Westlake Girls’ High School

Krisha Lad.

Roori Lee and friends. International Prefects - Roori Lee, Krisha Lad and Clara Su.

Challenging path for International students

It’s been a tough couple of years for our international students, with travel restrictions meaning they haven’t been able to visit home. However, a strong network of care and support here at Westlake Girls has helped to shape their experience into something they will remember for a lifetime.

We are excited that the borders may open later this year to allow more international students to join our Westlake whānau. In the meantime, we are proud to introduce you to our three International Prefects for 2022.

Clara Su: Clara is from Urumqi, Xinjiang in China. “Urumqi is a beautiful city, and is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghr Autonomous Region in the far northwest of China," she says. "There are many ethnic minorities living there, including me - I am Hui."

Clara is an only child, but has lots of pets – currently being looked after by her parents who both work in a tax office. "I miss my parents but I use Wechat and FaceTime to talk to them."

She's been in New Zealand since 2019 when she started at Westlake in Year 10. "The environment is good and I enjoy time with my friends," she says of her Westlake experience. Her goals as an International Prefect this year are to help students and study hard. Next year she plans to study at the University of Auckland.

Her top advice for any International students who are considering coming to Westlake when New Zealand's borders reopen is this: "Don't be shy! If there is anything you don't know or you're not sure about, please ask the teachers or the International Prefects. No question is a stupid question."

Clara Su.

Krisha Lad: It's been over two years since Krisha last saw her parents Joshna and Raj, and her brother Heer in her native Zambia. She misses her home in Ndola – Zambia's third-largest city – and says not seeing her family is the hardest part of being an international student. "I think something that has been super difficult would most probably be having to deal with feelings of homesickness, as well as all the school stress," she says. "It was definitely quite challenging but I found my way around it."

Krisha has called her mum almost every single day since she arrived in April 2019 as a Year 10 student. On the days she can't call, she texts her family to keep them up-to-date with what's happening in her life. "I think I’ll definitely always remember the friends that I’ve made at Westlake," she says. "But I think my favourite thing about my time here is definitely the choirs I participated in. They were always a blast! I made so many new friends and I got to do something that I really liked."

One of Krisha's goals for this year is to make sure the International students grow together as a family "and that everyone finishes the year with smiles and feeling like they've had a good, full year". She plans to study architecture at Victoria University of Wellington next year. "My top piece of advice would be to just take this leap and make the most of it. Coming to New Zealand and Westlake especially opened up so many opportunities for myself and I made the best friendships I've ever made. Just go with the flow and enjoy every little step of your journey!"

Roori Lee: Providing support to International students who are missing home is the key focus for Roori Lee this year. "I truly think International students have a hard time not being able to visit their home country. I hope that I can fully support them by providing different events and activities, so they are able to enjoy the best school life," she says.

Roori hails from Seoul, the capital city of South Korea and, like Clara and Krisha, has been at Westlake since 2019 as a Year 10 student. "One of my favourite activities that I have done at Westlake is definitely being part of Korean Night! For this event, my group members worked very hard to organise a modern k-pop dance to perform on stage. It was very stressful at that time but looking back now, it was one of the most amazing and unforgettable times," she says.

Roori misses her father, who is still in Korea, but her mum, older brother, younger sister and pets are with her here in New Zealand. Facetime keeps her connected with her dad, and lots of school activities keep her busy. "Engage with everything," she encourages those considering coming to Westlake. "There are tons of different activities and clubs here where you can not only find your true potential or interest, but also make a wide range of friends."

Next year Roori plans on returning to Korea where she will attend university to study film and media.

GU18 Novice Four before their gold-medal winning race.

GU18 Novice Four with their gold medals. Head of Harbour Auckland Secondary School Rowing Championships - Under 18 8+ Champions.

Outstanding start to sporting year

We all know things are a little different this year, but there’s no stopping Westlake’s proud history of sporting achievements! They have continued into 2022 with some outstanding success across several codes.

Rowing

After a long summer of training, the Westlake Girls rowing squad has finally had the chance to put practice into action. On Saturday 12 February, our Senior squad competed at the Head of the Harbour on Lake Pupuke (Auckland Championships). Our squad produced a strong set of results, coming away with three gold, one silver and three bronze medals. Due to inclement weather, our Junior U15/16 squad had their racing delayed until Saturday 19 February.

Our three Auckland champion crews were the GU18 Pair, GU18 Novice Four and GU18 Eight. The GU18 Pair of Scarlett Kerse and Sofia Greenhalgh dominated the pairs field to secure Westlake Girls' first title in this event since 2014.

Our GU18 Novice Four of Neva Currie, Payton Perry, Jasmyne Howker, Jenna Zaher and coxswain Tayla Coplestone executed a wonderful race to secure a gold medal in their first-ever race for Westlake Girls. Undeniably the highlight of the day was the convincing win delivered by the GU18 Eight. Our eight, expertly coxed by Tessa Guthrie, was made up of Scarlett Kerse, Eva Dykgraaf, Sophie Dykgraaf (co-captain), Sofia Greenhalgh (cocaptain), Phoebe Dobson, Caitlin Naude, Taylor Penberthy and Steph Severin. Westlake Girls last lifted the title when the crew’s coach Ella Campbell was racing in the event for Westlake Girls in 2013.

Following our strong showing at the Auckland Champs, 17 of our senior squad travelled to the South Island to compete in the New Zealand National Club Championships during mid February. As Channel went to print, racing is still underway, but so far the squad has secured a national title in the Women's Intermediate Four.

The crew, made up of Steph Severin, Carla Pethers-Boak, Caitlin Naude, Phoebe Dobson and Tayla Coplestone, finished a full five seconds ahead of their nearest competitor from the Dunstan Arm's Rowing Club. Sofia Greenhalgh and Scarlett Kerse have also continued to impress in their pairs combination picking up a silver medal in the WU22 Pair.

Rugby Sevens

Holly Williams (Year 13) has been selected as part of the tournament team for the 2021/22 edition of the World School Sevens. The announcement was made after Holly and her team – the New Zealand Cavaliers – were part of the World School Sevens competition in January.

Congrats also to Ava Jericevich (Year 13) and Kat Hall (Year 13) who were both part of the Niue Fiti Pua team which came sixth in the competition.

Swimming

Lena Hamblyn-Ough, Year 12, won gold in the F16-19 category at the Harlequins Secondary School Open Water Championships in mid-February. The 3.2km swim was completed in very challenging conditions, but despite this, Lena still finished as first female overall.

Cricket

Leah Watton, Year 13, was selected for the following Auckland cricket representative teams: • Auckland Under-19 Women (which competed at the NZC U-19

Women’s Tournament in Christchurch) • Auckland A Women

Provisional results lay strong foundation

Despite a difficult year for students, we are delighted with our 2021 provisional results.

“Our provisional results are testimony to the hard work of our teachers and the resilience of our students,” says Principal Jane Stanley.

WGHS also performed well in Scholarship exams with 66 scholarships awarded to 43 students. “These results are inspiring for younger students and set us up well for a strong 2022.”