DUKE OF EDINBURGH
SAMOAN INDEPENDENCE DAY
Students from Avondale College have been training hard and have been preparing to undergo expeditions for both Bronze and Silver awards for Duke of Edinburgh. The first practice camp included a hike through the Waitakere Ranges followed by an overnight stay, with a weekend of learning about how to read maps, plan hiking routes, and how to survive in the wilderness by building bivouacs and administering basic first aid if needed.
Samoan Independence Day was celebrated in style at Avondale College with food and fun events for students and staff. A special morning tea featuring Samoan delicacies was provided for staff, and similar treats were handed out to an appreciative crowd who gathered in D Block to see performances of traditional Samoan dancing and music.
48 HOUR FILM FESTIVAL With only 48 hours to film, shoot, edit and survive, the Rialto 48 Hours Furious Filmmaking competition is film making at its fastest and most fun! Avondale College once again put some of our most creative filmmakers to the test during the weekend of 1-3 May. Despite having their fingers firmly crossed for the genre of Horror, the intrepid 48 Hour Film team was once again given the genre of Rom Com. Compulsory elements included bread as a prop, and the line:”Oh really?” The script writers came up with an idea for a story in the car on the way back from picking up the details on the Friday night and pitched it to the team on their return. The following hours were a bit of a blur with Ms Medland’s kitchen once again being turned into a film set. (She must have been picking up bits of bread for the entire following week!)
HONOURS ASSEMBLY That Avondale College students are highly successful across a broad spectrum of areas was particularly evident at our Honours Assembly on May 6, where some of our highest achieving students were honoured for their achievements this year. Guest speaker Michael Jones presented the awards, noting that not only do these students bring honour to
“Aim for the moon. Dream. Have the courage to stand alone. Pursue your dream. Pick your friends wisely. Be the best you can be.” – Michael Jones speaking at Avondale College 6/5/15
themselves, but their achievements also bring honour to the school and the wider community. For a full list of the details of each student’s achievement, please visit our website: www.avcol.school.nz/events Phyllis Afasene Volleyball Tyler Ambler Swimming, Water Polo Madison Amituanai Swimming Kansas Anderson Polyfest Htoo Aung Basketball Camille Balducci Certificate of Excellence Kayla Brown Polyfest Jahream Bula Athletics Zhinxin Cen Certificate of Excellence Mia Chadwick Athletics Louis Chand Snooker Chanelle Chandra Polyfest Elena Chetland de Vries Athletics Jade Conlon Hockey Maddison Conlon Hockey Ruby Coombes Hockey Arjuna de Simas Oakes Music Arantxa Dowling Certificate of Excellence Tamira Enelikon Senior Girls Kilikiti Cullen Erson Music Teo-Tahi Erutoe Nepia Polyfest Miles Erwin-Atmore Certificate of Excellence Ery Ery Lacrosse, Biology Gabrielle Fa’amausili Swimming Anastasia Fa’aui Dance Tauave Fepuleai Basketball Luke Fielding Athletics. Aquathon Margaret Freeman Polyfest Marciano Fritz Basketball Reuben Goh Swimming Mikayla Graham Underwater Rugby Dong Gun Gyoung Music Mazelina Haurua Tag. Polyfest Kirsten Hill Swimming Dilshani Hondamunige Polyfest
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Timotheo Isaya Athletics Alysha Johnson Geography Irmine Kambimbi Ngoy Polyfest Sayaka Kawamoto Polyfest Miname Larsen Music Natasha Latu Swimming Tayla Latu Swimming Tony Lee Music Danielle Lesatele Polyfest Jessie Liu Certificate of Excellence Jireh Lolotoa Peniata Polyfest Xavier Loretz Certificate of Excellence Catherine Luo Polyfest Ravosoi Lusiana Polyfest Lucy Makaea Swimming, Surf Life Saving Tamar Mani Athletics Briahna Mann Swimming Caitlin Mann Swimming, Aquathon Ethan Manukuo Polyfest , Gaelic Football Daniella Matondo Polyfest Megan Mclean Hockey Callum Mcleod Music Dawn Mercado Certificate of Excellence Joshua Monga Poly Fest Sakuya Mori Tennis Juna Morita Polyfest Bethany Mottram Dance Gavin Ninnes Sailing Danielle Ortiz Polyfest Emma-Rose Owens Senior Girls Softball Sam Palffy Athletics Joshua Parker Music Kajal Patel Polyfest Isaac Pese Volleyball Shalom Pinto Certificate of Excellence Punit Prajapati Chemistry Samantha Quach Certificate of Excellence Riana Rangi Basketball Jared Rawlings Snooker
Deja Rees Athletics James Robinson Softball Mariah Ropati Basketball. Tag Teneva Ropati Basketball Lucy Rupapera Polyfest Silao Saia Senior Boys Kiliktii Anastasia Sekene Rugby 7s, Tag Mika Seltner-Jones Athletics Ikko Shibuya Swimming Lavinia Solomon Senior Girls Touch, Tag Saithan Sonsuphap Polyfest Junior Soqueta Polyfest Christine Sun Music Lilly Taito Poly Fest Genevieve Tang Certificate of Excellence Corbyn Taulealea-Huch Dance Lotolua Tautua Athletics Austin Tavita Music Penitiamo Tavita Music Nick Teau Polyfest Romiromi Teaurere Poly Fest Cherry Thanla Polyfest Amelia Thurlow Music Nina Tollemache Athletics Ligi Tongalea Polyfest Matthew Townsend Music James Unu Polyfest Tagicakitai Vaulina Polyfest Kartikey Vyas Chemistry Kalen Weir Mountain Biking Te Irirangi Williams Polyfest Rosealee Wilson Basketball Jade Wilson-Kali Polyfest Anna Wong Polyfest Jackie Young Swimming Alice Yu Head Librarian Max Zecchini Dowling Music Zhixin Zen Ultimate Frisbee Johnny Zhang Chemistry. Biology
The film starred Laura Evans and Harry Murphy and was ably directed by Myke Prayoncorn and Georgia Vincent. Nathaniel Moody did a fantastic job as editor.
“Overall it was a great group effort and a successful student collaboration that was actually handed in early! “ As usual not much sleep was had, but the team was able to keep going thanks to the energy generated by Ms Medland’s amazing cooking. The film crew would particularly like to thank all the teachers involved and Mr Lewis for once again allowing them to have the run of the school.
BRIDGE BUILDING
LIBRARY BOOKCLUB
Budding engineers put their bridge buildings skills to work on Friday 15 May, as they faced the challenge of building a load-bearing bridge using nothing but skewers and PVA glue. The winning teams will have the opportunity to enter to the Aurecon Bridge Building Competition later in the year.
After collapsing at a school rugby game, Andrew Fiu’s undiagnosed rheumatic fever left him with a severely damaged heart. A survivor of six open heart operations, the author of ‘Purple Heart’ inspired Avondale College students on Tuesday 27 May, speaking as part of the Writers in Schools Programme. Andrew had his audience rolling with laughter as he regaled them with stories from his youth as a Samoan migrant finding his feet in New Zealand. His message was literally one from the heart: “Look, we all have hard lives, no-one is immune,” he says. “The key is how to move forward despite all the drag weighing you down. ‘Tomorrow’s another day’ as they say but it’s only another day if you cruise. It’s going to be a fantastic day if you know deep down inside that you will achieve at least one thing.”
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