Newsletter No.2 - 10th March 2006

PRINCIPAL'S NOTES

Media Department News
The Media Department has had an exciting start to 2006. We are very pleased to welcome Nicola Green to the teaching team. She comes to us as an experienced and knowledgeable teacher and we are extremely fortunate to have her. We have already benefited from her expertise. 

We are proud to announce excellent results from last year’s scholarship exams. Both Ella Beacroft and Eleanor Adeane-Nancarrow received scholarships in Media. They were two of only thirty-five students in the country that earned this award. 

Both Jane Hall and Meg Freeman have been invited to be involved in the Ministry’s Beacon Schools Project as specialists in junior media. They are both excited and looking forward to the challenge of providing guidance and resources in this area to other schools and teachers.

This year we have also introduced a Film Society. This is an extra curricular opportunity for students to join with others who share a passion for this medium.

Classes are off to a great start, building in numbers with students already displaying enthusiasm and awareness of the subject.

Events to look forward to are the Arts Festival, Film Competition and in the latter part of the year, screenings of the best of the senior classes’ films.
Jane Hall

Learning Centre
The Learning Centre is intended to provide an inviting and stimulating environment where students from any year level can come individually, or in groups, to seek assistance with almost anything related to their learning. Ours is a learning partnership in which we work alongside students to identify and assess their learning needs; encourage them to set learning goals and develop action plans; and then help them work towards developing the skills and strategies needed to achieve those goals. We are not so much about teaching subject content, as helping students to develop strategies that they can take back into the classroom with them to assist them in becoming more independent and successful as learners.

All our interventions are negotiated with the students themselves and may involve as few as one or two sessions, or as many as a series of regular sessions over an extended period of time. Students from year 9 -13 are encouraged to refer themselves for help and many do. Ours is a revolving door policy, where students are able to move in and out of the Centre as they feel necessary.

In 2005 Learning Centre staff assisted students with senior and junior essay writing, senior and junior exam preparation, junior literacy and numeracy, study skills and general organisational issues. Students were encouraged to ask questions, to develop strategies for finding out information and for clarifying meaning when they encountered concepts they found challenging. In 2006 we will be continuing these interventions and also providing further targeted programmes as listed below.

Programmes operating in 2006

• Study skills sessions covering exam study, organisation, time management, exam preparation.
• Senior essay writing for History and English
• Peer Reading
• Peer Mentoring
• Peer tutoring in Maths and Science
• Senior English groups run to gain necessary literacy credits missed in 2005.
• Year 9 Literacy and Numeracy
• Year 10 Literacy and Numeracy
• Small groups attending Learning Centre during either English or Maths classes.

Learning Centre Homework/Study Sessions

The Learning Centre is open from 8.00 a.m. Monday to Friday, Monday and Wednesday after school until 4.30. and every lunchtime. Students can use our computers for research and call on Centre staff for assistance for a range of subjects.

Learning Centre Staff 2006

Helen Thorpe – LC manager
Helen Hogg – literacy/numeracy
Trina Sellers – LC support – (part-time: Mon, Tues, Thurs morning)

Year 11 Study Skills Workshops

The WSC Learning Centre is offering series of 4 workshops, for Year 11 students, which will look at what students can do to manage their NCEA year effectively.

The workshops will cover such things as: time management, planning, goal setting, organisation, study skills and exam preparation.

The workshops will be held in the Learning Centre, after school on Wednesdays from 3.15 pm – 4.30pm, for four weeks, beginning Wednesday 15th March 2006 and ending Wednesday 5th April.

Please encourage your son/daughter to sign up if they would find the workshops useful.
Helen Thorpe

Notes from the Library: Paanui mai te Wharepukapuka
Many thanks for the students who have volunteered to help out at the Library this year. Their duties will mostly consist of watching the issues desk for one lunchtime a week while the librarian is at lunch. Several students have helped out in previous years: special thanks to Bernice, Rebecca, Cathy, Amini, Nicky, Brett, Raechel, Alex and Prue for doing another tour of duty. To Eva, Sheridan, So Young, Kyle, Taylor, Leemay, Krystina and Lauren, welcome to the team.

The student ID cards double as Library cards, so without them, only returning students have been able to borrow – if they haven’t lost their ID cards from last year! It is really important to carry the ID cards in a safe place, not to leave them anywhere or lend them to other people. Students will have to pay for replacement cards should the originals be lost or damaged beyond repair.

Now that the new ID cards have been distributed the new graphic novels will be put out on display ready to borrow. These have proved very popular and we are planning to expand the collection. Thanks to the students who have contributed suggestions for new purchases. Borrowing statistics showed a drop-off in borrowing last year, so the Library Team is very keen to hear suggestions for new titles that would be popular with our students.
Jenny Harper

Music Department
My apologies to those of you who have been waiting to hear about music lessons at Western Springs College this year. There has been an explosion of numbers in the senior classes which is very exciting but has caused problems in timetabling lessons for the rest of the school. 

Priority for lessons always goes to those students taking music as a subject. This year the lessons have been filled before I have been able to offer them to the rest of the school. I will still be putting students on waiting lists but I make no promises about actually getting them into the lessons.

Jazz Band and Orchestra have started for the year. Band is on a Monday lunchtime and Orchestra starts at interval on Tuesday and runs through the assembly time. Students are reminded that they have committed to these groups and they must attend all rehearsals. They should not schedule other meetings or practices in this time.

Please call me at school if you have any queries.
Margaret Robertson

A Big Thank You
The Art Department wishes to thank Tracey and Tina at Positive Negatives who recently donated a large quantity of photographic equipment to the photography department. The equipment received is of much use to us and both the art students and department are very grateful.
Ashra Clement

Swimming: Zone Competition on February 28th
WSC has had its most successful ever zone swimming competition performance. Participants in the Auckland Secondary Schools Zone Swimming 2006 were:

We also had very good placings in the relays and a great time was had by all. We look forward to the Champs of Champs to be held on 13th March at Henderson Aquatic Centre.
Peter McIntyre

Reminder: Rumaki Polyfest Dress Rehearsal to be held in the Hall Sunday 12th March at 12 noon

Community Notices
Parenting Courses:
Parenting 8-12 Year Olds
Wednesdays 8, 15, 22, 29 March and 5 April from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.

Women Parenting Alone
Wednesdays 15, 22, 29 March and 5 April 7.30pm to 11.30

Challenged by Parenting Teenagers
Wednesdays 8, 15, 22, 29 March and 5 April 7.30 to 9.30
Where: Kelmarna Centre (Catholic Family & Community Services)
2 St Benedicts St
Newton

Phone 378 9650 for registration; bookings are essential.