April 2021

9IL Create a Field of Remembrance

Our school Field of Remembrance how we honoured those New Zealanders who fell during World War I. 103,000 New Zealanders served overseas, 59,500 were casualties and 18,200 died.

9IL (Year 9 Innovative Learning) worked on creating white crosses for a Field of Remembrance. A silent reminder to commemorate those men and women, their service and sacrifice.
The crosses bear the names of some of those men and women who served and made the ultimate sacrifice.

Lynfield College Students Represent New Zealand
in International PASCH Projects

Teesha Sharma and Sarka Ludvigova (Year 12) represented New Zealand in the Digi-Vision project for PASCH students from Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand. They developed skills in photography and video in an international seminar conducted in the German language, and also participated in dareCon! a conference for young people from around the world exploring their vision for the future. The Digi-Vision project ended with an international zoom meeting showcasing students’ projects in short films and trailers.

Teesha and Sarka both received a camera for their contribution to the Digi-Vision project.

Keagan Menezes (Year 11) was one of three other students from New Zealand who also attended the digital dareCon! Students learned how Artificial Intelligence was developed, how it works and how humans plan to use it in the future. They were also introduced to AI based games, one including ‘quickdraw’, where students had to draw pictures and see whether or not AI could recognise what they had drawn. Students discussed with others as to what our future may look like and how we shape it.

2021 Aon National Age Group Swimming Championships

The 2021 Aon National Age Group Swimming Championships were held at the Wellington Regional Aquatic Centre from 19 to 23 April. Two of our swimmers were competing - Kevin Zhang (Year 10) and Abigail Williams (Year 9).

Kevin was outstanding, with five gold medals and a bronze. His medal results are below. He also made the finals of the 50m freestyle and 100m backstroke.

Day 1: Gold in the 100m Breaststroke (Mens Final 14 Years)
Day 2: Gold in the 200m Freestyle (Mens Final 14 Years)
Day 3: Bronze in the 200m Backstroke (Mens Final 14 Years)
Day 3: Gold in the 100m Freestyle (Mens Final 14 Years)
Day 4: Gold in the 200m Individual Medley (Mens Final 14 Years)
Day 5: Gold in the 400m Freestyle (Mens Final 14 Years)

Abigail Williams swam very well to make the finals of the 50m freestyle, 50m butterfly and 50m backstroke.

Champion of Champions Swim Meet

The Auckland Secondary Schools’ Champion of Champions Swim meet at was held at Diocesan Aquatic Centre on Wednesday 14 April. Two of our students qualified for this event where only the top 16 swimmers in Auckland for each event qualify to compete.

Kevin Zhang (Year 10) and Abigail Williams (Year 9) each qualified in three events and performed extremely well.

Kevin swam outstandingly in the 50m Freestyle to claim the BRONZE medal for the 14-15 years age group. This result was more notable because, having just turned 14 he was one of the youngest in his age group.

Abigail swam an excellent race to finish 4th in the 50m Butterfly, only 0.9 seconds off the bronze medal in the 13 and Under age group. We wish both swimmers well in the National Age Groups event which is to be held in Wellington during the school holidays.

ASB Polyfest Cultural Festival

Polyfest returned to Tāmaki Makaurau at the end of Term 1 after two years away. For 2021, last year’s theme was retained as it had become more important than ever, signifying how we celebrate our communities by “Healing the body, mind, spirit and soul with the strength of Culture.” The festival, held from April 14 - 17 in Manukau, was called off in 2019 because of the Christchurch Mosque attacks, and again in 2020 because of Covid-19.

Our Niuean group of nine students gave an outstanding performance (to view our performance scroll back to 0:0000), on the Niuean Stage at the ASB Polyfest on Friday 16 April. We have been overwhelmed with positive feedback from other schools, Niuean elders, judges and members of the polyfest community. Comments have included:

“For nine dancers the volume and clarity of the singing was beautiful”.
“They look beautiful, they sound beautiful, they will make the big groups run for their money.”
“The message they sing, it is important, but it was also nice to listen to.”
“The transitions were so clean, their actions sharp, Lynfield owned the stage – amazing!”

This group of nine placed in four out of five items performed. A huge feat considering most groups have performed for a number of years and consist of 25 – 40 dancers. Overall an amazing outcome of which we are very proud.

Acknowledgement must be given to our tutors Malcom Lakatani and Noel Fe’ao who are both teachers at other schools. The students and I are grateful for their time, commitment and creativity.

The Niuean group are grateful for their support of a haka tautoko, packed lunches for each Niuean dancer and invitation to join their hakari whakamutunga (finishing celebration). We participated in an exchange of encouraging words and food. A humbling display of manaakitanga from Kapa Haka to the Niuean group.

Nga mihi Whaea Jen and Whaea Maihi.

LYNFIELD COLLEGE NIUEAN GROUP PLACED:

3rd: Co-ed schools’ category
3rd: Overall presentation
3rd: Lologo tuai (seated chant)
3rd: Tame (semi-circle action song)
2nd: Meke (stomping dance)
3rd: Whakaotianga (exit)

Acknowledgement must also be given to the Kapa Haka group who performed beautifully on the Māori stage.

Highlights can be viewed at the following link: https://www.live.asbpolyfest.co.nz/
Tongan, Niuean and Samoan stages: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/440647/polyfest-2021-day-three-tongan-niue-and-samoan-stages

Lynfield Kolisi performance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Wnxcr34CCo&t=1062s

An interview quoting our male leader Honor Makalima: https://www.facebook.com/7759768730/posts/10158508129178731/?d=n

Results: https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/national/440664/live-polyfest-2021-day-four

Reporters from RNZ News asked those who attended what was different since the last time they’d been at Polyfest ...


Pauline Kaufusi and Luviah Saito Sililoto	Left to right: Luka Cedric, Scarlett Perez, Nykolias Cedric

Pauline: “We were performers in the past but then Covid-19 came, so we couldn’t. We’re here to support this year. I feel like missing out on all of this means we don’t see all the ethnicities and what they have in stock for us. Coming here now, we see everybody out here, celebrating, in different costumes and designs.”

Luviah: “Polyfest to me is gathering everyone’s ethnicities and cultures and learning new things about it. The last time we came here I was in year nine, so there’s lots of memories. Been away too long. There’s less people now because of Covid-19 but there’s still lots going on.”

Luka: “We just performed - we’re the first Niuean group from Lynfield College. Definitely grateful and blessed to come here and perform, and that we still have this running even though we’ve had Covid and the Christchurch Mosque shootings. It feels amazing - being able to rep my culture, stand proud and rep my school as well.”

Scarlett: “It’s really cool - I haven’t been to any big events where there’s heaps of people because of Covid, so it’s really exciting”.

UoA Engineering Initiative for Pasifika Students (SPIES)

On Tuesday 13 April, 24 Year 9-11 students from our Maori and Pasifika communities discovered pathways they can take to get into engineering as a career.

The South Pacific Indigenous Engineering Students (SPIES) is a new initiative that The University of Auckland is offering Lynfield College. The aim of the university team is to “Seek to Inform and Inspire (SI’I)”.

Our students were offered fun activities, one requiring working in teams to build a tower, which certainly opened their eyes to wanting to find out more about why young Maori and Pasifika are essential to the engineering world. The next engagement will be a trip to the University of Auckland Engineering campus mid-year.

South Island Cricket Tour, 28 March to 7 April 2021

Below is a brief report from 'Men of the Tour', Rishitt Walavalkar and Maanov Bali:

Our trip started off in Christchurch with the first day being hot and sunny, perfect conditions to raid the nearby vending machine and play backyard cricket. Our games in Christchurch were challenging but exciting; we played St Bedes College, Riccarton High School and Cashmere High School. We were also lucky enough to get a tour of the Hagley Oval, explore Christchurch City and have food at the Riverside Market.

On the way to Timaru we stopped at the New Zealand Cricket High Performance Centre to have a tour and training session. Timaru was colder than we expected. We played against Timaru Boys High School which are one of the best cricketing schools in New Zealand.

Next we started our long journey to Queenstown. On the way we stopped at Lake Tekapo which had a breath-taking view, we all took some beautiful photos. Continuing our journey to Queenstown we took a short break at Cromwell which had these gigantic metal fruit sculptures. The final drive to Queenstown was filled with amazing views and sights of nearby mountains. We finally reached Queenstown after a long day of driving. Some of our activities in Queenstown were jet boating, Skyline gondola and mini golfing. We also had a chance to have a burger from Fergburger and go shopping around town. Our last two games were at Millbrook Cricket Club (which had a spectacular view of mountains all around) against Wakatipu College.

Overall this trip was not only a great opportunity for the boys to develop their cricket skills but to also grow as young men and put Lynfield College on the map of strong cricketing schools. We would like to say a huge thank you to Mr Fletcher, Mr Christie, Craig and Jacky Martin for all the hard work they put in to organise and make this tour possible.

Enjoy the journey at this facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/LynfieldCollegeSport/videos/335884274795830/

Special Performance Enjoyed by our Neighbouring Schools

Year 9, Waikowhai Intermediate, Glenavon School and Blockhouse Bay Intermediate students were the audience for our very first matinee performance at the Lynfield College hall for our Kapa haka group on Wednesday 7 April. A huge thank you to our guests from the Kahui Ako including kaiako and akonga who came to watch.

Our Tutors Brenda and Tu along with Whaea Maihi, Whaea Reta, Whaea Bell and Whaea Leauga were happy to see akonga display Maori performing Arts, Te Reo Maori on the atamira with such kaha. Ngaa mihi to all the whanau and kaiako from Lynfield who have assisted with kai and tautoko, special mention to our Senior Leadership Team, the Latoa whanau and Eileeen Foskin for their contributions and tautoko.

Our Niuean Group who will be at Polyfest this year also gave a stunning performance.

Images credit: Ron Delgrosso

Year 11 Future Pathways: Cool Stuff to Do When You Leave School

A Park Ranger working with nature, an Apprentice Builder and a BCITO business development advisor, were three of the guests Year 11 students heard from at the Future Pathways event in the Hall on Wednesday 7 April. The 350 students enjoyed the Kahoot challenges arising from their knowledge about the skills required to work in a wide range of job roles within the Primary Industries and the Construction and Infrastructure Industries.

Thank you to the guests, to Shaun our Master of Ceremonies and to the Career Development Company for opening our student’s eyes to future employment opportunities.

VEX Robotics VRC National Championships

In partnership with Auckland Unlimited, Kiwibots presented the 2020-21 VEX Robotics Competition National Championships held over the 2021 Easter weekend at the Vodafone Events Centre.

VRC Teams from across New Zealand will compete over two days to gain the coveted title of National Champions and to qualify for invitations on the global stage at the World Championships in Dallas, Texas. This is the largest VEX Robotics Competition run in New Zealand each year.

Lynfield College teams 2915B, 2915E and 2915X made it to quarter finals, Team 2915P was eliminated in the qualification rounds.

Team 2915X: Left to right: Kaelem Chandra, Diam Amani

Pranav Malik (far right), and fellow contestants

Team 2915B: Left to right:
Ahil Hussain, Damon Atherstone, Toby McIsaac

Left to right: Nicholas Belt, Jordon D’Souza, Mathew Hoseinzadeh, Pranav Malik, Kaelem Chandra, Ahil Hussain, Diam Amani, Ishnoor Singh

43rd National Youth Jazz Competition

For 42 years secondary school students from throughout New Zealand and overseas have gathered to compete for trophies, prizes and awards at the National Youth Jazz Competition held at Baycourt Community and Arts Centre, Tauranga from 31 March to 1 April. Some of the world’s best jazz exponents are on the judging panels and the workshops have produced some of the nation’s most outstanding jazz players.

The National Youth Jazz Competition showcases the very best emerging jazz players from secondary schools across New Zealand, and Lynfield College is always well-represented.

Congratulations to our very talented and successful musicians and a special mention to our equally talented Music Department staff: Lisa Norman, Sigmund Sue, Charlie Isdale and Paul Norman.

BIG BAND AWARDS: Lynfield College Big Band: GOLD

COMBO AWARDS: Lynfield College Jazz Combo: SILVER

Links to the recordings are below. Enjoy!

https://youtu.be/I1mdd-XT4G0 | Without the Paper
https://youtu.be/ezUV3Hse2gQ | We’ll Be Together Again

Cultural Week and Cultural Day 2021

Lynfield College celebrated the week leading up to Cultural Day by offering a variety of activities for students to participate in Chinese painting/calligraphy, origami, enjoying Kapa Haka performances and the Cultural Fashion Show.

Cultural Day on Saturday 10 April was a highly anticipated community get-together where Lynfield College welcomed the community to celebrate different cultures and ethnicities from around the world. Despite the rain, it was a successful day where students and whanau were able to enjoy a diverse range of delicious foods. In addition, audiences were enthralled by the colourful and vibrant dances performed by the Lynfield Cultural Groups. A big thank you to our families and wider Lynfield community for celebrating the day with us.

Photos can be viewed at these links: Cultural Week Photos 2021 and Cultural Groups Photos 2021