Joy Bradfield
Presiding Member

Our most recent meeting was held on Tuesday 24 May, and it was the first meeting for our new Student Member Kate Liu. Congratulations Kate on winning the student election – it is a pleasure to have you onboard.

With the Triennial School Board elections coming up on 7 September, succession planning was a key discussion topic at this meeting. Three of our five parent Members will be stepping down after completing their three year term: Carolyn Ranson, Kim Tay and Andy Hofmeyr. They have provided huge value to the school in advising on personnel and contract matters, property construction matters, health and safety, strategic relationships and development fund. I’d like to thank them for the tremendous contribution that they’ve made to the board.

Effective governance is essential for the smooth functioning of a school with 2200 students, this enables Jane Stanley to confidently undertake her role as Principal and CEO of the school, knowing that she has strong support and resources to draw on. The Board is the crown entity responsible for the governance of the school, and is tasked with ensuring every student can reach their highest possible academic achievement. The Board is also the employer of all staff in the school; sets the school’s strategic direction in consultation with parents, whānau, staff, students and the wider school community; and is responsible and liable for overseeing the management of personnel, curriculum, property, finance and administration.

If you are someone with capacity, vision and ability, and are a team player with good communication skills, we would ask that you seriously consider nomination for a 3-year term. We require a strong Board to help realise our Strategic Plan and Vision for our students at Westlake Girls High School.

If you are a prospective candidate, we warmly invite you to our next Board Meeting on Thursday 7 July at 6pm in the Conference Room, Gernhoefer Admin Centre, WGHS. There you will be able to meet current Board members and see first-hand the structure and style of our meetings. Please email Marie McKerrow at [email protected] to indicate your attendance, or to contact current board members.

Please note that this is the last board meeting before nominations close. Nomination papers will be emailed by 15 July and close at midday on 3 August 2022.

Refer this link for further information: https://www.schoolboardelections.org.nz/becoming-a-board-member/

Other items of business from Board meeting on 24 May

• Business Studies curriculum review
• Annual Health & Safety Report – Biennial External Health & Safety Audit achieving Tier Gold rating – the highest that can be achieved in a school setting, received for the last three audits
• Financial Report and Budget: submission of 2021 Annual Report to MOE on 31.05.2022
• Approval of new catering contract for school canteen starting from T3 with Libelle
• Cultural Wellbeing : Whānau evening 1 June 2022 with presentation of Whare Wananga; 13 staff enrolled in Te Ahu o Te Reo Māori, with 5 having completed last year’s course
• Operational Policy Reviews – personnel, finance, health & safety and complaints
• Staff and Student member reports to the board

Our Year 10 dance students were lucky enough to work with Sam Gibson on some Jazz dance this week.

They loved working with Sam, and his passion for dance is infectious. Mainly Dance Studios have also offered our students a FREE dance class at their facility in Takapuna. They offer a range of different dance genres and classes to all ages.

We have worked alongside them over the past couple of years and have had a variety of their tutors come and take classes in different styles. The students enjoy having different tutors in to learn from, and experiencing different movement phrases and dances. We look forward to a long relationship with this awesome group of humans!

A massive thank you to Mainly Dance Studios in Barry’s Point Road.

Over the past 10 weeks, our Year 10 Food Technology students have been designing a street food product based on the concept of Kai Ora (food for health). 

The products they designed had to meet the following specifications 

• Easy to hold 
• Serving size , 2-3 bites
• Visually appealing
• Reflects chosen culture
• Quick to make (30mins)

Throughout our unit the students enjoyed making existing street food products from a variety of cultures during their practical lessons. They evaluated these foods and conducted research to come up with their own unique and innovative street food ideas.

Our students tested and trialled their concepts, gaining stakeholder feedback along the way, to ensure an improved final product. At the end of the unit students were able to invite guests to a food market outside the Golden Swan Cafe.  This created an opportunity for our Year 10 students to connect with their peers while showcasing their products and chosen cultures.

Their friends were invited to make a gold coin donation which will be donated to the Salvation Army with meals made by the Year 11 Food Tech students later this year.

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By Kirsten Abustan
Year 12

On Wednesday 8 June, the Year 12 Social Studies classes had the real treat of being visited by the New Zealand Police Delta Unit as part of our Crime Seminars. Constable Hannah Templeton and her team spoke about the experience of being part of a specialty unit within the NZ Police, explaining the essential values and life experience to be a police officer and a description of the patrol dog development and selection process. The seminar also featured a questions and answers segment, with teachers and students alike asking about the dogs’ diet and possibility of fostering or adopting a patrol dog.

Four patrol dogs were brought in for the talk and showed demonstrations of their extensive training, with Mr Sadler participating in a firsthand demonstration of their apprehension tactics. This was a real up-and-close experience for the students, with us seeing the strength of the dogs but also their ability to obey commands quickly. After the demonstration, we were invited to come and pet the dogs, ending the seminar with lots of smiles from the students and wagging tails from the dogs.

This was a very interesting seminar and showed us what it’s like to be working in the NZ Police, and was particularly insightful for students interested in working within NZ Law Enforcement. It was such a privilege to hear from the Police Delta Unit, and the Year 12 Social Studies classes are so grateful to have had this opportunity.

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Last week, former Westlake student Ella Brewer came to speak to interested Year 11, 12 and 13 Fabric Technology and Fashion and Design students about her experiences studying Fashion Design at Whitecliffe.

Ella is a second-year student and spoke about what she had learnt in the course to date and what to include in a portfolio when applying to Whitecliffe. Ella showed samples of dying with wool and silk using natural materials such as walnut, turmeric, paprika, onion, henna and avocado.

The students admired the tailored jacket Ella had constructed and were able to view her portfolios of sample fabric techniques and fabric manipulation. Ella is currently working on using historical costumes to design garments and next year will be designing a collection.

Ella’s visit has been very beneficial for students as it helps to guide their decisions for next year or beyond.

Pasifika Fono invite

“We are a small island; we are still great”

We would love you to join us for our 2022 Pasifika Fono on Tuesday 28 June at 6.30pm in the WGHS Staffroom.

This is an opportunity to meet the Pasifika Mentors and understand a little more about how they help your daughter with school life, academia and scholarship opportunities for Year 13 students.  The aim is to help your daughter to be a higher version of themselves while at Westlake Girls.

For more information email April Ieremia at [email protected]

Exams coming soon

We will be holding a mid-year exam/assessment week for our senior students from Monday 20 June to Wednesday 22 June. The timetable is:

Year 11s
Year 11 students have an exam on Monday afternoon. They only need to come into school for their exam and don’t need to be at school in the morning. All Year 11 students will be back in class on Tuesday 21 June.

Year 12s
Year 12 students have an exam on Monday morning. They only need to come into school for their exam and can go home afterwards. All Year 12 students will be back in class on Tuesday 21 June.

Year 13s
On Monday and Tuesday, Year 13 students only come into school to sit their exam. Year 13s taking English will sit their exam on Wednesday morning and then ALL Year 13 students are expected back in class from Period 3 on Wednesday 22 June onwards.

Term 2 Key Dates

Term 3 Key Dates

Term 4 Key Dates