Education: Westlake Girls High School
More national success for Westlake Music
Westlake Girls and Boys High Schools music ensembles are no strangers to achieving success at a national level, but their premier choir has recently created history.
Choralation Choir directed by Westlake Girls Head of Music Rowan Johnston has won the top prize at the New Zealand Choral Federation Big Sing competition for the third year in a row. No choir has achieved this in the 22 year history of the competition.
Choralation choir draws students from both Westlake Girls and Boys High Schools.
The New Zealand Choral Federation Big Sing drew in excess of 250 choirs, over 8000 students participating from throughout New Zealand, singing in regional festivals with the aim of gaining a place in the National Finale as one of the top 18 secondary school choirs in the country. It is one of the largest youth festivals in the Southern Hemisphere.
The National Finale was to have been held in Christchurch this year, but due to the February earthquake was moved to Wellington.
To win the top prize (the Platinum Award) a choir must be considered by the adjudicators to be a clear step above the other 17 choirs and also have an aggregate mark of over 90% for their two recitals. The prize will not be awarded in any year where both criteria are not achieved.
This year the adjudicators were Dr Karen Grylls - Associate Professor of Music at the University of Auckland and Artistic Director for both the NZ Youth Choir and the Voices NZ Chamber Choir, Andrew Withington - Musical Director of the NZ Secondary Students Choir and Paul Holey - Musical Director for the Gondwana Chorale (Australian Youth Choir).
National Co-ordinator of the New Zealand Choral Federation Big Sing Elizabeth Crayford says “Choralation is the first choir to win Platinum three years in a row and it can be noted that mixed voice choirs (male and female) tend to be less often represented in the Finale, so it’s quite an achievement for the Westlake High Schools.”
Westlake Boys High School male choir, Voicemale, also made it into the finale and received a Silver Award.
YMCA Raise up n Represent, Walk the Line Fashion Show
This event is now in its third year, and is popular with young designers from several North Shore schools. It is organised by YMCA’s North Shore Youth Committee, and run entirely by young people.
This year the event was held on the final day of Fashion Week, September 3rd, at the new Viaduct Events Centre. There was a total of 38 entries in four categories, Cultural, Wearable Arts, High Fashion and Open Design.
The overall winner was Year 10 Westlake Girls High School student Yeon Jae Choi, in the Wearable Arts section, with her entry titled Galaxy. This is a great achievement, and adds to Yeon Jae’s third place in the national Shakespeare Costume Design competition held earlier in the year. Yeon Jae made the entire outfit including the hat and adapting a pair of shoes to match.
WESTLAKE GIRLS SPORT
Equestrian
Westlake Girls High School won the inaugural Auckland Secondary Schools Equestrian Cup held at Woodhill Sands. Over 100 hundred riders from 30 schools competed in a show-jumping and show-hunter combo. The Westlake Girls team that won the event were; Breana Cooper Wilson, Stephanie Vervoort, Sophie Smith and Abby Linton-Price.
Badminton
The Westlake Girls High School Premier Badminton Team won the New Zealand Secondary Schools Badminton Championships in Hamilton during winter sports tournament week.
They were the defending champions and now have won this event four times in five years. The team remained undefeated throughout the tournament winning all games up to the final 6-0 and then the final against Macleans College 4-2.
The team were; Anona Pak Captain, Rayna Phillips, Rebecca Goddard, Deborah Yin, Chi Chi Freibel, Lily Lee, managers Beth Beever and Jackie O’Reilly.
Cycling
The Auckland Time Trial Cycling Series concluded on Sunday with the Westlake Girls Junior A Team winning the Junior Girls Title and with it the Merv Harland Shield for winning the final race. The team were; Emilie O’Shea, Nia Kenny, Jemima Wasson, Alana Lythe and Danielle Augustin, the team now turn their attention to the New Zealand nationals in Palmerston North early October.
Education: Kristin School
