Diocesan Auckland had a successful day at the annual Sports and Cultural Exchange with Waikato Dio. With wins for the Year 9 and 10 and Senior A Netball teams, Junior A and Prem Football teams, U16, 2nd XI and Prem Hockey teams, we managed to retain the shield for another year.

St Cecilia Singers enjoyed the opportunity to join together with Bel Suono, Waikato Dio’s choir. The choir directors, Jono Palmer and Maria Colvin, led the choirs for a group warm-up, rehearsal, individual choir workshop, and a combined lunchtime concert. Each choir performed three pieces on their own and then joined forces to sing two massed items: the well-known Māori hymn ‘He Honore’, and the gospel tune ‘I Sing Because I’m Happy.’ The choirs were delighted to have some students from a local primary school, plus a good number of Waikato Dio students in the audience. The Exchange is an awesome opportunity for each choir to share in the love of music, to build friendships and community, and is a great motivation to get their Big Sing repertoire polished up for an early performance!

Our Senior Debating team, consisting of Zara Tucker, Lucy Kilgour and Dora Sun put up a very competitive argument against “Why bringing Dinosaurs back will help with tourism.” Despite their convincing argument, they narrowly lost the fight.

Outside on the field, turf and courts, our sporting teams put on a great display. The Football 1st XI finished their game with a draw. Susie Finlayson pulled off some amazing saves during the penalty shoot-out, helping Auckland Dio to secure the win.

Results from the day: