By Cara Clark-Howard
Gardening Guru

The Westlake Girls gardening group has been very busy on planing the next season’s produce. On Friday 19 June, our group met up after school and all walked over to Kings Plant Barn across the road. We had an idea of what we would like to plant, stepping into winter, but were also seeking some professional advice from some of the staff. We then met Sucheta, a staff member, who was extremely helpful and enthusiastic with how she could help us. Not only did she supply us some very fascinating information about what to plant but also introduced us to her manager Cara, who said that she can help us by sending some staff to help us plant our produce and teach us as we go. This was very exciting news for all of us.

On Monday 22 June, our group met up after school to plant all of our new plants and flowers in our garden. We also met up with Sucheta from Plant Barn who came into the school to help us out. Not only did she offer her time but Plant Barn also very generously donated plants to our group and the school. Sucheta taught us a lot about gardening. She told us about seedlings, how to correctly take the plants out of their pots, how large the holes need to be, how much we can fit in one box, when to expect produce, how to attract bees, correct watering times, how to get rid of the snails, fertilizing and more. She taught us lots of key lessons that we will use in the upcoming months and days, as well as gardening in our own homes and in the future. This was extremely helpful and she had our group engaged and learning even on a Friday afternoon! On behalf of our gardening group, I would like to say a big thank you to Sucheta for her time spent helping and teaching, as well as a big thank you to Kings Plant Barn for donating all of the beautiful plants and flowers.

We are all looking forward to seeing our garden grow over the next few months and are very pleased with the process we have made over the year so far. We are also looking forward to seeing more people enjoy the garden, whether that’s by going to have a visit and watering some plants or enjoying the produce.

Hauraki House held a bake sale on Wednesday 1 July – braving the cold to sell items to hungry students outside of the Golden Swan cafe at lunch. The team had spent time on Tuesday after school baking cookies and cakes. These were on offer, along with a host of other goodies.

Proceeds will go to Hauraki House charity for 2020 – “Shine”.  Shine is an organisation that helps thousands of adult and child victims of abuse to be safer, and trains professionals to effectively intervene and support victims of domestic abuse.

Each year, our five Houses choose a charity to support and hold fundraising events throughout the year to raise money.

It’s a very exciting time for our school, as our new Event Centre starts to take shape. After lockdown delays, the start of the foundation was finally poured in June (pictured right), and our prefabricated panels are ready to be installed (below). This should take place around mid July, after the ground slab pour is completed in early July.

The purpose-build Centre is due for completion in May next year and will provide a fantastic venue for assemblies, events and ceremonies.

With seating for 1,350 people, it will feature a large stage and flexible spaces including a senior student study space, teaching areas, percussion room and large foyer.

The cost of this project is $10 million and we are currently seeking community support to raise the final $2 million. It’s a big number – but we have several exciting opportunities to help us reach our goal.

Stay dry, look cool and support our Event Centre!

Here’s your chance to keep dry during winter sports this year AND support our Event Centre by purchasing one of our amazing Blunt umbrellas. Blunt was designed in Windy Wellington and these sturdy but stylish umbrellas NEVER blow inside out. As the Wall Street Journal said “Structurally the Blunt falls somewhere between suspension bridge and NASA space probe”. Tested to extremes, these amazing umbrellas are worth every cent. Anyone who’s owned a Blunt knows what we are talking about.

Find out for yourself!  Available in two sizes – Classic and XL (golf umbrella size) our black umbrellas have subtle branding and are bound to be the envy of other parents standing on the sideline.

Prices are $115 (including GST) for the Classic and $135 (including GST) for the XL, plus $10 delivery per order. Click HERE to order online – it’s super simple. Stock is strictly limited so be in quick to stay dry this winter.

To find out more about the amazing gifting opportunities for our Event Centre visit: https://community.westlakegirls.school.nz/#givetotheeventcentre

Lunch on Friday 26 June was a busy time at Westlake, with our Clothes Swap, Year 13s trying on their leavers gear, and Pupuke House holding a very successful bake sale.

After a flurry of baking and selling goods, a total of $850 was collected which will be donated to Pupuke’s House Charity Youthline. Well done to all of the students who participated.

As we end a challenging term, post lockdown realities are coming to light and students are especially vulnerable to stress associated with this. As we all adjust to the new normal, students are asking questions around what is in store for their future and what it may look like?. This uncertainty can impact health in a variety of ways, causing stress, minor illnesses and feelings of anxiety. The next two weeks are a perfect time to rest and repair, consolidate and evaluate by doing a few of the following:

Talk nicely to yourself
You are fantastic, you can do so many great things already, you can build and grow on the knowledge and skills you have, you have so many options for the future which you may not know about yet

Look at how you spend your time
There are 24 hrs in a day, draw up a grid, factor in sleep, school, homework – then how much time do you have left for exercise, connectedness and part time work? Be realistic, school is a priority and you should make time to do well

Be generous
Do something for someone else, they will be so grateful and even if they are not, you can know that you did a good deed. Help around the house, volunteer your time or make a donation

Be active
Physical activity boosts energy,it also supports brain health and stimulates the circulation. A regular hour of exercise a day can do wonders for your wellbeing

Eat well
Commit to increasing your fruit and vegetable intake by finding new ways to include them in meals and snacks. Try to avoid sugary foods which provide energy but no valuable nutrients. Being under stress can cause poor choices, so be aware of what you are using to fuel your body

Self help tools from the Ministry
Feeling down, worried or stressed (SPARX)
Learn more about mental health issues (Mental Wealth)
Recognising and understanding depression and anxiety (The Lowdown)
Aroha is a chatbot that uses Facebook Messenger to provide practical, evidence-based tools to manage stress, maintain social connection and stay active (The University of Auckland)
Youthline’s web chat, where young people can talk one-to-one with a real person
Melon Health has a range of online resources specifically for young people
RainbowYOUTH provides free 1:1 peer support for youth in the rainbow community, their friends and whānau.

By Abigail Tsang
Enviro Warrior

For the past few months, the Envirogroup has been working diligently to organise Westlake Girl’s very first clothes swap, encouraging the recycling of clothes and reduction of fast fashion!

The event went ahead on Friday 26 June and was extremely successful as students across every year flocked to secure the best items of clothing.  Students had previously exchanged their clothing for a token which could be used to secure a clothing item at the swap.

Almost all of the clothes were taken up by others and many students responded enthusiastically towards the event, already asking when the next clothes swap will take place! For those who hadn’t brought in their unwanted clothes to exchange, they had the option of donating money to ‘Keep New Zealand Beautiful’ (a non-profit organisation focused on the protection of our country’s environment), for an item of clothing.

However, the main focus point of the clothes swap was to both allow and motivate people to sustainably refresh their wardrobes, swapping out unwanted clothing for other pieces of clothing which they would wear. 80 billion new garments are created annually, each of which (if not made sustainably) can be the product of countless harmful dyes and chemicals which severely pollute and destroy the earth that we live on. On top of this, many workers in the fast fashion industry are underpaid and working under harsh conditions. Increasing the lifetime of every garment, through exchanging and swapping clothes, is an amazing way to reduce the purchasing and production of new clothes. This saves both people’s bank accounts and the environment, which is an exceptional cause to get behind!

If you want to get more involved in the prevention of fast fashion which is detrimental to the health of our environment, there is a Slow Fashion Challenge that you can find on Instagram under the username @slowfashionseason. The Slow Fashion Season challenges you not to buy any new items of clothing for at least three months, but instead to trade, DIY, or buy products from second-hand stores or sustainable brands. The fashion industry is one of the largest polluting industries, so it is vital that you understand where your clothes come from and how to reduce the expendability of them. We must all take action so that we can keep the earth that we live in, a thriving and healthy place for generations to come.

Our school is a proud member of the Pupuke Kāhui Ako (Community of Learning). During lockdown, members of the community created an e-book expressing ideas and reflections on the time at Alert Level 4.

A Window into the World of Lockdown is a compilation of creativity expressing the ideas, reflections and talents of our community during New Zealand’s lockdown period. It’s a fascinating insight into remote teaching and learning – and well worth a look through!

You can view the e-book here.

The Smales Farm Market is looking for a few volunteers to help out/learn the skills of how events work. Though initially unpaid, we can offer up sweet hi-viz vests, give you the chance to work with a cool bunch of people and even better, get to learn how people interact at large (busy) exciting gatherings. We would have a few odd jobs for you to complete throughout the market and for your services we can offer an awesome lunch, snacks and drinks from one of the Goodside eateries (along with all that experience you’ll be exposed to).

Requirements from yourself you ask, glad you did. First we’ll need you to take a look at a health and safety form which we’ll need you to sign. Great first lesson for you there that safety never sleeps. You’ll also have to be able to separate yourselves from a device for a few hours. Yes this could be tough, clearly it’s a generational issue. Though not too physically onerous there is a reasonable volume of walking required and some light lifting.

 We consider this to be a great opportunity to learn and try something new. Even better, perform well and we’ll happily act as a reference on your CV citing your excellent work ethic. There is a chance that this opportunity could also turn in to a paid gig further down the track.

 Interested? Get in touch by sending an email to [email protected]

Lots of our students volunteered for roles in our Community Hui held a couple of weeks ago. This amazing group of students, pictured above, set up a room for child care so that parents with younger children could attend. We just wanted to acknowledge this team for giving up their time – you are awesome.

Back in lockdown, we featured a story on Abigail Clements and Mackenzie (Macka) Harvey who raised funds for The Salvation Army’s foodbank through a Give A Little page. Called #KiwisHelpingKiwis, the page raised $555 (their goal was $500) which will be used to create food packages for families in need.

Recently Abigail and Macka were presented with Certificates of Appreciation by Donna Hedley, Northern Relationships Manager for The Salvation Army. “I was incredibly impressed by the girls’ efforts and their passion to support the community,” she said. “Certainly I imagine these girls to be an example to their peers and students that any school would be proud of.”

We are proud. Well done Abigail and Macka.

Donna has invited the students to visit a Community Ministry Centre to see a food bank and the work that happens there supporting the community.

WGHS is proud to announce a brand new fitness class – VeraFlow – a dance-based stretch class with mindfulness. It’s a fun way of introducing flexibility and mobility training into your fitness routine using dance elements and beautiful music.

This low-impact class is designed to warm muscles rather than getting sweaty. Stretching is mixed inbetween dances, and the session ends with a mindfulness practise.

Classes are on Saturdays at 9.15am and cost $5 for the community or $2 for WGHS students. Come along to Gym 2 (Dance Studio)

We know you will all be looking forward to the holidays starting today. These have been really challenging times and many of us are struggling. We can’t control what happens to us, but we can choose how we respond.

This month’s Resilence Calendar from Action for Happiness is all about our response to the things happening around us. There are some great challenges in here. It might be mid-winter, but every day holds something to warm your heart.

Happy Holidays everyone.