ISSUE 2 Tuesday, February 27th June
Dear Wellesley Community It has been an action-packed term with many highlights and achievements. The pride that I feel each day as I walk throughout the school is immense. The standard of teaching and learning, personalised to each student, has made significant progress over this year and the variety of outstanding opportunities the boys are engaging in is palpable. Not only have we seen refinement in how teachers are catering for the boys’ learning needs and a sustainment of our varied arts offerings, we have seen significant expansion, awareness and understanding of the integration of STEM into the school. Our sports teams, our choir and our Lit Quiz champions have all shone at various times throughout the term. Wellesley’s heart beats strongly, integrating the work previously undertaken and enhancing our thinking in what the future holds. Our values are integrated into the learning environment and celebrated through awarding of Gold Cards.
Mid-Year Reports
iteration of our students reports. Not only has this streamlined the hours put into generating the reports for students. Staff have further enhanced the content, with specialist teachers also completing reports and staff endeavouring to give specific and personalised feedback. We always strive for personal bests and this resonates with the work from our teaching staff.
Wellesley College Parents’ Association I cannot thank the WCPA enough for all their work this term. The integration of a Years 1-4 disco was a huge success for the boys and parents! The team of organisers who planned, set up and ran this function are truly special and it’s a pleasure to pass personal thanks from the school to all the team.
Stem I am truly thankful to the teaching staff and Jo Hawthorne for their work with regards to implementing STEM into our practice. The boys in Years 5-6 have made significant progress in our local stream with the help of Years 1-4 and their Bug Inquiry and Years 7-8 Tracking and Trapping programme. The White Bait connection has been a huge success, seeing boys ‘doing’ as part of their learning.
By now you will have seen our second Photo by Jonathan Cutts Photography
All Round Education
for 24 ½ years and will be taking a well-deserved break.
We continue to see the integration and strengthening of our sports and the arts at Wellesley. Glen Jorna has been influential in aligning the work covered in class with concepts in the art room. His initiative of Visual Diaries for all our boys is ground breaking, teaching the boys to ‘take a risk’ and seeing their process unfold.
We would like to thank Yvonne for her dedication, care and tireless efforts over so many years. Yvonne is greatly respected and we are appreciative of the time she has given to setting up countless Year One boys for success through the school.
Fleur Sadlier has been working hard for the upcoming Art and Dance Splash events and continues to prepare the boys well. We have all seen our amazing Wellesley Choir, led by Carolyn Currington, not only grow in popularity and in numbers but perform so beautifully, as seen at Bishop Ellie’s Ordination.
It has been gratifying to see our new staff working so hard to fit into the Wellesley culture. Not only do they bring a fresh outlook and life to areas of the school, they continue to learn and ask questions about how the school runs and how we conduct our teaching and learning. My heartfelt thanks go to all our staff for assisting in this transition at a challenging time of the year.
Lit Quiz Champions We all know how special it has been to see Wellesley win the National Lit Quiz final again this year. The reigning champions are off to Toronto soon, and I must congratulate the boys and thank Jane Kent for her leadership and coaching, along with Bridget Poppelwell for stepping up and assisting with the organisation and fundraising. Good luck to you all in the upcoming World Final!
Development Office Update Our recent Old Boys Day was again a huge success. This was all due to the hard work of the Senior syndicate teaching staff and organisation from the Development Office’s Margie Beattie and Rosie Torbit. It’s always nice to see how the boys still feel connected to Wellesley, and we love seeing and hearing how they are progressing post Wellesley.
Staff Matters Yvonne Odinot, who teaches our Year One boys, has decided to leave at the end of the Term 2. Yvonne has been teaching Year One at Wellesley
Andrew Herrick and Nickie Slater are currently in Baltimore attending the International Boys’ Schooling Conference. Nickie is conducting an action research project Adapting to a Changing World. Her study spans a year and will be presented back to the international community in the Gold Coast in Australia next year.
Tikanga Maori Our Tikanga Maori committee have had several meetings and are progressing the conversation about how this will fit at Wellesley. I must thank Nicole Cooper for leading this group of staff and for all the assistance from our parent body through advice and support. I wish you all a restful break and safe travels to those of you heading away. We look forward to seeing the boys return on Monday 31st July, ready for another busy and fun Term. Brendan
Wellesley at the Basin
Congratulations to Anand Ranchod and the First XI on their impressive win over the Girvan Invitational. The boys were just so excited in the win.
At the end of term 1, the inaugural Wellesley at the Basin was held, bringing together lots of our boys, their families, past parents and Old boy cricket fanatics! Again, a huge thanks to parent Peter Clinton (Cricket Wellington), who made this opportunity possible. Our bank the ANZ (cricket bat), Ohtel (accommodation voucher- donated by parent Alan Blundell) and Interislander (travel voucher), all contributed to the raffle and fundraising efforts of the PA. From the PA, thanks go to all their volunteers, but a special thanks to Angelique Sparnay, Michelle Newington, Lou and Jamie Croxford (Max Motors who supplied the sausages and BBQ, and lolly guess jar!), parent Amanda Mallett for the WATB creative artwork, and Phil Benge (Photographer) who spent all day taking photos. Thank you also to the staff, parents and umpires who all made a successful day. And lastly, thank you to all the boys for their enthusiasm to play at the Basin. The PA raised $1600 from the online/on the day raffle and other food and drink sales. The school will contribute all profits made on the day from registration to the development of Outdoor Spaces (including the Playground) which was just over $4000.
All boys received participation certificates, and the following received MVP’s: Yr 1-4 Kiwi Cricket MVPs: Michael Treacy; Cooper Gawn; Spencer Weyburne; Nick Wallace Yr 5-6 Soft ball cricket MVPs: Charlie Jackson; Fred Oppenhuis; Will Bassett; Samuel Dowell; Rory Chester; Will Bennett Yr 6 Colts MVP: Tyler Weyburne Yr 7 Team MVP: Jonathan Dowell Yr 7/8 Team MVPs: Sam Mastreani; Theo Morton The 1st x1 v invitational team, played for the glory of the inaugural Wellesley at the Basin trophy and no MVP’s were awarded! The main game of the day, a 20/20 fixture, pitted the current 1st XI against an Invitational X1 made up primarily of ex parents and Old Boys. Fittingly the game was played on the same pitch as that used for the recent test match such was the talent
on show. The 1st XI batted first and struggled early on in the face of some very tight bowling, backed up by athletic fielding and superb glove work behind the stumps.
the Junior section in the triples, this involved him dancing with a couple of girls.
To release the pressure Messers Jackson and Chawla were brought on to bowl and the runs began to flow. To restrict the flow the skipper turned to himself and the youth in the team. This move had the desired effect and the run rate slowed appreciably. At the end of 20 overs the 1st XI had amassed a respectable 128.
Efe met Nikolai Krupski in Berlin last week after four years. Nikolai left Wellesley four years ago and they were the best buddies. They had such lovely two days together, played soccer and playstation. Boys kept in touch through facetime all these years and they picked it up where they left off in Berlin.
Under the rules agreed upon at the start of the game the Invitational X1 had to chase down double the 1st XI score. Given the enormity of the task former first class players Simon Wilson and Stephen Mather were coerced into opening the batting. The two put on a master class, bringing back memories of their heyday, as the bowlers were put to the sword. Unfortunately, fitness (or lack of) took its toll and the two were forced to retire. The ‘young guns’ in the top and middle order struggled to keep pace with the required run rate and the extended boundaries and the target became too much. I fading light the 1st XI kept applying the pressure right to the end and thoroughly deserved their win and the inaugural WATB Trophy. However, the selection process for the return fixture is already underway! Cricket Report by Steve Girvan
Out of School News (our boys) Junior Rock and Roll Competition During the Easter break, Miracle participated in the National Junior Rock & Roll competition held in Wanganui. He did so well, he came first in the couples section for Intermediate Level and first in
Old Buddies Catch Up
Nikolai was still the sweet little Nikolai despite how tall he is now. Efe went to Nikolai's soccer training the next day and trained with his club and boys watched the Bayern Munich game afterwards. Krupski family sends their regards to everyone at Wellesley.
Tyler Hudig’s Barcelona Football In the school holidays, Tyler (Y6) attended a Barcelona Football Camp for a week. The camp had Barcelona Coaches from Spain. Tyler has been selected by the FCB Coaches as the player who can take the opportunity to travel to the FCB Escola in Barcelona, Spain, and continue his training for a further 2 weeks. He was the only player selected from FCB Wellington Camp. Around 80 kids attended the camp, ages 5-16 year's old. There was also one player from Auckland and four from Australia selected to train in Barcelona. This is an amazing opportunity for Tyler who has been incredibly humble about his success.
Wellington Junior Athletics Champs Henry (Year 6s) representing Karori Junior Athletics Club won a bronze medal in the 100 metres at the Wellington Junior Athletics Champs in a new PB of 14.22. This event was held in late March.
The competition encompassed athletes from the wider Wellington region, including Kapiti and Waiarapa areas. The race was close as the photo indicates. Henry ran his very best and was beaten fair and square by faster runners.
Braith Osvald Smith’s Opera Success Earlier this Term, Braith was offered a part in the children's chorus for the New Zealand Opera production of Carmen, which is playing in Wellington 1 Jun - 22 Jul. The children play a group of street urchins and have to sing in French. Braith’s singing teacher at Wellesley, Kate, suggested his parents send him for an audition. There were 12 roles and apparently 60 children, many of whom were experienced child performers, auditioned. Braith had never auditioned or performed in this way before, but he obviously impressed the organisers with his voice and was offered a role. He was thrilled and attended many rehearsals leading up to the show’s opening night.
Foster Hope Pyjama/Mufti Day Earlier this term, our Student Council organised a pyjama/mufti day to support children in Foster Care. The boys were asked to either bring in a new pair of pyjamas or to bring along a donation of $2 or more. Every $10 donated allowed us to buy another pair of pyjamas. These were presented to a representative from Foster Hope at a Monday Chapel.
Key Dates - Term 3 Monday 31st July Friday 4th August Monday 7th August
Parents donated 171 pairs of snug pyjamas, 3 lovely blankets and over $900.00 in cash, which after consultation with Foster Care, was used to buy toiletries – body wash, shampoo, toothbrushes etc
Monday 14th August
Thank you for so generously supporting both these very worthy causes.
Thursday 31st August
Thursday 17th August th
Thursday 24 August
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Winter Drive
Monday 4 Sept Thursday7th Sept
The recent Winter Drive was a huge success. Piles of coats, hoodies, fleeces, jackets and shoes for refugee children flowed into the school during April and May. These donations will help children have a warmer, healthier and happier winter. Thank you again, for making a positive difference to other children’s lives!
Monday 11th Sept th
First Day Term 3 Year 7/8 Dance Queen Margaret College Parents’ Assoc. Meeting Dental Van Arrives on Site Artist in Residence Arrives Hadlow Fixture (Home) HIBS Fixture Scots Fixtures (Home and Away) Art Week Begins House Breakfast – Marlborough/Wellington Parents’ Assoc. Meeting
Monday 13 Sept -
Artbourne residency and
Saturday 16th Sept
student art exhibition
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Thursday 21 Sept Monday 25th Sept – Wednesday 27th Sept Friday 29th Sept
Grandparents’ Day Auckland Choir Exchange Term 3 Ends
Kids’ Lit Quiz
seats and the official welcome complete, round one of the quiz began. The topic? Authors.
Our boys had an outstanding victory, and our World Champion Lit Quiz status will be defended after this year’s team won the National Championship at the National Library on Sunday 28th May. The World Final will be held in Toronto, Canada at the end of June and will be streamed live via the internet. See the following website for details: http://www.kidslitquiz.com/home.php
In the early phases of the quiz, the teams appeared to be rather even, with Wanganui Intermediate inching ahead before falling back. Around halfway through the first division, however, we really got going and roared up to first place with a sevenpoint lead. We lucked out when the second round’s category of Illustrators was announced, as we knew little about these essential accompaniments to literature. Wanganui clambered up the points ladder, and at the end of the round they were only four points behind us!
Lit Quiz National Final – report So, here we were. Once again, with an almost entirely new team, Wellesley College had triumphed against the other schools in the Wellington region and were destined for the national finals on May the 28th. Thrilled at our victory, we swung right back into our practice schedule, albeit with large changes in the way it ran. No longer were we simply answering simple, straightforward questions about books; now we had switched to accommodate the new, ambiguous, long-winded format of questions on the lives of authors, the opening lines of books and many other diverse subjects. The format of the entire quiz changed as well, with the questions consisting mostly of statements about a book’s characters, plot or author. Along with that, the answering system changed, with buzzers providing a way to let Wayne Mills, the quizmaster, know that we had an answer. We had to train our reflexes, knowing when to hit the buzzer and when to wait for more information, since the heightened stakes of the final meant that if you get a question wrong, you lose a point, as opposed to answering correctly and gaining two. Finally, the big day rolled around. We arrived at the National Library of New Zealand, understandably a little nervous. I mean, we were defending the school’s international title! The pressure was definitely on. At one o’clock, with everyone at their
The final round before the break commenced, and the tension was high. We thought, when we learnt the topic was Plot Summaries, we would do well, but by the fifth question, it was clear we were losing ground to our opponents. For a period, in fact, Wanganui was actually ahead of us! We managed to get a point back, but the situation was serious. The break came and we refreshed ourselves. William Chandler, Tom Adams and Archie Chandler, coming to see how we did, gave us helpful advice, of which we gladly partook, and offered us barely-chewed gum to go in our water bottles, which we declined. Twenty minutes later, then quiz began again, and luckily for us it was the round we knew we would make a killing in: Book Beginnings. Questions came and went, and as they rolled around, our score went up… and up… and up. Ms Kent’s intense training in this area well and truly paid off, as quite a few beginnings were ones we knew. As the fifteen-question round ended, we had finally regained a six-point lead. We knew we couldn’t be cocky and remained on our guard, because we knew all too well that our placing could easily be eroded away in a flash. The last round - Families - was announced, and a collective groan rippled through the room. We enforced a policy of ‘only buzz if you’re certain’,
which paid off as, although Wanganui got two points, they later lost one on an incorrect answer which we proceeded to get right. The last question ended, the scores were tallied up, and with that we realized something. We had a seven-point lead on Wanganui. We had won the national final. We were going to Toronto! Our placing was announced and, amidst raucous cheering, we walked up to Wayne and received the trophy. For only the third time in the history of the New Zealand quiz, we had managed to defend our title. All I have to say, is look out Toronto, you’d better get ready for Wellesley College! Harry Hampton (7/8T)
Robocup Challenge On Saturday 27th May, Joshua Langford, Barnaby Stevens and Daniel Andrews came first on a Robotics competition at Victoria University. We stressed quite a lot during the preparation for the competition, but it was fun in the end. We had to choose a song (We choose Fireflies by Owl City, we originally chose 99 zig Luftballons, but we ended up changing it). Then we had to dress the robots in firefly costumes and programme them to dance. Finally, we had to choose what we were going to wear and dance ourselves. It was quite an exciting adventure with numerous breakdowns. Joshua Langford I cannot thank the staff enough who were involved; Jo Hawthorne, Andrew Tait, Andrew Herrick and of course our own World Champion Lit Quiz Coach – Jane Kent! The boys are always the focus and they shone brightly at both the Kids’ Lit Quiz and Robocup events! I must congratulate their perseverance, their risk taking and the respect they showed prior, during and after the event. Humble in victory and representing Wellesley with great pride!
The Stream – STEM is going so well! Over the past couple of days our Year 5 and 6 students have been working as scientists, exploring and gathering data about our school stream. It has been really great to see the boys all enthusiastically engaged and having lots of fun while learning so much. The boys have used nets to investigate the living creatures in our stream, and along with a range of macroinvertebrates, the boys have been astounded to catch a long finned eel, koura (freshwater crayfish), koaro and banded kokopu (both native fish) as well as newly hatched juvenile whitebait. The boys are gathering data which will form the basis of our new stream database so that over time we can look for patterns and hopefully improvements in the health of our stream. They have learnt how to measure clarity, speed, pH, conductivity and the temperature. Our students will also use the data they collect to come up with their own action plans that they will go on to implement. These may include riparian planting, educating our local community and improving habitats specific to the creatures we have already.
Thank you to all the parents who have come along to help out and Liz and Sarah from Whitebait Connection. Next week the students will be investigating Korokoro stream and comparing their findings . Jo Hawthorne (STEM Teacher)
Our world is longing to be changed. It is desperate for more artists. Our wonderful teachers nurture young artists every day. Glen Jorna (Head of the Arts)
Performing Arts
I cannot thank Jo enough for her work this year. Like all our staff, she is truly gifted in teaching boys and is bringing the classroom outside! Her development of the key capability – Observation – and integration of a variety of local issues the boys are engaging in is truly fantastic.
Music has been our focus in Performing Arts this term and our boys are flourishing.
As I regularly comment, we are so lucky to have all the boys with us to share time and have an opportunity to learn together as a family. I congratulate the boys involved and encourage them all to continue on their personal journey with Wellesley.
In Years one, two and three we have experimented with body percussion and rhythm instruments, including responding to stories, making soundscapes and conducting. Dechen visited us with her handmade Shamanic drum, where we let the drum tell us a story.
Wellesley in the Arts “It is the supreme art of the teacher to awaken joy in creative expression and knowledge” Albert Einstein We are so fortunate to have a team of dedicated teachers who provide wonderful opportunities for our boys to express themselves creatively on a daily basis. Fleur, Carolyn, Mary-Anne and our Itinerant music teachers give of themselves, in body, mind and spirit, to ensure that our boys are enriched through an exciting Arts programme - one that challenges them, exposes them to different things, and one that encourages them to find their true potential. It is through this guidance and expert knowledge that many of our boys learn more about themselves as painters, sculptors, musicians, dancers, actors, singers and as fine, young men, ready to provide the world with what it needs the most - more artists!
"Strike" visited our school to perform for us and we were certainly inspired by their different types of percussion, their energy and awesome style!
Years four, five and six have been fantastic on the recorder, exploring notes, rhythms and tempo. They have been practicing and performing songs, including their own composition. Our boys are enthusiastically learning new songs to sing in preparation for Artsplash next term, where we will join other schools at the Michael Fowler Centre to perform together. Year seven started the ukulele, learning strumming patterns and chords. They also explored their creativity using web-based music composition software. Some sound lab experiments produced great results! Year eight elective boys are working collaboratively to develop improvisation skills while continuing rehearsal of their script. We have learnt about dramatic devices and skills, flexibility, time management, cooperative collaboration, scriptwriting and extending our divergent thinking.
Keep an eye on our boys in the future; we certainly are a school full of performers! By Fleur Sadlier (Performing Arts teacher)
Choir About two weeks ago Reverend Ellie asked the Wellesley choir to sing for her at the Saint Paul's cathedral in Wellington for her special event. This sounded like lots of fun and a great opportunity to show what we could do. We performed two songs, one of them being Truly Brave, which she requested. In order to perform at our best, we had to have a rehearsal where we were told we were performing in front of 1000 people but we were up for it! When we arrived, the cathedral was already filling up with people. It made us realise what an important person Reverend Ellie is to have this amount of people come to her special event. Next thing Mrs Currington was standing up and we were about to perform at our best. I think we did exceptionally well! Adam Raitt (Choir Captain) “Music is a more potent instrument than any other for education, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul” Plato As the boys performed at the cathedral this quote could not be more accurate. They sang with all their hearts and touched the souls of everyone there. To play a small part in this incredible occasion was a huge honour and one I know the boys and myself will never forget. As we move ahead to the upcoming events the boys are working hard to prepare new music and
challenge themselves by singing in both maori and latin. This week we joined Queen Margaret College for our annual exchange where both choirs sung two songs together and then sung a selection from their own repertoire. It was an exciting event where the boys got to mingle with the girls and join together in singing which is truly spectacular. Not to mention the pizza lunch that followed the event - also a highlight. This week we have Hereworth School choir here, in this exchange we will join them for one song then they will sing for the whole school. Please feel free to attend either concerts. Hereworth exchange Thursday 29 June 2.10 in the hall
Inaugural Choir Exchange to Auckland The growing talent and developing success of our own school choir has meant that we will be having our first exchange to Auckland next term. I was fortunate enough a couple of weeks ago to meet with the schools in Auckland that we will be singing with and they are all very excited about the boys sharing their music with them. They are going to visit Kings, Saint Kentigerns and Saint Cuthberts. During these visits we will be singing some songs together with each school choir and then perfo rming a bracket of our own repertoire. The boys have been rehearsing hard to ensure they are ready to be the best they can be. It is an exciting and busy time to be a member of the school choir and I couldn’t be more proud of each and every one of them. They sing with passion with their singing touching the hearts and souls of any audience. Carolyn Currington (Choir Master)
Visual Art This term, the boys have been creating artworks experimenting with various types of painting
mediums. The theme for the boys’ artworks usually centres around classroom inquiries so they have a strong foundation for turning their ideas into artworks. Our Year 1 and 2 boys have been looking at Maori legends and Maori symbolism. In art lessons, they have been sharing the story of how Maui and his brothers slowed down the sun. They drew some
painting tools. After this, they drew some different jungle animals, including a jaguar. They sketched their jaguar into the background scene, so it would like the jaguar was hiding in amongst the plants. Finally, they painted their jaguar using a variety of colours and metallic paints. I love the way they were able to capture the cheeky expression of the jaguar, peering through the leaves and vines. The Year 5 and 6 boys have been involved in the Whitebait Connection project this term, with their focus on the local stream that meanders down beside the school. Observational drawings and sketches of the stream formed the basis of the beginning lessons in art - a lovely way for the boys to sit, be still, observe and draw the wonder of nature. Back in the art room, the boys turned their drawings into new compositions, and sketched these onto canvas paper. I then introduced them to Impressionism, showing them famous works produced by Monet, Renoir and Berthe Morisot, specifically looking at their painting techniques. To try and capture their painting style, I got them to apply a watercolour wash, and then apply the acrylic paint quite quickly, with only using their finger as the paint brush. The results have been
initial drawings in their Visual Diary, showing the sun being snared by Maui and his brothers with ropes made out of flax. These were inspired by the beautiful illustrations by Peter Gossage. They then painted a sunrise background, with a large sun rising up out of the ground. I love the way the boys were able to capture the angry expression on the sun’s face, and how they had a go at painting Maui as a silhouette against the fire of the sun. Our Year 3 and 4 boys have been undertaking a Zoo inquiry. This was the perfect opportunity to introduce them to the jungle paintings of Henri Rousseau. The boys produced some beautiful observational drawings of jungle plants and flowers, and then painted these onto a textured background that they created using a variety of
astonishing - beautiful, expressive, unique landscape paintings that capture the ‘impression’ of what they observed. Our Year 7 boys have been refining their painting style by producing eye-catching, abstract word art paintings, based on the work of Paul Klee. A personal quotation is included in their designs, and then the positive and negative spaces around the lettering are painted, using a limited colour palette. Outlines, patterns and other symbols are then applied using sharpie and metallic pens. The Year 8 elective boys had an amazing opportunity to visit the Petra Cortright exhibition at City Gallery this term, and then participate in a workshop that incorporated dry brushing and collage. They also took part in a digital painting workshop at Captial E, where they were shown how to create their very own digital painting, using found images and a free programme called paint.net. The boys really enjoyed it, particularly when they were able help create a collaborative, virtual 3D painting. In class, they are currently pursuing their own individual passions, and are working towards producing their own piece of work
that will hopefully be finished by the end of the term. It has been a wonderful, creative term in the art room, and we look forward to many exciting events happening next term, with our artist in residence programme, as well as the eagerly awaited Art Week activities that culminates in the student art exhibition. By Glen Jorna (Visual Art teacher)
Orchestra Violins, trumpets, percussion, a recorder, cello and saxophone and even a euphonium! The Wellesley Orchestra just about has it all. This team of enthusiastic and hard working musicians met for the first time in Week one of Term 2 and gave their first public performance just six weeks later in school assembly. Playing in front of your peers can be daunting but we loved it and the orchestra boys were true professionals. We are working on building a repertoire to perform at special school events and in the community in the coming months. Thanks to Andre Paris (conductor and Wellesley’s woodwind tutor), parents for support at home and boys for their commitment and determination.
Rockband
STEM
The 2017 Rockband is off to a flying start. Working with ten energetic and talented senior boys, most with noisy instruments in their hands, can take special energy reserves.
The boys have had a great term experiencing a wide range of STEM based activities.
Band tutor Rob Joass (also Wellesley's guitar tutor) had the boys up and performing to a high standard in no time and the band was enthusiastically received by all at an assembly earlier this term. What a great showcase for the school. We are aiming high and all going well, will enter the Intermediate Schools' Battle of the Bands later in the year.
And a special mention to‌.. Individual performers at school performing assemblies, weekly chapel services, and special school occasions. Thank you! What is a gathering without music? You make it special. Mary-Anne Morgan
There has been a real focus on science in the Year 5 and 6 Syndicate. Working with The Whitebait Connection, we conducted an investigation into the health of our stream that runs through our school property. Working like scientists, they gathered data about the clarity, flow, conductivity, temperature and the variety of living creatures in our stream. They then repeated the investigation at Dry Creek in the Belmont Regional Park. This then allowed them to make comparisons between our stream and one with very little human intervention. Throughout the lessons they’ve been thinking about the importance of water and conservation. These classes are now starting to
develop action plans which they will implement and over time we will continue to monitor our stream to see if we can improve the health of it. The boys thoroughly enjoyed investigating the stream and taking the time to observe closely what is there. They have then also applied their observational skills in the art room, completing some creative art pieces with Mr Jorna as well as integrating their science within their classroom programme. Some of the other classes have continued to develop their skills in collaboration and problem solving by working on a variety of STEM challenges from firing ping pong balls to making hovercrafts. Programming robotics has continued with some classes programming their robots to race and participate in sumo wrestling
keen students enter the Junior Robocup Theatre Challenge held at Victoria University. These boys took first place and are off to represent Wellington at the national competition in Dunedin next term. Our Year 8 Makerspace elective has been very successful with boys learning a range of new technology including 3D printing, MaKey MaKey and LittleBits. They also had an amazing visit to Te Papa’s new virtual learning lab, Hinatore. Here they got to create virtual reality art works and design places and turn these into virtual worlds. I am just in the middle of conducting a review of how our science programme is developing and where to from here. One of the key findings from our initial review, is that parents would like to be more informed about science happenings at Wellesley, so next term expect to hear a bit more and hopefully see some more images via SeeSaw. Jo Hawthorne
Sports We have had another successful busy term in Sports across the school with boys having a range of opportunities to try new sports and develop skills in their individual passions. Boys have entered the winter season with much enthusiasm and gusto to matches. Our younger students have been looking at making observations at everyday things around them including things that roll, water, ice and magnets. The tracking and trapping programme continues with just the one mouse caught in the past month. Class teachers have been doing a fantastic job of including STEM and boys have been cooking, building, making, filming, programming For the third year in a row, a team from Wellesley College won the Hutt City STEMM (Science, Technology, Mathematics and Manufacturing) Junior Student Challenge. We also had a group of
show their best at rugby, football and hockey as well as several other sports. In the senior school, boys have enjoyed Interschool traditional fixtures against St Marks, Huntley and two excellent exchanges with Hereworth and St Andrews College. The boys from all teams have shown excellent determination, sportsmanship and skill in all these fixtures and have represented the school well. The 1st XV and 2nd XV rugby teams have enjoyed some tough games but are progressing every week with our new coaches Rodney Sooialo and Mr Hainsworth. The 1st XI hockey are getting together as a team and are developing their individual technique and tactics under Mr Ranchod and Mr Herrick. The 1st XI football team have impressed with some wonderful possession based football, with clever movement and high energy and we can boast 3 other senior teams, all who play at a very high standard.
have been 8 basketball teams from across Year 6 to 8 competing in the Karori and Hutt Basketball leagues on various weeknights. Wellesley have again had two waterpolo teams training and competing hard every Wednesday at Naenae pool, and getting better every week under the watchful eye of Coach Calum. David Stirling has again done a great job in organising an Underwater Hockey team to represent Wellesley at two tournaments this term. In the Middle School, boys have been given the opportunity to trial for one of the four Colt’s teams and these teams have enjoyed competing against Huntley, St Marks and Hereworth and are looking forward to visiting Scots in Week 10. Boys not involved in these teams continue to try hard to develop their skills and understanding in Sport and PE lessons.
The boys have enjoyed the billeting experience and were great hosts for both Hereworth and St Andrews and the boys in the first teams are looking forward to seeing their new friends in the return league, when they go on South Island tour later this month. As well as the main winter sports, we have had other exciting opportunities for the boys. There In PE across the school we have been concentrating on skill acquisition in a number of invasion games and we have been lucky enough to have Terry Stalworth from Walter Nash Centre and the Karori Swifts Academy come to coach the boys basketball and football, respectively. Some boys have also been lucky enough to experience Liam from AFL NZ, come out to show us a bit about the game of Aussie Rules. Boys continue to develop their love of movement and physical activity and develop essential skills such as teamwork, empathy and respect for the game whether we win or not.
I look forward for the boys continuing to take risks in the sports by trying new things, persevering to get better and develop and show good sportsmanship in all their endeavours across the school.
The 2017 Head of Student Council is Samuel Halton and Deputy Head of Student Council is Krishan Cox.
Jeremy Field (Sports and PE Teacher)
Service at Wellesley
Student Council Every alternate Friday the Wellesley Student Council meet. Two representatives, elected from each class, put forward suggestions, that have been voted on from their class meetings, they would like actioned. These range from canteen issues, always a popular topic, to forming interest groups or raising money for charities. This year the student council worked hard behind the scenes to support the Year 4 initiative to provide pajamas and toiletries for children in foster care. A fishing club is being formed, the suggestion to purchase school kayaks is being explored and the canteen staff regularly field requests for a range of food related suggestions. The student councilors are a committed group who give the students at Wellesley a voice. Student Council Class Representatives 2017 Year 2 Eddie Hayes/Richard Usher Year 3 Frankie Treacy/Hugo Jones Year 4C Jack Jones/Joe McGrath Year 4N Asher Robertson/Quinn Gillies Year 5C Charlie Jackson/Hugo Plimmer Year 5P Jason You/Jonathan Weir Year 5S Rishi Clinton/Dillan Rajanayagam Year 6L Josh Harvey-Green/Felix Middelplaats Year 6O Ben McLanahan/Otto Smale Year 6S William Van Rij/Toby Breslin Year 7G George Guy/Dylan McArdle Year 7N Sam Mastreani/Kienan Smith Year 7/8B Theo Morton/Benji Anderson Year 7/8T Jack Riley/Krishin Cox Year 8H Thomas Stevenson/Samuel Halton Year 8R Luca Cozens/Micaiah Read
Michelle Norton
“The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.” Mahatma Gandhi This year we have introduced into our programme an element of ‘Service’ as we feel it supports our focus on developing the whole student. We are fully committed to instilling in our students a strong sense of social justice and to help them understand that there is a growing inequality throughout the world; therefore increasingly there will be a need for them as individuals to take action. At this stage the Service programme is a trial, with the boys in Year 7 and Year 8 undertaking the trial. The Year 8 boys have undertaken to support the White Ribbon Foundation and we have hosted on two occasions Richie Hardcore who is a White Ribbon ambassador. Richie has spoken to all the boys across Year 6, Year 7 and Year 8 on family violence and being good male role models, as well as taking to parents at a recent evening meeting. The Year 8 boys are now deciding how best to raise funds for White Ribbon.
Year 7 have undertaken an inquiry unit entitled Paying Forward. As part of the unit boys from 7N visited a number of elderly folk in Eastbourne for afternoon tea and a chat. The boys had all baked muffins the day before and went armed with a number of questions so that they could gain a greater understanding of what life was like around the 1930s and 40s. The feedback from the boys and the elderly was incredibly positive. Both groups wanted to know when the return visits were happening!!
By forming partnerships within our community and beyond we can achieve significant things and make a positive difference. This involvement is not only meaningful and rewarding, it also enables our students to better understand themselves.
Paying Forward For our inquiry, Paying Forward, 7N and 7G have been looking at people, and organisations, that give back to the community. We had a number of speakers from charitable organisations come out and talk to us, researched about a charity that we chose and gave class presentations. Then we had to get into groups of five or six and think about what we could do to fundraise for chosen charities. We had to come up with a few ideas that would either raise money or directly help others. One of the things 7N did, for our Paying Forward inquiry was, in groups of four or five, to visit a chosen senior citizen for either morning or afternoon tea in their own homes. We talked to them about some questions that we came up with as a group. The day before the event we made some chocolate muffins in the school hall. We baked about 12 muffins in each group. When we went to the houses we shared the muffins with the adults and, if there were any left, we got to eat the rest. We asked a lot of different questions about our host’s childhood and what it was like as a child when they were young. When it was our group's turn to visit someone, we had the luxury of going to meet Mr Girvan’s parents. Mr Girvan Snr had some amazing stories to tell. At the age of 12 he got kicked out of his own house, because his parents couldn’t afford to support him, and went to work on a farm as a farm boy. He had his own cottage and had to cook his own food and clean his own clothes. When he wanted to see Mrs Girvan he had to take a train for 100km and bike another 100km, which goes to show that back in those days people
had to travel far because there weren't any planes, to reach their friends or family. After all the planning and arrangements, we managed to go and see people who invited us to their houses, talk to them about their life and what they did as a child. Going to their house was what we called “Paying Forward.” From the muffin baking to the conversations, we all had a great time. We are very grateful to these people for inviting us to their homes and we would love to see them again. Sam Mastreani and Ari Bonar
Senior Debating Team Well done to our 2 senior debating teams who earlier this term secured one win and 1 loss (by a narrow margin) to the girls at Samuel Marsden. Well done lads. You presented convincing arguments and did us extremely proud!
Wellesley (Young) Old Boys Back to School Day It was great to see all the (young!) Old Boys that made it 'Back to School' last Friday 2 June, it was a great turnout and really wonderful to catch up with them. Over 90 Old Boys turned out to watch the rugby, guzzle pizza, participate and enjoy the boys’ assembly and be part of the sporting clashes including the House Tug of War!"
40 Hour Famine For the 40 hour famine, Quinn did 40 laps of the block (approx 20km) starting 6pm Friday and finishing 4pm Saturday. Mostly walking and running with about ten laps of biking
most of my best friends. All of us had an animal we had to research, mine was the ostrich. We couldn't find all the information on the ostrich, only a few facts. My group and some others went to ‘our neighbours’ which meant we saw Australian animals. There was a trampoline and also some more activities. I liked seeing the kiwis, but it was really dark inside the room where the kiwis were. I was really hungry after we tried to feed the giraffes so we had lunch where the giraffes stayed. After lunch we did some more researching on our animals, then we had some free time because our group had finished our research. We saw nearly all the animals at the zoo. At the end of the trip I went back to school with James D’s mother again with the same class mates. His trip was probably the best so far. I wish we could go to the zoo again. Aidan Zhang
Kai and Kōrero Year 4 Zoo Trip ‘It’s
going to rain’ I thought when I was in the car. On June 13th both year four classes went to the zoo. The weather forecast said it was going to rain but it turned out to be sunny. We went to the zoo to find out more about animals. I travelled to the zoo with James D’s mother and some other boys, we had to go to school first. 4C and 4N went to a zoo classroom to learn more about animals. 4C made some food parcels that had dirt, leaves, sticks and sunflower seeds inside. Then we fed them to the keas. 4C and 4N had groups of five and four. All our groups had a parent to look after us, my group was
Reminder: we would love for Wellesley whānau to join us for 'Kai and Kōrero' on Tuesday 1 August at 3.30pm (week 1) in the Staffroom. This is an opportunity to meet other parents, friends and staff to chat about what you would like to see over the next few years regarding Māori and Te Reo Māori at Wellesley. Please click the link https://tinyurl.com/yboldtvu to rsvp so we can cater accordingly. Ka kite ano,Wellesley College Māori Curriculum Group
Citizenship Awards All the children in the school anonymously voted for the two boys in their class whom they respected most for their integrity and caring behaviour towards their classmates. The following boys gained the most votes. Many were very close behind and over the year I am sure we will see a good cross-section of names. Class Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4C Year 4N Year 5C Year 5P Year 5S Year 6L Year 6O Year 6S Year 7G Year 7N Year 7/8B Year 7/8T Year 8H Year 8R
Names Toby Dickinson and Max McArthur John Nguyen and Kiwa Te Kani Harry Doddrell and Frankie Treacy Ralph Kirkland and Archie Ferguson Cole Richardson and Sebbie Dadic Guy Hargreaves and Tommy Brow Louis Marsden and Johan Marshall Alastair Bailey and Gethyn Healy Josh Harvey-Green and Rishi Kharkar Otto Smale, Anupa Aluvihare and Theo Davis Ariaan Rasheed and
discussions centred around what it means to be a young man and how to treat women with respect. On Thursday, prior to speaking with parents, Richie once again discussed the hard questions centred around how young men are central to achieving the social change necessary to prevent men’s violence against women. He also discussed how our young men are being negatively affected by digital technology, including the access to pornography. The evening was very thought provoking and extremely interesting. Richie thoroughly enjoys talking with our boys and his recent feedback included; "Thank you for having me and for having such a deep desire to effect change in our culture. It's really commendable how much your school cares about the all-round development of your students."
Sam Mastreani and Miracle Savea Gaurav Navalkar and Matthew Allen Hugo Cohen and Henry Isac Sam Fernyhough and Thomas Stevenson Harry Zangouropoulos and Max Moir
Richie ‘Hardcore’ Steward – White Ribbon Ambassador White Ribbon Ambassador, spoke to parents on the evening of Thursday 15th June in the Centennial Hall. Richie had previously spoken to the Y7 and Y8 boys in Term One and was a real hit with his forthright and honest approach to difficult
School Uniforms With the up-coming break, it’s a good opportunity to assess the boys’ uniforms. Some of the blazers are looking a little in need of dry-cleaning and ties a little mending and/or cleaning. During Terms 2 and 3 boys should be wearing their blazers to and from school every day. Some of the black shoes could do with a lick of polish too.
Wellesley Old Boys in Cross Continent Adventure for Charity On July 16th, myself with 7 other Kiwis are embarking on a 3-month charity rally race from the UK to Mongolia (and back) in an effort to raise $20,000 and a whole heap of awareness for the Graeme Dingle Foundation. Two of the members of the team are Wellesley College old boys (Hugo Stephens 2002-2005 and Richard Parsonson 2001-2005). As old boys, we are looking for as much coverage as possible and I hope that maybe you could share are adventure to staff, pupils and parents at Wellesley College, and hopefully help us in our donation to the Graeme Dingle Foundation.
Russia, and of course Mongolia, on some of the most inhospitable driving terrains on the planet. This requires 10 visas, traversing 2 deserts, a serious mountain range and covers half of the circumference of the earth. All in a car that has to be under 1.2L (1200cc) and cost less than ÂŁ500.... We have set up a Givealittle page where you can make a donation to help us reach our goal. To make it more fun, we have added in some rewards and challenges that you can nominate for us to do, to thank you for your donations. The link to the Givealittle page is below: https://givealittle.co.nz/fundraiser/gdfcoddiwomples
The Foundation, if you're not familiar with, is an awesome New Zealand charity which tackles some thorny issues facing kids all across the country, including bullying, truancy, youth unemployment and lack of self-confidence. Their programmes use elements of the great outdoors, inspirational classroom leaders and world-class mentors to help kids from age 5 to 18 keep on track, develop confidence, build resilience and self-belief, set goals for the future, and contribute positively to society.
This adventure is entirely self-funded, and 100% of all donations go directly to the charity. Every bit helps, and we are incredibly thankful in advance of any support you can give us, and the Foundation.
After meeting with Sir Graeme Dingle and hearing how passionate he is to see all Kiwi kids get the best opportunities in life, we are fully behind his efforts to help these kids in whatever way we can.
Hugo Stephens
Our goal is to raise $1 for every kilometre we drive ($20,000) before we set off. 100% of donations goes straight to the Graeme Dingle Foundation to fund these programmes. This trip has been 18 months in the making and is completely self-organised and self-funded. We're going to be driving through almost 25 countries including the likes of Iran, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan,
If you would like to find out a bit more about this adventure, the charity, or watch a few embarrassing videos of our preparation, check out our website or Facebook page! Every share, forwarding of email, follow and like are helping us raise awareness.
Website: www.thecoddiwomples.com
Key Dates in 2016