SAVE THE DATE
Presbyterian Church Schools Conference 2024
Conference Theme: Our Story
There is an old story that goes… a Rabbi was speaking to his class once and the question came up about some of the peoples of the Old Testament, like the Amorites, and the Hittites and the Jebusites. And the Rabbi said to his class. Have you bumped into an Amorite recently, or had coffee with a Hittite, perhaps played golf with a Jebusite?” And everyone in the class shook their heads and someone spoke up, “I never even met one”. And the Rabbi replied – “This is true, no one has these days. They no longer exist. And do you know why this is?”. The Rabbi’s question was met with silence and so he continued, “The reason is because they didn’t tell their story, and if you don’t tell your story, it is not so much that you lose your past, it is that you lose your future.”
This year the Presbyterian Schools Conference is hosted in Auckland by St Cuthberts and Saint Kentigern Schools. The theme of the conference is “Our Story”. Come and join us as we explore our origins, our identity, and our future in New Zealand as Presbyterian Church Schools. The intention of the 2024 Presbyterian Schools Conference is to celebrate our story and ensure that the story of our special character is front and centre as we move into the future.
The Presbyterian Church Schools Conference 2024
Dates: Thursday 8th August – Friday 9th August
Hosted by Saint Kentigern (Remuera Campus) – Thursday;
St Cuthberts (Epsom) – Friday
Welcome and Registration – 8:30am Thursday 8th August @ 82 Shore Road, Remuera. (School tours available from 7.45am)
9.00am – 3pm Friday 9th August St Cuthberts
The Cost of the Conference is $190 + dinner $90 = $280
Registration forms will be sent out early Term 2
Conference Topics include…
- The start of the Presbyterian Schools movement in New Zealand
- The intersection between the Presbyterian Church and Māori in the development of education in New Zealand
- How symbols and architecture in our schools tell our story and why this is important
- What can we learn from Presbyterian Schools in Australia and the competitive market in which they exist?
- Lessons from Project Reset at Dilworth School
- How do we take our story into the future and the challenge of AI?
- Panel-led discussions on topics important to our story: how does community service tell our story? best practice in Chaplaincy?
- Sharing the story of each of New Zealand’s Presbyterian Schools through PechaKucha*
* As part of our conference this year we would like each school to prepare a 200-second presentation on the story of your school. We would like you to follow PechaKucha (a Japanese story-telling platform). You will be limited to 10 slides which automatically transition after 20 seconds. It is a non-stop presentation with strict time limits. The presentation should include… the origins of your school; the significance of your school’s name; how you keep your story alive and how your school reflects its special character today? Please email the name of your presenter and your 10 slides to kate.evans@saintkentigern.com by Thursday 27 June.
Please note this year there will also be a Presbyterian Schools Student Gathering that will be running concurrently with our conference. The registration for this will come out with the registration forms for the main conference.
The details are as follows….
The Presbyterian Schools Year 7/8 Student Gathering
Dates: Thursday 8th August – Friday 9th August
Limit of two Year 7/8 students per school
Theme: Our Story – Connecting with Communities. Grounded in the biblical concept of Shalom, this is an opportunity for students to hear stories of community connection and to reflect on the part their school plays in enabling their local communities to flourish.
Location: Thursday – Communities Feeding Communities at 1207 Dominion Rd, Mt Roskill.
Communities Feeding Communities is an initiative of Presbyterian Support Northern (PSN) which works alongside the local Puketāpapa/Mt Roskill community to support its thriving. https://www.facebook.com/CommunitiesFeedingCommunities
Friday: Presbyterian Support Northern, Epsom office; Saint Kentigern, Shore Rd; St Cuthberts.
Cost: $75 per student (excluding air fares)
Accommodation: Billeting
Registration forms out early May as part of main Conference process