It was an exciting afternoon for our mums and daughters as they shared quality time at the Girls’ School’s annual Mother and Daughter High Tea at the Ellerslie Events Centre. With this year’s event being one of the largest yet, the girls and their mothers knew they were in for a treat as soon as they arrived at the beautifully decorated venue. Before they knew it, the centre was humming with laughter, chatter, with Year 7 student, Jeanna Ho paying the violin in the background.

Deputy Principal, Mrs Jill Wahlstrom welcomed our girls, their mothers, and invited guests, and reminded them of how fortunate they were to gather during this time, and to share such a special occasion. She expressed her excitement of the times ahead with a growing roll, new school, and many events to look forward to throughout the year.  

Head Girl, Charlotte Lee was called on to say grace before afternoon tea was served. This was a chance to stop for a moment, enjoy the company of others and something tasty to eat.

Following tea, Parents and Friends Chair, Mrs Sacha Palmer welcomed guest speaker, Dr Michelle Dickinson, also known as Nano Girl to the stage.
Dr Dickinson shared her story of success and encouraged the girls to never give up but learn from their mistakes. She shared stories of some of the most useful and greatest inventions yet, such as the sticky note, tonic water, penicillin, Pyrex bowls and explained that the people who discovered these inventions did it by mistake! She encouraged the girls to share their mistakes with their friends and to learn from them, including the one they were about to try!

The girls and their mothers were tasked with inserting a large toothpick right through a balloon without it popping! Sounds impossible right? As she mentioned, some were successful and some failed, but we all learned from the ones who succeeded. Once everyone had given the experiment a go, Dr Dickinson performed an experiment of her own called Elephant Toothpaste, where she created an explosion of foam!

To conclude the wonderful afternoon, prize giveaways were awarded, and the girls and their mothers got to personally meet Dr Dickinson.

Our thanks to the Parents and Friends Association and its Chair, Mrs Sacha Palmer, assisted by Miss Melissa Burnett, Mrs Caroline Paull-Leighton and their team of volunteers for the time and effort put in to organise the event - it was thoroughly enjoyed by all!

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