Marsden students excel
Samuel Marsden Collegiate School student have been on a winning streak recently, excelling academically and in their co-curricular pursuits.
Marsden School Deputy Head Girl Neakiry Kivi (Year 13) is a high achiever academically and is also passionate about
contributing to the world in which she lives. Neakiry has got many recent accomplishments under her belt. She has been selected as one of 12 finalists in the 2017 Sir Paul Callaghan Eureka Awards, in which secondary school and university students develop and present STEM (science, technology, engineering and
mathematics) ideas that could benefit New Zealand’s economic, environmental and social wealth and wellbeing. Neakiry was
also selected by the Royal Society as one of five students to attend the 11th Asian Science Camp in Malaysia. During the weeklong event, Neakiry and more
than 250 other students met Nobel Laureates and distinguished scientists, attended plenary lectures and contributed to
panel discussions. Neakiry was also one of forty Year 12-13 students to join the Royal Society of New Zealand’s four-day
‘Powering Potential’ event.
Composing music and playing the piano and violin as part of her Marsden studies, singing with Marsden’s auditioned
Altissime Choir and being conductor and co-head of the Marsden School Ad Summa Chorale are all in Neakiry’s repertoire.
Neakiry won a secondary schools’ competition held by the Royal New Zealand Navy as part of its 75th anniversary commemorations, composing a choral and narrative piece for the Altissime Choir. She
also co-won the Veterans’ Affairs’ 2017 Battle of Passchendaele multi-media competition with her musical composition that combined piano and poetry.
Samuel Marsden Collegiate School Deputy Head Girl Neakiry Kivi has achieved academic, sporting and musical awards.
Beyond the world of academia, Neakiry is a veteran netball player and has represented New Zealand in smallbore-rifle
competitions. This all adds up to a very impressive young woman, for whom the world is truly her oyster! Her goal beyond
Year 13 is to study medicine.
Year 13 Marsden student Sariya McGrath placed second in Creative Writing and Year 12 Anjali Gentejohann third in Visual
Arts, in the Creative Activism & Global Citizenship Create1world competition run by Massey University Wellington and the New Zealand Centre for Global
Studies. The conference, competition and think-tank is a platform for senior high school students to use to raise
awareness of issues through the arts.
Congratulations to Sariya McGrath (right) who came second in Creative Writing and Anjali Gentejohann who came third in
Visual Arts, in the Creative Activism & Global Citizenship Create1world competition.
On the sporting front a huge congratulations goes to Marsden Year 12 student Imogen Skelton who has won a bronze medal
for New Zealand in the high jump at the Youth Commonwealth Games in the Bahamas in July. Imogen had a fabulous
competition, finishing with a personal best of 1.76m.
World ranking for Jade Otway
Marsden Year 9 student Jade Otway, competing in four tennis tournaments in Brisbane recently, also enjoyed success
making it through to the finals in every competition and picking up her first ITF point and a junior world ranking. Jade
has been asked to trial for the WTA Future Stars Tournament in Singapore.
“At Marsden we support each student to be the best she can be in her academic, music and sporting pursuits and we are
very proud that the girls celebrate and support each other in their work and co-curricular activities”, said Marsden
Acting Principal Margaret Adeane.
ENDS
Samuel Marsden Collegiate School has been providing quality independent education for more than 135 years. Today it has
two campuses, in Karori and Whitby. The Marsden School Karori campus provides education for girls from Years 1 – 13 and
has a co-ed Preschool. Marsden School’s vision is to lay the foundation for lives of meaning, accomplishment and genuine
happiness. Marsden School fosters excellence, creativity, resilience and giving, in a nurturing and positive
environment. marsden.school.nz