August, September 2011

This archive contains the following articles :

Lions Young Ambassador Award	Perfection in International Languages	Carpentry Students' Shed Mastery	AMI Showdown Nominations	Quilts made for Overseas
Basketballers Excel	National Tournament Week	NZ Secondary Swimming	Tall Poppy a Wining Speech	Netball Champs
Arts in the Bay Sculpture Visit	Musical High Notes	Mt Maunganui Sports Exchange	Recent Sporting Successes	2011 College Ball
Successful Gymnasts	Robotics Teams welcome Support


Lions Young Ambassador Northern Region Final
 

28 September 2011

After winning the Western Zone Lions Young Ambassador Award, Academic Captain Penelope Walbran-Oakley competed in the finals for the Northern Region on Sunday 18 September.  She faced tough competition from students from as far away as the Bay of Islands and Thames.  She placed 2=, taking home $500 which will be put towards her tertiary studies next year.

Perfection in International Languages
 

22 September 2011

Language Perfect is an online programme used to practise foreign language vocabulary. This Year 75000 students from 900 schools in 12 countries competed in  the 2011 Language Perfect Global Championship. Lynfield College had 221 students participating in the competition, with significant success.
 
Mason Ng who studies  Year 11 Chinese won the competition. He impressed  by answering questions not only in Chinese but in six different languages.
 
Demi Cox and Sarah Plank from our  Year 12 German course gained first and second placings in the German language division.
 
The full list of Lynfield’s successes in this global championship is as follows:
 
Gold Medallists:

Yr12 German—Demi Cox, Sarah Plank.

Yr13 German – Callum Freeman.
Yr11 Chinese—Manson Ng, Jinsu Choi, Alana Murphy.

Yr10 Chinese—Vincent Flusk, Chaitra Muralidhar.

Silver Medallists:
Yr12 German—Rebecca Kennett.

Yr10 German—Anton Stuart.
Yr13 Chinese—Jenny Pan.

Yr12 Chinese—Sarai Kennerley.

Yr10 Chinese—Olivia McIntosh, Silvia Hu

Bronze Medallists:

Yr11 German—Johnson Zhuang.

Yr10 German—Maen Ocampo, Casey Crooks, Hamish Scott, Lubana Syed, Kenya Cleaver
Yr13 Chinese—Guangzhou Xiang.

Yr12 Chinese—Dalia Shahali.

Yr11 Chinese—Solleil Tan, Yun King Leong, Lydia Choo, Ray Fang.

Yr10 Chinese—Lucy Hao, Terry Kim
Yr10 Japanese—Cristina Jiang

Excellence Certificates:

Yr10 German—Ha-Eun Kim, Chiara Golbin
Yr13 Chinese—David Brown.

Yr12Chinese—Sasha Verhoven.

Yr10Chinese—Sandy Zhang, Jennifer Wu, Eugene Zhuang, Walid Bouladam, Esther Linn and Guan Hong Li
 
 Congratulations to  all winners!
 
 

Carpentry Course Produces Masters in Shed Construction
 

22 September 2011

The Year 13 Carpentry course students have spent this year constructing timber sheds (which would have been for sale publicly had the college not bought them to use as temporary offices during a building programme here next year!).

 At a generous size, 3.6m by 2m, and of very solid wooden construction, they could be used  to house gardening equipment, bicycles, toys and sports gear, or even as a playhouse for children or an office.

The sheds have been built as part of the NCEA Level 3 Carpentry course which includes unit standards on the use of hand and portable power tools, timber machining equipment, demonstrating  safe working practices on construction sites, performing building calculations and demonstrating knowledge of timber used in construction.

The students have taken pride in their building and the growth of their carpentry skills has placed them in a very advantageous position with respect to securing further training and employment next year.
 

 

AMI Showdown Nominations for Guys and Dolls

19 September 2011
The annual Lynfield College production Guys and Dolls has received a large number of nominations for the AMI Showdown Awards. Congratulations to the students and staff who contributed to the show's success and who have been rewarded with a nomination.
 

Category	Nominee
Best props design	Wilma Van Heeswijk
Best choreography performance	Guys and Dolls
Best vocal chorus peformance	Cast of Guys and Dolls
Best male vocalist	Billy Scarfe as Nicely Johnstone
Best supporting male in a musical	Dion Pritchard as Nathan Detroit
Best supporting female in a musical	Holly Stokes as Adelaide
Best male lead in a musical	Shawn Cleaver as Sky Masterson
Best choreographer	Rachel Walton et al
Best director	Celia Nicholson
Outstanding Musical	Guys and Dolls

All productions are also nominated for the 2011 Best Overall Production Award.  You can vote for our Guys and Dolls production to win the People’s Choice Award through the website www.showdown.org.nz. 
 
The awards ceremony will be held at the Bruce Mason Theatre on October 5^th, and tickets are $20. 

Quilts Provide Worthwhile Warm Experience

September 8 2011

Each year the Year 9 Soft Materials classes select a charity or organisation for whom they design and create a quilt. Students develop an awareness of those around them who need help and find this activity a very humbling and rewarding experience. This year we made quilts for World Vision and the people of Japan affected by the tsunami. It was perfect timing with the school hosting a small group of students from Japan who were here for a change of scenery. Representatives from the Year 9 Soft Materials class presented the quilt to these students who were very appreciative of the thought and effort gone into creating a quilt for their country.

The second quilt designed was for World Vision. A representative from World Vision came to the class for the presentation and to accept the quilt and take it back to East Timor. The quilt was given to a very deserving family which consisted of a widower, Mr Jaoa Bere who has 7 children. His youngest child Manuella is severely malnourished and underweight for her age. The one thing the father wishes for more than anything in the world is water for his children. They were delighted to be given the quilt and it is one of their most precious items. Both quilts have been a great success and we look forward to continuing the program next year.

 

 

Basketballers Excel - Greater Auckland Championships
 

8 September 2011

By each finishing in the top 2 of the western zone competition 3 Lynfield College basketball teams qualified for the Greater Auckland Championships. This is an outstanding accomplishment for our school and further enhances our reputation as a strong basketball school.

 

The competition is fierce at this tournament with the top 2 teams from each of the 4 Auckland zones competing for the right to be the Greater Auckland Champion.
 

Results to date are as follows:
 

U17 Boys:
 

The U17 boys found themselves up against 2 of the top teams in Auckland and New Zealand in their pool and found the going tough. The boys did themselves and the school proud with their efforts and finished pool play with a strong win over Alfriston College.
 

Lost to Auckland Grammar 21-37.
Lost to Westlake Boys 31-51
Beat Alfriston College 45-29
 

U19 Girls:   The U19 Girls started slowly and this cost them a victory over Baradene. This seemed to spur the girls into life and they went on to dominate Kristin and MacLeans with some exquisite perimeter shooting from Dannielle Harrison, Tyla Nathan-Wong and Sheena Gozon. The girls will now play Avondale College in the semi finals.   Lost to Baradene College 45-32 Beat Kristin School 28-24 Beat Macleans College 47-38   Semi Final vs Avondale College, Friday 9 September, 4.30pm, North Shore Events Centre,

U19 Boys:
 

The U19 boys had solid wins over St Peters College and Sancta Maria College. In their 3^rd pool match they played current NZ schools champions Rosmini College. They put up a brave fight and led at half time before going down. The boys will now play Kristin School in the semi finals.
 

Beat St Peter’s College 48-35
Lost to Rosmini College 43-31
Beat Sancta Maria College 55-31
 

Semi Final vs Kristin School, Friday 9 September,  4.30pm, North Shore Events Centre
 

 
 

National Tournament Week Results
 

8 September 2011

National tournament is seen by many students as the pinnacle event in the school sport calendar each year.

A record number of teams attended national tournament week this year. Basketball boys and girls, Hockey boys, Football boys and girls, premier Netball and Lawn bowls teams all took part in various tournaments in and outside of Auckland.
 

Hockey
The Lynfield College 1^st XI Boys Hockey team attended the Olympic Sticks Hockey Tournament last week. The boys had a tough game first up against Botany Downs to whom we had lost 8 – 1 earlier in the season. We played much better this time around but went down 3 – 2 when Botany scored a goal in the last 2 minutes.

The boys were determined to play even better on the second day and beat Kerikeri High school 11–0 and  Waiuku College 6-2.  Our centre forward Yukio Wilkins was chosen by all the teams as Player of the Day.
We had made it to the quarter finals where we had a 3-0 win over Bream Bay College.  We had made it through to the semi-finals where we faced or -t toughest opponents the tournament favourites Whakatane High School. Although we played well we went down 5 – 1.

This meant that we were in the playoffs for 3^rd and 4^th place against Fraser High School. The boys were determined to win and claim 3^rd place. At the end of the game the 3 – 1 result went in our favour. We had exceeded our expectations and had gained 3^rd place in the tournament. This was a great way to end what has been a good season.
 
Football Boys
The boys 1^st XI took part in the Trident trophy tournament based in Papakura. The boys found themselves in a challenging pool and started with a 5-2 loss to Otamoetai College from the Bay of Plenty. This early loss seemed to galvanise the team and in their 2^nd game they came out and beat Kings College 1-0 with a penalty in the last minute.

On day 2 the boys suffered an unlucky loss to Christ’s College from Christchurch 3-2.  Game 4 was against Massey high school with the boys triumphing 2-0. The final pool game was a must win for Lynfield, victory meant a spot in the quarter finals. Unfortunately this was not to be with the boys going down 2-1 to a huge Western Springs team who resembled a 1^st XV!
By this stage the team’s fitness was being tested and injuries began to take their toll. The team suffered close losses to Hutt Valley High School and Trident College. The team eventually finished in 15^th spot from 24 teams. The outstanding players for Lynfield were captain Shomal Kumar at centre back/sweeper who led by example and gave his all in every game. He was eventually named Lynfield’s player of the tournament with 5 ‘Man of the Match’ awards. Striker Fardhin Sekander was dangerous and scored some great goals while left back Shomal Bhorik played a starring role in the memorable victory over Kings College.
 

Football Girls
The girls 1^st XI travelled to Whangarei to take part in the Maurice Hulme tournament. The team was a combination of established 1^st XI players and promising juniors who were bought in to gain experience for the future.
The girls started promisingly with draws against Onehunga High School 1-1 and Alfriston College 0-0. However on day 2 they found the going tough losing 3-0 to Kerikeri High School. On day 3 they went down to Manurewa High School 3-0 and Onehunga High School 2-0.
The girls finished the tournament in 11^th place with a 4-3 win over Waiheke High School. Although they found the competition tough the team had plenty of fun and as they are a young team, coach Ms Morris believes that the experience gained from attending tournament week will be invaluable in the future.
 

Lawn Bowls
On Monday 26 August the Greater Auckland Secondary School Pairs and Singles competition was held.  This comprises players from North Harbour, Auckland and Counties.
 Brayden Silby (Skip) 11AL and Liam van Rijn (lead) 11ME won 6 games from 7 and placed 5^th overall.  A great result across Auckland considering they are Year 11 students.  They were beaten by the eventual winners from Auckland Grammar School who are current Auckland reps and are also in their final year of school.
In the Singles Jordan Oakley 11BR placed 3^rd equal.  Jordan was the only student in the final four who was not a year 13 student.  
 
This puts these bowlers in good shape for higher expectations for next year.
 
 
 

NZ Secondary Schools' Swimming Successes

 

5 September 2011

Two swimmers recently represented the College at the NZ Secondary School Swimming Champs held in Hamilton. Schools from Northland to Otago competed in this inaugural event – 107 schools in all. Our swimmers did particularly well.

 

Stephanie Hett (9RS) won a gold, a silver and two bronze in her butterfly and freestyle events. Kieran Sumner (10AG) won a bronze medal in the 50m butterfly and narrowly missed out on a medal in the 50m freestyle.

 

With some of the best age group swimmers in the country competing, congratulations are due to both of our swimmers.
 
 

Tall Poppy is a Winning Speech

 

5 September

Penelope Walbran-Oakley, 2011 Academic Captain, recently won the West Auckland Lions Young Ambassador Award and a prize of $1000. She was one of 9 students from West Auckland schools to submit an application, undergo an interview and give a speech on a topic of her choice. Penelope ‘s speech was titled Tall Poppy Syndrome, an issue she feels needs to be addressed if NZ is to successfully compete to retain its most capable teenagers as they move into our adult society. In a magnanimous gesture, Penelope has donated half her prize to the Breast Cancer Foundation.   She will compete in the regional finals on 18 September.

 

Netball Team victorious at UNISS Tournament
 

5 September 2011

Ninety-six top netball teams from schools all over the Upper North Island competed in a week long tournament at the end of August.  Lynfield College has not entered this in the past and therefore had to enter the C grade.  The seedings from last year indicated some of the likely competition but did not take account of other teams who had not previously competed.

After the first day Lynfield had managed a comfortable win followed by a close loss.  The girls knew they could do better.  As the team progressed through their pools in the top 16, the top 8 and then the semi-finals, it had no further losses although all the games were hard won. 

 

Winning the semi-final against Tuakau College achieved the first aim – to be promoted into the B grade for 2012.

Lynfield went into the final against John Paul College having scored a close win against them in pool play but realising the opposition would be out to level the score. After the 1st quarter the scoreboards, our scorer and the opposition scorer all agreed Lynfield was 4 goal up but the official scorecard showed Lynfield as having only a 2 goal advantage. The official score card stands. The next 3 quarters saw the score see-saw by one or two goals and at full time the score was a draw!   After a tough, physical game the girls had tired bodies and needed to dig deep for 10 minutes of extra time. In the final 3 seconds of extra time Lynfield was awarded a penalty in their shooting circle. The result was clear as the players, management and sideline supporters erupted in a scene that truly rivalled the one witnessed when the Silver Ferns won the Commonwealth Games gold medal after extra time! Lynfield College had won the C grade and with a team containing no Y13s!! Bring on UNISS 2012!

 

 

Arts at the Bay Sculpture Field Trip
 

29 August 2011 Every year, as part of the annual Arts @ the Bay Festival, Lynfield College offers visual arts workshops to local primary and intermediate school students. This year, in lieu of workshops, forty students were invited to participate in a field trip to the Kaipara Coast Sculpture Gardens located north of Helensville. They joined twenty of our senior visual arts students enjoying looking at a wide range of sculptures, and then participating in making a ‘bed of flowers’ using recycled materials.

 

 

 

Musical High Notes
 

24 August 2011

Lynfield’s music groups are having another successful year. Awards are being won at prestigious competitions and students are being honoured with selection to national orchestras.

 

For the second consecutive year the college Big Band (pictured) has won gold at the KBB Secondary Schools’ Music Competitions and has been selected for inclusion in the gala concert. The Big Band, led by Paul Norman, has 21 members from Year 9 through to Year 13. The Orchestra and Concert Band won bronze awards at the same KBB event.

The Stand Up Stand Out Competition held at the Otara Performing Arts Centre attracted 45 bands from secondary schools throughout Auckland. Our new Funk Band performed Stevie Wonder’s Signed Sealed Delivered to gain selection for the grand finals to be held at the Telstraclear Events Centre on September 2.  The Lynfield Funk Band has 10 members from Year 9-12 and is made up of a rhythm section, saxophones and 3 vocalists. The group is led by music teacher Matthew Flockton who is a talented jazz and rock guitarist.

Another star performer is Jessica Holland, Year 13, who has again been successful in the nationwide Play It Strange competition. Each year since 2004  Lynfield has had 1-4 students in the Top 50. There are always in excess of 300 entries so making the Top 50 and having your composition performed and recorded is a significant accomplishment.

As reported earlier in the year Michael Howell, Year 12, and Charlie Isdale, Year 13, are in the New Zealand Youth Jazz Orchestra. Michael, playing guitar, and Charlie, baritone saxophone, recently spent a week in Wellington at rehearsals followed by a week touring the Wellington region. Michael earlier in the year won the overall Best Guitarist in the Tauranga National Jazz Festival. He played there as a member of the Lynfield College Jazz Combo A which won a Silver Award, as did our Jazz Combo B.

A Jazz and Soul concert featuring five Lynfield College groups plus a guest band containing some of Auckland’s best musicians is to be held on September 14 in the College Hall at 7pm. Details of the performing groups are available in the publicity flier. We hope to see you here!
 

Exam Timetable for Next 2 Weeks

24 August 2011
Senior exams begin Wednesday 31 August. Students and parents can access the timetable for these here. To avoid any confusion as to the exam conditions and the expectations during the exam period students and their families should be very familiar with the document Exams Instructions September 2011

Mt Maunganui Sports Exchange
 

23 August 2011
The annual tussle in the major sporting codes between Lynfield and Mt Maunganui Colleges did not disappoint this year in terms of  which college was to win the overall trophy.



 

Recent Outstanding Sporting Achievements

 

22 August 2011 
Congratulations to the following students for their recent outstanding sporting achievements:

• Hockey - Kate Hughes 12FS and Akshay Chauhan 11AL are in the Auckland Under18 Hockey teams and competed recently in the National Championships in Hamilton. The girls' team finished runners-up while the boys placed in the top 4 overall.
• New Zealand Motocross – Sisters Sophie and Grace Smith 11PL competed at the 2011 NZ Intermediate and Secondary Schools Motocross Championship in May.  In their chosen events Sophie placed 1^st and 6^th and Grace placed 5^th.
• Auckland Secondary Schools Girls Rugby – Tyla Nathan-Wong 12JN has been selected for this Rugby team.
• Don Oliver Youth Sport Foundation Scholarship – Tyla has also been awarded a gold scholarship worth $4000 in funding.
• 2011 Commonwealth Karate Championships – Sonia Mehta 9HL competed at these champs held in Australia at the end of July and won the gold medal in Kumite for 12/13 year olds, gold in the New Zealand teams event and placed 3^rd in Kata.  Kirby Wotherspoon 13BW also competed at these champs winning a silver medal.
• New Zealand Karate Nationals – Zak Scott 12HB received 2^nd medal placing in the Boys Team Kumite (14-16 years) in July.  Zak also competed in the Sugihara Cup in Auckland, an international event, placing 3^rd in both the Junior Kata (16-17 years) and Team Kumite (14-16 years).
• North Island Junior Squash Championships – Juee Bhide 10CS competed at these champs held in Cambridge in July winning the U15 North Island title.

 

Senior Ball a Night to Remember
 

22 August 2011

Senior students enjoyed a wonderful night at the end of the last holidays when the annual Lynfield College Ball was held at the Auckland Museum.

 

Themed Cirque de Lumieres the Ball was a fantastic night, full of flashing cameras, music, dancing and delicious food.  We are once again pleased to have had such a successful event and are very grateful to Head Girl Rachel Nabalarua and Head Boy Shawn Cleaver who were there leading and guiding the Ball Committee through the planning of the Ball.  The  members of the Ball Committee, Katherine Browne, Ezra Philip, Karishma Masters and Akaash Ram worked extremely well as a team.  Also big congratulations to all those students who attended the Ball and made it the amazing night that it was.

 

Congratulations to this year’s Lynfield College Ball Award winners.
 
Queen of the Ball (Year 13)  Katie Bowen          King of the Ball (Year 13)   Darren D’Cruz
Belle of the Ball (Year 12)  Tyla Nathan-Wong              Beau of the Ball (Year 12)    Gage Loomans
Best Couple                       Katherine Browne & Jaden Martin
Best Dancer                       Haodi Peng
Best Dressed Students       Melody Curle & Aaron Vaz
Best Dressed Teacher        Mrs Sherry Wagner
 

Board of Trustees Representative, Amie Mellor, composed a montage of photos. 

Lynfield College Gymnasts in New Zealand Top 10

 

Lauren Irving and Marisa Clark are both Auckland representatives in Artistic Gymnastics and at the last Gym Sport Nationals they were both placed in the Top 10 in the country. 

Success depends on an intensive training regime with 18 – 24 hours a week spent at Tri Star Gymnasium. Lauren and Marisa have been enjoying gymnastics for 9 years and have competed all round the country. 

Skill levels climb from Step 1 to Step 9 then Junior International and Senior International. Lauren and Marisa are currently competing at Step 9, giving them the opportunity to go to the Hawaii Champs next year if selected.

 

Robotics Teams Appreciate Computer Gift

A visit to Schneider Electric by the Lynfield Robotics group, as part of their holiday activities, ended with  unexpected generous contributions to the teams' equipment - a new laptop computer, and T-shirts illustrating the supportive relationship between Lynfield College and Schneider Electric

The students need two computers and both their current  ones are needing replacement. Fundraising is an ongoing effort in order to train and compete, and so maintain their already significant profile on the secondary schools robotics scene.

Other holiday events included winning a scrimmage competition at Glenfield College  and participating in a training workshop on pneumatics at SMC Pneumatics Ltd.

The photo below was taken at Schneider Electric.