Middlemore Mail - Term 1 - King's College
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Middlemore
Mail
Term 1
2019
From the Housemaster - Ms Bridget White
I have thoroughly enjoyed my first term as Housemaster of
Middlemore and now well and truly feel part of this wonderful,
close-knit family. It’s been a pleasure getting to know all the girls in
the house over the term and they have amazed me with their
boundless energy, their enthusiasm and their passion for the
house.
It has been great to see the girls new to the house find their feet
and settle into boarding life. They’ve been willing to get involved,
embracing House Spirit and the values of King’s College along
they way. The Year 13s have impressed me with the way they have
stepped up to the challenge of being mentors, offering guidance
and support to the new girls and role modelling what it means to
be a Middlemorian at King’s College. The girls’ shared vision of:
House Pride, Mutual Respect and Seize the Day has been at the
centre of all House activities throughout the term.
Term One has been a busy one on all fronts. Whether in the Academic, Cultural, Sporting or Service
arena, we’ve had a number of proud Middlemore moments this term. House Swimming Sports and
Athletics were both great opportunities for the girls to immerse themselves in the culture of King’s, as
were the various other House sporting competitions. The extra-curricular programme is also an
important part of the all-round education available here at King’s. The girls are expected to
participate in Sport and/or Culture at Year 11 and 12 and it is strongly encouraged at year 13. It has
been encouraging to see so many of the girls trying out new things and making the most out of their
time at King’s. One of the Cultural highlights of the term was the Glee Club performance of Our
House and it was fantastic to see a number of Middlemore girls involved in this production, both on
stage and off. Community Service is another focus for the girls this year. The Green Ribbon Bake
Sale raised almost $500 for the Christchurch Foundation, which was a great effort. Middlemore has
been known for winning the Community Service trophy in the past and the girls have set their sights
on reclaiming this award in 2019. Watch this space!
As Term One draws to a close, the girls are already looking ahead to Term Two and the House Music
Competition. This event is always highly anticipated and brings the whole house together. Big House
Music will be held at Spark Arena on Tuesday 28 May, so lock the date in your diaries and get ready
to be entertained! A reminder that the prefect team have organised two compulsory ‘stay in’ evenings
in the lead up to the big event:
•Friday 17 May – Sat 18 May: All girls to stay in on Friday evening and Saturday morning to
practice for Big House Music before attending the King’s vs Auckland Grammar 1st XV Rugby
game on Saturday afternoon.
•Fri 24 May – Sat 25 May: All girls to stay in on Friday evening and Saturday morning to practice
for Big House Music. Year 11 and 13 'sleep-over’ will also take place.
In closing, the House staff and I would like to wish the girls a wonderful break at home and we look
forward to them coming back refreshed and ready to take on Term Two. I hope you enjoy reading
about the term in this edition of Middlemore Mail, compiled by editor, Ciara Brydon and Ms Danielle
Harpur.
Virtus Pollet
From the Head of House - Dolly Innes Name: Dolly Innes Position: Head of Middlemore House for and School Senior Prefect Subjects: Architecture, Outdoor Education, Mathematics, English and Creative Technologies Extra Curricular: Netball, Touch and Community Service Why do you like being part of Middlemore House? I love being part of Middlemore because of the amazing opportunities that are available to you and all the things you can take part in. You feel like a family with the girls in your house and get to branch out and make new friends through all year groups. I love the feeling of being part of a team and the relationships I have formed with girls throughout my years at King’s. The first term in Middlemore has been brilliant, with our new girls in all years settling well into the busy King’s life. A big thank you to the amazing prefects in the house this term, who are responsible for the smooth running of all activities in the house, as well as it being our Housemaster, Ms White’s first term in Middlemore. Ms White has done a brilliant job, jumping right in the deep end of such a challenging role. She has taken everything in her stride and I believe she will continue to do so for terms and years to come. It has been so much fun getting to know our new intake of year 11 girls and watching them all go from strangers to best friends over the course of 11 weeks. After being on the same side of the house with them, it’s been good getting to know each of them and watching them make the most of what the house has to offer. It has been cool watching how enthusiastic the girls have been, whether it is trying new Big House songs or coming out to support the Taylor vs Middlemore cricket. I am so excited to see what Term Two has in store for the girls with Big and Small House Music looming. I know the Year 13s and myself expect great things from the girls. We have a lot to be looking forward to in the house this year as we now enter into Term Two. As well as the girls academics, we have a variation of sporting and cultural events to keep up with. Within the first three weeks, we have our traditional, King’s vs Grammar game where the girls will experience either for the first time or the last time, the amazing sense of school spirit that comes with the exciting day. Shortly after that, we have Big House Music which the girls have already started working hard towards. The song that the Year 13s have chosen for this year is “It's Raining Men” by The Weather Girls. This exciting event will place at Spark Arena and I know all the girls are looking forward to it.
v
Meet the 2019 Prefect Team
Name: Alex Sullivan
Position: School Senior Sacristan
Subjects: Business, Economics, Geography, English and Classical Studies
Extra Curricular: Chapel Band, Girls Touch and Small House Music
Why do you like being part of Middlemore House? I like being in Middlemore house
because as the only girls boarding house at the school, there is a sense of speciality
amongst us. Also, being in Middlemore is like being a part of a family with 63 sisters and I
could not ask for a better house.
Name: Angela Zhang
Position: House Cultural Prefect
Subjects: Business Studies, Economics, English, Calculus and Classics
Extra Curricular: Tennis, Social Netball and Glee production Make-up
Why do you like being part of Middlemore House? I really enjoy the sisterhood in
Middlemore and knowing that someone will always have your back. Also, being a boarder
in general has made me a lot more organised.
Name: Antonia Deare
Position: House Academic Prefect (Careers and Tutoring)
Subjects: Biology, Geography, History, English and Calculus
Extra Curricular: Costumes for the school productions and Hockey
Why do you like being part of Middlemore house? I really enjoy the friendships that I have
formed with the other girls and so we are always having a good time.
Name: Emily Kim
Position: House Sacristan
Subjects: English Literature, Design Technology, Graphic Design and Psychology
Extra Curricular: Tennis, Glee Club Costumes, Crossfit, Chapel Band and Small House
Band
Why do you like being part of Middlemore House? I enjoy getting to meet and be friends
with girls from all year levels. The friends that I have made while being part of Middlemore
House will stay with me for life! I also love how all of the tutors are like house mums.
Name: Jemma Charteris Position: Deputy Head of House (Administration Prefect) and School Prefect (Guiding coordinator) Subjects: Biology, Psychology, Physical Education and Chemistry Extra Curricular: Touch Rugby, Hockey and Glee Club Production Makeup Why do you like being part of Middlemore house? You live with a group of people who become your close friends, and it is really convenient living in the school for extra- curricular activities within the school such as sporting and community service. It is also really beneficial to have access to tutors and staff who are there to support and help you with anything. Name: Leah Russell Position: House Sports Prefect 2Subjects: Chemistry, Physics, Statistics, Physical Education and English Extra Curricular: Touch, Football and Hockey Why do you like being part of Middlemore House? Our house spirit is amazing and it’s one big family. I get to literally live with my friends and there’s never a dull moment. Plus Clare’s milos are pretty good! Name: Lily Zhang Position: House Academic Prefect (Achievement) Subjects: English Literature, Mathematics, History and Classics Extra Curricular: Leader of MUN, Leader of Philosophy Club, participant of the Round Square Democracy Pillar, Vice president of the Scholars’ Common Room Why do you like being part of Middlemore House? Middlemore is a very tight-knit community, with members being mutually supportive and kind towards each other, embracing diversity as well as similarity. Name: Sophie Giltrap Position: Deputy Head of House (Health and well-being) and School Prefect Subjects: Biology, PE, Business, Statistics and English Extra Curricular: Hockey, Makeup production team, Academic council, Service pillar, Ball committee (special events), Scholars’ Common Room Why do you like being part of Middlemore House? I love the family aspect of it, with integration between all the different year groups. It gives a much more homely feel, becoming close friends with the people you live with. It also makes early morning trainings much more bearable, not having to get up as early, and allows for more down time with the reduced travel time before and after school.
Community Service - Emily Kim Middlemore girls have played a big part in the King’s College Community Service programme so far this year. Projects that the girls have been involved with include: Ronald McDonald House, Women’s Refuge, After School Programme, Youthline, making dog toys for our local SPCA, Refugee Centre, Otahuhu Fun Day and Runathon which raised funds for Tearfund. Community Service is an important part of life in Middlemore House as, not only are we giving back to our local community, but we are also competing for an inter-house Community Service trophy against all houses in the College. Middlemore has not won the trophy for a couple of years and we believe it is time to have it back where it belongs. From the very beginning of Term 1, all members of the house have participated in Community Service, in various ways. When a student has completed 15 hours of community service, they receive a house badge, 30 hours and they receive a School Half Colours badge for their blazer, 60 hours and they qualify for full colours and get presented with a School Community Service tie. In Middlemore, we would like to aim for all girls to receive at least a house badge but even better if they aim for a School badge or tie. At King’s, we are given a very special opportunity to give back to the community and learn valuable life lessons and skills while helping others. It is important to get involved and try to be the best version of yourself you can be.
Middlemore vs. Taylor Inter-House Competition
Leah Russell
Middlemore vs Taylor inter-house
sport has always been a highlight
for the girls and is a chance to show
an immense amount of house pride
on and off the field. Whether it be
participating in a sport you love,
one you’ve never tried or just
supporting on the sideline, all the
girls get involved and take a great
deal of pride in getting behind our
beloved maroon house. Though we
had a bit of a rocky beginning with
only 3 players to start, Middlemore
showed perseverance and
determination to pull through and
earn the volleyball win, with a
respectable score of 25-23 from
one set. The girls worked well
together and with the help of the
motivation from the court side, had
some great plays and were able to
snatch the win in an intense game.
A few weeks following this, a
9-aside game of cricket was
played, 10 overs each way.
Unfortunately, due to clear
lack of experience and skill
the girls were unable to win
against Taylor leaving the
scoreboard 1-1. Nevertheless,
the girls gave it their all and
the House is still very proud of
their efforts. With 5 more
games to go, competition is
looking intense but I believe
through hard work and
integrity, we have a great
chance of taking out the Inter-
house sport trophy this year.
Glee Club - Georgia Croxford Our House, the Madness musical, was chosen for Glee Club this year. The story follows two different paths (the good and the bad) of the main character Joe Casey, accompanied by classics from the band, Madness. This year, Middlemore got really involved, with four girls taking part as members of the cast - Kate Body and Sophia Hall had roles in the ensemble, Claudia Linton got a key supporting role as Angie, and I was given the female lead role, playing Sarah. Having this many girls in the cast is just a little reminder of the talent that Middlemore possesses. There were also a number of Middlemore girls who helped out with costumes, make-up, backstage and front of house. Glee for me has always been amazing, the cast becoming a second family and this year was no different. Seeing the same people come back and asking each other why we would put ourselves through the stress of it again was a common occurrence. However, so was the feeling of accomplishment, pride and community that Glee definitely delivers over all other other cultural commitments. Another exciting part of Glee is the free pizzas we bribe our director Jeremy to get for us as a nice change and treat from the dining hall food. All of us girls experienced the 'one week scramble' where we highly doubted that the show would even be ready but everything worked out and it was a fabulous success. Fingers crossed that you all enjoyed the show and that we did Middlemore proud!! Good luck to all those wanting to get involved next year, it is truly worth it.
Literacy Week - Lily Zhang
Middlemore girls actively participated in the Literacy
Week Quiz this year, which took place on Tuesday in
Week 7. I personally was in charge of writing &
editing & yelling at people to get them to write
questions for the Quiz, which meant flicking
through books as well as googling for ‘weird
facts about literature’ like mad for days and
days before the actual event. However, only
a small
section of
questions were
used on the
actual event, due
to a last-minute
change in the
administration team.
The event itself was a great success, as contestants
were actively involved both physically and intellectually.
They were dashing back and forth in house tops, having
great fun and house spirit was ablaze. Dolly Innes,
Angela Zhang, Jade Bowater, Claudia Linton and Izzy
Gatfield took part in the quiz, representing the house.
The team vibe was
great and from my
point of view,
despite not making
it to the top, the
Middlemore girls did well to cope with the
questions, which were designed to be obscure.
Frankly speaking, I was very amazed by their
enthusiasm and dedication.
Literacy Week was designed to invoke passion for
literature and culture in an exciting and engaging
way, and from the Middlemore girls who took part
in the event, I certainly saw the purpose being
fulfilled.
Grandparents Day - Emma Sanders
On Wednesday the 6th of March it was the
College’s annual grandparents day where new
students’ grandparents were invited to spend the
morning at the school and participate in a range
of activities around the College. I was lucky
enough to have my Grandma from the UK come
and attend the morning with me. After arrival, we
started by getting a photograph taken with our
respective family members. We then went to the
Great Hall ready for our introduction. Mr Lamb
welcomed us to the school before we all headed
down to the chapel for a service. Following that,
we had a presentation from the KCOCA on the
history of the school, including pictures of past
students. It was great to see how the school has
developed into the distinguished College it is
today, with over 120 years of experience.
This was then followed by a tour
of the school, focusing on the art
building, where the grandparents
got to see some of the work of our
talented students and to see
where people spend their school
day.
We rounded off the visit with a morning tea
where everyone got to chat and get to know
one another. It was great to be able to show
my Grandma the College and let her get a
feel of the school’s environment and
atmosphere. It was lovely to receive the
commemorative photo at the end if the visit
that she could take back home to the UK!International Women’s Day - Caitlyn Browne
One day that I think is overlooked by some, is International Women’s Day. This year, the event
was an incredible success. There were plenty of pastries and drinks for every person who gave a
gold coin or more to enter. From here, the audience filled the lecture theatre, waiting for our
highly honoured and reputable speaker, Nikki Kaye. She spoke about her life and how she got
into politics as well as leaving a few highly valuable life lessons, which included the idea that you
should always do the things you want to do and never let others hold you back from achieving
greatness. At least that’s one the things I learnt from her.
Our charity this year was Dress for Success, which is an organisation that helps women who
cannot afford outfits to wear to their first job interview. If they're successful, they are also
provided with outfits to wear to their new job, which is a great initiative to allow more women to
be in the workforce.
Well-being talk from Brooke Neal - Sophie Giltrap
Earlier this term, we were all lucky enough
to have Brooke Neal, a mindful speaker and
mentor come and talk to us as a house.
Brooke is a motivational speaker who
focuses on speaking to teenagers about
mindfulness, self-awareness, balance and
recovery, all of which are very applicable
and valuable to high school students. I
think it was very beneficial to many of the
girls, especially having her come in during
the middle of term when academics, sports
and extracurricular activities are at their
peak.
Brooke provided us with new strategies to help contribute to improving our overall mood and stress
levels, while finding a healthy balance in our lives. Some strategies included: mindfulness apps, writing
down what you are grateful for each day/week and prioritising what’s important to you as an individual.
The talk also included some interactive parts. We wrote down our present thoughts on a piece of paper,
all personal to us, and Brooke informed us to identify our negative thoughts in comparison with our
positive ones. This activity specifically, seemed to be eye opening for many of the girls. I think it made
us realise how hard we can be on ourselves. Brooke went on to explain both the short and long-term
effects that these personal thoughts can have on our mental state and attitudes as a whole. She
explained how important it is to be present and aware of the thoughts we are providing our brain with.
Brooke helps out many teenagers across New Zealand through speaking, one-on-one mentoring,
school groups and sports teams. She is a great point of contact for us to have in Middlemore, and is
always happy to help by answering any questions we may have or offering advice about things we are
worried about. I encourage the girls to contact her if they ever need support in this area.Boarding Weekend - Mira Odera
In the first week of Term 1, all the Middlemore
girls had the pleasure of having an activity-
filled stay in weekend. Some of the activities
we did included: a quiz night, Trash to
Fashion, a scavenger hunt, a movie night and
a trip to the beach. We started off with Quiz
Night on Friday evening which was really fun
because we got to make jokes about all the
year levels which helped lighten the mood.
Us year 11s got to know everyone better
because we got put in random groups. This
helped us talk to new people we hadn’t talked
to much before. Shortly after, we did Trash to Fashion which was a great way to bring out our
creativity and show off our modelling skills. We had roughly 30 minutes to show our talent.
Unfortunately, our group didn’t win, but we still had so much fun and we even made a script to go
along with our model’s catwalk. The group which produced the Queen outfit took first place, and it
still managed to look classy and of pretty high quality, considering it was made out of trash.
The next day we woke up at 8am, ready for another fun-filled day where we did a scavenger hunt.
We had to go around answering questions about the school, which the Year 13s had made for all of
us to do. This was a really good way for me and others to get to know the grounds of the school
more, and the school culture itself. All our points were added up, and although my team didn’t win
again, we all had a really great time. After a long, tiring day, we all got to go down to the media room
and watch “Wild Child”, which was about an American girl who had just started boarding in England.
A lot of us were able to relate to some of the struggles she went through. We even got popcorn,
lollies and drinks. We went to bed, exhausted and eager to find out what we were doing on Sunday.
Once all the girls woke up the next day, we found out we were
going to the beach, and we went on a mini road trip to the north
shore for a fun filled day by the ocean. Thankfully, the weather was
really nice. We began by playing all sorts of games like Octopus
and Go Home Stay Home and we then posed for a house photo of
all of us, which is now hung up in our house for all to see. We then
finished off the day with a hunt for different materials around the
beach, which we then made a sand sculpture out of. This was lots
of fun and fortunately, this time my team won! After it got judged
and the winner was announced, we all sat on the bus, exhausted
and eager to get back to the house and relax before the school
week ahead of us.
The whole weekend was lots of fun, and a great way for us to get to know more people, and become
closer as a house. My favourite activity was the Trash to Fashion since we were all involved, even the
tutors and Ms White were too. After the success of the weekend and the level of enjoyment everyone
had, I look forward to our next stay in weekend, and seeing what we’ll do next!Voyager Camp - Alex Sullivan
Voyager camp was one of the
best experiences I have had at
King’s. Meeting new people and
taking part in different activities
was a great way to spend a
weekend and I am really proud
to have gone on the camp this
year and the year before. I
strongly recommend the camp
to anyone who is even the
smallest bit interested in the
trying something new. Voyager
allows students to find themselves both spiritually, physically and emotionally. The camp
channels your talents and allows you to come out fo your comfort zone.
There are many activities that are put in place throughout the three day, two night camp.
The activities put in place by the coordinators of the camp allow students to bond with
those who they may not be too familiar with and step out of their comfort zone with
activities such as Tree Adventures. Another highlight of the trip was the annual concert
and musical chairs competition. It was great to see that there was a smile on everyone’s
faces all the time. Parakai Springs is another amazing part of the camp! On voyager, you
can make so many great memories and meet so many interesting people. I look forward to
hearing from the girls who go next year!
Inter-House Orienteering - Franca Lewis
On Thursday the 14th of March, 200 eager students took part in the King’s College Inter-house
Orienteering competition. All of the students were transported from school to the event which was held
at Ambury Park in Auckland.
Orienteering is an individual, time-trialed event, where each runner is given a map of where to go within
the designated area, and at each point they have to ensure that they register so that they can continue
onwards to their next point. It is a time-trialed event, meaning that the quicker you get from point to
point, the higher you will rank overall.
Of the field, eleven were Middlemore girls. All runners were fitted with electronic time tracking devices
for the first time, which runners had to use to push into every checkpoint.
Lots of the girls were nervous as they had never had to read a map before but quickly picked up the
skill and were on their way. Every girl had a smile on their face when they crossed the finish line as they
felt a sense of accomplishment after working hard to run a total distance of 4km.House Athletics Day - Tess Porter and Jade Bowater The year started off with a bang with the first house competition, Athletics day. All the students in the school were buzzing with excitement. This year, participation levels were extremely high as new students were ready to find their place in the rankings. All houses were lined up on the bank chanting and ready to support their athletes. Tess Porter won the Long Jump this year along with Jade Bowater winning the Javelin, and retaining her title. As your name is called, the adrenaline kicks in and hearts start racing. The girls in Middlemore house this year did very well for their Boy Houses, there were lots of placings for all the girls. The weather was amazing this year, providing for an excellent atmosphere for the day. This day is one of the best events for the year as it sets the tone and the girls get to know their Boy Houses extremely well. As athletes, the day is very stressful but rewarding, knowing that we compete to our full potential, gaining points for our Boy Houses. Each year, the competition gets more intense but being able to take part in such a big day for our houses, and King's College makes us show our school spirit. From here, athletes are selected to compete in Zone’s Athletics which potentially allows qualification for the Auckland Competition as well.
House Swimming Sports - Kate Body The spirits were high, each House coming in one by one, chanting, wearing their colourful costumes big smiles on their faces. The heats started off with a bang from the gun and there we have it; all the top swimmers in the pool speeding up and down, trying to beat one and other for the house points. My Boys’ House is Averill and unfortunately, we did not have enough girls to fill out all the swimming spots. When I heard that my name had been put down for nothing but the 50m butterfly, it's fair to say I wasn’t happy about it. Looking over to see who I was up against and finding out it was Annabel Mclaren, an international swimmer, didn’t help at all. But, not wanting to let Averill down, I had to do it, so I dived into the pool. Annabel was in the lane next to me and while I’m still on my first lap, she was just finishing up and not puffing at all. There I was, in the corner puffing, thinking it was all over; I was told later one that I was put into the finals for butterfly. At that point, I was so confused because I had lost my race by a long way. But, I did my final and it was all about the house spirit. All the houses got more crazy in support of their swimmers as the afternoon came to an end. Swimming Sports was an overall highlight in my first term at King’s because it was a chance to get to know my Boys’ House as well as embrace the school spirit.
Term One Achievements School Awards Academic Full Colours Academic Half Colours Sophie Giltrap Ana Gibson Leah Russell Sue Friend Lily Zhang Half Sports Colours Lina Kudrow Athletics Awards Jemma Charteris - 1st Place: 1000m Steeple Chase Tess Porter – 1st Place: Long Jump Jade Bowater – 1st Place: Javelin Exemplary Performance Awards Georgia McKay (x3), Ana Gibson (x3), Angela Zhang (x3), Claudia Linton, Charlotte Koerber, Mila Eric-Lawrence, Vida Glucina, Lina Kudrow, Sarah Griffiths House Awards House Sports Colours House Cultural Colours Tess Porter Georgia Croxford Jade Bowater Lina Kudrow House Orienteering Franca Lewis – 1st Place Special Mention Congratulations to the Girls’ A Touch Team won the Eastern Zone Division earlier in the term: Jemma Charteris, Caitlyn Browne, Alice Hailstone, Leah Russell
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