Arts News Term 3, Week 4 2026

Sisters of the Church Tour and Gala Finale Concert

The Community of the Sisters of the Church was founded in England in 1870 by Mother Emily Ayckbowm, an Anglican pioneer whose vision combined Christian faith with a deep commitment to education, social welfare and service. From its beginnings, the Community expanded rapidly across England and throughout the world, establishing ministries in Canada, India, Burma, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.

In 1892, seven Sisters travelled from England to Australia, inspired by a love of God, a strong sense of purpose and a commitment to serving others. Their courage, creativity and compassion laid the foundation for a remarkable educational legacy. Between 1892 and 1926, they established seven schools across Australia and New Zealand.

St Margaret's College was established in 1910 on the initiative of Bishop Julius of the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch, who invited the Sisters of the Church to found a school for girls. The College became part of the Sisters' growing network of schools dedicated to providing girls with an outstanding education that nurtured intellectual curiosity, Christian values, strength of character and a lifelong commitment to serving their communities.

Today, St Margaret's College remains one of the seven 'Emily Schools', united by their shared heritage, crest, patron saint and the enduring values established by Mother Emily Ayckbowm and the Sisters of the Church. While each school has developed its own unique identity, all continue to honour the Sisters' belief that education empowers young people to lead with courage, compassion and integrity. 

The Sisters of the Church Music Festival continues this shared legacy by bringing together students and staff from the ‘Emily Schools’; Canberra Girl’s Grammar School, Perth College, St Hilda’s Collegiate School, St Michael’s Collegiate, St Michael’s Grammar School, St Peter’s Girls’ School and St Margaret’s College to celebrate the tradition, history and ongoing story of the Sisters of the Church. 

First held in 2012 at St Michael's Grammar School, the festival has since been hosted by each of the Australian Emily Schools, fostering lasting friendships and connections through the shared language of music. Gathering in the spirit of Mother Emily's vision and values, the festival celebrates not only musical excellence but also the enduring bonds of faith, community and service that unite the Emily Schools across generations and across borders.

This year, auditioned chamber choirs from Perth College, St Michael’s Collegiate, St Michael’s Grammar School, St Peter’s Girls’ School and St Margaret’s College will come together for a choral tour of New Zealand’s South Island, beginning and concluding in Christchurch. Along the way, the ensemble will visit Timaru, Oamaru, Dunedin, Wānaka and Geraldine, performing in schools, churches and community venues. In Dunedin, they will be joined by the chamber choir of St Hilda’s Collegiate, further strengthening this unique gathering of young musicians. Each performance reflects the enduring spirit of service at the heart of the Sisters of the Church tradition, sharing the gift of music with the communities they visit.

21 SMC girls from the Chamber Choir will be involved in the tour, which will be led by New Zealand’s pre-eminent choral conductor, David Squire, who has been appointed Music Director. He will conduct three combined works performed by the massed choir within each concert programme, while each school choir will also present its own carefully prepared repertoire across the tour.

To mark this special occasion, composers Patrick Shepherd and Rosa Elliott have each been commissioned to write a new work especially for the tour, enriching the programme with music created specifically for this unique collaboration.

The tour will culminate in a gala finale concert at St Margaret’s College in Christchurch, to be held in the Charles Luney Auditorium at 4.00pm on Saturday 5 September. The concert is free entry but tickets are necessary via the Eventfinda link below:

Sisters of the Church Choral Concert

MUSIC

Southern Jam hits the road!

11 SMC girls descended upon Blenheim last week to take part in the annual Jazz festival, Southern Jam. Girls were treated to a 21st celebration and specially commissioned Southern Jam pieces for the bands to perform in conjunction with SOUNZ Centre for NZ Music. The jazz band competed alongside other school jazz and big bands and listened to many performances, with a mixture of schools from around the South Island. 

Jazz performances took place throughout the week at local venues including the public Library, restaurants and cafes, schools and retirement villages, sponsored by KBB Music who provided sound & instrument gear throughout the festival.

The girls spent time in masterclasses and workshops with industry professionals, and the week ended with a public performance at the Whitehaven Theatre in Blenheim. It was a jam-packed week, but they managed to find some time for bowling!

The girls came away with a Silver Award and an Adjudicators Award for Y13 Emily Snoep (drums). Congratulations to our awesome jazz band.

Itinerant Concert

We will hold this term’s Itinerant concert on Monday 17 August 3.45pm in the Charles Luney Auditorium for all budding musical performers. Please come and support our talented artists if you can.

DRAMA

Puss in Gumboots!

The Junior School were treated to a performance by NZ Playhouse last week. Juniors from Yr 1-6 were introduced to many characters including Old McDonald, a skate park supervisor and a farmer at his wits' end.

A mysterious company had been busy buying up all the local buildings on the main street and leaving them empty. Just when the poor farmer is about to close the farm for good, a mysterious visitor arrives… a cat! But not just any cat -  a walking, talking, tail-tapping feline who also happened to be wearing a pair of magical gumboots!

NZ Playhouse offered a classic Kiwiana version of the famous ‘Puss In Boots’ tale and a hilarious and interactive adaptation portraying the value of friendship, helping others in need, the importance of community and standing up for what you believe in.

DANCE 

The dance showcase is looming large and is a wonderful celebration of hard work and dedication from dancers across the school. It showcases the incredible talent of around 100 students of all ages here at SMC. There are many dance styles on display, a vibrant array of costumes and skilful choreography from some of our senior dancers. The showcase is a culmination of Co-curricular work, IB and NCEA assessments through different mediums.

Please come and support the dancers as they take to the stage. For two hours you will be transfixed, and well worth the koha entry on the door! 

Dance NZMade award

Our SMC dancers recently took part in the Dance NZmade Competition, enjoying an action-packed two days of dancing, performing and supporting one another. Sunday saw our dancers take to the stage for the Solo and Duo competitions, followed by the Troupe competition on Monday.

For many of our dancers, this was a new experience and an exciting opportunity to perform in a competition setting. They approached each performance with passion, talent and enthusiasm, showcasing the hard work and commitment they have put into their dancing.

There were also some fantastic special achievements across the competition. Charli Forman received a nomination to compete as a soloist at the National Competition, giving her the opportunity to win a trip to LA through She Shines on Tours.

Our Senior Dance Company placed third in their category with their performance of The Village Protests. The judges praised the group for their strong storytelling and impressive stage presence.

Lucy Lewis also received two additional awards for her performance in The Village Protests: a Golden Ticket to compete as a soloist at the National Competition, as well as a workshop experience at the New Zealand Dance School in Wellington.

It was wonderful to see our dancers encouraging and celebrating one another throughout the event. They represented St Margaret’s College with pride and were fantastic ambassadors for our dance programme. Congratulations to all our dancers on a fantastic competition!

Hip hop competition

Our Hip Hop Crew, Magetix, recently took to the stage for their very first hip hop competition at NZCAF. For many of our dancers, this was a brand new experience, and they embraced the challenge with enthusiasm and confidence.

Magetix performed with incredible passion and commitment, showing great energy and teamwork throughout their performance. They represented St Margaret’s College with pride and were wonderful advocates for dance within our school community.

We are incredibly proud of the way they supported one another, stepped outside their comfort zones and gave their all on the competition stage. Well done, Magetix!

VISUAL ARTS 

He mahi toi ātaahua

Congratulations to Grace Dearsley in Year 8 who has recently finished her Pop Art-inspired woodcut. The Y8 classes have planned and executed a series of prints during Art lessons over the last few weeks, handling the chisels with good control. Grace's print is a beautiful example, thanks to her attention to detail, high level of skill, and exceptionally controlled mark-making. These woodcuts will be on display very soon, and we are very proud of the artworks our middle schoolers create every day!

The Middle School Arts Committee will also be displaying some of the previous year’s Woodcut pictures in the PC building soon.

DEBATING

Congratulations to two of our Senior teams who have made the break to the quarter-finals. This is a fantastic achievement as 64 teams were competing in the competition. The quarter-finals will be held this week, Thursday 13 August at SMC.

Kererū (Jolin, Tessa & Jess)

Kākāpo (Orla, Kieva & Sneha)

Also taking place this Thursday is the final Juniors inter-school round and we have a couple of Year 10 teams hoping to make the break. Go well!

Ten girls (5 teams of 2) took part in the CSDC Impromptu Competition at the University of Canterbury on Sunday, with 46 teams from across Canterbury competing. Whilst none of our teams made the break to the semi-finals, all had a great experience and honed their skills with quick-fire rounds where you only have 5 minutes to prepare.

Wednesday lunchtime Debate Club continues to have excellent attendance, and we are now onto the semi-final round of our Middle School House Debating tournament. Rātā is up against Rimu this week and next we have Mānuka vs Kōnini.

Coming up, we have Whiua te Kupu against our brother school Christ's College in the last week of term. It's our turn to host at SMC and we have top teams from each year level Y9-13 competing for the beautiful pounamu trophy kindly donated by the Gearry family.  Parents are welcome to come and watch on Wednesday 16 September, with debates commencing at 4pm in PC Block. 

The annual SMC vs CC Showcase Debate takes place at Christ's College at lunchtime on Tuesday 14 October and is bound to be entertaining.

Finally, we are hoping to resurrect the Nga Kete Suffrage tournament for Year 9-10 girls in Canterbury in Term 4. Watch this space!

CELEBRATIONS AND ACHIEVEMENTS
Miaki Green Yr 12 Full House from Ace Dance Studios came first in the Open MegaCrew Division. Well done Miaki.

Do you have anything to share with us - a recent external achievement that we can celebrate? We would love to acknowledge this, but we can’t if we don’t know about it. Share, share, share!

Please use the attached form to let us know.

Student Achievement form

DATES FOR YOUR DIARY:

Dance Showcase - 15 August

Itinerant Concert - 17 August

Sisters of the Church tour - 31 August - 4 September

Sisters of the Church Choral concert - 5 September

Encore - 9 September

IB Art Exhibition - 11 September

Music Festival area rehearsal - 16 September

Annual debate with Christ’s College - 16 September

Music Showcase - 17 September

Senior Arts Awards Assembly - 18 September