Newsletter No.4 - 9th May, 2006

PRINCIPAL'S NOTES

Walkout – A Parent’s Perspective

I was interested to read the Principal’s comments on the ‘student walkout’. To give another parental perspective, I assume most of the parents who commented were unhappy as that’s the way it usually goes, that is, happy parents won’t usually take the time to comment. As a parent whose child took part in the demonstration, with permission, I was proud of the number of students from Springs taking part, seeing this as evidence of a school that is able to foster creative thinking, young people who can organise to do something about an issue they believe in. Sure, they made mistakes, but we need to make mistakes to learn and I’m sure those involved learned a lot. The ‘walkout fallout’ raised many interesting discussions at home, about, for example, the role and accuracy of the media, the notion of an ‘angle’ in news reporting, the role of the police in society, fantastic stuff. Anyway, I hope this gives another perspective, many parents that I have spoken to thought that the organisers’ parents should be absolutely proud.
Ursula Dixon

Mathematics
Putting parents to the test:

1. A normal duck has two legs. A lame duck has one leg. A sitting duck has no legs. There are 33 ducks with a total of 32 legs. The total number of normal ducks and lame ducks is twice the number of sitting ducks. Find the number of lame ducks.

2. A collection of sheep and turkeys have a total of 99 heads and legs between them. There are twice as many turkeys as there are sheep. How many of each are there?

3. Present at Julian’s birthday party were a father-in-law, a mother-in-law, a daughter-in-law, two sons, two daughters, two sisters and a brother, four children, three grandchildren, two fathers, two mothers, a grandfather and a grandmother. However, family relationships can be complicated. One man’s brother can of course be another man’s brother-in-law, and at the same time, someone’s son. With that in mind, what is the smallest number of people needed at the party for the above relationships to exist?

Answers will be printed in the next newsletter
Thea Kilian

Social Studies

New Zealand Flag Competition
Last term 9WE and 9WU studied the module entitled OUR PEOPLE. National and cultural identity are both significant themes and I am pleased to say our students were well informed on the unique features which make our country special. In previous years students have used their creative skills to produce some excellent displays of Kiwiana. This year the focus was our flag, which has recently been given much media attention. The students were asked to draw their own version of a New Zealand flag. The students from both classes voted for the 10 best flags which were displayed in the Library. Library users were given the opportunity to vote. The best flag was drawn by Ariella Balmforth of 9WE. I congratulate her on a wonderful effort.

New Staff
I welcome Kirsty Hartley to the department. She replaces Neil Barnett as the Social Studies teacher of 9AE. Kirsty is keen to continue the standards set by Mr Barnett and I’m sure the students will benefit by her positive approach to teaching and learning
Sharda Patel

Dance

On Thursday, 4th May, Year 10 and 11 Dance students visited the town hall for an incredible performance of "Acquisitions 06" by mixed ability dance company Touch Compass. The students said:

"The dancers made wonderful connections, even with their difference in ability. The show was great, I loved it."

"The unique choreography explores the different relationships between dancers and between dancers and wheelchairs."

"I was overwhelmed. The dancers looked past their disabilities. They talked about it as an impairment, and created moves around their impairment."

This term Dance teacher, Chloe Davison, has started teaching Year 7 and 8 students from Ponsonby Intermediate.

Dance is offered at Years 9, 10 and 11 at WSC. The ‘Bring It On Hip Hop Dance’ group are in the midst of rehearsing for the competition on May 13th. Wish us luck!
Chloe Davison

Mid Year Arts Festival at TAPAC

This Term marks the preparation for the Arts Festival. A team of keen seniors is underway with planning for dance, drama, music and musical shows to perform in TAPAC Theatre between 18 and 23 June. We also have wearable art and catering contributions from Technology and displays of artwork from the Art department in a projected form in the foyer. Theatresports and stand-up will double-bill and we have a school-wide battle of the bands lined up as well.

The English department is running a literary festival of its own with free verse, sonnet, haiku, short and short short story competitions with prizes donated by the Parent Action Group. Please encourage your young writer to make work.

AND a film festival which will include work entered in the Student Film Society’s competition. If your student-child exhibits secret video behaviours channel them to enter the competition which closes absolutely on Friday 12 May.

There will be an event to catch your attention so be alert for the programme coming out in the near future.

Congratulations to Kylie Ross who received a scholarship from the Performing Arts School at TAPAC for a term-long youth theatre course.

Congratulations to Alida Breitag and Anthea Hill who were chosen to represent Auckland central at the Sheilah Winn National Festival of Shakespeare in Schools in Wellington over Queens Birthday.
Bruce De Grut

Notes from the Library: Paanui mai te Wharepukapuka

Term 2 has started happily with the arrival of new shelving to accommodate the magazines. The Library has several magazine subscriptions (such as NZ Geographic, Mana, NZ Listener), but we also buy individual magazines to cater for student interest, (such as Performance Car, Mad). The new shelving units are mounted on wheels so they can be moved out of the main library space against the walls to allow more room for meetings, performances or interview evenings.

Two new resource collections will take up residence in the space vacated by the magazines. The DVDs and videos deserve their own space and now have a dedicated bay. The Library buying plan supports the Media Studies programme, Shakespeare on film for the English Department, as well as the occasional fun flick.

The remaining free bay is dedicated to the Graphic Book fan base, which is very large amongst our students. We have adapted the term "graphic novels" because there are several books, such as Maus, Palestine and The Lion graphic Bible, which are non-fiction. New acquisitions in processing now include the classic Watchmen, more of the Sandman books, Manga and more titles in the Runaways and Ultimate series. Something for everyone!
Jenny Harper

The Careers Department-Wahi Rapu Umanga

Tuesday 16 May is Workchoice Day 2006. The aim of the day is for Year 12 students to gain insight into the world of work by visiting companies and learning about different employment options. Unfortunately not enough businesses have responded and so some of the choices we wanted to offer eg Design, Drama, Music, Media, Advertising and Communication were not available. We have managed to secure a Science module, but that will be on Tuesday 23 May and the Trade modules will be on 16 May. Year 12 students need to apply in writing if they wish to be considered for either of these days. See Careers Centre for more details.

Wednesday 10 May – Waikato University
A lunchtime visit has been arranged for students to meet a liaison officer from this university.

The SCI-Tech experience 4-6 July
This event is aimed at students who are in Year 11 and are interested in science, technology and engineering. Places are limited so students are encouraged to apply as early as possible. There is a $75 fee. In previous years Rotary has paid all or some of this fee for students who are unable to meet the cost. The applicant would need to contact their local Rotary club directly. Forms are available from the Career Centre or from the website www.sci-tech.org.nz

Navy Adventure Challenge 03-07 July 2006
The college is able to nominate up to 2 students (Year 12 or 13) to participate in this event to be held at the Devonport Naval Base. The objective is to challenge high profile students who are interested in a career as managers and leaders within the Navy. The Navy will cover all costs. Students should be outgoing team players with a practical mind and a very keen desire to join the Navy. A high standard of fitness is required. Application forms are available at the Careers Centre.

Become a Student for a Day
Year 12 and 13 students are able to spend a day alongside students at Unitec or AUT on some of their programmes. This is for students who are seriously considering enrolling at either of these tertiary institutions. They will have the opportunity to sit in on classes, talk to students and teaching staff. More details available at the Careers Centre.
Margaret Ruland

Thank You
The Biology department would like to acknowledge the support of Kings Garden Centre. The Yr 13 students have recently completed an internally assessed practical study: snails, fish, Venus Fly traps…. interesting observations, careful recording, ethical conduct, excellent students.
Linda Dillon

Congratulations to
Congratulations to Yr 12 student Victor McKenney who recently entered a photograph into the College Herald Competitions and won a $100 prize and an opportunity to have his work printed in the Herald. We in the art department would like to offer our congratulations to Victor.
Ashra Clement

Congratulations also to Hannah Clark, Yr 12, whose short piece was published in today’s College Herald.
Ivan Davis

Health
Youth Week: May 15 – 21. Website www.youthweek.co.nz
Asthma Bus: 25th May.
Lunino Dental Van: 22 – 26th May.

Community Notices
Wanted – Caring Host Families for A.F.S. Students
We have students arriving from USA, France, Italy and Spain. They all have excellent school and character reports. They will arrive at the beginning of July and depart at the end of August. These are exchange students, not fee paying, and have been selected as good ambassadors for their country. Hosting is a wonderful opportunity to experience a new culture in your own home.

We also need replacement families for a Venezeulan girl attending St Dominic’s College, a Malaysian girl attending Kelston Girls’ College and a Panamanian boy who is at Massey High. These students have been in New Zealand since February and are fine students with no problems but because of changed situations for their host families they need new host families. For more information please call Brenda on 818 5520.

Catholic Family and Community Services
This term we are offering three courses, "Parenting Teenagers", "Parenting 8-12 Year Olds" and "Women Parenting Alone".

Dates for "Parenting 8-12 Year Olds" are Wednesdays 17, 24, 31 May and 7, 14 June from 7.30pm to 9.30pm.

Dates for the "Women Parenting Alone" course are Wednesdays commencing 17 May 2006. The courses are held at our premises, from 7.30am to 11.30am.

Dates for "Challenged by Parenting Teenagers" course are 17, 24, 31 May and 7, 14 June from 7.30pm to 9.30pm. The courses are held at our premises, 2 St Benedicts St, Newton. Phone 378 9650.

Self Defence and Personal Safety Workshop for Girls in Years 9 & 10
Saturday 10 June 10 – 4.30pm, Fee $30
Auckland Women’s Centre, 4 Warnock St Grey Lynn. For more information phone 376 3227.

Vectra Energy has informed us that work on ‘undergrounding" the electricity supply in Motions Rd is to begin next week.
We are excited about the obvious improvement this will make to the streetscape, but we wish to take this opportunity to inform you that this will involve some disruption to entrance/exit ways to the school and the carpark. Drivers need to be alert with regard to trenching and safety barriers during this project.