We love sharing stories from our community. When Year 12 students at Diocesan School for Girls took on PKC’s Stitching Together Aotearoa campaign as their Service Learning project, they did more than learn a new skill. They brought their school community together to create something meaningful for premature babies and their whānau spending time at Middlemore Hospital in Auckland.
Learning to knit, the students worked together to create squares and sew them into blankets in their school house colours. The result?
626 donated squares, enough to make more than 30 blankets that we will donate to Middlemore NICU!
This is a huge contribution and one of the largest school donations we’ve received for Stitching Together Aotearoa.
For many of the students, knitting was a new skill. Through practice and teamwork, they turned individual squares into something special, with their house colours adding a personal connection to the project.
The eight Diocesan houses, Cowie, Cochrane, Edwards, Mary Pulling, Mitchelson, Neligan, Selwyn and Roberton, were all part of this collective effort.
The project was supported by Year 12 Dean Tracey Cusdin and Service Learning Manager, Lucette Chu, alongside the school’s 11 tutor teachers, many of whom got involved, as well as four other staff members.
When introducing the project to teachers, Lucette shared a whakataukī that beautifully captures its meaning:
Tuia te muka, tuia te tangata, weave the threads, weave the people.
Every square knitted was a reminder that service connects us deeply to one another. Through this project, that connection extended beyond the school gates to families who may be experiencing one of the most challenging times of their lives.
Thank you, Diocesan!
A huge thank you to the Year 12 students, Tracey, Lucette, the tutor teachers and everyone who helped bring this project to life.
626 squares. More than 30 blankets. One special school community. ❤️
Ngā mihi nui, Diocesan!
