Articles in this archive:
Success at World Robotics Champs!!
18 April 2011
What an amazing time the Lynfield College Robotics Teams have had in the USA. Sarah Allfrey, teacher and mentor of the squad, reports that 12 hour days and little chance to sleep have not stood in the way of our students and they have been incredibly successful.
One team progressed all the way to the final of their division (unfortunately not winning but impressive just to get that far), and won the Create Award for their innovative robot design. A second team reached the quarter-final of their division.
Congratulations to all students from the Lynfield College wider community!
Now the students are off to the Kennedy Space Centre for three days - hopefully more relaxing than the frenetic pace of competition, and hugely exciting for these very talented students.
More information can be accessed on the group's own website www.lynfieldrobotics.org
Robotics Teams at World Champs
14 April 2011
Lynfield College has sent two robotics teams to the Vex World Robotics Championships in Orlando Florida. Teacher Mrs Sarah Allfrey who mentors and supports the teams is with the students.They are all very excited to be attending this event
One of our teams is in the Engineering section, the other in the Maths section. By going to the website http://robotevents.com/championship and clicking on these sections our teams may even be watched as they compete.
While most teams in the world championships are from the United States there are also representatives from other countries including Brazil and New Zealand. Secondary schools from New Zealand are Kristin School, Palmerston North Boys High School, Home School, Pinehurst School and Lynfield College.
Colourful Celebrations in Culture Week
11 April 2011
Esther Zhuang, Arts and Cultural Captain has filed the following report:
The annual Cultural Week in Lynfield College began 4 April. Each year, Cultural Week is a 7 day celebration of the different cultures and the diversity represented in the school.
On Monday we immediately got into the spirit, with free henna tattoos from the Indian group on offer at lunchtime. The next day was a kiwi day, with lunchtime competitions on the field such as a gumboot toss, a three legged race and a wheelbarrow race, the winners getting pineapple lumps as their prizes. Wednesday was the Year 9 Cultural Market Day, with a haka being performed alongside it.
Thursday was mufti day and the ever popular fashion show at lunchtime. Ms Han won best dressed teacher and the Samoan group won best dressed group. All the proceeds of this mufti day went to charity, and it was beautiful seeing the different costumes of the world around the school. Friday was a day for the music students to shine, with guitar performances at lunchtime.
Saturday, however, was the long awaited Cultural Day! Jessica, Kieran and I had been working nearly all term for this day, and we were very eager for it to start! This year, Cultural Day was bigger than ever, with two venues- the hall and the Performing Arts Centre. When it was time for the performances, the crowd went wild as the school and the community supported their culture, their family and their friends who were performing. The concert went seamlessly and according to plan, and everyone had a great time.
Cultural Group leaders had also been busy working towards this day, and were rewarded with successful stall sales and food seemingly flying off their tables during the food buying rush.
Anyone who participated in Cultural Day should be proud of themselves for representing their culture and their school so magnificently! Cultural Week was a huge success, and is definitely a highlight in the school calendar.
Writing for a Cause
4 April 2011
The Lynfield College Amnesty International Group has got off to a strong start in 2011 with a series of large and loud meetings in B17. The group was founded in 2010 by Mr Halligan and students Sarah Correa and Dimple Khatri.
This year each of the meetings has been attended by over 50 students and the group has been working on issues as diverse as the pollution of the Niger Delta by Shell Oil to the current crises in the Middle East.
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During a recent lunchtime letter writing session over 50 letters were written to the United Nations urging an Arms Trade Treaty that prohibits the sale of weapons to nations that abuse Human Rights. And an Urgent Action email network has allowed student members to take immediate action on any Human Rights crises in Libya and Egypt. The Group Leaders for 2011 are Yash Vyas, Ashley Graae and Melody Curle and the group's activities can be followed by visiting the Lynfield College Amnesty International Wikispace: http://lcamnesty.wikispaces.com/ |
Feast of Information from McDonalds
4 April 2011
It was for information rather than food that the Year 11 Economics students visited Greenlane McDonalds (which has the 2ndlargest sales turnover in NZ) last week. The information gathered left them amazed at how much food New Zealanders consume from the Golden Arches each year.
NCEA Level 1 Economics internal assessment requires research on how producers make production decisions and the implications of these for society. With well-prepared questions at the ready the students were given plenty of opportunity to glean the data they needed.
In a 12 month period McDonalds purchases
- 5.58m Kg of beef
- 2.3m Kg of chicken
- 4.6m Litres of milk
- 11m eggs
and $224m worth of supplies is exported to other McDonalds around the world.
And what about New Zealanders as consumers of McDonalds products? We are prepared to spend a mean $2 on an item but not $2.50 (ie one coin only) – unlike Australia for instance. And we come by the carload to the Drive-Thru at McDonalds – again unlike other countries where it is usually the sole diner who chooses the Drive-Thru. With 44% of sales done at the Drive-Thru the newer McDonalds outlets in New Zealand have double lanes at the Drive-Thru to cater for our laziness!!
2011 Polyfest visit
4 April 2011
Lynfield College usually has a presence at the annual Polyfest and this year we had a group of Indian students performing. The Arts and Culture Captains and their Assistant Captains visited the event on one of the performance days and Esther Zhuang, Arts and Culture Captain filed the following report:
Polyfest on the 16-17 March is one of the main festivals that celebrate the different cultures in Auckland, and Charlie, Jessica, Kieran and I were excited to be invited, especially as our own school was performing. Arriving at the Manukau Superbowl, the sun shone brilliantly, almost predetermining a great day. We watched many fantastic performances from different schools and of course, cheered, took photos and videoed when Lynfield rocked the stage with the Indian Group performance. There was tempting food everywhere, perfect weather and also an unseen chance of a day of bonding for the Arts and Culture Captains! It proved to be a very enjoyable day, and a multicultural celebration with an undeniable kiwi twist. Lynfield was represented proudly and everyone went home happy!
Booking Parent Interview Times Online
28 March 2011
Progress Conference evenings are to be held on Monday 4 April and Tuesday 12 April and on-line booking sheets are available for parents to set the interview times with the teachers they wish to meet.
This is the first time Lynfield College has used this method for booking appointments. It offers parents the opportunity to directly select the time at which they wish to meet teachers. Access to the School Interviews website is through the internet using the URL address http://www.schoolinterviews.co.nz.
As well as sending home written instructions on how to access the School Interviews website, the college will tomorrow email the same information. Included with this emailed and written information is the special password for the Term 1 interviews.
Once logged in there are three simple steps to follow in order to complete the booking process. All students will be given a printed copy of their courses and teachers' codes; parents will use this information to ensure they make interview times with the relevant staff. Parents should print out the email confirmation and bring it to the interview to enable the booking times to be followed.
Importantly, the interviews may be booked online as soon as the password, teacher codes and course details are received - there is no need to wait until the Progress Report is brought home.
Any parents unable to access the booking website should complete the manual booking slip on the instruction sheet and send this back to the school office with their child. Receptionist staff will also be able to make bookings through the school office number - ph 6270600. The exact times for the interviews will be confirmed either by email or on the student’s slip.
We hope our parents will be pleased that we have moved to on-line interview booking; it is certainly a more efficient means of ensuring Progress Conferences proceed in a scheduled and timely manner.
Biology Students Sample the Forest
28 March 2011
Biology is a very popular subject at Year 12 as the learning and career pathways leading from it capture the students' imaginations. This year there are 78 students in 12 Biology and another 52 students undertaking the Advanced 12 Biology course. The students taking the Advanced course are those who have already proven their abilities by achieving Merit or Excellence results last year.
A recent field trip to the Arataki Reserve in the Waitakere Ranges had a primary focus of gathering information on a community pattern for an internal assessment. This involved taking measurements of a sample of plants to show stratification (layers in the community). Abiotic factors such as temperature, light intensity, humidity and wind speed were also measured in the top and bottom layers. Pasco data loggers were used to gather accurate and sophisticated data which the students are now using back in class to complete the assessment.
As a bonus the students also walked along the Arataki nature trail learning about the plants found in the Waitakeres, their adaptations and how and why the species' composition changes.
Wrestling with the Results
28 March 2011
Lynfield College students had a successful day at the Auckland Secondary Schools Wrestling Championships which were held at Dilworth School.
A first placing was achieved by Aiden Bradley in the Senior Male event with Mac Wynn achieving a third placing in the same event. In the Junior Female event Chantal van Weelie gained a second placing.
One Step Closer to Ultrafast Broadband
21 March 2011
It may be a wet day and our grounds may be dug up – but it is fine by us! Promises of connection to an ultrafast broadband service have been eagerly anticipated for the past 2 years and now we are seeing the cable laid into the college.
Critical to achieving our goals in teaching and learning is the availability of ultrafast broadband – so today marks an important step forward. A major upgrade of our entire IT system has been achieved over the last few months and staff and students rely heavily on fast and efficient access and speed in internet services. It is hoped that the new faster internet service will be functional shortly.
Lynfield students attend World Vision Convention
21 March 2011
Three student leaders are now committed to helping children less fortunate than themselves and guaranteeing to make our involvement in the "40 hour famine" fundraiser the best effort yet.
Ethan Miller, Deputy Head Boy has submitted the following report:
On Wednesday 9th of March, Malika Hariharan, Deputy Head Girl, Amie Mellor, BOT Student Rep and myself, Deputy Head Boy went to the World Vision Global Convention which was held at the Bruce Mason centre in Takapuna. Many schools in Auckland had students who attended in order to be informed about less fortunate children all around the world who World Vision seeks to help.
We were given experiences and tools to motivate people in our school and the broader community to help in any way possible. At this Convention we watched a series of videos of malnourished children in East Timor. It was hard to watch because we felt so helpless. But the World Vision ambassadors inspired us to run events and get people to raise money because it's the most effective way of helping these children.
This year we are hoping to make the 40 hour famine an event that all students can take part in and really get involved so that we can beat previous years' targets and more importantly raise money for the kids.
'GO HARD FOR THE HUNGRY!'
Ethan Miller .
Mobile Phones Shortcut to the Past
21 March 2011
When Year 11 History students visited the Auckland Museum and the Central Library to gather information for their NCEA Level 1 research assessment they demonstrated how mobile phone technology is increasingly useful as a learning tool.
In investigating an event from World War II that was significant to New Zealand, the students interviewed a museum volunteer, they visited the war memorial areas of the museum and they explored newspaper articles of the times (retrieved on microfilm at the Auckland Central Library.)
The recording and storing of the information that the students found useful was done almost solely by using their mobile phones. Gone are the days when students wrote furiously on field trips in order to record what they saw and heard. Instead they are busy photographing exhibits and the texts which accompany these, and using the phones’ video camera to record interviews.
Ms Bronwen Wilson, teacher of history, sees technology as critical to fast and efficient gathering of data and encourages the students to use their IT skills to more readily and easily connect the past to their present.
Linwood and Lynfield Colleges Connect via Robotics
21 March 2011
We would like to share an email received by Lynfield College from a staff member at Linwood College, Christchurch.
"My name is Diane Atkins from Linwood College in Christchurch. I have a robotics group here at school and last weekend we sent a student named Harry Loughnan up to the Vex National Robotics Competition.
Harry was very brave coming up as his home and area on the hill have been badly hit by the earthquakes. I couldn't get into school to get his robot because of the damage there. He decided to come anyway.
He phoned me to say that he was so glad he went as the wonderful students from Lynfield College gave him parts to start building a robot so that he could compete in the competition. He also had help from some students from Rangitoto College.
I just wanted your school to thank these wonderful students and let them know that they made a difference at a time when it was needed. Your school should be very proud to have such kind and giving students and we wish them all the best at the International Competition."
Lynfield College is indeed proud of these students and their willingness to assist a fellow student. Linwood College students are currently attending class at Cashmere High School.