News of Old Girls

Got something to share? Send your Old Girl news to [email protected]. We love featuring the stories of Old Girls: snapshots of overseas adventures, notable achievements, reminiscences of school years, and more!

Explore your latest issue of Evergreen Ties

We hope that you will enjoy reading the stories of our connected community - it is packed full of memories made during this unique period in our history. Evergreen Ties is published two times a year by the St Cuthbert's Communications Team.

In other news...

Outstanding Achiever

Congratulations to Leilani Faaiuaso (2020) on being awarded the Outstanding Achiever Award by Massey University. The Outstanding Achiever Award is presented to students studying an undergraduate degree, diploma, certificate, or conjoint degree in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and who achieve the highest grades within the College’s academic programmes across a minimum of four papers taken in the year for which the award is made. Outstanding achievers are the top 5% of students in the College. Leilani is the president of the Massey University Student Enterprise Club – Manawatu, and also volunteers as an academic mentor for Te Fatu o Te Pasifika.

Coffee & Dessert

New Old Girl mothers and grandmothers were welcomed back to St Cuthbert’s at a very special mid-winter gathering hosted by Old Girls’ Association President Georgina Robertson. It was a wonderful opportunity to reconnect with fellow Old Girls and talk more with Principal Justine Mahon and St Cuthbert’s teachers. Old Girls loved pouring over the ‘Chronicle’ from their year, with much laughter at their youthful photos.

Literary Event

An evening celebrating our Old Girl authors

In June, the Joan Holland Auditorium was filled with book lovers thrilled to hear the stories of Old Girl writers Rose Carlyle, Renee Liang, Kirsten McKenzie, Caroline Barron, Julie Thomas, and Cybella Maffitt. Esteemed writer and educator Ann Gluckman was also recognised for the considerable work she has done for the Jewish, literary, and education communities. Juliet Moses presented a moving tribute to Ann's many accomplishments. Current student Zara Bennett read her wonderful poem. St Cuthbert's warmly acknowledges the generous support of all authors involved and Old Girls' Association Committee member Kirsten McKenzie for her impressive work and dedication in producing the event. A huge success, 2022 will see the return of this standout evening.

Claudia Clatworthy

Peer Year 2016

Claudia Clatworthy went to St Cuthbert's from New Entrants to Year 13 and graduated in 2016. Since graduating, she has attended Whitehouse Institute of Design in Sydney and completed her Bachelor of Design majoring in fashion design. Whilst in Sydney, she got the opportunity to work with brands like Dior and InStyle magazine, as well as Cue and Veronika Maine. She graduated university at the end of 2019 and was awarded Student of the Year for her cohort. She is now back in New Zealand interning for a New Zealand fashion label and making made-to-measure pieces for cgc, her own brand.

Claudia donated a textile design award to the school, which is named the Claudia Clatworthy Textile Technology Award. This coveted prize is a beautiful bronze sculpture of a needle and thread given to the top in subject in Year 13 each year. Deputy Head of Faculty: Technology Kathryn Patel says the top in subject is not just someone who has excelled in textiles academically but is awarded to a girl who has displayed the same types of qualities displayed by Claudia in her final year: resilience, creativity, and risk taking.

Dr Sonia Sawant

Peer Year 2012

Sonia recently completed a BMedSc/MD double degree at the University of Sydney on a full scholarship. Currently working as a medical officer and researcher, she aspires to explore novel prevention and management strategies for cardiovascular disease, specifically focusing on women's health. She is excited to learn more and give back to the community in the years to come.

Old Girls leading in law

We're proud of the significant impact Old Girls are having in law and justice.

The first St Cuthbert’s Old Girl to be appointed a judge in 2003 was Karina Williams (Peer Year 1979). She worked at the Manukau District Court doing criminal work. Unfortunately, she passed away in 2005. Karina will perhaps be most remembered for her extraordinary facility for communication with all people.

Philippa Cunningham (Moore) (Peer Year 1969) has been a District Court Judge since March 2007. She works in the Auckland District Court doing criminal (including jury trial work) and civil cases.

Pippa Sinclair (Peer Year 1977) was appointed a District Court Judge in 2011. She spent the first eight years working in the criminal area in the North Shore District Court but is now sitting at the Auckland District Court.

Andrea Manuel (Peer Year 1979) is the only former St Cuthbert’s Old Girl to be appointed as a Family Court Judge. She also does some criminal work. Andrea was sworn in March 2016 and sits at the Auckland District Court.

Kate Davenport (Greenwood) (Peer Year 1978) was appointed a Queen’s Counsel in 2013. She specialises in civil and commercial litigation.

Photos (from left): Kate Davenport, Philippa Cunningham, Andrea Manuel, Pippa Sinclair

Kate Sheehan

Peer Year 1996

Kate's career has seen her work nationally and internationally, including over five years in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea at a top-tier firm. A specialist with expertise in civil and commercial litigation, Kate provides advice-based work and representation in court in a number of property disputes including relationship property, body corporate levy disputes, and issues relating to rental properties including Airbnb, tenancy, and insurance issues for landlords against rogue tenants. Kate is also interested in litigation funding as an alternative way to fund cases and the development of class actions in New Zealand.

Georgie Smith (Hope)

Peer Year 2005

Georgie's current role as Head of Marketing and Fundraising for Coastguard Northern Region sees her getting up each day to do a job she loves. Georgie is responsible for the leadership and performance of marketing, brand, communications, partnership, and funding programmes including the popular membership programme, the 'Boatie's Best Mate.' This year sees Georgie take up the role of acting Chief Executive Officer of Coastguard Northern Region for a six-month period. Outside of her fulfilling career, Georgie has two young sons with husband Greg.

Natalie Norman (Turner)

Peer Year 2001

After having her son Liam (four), with over ten years experience at Australasia's largest mattress manufacturer, Natalie left the corporate world to launch her online business, Growbright. She realised that a good night's sleep is what keeps babies, toddlers, and their parents thriving, and that a great mattress is critical to achieving this. While adult mattresses have evolved based on sleep quality research, many cot mattresses are still sold based on decades-old designs and materials. Natalie launched Growbright in July 2018 and a month later gave birth to her daughter Amelia (now 18 months). Growbright are the makers of the airnest cotton mattress, an innovative product with 95% air by volume. Growbright's mission is to help parents sleep better by bringing them bright ideas, beautifully designed products, and non-judgmental support, all in a practical way.

Sasha Rasmussen

Peer Year 2009

Sasha is now in the third year of study towards her doctorate in the Faculty of History at Oxford, where she is a Claredon Scholar and member of St Hilda's College, a former women's college, founded in 1893. She graduated from the University of Auckland with a BA/BMus conjoint in 2014, and with an MA in 2016. Her current research explores the intersection of gender and sensory histories, through the experiences of women living in St Petersburg in the period 1900 to 1913. Alongside her studies, she plays in a number of student orchestras and ensembles, and is the manager of the Oxford Alternative Orchestra. Having taken up the bassoon in Year 9 at St Cuthbert's, she has relished the opportunity to once again be part of a thriving musical community. She also writes poetry, and her work has been published in the New Zealand literary journal Aotearotica and the Oxford University Poetry Society's Machaelmas 2019 edition of The Ash.

Natasha Eady

Peer Year 2016

Natasha was a member of the national 4x100m relay squad that recently won bronze at the World University Games, in Naples, and set a New Zealand record of 44.24 seconds. The squad made history by winning New Zealand’s first medal in the sprint relay event. Nat has been selected to join the development program for the team aiming to qualify for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, UK. Nat began her athletics career at four years old and was undefeated athletics champion at St Cuthbert’s from Years 5 to 11.

Olivia Monks

Peer Year 2012

Aspiring actress, Olivia Monks (class of 2012) had her television debut earlier this year in The Gulf. Playing a fun-loving 21-year-old caught in a sticky situation, the Toi Whakaari graduate was thrilled to take part in this local production. Now, with theatre credits under her belt and her involvement in another television series currently being pitched to US production companies, she is planning a move to Canada in 2020 to pursue acting and music on the global stage.

Bianca Barbarich-Bacher

Peer Year 2010

Bianca has been named the inaugural winner of the Young Aviation Professional Award 2019 which celebrates younger aviation professionals who have significantly influenced safety performance and behaviour. Earlier this year, she was accepted into Mt. Cook Airline as a first officer and has been an instructor at the Marlborough Aero Club and a pilot for RidgeAir Blenheim.

Rochelle Williams

Peer Year 2010

Rochelle is a Digital Product Designer based in London; she has been living and working in the city for the last three and a half years. In March this year she started working with fin-tech start up, Bud, to develop products utilising “open banking” technology, and creating a financial services marketplace for top tier banks and other financial institutions. In her spare time, Rochelle sings with the London Philharmonic Choir, most recently performing at the BBC Proms at the Royal Albert Hall.

Rebecca Mahoney

Peer Year 2008

Currently Corporate & Consumer Communications Specialist, Rebecca has a background in fashion PR with agency Showroom 22 before joining David Jones. Rebecca got her first break in PR after working part time in retail stores while studying and freelancing in marketing, brand, and social media. Her agency won the David Jones account in early 2016 just prior to the first international store in Wellington and then she joined the in-house David Jones Public Relations team and made the jump across the ditch to Australia. Based in Melbourne, she loves her dynamic role where no two days are the same and thrives on writing, connecting with people, building exciting communication strategies and seeing campaigns take shape.

Nicola Mirza (Morris)

Head Girl, Peer Year 1996

Nicola has a BA/LLB from the University of Auckland and a post-graduate diploma in Management from Birkbeck, University of London. A qualified Barrister and Solicitor of the High Court of New Zealand, she worked overseas as a solicitor before moving into legal recruitment and returned to New Zealand in 2010. Nicola also founded luxury bespoke jewellery business, Miramôr, which she sold to one of New Zealand’s leading jewellers, Sutcliffe, in March 2018. Nicole has recently joined the partnership of Hobson Leavy.

Diana Thomson (Garlick)

Peer Year 1988

Diana is committed to helping women be confident in finding and using their voices. Her business SpeechMarks Coaching supports those with speaking struggles or new goals in public speaking. Diana has recently released her first book The Naked Speaker: The Public Speaking Recipe Book to help readers with this. The book offers encouragement, technical advice, and tips to help speakers inspire and connect with their audiences.

Roz Henry

Peer Year 1987

Roz Henry recently joined Co-Operative Business New Zealand (CBNZ) as their CEO. CBNZ is the professional body representing New Zealand co-ops, a significant employer and provider of GDP to New Zealand, hiring 50,000 people and contributing 16% of our GDP. CBNZ has a very broad membership including organisations such as Fonterra and FoodStuffs through to small start-ups. "It's a fantastic role. Aside from getting to work with some amazing leaders, it allows me to make use of my broad range of skills and experience. It's great to be working in an area that is core for New Zealand and being able to give back. Roz went to the University of Otago where she completed a Bachelor of Consumer and Applied Sciences. Subsequently, she had the opportunity to join the New Zealand Dairy Board (now Fonterra) gaining commercial experience. She then moved to management consulting, learning about strategy and business optimisation. Over the past ten years, she has been in a variety of leadership roles, had three children, and moved between New Zealand, Australia, and Europe.

Melinda Cates

Peer Year 1983

Melinda returned to New Zealand three years ago and this year published her book I Make a Difference: A Process to Heal and Dissolve the Layers of Your Past and Discover the Jewel Within. She has a long history of facilitating and training others and for over ten years delivered pre-employment programmes for disengaged youth, Aboriginal Australians, long-term unemployed, individuals who had experienced workplace injuries, and migrants and refugees.

Maxine Lesley Amos, formerly Fowler (Holt)

Peer Year 1964

Maxine has lived in Auckland, Wellington, Sydney, Brisbane, Airlie Beach, and finally settled in Townsville. Twenty-four years ago, Maxine established Distinctive Promotions, providing clients with customised promotional products. In 1998, she was a finalist in the Townsville Businesswoman of the Year Awards and was also nominated for the North Queensland Management Excellence Awards. For the past four years, Maxine has been voluntary editor of the Family History Association of North Queensland’s magazine Relatively Speaking.

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