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Te Reo O Te Roto
The Language of the Lake
Issue 107 | 5 September 2025
From the Principal

Principal's Welcome

Kia ora, everyone,

As our students step into exam season, the focus across the school has shifted to quiet study, preparation, and supporting one another. It’s a time of concentration and determination, and I know our young people are giving their very best.

It’s been such a buzz recently to watch our students shine in other ways — with some exceptional results at the Winter Sports Tournament and wonderful performances at The Big Sing. We have such diverse talent and commitment at Westlake; it never ceases to impress me and make me proud.

A huge thank you also to the people behind our students — the families supporting them at home and our teachers here at school. Your encouragement and guidance make all the difference.

All the very best to those sitting externals — we’re right behind you.

Ngā mihi nui,

Jane Stanley
Principal

AI @ Westlake

Exciting News: Rising AI Star Finalist

We are proud to share that Susana Tomaz, Westlake’s Futures Education and AI Lead, is a finalist for the Rising AI Star Award at the Aotearoa AI Awards 2025.

This recognition highlights Susana’s leadership in whole-school AI integration here at WGHS, her co-leadership of the AI forum education working group, the Day of AI Aotearoa pilot, and her international collaborations. Susana’s work focuses on bridging the AI divide, building teacher and student capability, and ensuring equitable access to AI literacy across Aotearoa. Being named a finalist is a personal achievement for Susana and a recognition of the transformative potential of AI in education when schools, communities, and global partners work together. The winners will be announced on 17 September.

 

“I’m very honoured to be a finalist for the Rising AI Star Award at the Aotearoa AI Awards 2025. This recognition reflects the collective efforts happening in schools and across the education sector to ensure that AI is integrated responsibly, inclusively, and with a strong focus on preparing our students for the future. I am grateful to the AI Forum NZ, my colleagues, students, and collaborators for their ongoing support.” – Susana Tomaz.

For more information about the awards, see here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

STEAM

STEAM Year 10 Innovation Lab Update

Our Y10 STEAM students have had a busy and creative year so far, working across three exciting and very different projects.

In Term 1, students tackled our Simple Machines unit by designing and building Rube Goldberg machines – elaborate chain-reaction contraptions created to perform the simple task of transporting a marble to ring a bell. Using mostly cardboard and craft materials, each design had to feature at least three different mechanisms, such as funnels or wheels, along with a retrieval system to return the marble to the top.

In Term 2, the focus shifted to digital creativity as students built virtual reality escape rooms using the Delightex platform. These 3D environments included animated characters, interactive puzzles, and even an augmented reality element inspired by the Rosetta Stone, which helped users crack codes and unlock the next challenge.

This term, our attention has turned to mobile app development. Students are learning key coding principles and applying them to design functional, user-friendly apps aimed at solving everyday problems. Each app is carefully designed with a target user in mind, encouraging students to think innovatively while keeping the end-user experience at the heart of their projects.

We are proud of the creativity, problem-solving, and technical skills our students continue to develop through these projects, and we look forward to seeing their final app designs come to life.

Sports

Rock climbing champions

Rock Climbing Team Crowned Auckland College Series Champions

Our rock climbing team has taken out the Auckland College Climbing Series, finishing as the best school overall across all four events of the competition.

In the fourth and final event, Bailey Welch claimed 2nd place in the junior category, while in the senior category, Amaya Tan-Peters and Sakura Tsunoda secured 2nd and 3rd place, respectively.

Consistency across the series also paid off in the overall standings. Bailey Welch was crowned Junior Champion, while Amaya Tan-Peters finished 2nd overall in the senior competition.

Congratulations to all our climbers on a fantastic series!

Climbing Team

Bailey Welch
Jodi Potter
Summer Malins
Jessica Allen
Amaya Tan-Peters
Larissa Chen
Sabina Altorf

Arts & Culture

Westlake Pasifika Night

On 31 July, Westlake came alive for its annual Pasifika Night, a vibrant and spectacular celebration of Pasifika cultures. The highly anticipated event brought together students, families, and the wider community for an unforgettable evening.

The night featured breathtaking performances from five cultural groups: Tonga, Samoa, Niue, the Cook Islands, and Fiji. Each group showcased unique traditions through song and dance, filling the auditorium with Pasifika pride and mafana. A true highlight was watching families honour the performers by placing leis and money upon them, a beautiful display of love and support. 

Our students were the heart of the event, performing with incredible elegance, grace, and confidence. Their powerful performances not only entertained but also created a welcoming space and strengthened the school’s Pasifika community. As one parent remarked, “This is one of the best events I’ve ever been to at Westlake.”

Pasifika Night 2025 was a testament to our school’s commitment to empowering students to be proud of their heritage. We look forward to seeing this tradition continue to flourish.

Alumni

Another alumna joins the greats

One of our former students Sienna Vercauteren has just signed with Watford (a prestigious professional football club in Watford, England).

She was our First XI Football captain in 2024. We love keeping track of where all our students go once they leave Westlake, and we’ll watch her career with great interest.

Photo: Sienna Vercauteren while at Westlake Girls in her final year, 2024.

Arts & Culture

Westlake choirs strike gold at The Big Sing

Westlake Girls’ choirs have once again achieved remarkable success, receiving three of the six Gold Awards presented at this year’s national choral competition, Big Sing. Out of 24 choirs nationwide, all six Golds went to Auckland schools — but only four directors were represented across the winners.
Our award-winning choirs were:
  • Cantare – directed by Fiona Wilson
  • Choralation – directed by Fiona Wilson
  • Voicemale (WBHS) – directed by David Squire.
Adding to the celebrations, Choralation was presented with the prestigious Tour Time Trophy for Best Performance of a Choral Art Song. Their powerful and technically demanding performance of Rytmus by Ivan Hrušokský, a rapid one-and-a-half-minute work featuring complex Slovenian harmonies, impressed both audience and adjudicators.
This accolade is particularly special as it marks the fourth consecutive year that one of our choirs has received this trophy for artistic excellence — with Cantare having won the award for the previous three years.
Congratulations go to directors Fiona Wilson and David Squire, along with our talented choir leaders Annie Yang, Jamie Chee, Constantine Mata’afa, Othniel Dones, Matt Donaldson, Abi Mitchell, Mel Teulilo, and Elaine Zhou, who are pictured above left to right with Fiona and David.
These achievements highlight not only the extraordinary talent of our students, but also the dedication and artistry of their directors.
Sports

NISS Equestrian Cup

Our Westlake riders delivered another oustanding performance at this year’s NISS Equestrian Cup, which saw 79 teams and over 500 riders competing.

The Westlake team achieved an impressive 3rd place overall in the Competitive Trail Ride (CTR). This event involved a 10km ride to be completed within an hour, without GPS. Riders were penalised for being under or over time, and horse heart rates were measured at the finish. Our team came in within seconds of the allowed time, and with their horses in peak condition, recorded low heart rates — a testament to the girls’ excellent equestrian skills and care for their horses.

Across the entire competition, Westlake placed 8th overall — a superb result given the 25% increase in entries compared with last year.

Individual highlights included:

  • Samatha Syme – 1st in the 3-Day Event (1.05m), 2nd in the CTR, and 2nd in the Accumulator Show Jumping (1.05m).

Team members: Samatha Syme, Neve Anderson, Rhea Bourhill, and Mikayla Gow.
All four girls received individual awards, alongside their team’s 3rd place finish in the CTR.

Congratulations to our riders on these excellent results!

Notices

Technology Showcase 

Invitation for Parents of Technology Students

If your daughter is taking a Technology subject this year, we would love you to join us at our annual Technology Showcase. This event is a celebration of the creativity, innovation, and effort of students in Design and Visual Communication, Hard Materials Technology, Food Technology, Digital Technology, and Textile Technology.

It’s a special opportunity to see your daughter’s work on display and share in the achievements of all our Technology students.

Where: Westlake Girls High School Event Centre Auditorium
When: Tuesday 7 October
Exhibition: 3.30pm – 6.00pm
Fashion Show: 6.00pm (with hair and make-up by Servilles Academy)

We look forward to welcoming you and celebrating your daughter’s success.

Sports

Waterpolo wonder

Congratulations to Ulani Heather Krishnan and Tannah Strombeck

We’re proud to share that Ulani and Tannah have both been selected for the New Zealand U16 National Water Polo Team. The team will travel to Canberra, Australia, to compete in the Australian National State Championships later this year.

We wish them every success as they represent their country — what a fantastic achievement!

Arts & Culture

Theatresports

Recently, our theatresports players attended two competition evenings with Long Bay College, Rangitoto College, and St Cuthbert’s College. Students from all schools showcased their creativity and teamwork in a series of hilarious and high-energy performances. New players were able to gain confidence and learn from more experienced improvisers, and the fun-filled evenings were a fitting send-off to our Year 13 team members.

Our teams across both nights included Julia Wilkins, Dasha Kupriianova, Reecey Tokhtarova, Natalie Teasdale, and Charlotte Murphy.

Charlotte reflected on the experience, “The Theatresports festival night was an awesome experience where we laughed, got to know other teams and had a great time.”

Many thanks to the Theatresports Youth Programme for providing us with this opportunity to develop our skills.

Community From the Board

School Board elections

If you haven’t already voted in the Board elections, we warmly encourage you to take part. Your vote is an important way to support our school community and ensure that the voices of parents and whānau are represented in decisions that shape the future of Westlake Girls.

You need to look for an email in your inbox or possibly junk folder that came from schooled/election pilot and use the green button to vote. Important. For parents, there should be two emails like mine below. They look very similar and some people may mistake them as duplicates. 

If you did not receive the email, email the email address above or call to ask for it to be sent to you.  

Our Board plays a vital role in the governance of the school, providing direction, oversight and support to help us deliver the very best education for our students. We are grateful for the commitment and expertise of our Board members, and we value the contribution that new members will bring.

Thank you for taking the time to engage in this important process.

The candidate profiles are below which we encourage you to read before casting your vote.

Bridget Ellis-Pegler

Marketing and Communications Manager

Candidate_Profile 18mth

Candidate_Profile- 3yr

Academic

English updates

Grace Cameron came 2nd in the Year 11 Category of the 2025 Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook Student Poetry Competition. Grace receives $300 from the University of Waikato, and her poem ‘Big People Don’t Cry’ will be published in the Poetry Aotearoa Yearbook.

Here’s the link to the poem. Congratulations, Grace, on this wonderful achievement!

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1kt7DDzXOOCrP8TQqNLZBaDx644UfuQh-BmUYyCHyzaw/edit?usp=sharing

Also, we are happy to announce the following prizewinners.

Winners of the Year 9 Speech Competition:

1st – Martha Haycock – ‘Why Teenagers Should Face Their Fears’

2nd – Harriet Boyens – ‘Part-time Jobs Are Important’

3rd – Trilby McElroy – ‘Slang is Ruining Our Lives’

Winners of the Year 10 Flash Talk Competition:

1st – Charlotte Murphy – ‘Global Progression or Destruction – It’s Up To Us’

2nd – Sarah Attraqchi– ‘The Butterfly Effect’

3rd – Sarka Langton – ‘Seize the Day’.

Well done, everyone! 

L-R. Photo 1: Year 9 Speech Winners – 3rd place –  Trilby McElroy, 1st place – Martha Haycock, 2nd place – Harriet Boyens

Photo 2: Year 10 Flash Talk Finals – Sofia Brandolino, Sarah Attraqchi, Madison Schroder, Charlotte Murphy, Sarah Patel, Sarka Langton, Kayla Wilkins

Photo 3: Year 9 Speech Finals – Jasmine Cate, Karma Sarhan, Trilby McElroy, Izzie Burge, Harriet Boyens, Martha Haycock, (Absent: Maddie Symons and Joud Zahar).

Main image above:Year 10 Flash Talk winners – 2nd place – Sarah Attraqchi, first place – Charlotte Murphy, and 3rd place Sarka Langton.

 

Community

Peace Foundation Symposium

At the end of August, our Westlake Peace Week leaders attended the Peace Foundation symposium held in Ellerslie. We were immersed in a truly enjoyable and inspiring day, where we had the opportunity to collaborate with students from a variety of schools across Auckland, and from as far afield as Tauranga!

We spent the day sharing ideas and learning about the unique activities each school organised to create more peace within their own school and community. It was wonderful to see the range of ways that students are making a positive impact in their communities and how we can all work together to build a more peaceful world. The symposium experience was a powerful reminder that even small actions can contribute to a larger movement of positive change. The Peace Week leaders at Westlake also shared the wonderful activities our students participated in during Peace Week. Other schools were inspired by our beautiful peace rocks and the creative outfits our students made out of newspaper during the Project Runway activity.

Adding to the experience, the symposium was filled with engaging activities and inspiring guest speakers. We had the privilege of hearing from two incredible people: the inspirational politician, Lawrence Xu-Nan, from the Green Party and a speaker named Mr. Awesome, who truly lived up to his name. Xu-Nan shared insights on how policy and community action can promote peace, while Mr. Awesome delivered his powerful message, highlighting that one has to dream big to achieve great things.

One of the day’s most memorable moments was when we all played African Djembe drums and a variety of percussion instruments together. The collective rhythm and music created a sense of unity and peace, beautifully illustrating how we can find harmony and connection within our community. Thank you to Ms. Wilson for driving students across the bridge and making the day happen.

By Sylvie Waddingham 11 OLN

Sports

Bouldering

Our climbing team has finished their season on a high! At the New Zealand Secondary Schools Bouldering Cup in New Plymouth, our school was crowned Top Girls’ School in the country.

Special congratulations to Amaya Tan Peters, who placed 2nd overall in the Senior Girls’ competition. Jess Allen and Bailey Welch also impressed, both making it through to the finals. This result caps off a fantastic season for the team, having already won the Auckland Schools competition before going on to claim the national title.

Sports

Silver for netballers!

Westlake Girls Claim Silver at UNISS, Top North Shore Netball Rankings

Westlake Girls High School secured a silver medal finish at the Upper North Island Secondary Schools (UNISS) Netball Championships last week, solidifying their place as the top netball school on Auckland’s North Shore.

After a gruelling week of ten matches against the region’s best teams — stretching from Kerikeri to Rotorua — Westlake came away with eight wins, dropping only two games. Their most satisfying victory came against Mt Albert Grammar School (MAGS), a team they had lost to three times earlier in the season.

Westlake’s impressive season began with a win in the Harbour Netball Tournament in June, where they defeated Rangitoto 29-11. They followed that up with a third-place finish in the fiercely competitive Auckland Secondary Schools Premier competition in August. A crucial win over MAGS in a top-eight playoff secured Westlake’s historic first-ever appearance in a UNISS final.

Head coach April Ieremia expressed pride in her squad’s resilience, especially considering key injuries. Captains Aaliyah Sina’au and Karmen Maritz were both sidelined before the tournament due to ankle injuries. “The young players stepped up perfectly and impressed on court,” Ieremia said.

Several standout players received individual honours. Defender Imani Rasmussen, shooter Phia Marshall, and mid-courter Talia Chatfield were named in the prestigious UNISS A Grade Tournament Team for their exceptional performances.

With just four weeks to prepare for the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships in Wellington, Westlake will aim to continue its strong form. However, the players will once again have to contend with the formidable Howick College — the defending National Champions and the only team to beat Westlake at UNISS.

Arts & Culture

WGHS students and staff involved in local theatre

Head Prefect Julia Wilkins, teacher Liz Waite, and student Rosa Morris are involved with TheatreWorks, Birkenhead’s production of Laying the Ghost.

Julia is playing the role of the character Sadie Croft. Ms Liz Waite is both the costume manager and social media manager for the show, and student Rosa Morris is part of the tech team.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

If you’d like to support one of your local theatres (and have a great, laugh-filled time while at it!) you can book tickets and find more information here: https://www.trybooking.com/nz/events/landing/16700.

“As the youngest member of the cast, it’s been absolutely wonderful to connect with older actors in the community. I’ve been able to learn from them, and delight in watching how they bring their characters to life. Laying the Ghost is a comedy, so it’s been a lot of fun to develop humour through facial expressions, intonation, and actions. The characters are all complex too — it’s been a joy to explore the nuance of my character, Sadie Croft. She’s a young actor seeking advice from Margot Buchannan, a seasoned actor in a retirement home. I can certainly relate to this aspect of Sadie myself! We’ve only had the term to rehearse, but I’ve really enjoyed the fast pace of it all. It’s always a nice evening out at rehearsal; you wouldn’t believe the amount of tea and biscuits consumed throughout the process!” – Julia Wilkins.

Sports

1st XI Hockey

Federation Cup National Hockey Tournament: Westlake Girls High School secures a stellar 5th place finish

 Westlake Girls High School hockey team recently travelled to Wellington to compete in the Federation Cup Hockey Tournament, an event that saw 32 teams from across the country vying for the national title. The competition was fierce from the outset, with teams fighting for a spot in the top 16 to secure a place in the main Federation Cup draw, while the remainder competed for the Marie Fry Trophy.

The tournament began on a high note for our team with a confident 3-0 victory over St. Matthews Collegiate. However, day two brought a tough challenge against St. Andrew’s College from Christchurch, a team that would ultimately reach the Federation Cup final. We went down 1-4 in a hard-fought game, which meant our next match was critical. A draw or a win against Wellington Girls’ College was required for us to remain in the Federation Cup. In a tightly contested battle, Wellington Girls’ College scored in the 56th minute, leaving us with just four minutes to find a goal. The team played with incredible intensity, and with only a few seconds left on the clock, we were awarded a penalty corner. We scored! The 1-1 draw secured our place in the top 16 by a single goal of difference at the end of pool play!

Moving into the top 16, we next faced Palmerston North Girls’ High School. Our team showed immense heart and grit, scoring in the second quarter and holding on to our lead despite facing intense pressure and conceding several penalty corners in the final minutes. This 1-0 win propelled us into the top eight.

In the quarter-finals, we faced a strong side from Kristin School. Despite our best efforts, Kristin was the better team on the day, and we lost 1-4, moving us into the playoffs for 5th to 8th position.

Our semi-final against Dio was an absolute thriller. Dio took the lead in the second quarter and held it for most of the game, but Westlake showed incredible resilience. We fought back, scoring in the 51st and 56th minutes to take a late lead. Just as victory seemed certain, Dio equalized right on the full-time whistle, sending the game to a shootout. Our goalkeeper was exceptional, and with a final score of 2-1 in the shootout, we moved on to the 5th place playoff.

Our final game of the week was equally dramatic. After no result at full-time, we once again headed to a shootout. The team held their nerve, winning the shootout 3-1 to secure a 5th place finish in the Federation Cup.

This tournament highlighted the incredible talent and competitive spirit of our team. Every game reflected the players’ dedication, teamwork, and passion. A huge thank you to all the parents and supporters who travelled to cheer the team on, and to our amazing coach and manager duo, Geoff & Robyn McNaugton. Your encouragement and support throughout the season made a huge difference, and you are very much appreciated!

Arts & Culture

The WGHS Oscars

Recently, we held our annual Media Studies ‘Oscars Evening’, where we celebrated the filmmaking of our Media Studies students. We rolled out the red carpet for our students, their parents and their friends, filled the popcorn boxes, then sat back and enjoyed watching the best Year 12 narrative music videos and Year 13 short films of the year. We had a very high standard of work this year, and it was a difficult task to decide who to nominate for the awards at the end of the night!

We gave out awards in several categories, such as ‘Best Cinematography’, ‘Best Editing’, ‘Best Concept’, Best Acting’ and more. The top awards of the night were ‘Best Year 12 Narrative Music Video’, which went to India Smyth and Krishna Velluparambil Sujesh for ‘Bad’ (set to Michael Jackson’s song of the same name), and ‘Best Year 13 Short Film’, which went to Dasha Kupriianova, Zara Saito and Julia Wilkins for ‘Friends Like You’. Both showcased an incredible standard of technical ability and visual storytelling.

Congratulations to them, as well as to all our other outstanding Media Studies students who have worked so hard this year.

Academic

Junior Mathex

In mid-August, WGHS  took part in the Junior Mathex competition with two Year 10 teams and one Year 9 team. All the students enjoyed the experience and showed remarkable resilience and commitment to solving mathematical problems.

Students worked hard over the last two weeks, practising past papers in preparation for the competition.

  • Year 9 scored an impressive 90/100.
  • Year 10 teams both scored 30, as they persisted with one question they were determined to solve.

Next year, students hope to start preparing earlier for the competition and to practice questions more focused on probability.

Year 9 Team

Valie Nguyen

Isabella Jialin Li

Jolly Yin

Sophie Wu

Amie Meng                   

Year 10 teams:

Yiwen Zhuang

Angela Yang

Candice Pan

Rebecca Xie

Sooa Park

Afia Naushad

Irene Fan

Saashwat Kaur

Sports

Netball – 2025 Season Roundup

Netball continues to be the largest sport at Westlake Girls, with an incredible 49 teams competing throughout the 2025 season.

Each week, 17 Year 9 teams took part in the Harbour Year 9 Netball Competition, while on Saturdays, 31 teams from Year 10 to Year 13 competed in the Harbour College Competition. The school’s Premier 1 team represented Westlake in the highly competitive Auckland Netball Competition.

This year, the Premier 1 team delivered a stellar season, finishing 3rd in Auckland and 2nd at the Upper North Island Secondary Schools Netball Championship (UNISS) – earning qualification for the prestigious New Zealand Secondary Schools Championship. At the same time, the junior pathway teams also had an outstanding season. The Year 10-1 team (WGHS 5) went undefeated to win the Harbour College 2 Grade, and the Year 9-1 team also remained unbeaten, taking out Grade 1 in the Harbour Year 9 Competition on Monday nights.

A huge congratulations to all Westlake netballers who proudly represented the school this season. Your dedication, teamwork, and sportsmanship have been exceptional.

A sincere thank you goes to all the coaches, student coaches, and team managers who supported our athletes from the sidelines each week – rain or shine.

Congratulations to the following teams, who were standout performers in the 2025 Harbour Netball Competition:

SENIOR COLLEGE COMPETITION

WGHS 5 – Winner of College 2

WGHS 13 – Winner of College 7

WGHS 9 – Winner of College 17

WGHS 6 – 3rd in College 3

YEAR 9 NETBALL COMPETITION

WGHS Year 9-1 – Winner of Grade 1

WGHS Year 9-3 – 3rd in Grade 2

WGHS Year 9-4 – Runner-up of Grade 3

WGHS Year 9-6 – Winner of Grade 4

WGHS Year 9-11 – 3rd in Grade 6

WGHS Year 9-15 – Runner-up of Grade 10

Photo above article:  Year 9-1 winning the Harbour final

Photo below, Year 10-1 winning their final.

Arts & Culture

Freedom Challenge Week

In Week 6, Amnesty Club’s annual Freedom Challenge Week took place. This year, the primary focus was on human rights issues in the Philippines. Through the Freedom Challenge Week activities, we aimed to highlight the need for the protection of Philippine human rights defenders, as well as to celebrate the country’s vibrant culture. The Amnesty Club leaders, alongside Ms Brown, Ms Wilson, and Ms Villaruel, organised three key events: a general meeting, a guest speaker event, and a cultural Filipino performance. 

The week kicked off with a meeting for all Amnesty members. Students gained an insight into human rights issues in the Philippines, and the winners of the poster competition were announced. Congratulations to Year 10 Student Ysabelle Gazzingan for creating an amazing poster, and to everyone else who submitted. The following day, we were fortunate to have Fritzi and Romy Udanga as guest speakers. They gave a highly informative insight into human rights issues in the Philippines. On Friday, the Freedom Challenge Week concluded with a cultural performance by members of the Westlake Pinoy Night, which was a great way to celebrate Filipino culture at our school. 

Thank you to everyone who got involved and made the Freedom Challenge a successful event. 

By Aman Khalid, 13HBH

 

Sports

Football season review

The 2025 football season has now concluded, and we are pleased to share the results and highlights from across our teams.

  • Premier Team (First XI): The team delivered a strong campaign, finishing 4th in the league and securing 3rd place in the APC Cup.
  • 9A Team: An excellent season saw the team finish 2nd in the Auckland Junior League, before going on to win the APC Junior Cup — a remarkable achievement and the first time this trophy has been won in 24 years. A special mention goes to Ella Tahuparae, who was named MVP in the Junior Cup Final.
  • 2nd XI: The team performed exceptionally well, placing 3rd in the North Harbour League, competing against several First XI sides from other schools.
  • Junior A: A consistent season concluded with a 4th place finish in the North Harbour Junior Competition.

We would also like to take this opportunity to extend our sincere thanks to our Year 13 First XI players — Alessia Martin, Molly Edmonds, Lucy Edmonds, Lucy Martin, Olivia Curgenven, and Emma Schroder — for their commitment and contributions to the programme. We have greatly valued their leadership and efforts, and we wish them all the best for the future.

NZSS Football Tournament

Westlake Girls finished a commendable 13th place at the New Zealand Secondary Schools Football Nationals. Despite a number of injuries, the team showed incredible resilience and determination — playing the final two and a half days without a goalkeeper due to injury, and even one match with only 10 players. Remarkably, they did not concede a single goal during that time.

A special mention goes to our Year 13s — Molly Edmonds, Lucy Martin and Olivia Curgenven — who played their final nationals and have been outstanding contributors to the programme.

Sports

Premier Basketball Team crowned Auckland Champions! 

On Thursday, 21 August, the Westlake Girls Premier Basketball Team wrapped up an undefeated season with a dominant 98–63 win over St Kentigern College in the Auckland Championship Final. After a tightly contested first quarter (22–22), Westlake surged ahead to lead 47–32 at halftime and never looked back.

This victory concludes the Auckland Premier Season, and the team now heads into regional qualifiers next week, followed by the National Championship in late September—where they’ll be aiming for an incredible fourth consecutive national title. Go Westlake!

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