July 2013

New Pavilion for the New Term
 

The brand new Pavilion opened this Monday(July 29) for student use. This facility includes a new cafe for students to buy food, a Year 13 space on the deck and sports changing facilities below.

After operating out of temporary accommodation since the start of the year the cafe moved into this spacious new complex over the recent break. The new kitchen will enable an increased range of food options to be prepared on site for students.

The deck which overlooks the fields is a Year13 space during the school week. They will have their own access to the cafe.

Underneath are large changing rooms, showers, toilets and sports storage areas. This will take considerable pressure off the Sports Centre complex facilities.

The Board is extremely grateful to the financial support it received from the Portage Licensing Trust and the past pupils of the Lynfield College Foundation. Without their support this wonderful addition to the College would never have happened.
 

Our Outstanding Health and PE Faculty

 

Congratulations to our Health and Physical Education Faculty that won a National Physical Education New Zealand outstanding award at the national conference in Wellington.

 This award is presented to an early childhood centre, school,or department that has demonstrated excellence in intra-curricula Physical Education. This award does not include extra-curricula sport or physical activity.

For the purpose of this award, an "Outstanding achievement"  requires that

1. Their performance distinguishes them from the average. That is, their performance goes beyond what is normal or expected for a centre, school or department in the same position.
2. The quality of performance is of a high standard and demonstrates a high level of commitment and ability.
3. Their performance has a positive impact on those around them, in terms of vision, influence, and outcomes.

 

It is very encouraging to have the high calibre of professionalism, teaching and learning in our college recognised and celebrated in this way.
 
 

Visual Arts Exhibition
 

Our community is invited to attend this exhibition during the first few days of August.

      

Technology Faculty Careers Week

 

Technology Faculty Careers Week is happening the first week back in Term 3.

There is something for everyone during this week. Guests from a range of working environments have been invited into the classrooms to let our technology students know what they do. It is a unique opportunity for the students to get an idea of what the qualifications they earn at school can lead to. All the speakers are keen to answer questions.

This all happens in the first week of term 3. Senior students need to check out the timetable below and if there is something they want to know about they can book themselves in.

Period 1	Students sign up for speaker they are interested in.	Spatial Design E2			Animation and Design E2
Period 2			Electrical D1	Electronics D1
Period 3				Food TechnologyD11
Period 4		Graphic Design E3
Period 5				Software Engineering E3
Period 6		Horticulture D6

For more information simply ask any technology teacher.
 
 

SPEC Students in the Community

 

The South Pacific Education Course(SPEC) delivered at Lynfield has once again challenged students to step out into the community to complete their SPEC Tasks. Students working at Level 2 were engaged in group tasks where they arranged an activity of personal choice after discussion, negotiation and careful planning.

 

One group tutored students at May Road Primary school in multi-sport activities and the other was involved in a gardening project at Donovan Retirement Village. All students carried out their responsibilities and the feedback from the school and residents of Donovan Village was extremely positive, inclusive of an invitation for such contribution in the future.

The students displayed good team work, demonstrated all the Key Competencies and felt personally rewarded on completing the task.

Some Level 1 students (pictured lower right in photos)are currently attending work experience at Parrs Products Limited in New Lynn. They are developing an awareness of work place roles and responsibilities.
 

Nga Manu Korero

 

For the first time in many years Lynfield College put forward a speaker, Dwayne Walters of Year 12, in the Nga Manu Korero Speech Competition in the Sir Pei Te Hurinui Jones Section. Dwayne showcased two great speeches - one impromptu on Day 1 and a prepared korero on Day 2.

Dwayne's class mates, pictured with him and Mrs Leauga, performed a haka tautoko after his speech to show support and encouragement. His speech contained tikanga Maori, the use of computers in school and his reo was very accurate.   Ka nui te mihi e Tama! hoki atu nga mihi ki nga tauira e haere mai ana ki te whakataetae.

 
 

Celebrating Maori Language Week

 

Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori was 1 July- 7 July
 
Kia whakanui te wiki o te Reo Maori Ka haere etahi tauira ki te Whare wanaga o Wairaka- Unitec Marae
 
Here are some pictures of the students learning about the whakairo- carvings.

 
A powhiri took place, Rosie Kennedy performed our Karanga, Dwayne Walters was our kaikorero and Olivia Riggs led our waiata.
 
He Marae tino ataahua, He ra hirahira mo nga tauira hoki.
 

Academic Performances Worthy of High Praise
 

Two senior students Jack Barker(Year 13) and David Wu(Year 12) deserve high praise from all of us at Lynfield College for their recent academic successes.

 

Jack has been studying Computer Science 101 at the University of Auckland this semester, alongside his NCEA Level 3 academic programme. His results were significant enough for him to receive the following email from Professor Robert Amor, Head of Department (Computer Science):

 

Hi Jack
I have been informed of your excellent result in COMPSCI 101 this semester. I’d like to congratulate you on this achievement, which is at the top of all of the full-time students at university. As one of our Young Scholars this result impresses me even more as you are taking this course over and above NCEA work at your school and performing superbly against students a year ahead of you at university.

I really hope you enjoyed taking the course and will be considering further COMPSCI courses once you reach university. Personally, I think the courses just get more and more interesting as you progress through the Computer Science curriculum!

 

Congratulations, Jack!

 

David Wu in Year 12 has been selected (after a preliminary test) to participate in the final of the 2013 Eton Press-Casio Senior Mathematics Competition in Wellington.

Only 15 students throughout New Zealand are chosen for the final from about 1200 original contestants. He will sit the final test in week 3 next term. The competition is for the top Year 12 and 13 students throughout New Zealand so he has done particularly well.

 

We wish you well in the final test, David!
 

 Reading with Marshall Laing Primary

 

Four Year 9 English classes were invited to Marshall Laing Primary  to participate in their recent Annual Book Week activities.

Students were asked to select a favourite childhood book which they then practised reading aloud. All Marshall Laing students participated and on the day there were groups of students positioned all around the school reading their books.

Our students enjoyed sharing these rich experiences of books with younger children.

Here are two of their comments:

“We split up into groups of 6 and set off finding our designated classes. For some it was a trip down memory lane wandering through the courts and fields. Memories flashed in front of us as we remembered our past. I had reached the class I was assigned and was given a group of 5 cute little kids. There was one little girl and she took my hand and led me outside as if I was the child. She asked in a sweet voice if we could sit on the luscious green field, but sadly it was damp from the previous night’s rain. Instead we sat on the concrete patch just outside their class. I had given them two options of stories and they picked “Oscar the Star of the Opera” which was about a dog who could sing which they found hilarious. They listened with awe, every now and again pointing at the pictures and would shout “Look at that dog.”
 
                                                                                                Shahin Najak 9HL
 
“I went to room 8 and we read to the littlest children. They were adorable and such good listeners, and they gave me their full attention. I felt that it was a really good experience reading to them. It was so much fun and I have actually changed so much over 8 years and miss being a little kid. They are such good listeners and it was so much fun I would love to do it again! “
                                                                                    Aleece Monkman 9HL
 
 

Outstanding Pasifika Youth Award
 

Holding fond memories of ex-student Mele Vea we are pleased to report her success in the BEST Mayor of Auckland Awards.

 

She won in the category of ‘Outstanding Achievement by a Pasifika Youth’, in tribute to her tenacity in overcoming obstacles and forging ahead in her education. The official description of the award is as follows:

“This award recognises an outstanding achievement in tertiary education, by a Pasifika graduate or current student from BEST who is under 25.

This includes young people who have achieved a goal, triumphed over adversity, or are forging ahead on their journey into higher education. "

Congratulations Mele!
 

Travelwise Success Rewarded
 

Lynfield College has just held "Travelwise week".

 

There were various events, including giveaways for those crossing safely outside school and showing their bus cards. The highlight was the Slow Bike Race held on Wednesday lunchtime. This was held to raise awareness of using bikes and proved to not be as easy as it looked! The clear winner on the day was Adam Herring of 10WD. Congratulations Adam!

As a result of our efforts in 2012, Lynfield College was awarded a silver award at the Annual Travelwise Awards Celebration at the Cloud in Auckland CBD. This was for our committment to safe and sustainable travel. Congratulations to everyone who contributes to our commitment to being travelwise.

Appreciating Sculpture
 

About 35 Year 13 Visual Art students have just had the opportunity to visit Gibbs Farm which is set in the Kaipara Harbour.

 

Throughout the extensive site Alan Gibbs, a wealthy businessman, has created a sculpture park. Artworks at the estate include pieces by many international artists including Anish Kapoor, Andy Goldsworthy, and NZ artists such as Neil Dawson and Len Lye to name a few.

 

It takes about two and a half hours to complete the walk of the park and the students enjoyed the opportunity to get close to well-known works in an impressive setting.

In the first photo Cora Munt, Pam Komatchanan and YeBin Less stand in front of the Amish Kapoor sculpture. The second photo is of students walking towards the Richard Serra sculpture
 

Sporting Honours
 

Again we celebrate some individual sporting successes:

 

Nick Weaver is in the Auckland All-Stars U17 Baseball Senior League team, representing NZ at the Asia-Pacific Middle East Little League Tournament in the Philippines from June 30th to July 8th. NZ will be defending their title as winners from last year. If they win, they go on to play U17 World Series in Bangor, Maine in August this year. Nick is seen in the photo with John Key wishing him well before their departure.

Juee Bhide has competed in her first ever Senior International Match against World No 145 and she won it. Squash NZ is very pleased with the win and posted good comments about it.
 

Michael Durham has advanced two ice skating grades and is now competing at Junior Men Level. He was placed a very creditable 4th in a competition in Hollins/Sydney even though he was only in this grade a matter of 7 weeks.
 

Nathan Maisey has been named in the NZ Cross Whites U14 Soccer team to compete in Perth in September.
 

Keegan Maisey continues to make outstanding progress in his Ice Hockey. He was recently included in the West Auckland Admirals, playing in the NZ Ice Hockey League.

And we also salute the sporting successes of past pupils :

Josh Maisey has won Gold in both the 5,000m and 10,000m (Open Men’s) at the Oceania Track and Field Championships held in Tahiti. He continues to train and race with the goal of making the NZ team to the Commonwealth Games in 2018.

Tyla Nathan-Wong has just returned from Russia with the New Zealand Women’s Sevens Team plus the Women’s Sevens World Rugby Cup. A big congratulations to Tyla and the team.

Language Perfection
 

Students studying international languages were recently tested on their reading, listening and writing skills in 12 different languages using the Language Perfect software.

 

They gained points by learning words, answering more than 458,281 questions and spending more than a total of 1,072 hours learning new words and phrases.

Congratulations to the following students who earned a certificate; they ranked in at least the top 20% of 225,000 competitors, in the largest online languages competition in the world.

Elite Award (more than 10,000 points):

Darren Ng (Year 11 Chinese)
Sumin Kim (12 Japanese)

Gold Award (more than 3,000 points):

Ming Huang (10 Chinese)
Sophie Peung (10 Chinese)
Vincent Flusk (12 Chinese)
Alana Murphy (13 Chinese)
Meghana Moturu (10 German)
Jessica Zhang (11 German)
Casey Crooks (12 German)
Deenisha Khatri (10 German)
Johnson Zhuang (13 German)
Joel Boasman (10 German)
Scott Hughes (10 German)
Sophia Xu (10 Japanese)
Rebecca Gandhi (12 Japanese)
Penny Liu (11 Japanese)

Going "Back to the 80's"

Our annual musical production has opened and plays each evening up until Saturday at 7pm. Tickets are available at reception or at the door.

The music and story appeal to everyone and the calibre of the performances is very high as usual!

 

 

 

Ribbon Day Soccer Waitakere Stadium.

 

Recently as part of the Learning Support Special Olympics a group of 3 boys and 5 girls played soccer for Lynfield College against 4 schools in the second division.   We won 2 games and lost 2. Leon Bartley was a terrific flag bearer. The star was Albert Ama who scored his first goal. Sophia May and Ashley Phillips were great goalies and saved us from losing 2 games. We came third in our division. All in all the day was fun and our students also loved the music.

 

Year 10 Visual Arts Trip

 

by Year 10 students Luke Foley-Martin and Freya Rose

On Thursday 20 June, Ms Ankersmit and Ms van Heeswijk and the Year 10 Visual Arts students went on a  fieldtrip to Studio Ceramics and the Auckland Art Gallery as a part of the 1960’s themed work that we have been making over the year.

 

We started by heading down to the quite massive Studio Ceramics; this turned out to be an amazing part of the day. Our guide very happily toured us around the factory teaching us about the crazy process of making these gorgeous pieces of ceramic ware.

 

After this, we headed down to the awe inspiring Auckland Art gallery. We spent the rest of our school day learning about the incredible pieces of art by some of the greatest artists in New Zealand and the world.

 

The day was a true piece of art.
 

The students are shown wearing 3D glasses for one of the exhibits for the 5th Auckland Triennial: Matariki Paparewa at the Auckland Art Gallery

Leadership Mentoring

 

Tim Elliot, former Head Boy of Lynfield College (2007) and now Australasian Operations Manager for Market Pulse International, visited last week to mentor our Year 12 student leaders.    His focus was on students' renewing their leadership goals as they plan for 2014.   Our thanks go to Tim for his time and the thought he put into planning this session!

 

Licensed to Drive Computers

A special assembly was held last week for the presentation of the ICDL certificates (International Computer Driving Licence). Rebecca Magee from 20/20 Communications Trust came to Lynfield College to present the certificates to 27 students who successfully completed the course in 2012.

The ICDL is the leading global digital literacy certification programme, with almost 10 million participants in 148 different countries and we were proud of our students who were awarded their certificates by Rebecca. The certificates came after a year of study where students had to pass seven online tests with a mark of 75 or better. These students now have a qualification which verifies that have digital literacy in Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, Internet and Email, Managing files and in Basic concepts of computing. Lynfield College offers this course as an option at Year 10.

The students who were awarded certificates were: Andrew Sampson, Luke Thompson, Henisha Tailor, Georgia Van Sambeek, Zachary Walker-Randell, Akanesi Fakafanua, Anjila Reddy, Priyanshi Kapadia, Dayne Andrews, Shrishti Aggarwal, Toraj Bakhtevari, Hamesh Bhana, Shelin Chandra, Ishmeen Dhaliwal, Prashant Kumar, Raynil Laxmidas, Diana Lim, Callum Magee, Anup Menon, Maitreyee Pande, Meet Patel, Nevil Patel, Pooja Patel, Rasmita Patel, Ruhi Patel, Gauri Prabhakar, and George Qiao.

The top 5 students – Raynil, George, Hamesh, Henisha and Luke all received an extra bonus of chocolates from Rebecca.