It was a year in the making, but on Thursday 30th June, the WGHS Event Centre was officially opened by former Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy.
Originally scheduled for 20th August 2021, plans for the Centre's Grand Opening were snaffled when New Zealand went into lockdown just two days prior. Thankfully we had held a special blessing the week before, and once lockdown ended, the Centre was used for a range of end-of-year activities.
Dame Patsy stepped down as Governor-General, but we were still keen to host her at the Centre – after all, her name is on the plaque in the foyer! She agreed to come in a private capacity in June, and the ball was once again rolling to organise a celebration, rather than a Grand Opening.
The guest list included foundation pupils and other alumni, board members, Ministry of Education representatives, key community leaders, donors to the school, staff, students and most importantly myriad people involved with the design and building of the Event Centre including reps from Teak, Athfield Architects, BQH, Octa, ecubed, and WSP.
Caitlin Jenkins and Kaianne Henare, as kaikaranga, made their first-ever ceremonial call, welcoming the official party which included Principal Jane Stanley and her husband, Board Chair Joy Bradfield, Head and Deputy Head Prefects Ivy Mitchell and Ella Dorward, board members and senior leadership team members.
What followed was an hour of celebration with performances by our kapa haka group, Cantare choir and the Westlake Symphony Orchestra. Several speeches highlighted the long journey to reach the day's celebrations. Dame Patsy and Jane Stanley then unveiled the plaque, cut the cake and officially declared the Centre open!
Photos by Aimee Wheeler and students Ivy Tan and Lauren Pomfrett
Isabella shines at Ngā Manu Kōrero Speech Competition
Year 12 orator Isabella Drummond is no stranger to winning speech competitions.
Her latest success was at the Ngā Manu Kōrero Speech Competition, held on Friday 1st July at Ngā Puna o Waiōrea - Western Springs College.
Here she shares her experience at the competition, winning Top Female Speaker and placing second overall. She is pictured with (from left), Maddison Gerbes (former student and current kapahaka tutor), Kaianne Henare and Caitlin Jenkins (both kapa haka friends and supporters).
"This event celebrates the chance for young Māori orators to compete among the secondary schools in Tāmaki Makaurau. Speakers, from Years 9 to 13, can use their voices and share their opinion on a topic of their choice. The competition supports the use of te reo Māori or English as the medium of expression. This year, I competed in the 'Korimako' division for 'Senior English', which involved giving a seven-minute prepared speech, and a three-minute impromptu speech.
"My prepared topic was 'My journey to reclaim my reo starts with me' and my impromptu topic was 'It's hard being a teenager in 2022'. It was a memorable moment for me to share my prepared speech, as I was able to express my experience of reclaiming/learning te reo Māori, a language that I have a deep connection with, yet growing up felt distant from.
"In the impromptu preparation room, we were given five topics to choose from, and the topic 'It's hard being a teenager in 2022' caught my eye. I decided to focus on teenagers being exposed to over-consumption of technology; social media, cyberbullying, online school from 2022 isolations, etc.
"I was very humbled to be awarded Top Female Speaker and second place overall in Auckland at this prestigious competition.
“In terms of goals for speaking competitions, I would love to return to Ngā Manu Kōrero next year. After placing first last year and going to Nationals, then coming second this year, I feel like I have already achieved my goals ... so now in the future, I would compete not necessarily to win, but to share my voice and passion."
Students make national teams
It’s been a wonderful year for sport at Westlake, with many competitions finally taking place after Covid interruptions.
To date, two WGHS teams have won Auckland Secondary School or North Harbour Premier titles (Coxed Eight Rowing Crew and Snowboarding Team), and three teams are currently unbeaten in their 2022 Premier competitions: Premier Basketball, 1st XI Hockey and Premier 12s Rugby.
We have a total of 16 students who are current New Zealand representatives in their chosen sport. Congratulations to:
