Westlake Girls High School had a series of successes during the recent Winter Tournament Week. Here are a few highlights... 

Netball

Our Premier Netball Team secured a spot as one of the top six teams from the Upper North Island region. This now qualifies them for the New Zealand Secondary School Championships held in October in Timaru. Of the 120 teams competing at the Upper North Island tournament, Westlake was the only team from North Harbour to make it into the Top 16. Courtney Katterns (Year 13), the team Captain, was also named in the A Grade Tournament team.

 

Basketball

With 13 teams vying for a spot in the National Championships, our Premier Basketball Team did exceptionally well to secure one of the six spaces by placing third in the Shick BBNZ Premiership AA Zone 1 Tournament. Beating Massey in the quarter finals, the team loss to Mt Albert in the semifinals. In the game for third place, WGHS beat Rangitoto College 89-63.

One of our Premier Basketball players, Emme Shearer (Year 12) has also been recently named in the Junior Tall Ferns Team for 2018.  

Our Junior Basketball Team won the title of BBNZ Zone 1 Junior Premiership by consistently winning games with significant margins of at least 40 points. The team played St Mary’s in the semi-final, and Massey in the final, winning 116 to 44. 

 

Football

Winning the Trevor Osten Memorial Cup was a Tournament Week highlight for our 1st XI Football team. This final game at the Lotto New Zealand Secondary School Football Championships placed the team 17th overall, conceded just one game the entire week.

 

Hockey

Our 1st X1 Hockey Team were runners-up in the Marie Fry Trophy final, which is the event that sits below the Federation Cup (NZSS Hockey Tournament). While disappointed to miss out on contending for the Federation Cup, the team members picked themselves up, learnt from their mistakes and played some of their best hockey for the remainder of the tournament – securing the silver medal. 

The 2nd XI Hockey Team attended the Chris Arthur Cup Tournament in Ashburton, and played exceptionally well in pool play, eventually placing fourth. 

 

Badminton

Starting off the week in fourth position nationally, the Premier Badminton Team had a goal of retaining that placing – which is exactly what they did! There were some challenging games against old rivals and the team played well, working hard and supporting each other. 

 

Student voice strong for 2019

Sania Mohammadi Jafarian (Year 11) has been elected as the Westlake Student Representative on our School’s Board of Trustees for 2019. We had seven outstanding candidates this year, and a brilliant voting turn-out with more than 900 students returning their ballot papers. 

Sania has been a member of the Younite Takapuna and Devonport Youth Executive Board, a Westlake Service Committee member, and is currently a Student Council representative. She is passionate about students having a voice, and is excited to represent her peers. 

“I cannot begin to express my gratitude in being given such an extraordinary opportunity, and I am incredibly excited to create a meaningful change through being a part of the Board,” she said. “It is remarkably humbling to live in a country where our voice as students is heard and channeled into shaping our learning environment. The representation of our students in the governance of their education is of great importance to me, and I am delighted to be able to give something back to our Westlake community in the process. 

“I believe that our students deserve the most fulfilling experience here at Westlake. My goal as a student representative will be to create a more comfortable and enjoyable learning environment for all of our students. I am honoured to be able to encourage and support them in achieving their personal best, and I wholeheartedly intend to represent the voice of my peers to the best of my abilities.”

 

Homestay opens door to global experience

Each year WGHS provides local families with a unique opportunity to expand their world view by hosting an international student. 

“We have students from a wide variety of countries who come to study at Westlake, and hosting them is a wonderful way for parents to give their children a head start in our multicultural world,” says Westlake’s International Homestay Co-ordinator Shona Batty. “Children who are exposed to multiple languages at a young age have a much easier time processing and remembering the information they receive.”

Homestays can be anywhere from a few weeks to several years, and relationships often continue after the student has returned home. 

“Students want to learn as much as they can about New Zealand culture during their stay, and they are also happy to discuss aspects of their own countries and cultures with their host family,” says Shona.

While hosting a student can provide a supplementary income, the real value comes in the experience of welcoming and integrating a new member into your family.

“We offer financial compensation to our families, however the best families are the ones that chose to host for the experience it will give them,” says Shona. “There’s so much Kiwi families can share about our culture and in doing so provide a secure, safe and vibrant environment for these adventurous young students.”

 

Here’s a testimony from one homestay couple: 

"As a couple that has been unsuccessful in having our own children, we have wholeheartedly embraced the opportunity to be a homestay family for WGHS.  My husband and I, along with our two cats thoroughly enjoy having our three WGHS international students as part of our family.   

We love that the girls all come from different backgrounds and are of different nationalities! We provide them with a safe, warm and caring home environment. We encourage the girls to be independent and spend time getting to know the local areas and of course meet new friends at school.  The girls are all young adults and we know and understand that they need their independence which we encourage.  We are of course on-hand to provide support and guidance as they embark on these precious teenage years whilst here in New Zealand.  

We treat everyone equally and encourage the girls to engage with us on many levels from story telling from their home countries through to sharing their favourite foods and cooking skills from their home countries!  Our girls have brought us so many laughs and memories already and we look forward to welcoming WGHS students into our home well into the future."

If you are interested in becoming a homestay family, please email Shona on sbatty@westlakegirls.school.nz or call 489 4169 ext 756.