Yesterday, a small fire occurred in one of our campus toilet blocks. It was quickly contained, with no injuries reported. The cause is still under investigation. We are committed to ensuring the safety of our students and staff.
Earlier in the day, we had conducted a routine fire evacuation drill. The school community responded with remarkable speed, calmness, and focus. Later, when the real fire happened, everyone again evacuated swiftly and efficiently. Our direct alarm connection to the local fire station ensured prompt assistance.
Visiting students from Sunnybrae Primary joined us in the evacuation, making their trip more eventful than expected! We were impressed by our calm students demonstrating how to deal with the situation.
Congratulations to everyone taking part in the KBB Music Festival this week. Both our Chamber Orchestra Concert Band and our Symphony Orchestra and Stage Band are playing in the Gala Concert at the beautiful Holy Trinity Cathedral. You can find out more about this lovely event and book tickets here.
With only a couple of weeks of winter left to go, I wish everyone a great weekend.
Jane Stanley
PRINCIPAL
Academic
Y10 Literacy Co-requisite
Our Year 10 students will be sitting their literacy co-requisite in Week 9 of this term. In the lead up to this, we are focusing on it at school, and we would also really appreciate parents’ help in keeping an eye on the kids’ work at home, too.
The aim is for students to see the importance of written accuracy across all subjects, all the time, not just when they are being assessed.
One good thing to focus on is capital letters. Capital letters are important and something basic that students can focus on. Most students know this rule but get lazy when working on a device – it is important students get into the habit of typing correctly by using the [shift] key and the letter.
Capital Letters 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.)
Remind students that they need to use the [shift] key!
Thanks!
Arts & Culture
Choral Gala Concert – Thursday 22 August
Come join a night of celebration with our Westlake choirs! We have six choirs between Westlake Girls and Westlake Boys, who have been working hard on their repertoire this year. Our choirs attended the annual Big Sing Auckland Regionals in June, and our three premier choirs have all qualified to attend the national Big Sing Finale in Wellington late August, to compete with 21 other top secondary school choirs in the country. Our premier mixed voices choir Choralation also competed in the International World Choir Games recently, taking away 2 gold awards.
Our premier treble voices choir Cantare went to the Bali International Festival, where they took away three trophies and four gold medals. Come along to hear what they have been sharing on the international stage and enjoy some wonderful music! Tickets can be purchased here.
Community
World Vision 40-hour challenge
In June, nearly 200 students participated in the World Vision 40-Hour Challenge. They took part in a variety of challenges for 40 hours, including no social media, walking 40 km, 40 acts of kindness, planting 40 trees, and so much more. Together, we raised $10076.49.
Recently, Quincy Filiga from World Vision came to an assembly to present prizes to the top 4 fundraisers, who collectively raised $1153.33. The top fundraisers were Emily Stretton (Year 12), Ella Kirkpatrick (Year 12), Celia Morris (Year 9), and Rosa Morris (Year 11).
Westlake Girls also won a Gold Award for raising over $10,000 and a Milestone Award for 40 years old fundraising for the World Vision 40-hour challenge. Our World Vision leaders won an Outstanding Student Leadership Team Award, and the Teacher-in-charge of World Vision, Ms Sarah Woodward, won an Outstanding Challenge Organiser’s Award.
Thank you to everyone who participated!
Community
A Safe Space
A dedicated Safe Space for North Shore’s young people was launched with a celebration at Takapuna Library on Monday 12 August to mark the United Nations’ International Youth Day.
The project is a joint initiative between Auckland North Community and Development, Respect, Neighbourhood Support North Shore and Takapuna Library, with support from the Takapuna Community Activator and the Devonport-Takapuna Local Board.
From 2021 – 2023 the North Shore experienced a 100% increase in family violence, brought on by unprecedented lockdowns over the COVID-19 pandemic. Deb Humphries, North Shore Family Violence Prevention Strategic Manager at Auckland North Community and Development (ANCAD) saw the need for more outreach with local youth.
“Prevention programmes, activities and resources promoting protective factors continue to be an area of focus and priority in my work,” says Humphries.
“Community development initiatives and endeavours are all the more imperative in response to COVID-19 impacts, with an increased need to rebuild and restore social cohesion and safety.”
The intention of the initiative is to eventually create a space within a number of Auckland Council facilities where youth, and their parents, can access practical information and support on a number of topics, including family violence, bullying and mental wellbeing.
The Takapuna Library pilot will run until November 2024 and will be staffed by a qualified youth worker and counsellor on Monday afternoons from 3:30pm to 5:30pm. At other times information will be available, and infrastructure will link residents to local support. Workshops and other events will also be coordinated.
“We want to make sure young people have access to assistance outside of school hours, which has been recognised as a period of time that they cannot easily access support,” says Humphries. “We also want to let parents and whānau know about the local support services available to them.”
Library staff and collaborative partners will be receiving Heart for Youth training to support engagement with the space.
James Dunning, Children and Youth Librarian at Takapuna Library, says the library team is proud to support the mahi of the community groups involved and hopes providing a safe space with access to resources will connect young people with the help they need to meet the challenges of tomorrow.
“In a chaotic world, there are so many threats to the mental health of our rangatahi. Libraries are one of the only places which are free for everyone to enjoy, regardless of their age, gender, ethnicity, religion or ability,” says James.
The Takapuna Library Space will be launched with a talk from Grace Mua, Sustainable Schools Advisor, Environmental Services at Auckland Council. Mua will be addressing climate change, a topic that is of concern to young people, with practical advice around the things tamariki and rangatahi can do to help their community, improve their own mental health and how digital platforms can support this.
This is a free event which young people and their families are welcome to attend. There will be giveaways and spot prizes, linking people to local Takapuna businesses, including Subway, Starbucks and others.
Event Details
Talk title: From Clicks to Progress: Youth Digital Pathways for Sustainable Development
Date: Monday 12 August
Time: 3:30 – 4:30pm
RSVP: This is a free event, all are welcome.
Image: L-R: Ruth Moloney (Takapuna Community Activator); Deb Humphries ( Auckland North Community and Development); Bridget Gundy (Respect); James Dunning (Takapuna Library); Fiona Brennan (Auckland North Community and Development); Rewa Clark (Respect).
Academic
Visit to Albany District Court
On Wednesday, 7 October, nine students took part in a day trip to the Albany Court district, designed to immerse them in the workings of the legal system. The program included sessions with a criminal lawyer, security personnel, mediation experts, communication support professionals, and victim support staff, who brought along a therapy dog.
Students observed two live cases—a civil matter and a criminal trial—offering a firsthand look at courtroom procedures and how justice is administered. The experience culminated in a 1 PM discussion and Q&A session with a family court judge and a criminal court judge. The judges shared insights into their roles and encouraged students to pursue careers in law.
The visit was an eye-opening experience that deepened students’ understanding of the legal system. The judges and other professionals provided valuable advice and support, inspiring many students to explore potential careers in the field.
Arts & Culture
Cantare Tour to Malaysia and Indonesia
Cantare, our premier treble choir of 42 singers, have just returned from an international tour to Malaysia and Indonesia. The staff team included Fiona Wilson (Musical Director of Cantare), Rachel Carson (Tour manager), James Harrison (vocal consultant) and Yun-Pai Hsu (pianist).
Departing Auckland during the second week of the July school holidays, Cantare landed in Kuala Lumpur. On their first day of sightseeing, they visited the King’s Palace, National Mosque, and Independence Spare and enjoyed the views from the top of the Kuala Lumpur Tower. In the evening, the choir enjoyed a choral clinic with Chi Hoe Mak, one of the conductors at the Young Choral Academy. Chi Hoe taught them two Malaysian folk songs and then worked on some of their competition music.
Cantare toured around Royal Selangor the next day, where pewter objects are crafted and sold. The choir loved participating in the ‘School of Hard Knocks’, where they crafted ice cream bowls from a flat square of pewter.
The choir then visited the Batu Caves, climbing 272 steps up to the ancient Hindu temples at the top of the cliff. They spent the afternoon at the Young Choral Academy, joined by three choirs – Gaudeamus, VOKA and the Intermediate Choir for a cultural exchange workshop. Each choir performed a piece, and then Mrs Wilson taught the Malaysian choirs Hine e Hine and Chi Hoe taught Cantare a third Malaysian piece. Later that evening, Cantare shared a concert with the Intermediate Choir in a fantastic venue called the Glass Space. The two cultural songs from the workshop finished off a tremendous concert.
We spent our last sightseeing day in Kuala Lumpur shopping at the Sunway Mall next to our hotel. In the afternoon, everyone cooled off at the Sunway Lagoon Water Park – a welcome relief to the 38-degree heat and humidity!
The next day, Cantare travelled to Denpasar, Bali, where the Bali International Choir Festival was to be held. The Festival’s first day began with a soundcheck in the vast auditorium, followed by a clinic with one of the adjudicators, TJ Harper. TJ is an Associate Professor at Loyola Marymount University in California. He was full of energy, enthusiasm and encouragement as he worked with Cantare on their competition pieces. The singers appreciated his advice and enjoyed his sense of humour. The day finished with the official festival opening. This included a colourful Parade of Nations. Each choir paraded two representatives in cultural dress, and choristers Vydella Tamihana and Hannah Kay looked stunning wearing our WGHS Kapa Haka uniform.
The following day, Cantare visited the Bajra Sandhi Monument and enjoyed some time in the mall before rehearsal at the hotel. In the evening, Cantare performed in a Friendship concert at another fantastic venue, which concluded with a dance party on stage with all the singers!
Cantare competed in the Open division – Teenage Choir and Sacred Music on the first competition day. After competing, we had a cultural exchange with the Smepsa choir – another teenage choir from Indonesia. This was a wonderful time, sharing music and culture from each other’s countries and making many friendships. The busy day finished with another Friendship concert, this time on Kuta Beach. Cantare performed an action waiata and an action Malaysian piece, which was a favourite with the crowd. We learned that our performances had qualified for the Champion division, which meant we were going to the next level of competition the following day. Similarly to the previous day, Cantare performed new music in two categories: Teenage Choir and Sacred Music. Everyone was happy with the performance and celebrated at an Italian restaurant for dinner.
The final day at the Festival started with the Awards Ceremony. Cantare was thrilled to receive two trophies for winning their categories in the Open Division. Then, the choir was rewarded again in the Championship division, winning the Teenage Choir category (score of 92.83) and coming a close second (by .06 of a mark!) in the Sacred Music category (score of 90.48). This put Cantare through to the final round held in the afternoon – the Grand Prix – where the winning choirs from each category competed for the grand prix. Cantare performed superbly and came close to winning, although this accolade went to the Women’s Choir of Korea.
The Festival finished with an extravagant closing ceremony in the form of a musical, with three of the children’s choirs singing, dancing and acting. Then, all the Festival choirs enjoyed a farewell dinner outside the venue, which included traditional Balinese dancing, singing and fire-dancing.
The last day of the tour included visiting the Neka Art Museum, a huge complex of traditional and contemporary Balinese paintings and sculptures. Then Cantare visited Saraswati temple, which encompasses a beautiful water garden, before hitting the markets at Ubud.
Then, it was time to head to Denpasar airport and begin the long journey home. It has been a most remarkable experience for Cantare and the staff – meeting new people from around the world, enjoying learning about new cultures, and achieving great musical success on an international stage has made this tour a lifetime trip.
Career Bites
TV CEO inspires students
We were privileged to have the CEO of Greenstone TV, Rachel Antony, as our Career Bites speaker this week. She warmed up the room with a colourful showreel of Greenstone content, including drama, documentaries, reality shows and kids’ programming.
Rachel shared her own ‘wiggly’ career journey with us, from her days studying journalism at AUT, through researching for documentaries, converting a three-day temping stint at the BBC into an incredible three years of professional learning and growth, all the way to her current executive role at Greenstone.
While being honest about the industry’s challenges, Rachel also encouraged students to seize opportunities to learn, follow their interests and passions and be curious about the world around them. Participating in events such as the 48-Hour Film Festival and local or school theatre productions is a great way to build creativity and collaborative and technical skills.
Students left the session armed with new insights into the media landscape and the importance of being nosy!
Community
Father-Daughter breakfast
Join us for this year’s Father-Daughter Breakfast, where fathers or other special male figures in our students’ lives are warmly invited to share a memorable morning together.
Join us at our Term Three Fono on Wednesday, 21 August, 6:00 pm – 8:00 pm, for a night of talanoa, cultural celebration, and supporting our girls in their academic journey.
Please fill in this attendance form with relevant details so we can cater appropriately. Feel free to bring a cultural plate to share.
See you there!
Sports
Y11 student in Jr Tri-Nations Indoor Netball Tournament
Phia Marshall (Y11) recently participated in the 2024 Junior Tri Nations Indoor Netball Tournament, representing New Zealand. It involved a six-a-side competition and a seven-a-side competition.
Two teams from NZ, two from Australia, and one from South Africa participated.
Phia’s team – U15 NZ Silver, placed 4th in the six-a-side and 5th in the seven-a-side. Congratulations, Phia!
Photos from a six-a-side game.
Arts & Culture
Filipino Club Updates
Filipino Club recently held a poster and spoken poetry competition to celebrate Filipino culture. The event showcased the creativity and talent of our students.
Poster Making Competition
Students created beautiful and meaningful posters.
L;R. Winners Maria Aotearoa Cadacio, Hillary Joye Talamdon, Laurene May Dasas
Poetry Competition
Participants created wonderful poems. The top performers were Princess Joy Umayam and Amber L’ami. Congratulations to all the winners and participants for their fantastic work. The event celebrated our culture and brought our community closer together.
Uncategorized
TigerTurf transforms grounds
This year, we’ve had a fantastic upgrade to our school. Thanks to local company TigerTurf, we now have two new spectacular turfs.
They look stunning and are environmentally friendly, and students and staff alike love them.
“We are so lucky as a school to have the most modern artificial surface that provides a consistent, high-quality playing experience regardless of weather conditions. It offers enhanced durability, reduced maintenance requirements, and a safer playing environment, making it an ideal choice for our student-athletes and community to play sport on.” – Leisen Jobe, Head of Faculty, PE Health, and Sport.
L-R. Leisen Jobe, HOF, PE Health & Sport, Stephen Stones, Tiger Turf, Director Asia-Pacific, George Lewis, Business Development Manager TigerTurf, North Shore, Principal Jane Stanley, Camila Tornquist, WGHS Finance & Business Manager, Rob Nathan WGHS Property Manager.
Some comments from students:
“We like it for football.”
“There is much more give than the other turf, which had become rock hard, so it is easier for the feet and joints.“
“The bounce is more consistent than the old turf.”
“It’s great for sliding on.”
“Tackling in football – easier on the body than before.”
Read TigerTurf’s case study below and scroll on for some great ‘before and after’ pics.
Gallery of Before, During and After Photos
Community
'Educating Girls' symposium at WGHS
As a member school of the International Coalition of Girls’ Schools, Westlake Girls is extremely proud to host the Educating Girls Symposium on 6 September 2024.
If you’re interested in international thinking about girls’ education, we strongly encourage you to secure a place at this transformative event. We’d love members of our parent community to be involved.
This event offers a rare chance to meet leading educators in girls’ schooling from all over NZ and overseas. It is an excellent platform to exchange best practices, share innovative programmes, and participate in insightful discussions that will help shape the future of girls’ education
To register, please visit the event’s registration page here.
Community
Teacher Training Opportunities
If you are a recent graduate or looking for a career change, teaching might be for you. We have places available on our in-school teacher training courses offered through ASTTP (Waikato University) and The Teachers Institute
Our Dance showcase is on WEDNESDAY 21 August from 6:30pm in the Event Centre. We would love to see you there as we showcase student work from Years 10-13.
