3 minute read
Westlake Boys’ High School
Choralation.
Choirs end competition on a high note
At the end of June our school choirs converged at the Auckland Town Hall to compete in the annual NZCF Big Sing Auckland Regional Festival.
The Big Sing Secondary Schools Choral Festival is the largest choral event in New Zealand and each year close to 10,000 young people from more than 250 schools participate in regional festivals with the ultimate goal of being selected for the Big Sing Finale. Our training choir Momentum, premier choir Voicemale and combined choir Choralation performed admirably, with Voicemale taking out the top award for the best recital by a male choir, and Choralation for the best recital by a mixed choir. Voicemale’s rendition of 'I See the Heaven’s Glories Shine' received the adjudicator’s runner-up award for the best single item of the festival from a total of 180 performances during the entire festival.
Following the regional competitions, the Westlake schools' three premier choirs, Voicemale, Choralation and Cantare received an invitation to attend the national Finale of the Big Sing in Christchurch at the end of August. This honour has placed them amongst the top 24 choirs from over 250 competing choirs around the country and they are very excited at the prospect of performing in the restored Christchurch Town Hall where the acoustics are considered among the best in the world.
Students celebrating their success.
Chinese Night Delights
The Westlake Chinese Night is an annual celebration of Chinese culture within our wider community. It is an event that is proudly organised and run by a group of students from Westlake Boys and Westlake Girls High Schools.
This year’s event was attended by over a thousand enthusiastic people, eager to see what the students had been working on. The performances ranged from modern Chinese pop dances to traditional fan and lion dances which received rapturous applause. We were especially delighted to see a big turnout from our Chinese community including parents, grandparents and many younger children.
Jasmine Tsai and Richard Jia, the 2021 Westlake Chinese Night leaders, said, “The night was a great success, and we are extremely happy with how it went, from the organisation to the performances, and we hope to see everyone back again next year!”
The Chinese Night crew.
The Westlake Enterprise Academy is a new pathway of learning that will be available to Year 13 students in 2022. The primary aim of the WEA is to provide a pathway between academic theory and learning, and the practical reality of running a business.
The Westlake Enterprise Academy will allow students to not only gain NCEA Sam Viskovich, Hartley Atkinson, Bill Smale and Level 3 and University Entrance but also Michael Allpress. Prefect helpers for launch night. equip them with skills so they can start their own business while they are still at school. Westlake Enterprise Academy, could have helped them earlier in
The programme was recently launched at the B:Hive with an their careers. information evening for guests to learn more about how it will This new initiative has already gained a lot of interest from our operate. The event involved a Westlaker panel comprising Bill Westlaker community who are keen to get involved and offer their Smale, Hartley Atkinson and Michael Allpress, who discussed their expertise and insight to all budding entrepreneurs eager to start their entrepreneurial experiences and how a school programme, like the own business journey.
