Kia ora parents and caregivers

It was great to see so many of our students and staff wearing pink today. Pink Shirt Day is about working together to stop bullying by celebrating diversity and promoting kindness and inclusiveness. Creating a community where all people feel safe, valued, and respected, regardless of gender identity, sexual orientation, age, ability, religion, or cultural background is very much part of our purpose and values at Westlake.

It has been a busy few weeks at the school and we have enjoyed some wonderful entertainment with the Rising Swans showcase last week and the first Premier Music concert ‘Music of the Lake’ last Friday. This evening we have our Soloist competition, and we are looking forward to the annual Westlake combined Korean night in early June.

The Year 10 business students held a very successful Market Day and our Business Trade Fair evening at the Events Centre featured a wonderful selection of products designed and created by our senior business students.

Our Head Prefects and House Captains hosted a Prefect conference during the week welcoming Head and Deputy Head Prefects from Westlake Boys High School, Rosmini College, Takapuna Grammar, Rangitoto College, Glenfield College, Northcote College, Albany Senior High School, and Long Bay. This ambitious and motivated group of student leaders share a passion for making our schools better places and learnt a lot through sharing stories and experiences.

You will have received information about the transition to our new Parent Portal and App called SchoolBridge.  This new dashboard is synced and provides access to the KAMAR calendar, parent-teacher interviews, student timetable, and the assessment calendar in one convenient location. We will be introducing more features in the coming months.

This is the last newsletter before I leave for my sabbatical at the end of next week. For the rest of Term 2 David Burton will be in the role of acting Principal and in the first half of Term 3 Sarah Hooper will fill the role.

I look forward to this wonderful opportunity to connect with other leaders of Girls Schools across the world and sharing insights gained on my return.

Kind regards

Jane Stanley

Upcoming important dates:

• Friday 19 May – Soloist Competition (WGHS Events Centre).
• Friday 2 June – Korean Night (WBHS)