Kia ora Parents and Caregivers,
The end of term is fast approaching with just two weeks left in the school year. Our senior students will be finishing their NCEA exams on December 2nd and our Year 9 and 10 students are enjoying being the only students in classes at school.
It was a pleasure to host our Year 9, 2023 students at the school on Friday 11th November and see their excitement and enthusiasm for starting high school. I was very proud of our current Year 9 students who hosted groups of Year 8’s and gave them an enjoyable ‘first day’ at Westlake. We look forward to seeing them back for the start of Term 1.
The 2022 Yearbook has been delivered and students can pick up their copy from the Payments office which is open 8.15 – 3pm daily until Friday 9th December. It was wonderful to look back on the highlights of this year and celebrate how much we have collectively achieved.
The House charity fundraising this year deserves a special mention and a big thank you to our students, teachers and parents for their fundraising activities and support. Our Houses raised over $13,000 which was donated to their chosen charities (The Starship Foundation, The Cancer Society, Pet Refuge, 2shine.org.nz and Auckland City Mission). In addition, the houses collectively raised $2,390 for the Tongan Relief Fund, $1,739 for mentalhealth.org.nz and $1,966 for the Ukrainian Relief Fund. That is an incredible achievement and a fantastic way of giving back to not only our local community but to countries and nations that need our support.
We are very much looking forward to our Junior Prize-giving on Thursday 8th December at the Events Centre. We welcome parents and whānau to watch the prize-giving ceremony via the live stream link below from 12.30 – 2pm.
https://youtube.com/channel/UCjWPDAmRM-S56J6yJQK7Q_A/live
Finally, just a reminder of some key dates for the next two weeks.
Monday 28th November is a Teacher-only day and there are no NCEA exams scheduled
Friday 2nd December – NCEA exams finish. End of school for Years 11-13. Year 9 and 10 students finish at 12.30pm (staff attending Union meeting)
Thursday 8th December is the last day of school for Year 9 and 10’s and they do not need to bring their bags. Students will be released after the Junior prize-giving at around 2.30pm. Reports will be issued at 12pm and available via the Parent Portal.
Kindest regards
Jane Stanley
