Celebrating and Contributing to IDOP
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The International Day of the Older Person is celebrated every year with a morning tea and concert at the Blockhouse Bay Community Centre. Our students are always happy to contribute to this occasion. Year 12 and 13 Hospitality students prepared and served food to 100 Age Concern members from around the community. Both young and old enjoyed the event and this is the fourth year Lynfield College students have been involved in catering for the morning tea to celebrate IDOP. |
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14 Nations on our Geography Trip!
The two hundred dinner guests at Mitai Maori village in Rotorua were asked for their countries of origin. Among the 19 different nationalities present, Lynfield College students represented 14!
The development of Rotorua as an international tourism destination was the focus of the Level 3 Geography trip, which also involved a trip to Whakarewarewa thermal reserve, a cultural concert and a tour of the historic bath house. The modern trend toward adventure tourism was experienced by the group riding the gondolas and luging on Mt Ngongotaha.
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University of Auckland Economics Competition
Congratulations to our economists - Kiran Patel, Dillon Pentz, Samuel Rendal and Helen Xia on their excellent performance in the 2016 New Zealand Economics Competition.
They have been awarded High Distinction, which places them in the top 5% of participants!
To recognise the achievement University of Auckland invites them to an Awards Presentation evening on 13th of October.
We hope that this has motivated their interest to study Economics further.
PWC Scholarship Awards
Congratulations to Muskan Verma on receiving the PWC Scholarship Award.
With this PWC Scholarship Muskan will be off to a great start once she completes this year:
> $7,000 towards her university fees over the course of her degree
> A PWC staff member to mentor her during her study
> A paid summer internship to develop the foundation skill for her career
> Access to business networks amongst the best and brightest minds in New Zealand at their social and scholarship events
> The opportunity to learn about what they do behind the scenes, so she can choose the career path that best suits her.
Congratulations also to Rishab Goswami who has been awarded the following aspects of the PWC scholarship awards.
> A PWC staff member to mentor him during his study
> Access to business networks amongst the best and brightest minds in New Zealand at their social and scholarship events
> The opportunity to learn about what they do behind the scenes, so he can choose the career path that best suits him.
Chinese Language Film Wins First Prize
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Year 9 students Sophie Bradley, Harriet Barber and Lara Milne won the Best Language Award in the inaugural New Zealand Intermediate and Secondary School Students' Chinese Short Film Competition.
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Our Turn to Visit Shinagawa
| 17 students and two staff (Mr Burden and Mrs Wells) leave on Monday 19 September for a 18 day trip to Japan. The primary focus of the trip is to build on the successful relationship between the local Shinagawa community and the staff and students at Lynfield College. The programme functions through the Shinagawa International Friendship Association. Auckland and Shinagawa, which is a part of Tokyo, have been friendship cities for over 20 years. We look forward to taking everything on board in this once in a lifetime opportunity. The group will spend the latter part of the trip travelling to Osaka, Kyoto and Hiroshima where we hope to experience a different part of Japan away from the hustle and bustle of Tokyo. We look forward to reporting back following our return on October 7. |
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Debating - We are the champions!
A HUGE Congratulations to Lynfield's Advanced Premier debating team for winning the Grand Final of the Premier Advanced grade of the Russell McVeigh Auckland Schools Debating competition for 2016. They are now the reigning champions in the very competitive world of Auckland debating.
Year 12 students, Jia Dua, Karan Kalsi, and Kitty Sun successfully affirmed in a unanimous decision "this house believes social movements (e.g. Feminist movement, LGBT movement, race-based groups such as Black Lives Matter) should not criticise the views of those outside their movement on the basis of their privilege," beating Diocesean School for Girls, also a Year 12 team.
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This is the first year Lynfield has ever had a team entered in the top grade, and to come out on top of the best teams in Auckland is a testament to the incredible talent that we have here at Lynfield. The Grand Final and prizegiving took place at St. Cuthbert's College in front of a packed auditorium that included a number of Lynfield's teachers, parents and debaters.
The debate was followed by a prizegiving which included the Top 10 Speaker awards for each grade. Lynfield had four debaters who won awards:
Karan Kalsi (2nd place in the 1st Grade Advanced Premier)
Harry Ashley (6th place in the 2nd Grade Junior Premier)
Nicole Johnson (8th place in the 4th Grade Senior Open)
Michael Howell (3rd place in the 5th Grade Junior Open)
And so we wrap up a fantastic season of Debating where Lynfield has enjoyed unprecedented success, including:
Advanced Premier: Advanced Premier Grade winners; Seasonal Championship (3rd Place); Auckland Regional finalists; Impromptu Cup Semi-finalists
Senior Open: 2 teams into the Octofinals
Junior Premier: Semi-finalists
Junior Open: Semi-finalists
Debating Coordinators Mrs. Wagner and Mr. Bangs wish to thank the hard work and dedication of all of the debating coaches and managers including Mrs. Wiggins, Mr. Daly, Mrs. Carswell, Mrs. Christie; Ms. Leafberg and Mr. Halligan. And a very BIG thank you to student coach Karan Kalsi, who helped make this year a great success for Lynfield Debating!
NIWA Science Fair Awards
Five junior students spent many hours investigating, presenting and perfecting their entries for the annual NIWA Science Fair, and
we congratulate them on their efforts. Two entries came 2nd equal in the Year 9 and 10 Living World category:
Harriet Barber and Zoe Armstrong - for their entry Green Light equals Sprout Booster.
Sam Boasman - who also received a special prize for his work entitled Friend or Foe
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Zoe Armstrong and Harriet Barber |
Shaquille Khan with the project he did with Kristijan Ilievski(absent). |
The Power of Water
At the west coast beach of Muriwai, lifeguards protect surfers and swimmers from the destructive power of the three metre waves. The Level 3 Geographers learn that these swells, formed over the Tasman Sea provide the dramatic conditions which shape the coastline; breaking rock and forming beaches.
On the field trip students compared currents, beach slope and sand movement between two locations, to explain why a short distance makes a world of difference. The group lunched in the town which is under steady threat from the advancing sea.
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Visiting Novelist Speaks at Te Ringa Awhina Marae
On Tuesday 6 September a powhiri was held at Te Ringa Awhina Marae for Dr Paula Morris (University of Auckland) an award winning Novelist of Ngati Wai descent.
She spoke to our tauira Maori and students taking Te Reo as a subject about the importance of writing and gave specific tips on how students should start their journey in writing.
Dr Paula Morris spoke about her novel Rangatira (Penguin, 2011) and her Tipuna Paratene (this book won the fiction categories at the 2012 New Zealand Post Book Awards and Nga Kupu Ora Maori Book Awards).
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 left : Dr Paula Morris is welcomed to the marae right : Some of our students with their special guest Dr Paula Morris |
Dr Morris will be travelling to Africa in the next fortnight to research for her next book. We would like to thank her for taking the time to visit our Marae and speak with us. Henry Samuels presented a taonga as a symbol of our gratitude to our special guest.
He mihi manaaki ki a koe e Takuta Paula mo to korero e pa ana ki te whakahirahiratanga o nga pukenga tuhituhi me nga pukenga panui.
New Music Facilities Complete
The new music facilities at Lynfield College are just about complete. It is now time to move in the furniture and other fittings.
Students and staff have been using the upgraded classrooms for most of Term 3, however they now get access to new practice rooms, recording suite, computer room and staff offices. When the big music groups practise they will now have a permanent base.
This project completes a 20 year upgrade of College facilities. It is now time to start again!
Anyone For High Tea?
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Preparing a High Tea and serving it to guests was part of the Year 11 Hospitality assessment undertaken by students taking the hospitality programme at Lynfield College.
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Green Gold Enviroschools Award for Lynfield
Lynfield College is now the 7th school in New Zealand to be awarded with a green gold enviroschool status.
Shahin Kajak reports..
"In 2009 the school was awarded the silver award and now 7 years later we have moved the next step up.
We had to follow through the guiding principles and look at the concepts of sustainability and ecology as to how they are woven into all aspects of school life. This includes both in class and in extracurricular activities where there was no shortage of evidence. Lynfield College is extremely proud to now hold this award for green gold sustainability; this is just a stepping stone in a long journey for our school. A huge thank you to everyone involved particularly to the senior management and Board of Trustees for being so supportive throughout this process."
 Planting Manuka saplings at the reserve opposite Halsey Drive Primary school to provide habitat for a relict species of dwarf mistletoe. |
 Cabbage trees, native grasses and black mairies planted by students as part of the outdoor classroom regeneration project behind the school turf. |
 Operation cleanup! Just some of the debris collected from the Wairaki stream reserve |
Bridget Glasgow of Auckland Council has written to the college...
"It is a great achievement that Lynfield College is the 7th Green Gold secondary Enviroschool and 4th In Auckland.
This is very significant as it shows the commitment of a large school to develop becoming a sustainable community . Students learn to make informed decisions that impact on the environment , society, economics and cultures and therefore create a better future by taking action for both human rights and the local environment.
Lynfield College has been on this journey for a long time and has developed some exceptional leaders who are empowered to create change and influence others both in school and when they move to their future careers, all helping to make NZ proud of its green reputation.
Lynfield can be proud how they respect different cultures and diversity, the work they have done in improving native ecosystems and in the community. The next big challenge will be reducing waste to landfill and raising awareness in the whole school how local action can impact on global challenges."
NZ Secondary Schools' Winter Tournament Week
The winter sports season wrapped up with NZSS Tournament Week (29 August – 2 September). This year five Lynfield teams competed in various tournaments, playing schools from all over the North Island.
The experience for the players is far greater than just the time actually playing the games. It is a unique and invaluable opportunity for our best sportspeople to be part of the intensity of a top level competition, day in, day out for a week and also to share the highs, lows and fun with other like-minded players and school mates.
Congratulations to all our players who represented Lynfield with pride and passion, playing hard but fair. This year’s game results were very impressive:
1st XI Boys Football 3rd in “Trident” tournament (24 teams competed in Wanganui)
1st XI Girls Football 21st in “Kathy Seaward” tournament (24 teams competed in Auckland)
1st XI Boys Hockey 4th in “Olympic Stick” tournament (15 teams competed in Ngatea)
U19 Boys Basketball 3rd in “Northern Secondary Schools Cup” (10 teams competed in Auckland)
Premier 1 Netball 54th in “Upper North Island Secondary Schools” (111 teams competed at Papakura)
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Festival Awards 2016 Tickets Available Now
Our annual celebration of the extra-curricular life of the college will be held on Thursday 13 October and tickets are now available for eligible students and their families.
Details of the event are as follows:
Date and Time : Thursday October 13 at 6.00pm (for a prompt 6.15pm start; expected finish time 8.45pm.)
Venue : Eden Park, North Lounge, Level 5
Cost : $25.00 per person
Ticket Sales : from the Sports Office and from College Reception. Eligible students have received a letter of invitation
which must be presented at time of ticket purchase.
Hosting our Friends from Shinagawa
Our Shinagawa Summer School proved very successful as 30 students, each from a different secondary school in Shinagawa, in Tokyo, Japan, enjoyed three weeks at Lynfield during August. They managed a busy schedule which included attending classes (Art, Te ReoMaori, PE and Japanese) sightseeing and visiting around Auckland, and concluded with visits to Waitomo caves, Rotorua (a hangi and Maori cultural experience), and jet boating belowHuka Falls.
Mrs Delgrosso and Mr Bangs led the students’ programme which was primarily aimed at improving the students’ English and which placed an emphasis on speaking and listening skills, reading and writing skills, vocabulary building and grammar skills.
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Trips around Auckland included to the Museum, Mt Eden, the zoo, Kiwi Valley Farm, the Skytower, a ferry trip to Devonport, Arataki, Piha Beach,Tip top icecream factory tour, a Town Hall courtesy call on an Auckland City Representative, Kelly Tarlton’s Underwater World and Antarctic Centre, and Dressmart(for a spot of shopping!).
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Part of the students’ cultural experience was being billeted in homestays, and as is usual our billeting families enthusiastically hosted the visitors and the newly-forged friendships will no doubt be continued online and perhaps even in a return visit next year.
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The Wallace Secondary Schools' Art Awards 2016.
Euan Zhuang, Year 12 Visual Art, has been selected as a finalist for The Wallace Secondary Schools' Art Awards 2016.
Euan's work will be exhibited at the Pah Homestead alongside artworks from other secondary students. The presentation evening will be Monday the 12 September (doors open at 5pm).
These Awards are given to encourage and develop the visual arts in New Zealand and to highlight artists creating remarkable work. The Exhibition will feature the winning artworks and a selection of finalists and will travel to Wallace Gallery Morrinsville and Pataka Art + Museum.