AV O N D A L E C O L L E G E
Issue 3 > 2015 www.avcol.school.nz
Footloose! World Geography Olympiad Microsoft World Champs Nadia Lim book launch Sports news
FROM THE PRINCIPAL
CONTENTS
MICROSOFT CHAMPS
Dear Parents and Caregivers Each week at our school assemblies we enjoy celebrating the successes of both our current and former students. The sheer range, scale and frequency of these achievements, whether in academic, sporting, cultural or entrepreneurial fields, means that there is often a long list of achievements to share. Some of those making recent headlines in the popular media include International Biology and Geography Olympiad competitors Alysha Johnson and Ery Zhu; international cricketer Martin Guptill; Hollywood film and television series actor Rose McIvor (most recently seen in iZombie); chef and TV personality Nadia Lim; Silver Fern Grace Rasmussen; the Sir Douglas Myers Scholarship winner Ethan Sorrell; musician and recording artist Thomston; and of course our very successful information technology students Ellen Greenly, Azizul Islam and Di Kun Ong who all achieved a top ten result in the recent World Microsoft Office Championships. Another student highlighted in the sports pages globally was 16 year old swimmer Gabrielle Fa’amausili whose extraordinary results achieved at the FINA World Junior Championships saw her successfully defend her international title in 50m backstroke - and break another world record while doing so. Her time also eclipsed the fastest time over that distance for any woman of any age in New Zealand so she is now also the New Zealand women’s national record holder.
“We are very proud of these (and many other) extraordinarily talented students from our school who are making their mark in the national and international scene, and we are delighted by the example they set for those who follow.” The academic achievements of all students in the school were also highlighted recently when we held two community consultation meetings for Maori and Pasifika achievement. In preparing for the meeting we were forcibly reminded of the remarkable academic progress being made by all of our students, irrespective of their culture and/or ethnicity. All students at Avondale College now perform markedly above the New Zealand national figures for the secondary sector. The shift in performance of both Maori and Pasifika at Avondale is impressive and these results are a credit to their teachers, families and communities. The CIE external examinations have now begun, to be followed shortly by NCEA and Scholarship. Many students are taking advantage of the tutorial sessions being run by teachers to prepare students for these examinations as well as the IPAC support catchup sessions for completing credits in the NCEA. While there is limited time left, there is still the opportunity to make significant differences to academic outcomes by taking advantage of the support that is available. We look forward to supporting our students in their academic and wider endeavours for the rest of the 2015 school year to ensure the best possible outcomes for all. Kind regards, Brent Lewis Principal
ALUMNI NEWS
2 From the Principal Alumni News 3 W O R L D N E W S : MOS Champs International Geography Olympiad 4 World Hip Hop Champs N ATI O N AL Spelling Bee Success Model U.N. Travelwise 5 E V E N TS Footloose Spain Trip Stand Up Stand Out 6 Amnesty Freedom Challenge week Donate a Can Community Evenings: Pasifika & Maori 7 D E PAR TME N TS Gateway Careers Art Commerce 8 Drama Dance History 9 Innovation Programme 10 International Mathematics Media 11 Music 12 Science Outdoor Education 13 S PO R T From the Director of Sport 14 Kickboxing Swimming Snow team 15 Rugby Football League Hockey Basketball 16 Honours Assembly Deans Contact List Calendar
AVCOL WELCOMES NADIA HOME!
Avondale’s new atrium building was buzzing on Monday 29 August, as the college welcomed home Nadia Lim (celebrity chef and owner of the highly successful ‘My Food Bag’) for the launch of her new cookbook, ‘Nadia Lim’s Fresh Start Cookbook’. It was a stylish affair, with the Avondale College Jazz Combo creating wonderful atmosphere from the upstairs balcony of the Atrium. Guests also enjoyed tastings from Nadia’s new recipes that had been prepared by our Hospitality students. Nadia then spoke to the receptive crowd about her new book, healthy living, and what really happened behind the scenes on Masterchef! Many thanks to all the students and staff who were involved in helping to make this such a successful night!
World class: Azizul Islam, DiKun Ong & Ellen Greenly
AVCOL STUDENTS PLACE IN TOP TEN AT WORLD CHAMPS Three Avondale College students are once again on top of the Microsoft world. The teens have beaten more than half a million competitors from around the globe to place in the top 10 in the world finals of the Microsoft Office Specialist championships - for the second year in a row. The competition attracted more than 600,000 secondary and university students from 145 countries and the finals in Dallas saw only the best 145 compete. Ellen Greenly, 18, came ninth in Microsoft Word 2010, Azizul Islam, 16, placed ninth in PowerPoint 2010 and Di Kun Ong, 16, placed ninth in PowerPoint 2013.
These top results were achieved despite a few setbacks which saw the students find out two weeks beforehand they wouldn’t be able to compete in their preferred Microsoft programme due to a change in quota rules, and almost missing their connecting flight to the US after a lightning strike. The Avondale students are all part of the college’s Innovation Programme, where Microsoft applications are just one small part of the platforms they use every day to solve real-world challenges. Teacher Paul McClean attributes the students’ success to their ability to think holistically and apply creative solutions to complex problems while under pressure.
INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIAD ALYSHA TAKES ON THE WORLD Armed with a passion for geography and a sound knowledge of geographic concepts, processes and events, Alysha Johnson represented New Zealand at the International Geography Olympiad (iGeo) held in Russia in August. It was a wonderful opportunity for the Year 13 Avondale College student, who went through a rigorous testing process to be selected as part of the four member New Zealand team. Alysha’s essay on the impact of logging and urbanisation on the Waitakere Ranges placed her in the top ten candidates in New Zealand, and following a selection camp in Wellington, she then was then chosen to join the three other students (from Rutherford College, Westlake Boys and Napier Boys High School) making up the New Zealand team at the international competition in Tver, Russia from 11 to 17 August. There she joined around 150 other students from 41 countries, all vying for top honours in the international competition. The competition involved written testing and fieldwork, where students had to collect data and write a development plan to help revive the local area. The New Zealand team did well, coming 14th overall. On their free days the students were taken on sightseeing trips to historic sites such as the Red Square, the Bolshoi Theatre and the Kremlin. They also experienced local culture and crafts at a visiting art fair. The next International Geography Olympiad will be held in Beijing, China in 2016. 3 AVCOL
“It was a phenomenal experience. I loved meeting everyone from the different countries and experiencing the deep history of the place.” - Alysha Johnson, Y13
“My dream is to dance with Missy Elliot. I’d like to travel and do all that in the next few years. It’s going to take time – I need to keep working hard and chasing my dream.”
WORLD HIP HOP CHAMPS ROYAL SUCCESS FOR HIP HOP DANCER
Seventeen year old Corbyn Taulealea-Huch is a dancer with big dreams. And given the number of international medals she has collected over the past six years as a member of the renown ‘Royal Family’ dance crew, she is well on her way to achieving them. The latest medal in Corbyn’s collection comes from the World Hip Hop Championships in Dallas where the Royal Family won silver with their unique brand of hip hop that has become known as ‘Polyswag’. It’s the sixth time Corbyn has competed in the international competition; this year she also was the captain of ‘Sorority’, an eight member crew of 14-18 year olds who compete in the Varsity section. The only dancer in her immediate family, Corbyn started dancing with her cousins in their ‘Little Saints’ crew, when she was seven years old. Then in 2013 her love of dancing moved to a whole new level when she auditioned for the Royal Family’s junior dance crew. “I just wanted to try something else,” she says. “I auditioned for Bubble Gum and have been with the Royal Family ever since.” It’s no small accomplishment. The Penrose based dance company is well known in the international hip hop scene, with choreographer Parris Goebel having worked for Jennifer Lopez, Janet Jackson; featured in Born to Dance and more. The training regime is intense, but Corbyn is giving it all she has in the pursuit of her passion for dance. See Corbyn dancing at the World Hip Hop Champs with the Royal Family and Sorority here: www.thepalacedancestudio.co.nz
MODEL U.N.
Spelling ‘Maelstrom’ under pressure posed no problem for Year 10 student Jesslyn Chen, who was one of the top four left standing at the Auckland semi-final of the New Zealand Spelling Bee on Sunday 16 August. The national competition attracts thousands of entrants each year, and taking up the challenge this year was Mrs A Orange’s Year 10 English class. Jesslyn not only came top of the class, but her score sent her to the Auckland semi finals where she again spelled her way to the top. The win puts Jesslyn in the top eighteen of Year 9 and 10 spellers in the country, something Jesslyn attributes to her love of reading. The Avondale College librarian will now travel to the grand final in Wellington.
FOOTLOOSE
The energetic musical (based on the 1984 film of the same name) featured great music and show stopping dance numbers from a superb cast of Avcol students. Leads Jireh Lolotoa-Peniata (playing newcomer Ren McCormack), Junior Soqeta (the Reverend Shaw Moore) and Danielle Lesatele (Ariel,
the minister’s daughter) were superb, and they were well supported by a strong ensemble cast. Congratulations to Director Alison Nelson, set designer Walter Jenks, musical director Mathew Stenbo and all the many staff and students who worked tirelessly to make the show such a vibrant and memorable one.
- Corbyn Taulealea-Huch, Y13
SPELLING BEE SPELLING BEE SUCCESS SENDS JESSLYN TO NATIONAL FINALS
SCHOOL SHOW
SPAIN TRIP
STAND UP! STAND OUT!
The outstanding essay writing skills of three Avondale College students saw them win places at the New Zealand Model United Nations (NZMUN) Conference held during the first week of the school holidays. Shalom Pinto, Jaclyn Chetty and Shereen Lee joined 250 delegates from around New Zealand at the Wellington conference where they engaged in debate and activities around the theme of global responsibility. “Each day was full on,” says Shalom Pinto (Year 12), “with activities from the morning till night. These included the General Committee Sessions (where issues were debated from each delegate’s country’s perspective). The trip to Te Papa’s recent exhibit ‘Gallipoli: The Scale of our War’ opened our eyes to the true devastation of war and it put a new perspective on the way we went on to handle the issue over the week. We ate at restaurants which served food from our country’s region and the conference ball on the last night was great.” Held at various venues around Wellington’s CBD, including Victoria University, Parliament and Pipitea Marae, the four day conference was organised entirely by university students, who were volunteers from UN Youth NZ. There are many Auckland Regional events which take place throughout the year, and information about these can be found on UN Youth’s website: https://www.unyouth.org.nz
Avondale College dominated the Auckland-wide Stand Up Stand Out performing arts competition this year, securing an unprecedented seven spots across the five categories in the finals held at the Vodafone Events Centre on 28 August. Multi-talented Head Boy Junior Soqeta secured a place in three out of five categories – group vocals, bands and solo vocalists, finishing up with a runner up placing in the solo vocalist category on the night. This year, for the first time, Avondale College entered the dance category, with Modesty Dance Crew (led by Jireh Lolotoa-Peniata) and Elicit both making it through to the final. Continuing their run of success in other Auckland competitions, the seven piece Funky Beasts also were finalists in the SUSO competition along with Revived Rhythm and violinist Emily Kamimura who was selected for the solo instrumentalist category. This is the fourth year Avondale College has participated in the Auckland City-run event. This year nearly 30% of the finalists came from Avondale College!
“It starts with the teachers. They give up their time just for us to rehearse and we are forever grateful.” – Junior Soqeta
TRAVELWISE CLUB ROAD SAFETY EXPO
Top speller: Jesslyn Chen
Avondale College’s Travelwise crew put together a great event in the Pavilion during lunchtime on 7 August, in conjunction with Auckland Transport. Students had fun completing activities that ranged from ‘spot the hazard’ quizzes, to an obstacle course wearing ‘beer goggles’ which highlighted the dangers of drink driving. Many thanks to the Travelwise committee, AT and all the students who helped make this event such a success!
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Nineteen Avondale College students soaked up the sun-filled sights and sounds of Spain in their fourteen day international excursion during the July holidays. From modernised Barcelona to the historic cathedrals of Granada, the students (and staff ) enjoyed immersing themselves in Spanish culture while learning about historic events and local food and traditions. 5 AVCOL
AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
DONATE A CAN PUTTING ATAWHAI INTO ACTION
Avondale College showed great heart in supporting the Auckland City Mission’s ‘Donate a Can Campaign’. Led by our Safe School Leaders, prefects and the School Council, homeroom classes did a great job in collecting items of food for this worthwhile cause. Thanks to all who supported this campaign, and particular congratulations to Mr Anderson’s homeroom class who showed wonderful generosity, filling seven bags of food!
“I really enjoyed Gateway this year. It helped me realise that nursing really is the career I want to pursue.”
FREEDOM CHALLENGE WEEK
This year’s Freedom Challenge week, run by our Amnesty International Group, was in support of increasing New Zealand’s refugee quota. This busy week was well supported by volunteers and ran extremely smoothly under the watchful eye of the group leader, Head Girl, Eva Zhu. The group organised a mufti day and bake sale to raise funds and students had the opportunity of sending a postcard to Parliament to raise awareness of the plight of refugees. The total amount raised through the amazing generosity of students and staff at Avondale College was just over $4000. The Amnesty Group would like to say a big thank you to everyone who supported and contributed to this very worthy cause throughout the course of this very successful week.
Employers – If you think you could offer a Gateway student some work experience, we would love to hear from you! Email Karen Osborne: zosk@avcol.school.nz
- Courtney Humphries, Y13
CAREERS
GATEWAY WORK EXPERIENCE PROGRAMME
COMMUNITY EVENINGS TE HOUHINANGA RAU
SAMOAN LEADERS’ TALANOAGA
On Tuesday 22 September we held our annual Māori Dinner. This year the title of the evening was ‘Te Houhinanga Rau’ in recognition of the process of growth of our students as they journey through Avondale College and then onto adult life. A large number of whānau, staff, students and alumni of the school were welcomed with a pōwhiri, and then enjoyed a superb dinner and valuable discussion.
On Tuesday 8 September we hosted our annual Pasifika Community Leaders’ Talanoaga. It was an evening of shared celebration of the great successes and academic achievements of our Pasifika students. The evening was attended by significant leaders from across our community, including church ministers, cultural leaders, Ministry of Education, youth leaders, mentoring groups, parents, alumni and staff. Guests enjoyed a delicious dinner and then Mr Lewis and student leaders shared the story of our ‘Journey of Success so far’. The discussions that followed were lively and informative, providing us with many new ideas for further developing the successes of our Pasifika students. All those who attended the evening left with a sense of optimism and excitement at the opportunities for the future.
Creating great Career & Learning Opportunities - 1 day a week x 10 weeks This year work experience placements and courses were found for students in the following areas: animal care, automotive, building, banking, beauticians, early childhood, engineering, film, hospitality, IT, journalism, nursing, PE teaching, police, physiotherapy, radio, retail, teaching and travel & tourism. Gateway Student success in 2015 includes: • NZQA Results – Students have gained an average of 26 credits on the Gateway programme • Part time work – All of our students are in a much stronger position to get work, with many already having lined up part time and/ or holiday work • Apprenticeships – Congratulations to Jack Hunter who, after his Gateway work placement, has been offered a building apprenticeship! Applications for Gateway in 2016 have now closed and interviews are being conducted. For more information, please view our video online at: www.avcol.school.nz / Careers / Gateway or contact the Gateway Coordinator Karen Osborne, on: (09) 820 1724; mobile: 021 131 9901 or email zosk@avcol.school.nz
CAREER NEWS
The Pathways Planning Evening held on 22 July was an excellent opportunity for students and their parents to get assistance with option choices and tertiary planning from departments in the school and tertiary and education providers. Key speakers this term for Year 12/13 students have included key tertiary providers for course planning. Gateway applications for 2016 have closed and places will be provisionally offered in Term 4. Parents are reminded that career events, opportunities and information are all updated daily on the Careers pages of the school intranet. Careers Counsellors can be contacted on the following numbers: Jacqui Birkhead 820 1729 Judith Johnson 828 7024 Ext 556 Jo Thomson 828 7024 Ext 558
COMMERCE
ART ART AWARD RECIPIENT Congratulations to Kennitta Murphy in Year 13 who is the Avondale College recipient of the Pat Hanly Art Award in recognition of her commitment and passion for Art and the community. Kennitta was presented with the award at a special ceremony held at the Auckland City Art Gallery on Tuesday 8 September. 6 AVCOL
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Congratulations to Year 12 student Ambassadar Kauvai who received a Distinction Award in the national Economics competition!
DRAMA The Year 9 and 10 Drama Academy students successfully sat their Speech NZ Examinations. At the end of Term 2 the Year 9 Academy sat the Oral Communication Examination at the Intermediate level. In Term 3 the Year 10 Academy completed the Theatre in Action Examination at Grade Five. After a large amount of effort over the preceding months, all the students performed with enthusiasm and proficiency. Well done to all of the participants. The Academy students are now busy working towards their end-ofyear presentations. The Year 9 will present “Peter Pan” on Wednesday, November 19 in the Drama Suite. The Year 10 students are devising an original play based on three girls being transported to a fairyland to help save it from imminent destruction. This will be presented in the Drama suite on Thursday, November 19. Both performances are preceded by
presentations in the Theatre from the Music and Dance Academies. The starting time is 6 pm. In the first week of Term 3 the Year 13 Drama students presented “In their Footsteps” in the Drama Suite. These devised plays were based on the lives of famous people, such as Abba, Eva Peron, The Rat Pack and Jerome Robbins. The Year 12 Drama students presented “Irish Imaginings” in week three of Term 3. They acted in excerpts from plays written by Irish playwrights with great conviction. A large number of Drama students were also involved in the school show “Footloose” which was presented in the Theatre in the second to last week of Term 3.
DANCE The team from Avondale College danced, jumped and waved to win the Asthma Foundation’s Dance 4 Asthma competition, which saw 39 schools enter from around the country. The competition hopes to raise the profile of asthma to all children, and the community, in a fun and positive way. Kyra Aoke from the Royal Family, who judged the contestants in the secondary category, praised the Avondale dancers, saying: “You guys are really talented and your video was a good balance of fun and dancing!”
HISTORY
National education services manager at the Asthma Foundation, Teresa Demetriou, said she was impressed by the energy and enthusiasm shown by all the children. “We want all our kids to be confident, healthy and participating fully at school,” she said. “Asthma is responsible for 550,000 lost school days every year.” View their winning dance video on the school website.
The shocking impact of the Holocaust came to life for our History students in a personal way on Friday 7 August, with the visit of Holocaust survivors, Bob and Frieda Nerev. Speaking to a fascinated audience of Year 11, 12 and 13 NCEA and CIE students, the couple shared their stories of survival as Jewish children in Nazi-occupied Poland and Germany in the 1930s and 1940s. 8 AVCOL
Cindy Borrie, Communications Consultant of The Asthma Foundation with student co-leader Zoe Purdon, Principal Brent Lewis and Dance teacher Clare Jennings.
Bob, who survived two years in the Czech concentration camp, Terezin, showed students the yellow Star of David that he had been forced to wear as a child. His message was one still very relevant to today’s society: “The consequences of discrimination and persecution are so drastic,” he said, “that anything anyone can do to stop it is worth it.”
Students in Avondale College’s Innovation Programme have continued to push the boundaries both in and out of the classroom this term. Following on from their success in the national Microsoft Office Specialist championships (in which Avondale students won 11 of the top 12 places), six students were selected to compete at the world finals in Dallas in August. When the final results were announced, three Avondale students (for the second year running) were once again named in the world’s top ten within their various categories. Ellen Greenly (18) came ninth in Microsoft Word 2010; Azizul Islam (16) placed ninth in PowerPoint 210; and Di Kun Ong (16), ninth in PowerPoint 2013. It was a superb and well-deserved result, especially given the fact that our students (unlike most of their competitors) had not been part of any official Microsoft-led course. The significant effects of the Innovation Programme’s unique style of learning continue to be seen in the results that students are achieving in their industry qualification examinations. In just over one year of operating, 133 students have gained 341 Microsoft Specialist qualifications. Of these, 11 students have obtained Expert level qualifications, and more are pending. In fact the the performances this year have been astonishing, eclipsing those from 2014 in both scale and quality. Of particular note is Di Kun Ong (Year 12) who has consistently completed Microsoft Word projects with a score of 1000/1000 in only six minutes! Di Kun has led a field of no less than nine students (including some Year 9 students) who have smashed both Avondale’s own and national records. Di Kun Ong and Deon Sabu became the first students to achieve 1000/1000 in all three Microsoft applications. There are now 117 Avondale students who have gained over 900/1000 and no less than 23 who have achieved 1000/1000! Adding to these achievements, Alexander Terzaghi (Year 9), Jonathan Bolter (Year 13) and Aiden Sharpe (Year 12) became the 8th, 9th and 10th Avondale students to gain Microsoft’s Office Master Qualification! To put these achievements in context, Avondale’s results are significantly above those typically achieved by adults in a commercial
or industry setting. Another example of this is Selina Faatasi (Year 9) who gained her Microsoft Office Specialist qualification with an astonishing 869/1000 in her first official attempt. This is a result four times the adult average! Selina has now been invited to captain a team of Pasifika students who will prepare for and compete in the Microsoft and Adobe competitions, planned for 2016. Another recent project has involved piloting the introduction of Microsoft’s flagship Microsoft Technology Associate (MTA) qualification into our Cambridge Applied ICT course and the Innovation Programme. Our goal is to complement the students’ academic and/or MOS qualifications by increasing the employability of Avondale students, using MTA. Rather than teach standalone MTA courses (which are normally expensive courses and delivered at private training organisations) or even invest in mapping leading edge or internationally benchmarked industry qualifications into the NCEA framework or courses, the focus of the project was to integrate MTA examinations as the output from project based learning. Within a ten week period, 19 students have obtained a total of 25 MTA’s (at the time of writing). Gaining these industry qualifications were: Adrian Liow x 1 MTA (Y12); Aidan Sharpe x 1 MTA (Y12); Daxxon Vong x 1 MTA (Y13); Deon Sabu x 2 MTA (Y12); Di Kun Ong x 3 MTA (Y12); Ellen Greenly x 1 MTA (Y13); James Poss x 1 MTA (Y11); Jonathan Bolter x 1 MTA) (Y13); Justin Zhou x 1 MTA (Y13); Madeleine Day x 2 MTA’s (Y13); Azizul Islam x 2 MTA’s (Y12); Megh Shah x 1 MTA (Y13); Nayan Sharma x 1 MTA (Y11); Neil Ng x 1 MTA (Y12); Nia Sky x 1 MTA (Y12); Nikhil Donthireddy x 1 MTA; Punit Prajapati x 1 MTA (Y13); Shrey Tailor x 1 MTA (Y10); Yannis Tijoriwalla. Significantly, not a single instruction has been taught in the traditional “teacher at front” teaching sense. Instead students worked on their own projects in which they were able to incorporate one or many MTA examinations at the same time as developing their own proven-experience portfolio. We are pleased to note that employers are now approaching Avondale saying they are seeking Avondale candidates with industry qualifications such as the Microsoft Technology
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Associate and Office Master. This is because gaining these qualifications demonstrates that the candidate can offer the deep, proven, level of skills and thinking traits needed to gain entry and or thrive in the modern work environment. The growing reputation is well deserved. Our students have been dedicated in their early morning attendance and have worked incredibly hard throughout the holidays. Strengthening their credentials, (and validating the heartbeat of the programme) many are now nearing the completion of incredible software and/or societal improvement projects. In Term 4’s news we hope to share some exciting news regarding their exploits as well as the development of the new HP Institute programme. In that context, over 188 students have applied for the Innovation Programme next year, with news of the 2016 programme to be announced in Term 4. Paul McClean Director, Innovation Programme
INTERNATIONAL
MUSIC JAZZ & SOUL NIGHT
With more groove, funk and soul than you could shake a stick at, this year’s Jazz & Soul concert was a fantastic event. The line up featured the college’s award winning Jazz Combo (Platinum Award winners at the Auckland Secondary Schools Jazz Competition); this year’s Talent Quest and song writing competition winners, as well as performances from head prefects Danielle Lesatele, Junior Soqeta and more! With guest performances from the prestigious Auckland Jazz Professors’ band, Neutrino Funk, it was a spectacular evening of jazz.
INTERNATIONAL FOOD DAY
PLAY IT STRANGE FINALIST: KEVIN GAO
Avondale College students enjoyed delicacies from around the world at the college’s annual International Food Day. International Prefect Sayaka Kawamoto did a superb job organising the feast, and international students worked hard to prepare a large range of delicious food from their home countries. Continuing with the food theme, our Mexican students celebrated Mexican Independence Day with a pizza fiesta.
KBB FESTIVAL
MATHEMATICS
Avondale’s performance students worked extremely hard in preparation for the KBB music festival in August. The Orchestra performed in Parnell’s Holy Trinity Cathedral and gave an accomplished performance of Mozart’s Piano Concerto KV 415 (featuring Year 10 Christine Sun), followed by the first movement of Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony and Rimsky Korsakov’s Dance of the Tumblers. The orchestra was ably led by Concertmaster Genevieve Tang and the performance was a big step up from last year. On Tuesday evening the string group performed a programme of four works at St. Mary’s Cathedral Church. Again led by Genevieve Tang, they presented a varied programme of music from across all eras of classical music, including a virtuosic performance of Vivaldi’s Spring featuring Boris Guo on solo violin. On Thursday evening the Big Band performed under the direction of Mr M Robinson at St. Mary’s Cathedral Church. They performed a programme of four pieces representing a range of jazz styles, including Aretha Franklin’s Respect sung by Danielle Lesatele.
BRIDGE BUILDING COMPETITION
The mathematical problem-solving skills of three teams of junior Avondale students were put to the test at the finals of the Aurecon Bridge Building Competition in August. Competing against 53 other teams in the Auckland region, our three Year 9 teams did very well, with the team of Kaiden McCormick, Anthony Mulder and Matthew Welcome coming sixth after their bridge supported a weight of 31.3kg. The other two teams also did well, with their results of 19.1kg and 31.3kg placing them above the median result of 16.8kg. The students all put hours of work into designing and creating their bridges, and did a fantastic job representing Avondale College at the competition. The winning bridges supported a load of 78kg in Auckland, 75kg in Christchurch and 35kg in Wellington.
MEDIA
MATHEX Four junior Avondale College teams represented the college with pride at the Auckland Regional Mathex Competition held in the ASB stadium on 26 August. Fifty five high schools across Auckland participated in this event, in which students are required to solve 20 tough mathematical questions in 30 minutes under strict conditions. The Year 9 Team A (Lucy Cao, Lily Zhang, Claire Shu, Su Jen Phea) scored 85 out of 100 and Team B (Shivam Desai, Khushi Patel, Qiao Sang, Ikko Shibuya ) scored 75 out of 100. The Year 10 Team A (Dominic Tang, Faletasi Vaili, Bailey Tang, Sean Yu) scored 75 and Team B (Jesslyn Chen, Lucy Wu, Wendy Zhang, Nupur Mohini ) scored 55. Congratulations to all these students!
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FILM MAKERS INSPIRE MEDIA STUDENTS Year 12 and 13 Media Studies students gained a unique perspective into their study of funding and marketing in the New Zealand Film Industry in August, with the visit of filmmakers (and former students of Avondale College) Fraser and Tom Grut. The brothers spoke to the students about the process of directing (Fraser) and acting in (Tom) their new film, ‘Syrenia’. Their visit gave our students an insight into the reality of being young filmmakers in New Zealand and the process of creating a film – all the way from scripting and production through to post-production and distribution.
Congratulations to Kevin Gao (Year 11) who was selected as a national finalist for the Play It Strange Who Loves Who competition for his jazz arrangement of Crawl by New Zealand band Atlas. The competition was designed to encourage young musicians to celebrate New Zealand music by recording their own interpretation of a New Zealand song. The twelve finalists had their tracks mastered by Kog Studio mastering wizard, Chris Chetland. The 2015 Who Loves Who album is now available on CD, online for streaming and free download. If you would like a free copy of the CD sent to you, please email info@playitstrange.org.nz. Listen to (or download) Kevin’s arrangement here: (Track 11): http://playitstrange.org.nz/who-loves-who-competition/
PLATINUM AWARD AT AUCKLAND SCHOOLS JAZZ COMPETITION
Convincing an expert panel of top New Zealand jazz musicians to give your group a score of over 90% is no easy task – but such is the calibre of Avondale College’s Jazz Combo, that they did exactly this, winning a Platinum Award at the finals of the Auckland Schools Jazz Competition on Saturday 15 August. The group was one of only four jazz combos to make it through to the finals, with the Avondale College band ending up in the top three of the competition, alongside Lynfield College and Rangitoto College.
SCIENCE SCIENCE FAIR
Two Year 10 students represented Avondale College at the NIWA Auckland Science and Technology Fair this year. Kelly Cokorudy and Rose Yip, both of 10SLA, created projects of a very high standard. One explored the topic of head transplants and the other investigated which shampoo is best for your hair. The NIWA Auckland Science and Technology Fair is an annual event which celebrates excellence in scientific and technological investigation carried out by Year 7 to Year 13 students in Auckland city.
VIEW FROM THE DIRECTOR OF SPORT
Science fair entrants: Rose Yip & Kelly Cokorudy
SCIENCE WEEK
Students had a great time engaging in various scientific activities as part of the college’s annual Science Week in Week 2 this term. Lunchtime activities included making and planting Hypertufa Pots (Horticulture), bath bombs (Chemistry), making and flying water rockets (Physics) and observing a rat dissection (Biology). In their Friday Science lessons our Year 10 students had some special visitors from Futureintech. The Science and Technology Ambassadors (which included some former Avondale students) spoke about their careers so far. While all of this was taking place the staff and students enjoyed taking part in a science quiz throughout the week. Congratulations to the Learning Support/Development Department who won the prize this year. Each day one student with all the correct responses was randomly selected to receive a small gift. These were: Julia Ling, April Chen, Run Xiao and Tuesdae Raymond-Logo from Year 10 and Renae Larsen from Year 12. Congratulations also to April Chen from 10SLA who won the overall prize as the first student to give the maximum number of correct responses over the whole week.
OUTDOOR EDUCATION OUTDOOR EDUCATION!
Year 11 OED has been running since the start of 2015 and we have had some amazing experiences. Some of the activities have included: • Waipu Caves and Waipu Cove for surf survival, raft building, navy seals challenge, caving, rock climbing and abseiling • Avondale intermediate pool for kayaking and raft building • Rock Climbing at Ti Point • The start of the Hillary trail and first aid scenarios at Whatipu • A five day climbing trip to the Central North Island • Overnight in the Pararaha down waterfalls and through a swamp • We have also been to Goat Island snorkeling and to Woodhill for mountain biking The students have learnt about themselves, each other, outdoor skills and developed a respect for the environment.
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Term 3 is always an exciting term with the climax to all the winter seasons as well as the lead up to the winter sports tournaments. Each team has its own goals to chase and it is really thrilling to see how different groups deal with the demand of either chasing a top-place finish or moving away from the lower half of the table; all the things that make sport so rich and varied. Starting with the netball, we had many teams involved in the finals for the Waitakere leagues and the Year 9 top team finished a promising first season as runners up. Our top Year 10 team won a tense plate final and, again, show real potential as they enter the senior ranks next year. Our Premier team, in a period of transition, showed sure and substantial progress throughout the year. They finished by making the top eight at UNISS, the major tournament prior to the national tournament, and were just one win away from making the national tournament in their own right. The Under 14 rugby also had a promising year with four members of the squad making the West Auckland end-of-season representative squad. The Under 15 had a tough time in the A grade in the Auckland wide competition but the spirit and commitment they showed, aided and abetted by a large and very enthusiastic parent-led support group, gives the boys a real chance of looking to develop into positive senior players in the future. Our junior teams have shown real promise across a wide variety of sports this year: from the Year 9 boys’ football team who made the semi final of the Auckland Knockout Cup; to the junior premier team who came 5th in a tournament at Westlake BHS with many of the major footballplaying boys’ teams in both Auckland and the rest of the North Island. The exciting Under 15 rugby league squad tasted top-level competition in the College Rugby League 9-a-Side tournament. Our girls also showed a real aptitude for rugby with their own 7-a-side competition. In hockey, two of our Year 10s made the boys’ Auckland Under 15 squad, and in both girls’ and boys’ senior squads, the large proportion are still with us next year. In basketball our Under 15 boys’ team showed a real sense of
commitment and tenacity in their season, finishing in the top four at the Greater Auckland championships and then performing strongly to make the top six in the national junior championships in Rotorua. At tournament time our ever-developing squash section attended nationals for the first time for many years. That they were able to live up to their national rankings was a testament to the excellent team and the student-led drive to increase the interest in the sport this year. Similarly the badminton teams were inspired by positive coaching input from Mr Patil and the drive of students Daxxon and Dacmen Vong. Daxxon’s injury probably contributed to his missing out on national representative honours this year but he still made the finals of the Auckland Badminton Championships. Here, alongside his brother Dacmen, the pair were unbeaten in the doubles section of the National Championships. The girls also showed a real determination to improve and for the first time for many years one of our students, Jenny Ling, made the semi finals of the Auckland championships. Our girls lacrosse again performed at the top level, finishing with a strong top four finish in the Auckland competition and a top eight finish in the national competition. Our senior boys basketball team had a very settled and promising year with coach Ethan Nesbitt-Carr steadying the ship to a large degree and bringing back a sense of purpose and belief to a committed squad. The girls, under coach Tim Dennis, achieved many individual honours but as a team didn’t quite make the same level of progress that we may have hoped for. However, we did see glimpses of their immense potential and we look forward to continued progress being made by them. So another winter season passes by and I cannot let it go without registering my sincere thanks to all the students, staff, parents and volunteers who have made this such a varied and exciting time in Avondale sport!
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Mr C Jones ort Director of Sp
KICKBOXING
RUGBY
WORLD CHAMPS MEDALISTS
HOCKEY
INTERNATIONAL VISITORS
Three Avondale College students brought home a collection of medals from the World Kickboxing Championships held in Bangkok in August. This was the second year in a row that Year 11 student Jacinth Heath Pascoe had competed at the international competition. Last year she won gold in her weight division, and this year she won a silver medal. Joining her for the first time this year were Year 12 students Haamiora Parsons-Grace and Jordan Kaipo Unuwai who both won medals: Haamiora a gold and Jordan a bronze in their respective divisions. Although relatively new to the sport the boys agree that their kickboxing training has given them a new perspective: “You learn about commitment, and developing the will to never give up,” says Haamiora.
SNOW TEAM
U15 GIRLS HOCKEY
Avondale College rugby hosted Abingdon School from the UK in two rugby matches in August. In an entertaining morning our development squad (a composite group from our under 15 and 2nd XV) had a close 10-5 loss to our opponents and the 1st XV ended up losing 19-3 to the Abindgdon 1st XV. Avondale hosted the visiting group in grand fashion from the greeting and the spinetingling haka prior to both matches to the generous after match function and humble and kind words from all the student captains and speakers. A big thank you to the staff who made the day possible: Mike Perez, Uales Muaiava, Neil Bartlett, David Broadbent, Simon GabionSheehan, Chris Murphy and the many parents and helpers who contributed in many different ways to a great occasion.
The Junior Hockey girls had a positive season. For some in the team, it was their first season playing hockey, and they made remarkable progress under the skillful coaching of Jessica Taylor and Megan McLean. Despite struggling to fill the goalkeeping position for much of the season, the girls consistently displayed a great team spirit, and played through stormy and wintry conditions on a number of weeks. The team performed admirably during the second half of the season. A 12-nil victory against Epsom and a very narrow loss to top of the table Mt Roskill when the Avondale team were two players down showed how far the girls had come. The entire squad are commended for their efforts and we look forward to further feats next year. .
LEAGUE
NZ COMPETITION
Avondale College’s Snow Team competed in the North Island Secondary Schools Ski Competition (NISSSC) at Turoa over the 14th to 16th of September. This year’s competitors represented our school in the Junior Mens (Max ZecchiniDowling), Junior Womens (Amelia Carter), Senior Mens (James Robinson) and Senior Womens (Arantxa Zecchini-Dowling) Giant and Dual Slalom. All the team attacked the slope and gates with a noticeably aggressive style. Pushing yourself to the limit of your skiing comes at the risk of crashing out, which was the fate of our two female racers Amelia and Arantxa, who both after big falls at speed, somehow still managed to complete their Giant Slalom races, but unfortunately this had a large impact on their respective times (Amelia scored 2 points and Arantxa 4 points). The boys both raced well against an impressive field and found themselves gaining very respectable scores (Max 10 points and James 11 points). The second day saw all our team pitted against stiff opposition in the Dual Slalom with James being left behind by a false start and very narrowly missing out on the finish line. Our only win came from Arantxa battling through the second section of the course to pip her rival right at the line. The team enjoyed the experience and Arantxa was also very fortunate to win the top women’s prize at Tuesday night’s prize giving, walking away with a new pair of K2 Twin-tip skis! Congratulations to all competitors, and many thanks to all the parental support that allows all this to happen; we couldn’t do it without you!
SWIMMING NZ SHORT COURSE MEDALS
An outstanding week at the New Zealand Short Course Swim champs saw four Avondale College swimmers stagger home under the combined weight of 22 medals along with an assortment of national and age group records. It was a challenging event for all swimmers as they competed in the morning in their age group events and then again in the evening in the open competition. Gabrielle Fa’amausili (15 years) had a superb week, giving her great confidence prior to going into the World Junior Champs. Not only did she win six gold medals in both Open and Age Group events (50m backstroke, 50m freestyle, 100m backstroke and 100m individual medley and Age Group golds in 50m fly and 100m freestyle) and two silvers in club relays, but she also also set no less than four New Zealand records. Fourteen year old Ikko Shibuya also had an outstanding meet, collecting an Auckland Age Group record in 50m freestyle along with the gold medal, and another gold for the 100m freestyle. He also won silver in the 200m freestyle and 50m fly, bronze in the 100m fly and in the Auckland Regional relay won gold in the medley and silver in freestyle. Lucy Makaea (14 years) won silver for 50m fly and bronze in the 100m free. Having now stepped up to the Open category, Caitlin Mann (17 years) also did very well in this challenging group, winning bronze in the Open 200m Breastroke, Age Group bronze in the 100m breaststroke; silver in 100m IM, bronze in the 200m breaststroke and another bronze for the club medley relay.
BASKETBALL
WARRIORS SCHOLARSHIP FOR CAPTAIN
JUNIOR BOYS BASKETBALL
A bright future in league is ahead for George Aleamotu’a, who received two awards at the Auckland College Rugby League breakfast on Monday 3 August. The captain of Avondale’s 1st XIII was named in the Team of the Year in the CRL competition, as well as being one of only five players in Auckland to be awarded the prestigious Warriors Scholarship. The scholarship will see George take part in a full month’s trial and assessment under the guidance of the Warriors’ organisation.
This year was a very rewarding and enjoyable year for junior boys basketball. 2014 saw the start of rebuilding and developing the programme and culture of Avondale boys’ basketball. We took the principles of the school’s HEART core value statement and developed the programme around those values. As a result, we have established a core group of 20 junior players who epitomise those values of Honesty, Endeavor, Atawhai, Respect and Tenacity. We trained year-round, five mornings a fortnight and Friday after school where the HEART culture was established and embraced by the boys.
FOOTBALL 2ND XI GIRLS FOOTBALL
2015 has been a great year for this wonderful team, who came 3rd overall in their league. All of the girls displayed strength in different areas and developed well as a unit. All the girls displayed HEART throughout the season. At our end of season dinner we recognised the following girls for their exceptional displays of our school values: for H (honesty), Daphne Mudekunye who stayed true to herself and kept the team smiling. For E (endeavour), Gemma Parmentier who turned up to every training session with a keen attitude. For A (atawhai), the entire team as they all displayed kindness, to each other, teachers, referees and opponents. For R (respect), Hannah Fowler, who led thoughtfully and was an exemplary captain. And for T (tenacity), Tamar Mani who made a persistent effort to improve her game.
Mr Wheater, TIC AVCOL Snow team
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HONOURS ASSEMBLY
Congratulations to all our high achievers who were recognised at a special Honours Assembly in Term 3. Their accomplishments encompassed success at regional, national and international levels in academic, sporting and cultural fields. For more details of these achievements, please visit our website: www.avcol.school.nz Aiden Sharpe NZ Representative MOS Champs Alana Rae Drama Albert Wang Australian Science Competition Alea Carson-Huanga Dance Alex Hua Mathematics Alex Ruddell Chemistry Alysha Johnson Duke of Edinburgh Aman Zarrar Drama Ambassadar Kauvai Commerce Anastasia Fa’aui Dance Anastasia Sekene NZ Representative: Lacrosse Anosha Teirney Drama Anthony Mulder Mathematics April Chen Mathematics Asha Burdess Cipres Mathematics Azizul Islam NZ Representative: MOS Champs
Bailey Tang Mathematics Boris Guo KBB Music Festival - String Ensemble Brianna Hamilton Dance Bronte Seil Dance Bronwen Lamb NZ Representative: MOS Champs Caitlin Mann Swimming Caleb Uele Rugby League Cameron Rogers Drama Cassandra Little Drama Christine Sun Mathematics, Piano Claire Shu Mathematics Claire Xu Mathematics Courtney Voitrekovsky Drama Cullen Erson Smokefree Rockquest Dacmen Vong Badminton Danielle Lesatele Stand Up, Stand Out David Tuitama Drama
CONTACT DETAILS To contact the dean of your child’s year level, please email, or phone (09) 828 7024, followed by their extension number or use the direct dial listed. YEAR 9 Dean: Ms Sally Bowden | DDI: 820 1710 | bwd@avcol.school.nz Assoc. Dean: Ms Selina Hundley | x540 | hdy@avcol.school.nz DP: Mr CJ Healey | DDI: 820 1728 | hly@avcol.school.nz YEAR 10 Dean: Mr Ben Coop | DDI: 820 1709 | cpb@avcol.school.nz Assoc. Dean: Mrs Fredda Sorenson | x542 | srn@avcol.school.nz DP: Mr Phil Hill | DDI: 820 1701 | hil@avcol.school.nz YEAR 11 Dean: Mr Dave Dewsnap | DDI: 820 1708 | dsp@avcol.school.nz Assoc. Dean: Ms Aleisha Orange | x534 | ogn@avcol.school.nz DP: Mr John Goold | DDI: 820 1702 | gld@avcol.school.nz YEAR 12 Dean: Mr Neil Bartlett | DDI: 820 1738 | btt@avcol.school.nz Assoc. Dean: Ms Aylana Wright | x539 | wgt@avcol.school.nz DP: Mrs Kiely Murphy | DDI: 820 1700 | mhy@avcol.school.nz YEAR 13 Dean: Mrs Rhonda Donaldson | DDI: 820 1706 | dsn@avcol.school.nz Assoc. Dean: Mr Shawn Cooper | x560 | cpe@avcol.school.nz DP: Mrs Lynne van Etten | DDI: 820 1720 | vtn@avcol.school.nz
David Wang Mathematics. Science Daxxon Vong Badminton Deon Sabu Duke of Edinburgh Di Kun Ong Chemistry; NZ Representative: MOS Champs Dominic Tang Mathematics Edwin Roesli Mathematics Edwin Zhu Piano Competition Ellen Greenly NZ Representative: MOS Champs Emma Abadi Chemistry Evan Hendrie Drama Ezra Kapeteni Rugby Faletasi Vaili Mathematics Freija Evans Drama Gabrielle Fa’amausili Swimming Gavin Ninnes Sailing Genevieve Tang KBB Music Festival String Ensemble George Aleamotu’a Rugby League George Leasi Rugby League Gloria Sun Mathematics Hamiora Parsons Grace Kick Boxing Harry Murphy Duke of Edinburgh Heseti Lepua A Capella Competition Hui Ma Duke of Edinburgh Iris Guevarra Songwriting Competition Isaiah Matafai A Capella Competition Jacinth Heath Pascua Kick Boxing Jack Hooper Hockey Jackie Young Duke of Edinburgh Jacob Tuala-Dawson Rugby Jason Xavier Mathematics Jaynie Ng Duke of Edinburgh Jenny Li Badminton Jessica Ashby Drama Jesslyn Chen Mathematics Jireh Lolotua-Peniata Dance - Leader;
A Capella competition Johnny Taare Rugby Johnny Zhang Chemistry Jordan Kaipo Unuwai Kick Boxing Julia Ling Drama June Jeong Mathematics Junior Soqeta Stand Up, Stand Out Junior Soqeta A Capella Competition Ka Ho Lam Mathematics Kaiden McCormick Mathematics Kelvin Ngor Chemistry Khushi Patel Mathematics Kiahan Simons-Tipau Rugby Koreese Masae Mathematics Laura Prahash Songwriting Competition Lily Zhang Mathematics Lorna Tollemache Dance Louis Chand Snooker Lucy Cao Mathematics Lucy Makaea Surf Life Saving Lucy Wu Mathematics Matthew Welcome Mathematics Max Barrett Mathematics Max Zecchini Dowling Mathematics Mercy Fuatele A Capella Competition Minami Larsen Drama Molly Baker Drama Monica Yang Drama Natanya Cottle Drama Natasha van Etten Auckland School Jazz Band Competition Nathan Lee NZ Representative: MOS Champs Nathan Matiavi Rugby Nikhil Donthireddy Chemistry Nina Tollemache Lacrosse Nupur Mohini Drama; Mathematics
Poppy Madden Drama Punit Prajapati Chemistry Pyper Terry Drama Rana Cawley Drama Renee Cory Drama Rokaya Islam Mathematics; Chemistry Sam Liese Chemistry Samalulu Clifton Sprint Kayak; Surf Ski Scott Plumpton Chemistry Sean Mullany Rugby League Sean Yu Mathematics Shalom Pinto Chemistry Shirley Chen Mathematics Shivam Desai Drama; Mathematics; Science Shu Yu Mathematics Shyamal Shah Chemistry Simran Shah Chemistry Sitan Ding Chemistry; Mathematics Siwei Wang Mathematics Solomon Vasuvulagi Rugby League Sonia Yu Chemistry Su Jen Phea Mathematics Tai Wang Chemistry Tamira Eneliko A Capella Competition Tegan Stinson Drama Tilo Seltner-Jones Hockey Varun Kandpal Mathematics Xige Cao Mathematics You Wu Mathematics Zada Greenway Drama Zain Azimullah Auckland School Jazz Band Competition; Smokefree Rockquest Zhixin Cen Duke of Edinburgh Zoe Purdon Dance
TERM 4 CALENDAR NOVEMBER 3 Senior Prizegiving in PAC at 7pm 4-9 Junior exams 18 Year 9 Performing Arts Academy 6pm Theatre & Drama Suite 19 Year 10 Performing Arts Academy 6pm Theatre & Drama Suite 20 Sports Academy trials for 2016 25 Performing Arts Academy audition for 2016
Avondale College, Victor Street, Avondale, Auckland
DECEMBER 3 Year 13 Graduation Dinner at Crown Plaza 7 Teacher only day 10 Junior Prizegiving and final day for juniors For more details on events, visit www.avcol.school.nz/events/calendar
09 828 7024 / admin@avcol.school.nz / www.avcol.school.nz