Introducing 2022’s Toiora Captains:

Juliana Damhuis:

As someone who really cares about the well-being of the students and staff at our school, I am really happy to be one of the 2022 Toiora Captains. I have always been passionate about mental health and well-being, and I believe that though the school does well enough to attend to these needs, it could do a lot better, and I am looking forward to being a part of that positive change. Despite not having been a member of the Toiora council in the past, I have been involved in Skittles for years, who often work together on events. As a part of the LGBTQ+ community, I am so grateful to have an opportunity to represent gay people in this endeavour for better well-being for students, especially rainbow students at our school.

Joyce Vainikolo:

I am thrilled to be named as one of Hillcrest High Schools 2022’s Toiora Captains. Mental health and well-being has always been super important to me. Throughout my time at school I have tried to be involved in helping improve the mental health and well-being program at Hillcrest High. Gandhi once said “Be the change you wish to see in the world”. This quote has always driven me to fight for the changes that need to be made.  I’m certain this year we can implement new systems around how to improve mental health and well-being within our school community.  This is an amazing opportunity to work on these systems, making school and life just as enjoyable and exciting for future generations. With the help of our outstanding Toiora council, Staff and our wider Senior Student Leaders, I believe that this year we can begin to grow as a community and improve our mental health and well-being. 

With COVID still lurking around in the shadows, We know there is a lot of uncertainty around events and activities for 2022. We, your Toiora Captains and our council plan on doing our very best to keep events running following any restrictions that may come up. 

This year we hope to improve on the events that the Toiora council has previously ran in the past, such as Pink Shirt Day and Pride Month (in collaboration with our Skittles club), but also introduce new and exciting events like Anti-Bullying Week and more ILC/PAC inclusion. We plan to try to improve how NCEA is addressed at Hillcrest High. By making it clearer and having more information provided before starting NCEA level 1,2 and 3 we could possibly help remove the stress and fear of NCEA. We have multiple other events in store this year for Hillcrest. 

Let’s make 2022 a great year for health and well-being!! 

Ofa Lahi Atu, 

Joyce and Juliana