July 2021

Farewell to Year 12 Dean: Mrs Sofia Hameed

On Thursday 29 July after 23 years at Lynfield College, of which 19 years were as a Dean, Mrs Sofia Hameed was farewelled by both students and staff. Her support of our students and of the College has been enormous and greatly appreciated.

We thanked Mrs Hameed for her passion, energy and dedication and wished her all the very best with her future endeavours. It was also very special to have former principal Steve Bovaird join us in farewelling Sofia.

Sports or Creative, Innovative Scholarship Recipients

In 2020 the Board of Trustees introduced a new scholarship - The Sports or Creative, Innovative Scholarship which comes with a financial reward. Students eligible to apply for these must represent in their chosen activity (sport or creative, innovative) at a regional, national or international level. The first successful applicants for 2021 are Daisy Chen (10JP) who plays 1st violin in the Auckland Youth Orchestra and Stanley Long (12RY) who was recently selected to play in four international tennis tournaments.
A further round of scholarships will be offered later this term.	Tumuaki Cath Knell with Daisy Chen	Board Chair Mark Hewett with Stanley Long

The 2021 Lynfield College Ball

The Lynfield College Ball was held at Ellerslie Events Centre on Friday 23 July. This was a much anticipated event, having had to cancel the School Ball last year on two occasions due to lockdowns.

However, this year we had a successful evening with all students looking amazing and the room looking spectacular, dressed in the theme ‘Midnight Memories’. Everyone at the event from the DJ, the security and the Ellerslie Events manager gave feedback to say how impressed they were with the behaviour and conduct of the Lynfield students.

A special thanks to the Ball committee this year for putting on such a successful Ball. We look forward to seeing what the students come up with next year.

Congratulations to this year’s award winners:

Queen of the Ball: Jessica Drage
King of the Ball: Ryan Shrestha
Princess of the Ball: Emma Turner
Best Dancer: Teesha Sharma

Best Dressed: Harry Donaldson and Aashish Ramanlal
Best Dressed Teacher: Mr Lai
Best Staff Dancer: Mr Braithwaite

Visit White Door Photography to see more from their gallery of almost 10,000 images! Below is just a very small sample of our students enjoying a great night.

Our Lynfield Olympic Connection

With a strong focus being on the Olympics we are following these four Olympians - all are past pupils of Lynfield College: Katie Bowen, Football; Eroni Leilua, Sailing; Tyla Nathan Wong, Women’s Rugby Sevens and Maddi Wesche, Shot-put. Another past pupil currently in Tokyo at the Olympics is Dr Carl Bradford, Sport Scientist with the NZ Women’s Track Endurance Squad.

The last of the Olympians with links to Lynfield College is Dylan Schmidt, Trampolining. Dylan volunteered with our Learning Support students with his mother having worked in this department.

All of these have demonstrated through their hard work, commitment and sacrifice, the school value of hinengaro wawata.

THEIR STORIES CAN BE VIEWED AT THE LINKS BELOW:

Katie Bowen: for-the-fern-i-katie-bowen

Eroni Leilua: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18diwfj5yo4

Tyla Nathan Wong: deeds-not-words-v1

Maddi Wesche: maddi-wesche-cool-in-shades-at-olympics

Dylan Schmidt: gunning-for-the-gold-after-his-olympic-dreams-began-12-years-ago.html

Inspirational Message
from Tyla Nathan Wong

Dear Younger Self,

If only you could believe and see what you have achieved in your lifetime. That dream of making it to the Olympics and winning gold, well that very dream comes true.

When those people told you that you were too small, not big/strong enough, not good enough, well damn have you proven them wrong every step of the way. Continue to use that as extra motivation.

I'm not going to lie, it is going to be one massive, incredible, exciting, yet tough journey. But a piece of advice, keep grinding and keep getting up. It's a Rollercoaster. There will be many many many tears shed. You will fail time and time again but guess what? You will continue to get up, brush it all off and stand tall like the proud Māori, Chinese, European young lady you are!! Keep being you, as there is no one else like it.

This journey, although tough, will be the greatest journey ever and one that still has many parts yet to be written. Enjoy every moment, stay present and never stop dreaming those wonderful dreams!!

Yours Truly,
Your Older Self !!

Enrolment 2021

This is one of the busiest times of the year as we prepare for and welcome Year 8 students, their parents and whanau from our Kahui Ako contributing schools. Daytime School in Action Tours and our special Open Evening give all who visit a chance to learn about Lynfield College and the courses, opportunities and pathways available that will prepare them for the future.

A huge thank you to our wonderful Student Executive for their work in collating 600 enrolment packs for distribution to every visiting year 8 student. Our Barista students did impressive work in serving 400 hot chocolates to Year 8 students and their whanau during the 2021 Opening Evening in D’Cafe. D’Cafe is a working cafè located in D-Block for practical experience and training for students. It also functions as a student run service for staff and students at Lynfield College during interval and lunch time.


Student Executive hard at work collating leaflets for the Prospectus.	Baristas still smiling after 400 hot chocolates!	Student Exec still smiling half-way through 600 enrolment packs!

Lynfield College Student Voice

Our students speak out on why they chose to come to Lynfield and what they have enjoyed the most about learning at Lynfield.

I came to Lynfield College was because I had heard great things about it. I live near the school, and I know lots of people who went there, and they all said it was great. Me and my family came to the Lynfield College open day, and we saw everything the school had to offer. There was, and is, so many opportunities, new buildings and places that are being updated all the time, heaps of courses and subjects, a range of clubs and groups, and events and trips that weren’t offered at intermediate. Lynfield College is great at offering new things and opportunities, and with keeping up to date on their buildings. The school is always changing and improving, and I think that’s what is great about Lynfield College. Mia Bradley, Year 9

Lynfield College has been an amazing experience for me. It has been a place for me to grow and learn who I am, all whilst creating amazing memories. My favourite part of Lynfield College is probably how many extracurricular activities there are. I have been able to continue to play football, as well as try new sports such as curling and dragon boating. Other school activities such as cultural day, sports competitions, and quizzes are not only extremely fun, but also make learning much more enjoyable. There are also many different courses which have also allowed me to explore my large range of interests and not feel confined to a certain set of subjects or career path. I have really enjoyed my time at Lynfield College, as I have not only been able to learn I have been able to experience new environments and make incredible friends. Ashley Mar, Year 13

I’m a year 9 student at Lynfield College. There were many reasons that I chose to come here. My family and I went to the open day and went on the tours provided. I remember being overwhelmed by the number of choices and opportunities, for example, all the clubs and groups offered. I had heard many good things about the school that assured me of my choice. The first couple of days were daunting but soon we slid into a rhythm. It was different changing schools as Lynfield is bigger than my intermediate. So far I’ve been involved in some different aspects of our school such as music lessons and sport. I feel at home here now and enjoy sitting on our field at lunchtime and participating in the many activities this school has to offer. Ella Hill, Year 9

My time at Lynfield has been wonderful thanks to the incredible students and especially staff. The level of inclusivity provided by them is unmatched, whether it be helping Year 9s start their high school journey, celebrating the cultural diversity of our students backgrounds, or simply a smile as you walk past them. In and out of the classroom, the friendliness of teachers and classmates creates a welcoming environment for everyone. Learning in this atmosphere is engaging and interesting, and has been a great experience for five years. Meeting new people and making memories with them is easily one of the highlights of my time here. Andy Davy, Year 13

NZ Chefs National Secondary Schools Culinary Challenge 2021

Five Hospitality students participated in the Auckland Regional Hospitality competition on 7 July 2021 that was held at Manukau Technical Institute in Otara.

The students range from Year 11 - Year 13 and impressed the judges in their various categories. Khushi Patel presented a three-layer vanilla cake with salted caramel buttercream, filled with apple sauce, decorated with a caramel drip and topped with a ring of crumble. Finally, swirls of buttercream were garnished with apple crisps, apple syrup and toffee shards and won a Gold medal. Also, in the Café style cakes category, Sharon Bedingfield's vanilla cake with lemon curd French buttercream, a filling of raspberry jam inside and a lemon curd drip on the outside secured her a Gold medal.

Ella Fletcher showcased her technical skills in the Barista category and achieved a Bronze medal.

The Kiwi Classic biscuits category were represented by Emilia Parker and Sarah Whitefield. Emilia won a silver medal for her entry of Afghan and Anzac biscuits and Sarah was awarded a gold medal and Top of the Class for her category.

These students have shown again remarkable talent and technical skills during the preparation and final competition. Well done!

Hay Park School Visit
to Te Ringa Awhina Marae

On Friday 2 July Hay Park School visited Te Ringa Awhina Marae. Lynfield Akonga from Kapa haka, Reo Maori and Pounamu worked together with the primary students and kaiako to create actions for the Kahui Waiata.

We collaboratively completed this task. We worked hei mahi tahi, incorporating suggested actions from Hay Park students, Lynfield students and kaiako. Kai was shared and whanaungatanga tika were established.
Ka nui te mihi ki a koutou.

Noteworthy Drama Performance from Year 11 Students

This Year the students outdid themselves with a very slick and funny show performed Thursday 1July for parents and friends. The show was particularly noteworthy because firstly the students improvised the connecting scenes, they chose their own music and organised the scene order so that it made sense. They also co-constructed the wall movement for scene changes. This has never been attempted before with a Year 11 class and the sharing of power and say over the content worked very well especially in terms of student commitment to the show.

Congratulations to all the Year 11 Drama students for a magnificent effort.