Our exhibition has been chosen to be displayed at the opening of the new Queen Elizabeth II Pukeahu Education Centre in Wellington. This education centre is New Zealand’s gift to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth for her 90th Birthday. This is a great honour for the College to have our students work exhibited at this event and is recognition of the huge amount of work that students put into this project.

The centre will be opened by His Excellency, the Governor General Sir Jerry Mateparae. We have been invited to attend the opening of the centre on Wednesday 17 August. We are able to take two students to this opening and after the opening ceremony they will assist in showing guests around the exhibition. Genevieve Bowler and Olivia Mendonca have been chosen as the students to attend this event with The Principal of Baradene College, Ms Sandy Pasley and Head of Social Science, Mr Brent Coutts.

Over the last two years, the History Department at Baradene College of the Sacred Heart in Auckland worked on a Shared Histories partnership with a French school named Lycée Professionnel Jean Macé, in Chauny, France. The programme was set up by the French government to link New Zealand and French school together on projects that commemorate the First World War. Students researched into conscientious objectors, those who refused to fight, those who undertook mutiny’s and punishment of soldier who refused to fight. Students created an exhibition of 54 large posters and published a 60-page bilingual book called “La Bataille de la Conscience. The Battle of Conscience”. Some of the students then travelled to France to undertake a tour of the battlefields and participate in educational workshops with their partner school. They launched the book and put on their exhibition in Chauny, France. Later, they held the exhibition in Auckland.

This is an exciting end-point to our project.