From our Student Leaders
Being thrust into another lockdown seems to have caught all of our community off guard. After a year of being essentially Covid free, we all thought that pandemic was far away from us until we heard the news that we were going to be plunged into yet another lockdown. However, the news really hit home when we learned that we had positive cases in our schooling community.
The response from staff, students and the wider community was overwhelmingly positive as well. The messages of support, kindness and compassion we received from each other and from our school gave us the confidence to get through this next battle through Covid. The emphasis from our staff has been on supporting our students through their online learning in a multitude of ways, whether that be sending out messages telling us to take care and be kind, creating accessible learning resources or actively looking to make online learning more accessible process.
Our student leaders are now actively looking to engage our students to understand how we can continue to enhance the support we are giving them, with an emphasis on Manaakitanga, which means to extend our Aroha to others. Student check in survey: https://tinyurl.com/LC-check-in-21
Watch Head Boy Sanat Singh being interviewed by Matty McLean on TVNZ Breakfast News on Monday 23 August:
https://www.tvnz.co.nz/one-news/new-zealand/students-missing-small-things-in-lockdown
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The Hauora CommitteeA STUDENT WELLBEING INITIATIVE The Hauora Committee is a newly founded student-run group that streamlines existing school health groups by creating a bridge of communication between themselves, and the student body. Student leaders sought after better student empowerment and more efficient workflows, so the committee was born as a solution. The Hauora Committee is composed of 9 teams, totalling 63 students. Each team carries out their own project, some of which are about to debut very soon! Alongside the team projects, the leaders of Hauora Committee are also working with external organisations such as Kāhui Ako in order to improve the local community's overall hauora. The Hauora Committee is all about streamlining and improving our community's existing state, and it aims to expand its work as the committee ages.This committee was founded at the end of 2020 by Eliana Competente (opposite at left) and Evana Chan (opposite at right), with Ms Wells as the teacher. It began it's work at the start of this year and has carried out projects such as holding huis with nearby schools, running a social space lunchtime project, and projects on promoting our mental health services at school. |
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NIWA Science and Technology Fair
In August ten of our Year 9 Science Fair projects were selected to move on to represent Lynfield College at the NIWA Science and Technology Fair, Auckland Regional - Central/West 2021 from 26 - 28 August.
Unfortunately, the NIWA Science and Technology Fair was not able to be held in person due to COVID restrictions. Students were, however, able to present their projects digitally to the judges through ZOOM meetings. The NIWA Science Fair judges were impressed with the quality of the projects and the presentation of the students. Three projects were given prizes this year.
3rd Place in Year 9/10 Physical World and a special book prize was given to Jacky Zhou for his project ‘Bridge vs. Mass’. The judges were very impressed with his understanding of Physics concepts and the large amount of data he had collected to ensure reliability of his experiment.
The Auckland NIWA Science Fair is a showcase of Science projects created by the curious minds of students.
"I wondered how building a different bridge design would affect its overall strength. I chose four diverse designs (arch, beam, suspension, truss) and built them out of Lego. I got my data from placing weights onto each bridge three times (to improve accuracy), then logged my results of each trial. The suspension bridge was the strongest, which withstood an average of 2261 grams. My results showed a cable-dependent bridge was the strongest design." Jacky Zhou
HIGHLY COMMENDED PRIZES WEN TO:
‘Soil Type vs. Plant Growth’ by Muhammed Patel and Xavier Hamilton.
‘How effective is your sunscreen?’ by Deveshi Aurora and Mishti Saha.
Support for
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Lynfield College Community Discord Server
| With lockdown separating our school community from one another, it has been difficult for our students to properly connect with one another for both schoolwork and socializing. In a quest to find a solution, Math Teacher Mr Cheung created a Discord server, which is an online platform, that allows students to use text-forums and voice-chat to share their hobbies, form gaming groups, help each other in work set by their teachers, or simply chat. |  |
What started as a small group of around 20 made up of students from the extra-curricular clubs Mr Cheung supports (Anime Club, Tabletop Club, and D&D Club), swelled to over 100 students in a single afternoon. With such explosive growth, it is necessary to have a team of dedicated student moderators who help keep the server orderly, respectful of all the students involved, who range from Year 9s to Year 13s.
The students are connecting is a variety of ways, such as testing their movie knowledge in a game dubbed ‘Guess the Movie’, participating in a Photo-a-Day challenge, bonding over their tastes in music, or frustratingly trying to co-ordinate in a simple 'counting' game where no errors are tolerated.
Lynfield College Music Success
The Music Department has had an exceptionally busy couple of weeks as they have provided performances for our community as part of the preparation for some major competitions resulting in considerable success.
Auckland Secondary Schools Jazz Band Competition
- Big Band – Selected for Finals
- Big Band – Platinum Award (Highest award possible)
- Jazz Combo – Gold Award
- Saxophone Ensemble – Silver Award
KBB Music Festival
- Big Band – Selected for Gala
- Big Band – Gold Award (Highest award possible)
- Concert Band – Bronze Award
- Chamber Orchestra – Highly Commended
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School Science Fair 2021 Showcase Evening
On 12 August Lynfield College hosted a Science Fair Showcase evening. It was a huge success and enjoyed by students, teachers and members of the community. The projects were insightful, and the students presented themselves to the judges well. The winners of the Science Fair displayed outstanding scientific understanding and explained themselves passionately and with purpose. We were fortunate to have former Deputy Principal and Science Teacher Murray Black join our school judging panel.
The following ten projects have been selected to represent Lynfield College at the NIWA Science and Technology Fair: Central West Region.
1st ‘How Effective is your Sunscreen’ by Deveshi Arora and Meshti Saha
2nd ‘Growing Pains’ by Jasmine Millar
3rd ‘Apple Oxidation’ by Bhargav Patel and Hola Afasa
HIGHLY COMMENDED (in no particular order)
‘Bridge vs. Mass’ by Jacky Zhou
‘What Colour Attracts People’s Attention the Most’ by Anjali Kapadia
‘Soil Types and Plant Growth’ by Muhammed Patel and Xavier Hamilton
‘Combatting Climate Change’ by Tej Patel and John Mahe
‘Get a Grip on Germs’ by Anika Wong
‘Baking Powder Substitutes’ Samantha Andrew-Salter and Olivia Edwards
‘Eco Advertising’ Ayush Swarnapuri and Timothy Truc
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Virtual Shinagawa Summer School 2021
Lynfield College hosts 30 students from Shinagawa, Tokyo, for two weeks each August during Japan’s summer holiday break. With travel between our two countries being interrupted by COVID, online sessions were trialled as an alternative. Keeping the relationship between our two cities alive is important to us.
Shinagawa are usually welcomed onto the Lynfield College marae with a powhiri. Ms Kim and Whaea Leauga thought about how they could showcase the importance of this and found digital resources which showed the different parts of the powhiri so that manuhiri were able to see the ceremony in action. Reo Lessons with Whaea and a haka lesson with our kapa haka students was a fun way to connect with Shinagawa students and maintain whanaungatanga digitally.
In the English sessions Mrs Delgrosso and Mr Bangs talked to students about their interests and then viewed part of a Kiwiana video, in which they learned about such Kiwi icons as the Silver Ferns, Auckland’s volcanoes, L&P, and the all-important difference between Kiwis and kiwifruit. In Japan, kiwifruit is referred to simply as kiwi, so it’s a good idea to avoid confusion. Students also learned a little Māori related to plants, such as ponga and pohutukawa, and some Kiwi slang such as “Sweet as” and “She’ll be right!”.
In our Japanese class, Year 10 to 13 students participated in the Zoom session. Students were divided into given different topics to start the conversation. Despite unstable connection of the zoom, students really enjoyed the conversation with students in Japan and saw the importance of learning a foreign language. Our Lynfield College students were inclusive, respectful, and collaborated well with students in Japan, so the conversation sessions successfully demonstrated our school’s values of Manaakitanga and Whanaungatanga tika.
It was great to see students sharing their interests and inviting each other to their own country. Moreover, students were eager to learn more phrases so they can use the language with students in Japan. Overall, the Virtual Shinagawa Summer School Programme successfully uplifted students’ engagement in language learning and it was a great time to appreciate each other’s ahurea and Whanonga Pono.|
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Our international students sounded like they were really enjoying the discussion, a lot of laughs and chat. They were comparing stories about their lives, what it’s like to be in New Zealand, how to make friends here, what the culture is like and how it’s different to their home countries. What’s trending, what games do they like (online games of course).
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Year 11 Pacific Island Leaders of Tomorrow (PILOT)
Students connected with Oceanian Tertiary Liaison from a variety of institutions and organisations on Wednesday 11 August at Manukau Institute of Technology.
The day programme gave students the opportunity to ‘test the waters’ to better understand the ‘ocean’ they live in. The sessions gave students the confidence to understand their strengths and show there are many ways to navigate ‘the ocean’. Activities across the day developed students to feel more confident and resilient enough to be able to explore the ocean currents, navigate fickle winds, traverse changing tides and to follow the plethora of secret pathways hidden in the stars. Students came away knowing what they need as a fisherman, to be able to fish for life and be successful. The following evening Aiga were invited to connect over dinner, listen to a guest speaker and review the student’s achievements.
STUDENT COMMENT:
“PILOT was a fun experience. I learnt a lot about networking and how important it is to connect with others. I was inspired by the work and drive our Poly leaders showed us. I’m so keen for the programme next year and hope to see some of the same faces again”.
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Yr 12 PILOT photo Left to Right: Afeleti Lui, Alfred Fononga, Maria Petelo, Sitaita Latuila, Mr Cheung |
The 2021 Year 11 Māori Kei ā Tatou te Ihi (KATTI)
This event took place at University of Auckland, Tūtahi Tonu Marae, Epsom Campus on Friday 6 August. Students were encouraged to focus on enhancing their life choices through exploring opportunities via career planning. The day gave students access to key Māori liaison from various organisations, leading students through learning activities based around the theme of ‘Navigation to Career Destinations’. Student came away feeling they can:
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Make informed decisions about their education future(s)
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Work to overcome barriers or obstacles
- Develop an awareness of the available tools to accommodate their decision making
STUDENT COMMENTS
“The guest speaker was very educational and talked about many different pathways he’s taken in his life, He spoke about his mistakes and how he overcame them, as well as sharing his successes that made his family proud.”
“Teamwork activities were choice”.
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| Left to Right: Ihaka Kavana-White, JT Koti-Mason, Kiara Milich, Payton Dawson, Danica Kaukau, Ms Bell |
Music Department Variety Concert
The Lynfield College Music Department was proud to present the annual Varity Concert on Wednesday 4 August. The show featured the Choir, Chamber Orchestra, Development Strings, Concert Band and Development Concert Band. It was a wonderful evening that showcased not only our premier ensembles but also included some first performances for the students in the development ensembles.
On Wednesday 25 August the annual Jazz ‘n’ Soul Concert will take place. This will feature the award-winning Big Band and Jazz Combo as well as the Saxophone Ensemble and Queen Tribute band. The night will close with a special guest performance by former student Rachel Clarke and her band.
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Te Kuhunga Programme:
Turning Students into Future Lawyers
Year 13 students interested in studying Law visited Meredith Connell’s offices in the Auckland CBD on Wednesday 4 August.
The first session gave students an opportunity to hear about interesting legal topics and recent cases that young graduates plus more experienced lawyers have been involved in. It was an honour to have two MC Partners speak about their roles, Brian Dickey the Crown Solicitor at Auckland, as well as ex-Lynfield College Nick Malarao who leads the Insolvency, Recoveries and Enforcement team.
There was time for a Q and A session, so that students with burning questions could ask about studying or practicing law. Then students were served a corporate afternoon tea, followed by a tour of the Offices to see where lawyers from different practice areas work.
STUDENT COMMENTS ABOUT THE INFORMATIVE TRIP
“I enjoyed observing the different areas lawyers work in and hearing their stories”
“It was cool to tour around the offices and to hear about their experiences in the range of different roles”
“It was interesting to hear how Pro Bono worked for their office”
“It was great to gain an insight into their day to day working lives”
Next steps for the Law in Schools programme: Saturday 25th September is the Law Open Day for Year 11-13 to attend, bringing together the two Universities offering Bachelor of Laws degrees in Auckland. Year 13 students are eligible to apply for a Te Kuhunga Scholarship if intending to study at any New Zealand University Law School.
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| Front row left to right: Aashish Ramanlal , Eliana Competente (Head Girl), Elizabeth Hastings (Pacific Leader), Angela Lu (Class Rep Coordinator). Back row left to right: Mrs Keir (Careers Counsellor), Tyler Quigley-Biggs (Cultural Ambassador), Shania Khan, Esther Wong, Rikhil Parmar (Ambassador Coordinator), Varsha Soni (Gateway student), Lorelle Kemp (Gateway student). |
Lynfield College 1st XV Rugby Success
The 1st XV Rugby Boys have had a fabulous season so far. Of the six games they have played in their competitive season, they have won all six. This is an amazing achievement for all those involved; players, coaches, managers and whānau. Recently, the team played Green Bay High School, winning 22 - 13.
What was more impressive were the actions of the boys off the field. The captain of the Green Bay side had lost his grandmother earlier that week and to pay respects, our team did a haka in their changing rooms after the match had finished. The boys exemplified the school values of manaakitanga and whanaungatangatika, doing Lynfield College proud.
Our next home game is against Waitakere College. This is happening on Saturday 21st August at 9.15 am. Come down and support the boys. All support is appreciated.
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Cook Islands Language Week 2021
SUNDAY1 AUGUST TO SATURDAY 7 AUGUST
This year’s theme for ‘Epetoma o te reo Māori Kūki ‘Āirani – Cook Islands Language Week was ‘Ātuitui’ia au ki te Oneone o tōku ‘Ui Tupuna which means, ‘connect me to the soil of my ancestors’.
The theme reflects on the journey of Cook Islands peoples in New Zealand, as well as the longing of young Cook Islanders to connect with their language, culture, and identity. Acknowledging that while community elders are fundamental to the teaching and sharing of Cook Islands language, the leadership of young people as the next wave of cultural and language experts is also critical in keeping the connection to their homelands alive.
This year’s theme also reflected the overarching 2021 Pacific Language Week theme of Wellbeing, by linking the importance of language to overall wellbeing.
Activities and events were held through Aotearoa to embrace and celebrate Cook Islands Language Week. Stay connected online by visiting the official NZ Cook Islands Language Week Facebook page.
Kia orana!!
Your Introduction to Cook Island Language
The world’s largest hub of Pacific Island content can be found here: thecoconet.tv Even though this 'language week' business shouldn't be stuck to just a week thing (cause language is an everyday thing), the importance is the awareness of the language. Here's some of the basics to get you started ...
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Have a go at the 'ura (Cook Island dance) Tutorial Wednesday at Lunch in the marae. To be taken by our akonga, listen to the pate (drum) Drum Video and learn how to dance 'Around the World'. Don't forget to dress up on Friday in your Kuki Attire!
How to Dance
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How To Cook Islands Female Dance TutorialEvery Island woman knows her how to keep to the Pacific Beat! Want to know the basics to dancing like a Cook Island princess? Champion Dancer Te Uirangi Bish ... youtu.be |