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Te Reo O Te Roto
The Language of the Lake
Issue 69 | 11 August 2023
From the Principal

From the Principal

Kia ora everyone,

It’s been an exciting and successful start to the term.

We have been busy competing at the KBB Music Festival with our orchestras, jazz, and symphonic bands this week. This fantastic festival showcases secondary school orchestras, concert bands and jazz bands in Auckland. Groups perform in professional venues, competing for awards and a place in the gala concerts. We wish them well for the KBB Gala Concert on Saturday night.

This week, we’ve also enjoyed having a range of dynamic guest speakers and visitors at school for Youth Peace Week.  It has been an inspirational and eye-opening week for many of our students.

Nota Bella, our junior choir, has also been performing at assemblies this week in preparation for the Big Sing Cadenza in Rotorua next week as one of 24 invited choirs (and the only junior choir to attend). We wish them well next week also; I know they will be superb.

Students have been choosing their subjects in the last week, and it was great to see people taking advantage of the subject choice information afternoon last week. As a reminder, all students will have personalised one-on-one subject counselling in early Term 4, so it’s important to have ongoing conversations about subjects with teachers and deans this term.

Heading into the weekend, I’m looking forward to attending our inaugural Westlake Pinoy (Filipino Culture) Night tonight. I hear the food is amazing, as is the talent. I hope to see many of you there.

Sarah Hooper
Acting Principal

 

Notices

How can we prepare our children for an AI-Powered future, together?

Join us for an enlightening talk featuring Frances Valintine CNZM, visionary CEO & Founder of AcademyEX. Discover how to empower your child for a world fueled by AI and rapid advancements. Frances is a dedicated educator and technologist and has spent 25 years revolutionizing education and business practices to prepare for the future of work, societal shifts, and planetary protection.

A Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit, Frances’s insights will inspire you to guide your child’s journey. Discover how to equip your children with the skills, knowledge, and mindset needed to thrive in an ever-changing world. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn from the award-winning pioneer who founded The Mind Lab, recognized by Steve Wozniak and Sir Richard Branson.

Tickets will go on sale on iTicket on Tuesday 15 August.

 Secure your ticket now and embark on a transformative experience that shapes both generations!

Community

Year 13 Period Poverty Social Action

Year 13 Social Studies students have recently undertaken a successful sanitary product drive to raise awareness about period poverty, the inability to access period products.

They collected items at school and reached out to the local community by placing donation boxes at some of the local libraries. At the end of the drive, thanks to school and community contribution we received just over 60 packs of sanitary products, more than 600 pads, tampons and liners. These were all donated to the North Shore Women’s Centre.

This has become an annual event and we would like to thank the community for their ongoing support.

By Ishani Soni-Singh

Academic

Arguing Students Make the School Proud!

Our debating team has reached the Quarterfinals (top 8 teams) in the Auckland School’s Debating championships. Teachers don’t generally put up with arguments between students, but this is one arena where it’s actively encouraged!

That success represents a lot of persuasive, articulate, and well-thought-out debating. Congratulations.

If you’d like to see the team in action, the next debate will be against Carmel College on Tuesday, 15 August, 8 pm at Carmel College.

Academic

Ex Fabric Technology student visits our current Fabric Technology students

Last week ex- Fabric Technology student El Reilly (formerly Chantelle) came to talk to our Fabric Technology students who are considering a career in Fashion Design.

El graduated from Massey University, Wellington with first class honours in Fashion Design. She is one of the students who has been selected to show her collection at the Graduate Show, NZ Fashion Week, on 30 August.

The students were inspired to hear El speak about her zero waste approach, where every part of the fabric is used when designing a garment, and what was involved in a Fashion Design degree at Massey.

Pictured Below – El’s zero waste collection

 

Sports

Lucy Cadness Aspinall-Cadness selected for the NZ secondary Schools Team

Captain of the Westlake Girls Premier Squash team, Lucy Cadness-Aspinall, was rewarded for a strong performance at the New Zealand Secondary Schools with selection to the New Zealand Secondary Schools Squash Team.  The Year 12 student led the 6-person team against some of the best juniors in the country and had a strong start to the tournament with a 5-0 win against Sacred Heart from New Plymouth.  In the second round, the team faced 2nd seeds, Whangarei Girls and after a tussle, they went down narrowly to them, 2 -3 in the afternoon. The next day, Hamilton Girls was too strong for Westlake, winning 1-4 but they bounced back to beat the coasters, Greymouth High School, 3-2. On the final day, Westlake met Tauranga Girls in the play off for 5th and 6th and once again, narrowly lost, 2-3.  Westlake’s second seed, Aishah Lotfy had a successful tournament winning all her games. The event was won by Otumoetai College. Cadness-Aspinall is now readying herself for the New Zealand Secondary Schools Team and the Trans-Tasman series in Sydney from 21 – 25 August.

Sports

Zoe Crawford sets new Junior World Record in the Pool

Westlake Girls Sportswoman of the Year, Zoe Crawford, was in record breaking form at the Australian Surf Lifesaving Pool Rescue Championships last weekend in Brisbane.  The Year 13 student won 5 gold medals and 7 silver medals, crushed 2 Australian records and 4 New Zealand ones at the event.

Racing with her Australian Club, BMD Northcliffe’, Crawford returned to school this week, shattered but elated with her winning form.  Shaving two seconds of the Junior World Record,  Crawford swam 57.14 in the 100m Manikin Tow.  The previous record was 59.19.  The Manikin Tow race requires the swimmer to dive into the pool wearing fins and a tube, swim 50m to collect a 65kg manikin and then tow it back to the finish as quickly as possible.

Crawford was a member of the New Zealand Youth team who won silver at the Junior World Championships in Italy last year and was recently named the Under 19 Northern Region Sportswoman of the Year.  Fellow Mairangi Bay Surf Lifesaving club member and Westlake Girls senior, Michaela Pocock was named the Under 17 Northern Region Sportswoman of the Year.  Both students are current members of the New Zealand High Performance Squads and are working towards the World Championships on the Gold Coast next year.

Crawfords List of Medals:

  • 1st – U19 100 Manikin Tow – WORLD RECORD (Youth) & Australian and NZ Record
  • 1st – U19 100 Manikin Carry – Smashed Australian & NZ Record
  • 2nd – U19 50 Manikin Carry – NZ Record
  • 2nd – U19 200 Super Lifesaver – NZ Record
  • 2nd – U19 200m Obstacles
  • 2nd – U19 Line Throw
  • 2nd – U19 Rescue Medley

Relays

  • 1st – Open – 4 x 50m Obstacle Relay
  • 1st – Open -Mixed Lifesaver Relay
  • 1st – Open 4 x 50 Medley Relay
  • 2nd – Under 19 Mixed Lifesaver Relay
  • 2nd – Open 4 x 25 Manikin Relay
Sports

Swindells selected for New Zealand Under 18 Water polo Team

Captain of the Westlake Girls Water polo team, Bailee Swindells, has been named in the New Zealand Under 18 team to compete at the 2023 Australian Under 17 State Championship from 22 – 28 September.  After the Australian State Champs, the NZ side will meet the Australian Youth team in a 3-test series before returning to New Zealand. The Kiwis will meet the Australian Youth team once at the NZ Under 18 Club Champs but with members of their individual club teams.  The New Zealand Youth team is part of a wider squad who are preparing for the 2024 World Aquatic World Championships in Doha, Qatar.

Sports

Westlake Girls win Motocross Series Silver

After competing at their fourth Motocross event of the year, the young Westlake Girls team of Thalia Heileson, Sophie Bockett, Madison Kennedy and Milla Glasgow who won the North Island Secondary Schools Motocross Championship in March, won silver in the overall Battle of the Schools Series which concluded in Whangarei last week.  The Battle of the Secondary Schools Series travels around the North Island throughout the year and riders work together to accumulate the most points for their team across the season and in a sport typically, associated with males, the young Westlake Girls team of Year 9 and 10 students, performed exceptionally to win Silver.   Tauranga Boys won Gold.

Not quite finished though, the team is now focused on the final event of the year, the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championship in Auckland on Friday 1 September.  Success at this event would be a superb way for the team to finish an already stellar year.

Arts & Culture

Westlake Production Season: 2023

Following a run over the course of two weeks at the beginning of this term, the casts and crew involved in the Westlake Production Season have earned a well-deserved break. Sondheim’s Into the Woods wowed audiences with its innovative set and stellar performances from both actors and musicians. One audience member raved about the chance to see “a production on par with anything in Auckland at the moment”, and another commented that “the lighting, music, costume and singing were sublime”.

Shakespeare’s comedy As You Like It closed the season in a festive and vibrant way, with a set over-flowing with 1960s inspired colours and lights. Audience “Loved the energy, the characters, the set, the colours and the music!” Another felt it was “very inspirational and very professional”.

A big thank-you to all students, parents and staff involved in bringing these shows to life.

Photos by Caroline Docubu (AYLI) and LK Creative (Into the Woods)

 

 

 

 

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Academic

why speling and gramma matter 4 all Subjects and 4 in life in genril!

An easy way for parents to help

English teacher Sarah Ward is running an initiative over the next ten weeks to help the girls to revise some of the basics of spelling and grammar. This is mainly aimed at our Y10 students who will be sitting the NCEA Literacy Corequisite next term, but if you’re the parent of a student in another year and you feel she could also benefit from a bit of revision of some writing basics, this is for you, too.

It’s vital to note that the programme we use for the literacy test doesn’t use auto-correct, so students MUST get into the habit of typing correctly using the [shift] key and the letter.

Important Info for All Parents

From 2024 students will need to gain this NCEA Literacy Corequisite and the equivalent Numeracy Corequisite to gain an NCEA qualification. In other words, students won’t be able to gain any level of NCEA qualification without these two corequisites.

The stakes are far too high for students to lose points because of bad writing!

The wrong use of tense, spelling, or punctuation can completely change the meaning of a sentence, and writing littered with errors is difficult to read and understand. We need to help our girls to realise that, at best, they’ll come across as sloppy and inattentive to detail. At worst, the reader won’t understand what they are trying to say.

Students who don’t meet basic accuracy measures in their writing will be marked down. It’s that simple. Ms Ward is putting together some useful tips, and we’ll be presenting these in each of our newsletters for the next 2-3 months.

TIP 1

A focus on capital letters. Capitals are used at the start of each sentence, for ‘I’, and for proper nouns.
A proper noun is the name of a specific person, place, or thing. You need to use a capital letter for every part of the name. For example, Westlake Girls’ High School is a specific school, so each word needs to be capitalised. If someone said, “I go to high school,” this is not a specific name, so ‘high school’ isn’t capitalised.

Keep your eyes peeled for the literacy tip in our next newsletter. We’ll focus on apostrophes and homophones (i.e., their/there/they’re or your/you’re).

Notices

Exciting Speaker coming to WGHS!

On Wednesday, 16 August at 7pm we are offering a presentation for parents and caregivers by Darren Perreira of Success Integrated, a Millenials expert who has worked with over ½ a million students, parents and staff in Australasia over the last 15 years. Darren offers a practical workshop that empowers parents and caregivers with the skills to navigate the complexities of communicating with & supporting your young person as they face some of the biggest challenges of their lives.

Darren will provide you with guidance & specific advice on how to work harmoniously with your teenager to help them achieve social, emotional & academic success. By equipping you with strategies you can put into place immediately, you will feel confident & equipped to tackle issues such as homework, mental & physical health, sleep, social media use, career conversations & much more.

Don’t miss your chance to attend this enlightening, inspiring & practical workshop.

Wednesday 16 August
7pm-8pm
WGHS Event Centre
This is a free event

We look forward to seeing you there.

Community

Westlake Kaitiaki

“The greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it.” These are the profound words of Robert Swan, who made the ambitious trek from the North pole to the South pole. These words are at the very heart of what Westlake Kaitiaki does; we take it upon ourselves to do whatever we can for our planet, however small it may be.

With the generous aid of the Auckland Council and the Whitebait Connection, we are delighted to see that informative signs designed by our very own Westlake students have been placed around Smith’s Bush.

Upon entry, it is nearly impossible not to be taken aback by the beauty and serenity of the reserve. As we walk along the boardwalk, gently brushing the leaves on either side and marvelling at the trills of various native birds, it is saddening for us when the startlingly neon colours of confectionary wrappers and a plethora of litter snatches our attention. Small actions such as littering are mistaken for being just that: minuscule and with little significance. Our signs aim to outline the resounding consequences that these actions truly have on our fragile ecosystem.

Too often the tranquil and gentle sounds of nature’s melodies remain unheard. We hope that the introduction of signage will implore those walking through the bush to listen to her song, to see her beauty and unite to protect her precious library of biodiverse life, one small action at a time.

We couldn’t have accomplished what we have in Westlake Kaitiaki without the help of Ms See and Ms Bhavasar, and of course, the leadership of Kenzie McKay. Together, we hope to continue encouraging others to participate in positive actions for the environment and continue the legacy of our former student Anja Philip.

As we tilt our heads up and gaze at the wisps of light peering through the tall canopies soaring above, their branches and leaves intertwined, we are reminded of how alone we can do so little, but together we can accomplish anything.

Written by Kaitiaki student

Notices

Love a special wāhine in your family? ‘Course you do!

Bring her to our Mother-Daughter breakfast and kickstart your day with love! Nanas, Aunties, Mamas, Sisters, Cousins – all welcome!

As well as delicious food and fabulous company, you’ll hear a talk from former student Katie Perkins. Katie was Deputy Head Girl and went on to be a NZ Women’s Cricketer. She now works as an officer for the NZ Police.

Wednesday, 23 August 2023
7.00 – 9.00 am
WGHS Event Centre
$30 per ticket (plus a $2 booking fee)
https://www.iticket.co.nz/events/2023/aug/westlake-mother-daughter-breakfast

Community

Spectacular Effort by Westlake Girls in 40-Hour Famine

The World Vision 40-Hour Challenge has been a longstanding fundraising campaign at Westlake Girls High School, with 2023 marking our 40-year partnership with this incredible humanitarian aid organisation. The challenge is a way for students across Aotearoa to help bring lifesaving water to struggling communities worldwide.  

 This year, the mahi shown by Westlake’s students was remarkable. As a school, we raised the most money ever, with our final total amounting to $15065.90. In doing so, we also won an impressive bunch of awards:  

– Westlake Girls High School was presented a Gold Award, placing in the top 10 best-performing schools in the nation.  

– Ms Shona McRae: Upper North Island Outstanding Challenge Organiser Award  

– Dinithi Liyanage: Upper North Island Greatest Individual Impact Award  

 The top 5 fundraising students from Westlake Girls High School deserve a special mention: 

  1. Willow Adams
  2. Kaitlyn Kong 
  3. Emily Stretton 
  4. Maia Holland 
  5. Maia George.

 A massive thank you and congratulations to everyone who participated in the WGHS 40-Hour Challenge 2023! 

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