As we go into another phase of Covid 19 restrictions, the Counselling and Learning Support Teams (Learning Enhancement Department) want to let you know we are all here to support our students and families.

Contacts:
HOD (and Counsellor)
Linda Clouston, [email protected]  027 381 8379

Counsellors
Fleur Piper           [email protected]               027 380 4578
Siew Lee Foo       [email protected]                   027 381 1323
Barbara Mackay  [email protected]         027 381 4294

Learning Support Co-ordinator, Julie Mulcahy, [email protected]

Julie Mulcahy will be working on Zoom and Google meetings with parents, instead of face to face meetings, and the team of Teacher Aides will be contacting the students they work with, if necessary

If you would like to talk to a counsellor, please email or text one of the counselling team, and organise a time to talk between 8.30 am and 3.30pm, weekdays. If you need to talk to someone urgently, and it is outside of ‘school’ hours please ring the national number 1737 to talk to another qualified counsellor.

As counsellors, we suggest that your daughter’s mental health through the COVID 19 lockdown needs to be a priority. In this way, they can bring balance to their situation, and be able to attend to the routines that will keep them well.

We know from the first lockdown, that students who did well over that time, had balance and were able to keep in contact with friends, got a good amount of sleep, did some fun, energetic or creative activities, and attended to their school work. This balance can be different for individuals, and also different in various families.

Students will no doubt be spending time on social media, and watching news broadcasts as well. It is important to talk with your family about any worries and concerns, and also discuss routines with them.

Parents and caregivers, we have found a great web site to start you off, if you and your teens are feeling worried or anxious about the current situation:

How to help children feel calm during a global crisis- Talking to kids and teens about Covid-19 and other global trauma:  https://www.heysigmund.com/?s=COVID

Stay safe, and be kind to yourself, and others.

Talented writer Rachel (Ray) Carr has been awarded a contract to complete their novel Guardian Angel.

The 16-year-old was the youngest writer of the 1000 chosen by WebNovel (an online writing and publishing site) to receive a contract for writing. Then, as an added bonus, in late July Guardian Angel was chosen as part of the Spirity competition (held by WebNovel), where writers can win prizes for completing novels. “I learnt that to be eligible to win the top section of the price category for the competition, my book would need 120,000 words,” said Ray.

“At this point, I had only finished the draft for the first 28 or so chapters of my book (22,242 words). I chose to give myself the challenge of writing 100,000 words in 66 days (the closing date is 30 September and I wanted editing time). This would mean I would need to write about 1,500 words every day. I’m currently at 54,000 words (as of yesterday).”

Ray started the writing challenge on 25 July and is on track to complete the novel in time – despite the challenges of suddenly being in lockdown.

The young author started writing in Year 6.  “My first writing account was opened in September of 2018 but I had been writing for several years before that on paper and in journals,” they said. “My first published piece online was one of my poems from my first poetry book Warning Signs which is also what I’m most well known for online.”

Ray has a complete book of poetry (100 poems) online and is working on a second one. “I have several books I update every week and I have several books I have written with other people – some of which are posted on other people’s pages and some are on mine. I have a completed book on my first page, but it isn’t very long and needs a lot of work,” they said.

Ray is planning to go to University after high school, to most likely study journalism and criminology. “I am hoping I will be able to get in contact with a publishing firm to publish my novel, and that should help me with getting myself out there to write more books,” they said. “I have always wanted to speak at the Auckland Writers’ Festival and am hoping I will be able to accomplish that through my writing and this book.”

Ray’s love of writing comes from a passion for communicating. “I love the freedom writing gives me – the ability to convey my emotions through my characters and produce something that means a lot to me. Hopefully I can help and inspire others, especially with the subjects and situations I cover in Guardian Angel. Writing gives me a sense of accomplishment – that I have the ability to create something that is unique and new that I hope will be loved by my readers. It’s an outlet for my creativity and imagination, and gives me a chance to get everything out of my head and down into words, that share a personal story through the eyes of my characters or through my poems.”

Guardian Angel is a three-part story that covers a lot of sensitive subjects. Has it whet your appetite? Here’s a synopsis:

This story is of political corruption, segregation, Darwinism, dystopian lifestyles, combated religion, broken families and a young girl who just wants a change. Set in a futuristic world where money is the only thing keeping people afloat, and where sly deals and armed men stain the city streets.

The ‘Government’, as it has been most commonly referred to, took charge of the city 26 years ago, when it promised people a better life. A life free of worry, crime and discrimination. People believed them; but lies can be told, promises can be broken, and people can be misled. Now, all but a small portion of the city lies in waste, caged in a man-made moat that keeps the criminals in and the wealthy under the Government’s command. Those who can afford Governmental protection live in their banknote-lined bubble, safe and secure but not always sinless. Those who can’t, well, they must sleep with one eye open and fend for themselves or face the consequences at the cruel hands of the Government. 

Something has got to change, and someone has to be brave, stubborn or angry enough to make sure that happens. 

Neve Cusens has been awarded 2nd place in a nation-wide Justice Challenge run by GirlBoss.

The passionate Year 11 student’s project was one of more than 445 entries received from youth aged 16-21, each with a theme of  “Law, Politics and Government”. Neve’s specific focus was Equity for Students. Outlining the issue she said, “Every day minorities across the world experience prejudice, racism, unfair comments and hate purely based on the colour of their skin. We as a community need to work together to unite as one and work towards abolishing these stereotypes, and create inclusivity for everyone in our communities.”

In her project, Neve outlined why she feels passionate about the topic, and shared her personal experiences of moving to New Zealand from South Africa. Her project also outlined suggestions for possible changes to help make all students feel included.

Well done Neve on a great achievement.

What happens next?

The Government’s announcement this evening, that Auckland will remain at Level 3 until 11.59pm on Wednesday 26 August, means our staff and students will be working and studying remotely until Thursday 27 August. Parents and students will have received an email from Principal Jane Stanley tonight with details about online learning and the support systems available for students. We will continue to send emails to our parent community as information is updated. Please check our website for the latest information over the next week.

Sports Update

The latest sport cancellations/postponements are:

Saturday 15 & 22 August: All Netball (at Netball North Harbour & Auckland Netball Centre)

Monday 17 & 24 August: Year 9 Netball, Rugby, Squash

Tuesday 18 August: AKSS Road Race Championships

Tuesday 18 & 25 August: Junior Badminton (C Grade)

Wednesday 19 & 26 August: All Football, Junior Basketball, Junior Badminton (A & B Grade)

Thursday 20 August: AKSS Table Tennis Championships, All Hockey, Open Basketball, Lacrosse

Thursday 20 – Sunday 23 August: NZSS Swimming Championships

Friday 21 August: Premier Basketball, All Table Tennis, Junior Water Polo

There will also be no sport trainings until further notice and the school grounds are closed to groups and individuals wanting to use the courts, fields and turf. Any further postponements or cancellations will be posted on the school website.

Password assistance

If your daughter is having issues with her password, she can email  [email protected] for assistance.

Our counsellors are available for phone consultations

If your daughter starts to struggle emotionally during lockdown, we have an amazing team of counsellors who offer a free service. Our Counsellors are registered members of the New Zealand Association of Counsellors (www.nzac.org.nz) and abide by the NZAC code of ethics. All counselling provided is private and confidential. Your daughter can contact them directly, or if you are concerned you can refer her. If you would like to talk to a counsellor, please email or text one of the counselling team, and organise a time to talk between 8.30 am and 3.30pm, weekdays.

Westlake Gala Concert

Unfortunately we had to postpone our Westlake Gala Concert planned for Thursday 13 August. We will try to hold it at another date, yet to be confirmed. If that’s not possible, ticket holders will have their money refunded. We know our talented musicians put a tremendous amount of effort into preparing for this concert, and the postponement will be a huge disappointment.

2021 Enrolment Reminder

Out-of-Zone Enrolment applications for Westlake Girls 2021 close on Wednesday 2 September at 5pm, even if you currently have a sister at our school. You can enrol your daughter using THIS LINK.

Term 3 Key Dates

Monday 20 July: Term 3 Starts
Tuesday 21 July: Open Night for study in 2021
Wednesday 5 August: Parent Teacher Meetings
Tuesday 11 August: Māori Parent Hui
Wednesday 12 August: Pasifika Parent Fono CANCELLED
Thursday 13 August: Gala Concert POSTPONED
Monday 17 August: Subject Choice Information Evening: REPLACED WITH AN ONLINE FORMAT. DETAILS TO FOLLOW
Tuesday 18 August: Dance Showcase CANCELLED
Friday 28 August: Korean Night DECISION PENDING 
Wednesday 2 September: Last day for out-of-zone enrolment applications
Friday 25 September:  Chinese Night
Friday 25 September: Last Day of Term

If your daughter needs to be absent from school

The term was in full swing, so even though we are in lockdown for now, we thought it was timely to remind you about the absence and signing out procedures. We greatly appreciate your assistance with this.

Absence:
It is a Ministry requirement to have a written or emailed explanation of a student’s absence in order for the correct attendance code to be assigned. Parents or caregivers should contact the school in the morning either by emailing attendance@ westlakegirls.school.nz AND your daughter’s Form Teacher, remembering to give the reason for the absence.

Alternatively you can call 489 4169 to talk to the Attendance Officer or press 1 to leave a message. A message must be followed up with an email or note to your daughter’s Form Teacher within three days of returning to school. For parents or caregivers unable to email, a written note on the student’s return to school is expected. Medical certificates are required for extended periods of absence, or if a student is unable to sit an NCEA internal assessment or examination.

Lateness:
Students must bring an explanatory note and give it to the Attendance Officer upon arrival in the main reception at the Gernhoefer Admin Centre. Alternatively email the Attendance Officer and Form Teacher.

Exiting during the day:
Students needing to leave school for appointments need to collect a form from the Attendance officer at reception before signing out. Going away on holiday: If there is a planned family holiday during term time, or your daughter needs to take time off school, she must see her House Dean with a letter from a parent/caregiver to get a Leave Form. That form must then be filled out by all her teachers, signed by a parent/caregiver and then returned to her Dean before the leave date.

Sickness:
If your daughter becomes sick at school, she will be sent to the School Health Centre and you will be notified if she needs to be sent home. It’s important your daughter sees the Nurse at the Health Centre before she calls you for collection.

This year we have extended our STEAM pathway to senior school by co-designing alongside our students our ESTEAM programme which stands for Enterpreneutralship, Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Maths.

ESTEAM course selection will be open next week to all Year 10 and Year 11 even if you did no do STEAM in Junior School. Find out more about ESTEAM here

Our ESTEAM students have been working hard on their  Social Enterprise by utilising the Lean Canvas to develop a structure that allows them to break their ideas down into its key parts and evaluate where the risks and assumptions are. It was inspirational to hear first hand from Camilla and Charlotte from Straw the Line about their own business journey and how being agile and adaptable allowed them to overcome challenges such as Covid-19.   

While being young mums and working full-time, Camilla and Charlotte followed their  passion of trying to reduce plastic waste and  making a more sustainable Aotearoa. They thought big and started small, they took a risk and are saving the planet one slurp at a time through their production and education of rice straws.

It is important to expose our young women to positive role models such as Camilla and Charlotte . The lack of exposure to female role models and mentors in the ESTEAM fields contributes to the lack of young women who choose to pursue a career in the field. With more exposure to positive role models, young women could find women that they can relate to and aspire to be.

Here are what some our students had to say:

“The best take away from the talk for me personally was that your average kiwi women are taking a step for change. As your average kiwi girl, to see these woman take action to something they felt passionate about was great to see. Their product as well, is very innovative and effective as we have seen through their presentation. So not only did they take action to a flaw in society, they have made it effective. Which is amazing to see. Especially presenting for Westlake (a girls only school), I feel that it gave us hope for where we could be one day.”
Sian Moloney, Year 12 student ESTEAM

“The talk encouraged me to continue working hard towards my social enterprise. Seeing the success that the Straw The Line creators have achieved made me drive harder to make a difference in my community.” Brooke Bell, Year 11 ESTEAM student

“My biggest take away from the talk was to take risks and learn from mistakes. To not take failures to heart but take them as building blocks.” Shella Dabbach, Year 12 ESTEAM student

“Starting to make a small difference and educating others to make that difference.” Sharon Winson Jacob, Year 11 ESTEAM student

The 11^th annual Year 11 Business Studies Market Day was a great success. The 70 students managed to create quite a traffic jam outside A Block with their food stalls selling all manner of treats. Bacon Butties, Rocky Road, Doughnuts, Soda, Cupcakes, Pretzels, and Cake Pops all made an appearance and then quickly disappeared into hungry mouths.

For an internal assessment activity this was certainly a lot of fun and the students raised more than $200 for charity.

By Sydney Brandolino, Adriana Tobin, Ivy Doak and Caelin Thompson

When one thinks of peace, half-folded paper cranes aren’t usually what comes to mind. But, for a group of WGHS students, that was certainly what was on their minds.

A long-kept tradition of paper crane folding kicked off 2020’s Peace Week, meaning crumpled paper for some origami-newbies and paper cranes for those more versed in the paper-folding world. Peace Week is an annual event that coincides with the commemoration of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Ngasaki during World War Two. Westlake Girls and Rosmini College collaborate each year to remember the victims of war and advocate for peace.

During class we learnt about Sadako Sasaki, a little Japanese girl who was a victim of the Hiroshima atomic bombing, she was only 2 years old when the bomb hit. 10 years after being exposed to radiation caused by the atomic bomb, she developed leukemia. She was told about a Japanese legend that says anyone who makes 1,000 origami cranes will see their wish come true, Sadako spent her last days folding paper cranes on her hospital bed in the hope she would recover. Sadly she passed away when she was 12 years old. Her classmates folded the rest of the paper cranes for her in acknowledgement for her and the many people who died from the bombing.

Takeaki and Takako Kuroda, Hiroshima bomb survivors, came in and talked to us about the atomic bombs and helped us see through their eyes the events that occured. In their presentation they spoke about how much damage the bomb caused to surrounding areas, and how even 1km could spell the difference between life and death. As saddening as it was to hear the long-term damage caused by the bomb, it was heartening to meet these survivors and see how despite all of these tragic events they were able to continue on and are now using their personal experience to advocate for peace.

This incredible week of activities was then furthered by a thorough, challenging discussion led by Tamkeen Saeid from the Peace Foundation and covered a few select topics. These included the importance of one’s own culture, and acceptance and understanding of diversity and the cultures of others around us.

We concluded Peace Week by doing rock painting. Armed with a few rocks and pens students used their creative skills to paint positive messages and images. Whether it be the rainbow peace signs on one rock or the love hearts on another, the threads of peace and love connected every student there. We would like to thank everyone who supported Peace Week.

Pictured are:

Tamkeen Saeid from the Peace Foundation with WGHS students
Stella Lang and Leah Whitehead with their paper cranes
Takeaki and Takako Kuroda with WGHS and Rosmini College students
Rosmini College and WGHS students – rock painting to spread a message of peace.

By Paige Blake
Year 12 PE

On Sunday 2 August, the Year 12 PE students said goodbye to their phones and began the long drive to Hillary Outdoors in Tongariro for what would be a jam packed week filled with many exciting, challenging and character building opportunities.

Throughout the week, students were able to take part in a variety of outdoor activities such as caving, abseiling, high ropes, tramping, mountaineering, canoeing and an overnight trip away from the Hillary Outdoor centre with their group. Each of these activities was an opportunity that not many would experience and although challenging, these activities allowed students to step outside of their comfort zones and also to support their peers to push themselves as well.

It was a tiring, tough week for most but the time spent in Tongariro was an unforgettable experience where new friendships were formed and students were able to push themselves and their group members to new heights.

By Susana Tomaz
TIC of (E)STEAM

STEAM and ESTEAM students have joined She Sharp for a live streaming event on STEAM Careers to learn more about various STEAM pathways. They also heard from She Sharp past and present ambassadors who shared their amazing career journeys, leaving them empowered and inspired to create their future.

Recent times have reminded us of the importance of being agile problem solvers.

Some of the topics covered during the live stream were:

• What career options are available? What are the unique opportunities in tech where you can get involved?
• How can you get yourself across the latest technology trends outside of the classroom?
• What role does personal development play in building the right mindset to tackle the uncertainties of tomorrow? What does it mean to have a personal brand?
• What should you consider to plan for your tertiary education?

Here’s what a couple of our participants had to say:

“It helps with my own future, and knowing what kind of struggles I may face, and how to deal with them. It was also great hearing about how I could get involved right now, and how females are wanted/doing well in STEAM. It was very inspirational to hear other women talking about their passion, as I could relate to them, and understand STEAM better.”
Miriam Atai, Year 9 STEAM 

“I personally loved the overall encouragement and friendliness of the talk. The She Sharp speakers created a safe environment and made me feel as though I was welcome to the community. Furthermore, the speakers emphasised that a STEAM person isn’t categorised by their natural inner genius but rather someone who has determination and works towards their goals. I strongly agree with this. What made this enjoyable to me was their personal way of speech. In turn, they have motivated me to remain diligent and hopeful for the future.”
Moira Araullo, Year 9 STEAM

Some of the panelists are shown left. Their advice: Don’t stress, stay curious, believe in yourself  and follow your passion!!