Alumni Giving Back To Local School

Marsden Old Girls returning to inspire and share their knowledge with current students has always been an integral part of learning at Samuel Marsden Collegiate School.

Prior to lockdown a group of Marsden students spent a weekend learning about lighting in a workshop, led by Marsden Old Girl and Toi Whakaari New Zealand Drama School graduate Eddie Fraser-Hoskin, who owns a tech company that provides app development, technical solutions, and professional lighting services. The course covered understanding how a stage lighting system works, planning and documenting a lighting design from a script, the theory and practice of rigging lights, plotting a show, lighting board operation, health and safety practices and careers in technical production. It was a very hands-on experience and the girls enjoyed spending time on the catwalk in the school auditorium, creating various effects on the lighting desk and experimenting with LED lights.

Lock-down however, didn’t prevent the learning from continuing and Marsden Old Girls from sharing their knowledge with students. This included Jessie Wong, Founder/Creator and Director of leather goods label Yu Mei, and her Production Manager Adrian Williams joining Marsden’s Year 11 Textiles Technology class online to discuss their design philosophy and practices. A treat for the girls who were working on designer pandemic shopping bags for their NCEA level 1 projects at the time.

Similarly, Marsden Old Girl Gemma New, Music Director of the Hamilton Philharmonic in Canada and Principal Guest Conductor at Dallas Symphony, spent a lunch time with Marsden’s music students, before attending rehearsals for her recording and virtual performances as conductor of the NZSO. Gemma bought some of her scores which showed how she annotates them when preparing for her performances.

“We are always thrilled when our inspiring alumni share their knowledge and return to school to inspire our current students, and we thank them for so generously giving their time”, says Marsden Principal Narelle Umbers.

Samuel Marsden Collegiate School has been providing quality independent education for over 140 years. While honouring tradition it delivers a wide-ranging, modernised and future-focused curriculum, with a strong emphasis on student wellbeing. Marsden is New Zealand’s first Visible WellbeingTM school. Marsden provides education for girls from Years 1-13 and has a co-ed Preschool. marsden.school.nz

Samuel Marsden Collegiate School has been inspiring girls for over 140 years. While honouring tradition it delivers a wide-ranging, modernised and future-focused curriculum. Marsden is New Zealand’s first Visible WellbeingTM school and provides education for girls from Years 1-13 and has a co-ed Preschool. Marsden School’s purpose is to lay the foundation for lives of meaning, accomplishment and genuine happiness. www.marsden.school.nz

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