August 2012

Living Legends Planting Day

Ten students from our Environment Committee recently joined with several hundred Aucklanders, including ex-All Blacks to participate in the Living Legends Planting Day.

These students helped plant 3,500 plants on Motuihe Island; it was a beautiful day and a great way to explore and enhance our beautiful city.
 

 

Tourism Students Explore Travel Careers

On Tuesday August 28  the Year12 Tourism class visited  Travel Careers and Training next to Auckland airport to learn of possible career paths within the travel and tourism industry. 

A tutor from the school who has a lot of experience in the industry shared his experiences as a flight attendant and a tour guide. A replica of a Boeing 737 aircraft provided students with the fun of testing their flight attendant potential.

The day finished with a scavenger hunt through Auckland International Airport. Fun was had by all and a lot was learnt about the requirements of one of New Zealand’s most important industries, the Tourism Industry.
 

Road Race 2012
 

The first ever Road Race for the College students was held last week with the students enjoying the event in great weather.

Results :

Remember Daffodil Day

 

Students in the English Language Intensive Programme made daffodils and decorated their classroom window with  a reminder to everyone to remember Daffodil Day tomorrow August 31.

Student Generosity on SPCA Cupcake Day
 

Monday 27 August, was National Cupcake Day for the SPCA and this cause was well-supported by the staff and students of Lynfield College. In particular we acknowledge the efforts of a group of Year 11 students who, led by Jessica Orsbourn,(pictured with Year 11 Dean Mrs Prasad) spent the weekend baking and decorating 260 cupcakes for selling to students and staff. Jessica’s group comprised Jemma Read, Chelsea McLean, Lauren Woon, Sophie Wright and Claudia Young.   The variously flavoured and decorated cupcakes sold like the proverbial hot cakes! And $506 was quickly raised. All proceeds are being donated to the SPCA who appreciate the generosity of those who baked and those who bought and ate.

German Classes Enjoy University Drama Performance
 

The German classes of Years 11, 12, and 13 went to a German production of Currywurst mit Pommes on Friday, put on by the University of Auckland's German Drama Company. Not only did they thoroughly enjoy the performance but they also found the play 's assistant director was ex-Lynfield College student Callum Freeman! The show, a series of satirical snapshots on the edge of a German motorway (“satirische Momentaufnahmen am Rand einer deutschen Autobahn”) featured a cast of seven playing 44 characters between them, and was set in “Pennys Hansi-Bar”, a roadside kiosk owned and operated by Penny, the main character.   As the story progresses, more characters are introduced as they pass through on their way to their respective destinations – and each has their own story.

Currywurst mit Pommes was wonderfully unique and entertaining, even for those without a firm grasp on the language. Those that do, however, were rewarded with the jokes and sense of humour – which was, as one student said, “so Callum”.

Best Big Band in Auckland - Great KBB Success
 

Congratulations again to the talented and proud students and staff of our Music Department!

Lynfield College's Big Band under the direction of Mr Paul Norman was awarded a Gold medal for the third consecutive year, and received the Most Outstanding Performance by a Jazz Band award at the KBB Gala Concert on Saturday.

The Gala Concert is the final event of the annual KBB SEcondary Schools' Musical Festival where the best ensembles from the previous two days' competition perform for the top awards.

Last week was the 29th KBB Music Festival, held at Holy Trinity Cathedral, Parnell, and featured 130 ensembles from the greater Auckland area and farther north. Lynfield College had our Orchestra, Concert Band and Big Band participating.

Winning Gold and the Most Outstanding Performance award came after some fantastic playing by the rhythm section, outstanding solos by a number of students and excellent vocals. The Lynfield College Big Band is made up of 23 students, from Year 9 through to Year 13 and competed against 40 other Big Bands to take out these prestigious awards.

The Big Band also won these awards in 2010. Their professionally produced album "Take the 'A' Train" will be released at the Jazz and Soul Concert to be held next Wednesday September 5 at 7pm in the Lynfield College Hall.  An evening you cannot afford to miss!

Click here for more information and to listen to some demo tracks

Economics and Business Students Win in Singapore

Our team of Economics and Business students has had an amazing triumph in Singapore this past week at the HCIS International Business Challenge
 
Over the 3 day challenge, the results are as follows:
 
Day 1 – Economic  and Business Quiz - 1st overall
Day 2 - Entrepreneurship Challenge - 4th overall
Day 3 - Admad Challenge - 3rd overall
 
PLUS, they won the Business Challenge overall Winners Trophy. The students represented the College and their subject areas admirably. Our team consisted of Yash Vyas, Ben Goh, Maddie Hughes, Nischita D'Silva, Melody Farishta, Neha Farook, Daniel Frethey, Vipul Dev, Joslyn D'souza and Anna Carroll.
 
Mrs Prasad (who with  Mrs Karan accompanied the students) reports
“We were the darlings of the event, treated like celebrities at the Prizegiving. We placed our banner alongside HCIS like a true partnership school and the Principal, Mr Koh is keen to talk to our Principal Mr Bovaird,about further such opportunities, both in Singapore and in New Zealand.”
 
Just 5 days away in Singapore for this event – and we are proud of how the students have performed against representatives from 16 other countries.

Welcome to our New Science Faculty Leader

 

Having farewelled our Science Faculty Leader Mr Rob Boasman last term, we have now welcomed his replacement Mr Rob Eyre, who arrives at Lynfield after 6 years as Head of Biology at Waitakere College (and prior to that the northeast of England). Mr Eyre is adamant that mainstream general science must have a key role in all students’ academic programme. He says that in order to thrive in an increasingly science and technology- led world everyone needs the skills to understand and interpret all the science around them . The media is full of opiniated science and teaching students how to find their way through the journalists’  various angles and distinguish fact from opinion is a key part of general  science courses. The image here shows Mr Eyre with Year 10 Science students revising for their Chemical Reactions assessment.

In his previous position Mr Eyre also had responsibilities for timetabling, staff representation on the Board of Trustees and e-learning. His new role at Lynfield sounds more focussed to him and the skills he brings all assist him in leading the large Science Faculty. He is particularly enthusiastic about extending his interests in the potential of e-learning. Lynfield’s e-LynC capabilities are continuously being explored and utilised and Rob is keen to help this e-learning platform build into a robust centre for student and staff discussion and collaboration.

For relaxation Rob enjoys time with his young family, ocean swimming and snowboarding. He recently completed the Auckland Harbour swim and the King of the Bays event.
 

Childcare Students' Fact-Finding Mission
 

Last Monday the Year 12 and 13 Childcare classes went to MIT with their teachers to get a taste of what the tertiary environment has to offer.

The students spent the first part of the morning talking about their personal Pepeha, which is their identity in Mâori, under the expert tuition of Sefina Tefono. Most of the students then took on the challenge of proclaiming this identity in front of the other students and staff. We were very proud of the way that they carried out this rather daunting task, and Sefina congratulated us all on a fine effort.

Sefina then organised the students into teams and sent each group out with a series of tasks and a camera to explore the North campus.

Finally Wendy Reinink, the Schools Partnership Co-ordinator, spoke about the various pathways MIT has to offer. We arrived back at school with numerous copies of Te Whâriki, the ECE curriculum document, as well as a better understanding of what is involved in studying early childhood education at a tertiary level.

Josie, Vai, Sheridan, Joyce and Lisia strike a pose at Manukau Institute of Technology

Singapore Here We Come!

 

We will keep you updated on the team's progress. The photo shows the team in their official t-shirts.

 

Toughlove Returns for another Seminar
 

Toughlove Auckland is returning to repeat the professional seminar “Parenting Adolescents” which was so successfully run for Lynfield parents last year. The seminar will again be facilitated by experienced Toughlove representatives who are all parent volunteers.

Toughlove is a loving solution for families that are being torn apart by unacceptable adolescent behaviour.

Tuesday 4 September
7.00PM – 9.00PM
LYNFIELD COLLEGE STAFFROOM

Gold coin donation to Toughlove appreciated

All Welcome

Parenting adolescents can be a challenging and frustrating time in the dynamics of family life. This seminar will offer you some handy tips and techniques to take away and use at home. To know you are not alone, that most parents experience issues with their teenagers, and that Toughlove can offer additional support, can be a relief.

Come and learn about parenting dilemmas, setting boundaries and consequences, manipulation and blackmail, resolving conflict and communication, and the brain hijacking during adolescence.

If you are keen to attend this seminar please phone Lynfield College office (627 0600) to provide an indication for catering purposes for supper.

Culinary Fare this Weekend 

The Hospitality Department staff and students are frantic in their preparations for this weekend’s competitions. This is our biggest culinary competition of the year where Secondary Schools get the opportunity to compete alongside Hospitality training providers, apprentices, and professionals from all areas of Hospitality.

Our competitors start with Waldenie Neto and Aidan Abrahams in the Table Setting section this Sunday 19^th August at 7.15am. They are looking like winners already in the photos below.

Our last competitors are Connor Jay and Jonathan Yap on Monday morning at 6.45am, entering the Café Breakfast. Other events are the College Challenge and High Tea.

Lynfield has a total of 8 students entering over the weekend and if people are interested in Hospitality or anything Culinary it is worth a visit. Public are welcome, it is free to enter and all happens at the ASB Showgrounds.

Details of our competitors' times of competition :
 

Historians Score Highly
 

Last Thursday two teams of Year 11 History students competed in the annual Auckland History Teachers' Association Quiz at Diocesan School.

Out of the 77 teams that took part our teams came 6th and 7th=. This is an impressive result given that only two schools managed to get two teams in the Top Ten – Lynfield College and Auckland Grammar.
 

The Auckland Grammar team that won the competition managed to accumulate 72 points over the 8 rounds of the quiz – our top Lynfield team was well within range with a very respectable 66 points. It was particularly pleasing to hear Lynfield College being publicly recognised as one of the teams to beat after the first three rounds.
the following students are congratulated on their performance:
 

Logan Small
Tian Cooke
Mia Foskin
Isaac Williams
David Wu
Anton Stuart

In the Olympic Spirit

Drama Teacher has all the Credentials
 

Many students watching the recent Sunday Theatre re-screening of Billy (the Billy T James story) would have seen their Drama teacher  Ms Nicholson in her role as the feisty, influential Elaine Heagan (Billy’s agent). However it is doubtful whether they  would have known her drama resume includes roles in many New Zealand films and television dramas – Angel at my Table ,This is not my Life, Legend of the Seeker, Shortland Street, Mercy Peak, The Chosen, Whanau.. and many others!

Drama teacher Ms Celia Nicholson is fortunate to be able to combine her passion for teaching drama with continuing opportunities to hone her own craft and enjoy the magic of the stage.

Celia tells her story- ”I have always been involved in Theatre from playing a naughty fairy in “ Jack and the Beanstalk” to a Chinese narrator in “The Willow Pattern Plate” . I have also been raised by a school teacher, my mother, and thus the two careers have always been in my blood.   I trained as a teacher before I trained as an actor and it was teaching that prompted my interest in Drama. As a young teacher I co-directed “Pygmalion” and “The Pohutukawa Tree” and as a result became entranced by the magic of the stage. I then moved to Auckland and took many night classes with Theatre Corporate. Gradually I began to get work. I relieved a lot in those years but got tired of the lack of continuity with the students. I began to get interested in teaching Drama at Southern Cross in Mangere and found the students’ response to the subject exhilarating.   I’ve had an agent for years and get some TV work from time to time for which does occasionally clash with my teaching, however because Lynfield College is a progressive school and can see the benefits of me continuing to hone my craft, I have been able to take up opportunities. It also means I have kept contacts in the industry which sometimes means I am able to get students auditions for TV or film work. It also helps that the students know that I still work in the industry and it makes them appreciate what I have to offer them. Teaching Drama has now become a passion and I have found that my love of it seems to be infectious in the classroom.”

Whether watching Celia at work in the classroom, or directing Lynfield’s annual musical and dramatic productions it is clear she is indeed very talented and passionate about her craft. Many of the activities our students enjoy in her classes come directly from Celia’s own screen and theatre career experiences.

Images below show Ms Nicholson with a Year 9 Drama Improvisation lesson, and rehearsing Year 13 students for their One Act play performance.

 
KBB Music Festival Next Week
 

Three of our music groups are keenly rehearsing for the annual KBB Secondary Schools' Music Festival. A change of venue this year will mean the bands are playing at Holy Trinity Cathedral and St Mary's in Parnell.

The following times should be highlighted in your diary so you don't miss our school's performances..

Tuesday 21 August- 6pm in Holy Trinity Cathedral - Lynfield College Orchestra

Wednesday 22 August - 4pm in Holy Trinity Cathedral - Lynfield College Concert Band

                                   - 6.30pm in St Mary's - Lynfield College Big Band

Saturday 25 August - 2.30pm and 6.30pm _ Gala Concert which we hope will feature at least one of our music groups (depending on outcomes of competition on Tuesday and Wednesday).

Full programme for the KBB Festival can be viewed here.

Gateway to Saving Lives
 

A new employer this year, CLM Cameron Pool, has developed a Gateway Work Experience programme for senior students to achieve their Pool Lifeguard Skills Award. The students work one day a week for 10 weeks alongside the team at Cameron Pool, learning about the roles and responsibilities of a Lifeguard and completing tasks towards the qualification.

The students learn to test the water, develop their observation skills and enhance their swimming skills.  Once this qualification is achieved students can work at an aquatic facility, alongside another lifeguard, to complete the Pool Lifeguard Practising Certificate to become a fully-qualified lifeguard.

This is the perfect entrance opportunity to gain employment during the summer months. Grace Kukutai, Abhijeet Amin and Sahrash Dhankawade are the first students to participate in this programme.

Former Students Inspire with their Career Journeys
 

For the last few weeks, the Year 13 students of Lynfield College have been enriched with special guest speakers. These are no ordinary speakers, as they are distinguished students from the current Dean, Sofia Hameed’s previous cohort. Through relating their own understandings from five years ago to their future pathways and successes, they have given their insights and advice to the soon outgoing class of 2012. Their different backgrounds, perspectives and career experiences have ensured that a wide range of views have been available to the students.

The first of these speakers was Tim Elliot, the Head Boy in 2007. His entertaining beginning with a poetic anecdote on sunscreen immediately grasped the audience’s attention. He talked about his own choices and decisions, and how they eventually impacted on his career. The emphasis on being informed and pursuing one’s dreams struck a chord with many students, especially those confused and apprehensive of the future.

The week after that, we invited Ben Gibson, a past PE student who has since then carried on his passion to become a PE teacher. He talked about alternative pathways to those not wanting to pursue tertiary study, and encouraged everyone to go out and get work experience, along with talking about his gap year. He mentioned that being active is the key to having a good career. His experience was invaluable for students wanting to go into more practical learning environments after leaving school.

In the first week of Term 3, we were visited by Zabin Farishta, the 2007 Lynfield Dux and Outstanding Scholarship winner in Year 13 who has finished a conjoint BE/BCom degree, and leaves shortly to do her Masters at the London School of Economics. She started with the assurance that confusion at Year 13  stage was not necessarily bad, but that the most important thing to do is to try. She revealed that despite her shining academic record she too had setbacks due to her lack of work experience and confidence, and how her constant striving to reach the standard needed to gain a job in the Reserve Bank improved her own capabilities and eventually let her attain that goal. Her words truly engaged those wanting to pursue tertiary study before entering the workforce.

In the second week of this term Patrick Carroll was our guest. He is now an operations manager at Caltex and talked to us about establishing relations with companies in order to maximise quality work experience. Despite his disadvantage in terms of grades, Patrick’s account of his impressive persuasive skills and hard work indeed motivated many students to also find ways of gaining vocational training needed to enter a particular industry.

Most recently, we welcomed Bion Behdin to the stage. With his witty remarks he instantly engaged the audience, talking about how his Drama & Classics background somehow got him to the chair of the commercial department at ANZ bank. His short and sharp message was: Be Proactive! With that, he left a profound impression on the students of Year 13.

So far five assemblies of excellent speeches have passed. With many more to come as the term progresses, without doubt the class of 2012 will finish the year with important skills and advice on how to pursue their future careers and to become as successful as the students they have been visited by.
 

Informative Evening for Pacific Island Parents

The Pacific Islands Parents’ evening last week was well attended and the agenda provided families with important information and advice as well as music and a closing meal.

Mrs Wendy Keir, careers advisor, spoke about scholarships that are open to all students and those that are for PI students only. Auckland University has now put its scholarship application process on line and the cut-off date is September 3. 

Mele Hala, Elizabeth Fa’amamafa , Olivia Riggs and Paea Taufa performed the song, ‘The Eyes of God’ which Mele and Elizabeth had written for the Matariki song writing competition run by Play It Strange.

	Down in the computer room Mr Murray Black explained how to access students’ NZQA accounts and how to use the web to arrange appointments for progress conferences. Parents and their children enjoyed the opportunity to look at the way NZQA has set out the information regarding the number of credits achieved in the year to date and for previous years.
	The Diabetes Association’s Ms Donna Frost spoke on food and healthy eating, concentrating on the big three – too much sugar, too much fat and too much salt. Her message was that we should have energy drinks only after sport and should prepare food in a way that cuts down the fat. Donna’s talk was very informative and entertaining.

As usual the evening finished with a shared meal and the opportunity to speak with other parents and staff. There is one more meeting this year – in November.

Professional Learning in an Asian Setting
 

Professional Learning and Development took on a different look when Ravindra Reddy, HOD Business Studies, spent time in China recently as a member of a Business Studies Teachers’ Group hosted by AsiaNZ.
 
New Zealand’s economy increasingly relies on international commerce, including trade and investment with China and Mr Reddy’s trip included some very exciting presentations from various Kiwis who are working in Shanghai and either doing business or working in an international business.  Presentations at the New Zealand Central Business Centre included those from Spring Airlines, Zespri, Disney (below Mr Reddy thanks the presenter),The New Zealand Consulate General, Tourism New Zealand, Redfern Associates and Air New Zealand. Business visits and a little sightseeing were also included in the very worthwhile trip (some photos below).
 

Connecting students realistically with the world in which they will develop their business careers, and also having first hand experience of the countries and cultures of many Lynfield students very quickly impacts on classroom teaching and learning. As Mr Reddy says
 
“I hope this will assist us to provide a learning environment that develops globally connected citizens, engages our Asian students, and enhances our school culture of inclusiveness based on respect, tolerance, support and excellence.”
 
Exposing students to Asia “first hand” is one of Mr Reddy’s aims and in a few weeks Mrs Prasad and Mrs Karan will be accompanying a group of Lynfield students to Singapore to a Business Studies International Learning Challenge. Lynfield College is the only New Zealand team travelling to Singapore where we will compete against 16 other countries. Another medal for New Zealand?!

Classical Influences on the Modern World

The gods smiled down on us last Wednesday, when we started out on our mission to see how classical concepts of architecture had influenced the modern buildings of Auckland, in preparation for our upcoming internal. The sun was shining, and the students were smiling! We were first treated to a guided walking tour of the Britomart area, where our guide, Mr Hill, amazed us with observations from a variety of buildings. The tour was a unique and informative experience, which culminated in a huge round of applause from the students. Our next stop, after a brief lunch break, was the majestic Auckland Museum. It was almost like we had been transported directly to the Parthenon in Athens for a fraction of the price! We marvelled for some time over the elements of the building that are classically inspired, and concluded that so much of New Zealand’s architecture has been dominated by classical ideals. This ‘eureka’ moment defined the whole day, and we felt reassured that the classical world is still very much alive and kicking! Well done to the students for a fantastic day!

Sharing Art in the City

On Thursday August 2, as part of the Lynfield College Arts @ the Bay 2012 Festival, nine Year 13 Visual Culture Studies students accompanied 35 local primary and intermediate school students to the Auckland Art Gallery. Our students worked alongside the gallery educators, mentoring the younger students to learn about how to read and make meaning from artworks.

Some notes of appreciation : What a fabulous initiative - Selina, Mindy and I thoroughly enjoyed working with the primary children and with your students. In the short space of time that the children worked together they showed great communication, cooperation and a real depth of thinking. Robbie Butterworth  Senior Art Gallery Educator My students all enjoyed it and got a lot out of it. I have already made enquiries about taking the whole school to the Art Gallery in 2013. New Windsor School Thank you for organising the trip yesterday. The girls had a fantastic time and really enjoyed spending time with your art students. Blockhouse Bay Intermediate