Student Profile – Ayana Cooke

Kia ora everyone! My name is Ayana Cooke and I have the absolute honour of being the Head Student of CGHS for 2026.

• Describe yourself in 3 words

Empathetic, Adventurous, Enthusiastic 

• What extracurricular activities or clubs do you participate in at school, and what do you find most enjoyable about them?

I believe that it is important to be involved in something you’re genuinely passionate about. During my time at our kura, I have been able to do this by being involved in different aspects of school that have led me to building strong connections with others and gaining a unique perspective, which I treasure. Some of the activities include being part of peer support, house committee, welcoming committee, service committee, librarian, sports council, environment committee/eco action and a range of sports. 

What I find most enjoyable about being part of these extracurricular activities is being able to create meaningful relationships and connections with my peers while striving towards a specific goal. Being part of the Eco Action/Environment committee was an example of this. I’m very passionate about the environment and making sure that I do my part to protect it. By being surrounded by other like-minded people as a collective, we are able to demonstrate kaitiakitanga in a practical way by tree planting and spreading awareness of how everyone can play a part in making sure that we protect our environment to the school community.

Sport has always been a huge part of my life and luckily for me CGHS offers a huge range of sports. During my time at our kura I have been involved in running, surfing, korfball, adventure racing, and hockey. Hockey is the sport that has had the most significance in my life and is one of the reasons why I chose to come to CGHS. For the past 4 years I have loved putting on the red dress and giving it everything on the field with my team. Tournament week every year has also been very enjoyable. For the past 3 years I have been able to represent CGHS in hockey and have been to Timaru, Dunedin and Wellington for tournaments. Every year it is a blast. 

• Can you describe some positive or memorable experiences you’ve had at CGHS

I have been very fortunate to have many memorable experiences at CGHS. Two highlights have been taking a 5 Day Voyage on Spirit of New Zealand and being elected as student representative for the Board of Trustees. 

In Year 10 I was lucky enough to go on the Spirit of Adventure with 9 other people from my year group. Living on a boat for 5 days with the group was such an unforgettable experience. During my time on the Spirit I was challenged to develop teamwork and leadership skills through a range of different activities and competitions. We even competed against other schools and managed to come out of it with a trophy, which was amazing. But when I look back at the experience the most important part was the people that I met and the friendships that I strengthened.

Another memorable experience for me was finding out that I was elected as the student representative on the Board of Trustees. This gave me reassurance and confidence that my peers at school trusted me with representing their perspective at a governance level. This is something that I am very proud and grateful for.

• What are your favourite subjects at school and why do you enjoy them?

Although I have genuinely enjoyed all the subjects I have taken throughout my time at CGHS for different reasons, my favourite subjects are chemistry and performance sport.

In chemistry, I’m constantly exposed to learning new things. I often start out feeling confused but with the support of my peers and the amazing teachers, I’m able to work through it and feel more confident. Although I find the subject challenging, when I finally understand a concept it gives me a huge sense of achievement.

As someone who loves both sports and science, performance sport  has been a really insightful subject as it combines my two interests. I like how this subject offers a mix of physical activity and practical learning, so we not only learn a concept but also get to experience and relate it to ourselves. As someone who is thinking of doing something along those lines in the future I find it very interesting.