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Te Reo O Te Roto
The Language of the Lake
Issue 114 | 27 February 2026
From the Principal

Principal's Welcome

Kia ora, everybody,

It’s hard to believe we are already at the midpoint of the term. The weeks have flown by, and as always, our school has been alive with learning, creativity, and activity in every corner of our community.

Today, however, is something very special. We have transported our entire school to AUT Millennium, transforming the day into an unforgettable celebration of sport and school spirit. From the moment students arrived, there has been a real carnival atmosphere — house colours proudly on display, cheers echoing around the venue, and a wonderful sense of excitement in the air.

What has stood out most is that everyone is having a go. Whether racing on the track, competing in field events, supporting their teammates, or stepping outside their comfort zone to try something new, our students have embraced the day with enthusiasm and courage. We are incredibly proud of the determination, resilience, and sportsmanship shown by all.

Events like this provide more than just competition. They create meaningful opportunities for students and teachers to connect in a different setting — sharing encouragement, celebrating effort, and strengthening relationships. Connection to our school and to one another is so important for students to truly thrive in their learning. When young people feel a sense of belonging, support, and shared purpose, they are more confident, more engaged, and better equipped to achieve their personal best.

A very special thank you must go to our Sports Department who, only last week, delivered an extremely successful Swimming Sports. To plan and execute two major whole-school sporting events back-to-back is no small feat. Their organisation, energy, and commitment to providing opportunities for all students to participate and shine is deeply appreciated.

Thank you also to the many staff and supporters who have contributed to making these events such a success. And congratulations to all of our athletes — not just for their performances, but for the spirit, courage, and camaraderie they have shown. What a great way to mark the middle of the term.

STEAM

Y10 STEAM students level up learning through game design

This term, our Year 10 STEAM students have embarked on an exciting and ambitious project: designing original educational games to help teach key concepts to students. The goal is simple but powerful – learn by creating, and teach by playing.

Several teachers across the school have generously agreed to act as stakeholders, offering their Year 9 classes as authentic audiences for these student-designed games. This real-world collaboration means our Year 10 students are not just completing an assignment – they are designing with purpose, feedback, and real purpose in mind.

To launch the project, we were fortunate to welcome special guest Toby Falconer, Director of Play at The Open Fort. Toby works with Auckland Council to deliver large-scale pop-up game experiences across the city, and he brought that same energy and expertise into our classroom.

Through a series of hands-on games, students explored topics such as the roles of bees in our ecosystem and the fascinating journey of an apple from orchard to lunchbox. These playful experiences demonstrated how complex systems – from pollination to food production – can be understood more deeply when learning is active, social, and immersive.

The students had an absolute blast. More importantly, they began to see how thoughtful game design can turn curriculum concepts into memorable experiences.

Toby will continue to mentor the class throughout the term, guiding students as they develop, test, and refine their own original games. His industry insight is helping them think not only about fun and engagement, but also about clarity of learning outcomes, user experience, and inclusive design.

This project forms part of the Year 10 Innovative Community Project Initiative, where students identify real stakeholders within their community and develop a product or idea that addresses a genuine need in their neighbourhood. By combining creativity, systems thinking, and community connection, students are learning that innovation is not just about invention – it is about service.

We look forward to seeing the Year 10 cohort bring their ideas to life and inspire the next generation of learners through the power of play.

Sports

North Harbour Orienteering

North Harbour Orienteering: Off to a Flying Start!

Last week marked the start of the North Harbour Orienteering Zone Sprint Series. Held at various venues across the Shore over five weeks, this fast-paced series culminates in a high-stakes Sprint Final where the top competitors battle for overall honours.

Westlake Girls had a fantastic start to the season! A huge congratulations to the following students for their impressive results:

Y9 girls (42 competitors in total)
Lacey Gornall – 1st place
Anahya Garimella – 27th place

Y10-11 girls (48 competitors in total)
Brooke Day – 3rd place
Camryn Gornall – 14th place

Y12-13 girls (23 competitors in total)
Cayleigh Blackburn – 3rd place

More than just a race, orienteering is a ‘lifelong fitness sport’ that challenges both the body and the mind. It builds essential skills in navigation, problem-solving, and split-second decision-making as athletes hunt down controls with maximum efficiency.

Well done to everyone who competed—we can’t wait to see what you achieve in the coming weeks!

Community

Clubs Expo

This year’s Clubs Expo is going to be  a feast for the eyes.  We have so many exciting clubs and activities on offer, there’s something for everyone to get involved in.

Every year, when we survey our departing Year 13 students, they say that one of the things they loved the most about Westlake Girls was the HUUUUGE array of clubs and activities on offer, and how easy it is to connect with people and make friends when you join groups where you share interests

Joining clubs is how you find your people at Westlake Girls!

Where? Covered Courts

When? Tuesday 3 March, 12.30-1.15pm.

Don’t miss this important expo.

Arts & Culture

Art inspired by NZ landscape

Year 10 Visual Art classes visited the Long Bay Coastal Track to photograph and sketch the land and seascapes in preparation for a Painting assessment task.

They have been learning how to observe and record tonal and textural information as well as planning a composition made up of multiple perspectives. The Vaughan Homestead provided a number of more structured images to contrast with the open landscape views.

A karakia was observed in respect to the land and its natural resources before students made and photographed a woven harakeke (flax) flower. These images will be included in their final landscape-inspired painting on return to the classroom.

 

 

 

AI @ Westlake

AI Day and Westlake Girls

Schools across New Zealand are under growing pressure to build both teacher and student AI literacy, while keeping learning safe, responsible, and grounded in critical thinking. Many are unsure where to start, what ‘good’ looks like in practice, or how to do this without adding workload or risk.

Day of AI Aotearoa New Zealand was created to address this challenge with free, high-quality, classroom-ready resources designed for NZ school contexts. Part of the global Day of AI initiative developed by MIT RAISE, which has reached over 2 million students, engaged 75,000 teachers, and involved schools in 175 countries.

Day of AI Aotearoa New Zealand was invited to present at the Day of AI Summit in Dubai, where the programme was recognised as a leading example of meaningful localisation of the global initiative, showing the power of international collaboration in action, thank you to our partners and collaborators: Day of AI MIT RAISE, Day of AI Australia, Education Partnership & Innovation Trust (EPIT), TENZ (Technology Education New Zealand), Westlake Girls High School, and NZCER.

Susana Tomaz, Director of Futures and AI Strategy

Notices

Be in the newsletter

We love hearing about students and staff achieving great things. If you have a story you’d like to share from in or out of school, please contact the editor of Te Reo o Te Roto with your stories and photos. We love them!

Te Reo o Te Roto is published fortnightly during term time. Email editor Bridget Ellis-Pegler with your submissions.

Specs

Photos – JPG or PNG, high quality

Use landscape (horizontal) format for most subjects. Choose portrait (vertical) orientation for single people, pairs, or naturally vertical subjects such as trees or tall buildings.

Words – 300 max.

Arts & Culture

Premier instrumental ensembles to China

Join us for an extraordinary evening of music as we launch our most ambitious instrumental project in over a decade. This April, 87 Westlake students from the premier instrumental ensembles are embarking on a two-week cultural and performance tour across Beijing, Xi’an, and Shanghai. We are excited to offer this opportunity to our students, demonstrating that music has the capacity to build bridges across diverse cultures and countries.

By attending this concert, you will directly support the musicians of Westlake Symphony Orchestra, Chamber Orchestra, Concert Band, and Big Band. These ensembles have an established reputation representing Aotearoa New Zealand with national and international distinction. Now, they have the chance to share their artistry with schools and audiences across China. Every ticket purchased goes directly towards the cost of the tour – either to an individual student or to the general fundraising account.

During the evening, we also invite you to participate in our Silent Auction. Our local community businesses have been incredibly generous, donating a fantastic range of products and experiences that will be auctioned off throughout the event. Whether you’re looking for a gift for others or a treat for yourself, every winning bid contributes to our tour fundraising. If you are in a position to donate a gift for the Silent Auction, please contact Kasey Hani Lui (WGHS Performing Arts Administrator) via [email protected]

We warmly invite you to come and support our next generation of fabulous Westlake musicians!

BOOK YOUR TICKET NOW: https://westlakegirls.ibdn.nz/etickets

Notices

Uniform Shop price list

Please note, the Uniform Shop has moved. The new address is on the pricelist below.

Sports

Auckland Secondary School Rowing Championships

Westlake Girls rowers delivered an impressive set of results at the Auckland Secondary School Rowing Championships, with crews performing strongly across multiple age groups and boat classes.

Gold medals were secured in the Under 18 Single by Charlotte Mawston, and in the Under 17 Pair by Annabel Webber and Zara Bosch, reflecting both individual strength and growing depth in the programme.

The team added further podium finishes with silver in the Under 18 Pair (Charlotte Mawston and Zara Bosch) and the Under 18 Four (Charlotte Mawston, Zara Bosch, Annabel Webber, Lucy Britten and Lyla Carrancho).

Bronze medals rounded out a successful regatta, with the Under 18 Eight crew of Charlotte Mawston, Zara Bosch, Annabel Webber, Lucy Britten, Adriana Ramirez, Maddi Fox, Maddie Craig, Tara Barns and Lyla Carrancho claiming third place. The Under 15 Four of Leilani Tatt, Kiana Eades, Eloise Hood, Zoe Wilkins and Lyla Carrancho also finished on the podium.

With strong performances across the squad, the team now turns its focus to the North Island Secondary School Championships from Friday 6 to Sunday 8 March, before the national Maadi Cup regatta from Monday 23 to Saturday 28 March.

We wish all our rowers the very best for the next stage of the season.

Photography credits: Conrad Blind – Rowing Picture Show 

Arts & Culture

Te Puna visit to Piritahi Marae

Nāu te rourou, nāku te rourou, ka ora ai te iwi.

I te Paraire kua pahure ake nei, i haere te puna ki Piritahi Marae. I ako rātou i ngā kōrero tuku iho, ā, i whakawhiti mātauranga mō te whenua o Ngāti Paoa. Hei utu ō rātou manaakitanga, i āwhina ngā wāhine ki te whakapai me te horoi i te marae. E rere ngā tai o mihi kia Ngāti Paoa, kei runga noa atu koutou.

On Friday 20 February, Te Puna o Hiwa-i-te-rangi marked its first anniversary with a visit to Piritahi Marae on Waiheke Island, learning more about the history of Ngāti Paoa. The wāhine of the Puna learnt about the history of Ngāti Paoa and kōrero around the wharenui ‘Kia Piritahi’ which is pictured below. In exchange for the rich matauranga that Ngāti Paoa shared, the wāhine then cleaned up the marae.

Te Puna o Hiwa-i-te-Rangi would like to thank the uri o Ngāti Paoa, Whaea Drina Paratene, the hapai ō, and ngā Kaiako o te Puna for organising this wonderful day for them. Nui te aroha kia koutou.

 Whatungarongaro te tangata, toitū te whenua.

 

 

 

Arts & Culture

Y12 involved in official international welcome

Westlake student Abbey Rhodes had a memorable honour this week when she performed with the City of Auckland Pipe Band at an official welcome for the United Kingdom’s Secretary of State for Scotland, The Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP, during his visit to New Zealand.

The welcome took place at the summit of Maungawhau Mt Eden, where the visiting delegation was greeted by the band ahead of their attendance at the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo at Eden Park this weekend. Abbey also had the opportunity to meet the British High Commissioner to New Zealand, Iona Thomas OBE.

Abbey is the band’s Leading Side Drummer, one of the youngest musicians in New Zealand to hold that role in a competing pipe band. For the welcome, she led the band in the iconic piece Highland Cathedral, alongside several other tunes performed for the official party.

“I was a little nervous when the black diplomatic car rolled up,” Abbey said, “but it was exciting to meet someone so important and play for them.”

During the visit, the Secretary of State asked Abbey about her drumming, which she has been doing for seven years. When asked why she chose the drum, she answered, “Because my fingers were too stubby to be a bagpiper!”

Abbey described the experience as unforgettable and was proud to represent both her band and the wider community at such a significant international moment.

Notices

Voluntary blood drive

 New Zealand Blood Service (NZBS) will be holding a voluntary mobile blood drive at:

  • Westlake Girls High School
  • Events Centre
  • Fri 13 March, 9am – 2pm.

Please note that this event is only open to students aged 16 or older, and it is not compulsory.

Westlake Girls does not organise this event. It is a New Zealand Blood Service event that is held in our Event Centre, reflecting our firm commitment to service at Westlake Girls. Donating blood is a simple act that can quite literally save lives. By experiencing the impact of giving back, students are inspired to carry this habit into their lives beyond Westlake, contributing in a meaningful, lasting way to their communities. However, we reiterate – this is a voluntary event.

Sensitivities around donating blood

To donate blood, each student must complete a health questionnaire and have a confidential interview with a nurse to determine their eligibility to give blood.

This may include some topics/circumstances that are sensitive to an individual and may include:

  • Medications – e.g. acne, birth control, other conditions
  • Drug use – e.g. marijuana, smoking, drinking or use of other substances
  • Peer pressure, anxiety and fear of needles – unable to let peers know they are not comfortable donating.

If a student is deferred for any reason, which may be difficult for them to explain to their peers, the nurse will provide them with scenarios to help manage this, ensuring they do not feel excluded or embarrassed for not being able to donate.

No student will be singled out or reprimanded for not being able to donate. The NZ Blood Services’ criteria are in place to protect the safety of the blood supply and the health and well-being of its donors.

The right to donate

 The Care of Children Act 2004 allows people 16 years and over to make their own decisions about whether they wish to give blood. Students may choose to donate blood at this session.

NZBS recommends that students discuss becoming a blood donor with their family. If families have a particular objection to the student donating blood, please notify the student and the organisers (New Zealand Blood Service).

We will be sending a newsletter home about this soon. 

If you require any further information, please call 0800 GIVE BLOOD (0800 448 325)

or visit www.nzblood.co.nz

 

Community

Covered Court resurfacing

During the school holidays Westlake Girls High School had its covered court facility resurfaced. The six tennis and four netball court facility was opened in 2012, and this is the first time the surface has been replaced.  This facility is used all year round by the close to 2400 Westlake students for physical education classes and co-curricular activities.  These activities include tennis, netball, athletics, rowing, football, marching, dance and cultural group practices.  The facility is also used extensively by community groups outside of school requirements including netball clubs and regional associations, tennis groups, a car racing club and turbo touch competitions.

Hardwood Technology completed the resurfacing work. The Westlake Girls School Board and Pub Charity Limited funded the project.

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