Western News: March 12, 2019

12
•From page 10
Burnside High School
head girl Amelia MacDonald
– My life revolves around my
hobbies, such as sport, cultural
events and leadership roles. Being
head girl of
Burnside High
School has
always been a
goal of mine.
Leadership is
something that
is something
important
to me as it
provides an
opportunity to
make a change
and to help at
the ultimate
level. This is the main reason why
I applied to be head girl as I had
the chance to achieve the goals I
have to enhance the well-being of
our school as a whole.
In particular, the goals I have
for Burnside High School is encouraging
a supportive environment
around our school where
everyone feels included and
shows school pride.
Being of Māori descent I wish
to promote a culturally diverse
school that empowers its students
and embraces the bicultural
aspect of Aotearoa.
Villa Maria head girl
Eadaoin Roughan
Kia ora koutou,
My name is Eadaoin Roughan
and this year I have been given
the privilege of representing Villa
Maria College
as head girl.
I am a proud
New Zealandborn
Solomon
Islander, and
I love the
sciences and
maths.
I came to
Villa Maria
College in 2015
as a year 9 student
and over
the years have
come to learn what it means to be
a Villa girl.
Through its special character,
Villa weaves the values of
SCHOOLS
Students’ goals
Amelia
MacDonald
Eadaoin
Roughan
Tuesday March 12 2019
Whakaute (respect), Manaakitanga
(hospitality) and Tika (justice)
into all aspects of college life.
Whether it be through service,
academics or cultural aspects of
the school, all students reflect
these values.
Mercy Day is one of my favourite
events of the school year. Every
second year, Villa Maria College
hosts a Mercy Day, inviting other
students from the community
with disabilities to take part in
fun activities with the students
from Villa.
Last year, a petting zoo was
set up on the school grounds for
visitors and students to interact
with. The students also organised
a wide range of interesting activities
for our visitors. My group
hosted a gingerbread decorating
activity that was very popular
among all.
However, the highlight of
Mercy Day is the concert that
we put on, which was enjoyed by
students and visitors alike.
Villa offers a wide variety of
opportunities for all students.
Last year, I had the privilege
of meeting the New Zealand
Governor-General Dame Patsy
Reddy, which was an inspiring
experience.
This year, the college leaders
and I will focus on encouraging
Villa girls to try something new
and give every opportunity a go.
I will also introduce a Māori
“word of the week” to our college
community, each new word will be
one of encouragement, for example
“Ka wani kē” meaning “wow.”
A great amount of support
comes from all my family, friends
and teachers, without them I
wouldn’t be where I am today.
This support keeps me going and
encourages me to achieve more
and more.
At Villa, there is so much talent
in every student which inspires
me too, we support and inspire
each other, which creates a great
environment for everyone.
Following my graduation at
the end of 2019, I hope to study
chemistry and biology at university.
However, I like to focus on the
present, and experience all this
year has to offer.
Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi
Strong summer of
tennis earns reward
• By Gordon Findlater
FENDALTON resident Abby
Mason has been rewarded for a
strong summer by being selected
in the New Zealand Junior Fed
Cup team to compete at the
Asia-Oceania qualifying event.
Abby, 15, received a phone
call last week during a coaching
session to learn she will be
heading to the tournament in
New Delhi from April 15 to 20.
“It was such a good feeling,”
said Abby.
“It’s something I’ve been
aiming for, but I didn’t think I
was going to make it so it was
quite a surprise.”
Over the last six months Abby
has turned her focus to tennis,
something she believes has
helped elevate her game. She
previously swam competitively
which involved training four
times a week and attending
meetings at the weekends.
She also played representative,
club and school hockey last year.
However, she will only play for
school this year in her pursuit
of improving her skills with the
racket.
“I’m putting a much
bigger emphasis on tennis,” she
said.
“There was one point during
the winter where I was playing
more hockey than tennis. It
definitely didn’t help at all, so
hopefully, it will help my tennis
this year.’’
Abby’s coach James Meredith
has been impressed with the
steps forward her game has
taken over the summer after
shifting more of a focus to
tennis. He believes she has the
right tools to succeed going
forward.
“She’s an all-rounder, there’s
no real weaknesses in her game.
She’s tall and has a big serve
which means she can win a
lot of free points. She’s very fit
which her hockey has probably
helped with,” said Meredith.
“She always does well on beep
tests and can scramble to win
make balls to keep points alive.”
Last month Abby picked up
CALL-UP: Fifteen-year-old Abby Mason has been selected to
represent New Zealand at the Junior Fed Cup Asia-Oceania
qualifying event in India .PHOTO: MARTIN HUNTER
her first junior ITF ranking
points after collecting two wins
at the Tennis Canterbury ITF at
Wilding Park.
Abby defeated 16th seed
Amy Stevens from Australia
in the first round 7-6, 6-4. She
then beat China’s Zijun Jiang
5-7, 6-2, 6-3 before falling to
17-year-old Holly Stewart of
Auckland 6-3, 2-6, 1-6 in the
round of 16.
At the 16U New Zealand
Junior Championships Abby
was defeated in the quarterfinals
by eventual champion
Jade Otway 4-6, 3-6. However,
Abby impressed at the 18U New
Zealand Junior Championships
WESTERN NEWS
with two wins – including a 6-4,
7-5 win over eighth seed Ivy
McLean – to reach the quarter
final stage.
Before heading to India with
the New Zealand team Abby
will represent St Margaret’s
College at the national
secondary school champs at
Wilding Park from March
25-28. She will also compete at
two Tennis New Zealand Kiwi
Money tournaments in Timaru
and at Cashmere Tennis Club in
March.
In the future Abby hopes to
play tennis for a United States
college before seeing how far she
can go in the sport.
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