Contents

• From the “Standing Desk”

• Learner Led Conferences

• Matariki Celebrations

• Vietnam Trip

• International

• MTECH

• Year 7 and 8

• Visual Arts

• Performing Arts

• Stage Challenge

• JRock

• Sport

• Guidance

• Upcoming Events

• Community Notices

From the “Standing Desk” Some things remain the same – while other things change. I’m drafting this message while flying at 968 km per hour, 8,952m above sea level, on my way to visit schools and agents in Thailand, Vietnam and Japan. The reality that we need to attract fee paying students from overseas so we can provide the type of education that our children deserve, is a big change. Another change is that while overseas I will be able to keep in touch with things at school because of the technology that is now ‘every day’ – not that I’ll need to as we have such a great team in place. You will be aware that the Police asked us to ‘lock down’ the College on Friday as a precaution, while they investigated and sorted out a situation. I was kept in touch with the situation and appreciate the professionalism and care shown by Robyn Brownlee (Acting Principal) and all those at the College. As I said, we have a great team in place. Yes, there are changes, but some things just don’t change; especially some key elements to achievement at school. One of these is the importance of attendance. Simply put – when your child misses a class they miss a learning opportunity. On a normal school day we have an attendance rate of about 92-94%. On Wednesday 29 April, I was appalled to learn that the attendance rate dropped to 72%. We had a normal morning for all classes and one change planned for last period – the school cross country. You can’t tell me that 260 learners were sick on that particular Thursday but miraculously recovered and were able to attend on the Friday. OK; one or two might have. I can only assume that parents condoned these absences, which concerns me for at least three reasons. They deprive their children the learning opportunities from the first three classes of the day; they must think that jogging or walking 3km is too difficult for their sons or daughters; or they are not supporting the wide range of experiences that are important as part of a healthy education. Attendance is important – no change. Kids who can’t, or won’t walk 3km – very concerning change. Now that I’ve got that off my chest; sitting here (now at an altitude of 9136m), I must say I’m glad the pilot finished all aspects of flight school. Well; he seems to have completed the take-off and cruising sections pretty well. I certainly hope he stayed for the landing module. I guess we’ll find out soon. The point is simple – we need to stay the course and complete the work if we are going to achieve and be able to contribute for the good of others. This applies to both pilots and pupils. Another thing that has not changed over the years is this: support from family and whanau is critical. Keep it up! Kia kaha (Be strong) James Thomas

Learner Led Conferences Thank you for the fantastic support of the Learner Led Conferences in Week 9 of this term. In our second year of the whole school participating, we had over 1000 conferences where our learners were developing their thinking and communication skills with the support of significant adults in their lives. This is approximately 60% more conversations about learning than we have had with the shorter subject interviews of years gone by. The process has allowed our learners to reflect on their learning; have quality conversations with their families; there was the possibility for problem solving - is just some of the feedback we have received. The impact of learners self-reporting, setting their own expectations and taking responsibility for their learning is a hugely positive factor in maximizing the impact on learning. Thank you for supporting your children to develop these skills. Robyn Brownlee – Deputy Principal

Matariki Celebrations - including International Food Festival

Matariki is the Māori name for the cluster of stars also known as the Pleiades. It rises in mid-winter – late May or early June. For many Māori, it heralds the start of a new year. Matariki literally means the 'eyes of god' (mata ariki) or 'little eyes' (mata riki). We celebrated Matariki on 11 June by honouring 4 Maori/Pasifika Year 7 learners and 4 Maori/Pasifika alumni learners who left at the end of 2014 with a Tree Planting Ceremony and Breakfast. Their whanau (family) and teachers attended this early morning event. In addition, we held an International Food Festival where each nationality prepared traditional dishes for purchase by other learners and staff. Our Year 7 learners displayed and flew their Matariki-inspired kites on our field. A concert was held after school where our learners and learners from Stanmore Bay Primary performed kapa haka and musical items.

Vietnam Trip

History Learners Leave for Vietnam Three years ago, a small group of very excited Whangaparaoa College learners left for Vietnam to discover the country we had been learning about in our Year 12 History classes. It was a remarkable experience and one that I was keen to repeat. Fast forward to 2015! On 2 July, twenty-two learners, four teachers, three parents and two grandparents, will fly via Hong Kong to renew our college’s connection with this intriguing country. The trip, which has been 18 months in the planning, will bring alive for the learners the Year 12 and 13 Vietnam History coursework that covers the 1st and 2nd Indochina Wars (against the French and Americans from late 1940s until 1975). They will visit key battle sites, war memorials, including the My Lai massacre site, Ho Chi Minh’s Mausoleum and the Demilitarised Zone, where fierce fighting took place. Other highlights will be a visit to the Cu Chi Tunnels, (a 200 km underground network built by the Viet Minh to escape American bombing), as well as spending a night on a Chinese Junk in picturesque Ha Long Bay. For many in the group, their highlight will be the visit to the Duc Son Pagoda Orphanage near Hoi An, which gives shelter to disadvantaged children, including the homeless, disabled orphans, and Agent Orange victims. There will of course be time for some retail therapy along the way. The town of Hoi An is renowned for its tailors and will provide an opportunity for our learners to organise a suit or dress for the college ball! This trip to Vietnam is sure to not only bring History alive for our learners, but will undoubtedly provide a rich cultural experience and a source of amazing, lifetime memories for us all! Greg Burnard, HoD History

International Term 2 – New Students We welcomed 4 new students this term. They are Tomoka Yamasaki and Haruka Matsumoto from Japan (left photo), Warachaya Wannabuit from Thailand and Ziyao Yang from China (right photo). Our new students attended Orientation for their first two days at College.

If you would like to see more from our International Department click here.

Materials Technology Year 9 learners created their very own unique 3D pendulum clock designs. In Year 10, we have experimented with inlayed tables, demonstrating care with cutting out to a very fine detail. Inlayed tables are an old traditional skill, yet they still maintained a creative edge to their own designs. At senior level, Year 11 started with basic skills and joining techniques to construct toolboxes/storage systems. Year 12 learners showed off their skills at finishing a small stool, showing fine detail and accuracy. Year 13 learners have just started to build a large range of projects for a specific client. Products range from outdoor tables, modern laptop mobile tables (to move up and down), to a bed and mobile work bench for a drop saw. For more MTECH photos, click here.

Year 7 and 8 Our Trip to the Auckland Museum By Bella Bullivant 7STEE In April, Year 7 went on a school trip to the Museum, to learn About World War One. Our class went with Ms Williams’ class. In the morning, we went to the Remembrance Hall, to learn about the conditions the soldiers fought in, and how the world went into war. We learnt that the reason we fought in Gallipoli, to try and clear the Dardanelles Strait, so that there is a way to send supplies to Russia, as they were New Zealand's allies. Although, when the ANZACS arrived at Gallipoli, the Turks were waiting on top of the cliffs ready to shoot at them as they got off the boats. The ANZACS lost the Gallipoli fight, and after one year the ANZACS were evacuated. I enjoyed reading the things that the surviving soldiers wrote when they got home. It was very interesting to hear what the soldiers thought about the war. One I found saddening is one that said "I went home and no one asked what it was like, after 70 years of being home, no one asked me what it was like". We got to watch, and interact in a play about the war; it was very well acted, and fun how we got to act too. It was about a person called John who went to war with his little brother Danny. Danny got injured in No Man’s Land and John went out to try and save him, but it was too dangerous. So he had to shoot him to put him out of his misery. In the afternoon we had an hour of free time to go off with our groups and tour the Museum. I really enjoyed the volcano room; it was interesting to feel what a volcano is like as I have never actually been in one myself.

Here is a poem written by Emma Brooke from 8RAY after we read the novel “IQBAL” by Francesco d’Adamo. We did some research to find out about child slavery in the world and were very moved by the plight of a large number of children in many Third World countries. Our study was centred around the overall topic of Challenge.

Child Labour Poem Tired after a long day’s work, With the floor on which to sleep, Their fingers battered, dirty, With tears their eyes will weep. We need to stop this madness, We need to be aware. These children, they are human too, Come on, don't you care? Take for example Iqbal, Sold when he was four, His elder brother very sick, And his family too poor. Iqbal gave the others hope, That one day they'd be free, And despite threats for the "tomb" Twice, he tried to flee. Stop the child labour, Stop them feeling blue, Take a moment to remember, They are human too.

Visual Arts Year 8’s created paper relief sculptures of birds in flight. This required generating some colourful painted pages which were then cut and shaped into feathers which were purposefully stuck on to the bird shaped cardboard base shape. The variety and vibrancy of the final works are very impressive.

Year 9’s created WW1 memory boxes which are linked with the WW1 centenary. The work combines collage and montage elements and small mementos, letters and objects are also included.

Year 10 learners spent Term one learning lino cut and lino printing techniques. They created fabulous dragons based on their drawings of fierce looking lizards. They had to learn a range of carving skills and printing skills and have ended up with some very successful lino prints. For more Visual Arts photos, click here.

Performing Arts Ugly Shakespeare Company Our Year 9 & 10 Dance classes were fortunate to be entertained by the Ugly Shakespeare Company who performed Shakespeare’s Midsummer Night’s Dream. These brilliant performers make Shakespeare relevant to a modern audience. Our learners thoroughly enjoyed the show with its interactive components and thoroughly modern twist on a classic tale.

Stage Challenge 110 kids went to compete in Stage Challenge and represented the college wonderfully. They worked really hard over the last 10 weeks and put on an amazing performance. We walked away with Excellence in Drama and Concept and for the 8th year running, we received the school Spirit Award. This is A HUGE accomplishment and a massive well done/congratulations to everyone involved, including all the teachers and staff who helped. Go Whanga!!

JRock On Thursday 25 June, 80 Year 7 and 8 learners took part in the annual JRock event. It was a brilliant day full of music, dance and drama. The stage was huge; the lights were bright; we performed so well and we were awarded excellence for Soundtrack, Choreography and Set Design and Function. We all need to say a big thank you to Molly Kirkbride, Sofija Tomovska, Tyler Coleman and Annah Clune, four talented choreographers. Also, thank you to Mrs Williams, Mrs Conn and Mrs Townsend, three talented and organised teachers. THANK YOU! Well done to all of the JRockers this year both on the stage and behind the scenes; you were a delight to work with.

For more photos, click here

Sport Netball: Photo: Team 4 Netball with one of the Singapore teams that came to the College to play Friday 19 June. It was a fabulous experience for our girls, which they all really enjoyed and the game ended in a draw of 23-23. The WGP Year 8/1 team have made grade 8/2. This is very good, as it graded from 8/1 up to 8/7. The girls have made a positive start to the season and are playing some great netball with good wins so far. Girls’ Lacrosse: Results: Played: 6 Won: 2 Lost: 4 Drawn: 0 Captain’s Comments: Taylor Barker After losing most of our A team players in the past 2 years, our team this year consists of mainly juniors new to lacrosse. Also, we have girls who played in B grade last year and only a couple have previously played in A grade. Despite this, our team has done really well and we are currently in 5th place, before semis, with finals to come after 1 more round-robin game. The girls are learning the difficult skills of lacrosse extremely quickly and we are progressing well as a team every week The coaches and I are very proud of the new players going into each game with no fear, even though each team in our grade has a couple of NZ U19 players. We are very grateful to have Georgia Archer and Kathleen Oneroa as our coaches, Miss Franich as our manager, and for the parents who come to each game to cheer us on. For more Sport results and photos, click here.

Guidance

INTRODUCING THE NEW PARENT COFFEE GROUP If there are any parents who would like to join our new coffee group, feel free to join us at Esquires on the first Monday of every month! Our first group meeting for Term 3 will be Monday 3 August at 10.30 am. Phone Kim Osborne, on 021 922 901 for more details.

Upcoming Events July 4-19 School Holidays 4 Code Club JHack – M.I.T. Manukau 20 Term 3 Begins 26 Dodgeball Tournament 6th Grade Rugby Fundraiser 28 Level 3 GEOG Trip to Muriwai 29 Careers Expo – school gym 2.00 - 9.00 pm 31 Year 7/8 Cross Country July 31– Aug 2 Duke of Edinburgh (Silver Final) August 4-6 Year 8 Trips to Te Hana Maori Village 4 Enrolment Information Evening 7.00 pm 7 Level 2 OUED Rock Climbing Trip Year 7/8 Disco 7-10 Bay of Islands Jazz Festival

For more information from our school calendar click here.

Community Notices

Billy Beggs from Bayleys Real Estate is offering to donate $850 to Whangaparaoa College when a parent sells their property through him. This amount will be paid when settlement is made. Parents, who sell their house, will be able to have input about which school group will benefit from the donation. It may be for a sports team, performing arts group or other extra-curricular activity.

Please contact Billy if you are interested in selling your home or want a catch up on the state of the market. Contact: Mobile: +64 21 392 499 Phone: +64 9 428 0600 Email: billy.beggs@bayleys.co.nz

Graphing Calculators for Sale The College is now selling Casio fx-9750GII graphing calculators. These are the NCEA approved calculators for Level 1-3 Assessments. Available in Learner Accounts while stocks last!!!! $90.00 (rrp: $132.95)

Turn of the Tide 4 August – 6 September 2015 A joint initiative between Forest and Bird (Hibiscus Coast branch) and Estuary Arts Centre. The exhibition will explore issues of scarcity and abundance through marine reserves, clean water and pest-free land. There will be featured workshops around sustainability themes including an estuary tidy up with the resulting trash turned into art. The Bee Aware exhibition running concurrently will be a hands-on programme helping to identify and highlight the importance of bees in our ecosystem. Entry is Free

Teen Playground Are you looking for something to do over the holidays? Teen Playground has holiday programmes for you. Rugby, basketball and more just visit our website for more details. http://www.playground.org.nz/#!north-shorehibiscus-coast-teens/cgdf