Y10), Hannah Sampson (Y9) and Jessica Sampson (Y5) who won national titles at the New Zealand Orienteering Championships in Auckland over Easter. We are also delighted for Marsden teacher, Lesley Sampson who came first in the 40AS event. Full results below: (22/04/09)

Debating

Marsden ended Scots College’s three-year winning run at the Russell McVeagh Wellington Regional Schools’ Debating Champs last weekend. The Marsden team of Agnes Cheung (Y12), Maria English and Dipti Manchanda (Y13) defeated Wellington College B in the Grand Final to win our first title since 2005. Maria was judged Best Speaker at the competition and a member of the Wellington squad and Dipti named as reserve.
The Grand Final was on the motion “That the media should out gay celebrities”, in front of a good crowd. Marsden prevailed in a 3-0 decision, winning the Wellington Speaking Union Cup for the first time since 2005, and the third time in the tournament’s history. Read more in Russell McVeagh's full report on the weekend. (9/4/09)

Short Story Winner

Congratulations to Nyere Gibson (Y6) whose short story "The Adventurous Bushwalk" has won a competition run by Principals Today magazine. Read Nyere's story (9/4/09)

Athletics

Charlotte Smith (Y13) won the senior long jump at the North Island Secondary Schools Athletics Championships, together with a sixth placing in the discus. Madeleine Simmonds (Y11) was fourth in the intermediate 80m hurdles and an impressive second in the open 300m hurdles. Hannah Fletcher, Morgan Archer (Y9) and Rachel Helu (Y10) were also part of the Wellington team. Well done to these girls.

Chinese Function

Chinese language students Kate Burgess and Alex Cliffe (Y13) meet the Chinese Ambassador H.E. Mr. Zhang Limin with their teacher Mrs Song Chunrong at a function at Wellington College. (1/4/09)

Diving

National medal winner, Fiona Cameron (Y8) has been awarded a Scholarship to train with a Chinese Diving Club in China for ten days in August. She will be doing six hours training a day in New Zealand in preparation. What a fantastic opportunity. (1/4/09)

Athletics

Congratulations to the students who have been chosen to represent Wellington at the North Island Secondary School Athletics Championships in Wellington.

Triathlon

Two Marsden triathletes have had success in local competitions. Rachel Witkowski (Y7) won the girls 9-10yrs event at three Kiwi triathlons at Karori, Tawa and Johnsonville and Alex Heather Sclater (Y8) was second in the 12-15yrs age group at the Kapiti Women's Triathlon. (1/4/09)

Published Book

Congratulations to Kate Burgess and Kimberley Low (Y11) for the publication of their first book ‘Who made Mount Ruapehu?’ Last year, as part of their science course, Kate and Kimberley wrote and illustrated a children’s book. As it was so interesting and beautifully presented we decided to have it published through First Edition publishers.
The students have sold enough copies at $15 each to cover the publishing cost and more; the additional funds raised have been donated to three charities: Mary Potter Hospice, Allergy NZ and Child Fund (Zambia), each of these receiving over $100. If you would like to help these creative students raise more money for charity please contact the Head of Science, Gabrielle Gunn to purchase a copy. (25/3/09)

Surf Life Saving and Kayaking

Grace Acheson (Y12) has had a golden start to the year winning the U19 women's double ski race at the Surf Life Saving National Championships in Gisborne on 12-15 March. Grace and her partner triumphed over a tough field of 17 double ski competitors, including many of the country's top surf athletes.
This follows Grace's gold medal for the U19 K2 1000m in the National Kayaking Championships at the Blue Lake, Rotorua on 29 February - 1 March.  She also won silver in the U19 K2 500m, U19 K4 1000m, U19 K1 1000m and bronze in the U19 K4 1000 and U19 K1 4000m. Go Grace! (25/3/09)

Hockey Representatives

We are delighted that three Marsden students have been named in the Wellington U21 Women's hockey team. Well done Jess McFadyen (Y13), Kate McCaw (Y12) and Madeleine Simmonds (Y11). (25/3/09)

Tennis

Well done to Natalie Foy and Alex Morrison (Y13) who finished runners-up in the final of the College Sport Wellington senior tennis championships. Gemma Aspell and Fiona Cooke (Y13) made the plate semi final. (25/3/09)

Marching

Congratulations to Chloe Hoar-Guthrie (Y7) who was part of the Glennette U12 Marching Team that finished second for Technical and third for Display in the Bowl and Plate finals at the Marching Nationals competition held 10-16 March. Her team worked hard to reach the top 6 Marching teams in New Zealand. (25/3/09)

Parliamentary Breakfast

A group of senior students attended the International Women's Day breakfast at the Beehive on 6 March, organised by the Wellington Zonta Club and UNIFEM. Here they are pictured with the guest speaker, the Minister of Women's Affairs, the Hon Pansy Wong and Wellington National MP, Katrina Shanks. The theme of the breakfast was "Women and men united to end violence against women". (18/3/09)

Country Fete Classic!

The sun shone and the crowds came to Marsden's wonderful country fete on Sunday. Congratulations and thank you to the hard working gala committee, parents, students and staff who contributed to make this year's gala such a success. We raised well over $41,000 towards stage two of the Marsden Sports Education Centre. (11/3/09)

Art History Prize

We were delighted to hear that Old Girl, Emma Law (Y13, 2003) has been awarded the Louise Perkins Prize for the top graduating student in stage 3 Art History at Auckland University last year. Louise Perkins was a top scholar at the University and died of breast cancer shortly after she graduated. Her husband Scott set up the Prize and spoke at the award function on 20 February. (04/03/09)

Entertainment Book

The brand new 2009/10 Entertainment Book is almost here. It contains $15,000 worth of discount offers in Wellington that you and your family can use immediately until June 2010. The cost is $55 with $11 from every book going to the school. Pre-order yours by contacting Elaine Kirk on 027 244 8815 or kirk@paradise.net.nz. (04/03/09)

Maria and Debaters Top the World

We are very proud of our Head Girl. Maria English, who has led the Russell McVeagh New Zealand Secondary Schools' Debating Team to victory in the World Championships in Athens. The team beat England in the grand final by a 6-1 margin, proposing the motion "That all illegal immigrants should receive amnesty". Maria was ranked as the world's second best student debater following the competition. On the way to the final, the team defeated Singapore, Scotland, Canada, Wales, Peru, the Netherlands, Chile, Bangladesh and Germany. New Zealand last won the championships in 1995.

This comes a week after Maria heard that she had the best mark in the world with 99% in English Literature in the 2008 Cambridge AS Level examinations. More than 10,000 candidates worldwide sat the exam. This is a phenomenal achievement for Maria who studied for this course independently as part of her individual extension programme. (26/02/09)

Half Marathon

Congratulations to Grace Wellington (Y13) who won her category in the Wellington Round the Bays New Balance Half Marathon last weekend. She was the first female 16-19yrs home in 1:40:36.  (26/02/09)

Equestrian

Three clear rounds gave Isabella Harley (Y9) and her horse Wilful sixth place in the FEI Childrens International Jumping Competition held last weekend in Foxton. Great jumping!  (26/02/09)

Music Scholarships

We are very proud of Old Girl, Hannah Bascand (Y13, 2008), who has won two scholarships to study at university in Sydney. The scholarships are the James Coutts Scholarship (academic and all round ability) and a St. Andrews College Choral Scholarship, together worth NZ$10,000. As part of her choral scholarship she will sing in the choral scholar ensemble group of eight.  (17/2/09)

Otago University Award

Congratulations to Old Girl, Gillian McCarthy (Y13, 2007) who has been awarded the prize for the best student from 100 level Design Studies courses at Otago University last year. She is studying a BCApSc (Bachelor of Consumer Applied Science) and a BA. Gillian is the youngest daughter of the Director of Marsden Primary, Mrs Celia McCarthy. (4/2/09)

Cycling

Two Marsden students had outstanding cycling results during the holidays. Hannah Barnes (Y10) won the U15 girls at the North Island Cross Country Cup (MTB) in January having broken every Wellington U15 girls velodrome racing record earlier in the season. She also won a sponsorship from Bike Barn by winning the PNP mountain biking series. Hannah was also in the team that won the Open Mixed category of the 4-hour Akatarawa Attack rogaine last weekend.
Ione Johnson (Y7) is also making an impact in the U13 girls races, breaking two Wellington velodrome records. (4/2/09)

Swimming

There were some exciting swimming results at the Wellington swimming championships in January. Agnes Cheung (Y12) continued her excellent form with two gold medals and three silver in the highly competitive 15yr age group. Maggie Burns (Y7) was dominant in her 10yrs age group with four gold and seven silver medals. Abigail Dorrington (Y8) was third in two 12yrs butterfly events and Jessica Seow (Y5) picked up bronze in the 9yrs 100m breaststroke. Bridget Stewart, Alice Trow (Y10), Jennifer McTeigue, Inika Gadgil, Alex Heather-Sclater (Y8) and Georgia Burns (Y7) all made finals. Congratulations to these swimmers. (4/2/09)

Gold Tramp

Seven Year 13 students spent part of the holidays tramping the St James Walkway for their gold Young New Zealanders' Challenge. Four days, three nights, 67 kilometres and two sub-alpine passes in hot weather tested the endurance of Emma Dent, Grace Wellington, Jess Baker, Gemma Aspell, Michelle Ashley, Catherine Moreau-Hammond and Hannah Kirk. (4/2/09)

School Leaders 2009

The student leadership teams have many enthusiastic and talented members - congratulations to
Karori Head Girl, Maria English and Deputy Head Girl, Natalie Foy.  See full list