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Education: Westlake Girls High School
Sporting Excellence Awards Westlake Girls High School celebrated their years sporting achievements at their annual Sporting Excellence Awards. The theme of the evening was Women at the Olympics as this year former student Jo Aleh became the first Westlake Girl to claim an Olympic medal when she won the Gold in the 470 sailing at the London Games. Guest speakers were Kayla Sharland (Blackstick hockey captain), and Sarah Cowley (athletics) who both competed at the London 2012 Olympics. The event was attended by 300 people. The Premier Cups went to: Sportswoman of the Year: Temalisi Fakahokotau (netball). Sporting All Rounder: Victoria Lelo. Junior Sportswoman of the Year: Yeonsu Lee (swimming). Team of the Year: Premier Badminton. Coach of the Year: Dean Beazley. Student Coach of the Year: Victoria Lelo. Volunteer of the Year: Sue Whiteman. The evening was capped off by Kayla Sharland presenting Principal Roz Mexted with a framed signed shirt from the Women’s Blackstick team in recognition of Westlake’s support as the training turf in their preparation to this year’s Olympics.
Staff Honours Principal, Roz Mexted has individually acknowledged staff who have gone well beyond
the call of duty for the school this year. Director of Music Rowan Johnston, for sustained excellence over many years and for outstanding leadership in Music, community engagement and operational quality. Librarian Megan Davidson, for vibrant Wednesday staff sessions and leadership in literacy. Specialist Classroom Teacher Tony Morgan, for service to school and his leadership of eLearning this year. HOD Maori Eddie Hudson, for leadership and sustained commitment and service to the school community and Whanau Parent Group. Sports Coordinator Debbie Wareham, for her pursuit of excellence and leadership in sport this year. Beth Beever, for sustained excellence leadership in sport (badminton) and long service to school. Trustee Beth Porteous, for her all round commitment to the Board of Trustees, Uniform Shop and PTA.
Elena Vázquez with students Yana Lazarova and Rebekah Waters.
Temalisi Fakahokotau – Westlake Girls High School Sportswoman of the Year 2012.
Premier Badminton Team Claims Prestigious Award The Westlake Girls Premier Badminton Team received the Team of the Year Award at the Badminton New Zealand awards function. This caps off an outstanding year where they retained their New Zealand Secondary Schools Badminton title and were finalists for the Junior Team of the Year at the Harbour Sports Awards.
Languages Take You Places The Language Assistants at Westlake Girls have come to live and work for a year on the other side of the world. In December we farewell Lena Becker from Germany, Camille Chanvry from France, both of whom have worked at Westlake Boys as well, and Elena Vázquez from Spain. All have taken part in a language assistantship programme organised at government level which brings young people who have finished their university studies, from Europe to New Zealand. Here they spend one or two days per week at
Presentation from the Blacksticks – Principal Roz Mexted with Special Guests Kayla Sharland (NZ Black Sticks Captain) and Sarah Cowley (4 time NZ heptathlon champion).
different schools assisting our language teachers and students, particularly with speaking skills, but also acting as cultural ambassadors for their countries. These programmes are reciprocal, giving New Zealand graduates, like our own Miss Danielle Payne, who spent a year on the programme in France in 2007/2008, the chance to live the language. Lena Becker says, “My time as a language assistant was wonderful. I really enjoyed working with the students, watching them improve and seeing their interest in our culture. I also gained an insight into the New Zealand education system, which is quite different from the German one. The chance to experience various teaching methods and become familiar with a range of resources has been very beneficial for me too, considering my future career as an English teacher back in Germany. All in all, I am very glad to have had the opportunity to work and live in New Zealand, meet the people and immerse myself in a different culture. I believe working as a language assistant is a very valuable experience and I highly recommend it to anyone who is interested in foreign languages and cultures.“
Issue 28 - December 2012 / January 2013 www.channelmag.co.nz
Principal Roz Mexted with Head Girl Zailie Gillard and Dux Tia Tuiburelevu.
Westlake Girls Senior Prizegiving Westlake Girls Senior Prizegiving was held on Wednesday November 7th. The success and academic achievements of our senior students was acknowledged and the evening was one of celebration. Our Head Prefect, Zailie Gillard not only gave an outstanding speech in her capacity as Head Girl, but she also entertained us with a moving solo performance of Andrew Lloyd-Webber’s Wishing You Were Somehow Here Again. Zailie has received an Auckland University of Technology Scholarship for 2013 and intends to study Law and Communications. This year’s Dux was Adi Litia Tuiburelevu, our Academic prefect for 2012. Not only has her academic record been outstanding, Tia has been instrumental in setting up the ‘Smart Swans’ programme. The programme was set up to provide free, encouraging and regular academic tutoring for Year 10 students by senior students to give them extra-help with Literacy or Numeracy. Tia’s leadership has been outstanding and she has shown the initiative required to make this programme extremely successful. Not only has the programme assisted Year 10 students but it has also helped to build positive inter-school relationships between senior and junior students. In 2013, Tia intends to study Law and Political Science at the University of Auckland. She has received the University of Auckland Scholarship and the Russell McVeagh School Leavers Law Scholarship.