Arts News Term 2, Week 2

CO-CURRICULAR ARTS

"All the world's a stage," and at St Margaret's last term, the spotlight shone brightly on an amazing display of Co-Curricular Arts. Term One was nothing short of extraordinary, with 40 thriving co-curricular groups engaging a remarkable 700 student places from across the whole school. These passionate students, many involved in multiple disciplines, brought their talents to life in 20 diverse events, ranging from the prestigious Tinā premiere in February to the fierce competitiveness of Regional Debating, the enchanting Twilight Performance evening, and, of course, bringing all the drama with the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare Competition.  

All these events were supported by the dedication of 28 members of staff, alongside the invaluable contributions of many senior school students.

MUSIC

Around 30 students performed at the Itinerant Music Concert. There were some beautiful voices, piano and guitar, and displays of different styles and genres. 

These concerts give students a platform to perform, try out new pieces and gain confidence performing infront of a supportive audience in the Charles Luney Auditorium.

We look forward to more Itinerant Music concerts later on in the year.

Around 40 students took part in the Orchestral Extravaganza, this year taking place at Christ’s College alongside their orchestra and the orchestra from Rangi Ruru Girls’. The three orchestras rehearsed together with sectionals during the day and presented their work to an appreciative audience in the evening. 

The SMC pieces included Appalachian Morning, Ardent Edge and Gabriel’s Oboe, and the massed orchestra highlight was Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. This incredible achievement in the spirit of collaboration showcased the amazing talents of our rangatahi.  

DRAMA

Over 40 Middle and Senior School students took part in the recent Shakespeare Festival (Shakespeare Globe Centre NZ), competing against other schools in Christchurch at the end of Term 1. Congratulations to all students who participated andto  the students who gained awards:

Zöe Rea - Best Actor

Sophie Edwards - Best Supporting Actor

A Midsummer Night's Dream - Stage Magic Award

Hamlet - Intimacy Award

Macbeth - Greatest Connection Award

Lucia Tully - 

As always, our SMC students brought exceptional energy, creativity, and talent to this year’s Shakespeare Festival. This year, we entered four incredible scenes, for the first time, including a scene with middle school students directed by Ms. Herd. Their adorable rendition of A Midsummer Night's Dream brought magic to the stage. It included not only acting but dance, singing, and even instrumentalists. It was so fun to witness our little sisters enjoy the backstage buzz and perform so beautifully after all their hard mahi. 

We entered two 5-minute scenes this year, both directed by Y13 students who have been long-time participants in the festival.  Zoe Rea and Coco Brady delivered an intense and captivating scene from Hamlet, with Zoe Rea achieving the award for Best Performer for the second year in a row! Emma Hoskins and Neveah Shand presented a strong scene from Macbeth and were praised for their “Extremely accomplished delivery of iambic pentameter”. High praise indeed! 

I had the privilege of directing a 15-minute scene from Much Ado About Nothing, and honestly, I have loved nothing more than working with such a talented group of students! The challenges of Shakespearean acting aren’t easy to overcome, but their dedication shone through. The performance was an emotional rollercoaster for every character,r and that was beautifully on stage. Special congratulations to Sophie Edwards, who was awarded best supporting actress. 

Throughout my experiences with the Shakespeare festival, I have always felt unwavering support and love from our amazing teachers and passionate students. We always bring our A game, showing up for one another and all the participating schools, and this year was no exception. The day was fun-filled and reminded me of the real connection we have within the arts whānau at SMC. I have no doubt there will be many more outstanding performances for years to come! 

Ms Harrison -

The Gruffalo Family Walk

Autumn started to show its colours during the school holidays as russet leaves fell to the ground, transforming Bottle Lake Forest into the perfect place to find a Gruffalo!

As a part of this year's Walking Festival, hundreds of enthusiastic Christchurch preschoolers and their families eagerly ventured into an adventure in the deep, dark woods. 

With so many keen visitors, The Gruffalo called upon St Margaret’s College to help spread the magic. Our students volunteered to be guides, and dress up as the animals from the Gruffalo story and the native birds of New Zealand. 

As young adventurers arrived at Bottle Lake, they had the chance to become mice with whiskers and their own pair of customisable ears, before heading out into the forest.  

Once in the forest, they had encounters (sometimes scary ones) with the SMC foxes, owls and snakes. Then, along came the Gruffalo, brought to life by Park Ranger, Warren Hunt. While the Gruffalo’s appearance was, to some, a little bit frightening, in truth, he was very friendly, and the young mice were very excited to meet him. As the mice continued on their journey, they got a chance to meet the fantails and hawks, who taught them about the importance of New Zealand native animals. After meeting all the animals and the Gruffalo himself, the young walkers participated in various craft activities. 

Spotted among the adventurers were our very own Mrs Caird with her two boys, Mr Evans with his girls and Mrs Keys with her granddaughter. 

This event was an amazing opportunity for SMC girls to bring their big sister skills, often well-displayed at school, into the wider community. Getting the chance to provide younger children with such a magical experience was very special. Another takeaway is that now we all know, there is such a thing as a Gruffalo!  

The girls who participated in this event would like to thank Ms Harrison and Miss Goldsworthy for leading the day with smiles and joy. As well as thanking Warren Hunt, Plunket, the Bottle Lake wardens and the City Council staff who made this amazing day possible.  

VISUAL ARTS 

Five alumnae students had artwork selected for a recent exhibition, which took place during the school holidays at the Crossing Airbridge.

ArtStart is an exhibition of Te Waipounamu's future creatives, giving them the audience, funds and confidence to kickstart a career in the arts. It saves youth artwork from the skip and frames it for a brighter future! 

This exhibition was made up of the top artworks shortlisted from a group of over 1,500 submissions across Canterbury Secondary Schools. Our young creative’s artworks were exhibited for two weeks alongside works from local guest artists.

The following ex-SMC students were lucky enough to have their artworks selected for the exhibition:   Lucy Foster, Amy Jones, Harley McVicar, Rosa Turner and Kyra Mayers, which you can view here.

TECHNOLOGY

EPro8 Y5 & Y6 Challenge

Ms Campbell - 

As the buzzer ticked down, students eagerly selected from three challenges. The two-hour timeframe demanded concentration, effective communication, and collaborative teamwork. The ticking clock and leaderboard intensified the pressure, leading to heightened emotions.

The “Jack In A Box” challenge presented technical language that proved particularly challenging for students. In contrast, the second challenge, a tennis ball launcher, yielded greater success. Both challenges necessitated the application of force, using spring-loaded motion to initiate movement, such as holding the ‘Jack’ in place before releasing the latch for ‘Jack’ to elevate out of the box.

In a thrilling tie-break, the Year 5 students faced a challenging competition to construct the tallest tower within a five-minute time limit. The objective was to build a stable base and a well-supported tower.

We extend our congratulations to all our competitors. We would especially like to acknowledge the exceptional contributions of our esteemed mentors, Ruby Ballantyne and Anjali Morar. Their invaluable assistance, mentorship, and judging proudly flew the St Margaret's flag.

DANCE

The Twilight event at the end of Term 1 showcased a plethora of Co-Curricular groups, presenting many talented musicians, writers, actors and dancing stars from all year groups. The evening was a visual delight of high quality performances from almost 30 groups at the Charles Luney Auditorium and was opened by Lily Beavan leading a Karakia:

Orchestra

String Orchestra

Flute Choir

6 Rock Bands

MS TheatreSports

Jazz Band

5 Choirs

Kapa Haka

7 different Dance Groups across different styles, including Musical Theatre, Pop and Jazz.

This year, we saw the introduction of spoken word from 2 students who attend the Creative Writing Club - congratulations to Genevieve (Year 7) and Sasha (Year 8).

Many of the girls were in a number of groups and superbly changed from one group to another. The costumes dazzled onstage and the tech team, steered by Steve Fowler, managed the backing tracks and all things technical. It was a fun and enjoyable evening, enhanced by the slick introductions from Senior Arts Council members, hosted by Emily Chambers and Lucia Tully.

Photos: Inspired Dance Images
Link here to all of the photos
 

SENIOR ARTS COUNCIL

Susan Zhang - 

This holiday, Grace Kim and Summer Zhou proudly represented our school in the New Zealand Secondary Schools Symphony Orchestra (NZSSSO), where I had the joy of watching their performance on Saturday. They delivered a stunning rendition of complex orchestral works, highlighting their strong technical skills and musicianship. Congratulations, Grace and Summer!

Last term, two of our CSO (Christchurch Symphony Orchestra) ambassadors also attended a CSO ambassador meeting at the Christchurch Town Hall. They connected with other young musicians across Christchurch and joined in a collaborative session, where they composed a short musical phrase and performed it during the session. This collaborative experience was a great opportunity for them to build creativity and teamwork skills. Looking ahead, the CSO has exciting performances lined up this term. Free student tickets will be available, so look out for announcements on the student notices!

In addition, art extension girls are diving into a wide range of art media, from more traditional methods using watercolour or acrylic, as well as creating digital art on iPad and computer and more. For the ones that are interested, the mural project is the art block, which is a great opportunity for the girls to collaborate with each other and create a piece of art together.

NZSSO

Summer Zhou - 

I was honoured to be selected for the New Zealand Secondary Schools Symphony Orchestra (NZSSSO) this year. We had an unforgettable week of intensive rehearsals including sectional workshops with a CSO tutor and full orchestral sessions. I had the opportunity to play with so many amazing and talented musicians from across the country and learn from our incredible conductor Leonard Weiss. Playing in such a big orchestra with nearly 100 students has helped me grow in both confidence and skill. Performing the whole repertoire in the final concert after days of hard work was very rewarding and I am incredibly grateful to have been part of this experience with all these musicians.

SENIOR SCHOOL PRODUCTION

We’re delighted to announce that the Senior School production of The Ash Girl, the imaginative retelling of the beloved Cinderella story, is now ON SALE. We look forward to seeing everyone at one of the shows on 24|25|26 June. Book tickets via EventFinda - 

Tickets available here

CELEBRATIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS

Alice Penney will be playing the role of Rum Tum Tugger, Lucy Penney will be playing the role of Coricopat, and Caroline Shallcrass will be playing Rumpleteazer in the forthcoming production of CATS at the National Youth Theatre. The production will be taking place soon, with the opening night on 23 May.

You thought term one was busy … well, hold onto your hats…. it’s Show Time! 

Term Two is already jam packed with the Senior Production, Showquest, Rockquest, Combined Concert and the Big Sing, EPro 8 and Debating Competitions, just to name a few.  We are looking forward to celebrating the successes and achievements from across the school.

FURTHER OPPORTUNITIES

The Ruby Hay Pianoforte Scholarship competition will be held on Sunday 17th August 2025.  All details are available in the Arts office if you want to apply.

The Isaac Theatre Royal is gearing up for an exciting lineup of events this June and July, perfect for kids and families. Two standout shows you won't want to miss are the Matariki Glow Show and the Aunty Claus’ Mid-Winter Christmas Kids Gala.

On Sunday, 8 June, the Matariki Glow Show will light up the stage with its giant-scale, glow-in-the-dark puppetry. This year, the show tells the magical story of Matariki, sharing the magic behind the Māori New Year. The Matariki Glow Show brings the mythical tale to life with its unique puppets, which glow under UV lights in a black box theatre.

The performance is told in both te reo Māori and English, weaving together themes of whakawhanaungatanga, friendship, and family. It offers a truly uplifting and positive experience for all, making it a must-see event for children and families.

On Saturday 1,9 July, join Aunty Claus (Santa’s Big Sister) for a merry Mid-Winter Christmas Kids Variety Gala. This fabulous cabaret extravaganza promises to warm your heart and tickle your funny bone. In collaboration with the Isaac Theatre Royal, the multi-award-winning Tessa Waters, the “Undisputed Queen of Stupidity” (TimeOut London), leads this rollercoaster of fun, featuring the best in comedy, cabaret, circus, and drag the country has to offer.

Aunty Claus and her mate Jeff Parsnips invite the whole family to a joyful afternoon of songs, games, circus tricks, bubbles, and maybe even a sheep herding lesson! Fun is guaranteed for all ages, making it an event you won't want to miss.

Both events are set to provide unforgettable experiences for the whole family. Be sure to mark your calendars and get your tickets early to enjoy these fantastic shows at the Isaac Theatre Royal!

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the Isaac Theatre Royal website.

www.isaactheatreroyal.co.nz