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Te Reo O Te Roto
The Language of the Lake
Issue 67 | 30 June 2023
From the Principal

From the Principal

Welcome to our final newsletter for Term 2.

It’s been a busy term and not without some challenges! Despite that, it is inspiring to see the levels of energy and commitment that our students and staff bring to everything they do.

Congratulations to all those who participated in the Big Sing, Pasifika Fono, Showquest, and Chinese Night. These were all successful and vibrant events.

Isabella Drummond and Amelia Moke competed in the Ngā Manu Kōrero Speech Competition, and both did exceptionally well, as you’ll read in Isabella’s story. What a great effort.

Emaraina Watts, Year 10, won Best Storytelling, and Maya Goren, also Year 10, won Outstanding Stage Presence at the Wearable Art, TOI Showquest competition. Another great effort.

This week has been ‘support staff week’, and it was a pleasure to show our gratitude to our dedicated team with a special morning tea and a message board of thanks for all their work.

We had an excellent turnout for the parent/teacher interviews. It made me feel very proud of our school and grateful to our community of parents to see the support our students have around them – both here at the school from the staff, and at home, from their whānau.

I want to thank all staff, students, and our wider community for a dynamic Term 2. I have enjoyed the role of Acting Principal. Sarah Hooper will take over for the first 5 weeks of Term 3 before Jane Stanley returns at the start of Week 6.

Have a safe and happy mid-year break.

 

Community

Exciting speaker coming to WGHS

In Week 5, on 16 August, we have a talented and inspiring speaker coming from Australia to speak to our seniors and scholarship candidates.

Darren Pereria (Founder of Success Integrated) is a highly acclaimed international speaker who runs seminars for secondary school students and their communities.

This charismatic former life and business coach now focuses on helping young people with study, resilience, motivation, careers, and leadership.

Darren’s session will cover the following:

  • developing resilience in your child
  • becoming adaptive and dealing with current challenges
  • using evidence-based, positive psychology interventions and cognitive behavioural techniques to manage depression and deal with negative thinking sustainably
  • rectifying poor sleep habits exacerbating mental health issues
  • dealing with disappointment, setbacks, and failure.

Parents & caregivers – this is for you, too!

Darren will also run a session the same night 16 August, so parents and caregivers can hear his thoughts and strategies on dealing with numerous issues that teens commonly face.

Sports

Westlake Girls beat the Aussies in Netball Friendly

The last day of Term 2 provided a netball treat for Westlake Girls with over 60 players taking to the court as they hosted familiar Aussie foes from Genazzano College.  On their fourth tour to New Zealand,  the Melbourne group led by former Wellington netballer, Sandra Kennerley, rounded out their weeklong trip with games against Westlake Girls top teams, Premier 1, Premier 2 and Year 10-1.  Genazzano played in the Under 18 Wellington Representative tournament earlier in the week and then lost to the New Zealand Secondary Schools Netball Champions, Hamilton Girls, on their way back north.

Dark skies promised a torrential encounter with rain thundering on Westlake’s Super Dome making it near impossible to hear each other speak.  Playing concurrently, Westlake’s top Year 10 side faced a development side while the Premier teams met Genazzano’s best.  The Juniors won convincingly, 42 -13, as did the Premier 2 team who won, 37-11.  Westlake’s top side enjoyed a closer encounter against Genazzano winning by 3 goals, 30-27, as well as the overall sporting exchange, 3-0.

The last time the schools met was in 2018 when Genazzano hosted Westlake Girls in Melbourne.  Westlake Girls hopes to return to Melbourne in 2025.

Sports

Westlake Girls wins Bronze at Auckland Ski Champs

Typically dominated by the private schools, Westlake Girls Year 11 student, Lena Turnbull (pictured right), recovered well in the freestyle event at the Auckland Secondary Schools Ski Champs to win the schools first medal in Slopestyle. Also, a confident snowboarder, she won her first medal, a bronze, in Slopestyle on a Snowboard four years ago.

Year 9 student Georgia Marshall (pictured left), was the leading Slalom Skier for Westlake Girls at the event, finishing 8th overall (the 5th fastest Junior and 3rd fastest Year 9) while Lena Turnbull placed 19th overall and the 6th fastest senior.  The event was eventually won by Year 11 student, Isabel Simpson from Kings.

Community

Quiz Night

On Friday16 June, the annual Westlake Girls Quiz Night took place in our very own Events Centre! This event was run by all the house service and academic prefects aiming to raise the most amount of money for our five different house charities; Heart Foundation, Pillars, Respect. Mobility Dogs and Frankie to the Rescue. 

This year marked our most successful quiz night in history with more than 160 participants, filling the space. In total $1910.33 was raised which was split evenly between the 5 houses, leaving each independent charity with $382.07. 

 The Quiz Night was a fun opportunity to create a team with friends and compete. This event would not have been able to happen without the help of all the teachers, prefects, all of the service committees and all of the participants who came to support on the night.

Arts & Culture

Composition Competition Winners

Two senior music students Matilda Faamausili and Bella Allan-Moetaua have won first places in the New Zealand Choral Federation Choral Composition Competition. Matilda and Bella are tutored by David Hamilton who has worked as ‘Composer in Residence’ for Westlake music students for many years.

Matilda’s piece ‘Dover Beach’ won the competition and is written for mixed choir. She says of her piece “Finding out I gained first place in the competition was such an amazing feeling, especially as I was a runner up last year. I knew at that moment that all my hard work and determination had paid off. My passion for music and composition has grown massively this year and I plan to study music at the University of Auckland next year and major in Composition. I’m grateful for the support and help from my composition tutor David Hamilton, my peers, family, and all the wonderful music teachers especially Mrs Wilson. A huge thank you to them all.

Bella won the Te Reo Composition Competition with her piece “Ko tangi o rū poūa” which translates to “Song of the Swan”. She found the text in the school library with the help of Mrs Mackie and chose to use it as it fitted the school emblem. She says “As I look back on the process of creating my piece, I spent many hours crafting it, but I would’ve never thought that it would end up winning. I received some encouraging comments from the adjudicator, so I am thinking about possibly continuing with composition going forward into my University study. Without my peers, HOD of music and family supporting me to do my best, I wouldn’t be where I am today, so I give a big ‘Thank you’ to them”.

Community

Westlake High School Founders gathering

Around 50 former students from the co-ed Westlake High School (1957 – 1961) got together in June 2023 at a luncheon at The Bays Club, Browns Bay, to catch up and share memories. Principals and staff from both Westlake High Schools also attended. Thanks to alumni Robin Reid and Jan Franklin for organising the event and assisting on the day. The original Westlake High School blazer, hat, gloves and school tie were on display at the luncheon.

Community

2023 AIMES Awards

ASA WALLER
Asa Waller (Class of 2021), has won the North Harbour Club AIMES Arts Award, providing her with a cash grant of $15,000 towards her goal of a professional career in classical ballet. She is currently attending the Dutch National Ballet Academy through the Amsterdam University of the Arts.

Asa is a high-achieving all-rounder, having played various sports and musical instruments including guitar, piano, classical voice and saxophone, and was in Choralation Choir.

During lockdown in 2020, she focused on dancing and did schoolwork at night and in the week ends. She achieved NCEA Level 2 with Excellence, and she attained a place in the NZ School of Dance in Wellington at the end of the year.  She also won the biannual Royal Academy of Dance Competition.

ANJA FILIP
Anja Filip (Class of 2022) received a North Harbour Club AIMES Emerging Talent Award, sponsored by Bellingham Wallace, and a cash grant of $7,500. She is currently studying for a Bachelor’s Degree in Sustainability and Outdoor Education at Ara, the Institute of Canterbury in Christchurch. At Westlake, Anja founded Westlake Kaitiaki, where she taught other students practical conservation skills, such as pest trapping, tree planting and water testing. The group adopted nearby Smiths Bush for their environmental work.

Anja is a leader in Forest and Bird Youth Auckland and on national committees. In 2021, she gained a scholarship from the Hyundai Pinnacle leadership programme and in 2022 she was a delegate on the BLAKE Inspire programme.

After completing her degree, Anja plans to tramp the 3,000 km Te Araroa trail, stopping at schools and communities to collaborate with them on starting conservation projects. She then would like to make her Te Araroa/Westlake Kaitiaki initiative a national organisation.

ALEXIA HILBERTIDOU
Alexia attended Westlake Girls in 2014, in Year 11. She is the founder of GirlBoss NZ, which has become NZ’s largest organisation for young women. Programmes have been implemented in more than 100 schools across New Zealand, Australia and the Cook Islands.

Alexia has received over 30 awards for her work, including being named the Prime Minister’s Pacific Youth Award Winner, 2020 Pacific Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Semi-Finalist for Young New Zealander of the Year, the Most Influential NZ Woman under 25 at the Westpac Women of Influence Awards, and Finalist for World Young Entrepreneur of the Year 2020. She was also awarded a Queen’s Young Leader Award for Services to the Commonwealth.

She plans to use grant funds from the Award to assist young people to complete her GirlBoss Edge 10 day programme, a digital programme created during the Covid-19 pandemic, where over 1600 students received mentoring from 800 corporate mentors.

Notices

Exam Support needed!

One of the great things about being part of a diverse school community, is the pleasure we have in knowing and working with a wide range of students.

Our Learning Enhancement Team has over 200 Special Assessment Conditions (SAC) students with whom we work closely, to ensure they have the best possible opportunity to succeed in their studies. This involves things like providing readers and writers, separate accommodation for exams and internal assessments, and allowing extra time if needed.

We are a dedicated team, with the support and success of our students our top priority. However, we are also a small team relying on the assistance of teachers and support staff to be able to meet demand.

Currently we have a need for more readers and writers, and we’re reaching out to our parent community for volunteers. You don’t need any special qualification, or to know anything about the subject – it’s just a matter of reading out questions to students, who will write their answers down or, alternatively, writing the answers for the students.

It would require a time commitment of 1 to 1 ½ hours and you could volunteer weekly, fortnightly, monthly or on an ad hoc basis (we appreciate anything you can give!). There is parking onsite, and we will provide training – but all you really need is a heart for young people and seeing them succeed. It’s a lovely way to meet people and play a key role in the support and academic achievement of our students.

We are also looking for help with our practice exams from Monday 4th September – Friday 15th September and for our end of year exams from Monday 6th November – 30th November.  We will pay for support with these exams.

If you have time to give, we’d love to hear from you. Please email our SAC Co-ordinator Helena Haycock on [email protected], and she would be delighted to talk it through with you.

The Learning Enhancement Team

 

Community

Are you in business? This opportunity from Westlake Girls High School is a win-win

Grab this rare chance to promote your business for practically nothing – and help an entrepreneurial student into the bargain!

For only $50, you can support a team of Westlake Girls High School students to take part in our ‘$50 Start-Up Challenge.’

Economics & Business teacher Aarti Singh will run a business initiative in Term 3 to nurture the entrepreneurial spirits of her Y9-12 students. The girls will work in teams to develop a profitable business idea, with a percentage of their proceeds to be donated to a charity of their choice.

As the teams work through the process of ideation, validation, prototyping and selling their products, they will document their learning. Upon completion of the project, there will be an expo at school which you are welcome to attend if you wish.

In return, your name and company name will be published in our newsletter that goes out to our extremely large and supportive school community. You’ll also be featured in North Shore’s monthly magazine, ‘Channel’, AND you’ll get your name on our glory board of sponsors at the student expo afterwards.

Not only that, you’ll get that wonderful, altruistic feeling of helping shape the corporate go-getters of the future!

Arts & Culture

Y11 Drama trip to the theatre!

Last week, the Year 11 Drama class went to see King Lear by William Shakespeare in the ASB Waterfront Theatre. King Lear is the tale of an old king who puts his trust in the false words of his two eldest daughters, whilst ignoring the goodness of his youngest child, Cordelia. As the king’s relationships with his daughters falls apart he starts his slow descent into madness. This performance was phenomenally staged, and the acting itself was very powerful. While Shakespearean might seem hard to understand, the actors did a fantastic job of helping the young audience understand what was going on. The traverse set was incredible, with a mirror at one end that shattered just at the point where Lear tipped into complete madness, and actual water falling on stage during the storm scene. After watching such a stellar performance, I intend on incorporating some of the passion that I saw in this performance in my own work.

By Cailtin Spear (Year 11)

Arts & Culture

Y9 Westlake Girls Student in CATS

Last weekend, the National Youth Theatre performed CATS, an Andrew Lloyd Webber musical, to sell-out crowds. The show was at the Aotea Centre and had a cast of over 300 students aged 7 to 21, who danced, sang, and acted their way through 8 performances. Our very own Sofia Dillner from 9WBM was one of them!

Some of the costumes and makeup designs took up to 3 hours to apply before each show, with some of the older cast members having lessons beforehand on face paint and stage makeup. The cast has been practising since February and now take a well-deserved break before preparing for High School Musical in December.

Arts & Culture

Jazz Band Workshop

The Westlake Girls Jazz Band is a new music group formed this year by director Jono Howan in order to introduce Westlake Girls students to the genre and build their confidence in learning how to solo.

On 17 June they held a weekend workshop in the music department which was a fantastic success. Students had the chance to develop their sound and strengthen relationships through games and competitions. They were also lucky enough to have Paul Norman step in to give a tutorial on Jazz articulation and improvisational vocabulary. Paul worked around each section of the instrumental sections, giving each student personalised and invaluable tips and insights to get the most out of their sound. We finished with a round of improvised solos around the room where every student took a solo (some for the first time on their instrument).

We are very pleased with the progress these students are making and are looking forward to showcasing what they have been working on next term at our Westlake Instrumental Gala (4th August) and the KBB festival (9 August). We hope to see you there!

Arts & Culture

Westlake Pianists at Sunnybrae Normal Primary School

On Friday 16 June, six pianists from the Yr 11 and Yr 12 Music classes visited Sunnybrae Normal School to help celebrate the recent arrival of a baby grand piano. The piano has been gifted to the school and is a very beautiful addition to their music classroom for the student to enjoy. Our pianists played a range of pieces and the whole school rotated in shift to sit and listen to the music. Our pianists enjoyed playing for this audience of primary students and visiting parents.

Well done to Elin Park, Sarah Lee, Anna Wang, Tara Yoo, Emily  Chong, Seobeen Yun for sharing their talents with our COL community.

 

Arts & Culture

Bringing Shakespeare to life with As You Like It

The cast of As You Like It is all dressed up and ready to go for a comedy of Shakespearian proportions!

The play, which is set in the Forest of Arden, tells the tale of a group of exiled nobles who find love, friendship and redemption. It stars a talented cast of Westlake Girls & Boys High School students and explores themes as relevant today as they were back in the 1600s.

The cast recently strutted their stuff in costume for publicity shots, giving a colourful taste of what is to come.

Show Director, Mary-Jean Milburn said, “This is the perfect play for young people to perform as it’s full of heart, humour, and wisdom.

“Our cast is working hard in the last month of rehearsals to create a show that we can all be proud of. We hope audiences will thoroughly enjoy our take on this delightful romantic comedy.”

As You Like It hits the stage from 25 to 29 July at Westlake Girls High School, so don’t delay – snap up those tickets today!
Get your tickets for As You Like It from iTicket.

Arts & Culture

Upcoming Joint School's Musical Production

Into the Woods is Stephen Sondheim’s and James Lapine’s magical, musical masterpiece, where familiar fairy tale characters (Little Red Riding Hood, Jack of Beanstalk fame, and Cinderella) confront life’s compelling realities. The musical combines the humorous whimsy of films like The Princess Bride and gothic Tim Burton-like shocks and surprises. Its beautiful, soaring score is arguably amongst Sondheim’s best. Into the Woods has won numerous awards, including Tony Awards for Best Score and Best Book, and in recent years, Best Revival.

Tickets to our shows sell like hotcakes. Don’t miss out.
Book your tickets for Into the Woods at iTicket.

 

Academic

Chemistry Cluedo Workshop

Our Year 13 Chemistry students visited the incredible new Innovation Centre at Massey University in Albany to participate in their Chemical Cluedo workshop on the 7th, 12th and 13th of June. The workshops were run by Dr Debbie Jordan, Senior tutor in Chemistry and co-chair of the SNCS outreach committee at Massey University, alongside a team of incredible PhD and Honours students who volunteered their time to run a morning jam-packed with chemistry fun and learning.

During this hands-on workshop, the students collected samples to gather data from spectrometers in action and interpreted the spectra of organic substances to solve the case of the “Murder of Professor White,” which was presented in the narrative of a story. The students were well prepared for these tasks and solved the murder very efficiently. The workshops were followed up by guided tours around the Innovation Centre and campus.

 

 

 

 

 

Our

Community Notices

Open Night for Westlake Girls for 2024

Is your daughter (or the daughter of someone you know) considering coming to Westlake Girls next year? If so, don’t miss Open Night here in the first week of Term 3.

Bring your whānau and friends and experience our vibrant school community, meet staff and students, and take a guided tour. Please share this information with anyone you know who might be interested. It’s a wonderful opportunity for future students and their families to get a feeling for our school, and how we empower girls to be their best selves.

Please note
To set up the school for the Open Night, we will finish slightly early on Tuesday, 18 July, with school concluding at about 2.20 pm. There will be no form time, and lunchtime will be shorter. We will still have the five teaching periods running, although each may be up to five minutes shorter than usual.

There’s no need to register for Open Night– just come along.

When and Where

Tuesday, 18 July
4 pm or 6 pm
Events Centre
Westlake Girls High School
2 Wairau Rd, Takapuna, Auckland.

Community

Pasifika Fono - Term 2

In week 9 of Term 2, Pasifika family members, students and supportive staff gathered to celebrate Pasifika culture and student achievement at the second Fono evening for 2023. Pasifika student leaders confidently welcomed guests and spoke in their native languages whenever appropriate throughout the evening. The evening began with some feedback from our Term 1 Fono and introductions from the newly established Pasefika Parent Komiti. The Komiti presented their vision to work together with the school to support Westlake Pasifika students and families to thrive and flourish in all aspects of their schooling. They also invited feedback from the Pasifika community on what they see as the purpose of this committee and what they would like future Fono evenings to include. Guests enjoyed a performance by the Fijian group who sang Noqu Masu, which was followed by an inspiring speech by WGHS alumni and current staff member Celia Toganivalu-Kikau who told her story and encouraged students to value their educational opportunities.

A delicious and abundant supper was served in a traditional Samoan way by some of our students, and the traditional ‘call for food’ was performed by Constantine Mataafa. Thanks to the members of the Pasefika Parent Komiti who provided the cultural dishes, and to our in-house caterer, Ann Muir for organising the great selection of Pālangi food. After supper, the Pasifika Mentors led by Miriam Robinson, presented certificates to students to celebrate their cultural, sporting and academic achievements over this term. Year 11 student Mel Teulilo gave an outstanding speech on cultural identity, for which she recently gained Excellence in Level 1 English, and was a great way to exemplify Pasifika student success. The evening finished with a graceful performance from the Tongan Group who are practising hard in preparation for the Pasefika Night next term on August 17.

The evening was attended by over 70 guests, representing about 25 Pasifika families. We are grateful to Acting Principal Mr David Burton, Presiding member of the board Ms Joy Bradfield and board member Dr Stephven Kolose, who were all able to attend as invited guests.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Community

Westlake Wellness - How to stay motivated and engaged

Over the last few weeks with strike days and year levels staying home there has been a disruption to students routines. Many of our students are engaged, taking responsibility for their learning and using the time to consolidate knowledge, however, there are some who just have found the experience unsettling. The whole school community has experienced disruption to daily routines, without the usual interaction of teachers and friends in the school environment, feelings of boredom and lack of motivation are common. 

Below are some tips to help your child stay motivated 

  • Do one thing in the morning big or small 
  • Make a really simple checklist, then you can tick things off and feel a sense of achievement (got up, ate breakfast, showered)
  • Keep a list of immediate goals (today) and longer term goals (end of term or year or longer)
  • Interact with positive people and emulate traits you admire in others
  • Record (in a journal or digital diary) something you enjoyed (avocado on toast)
  • Show off your achievements
  • I submitted my work on time!
  • I learnt how to…..
  • I made dinner tonight
  • Reward yourself, “I will complete these 5 questions, then …..”.

We are looking forward to returning next term for a productive and successful Term 3.

Arts & Culture

Into the Woods Workshop with Mark W. Dorrell

When you’re a musical theatre student, it’s not every day you get to meet a world-famous musical director, but that’s exactly what happened for some of our students recently! On 18 June, internationally acclaimed music director Mark Dorrell ran a workshop for the Into the Woods cast.

Here’s a quick snapshot of Mark Dorrell’s stellar career to date:

  • Current Musical Director of the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra in A Night of Sondheim
  • Head of the Royal National Theatre in London for 10 years
  • musical director for Oklahoma! with Hugh Jackman
  • worked with Dame Judi Dench on A Little Night Music,
  • worked with Sir Ian McKellen on Peter Pan.
  • worked with Oscar-winning director Sam Mendes, as musical director of Assassins at the Donmar Warehouse
  • Musical Director on the original West End production of Into the Woods.

Mark worked with the students on both characters and songs, and he shared tales from his extraordinary experiences on Broadway and in the West End.

What lucky students!

A huge thanks to Mark and to the students who attended.
Book your tickets for Into the Woods at iTicket.

Sports

Westlake Girls win Silver at Auckland Secondary School Squash Champs

Lead by New Zealand Secondary Schools Squash representative, Lucy Cadness-Aspinall, the Westlake Girls Team met local school Takapuna Grammar in the final of the Auckland Secondary Schools Squash Teams Championship at Epsom Eden Squash Club on Tuesday.  Westlake Girls swept through their first-round opposition from Epsom Girls winning all five matches before beating Macleans College in a similar fashion, 4-1 to round out the pool play.  Fifth seed, Anais-Lily Monsellier suffered a setback with an ankle injury in her match and struggled to overcome her opposition.  In the final, Westlake Girls dug deep against Takapuna Grammar, with second seed, Aishah Lotfy, collecting the school’s only win, with a brilliant come back from 2-0 down to win her match in five sets.  The Tyler Duberly coached team, a former student of Westlake Girls herself, is now readying the team for the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championship which will be held in Auckland from 4-6 August.

Academic

Year 12 Outdoor Ed visit Hunua Ranges

In week 9, the Year 12 Outdoor Ed cohort set out to do an overnight stay in the Hunua Ranges to complete their Leadership assessment. Students had to lead their groups through the bush to their campsite on the first day and then back out on the second day. Students planned, packed, and cooked their own food and slept in tents. The weather turned out to be beautiful!

Community

Uniform Shop Term 3 Hours

Thursday 29 June 2023 is the last day of trading for Term 2, 2023

Please note that the shop is open for two days in the first week of the school holidays:

Thursday 6 July: 10:00am – 2:00pm
Saturday 8 July: 10:00am – 2:00pm

Community

Westlake Pinoy Night

Westlake Pinoy Night will be held at WGHS Event Centre on 11 August.

Through a display of traditional and modern performances, we will be showcasing Filipino culture. Traditional acts such as Tinikling, Pandaggo sa Ilaw, Carinosa, Sayaw sa Bangko, and Pagapir will be featured, alongside modern acts such as hiphop dance, rap performances and several  musical performances by bands, duets, and soloists all displaying the rich Filipino culture and pride.

Food sales start at 5:30pm and the show starts at 7:00pm.

Get your tickets today!
Westlake Pinoy Night

Academic

Y13 Social Studies trip to hear Christopher Luxon speak

On Monday 19 June, four Year 13 Social Studies students, accompanied by their teacher Ms Sarah Woodward, walked across to The Hive in Smales Farm to hear National Party leader Christopher Luxon speak.  The students are working on their Internal Assessment to plan and participate in a social action campaign to influence a policy.  Grace, Avya, Brooke and Cushla listened to Christopher Luxon speak about his intentions for a future National government covering issues such as education, crime, and the cost-of-living crisis.  Grace and Ayva asked questions about child poverty and what a National government planned to do to help those in need.  Afterwards, the students had a quick informal discussion with Mr Luxon and were able to ask if the ‘university first year free’ policy would be there in 2024.  Mr Luxon stated that it would, much to the delight of all four students.  It was a fantastic opportunity for the students to hear from the Leader of the Opposition and link real world experiences to their Campaigns for Change Internal Assessment.

Photo (left to right) : Simon Watts MP, Ayva Barr, Grace Adcock, Christopher Luxon MP, Brooke Randell, Cushla Stanton, Sarah Woodward (Social Studies Teacher)

Community

International Language Week

From 12-16 June, Westlake Girls celebrated International Language week. This provides an opportunity to showcase, learn and promote diverse languages and cultures in our school. Learning an international language encompasses much more than language proficiency, they learn about the culture too, which is the foundation of that language. The multiculturalism of the school was celebrated with movie days at lunch time, photo booths, traditional dress of different cultures, poster competitions, quizzes and sharing music and food.

I believe that the events were truly a great way to both celebrate the diversity of languages taught in our kura, and also to learn more about each culture, while of course, having fun with your peers. – Language ambassodar: 10PFH Nicole Lao 

Thank you so much for a fantastic language week last week; it was a success! It was great seeing everyone at the movies and the photo booth. Thank you to all the language teachers and ambassadors for helping and making this all happen! I enjoyed organising these events and participating in the exciting activities. I look forward to seeing everyone at our next events!  Language ambassodar: 10HSG Sherly Liang 

Last week, we celebrated Language Week, and the Language Ambassadors and teachers promoted the celebration of different languages at Westlake Girls. We had a large turnout for our photo booth, where students could come to dress up in cultural clothes and take photos. The Language Ambassadors also made a video compiled of different students speaking foreign languages which was shown in our assemblies. It was really cool to see the many languages that are spoken in our school. – Language ambassador: 10 HSG Joanna Jacob

Language Week was an incredibly insightful way to see the diversity apparent at WGHS. By setting up this event, students were able to have fun while also appreciating other cultures and languages which hold an essential role in our community. – Language ambassador: 10PRS Jessica Lee

Through the Language Week events we held, I was able to actually experience and see the variety of languages and cultures we have in Westlake Girls’ High. Filming and editing the promo video and casting on the assembly was quite nervous as well. I love how what we planned came out as a wonderful result! – 10AST Hailey Lee

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Community

Westlake Kaitiaki and Rotary Tree Planting

Like humans need encouragement and care, the earth needs trees. By planting a tree, we hope to encourage you to care for the earth.

An eager group of students from Westlake Kaitiaki and Rotary travelled to Smith’s Bush on Monday, 12 June to take part in a tree planting initiative organised by the former. Despite the threatening grey skies, the team, joined by former student Enviro Prefect Anja, kept in sunny spirits, and the sound of enthusiastic rapport quickly filled the air as we made our way to the plating site. Unfortunately, as the bush is undergoing repairs for the damage it has sustained as a result of recent weather events, we were unable to walk through it. Therefore, we met a local park ranger, Anna, who briefed us on how to properly plant a tree and a little more about the bush’s biodiversity as well as the significance of native plants near the planting site.

It was all go as we started to plant native trees such as manuka and cabbage trees. We dug, learned, and laughed while planting in our groups, and in no time at all, we had managed to plant 60 native trees and remove multiple harmful weeds under the watchful eye of a curious piwakawaka (fantail). Muddy but satisfied with the work we had done, the sound of spades clinking came to a stop, and we finished for the day with smiles on our tired faces.

Of course, this trip would not have been possible without Ms. See, Mrs. Bhavsar, and Ms. Wilson, who generously gave up their valuable time to supervise. We would also like to extend our thanks to the Rotary Leaders for helping us encourage more students to take part in this initiative and to Kaitiaki Leaders Kenzie, Abi, and Elsa for organising the event.

By Diya Kansara 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arts & Culture

National Academy of Singing and Dramatic Art Workshop

On Saturday, June 17, staff from NASDA visited Westlake Boys for a workshop with passionate students from Auckland and beyond, mainly from Westlake Boys and Westlake Girls. The dynamic workshop included ‘Acting Through Song’ and ‘Building a Character for Performance’.

Former Westlake Girls student Grace Dewhurst joined NASDA tutors Mark Dorrell and Cienda McNamara. Grace has recently graduated from NASDA. She leaves NZ soon for the Royal Central School of Speech & Drama in London to do a Master’s degree in Acting.

“This workshop really helped me progress and helped me with my character and with learning new things about musical theatre. Thank you so much for all of your help.” Keira McAven (WGHS, Year 10).

“Thank you so much for the workshop; it was super-helpful for my character development!” Nathan Davies (WBHS, Year 10).

Huge thanks to NASDA, Mark, Cienda and Grace for the visit and the free workshop!

Why not check out our students’ progress by booking tickets to the latest school productions in July?
Tickets for Into the Woods and As You Like It are available from iTicket.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arts & Culture

Westlake Success at the NZCF Auckland Regionals of The Big Sing Festival

On Wednesday 21st and Thursday 22nd of June, our four choirs represented Westlake at the Auckland Regional Competition. There were 68 choirs competing this year from the Auckland and Northland region and a diverse and enjoyable range of music was shared over the three day Festival in the Auckland Town Hall.

Our choirs achieved outstanding results this year with all four of our WGHS choirs receiving award recognition for their performance programmes.

  • Cantare (directed by HOD Fiona Wilson) were awarded Best Festival Recital Programme for Upper Voice choir and the A Capella Award for the best unaccompanied work (Malagueña by Rautavaara).
  • Choralation (directed by HOD Fiona Wilson) were awarded Best Festival recital Programme for Mixed Voices and the Adjudicators Award for the most outstanding performance of a single work (I Te Timatanga by the Wehi Whānau).
  • Nota Bella Junior Choir (directed by Elise Bradley) were awarded Best Festival Recital Programme for Junior Choir and the award for Best Performance of NZ or Pasifika work from a non-Finale choir (A Dragon is in my Computer by David Hamilton).
  • Cigno Voce Senior Choir (directed by Rachel Carson) received the Award for Best Performance of a Choral Art Composition from a non-Finale choir (Exultate) and Nota Bella were runners up.
  • Our brother school choir Voicemale (directed by David Squire) were awarded Best Festival Recital Programme for Lower Voices.

National selection has been announced this week and our Premier choirs Cantare and Choralation have been selected as two of the 24 top choirs in the country to compete in the National Finale, held in Auckland in August.

Our junior choir Nota Bella has been selected as one of the 24 choirs in the North Island region to compete in the Cadenza Festival, held in Rotorua in August. Cigno Voce were also named as a reserve choir.

Congratulations to everyone involved in this fantastic event – singers, directors, singing teachers, support staff and parents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Arts & Culture

Musical Sisters

Congratulations to the Sullivan sisters (April, 9HVN and Emily, 12HFR) for getting accepted into the National Secondary Schools Brass Band. Auditions took place a couple of months ago, and the competition was tough.

April plays the drums, and Emily, the flugelhorn. (Not sure what that is? You’re not alone!) Emily says it’s a sort of ‘squished, stretched-out trumpet!’

The whole band will drive to Hamilton in the October school holidays and stay at the university. They will spend a week working on music, then perform a concert there on the Saturday night.

As an experienced band member, Emily has done these trips before (for example, last year’s trip was to Christchurch), so she knows how enjoyable Hamilton will be. Both sisters are looking forward to the experience.

Practising is vital, and both Emily and April do as much as they manage. However, they acknowledge that it can be hard to fit in with busy lives. Fortunately, they have space to practice at home and a supportive family. Their dad has encouraged them to love music since they were small, and he played in the same band when he was at school.

We’re guessing that he’s very proud of both of his girls. We are, too.
As our own whakatauki says, “Mā pango, mā whero, ka oti te mahi!” “By black and red together, the work will be done!”

Community

Westlake Chinese Night 2023

Westlake Chinese Night is an annual event dedicated in hopes of sharing the Chinese culture to the wider community through a diverse range of both traditional and modern Chinese performances, hosted by our wonderful MCs. Our traditional performances include the widely anticipated Lion Dance, Fan Dance, Instrumental Ensembles (i.e Guzheng), Traditional-Modern Dance fusions, and our modern performances include Bands, Cpop Dance Groups, and Rap Groups. From the thrilling performances to the abundance of stalls selling Chinese snacks and drinks to the captivating photo wall, this year’s Chinese Night left audiences in awe.

This year, the annual Westlake Chinese Night took place at the Westlake Boys Auditorium on 23 June. The night was a huge success, garnering over 1000 attendees who filled the auditorium with their enthusiasm! This year, we will be donating a total of $4000; $1000 towards the Children’s Cancer Foundation, and $1500 to each school.

A huge thank you on behalf of the 2023 Westlake Chinese Night Committee to all those who showed their support for the event and the Chinese culture, whether it be through sponsorships, performing, or attending the night. In particular the teachers, prefects, and committee members who worked tirelessly to organise such a successful night. We couldn’t have done it without all your support! We look forward to your continued support and hope to see you at Westlake Chinese Night 2024! 明年再见！

2023 Westlake Chinese Night Committee Leaders, 
Isabella Wong, Jessica Huang, Nathan Jin, and Edison Yang

Photos by Alison Fan, Y13 student

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Academic

Brain Bee Challenge 2023

The 17th annual NZ Brain Bee Challenge was held at the University of Auckland Faculty of Medical and Health Sciences, where Year 11 students showcased their knowledge of the brain competing for the title of the Brain Bee Champion. This year 446 students from around the North Island competed in Round 1 of the Brain Bee Challenge, with 7 of our Westlake Girls students being ranked in the top 180 students, scoring over 70% in Round 1, and qualifying for Round 2.

The purpose of the visit is to inspire the students to be excited about their learning, wherever their passions lie. Students listened to talks from neuroscientists, participated in quizzes, learnt about brain imaging technologies, observed brain tissue down the microscope, and visited the anatomy museum. Manrui He was awarded an internship at the Centre for Brain Research, where she will be spending two immersive days working alongside neuroscientists during the school holidays.  It was a fun day for everyone involved and some passions for pursuing medical sciences were definitely sparked!

First picture (left to right): Manrui He, Helianth Nguyen, Dora Liu, Zoe Taylor, Simone Khajuria.

Academic

Ngā Manu Kōrero Speech Competition

On Friday 16 June, myself and Amelia Moke (Year 10) competed in the Ngā Manu Kōrero Speech Competition. This was an amazing opportunity for us to share our voices on topics we feel passionate about.

We competed against other rangatahi Māori or Māori students from years 9-13 at high schools across Auckland. I competed in the Korimako division – Senior English, which involved giving an eight-minute prepared speech and a three-minute impromptu speech with only five minutes of preparation. Amelia competed in the Te Rāwhiti Ihaka division – junior Māori, which involved giving a 10-minute prepared speech.

My prepared speech topic was ‘I am unapologetically Māori’ and my impromptu topic was ‘I now learn solely through technology’. Amelia’s speech topic was on climate change and global warming. I was beyond proud of both of our efforts, especially considering how public speaking can be quite daunting at times. I was very humbled to have won Best Impromptu Speech, Best Female Speaker, and to have placed 2nd overall in my division. We were all also very proud of Amelia who placed 5th overall in her division.

On the day of the competition, it was great to have support from friends and other WGHS kapa haka or te reo Māori class students who came along to watch. For me, Manu Kōrero has always been an opportunity to speak in front of my peers, whānau, and fellow rangatahi.  I feel privileged to participate in a kaupapa that celebrates young orators, and that fosters a safe, friendly, and competitive environment. Each year I get to speak on a topic that is important to me, which is something I appreciate. My drive to do well is to make my whānanu proud, but also to inspire other rangatahi, and bring them along with me – encourage them to step outside of their comfort zones, push past their boundaries and the fears holding them back.

I love Manu Kōrero because it is one of the few events for tauira Māori (Māori students) to watch, listen, and immerse themselves in a world of the Māori language. This was my fourth and last year participating in the competition, and I honestly felt a bit sad to see it come to an end. I would encourage any student of Māori descent to get involved with Manu Kōrero. It has truly grown me into the confident young woman I am today. Because of this competition, I feel more connected with my culture, and I feel more confident in my identity. I understand that public speaking can be scary at times, however once you push past this barrier, it is honestly one of the most rewarding activities.

– By Isabella Drummond

 

 

 

 

 

 

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