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Education: Westlake Girls High School
Special Speaker for
Amnesty International Former Westlake Girls student Hala Nasr addressed the Amnesty group and other members of the school community. Hala has just taken up a posting with the United Nations in New York, and will be dealing with poverty issues. She will then be going to Egypt to work with non-government organisations. Her focus there will be on assisting women and Syrian refugees. Hala is
Biology Trip to Liggins In conjunction with the LEN Science programme, 50 Westlake Girls Level 3 Biology students had the privilege of attending the Liggins Research Institute for a day. Part of Auckland University and recognised as a world-class biomedical institute, Liggins provided a great hands-on programme. Students were able to discuss different factors affecting early human development and gene expression at a molecular level. They were able to try the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) technique to clone a segment of DNA, and Gel Electrophoresis to check for the presence of certain receptor protein genes. While the results had varying, and humorous, levels of success, it was definitely great for students to experience the practical side of our theoretical teaching. Discussion with research scientists, including two former Westlake students, provided more detail into the biomedical research process and the characteristics needed to be successful. It was a very valuable experience for our students as it was well-tailored to both the current curriculum, and those interested in a future biomedical path.
also a performance poet who recently took part in a panel discussion on freedom of expression in the Auckland Writers’ Festival. Hala gave an extremely interesting and informative insight into women’s rights in Egypt. The Westlake Girls High School Amnesty group will be focusing on women’s rights in Egypt for their forthcoming annual Freedom Challenge.
Hala Nasr.
Westlake Win at MUNA Westlake Girls High School participated in the MUNA event, which is held annually at Auckland Girls Grammar School. Students from over 50 schools enter teams of delegates who take on the role of diplomats from the countries allocated to them. Westlake Girls entered three teams that represented Afghanistan, Denmark and Argentina. The Afghanistan team of Alice Allfree, Kody Cracknell and Danielle Flatman were recipients of the Best Overall Team. Before MUNA takes place, a lot of research has to be done so that each country’s point of view, about given remits, can be thoroughly debated from the perspective of each country. As well as Delegates, Westlake Girls High School also provided a Press team to record the highlights of the two days. Eleven students worked on the Press team frantically taking photographs and interviewing delegates. The guest speaker this year was David Shearer, Leader of the Opposition, who kindly granted the Press a few minutes to answer their questions about his time working for the United Nations. MUNA is an excellent opportunity for students as it allows them to experience public speaking and to develop an in-depth awareness of global issues. They also gain an understanding about the work of the United Nations. One of our past students who participated in MUNA a few years ago was so inspired she went on to gain a conjoint degree in Health Science and Politics to help her fulfil her ambition of working for the UN. She is now working for them undergoing training in New York before moving to a Syrian refugee camp in Egypt.
Kody Cracknell, Alice Allfree and Danielle Flatman.
First Place at Samoan Speech Competition Year 12 Westlake Girls student Nellie Lealaitafea Nellie competed in the Auckland Region Samoan Speech competition held at Kia Aroha College in Manukau. The topic was Fafaga Fanau i Upu ma Tala Tautala i .
Nellie Lealaitafea
Issue 34 - July 2013 www.channelmag.co.nz
Lau Gagana / Feed the children with words and speak your language. Of 22 competitors Nellie was the only representative of the North Shore, and came in 1st place. Nellie was invited to compete in Wellington at the end of June, to represent Auckland.