News: Read all EGGS events here

Dame Robin White, EGGS Old Girl and artist extraordinaire

Arts and Cultural Leader Avigail Allen shows some of her work to Dame Robin White

21 February 2012. Epsom Grammar has a fine tradition of recognising former students who have achieved personal distinction and made a significant contribution to the community through their different fields of endeavour. These women are presented with a Founder's Award and at last year's ceremony Dame Robin White was one such recipient, recognised for her work as one of New Zealand's greatest visual artists. She was overseas at the time, but this year the school was able to invite Dame Robin to accept the award in person at a school assembly.

Dame Robin graduated with a Diploma of Fine Arts from the University of Auckland in 1960 and has worked constantly ever since in the Pacific Islands exhibiting works in many public galleries throughout Australasia. In 2006 she won a coveted Belgian Award for outstanding achievement in art and most recently she has been selected as one of six exceptional graduates from the University of Auckland who have turned  their qualifications into outstanding careers both nationally and internationally.

At assembly Dame Robin spoke about her career in the Arts and attributed her success to the encouragement and support she received at school. "I thank the advice I was given by my teachers at Epsom and by following their advice I continued learning, taking risks and facing challenges. I met many wonderful people that way" she said.

After assembly Arts and Cultural Leader Avigail Allen along with a Year 12 art class were fortunate to host Dame Robin in their classroom to hear her views on their work and take inspiration from her lifetime achievements.

What a privilege to learn from a living legend!

Happy 95th Birthday EGGS

EGGS OGA President Julie Goodyer with Head Girl Katharine Randhawa and Principal Madeline Gunn

14 February 2012: A spectacular birthday cake, donated by The City Cake Company and the EGGS Old Girls Association, took centre stage at a special school assembly to mark this historic occasion. It was also an occasion for the Head Girl, and Deputies to address the school and share their future plans for the year with their fellow students.

Principal, Madeline Gunn, took a moment to describe New Zealand mid World War I in 1917 , the year when the school first opened its doors to 174 girls and six full-time teachers.

Julie Goodyer, President of the OGA also addressed the Assembly and regaled the students with stories of what life was like in 1917 for those students and how more girls than anticipated turned up on opening day, February 12th.. By 1919 tents had be pitched to accommodate the extra students. These stories were expanded upon when the Head Girl and Deputies each read with amusing anecdotes from these early days.

The cake was then cut and the school sang Happy Birthday. As for the fate of the delicious cake, 240 portions were divided up between the staff and school prefects, who no doubt relished the occasion.

Plans are already in hand to mark the school’s 100th birthday in 2017.

A warm welcome to the EGGS community

9 February 2012. A Powhiri was held at the beginning of term to welcome new students and their families to the wider EGGS community. In spite of the rain the occasion was one of great warmth and fellowship. Thank you to the kapa haka girls for their warm welcome to our visitors and to our speaker Kito Pikau also.

Student Leaders ready for 2012

2 February: 2012 Deputy Head Girls Fifita Finau, Rose Lavelua, Principal Madeline Gunn, Head Girl Katharine Randhawa and  Deputy Head Girl Jessica Fisher met up at EGGS ahead of the the start of the formal school year. Year 9 will be officially welcomed tomorrow Friday 3 February.

Office Hours and Starting Dates for 2012

Final formalities for 2011

Helping others to enjoy Christmas

Student Council Representatives - Liziana Fa’asola, left Year 10 and Isabella Richards, right Year 9

6 December 2011. Every year the Epsom Girls Student Council organises a Christmas Box collection to donate to a different charity. This year the collection went to the Auckland City Mission.

“We were very pleased with the amount of food and toys students donated and we know they are appreciated by the Auckland City Mission. They will be given to families less fortunate than our own and will hopefully make their Christmas brighter.” stated Claire McConachie, teacher in charge of the Student Council. “We asked each Year 9 and 10 form class to donate food and toys over a two week period. They also held a competition for the best decorated boxes and this is where the students’ creative talent came to the fore,” she added.

Throughout the year, the Student Council works to raise money for local and national charities with a mufti day every term as well as supporting events such as the Cancer Society’s Daffodil Day.

Congratulations to our winners!

29 November 2011. EGGS students were well represented amongst the winners at The ASB Young Sportsperson of the Year Awards, held recently at Eden Park. EGGS had 7 finalists in 9 different categories. Category winners were:

Ashleigh Williams All rounder & Distance Running	Tessa Berger Football	Kingsley Avery Softball	Taylor Flavell Squash

Emily Draper - Winner and First Runner-Up: Sunday Star Times Short Story Competition

17 November 2011. Winning Story: ‘Smoke Rings’  Runner-up: ‘The Climbing Tree’

Emily has a beautiful way with words, and a clear and individual voice. Her special ability lies in crafting poems and stories which dazzle the reader with fresh and surprising images, sharply observed moments and characters, and psychological acuity.

Emily’s talent was manifest right from year nine, and she has been no stranger to literary success. This is her third year in a row as a finalist in the Sunday Star Times competition. In each of her five years at EGGS she has won, or been runner up, in the EGGS poetry and prose competitions. Her work has been included in the New Zealand Poetry Society Anthology this year and in 2010, and this year she was one of three New Zealand students chosen for a Youth Mentorship with an established author; Sue Orr. She was co-Literary Leader this year and a recipient of Colours this year and last for her national achievements and contribution to writing in the school.

Emily intends to study Law and Arts at Otago University next year, and to continue towards her goal of becoming a published author.

Click here to read the article on the stuff.co.nz website

Indian master chef class!

11 November. Staff were treated to culinary and cultural delights when staff members Shirin Rampurawala and Alpna Sood served up an Indian cooking class for 30 Staff in the Food Technology classroom after school on Wednesday. Shirin and Alpna demonstrated how to cook Black lentil Daal, Palak Paneer, Kadhai chicken and Aloo Parathas . Shirin had her flavours from western India and Alpna from northern India. Colourful spices, inviting aromas, a fun few hours and a delicious meal were shared by all. Everyone left inspired to try out the recipes at home.

RFAC hosts the 4th Rönisch Auckland Secondary Schools Piano Competition

3 November 2011. The Rönisch Auckland Secondary Schools Piano Competition is now in its 4th year and is the only event in the Greater Auckland area to provide a competitive performance opportunity solely for secondary school age pianists. The competition is held at the Raye Freedman Centre with prize money, provided by Warren Sly of Sly’s Pianos, shared by the winner and their school.

This year’s competition took place over the last weekend of October with 15 contestants. The winner was Karin Ho from Diocesan School with Lixing Wei from Westlake Girls 2nd and Xiaoying Zhou from Auckland International College in 3rd place.

EGGS students featured prominently in the smooth running of this event. Year 13 student, Sally Lynch, with her keen interest in photography and event management put these skills to use when she looked after the 15 contestants on and off stage, managed the ticket office and carried out front-of-house duties. When the time came to announce the winners, Sally was there with her camera to record the event.

Year 10 music students, Angel Song and Rena Liu also assisted. They took turns to sit alongside the adjudicator, Katherine Austin, following the musical scores and ensuring the contestants played their pieces in the time allocated. It is a always a Win Win situation when student s can put their skills to use at the same time as providing much needed assistance to school staff running an event.

Thank you Sally, Angel and Rena!

Much to celebrate at the end of Term 3

Games Captain Abby Barry and Deputy Josie Te Rata

7 October 2011. With over 1000 girls participating throughout the year in one of the 40 different EGGS Arts & Cultural Groups and over a 1000 also participating in one of the 40 different Sporting groups on offer at EGGS there was much to celebrate during the Arts & Culture Awards and Sports Dinner Awards held in the last week. Diversity, opportunity, enjoyment, teamwork, commitment, achievement………students, staff, parents, Old Girls all contributed to the year and the celebration.

Founders Awards 2011 - Talent shines on

27 September 2011. Epsom Grammar continues to produce talented young women who have gone on to successful careers sharing their expertise within NZ and beyond. Founders Awards recognise former students and members of the School community who have achieved personal distinction and made a significant contribution to the community. Click here for more photos.

This year awards were presented to the following former students: -

Dame Judith Binney (History)
Professor Jillian Cornish (Medical Research)
Honourable  Dame Ann Hercus (Politics)
Brenda Perry (Women’s Tennis)
Dame Alison Quentin-Baxter (Law)
Dame Robin White (Art)

Stage 1 officially opened and Stage 2 launched with $100,000 pledged!

Head Girl Kingsley Avery, Governor General Sir Anand Satyanand and Lady Susan Satyanand, Principal Madeline Gunn, BOT Chair Gerald Young and Chair of the Capital Campaign for Stage 2 Peter Thompson

7 July 2011. Lady Susan Satyanand, former EGGS student and wife of the Governor General (who was also in attendance), officially opened Stage 1 of the Sports Centre yesterday. To mark this historic  occasion  a ceremony took place on the mezzanine level of the Sports Centre and a plaque was unveiled in front of representatives from EGGS Senior leadership Team, Staff, the Board, current student leaders, Old Girls Association, parents, EGGS supporters, the architects Jasmax, project managers Octa, construction team Naylor-Love and community business partners.

To the Epsom Girls Grammar School Community

Madeline Gunn

December 2010 Newsletter

As our senior students are finishing their NCEA examinations and our junior students their curriculum for the year, staff are very busy preparing for 2011.

Our draft Strategic Plan 2011-2013 and draft Annual Plan 2011 have been written and will soon be available online. Teaching programmes are being rewritten especially for Level 1 courses where the revised achievement standards will be implemented next year. Teachers have also been undertaking professional development in preparation for new courses and pedagogy.

We have completed our first milestone for our ICT Professional Development Contract and are pleased to recognise the progress which has been made this year in integrating ICT into programmes. This has been a year for staff to widen their skills and experience in cross curricular groups. Next year we want to narrow the focus onto tools and strategies which best improve student outcomes in each different learning area. For this reason we have appointed nine new eMentors to work with staff in learning areas under the leadership of our Director of eLearning.

At the end of the term we shall farewell a number of staff who are moving on to new stages in their lives. Dr Neutze is retiring after 31 years teaching here, Ms Maria Chabera, our Director of the Languages learning area has gained promotion as Assistant Principal of Pompallier College in Whangarei and two of our deans, Mrs Julie Kleinpaste and Ms Gaylene Reisima, are moving out of Auckland with their families. Ms Carol Andrews, our Gateway Co-ordinator, is also moving in a new direction. We thank these and all departing staff for the valued contribution to EGGS in the time they have been here.

It was wonderful this week to see the beautifully decorated boxes of gifts and food which each Year 9 and 10 tutor group collected to give to the Salvation Army for distribution to needy families. The concern of our students for those in the community who most need support at this time of the year is heart warming. I wish you all a very happy Christmas and hope you have the opportunity to enjoy some fun filled family time over the holiday season.

Madeline Gunn - Principal

EGGSCELLENT

7 December 2011. Year 10 student Alexa Hindson produced the overall winning recipe in Nosh Food Market’s third annual home-made pavlova competition. Alexa also took out the children’s section while fellow student Britta van Tiel was runner up. The girl’s teacher Kathy Henley-Smith was runner up in the overall section. Fifteen girls from EGGS food technology class entered the competition encouraged to do so by their teacher, because they had just completed a module on Kiwiana and it seemed a fun way to end the year.

All winners received a $300 Nosh Dosh and a month’s supply of FRENZ eggs and the runners up in each category received a $100 Nosh Hamper.