Kia ora,
It was wonderful to welcome the Class of 1990 back to Westlake last Friday evening to enjoy a wonderful reunion, thanks to the efforts of our Alumni Coordinator, Cathy Roughan. There have been a lot of changes over the last thirty years!
The two recent report evenings were well attended, and I’d like to thank both staff and our parent community for the effort and care they continue to invest in our students’ education.
This Saturday, our Kapa Haka group will take to the stage for their performance at Polyfest. They have clocked up many hours of preparation, and we wish them well as they line up against the other groups in Division 1 of the competition. We hope that the weather is kind to them!
Our WGHS Jazz Band is attending the National Jazz Festival in Tauranga next week, from Tuesday 8th to Thursday 10th April. This is our first time attending this festival, and we are extremely excited to provide this opportunity for our students to be exposed to our country’s biggest and most prestigious Jazz Festival.
We are proud of our students who represented us at the summer sports tournaments around the country last week.
Rowing and Volleyball competed in National Championships at Karapiro and Palmerston North, respectively. NZSS Rowing – 2 x Silvers in U18 pairs (Charlotte Mawston and Maeve Lockett) and U17 pairs (Talia Chatfield and Sacha van der Net).
NZSS Volleyball – 10th, an encouraging improvement from 17th place last year. NZ Volleyball player Katie Adamson coaches the team.
NISS Water polo – 10th. New Zealand Water Polo player Bridget Layburn coaches the team.
AKSS Teams Racing Sailing Championships – We won 1st for the 4th consecutive year. The players now head off to the NZ Secondary Champs in New Plymouth in the second week of the holidays to defend the national title.
AKSS Cricket Championships – 7th. Board member Sunny Patel and Caleb Ward coach the team.
Meanwhile, our Year 10 Business Studies students experienced the real world of entrepreneurship through a vibrant market day on campus. The Year 11 students will sell their wares on Tuesday lunchtime next week.
We’ve also had almost the entire student body participate in the Challenge Success survey – an important part of our commitment to evidence-based wellbeing and learning strategies. The information students provide through this survey informs teaching and learning practices and how we work in many areas.
Finally, the teachers and students from the Social Sciences department and those from the Art department are in the final stages of preparing for their trips to Vietnam and the US during the holiday break.
We wish them safe travels.
Jane Stanley
PRINCIPAL