A passion for enhancing the reading of books for children with low vision has earned Kristin student Christina Min both national and international acclaim. Christina Min’s initiative, Touch to Read, provides tactile (textured) children's books for pre-school children with low vision. The project, she says, was inspired by a visit in 2018 to the Homai campus of BLENNZ, the national network of educational services for children and young people who are visually impaired.

"I saw how beneficial the existing tactile books were for children with low vision – and how many more were needed. Many people think that having low vision is like being blind, but that is not the case, and while there are plenty of resources in Braille for people who are blind, they are not what people with low vision need. I started thinking about how I might provide more enriched reading resources for pre-school low-vision children so that their reading experiences are more engaging and enjoyable,” she says.

Christina set about writing 'Who’s under the Sea?', a tactile book featuring a range of sea creatures including jellyfish, dolphins, whales and crabs. Unlike most picture books, tactile books are created with very clear outlines around the illustrations and strong contrasts between foregrounds and backgrounds. A variety of tactile materials such as Velcro is used to enhance readers’ impressions of different types of sea creatures.

Christina’s work was recognised at Parliament Buildings in Wellington recently, when she received a 2019 New Zealand Youth Award from Minister for Youth Hon Peeni Henare. Her next step with Touch to Read is to produce a sequel to 'Who’s Under the Sea?', and she is also following the work of a research team at Auckland University that is exploring the science behind low-vision disorders in children. Once she completes her studies at Kristin School later this year, she hopes to embark on a career in medicine and to specialise in ophthalmology, the science of eye disorders.

Christina was also selected to present her initiative at the International Community Problem Solving Competition at the University of Wisconsin La Crosse in the United States, where she was awarded first place in her project division. 

Kristin Welcomes Mr Mark Wilson, our new Executive Principal

On the first day of Term 3, Kristin welcomed our new Executive Principal Mark Wilson with a moving pōwhiri, where he was officially handed over by representatives from Cashmere High School and became a part of the Kristin School community. Welcome Mr Wilson – we look forward to you playing a significant role in the next chapter of Kristin’s future.

Kristin Wins at The Kids Sing 2019

Over two days in August, thousands of students from across the Auckland region performed on the stage of the Auckland Town Hall for the The Kids Sing 2019. The Kids Sing is a festival and competition, organised by the New Zealand Choral Federation, celebrating excellence in choral music in primary and intermediate schools.

The festival sees an extremely high standard of singing for this age group, with each choir preparing a recital of three pieces, including one test piece. These pieces are performed in competition during the day, with each choir performing at a gala concert in the evening. At the end of the festival, each choir receives a grading of either Gold, Silver, Bronze or commended.

Kristin Junior School's Treble Clefs, directed by Poon Lai, did themselves proud by performing a fantastic recital on Tuesday and receiving a Gold. This was followed the next day by our Year 7 and 8 choir, directed by Mr Lisi, also receiving a Gold award! The excitement didn’t end there however…the Year 7 and 8 choir were also awarded the top prize for best recital by an intermediate school in the Auckland region! A huge amount of work goes into the journey to the festival, and we would like to commend all of the students, staff and families involved.

Senior School House Music 2019

The Kristin Auditorium was full of colour, costumes, talent and energy on Friday, 16 August for our Senior School House music competition. Congratulations to Alisa Petrova from Jupiter house for winning the solo category, the Apollo band for winning the band category, Saturn house for winning the group performance and Jupiter for taking out the overall title. Well done everyone – what a sensational and entertaining event!