Westlake Girls' High School

Event Centre fundraising launched

It’s a very exciting time for our school, as our new Event Centre starts to take shape. After lockdown delays, the foundation was finally poured in July and our prefabricated wall panels have started to be installed.

The purpose-build centre is due for completion in May next year and will provide a fantastic venue for assemblies, events and ceremonies. With seating for 1,350 people, it will feature a large stage and flexible spaces including a senior student study space, teaching areas, percussion room and large foyer. The cost of this project is $10 million and we are currently seeking community support to raise the final $2 million. It’s a big number – but we have several exciting opportunities to help us reach our goal.

Stay dry, look cool and support our Event Centre!

Here’s your chance to keep dry during winter sports this year AND support our Event Centre by purchasing one of our amazing Blunt umbrellas. Blunt was designed in Windy Wellington and these sturdy but stylish umbrellas NEVER blow inside out. As the Wall Street Journal said, “Structurally the Blunt falls somewhere between suspension bridge and NASA space probe”. Tested to extremes, these amazing umbrellas are worth every cent. Anyone who has owned a Blunt knows what we are talking about.

Find out for yourself! Available in two sizes – Classic and XL (golf umbrella size) our black umbrellas have subtle branding and are bound to be the envy of other parents standing on the side-line.

Prices are $115 (including GST) for the Classic and $135 (including GST) for the XL, plus $10 delivery per order. Visit https://community. westlakegirls.school.nz/#bluntumbrellafundraiser to order – it’s super simple. Stock is strictly limited so be in quick to stay dry this winter.

To find out more about the amazing gifting opportunities for our Event Centre visit: https://community.westlakegirls.school. nz/#givetotheeventcentre

WGHS finishes 2nd overall at Auckland Secondary School Snowboarding Champs

Westlake Girls High School students, Harriet Gowing and Coco Mauger (both Year 10) represented WGHS strongly at the Auckland Secondary Schools Snowboarding Championship held at Snowplanet in June. The pair won five medals and placed second overall in the Girls competition. Snowsports is a growing sport at Westlake Girls so this is an excellent achievement.

The Year 10 students competed in three events, the Giant Slalom, Slopestyle and Dual Slalom and after a nervous start in Slopestyle, both boarders attacked the slope in the GS and Dual Slalom races. With three attempts in each event, Coco narrowly missed out on a podium finish while Harriet won a phenomenal five medals. She won silver medals in the Junior Giant Slalom, Overall GS, Junior Dual Slalom, Overall Dual Slalom, and a bronze medal in the Junior Slopestyle.

Westlake Girls finished second place overall in the Girls division, just two points behind Long Bay and three points ahead of Baradene who finished on 20 points. There were 16 competitors in the event.

Post-lockdown concerts are music to our ears!

7:30 pm Friday 4 September The New Zealand Chamber Music Contest is one of the few music competitions St Matthew-in-the-City

that has not been cancelled by COVID-19. This national contest was first TI C K E T S F R OM established in 1965 and is regarded as a springboard for future musicians. This year, entries were received online and Westlake Girls had three groups entering submissions. Pianists Niki Sun, Christine Chang, Clover Huang and Anita Chen recorded VOICES WWW . E V E N T B RI T E . C OM . A U a unique piano work “Andromeda” on two grand pianos that required the players to percussively play the inside of the piano as well as the outside keys. The Music Department would like to thank their piano teacher Deidra O’Byrne and the Rock Shop in TOGETHER A CELEBR ATION OF CHOIRS Albany who allowed the students to record their piece in their store after hours. AND CONNECTIONS

On Sunday 28th June, the Westlake Chamber Orchestra performed a local concert at St George’s church in Takapuna to a well-attended audience. This was the first playout for this group under new directorship of Miranda Adams, who is a professional violinist in the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. The orchestra played music by Mozart, Lilburn, Britten, and Pizazzolla; smaller chamber groups from the Pettman Academy also performed as part of the programme.

Voices Together: A celebration of choirs and connection

Cantare and Choralation premier Westlake Choirs are performing alongside premier Dilworth and Macleans choirs at St Matthew’s in the City. The date is Friday 4th • C A N T A R E • P R EMI E R GI R L S C H OI R F R OM P R EMI E R • F O R T I S S I M O • M A L E C H OI R F R OM September at 7:30pm. Tickets are $20 general admission and $10 concession (students, W E S T L A K E GI R L S HI G H • C H O R A L A T I O N • S C H O O L DI LW O R T H S C H O O L • M A C L E A N S C O L L E G E C H O R A L E • seniors and unwaged). Tickets are available through Eventbrite: P R EMI E R MI X E D W E S T L A K E GI R L S C H OI R F R OM A N D B O Y S HI G H P R EMI E R MI X E D C H OI R F R OM M A C L E A N S C O L L E G E www.eventbrite.com.au/e/voices-together-tickets-110902803270 S C H O O L S

Westlake’s Future Problem Solvers are some of the best in the world

On 5th June, 11 Westlake Girls the selection of the best one through students competed in the Future created criteria, and finally present a Problem Solving International ‘Plan of Action’. This year the topic at 2020 Competition. This year, due FPSI was ‘Terraforming’; deliberately to Covid-19, the competition was modifying an ecosystem such as held virtually through an online another planet or landscape, to make system with over a thousand it Earth-like and able to support life. students competing from all FPS announced this year’s topic at the around the world. beginning of New Zealand lockdown,

This year’s experience was slightly giving us lots of time to research and different to internationals last year prepare for FPSI. Then at the end of where we travelled to Amherst, Week 7, we sat the online exam at Massachusetts; instead we competed from an upstairs A block school at a designated time, in line with the international event. classroom! A virtual prizegiving ceremony was held remotely from Texas and

The students from Westlake Girls qualified for the international streamed to the FPS New Zealand Facebook site. I was sitting in class event by placing at the FPS National Competition held in Auckland at at the time of prizegiving, half completing my work and half listening to the end of 2019. Westlake Girls entered two Global Issues Problem the livestream which took place during Period 3 on a Wednesday (New Solving (‘GIPS’) teams. Mea van Rooyen, Dhara Rana, Lauren McPhee Zealand time). They began announcing the results for my division and and Ella Dorward competed in the middle age group division. Megan to my surprise, they announced my name as placing fifth as a senior Meng, Serena Chen, Raeanne Leow, and Jumana Maash competed individual (top 5 placegetters are mentioned in each category). in the senior age group GIPS team division. Three students also All of the Westlake competitors put in a lot of effort and did really competed in the individual division: Sophie Dykgraaf and Kenzie well taking part in the tough event. Kenzie placed ninth and Sophie McKay were in the middle division, and Abigail Clements (me) 16th in the middle individual divisions. The middle team placed 19th competed as a senior individual. out of 69 teams and the senior team placed 27th out of 63 in their

FPS is a complicated competition where as an individual or in a division. Everyone worked tirelessly to study the technical topic of team, students analyse a futuristic scene surrounding a futuristic topic, Terraforming and competing in the virtual, 2020 Future Problem using knowledge from all across the school curriculum. Participants Solving International competition. then identify challenges and come up with 8-16 solutions, document By Abigail Clements, Year 12 www.channelmag.co.nz Issue 112 - August 2020 91