International Newsletter Term 2 2015

1 July 2015

Dear parents, guardians, host families and students,

Welcome to our second newsletter of 2015. Term 2 has been another busy term.

Exams

With Mid-Year Exams taking place in May, the focus of the term has been exam preparation and post exam reflection. I am pleased to report that most of our international students performed well in the Mid-Year Exams. 37 students (22%) have been ranked in the top 3 places in their subjects. More importantly, most students worked hard. 29 students (17%) have gained 4 or more As for Effort. Remember, genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration! Hard work pays off every time.

Parent Evenings

Four parent evenings followed the Mid-Year Exams. It is important that students and parents attend these evenings as they provide an opportunity for in depth discussions on student progress. Teachers often have additional data to inform student performance and progress at these evenings, and are able to offer personalized study tips. I urge all international students, parents and homestay parents to capitalize on these events. Those who did not perform so well or did not try so hard were given a one-on-one conference in which an intervention programme was drawn up for each individual student. I look forward to seeing an improved attitude and subsequently improved results in the near future with this group of students.

Cultural Week, Korean Night, Chinese Night and the School Ball

Pictured some students and teachers at the School Ball (Ms Tina Kwok, centre)

Our social calendar was full and colourful in Term 2 as well. In one term, we managed to squeeze in the Cultural Week, the Korean Night, the Chinese Night and the School Ball. All of these are highlights of our school social calendar.

We had an unprecedentedly high number of international students running activities during the Chinese Night. These boys collectively ran six lunchtime activities. The Korean boys cooked a lovely Korean BBQ to raise funds for the Korean Night. Well done to those who either organized or participated in these cultural events. Congratulations also to those who were involved in the Korean and Chinese Nights. Both events were a huge success, bringing the Korean and the Chinese communities into our school to celebrate their cultural heritages.

I was most pleased to see non-Korean and non-Chinese performers, helpers and audiences.  It was testimony that our school really is a culturally responsive school and our community is embracing our wonderful cultural diversity.

I was also delighted to see some of our Year 13 students turning up to the School Ball looking smart and grown up. I hope the boys will have fond memories of the evening.

Homestay Evening

This term, we hosted a gathering with our homestay families. It was lovely to see so many homestay families supporting our school event and advocating for our students. Our homestay families are our very important and valued partners. We can never thank them enough for the love and care they give our students every day. We will continue to strive to do our best to support our homestay families.

Cybersafety and Personal Health

Another initiative this term included a special assembly on 24^th June on Cybersafety and Personal Health.

It is of prime importance that our students understand which online activities are considered inappropriate and illegal in New Zealand, and how they can protect themselves. Unfortunately, two international students recently left our school to return to their home countries due to gross misconduct. Please note that Westlake Boys High School upholds the highest expectations for student behaviour. If an international student breaks a school rule outlined in the Policy Document, breaches any condition in the Cybersafety agreement or conducts himself in an inappropriate manner to other students and staff, he risks having his contract cancelled and being sent home, usually within 24 hours.

Holidays

The July holidays are fast approaching. While I do want our students to get some R&R, I also have some homework for our international students to do over the July holidays:

• Year 9 to Year 12 students will be selecting their 2016 options in Term 3. I would like these students to think carefully about their option choices for next year. Their choices must be guided by their interest, their ability and their future career pathway, with their interest being the most important and influential factor.
• Year 13 boys will be applying for university courses next term. Please have a think about what courses you are interested in and research the entry criteria. You should use the information you gathered on the Auckland University Open Day, the Canterbury University Presentation, the Auckland University Presentation and the Careers Evening to help you form some ideas.
• The second piece of homework is to be safe and sensible in the holidays.

Open Day Scholarships

Finally, congratulations to Steven Yan, Kazaf Tse and Cheng Zhong on winning the Canterbury University Scholarships to attend their Open Day in Christchurch during the holidays. I hope you have fun and look forward to hearing about your experience next term.

Happy holidays!

Ms Kwok

Head of the International Department

Korean Night

The 6^th Annual Korean Night certainly was one of the highlights of this term, exceeding the energy of last year. Longer preparation time, more teachers involved and a better sound system all contributed to making the night better than ever before. Doors opened at 6.30pm as almost 1500 people rushed in to get the best seats and the show started with the Westlake Haka at 7.00pm. There were acts ranging from a Rap group, K-pop dance group, Singing group, Rock Band and Barbershop to more traditional performances like Tae Kwon Do, Fan dance and Nanta drums.

Some of the lucky audience won raffle prizes such as restaurant vouchers, a jewellery voucher, a new iPad and a sack of 25kg rice which was the most exciting prize of the night. The Korean committee leaders from both the Boys and Girls school did an amazing job organising the event.

The quality of the each performance was second to none and the thunderous response from the crowd reflected all the hard work and effort that has been put in over the last term and a half. All profits made from The Westlake Korean Night has been donated to World Vision this year.

Kevin Ahn, Korean Advisor

Chinese Night

On the evening of June 12, the curtain was drawn open on “Chinese Night”.  With excited clapping from the nearly thousand strong audience, boys and girls from WBHS and WGHS presented something really marvelous.

At the very beginning, beautiful girls in Chinese traditional costumes performed “Fan dancing”, and the gentle subtlety reminded us of the spring of the Jiangnan (South of Yangtze River).

Over the next two hours, boys and girls sang songs and even gave a rock and roll show with their own bands.  Their enthusiasm was infectious!

Besides singing and dancing, there were also guessing games and lucky draws arranged to enable audiences to be better involved in the show.

“Chinese Night” was not just an annual gala night where students of Chinese origin presented their performing talents, but it was also a great chance to show the schools and local communities how colorful the Chinese culture can be.  Given the great commitment and diligent preparation from the boys and girls, and the wonderful support from their teachers and parents, this year’s show was another great success and a warm memory for all.

Jennifer Fan, Chinese Advisor

FIFA U-20 World Cup New Zealand 2015

INAKL is a great Auckland program, designed exclusively for international students to help ensure  that they have an unbeatable time in Auckland. INAKL provided 10 free tickets to our international boys and encouraged them to be part of this truly global event.

Some of our staff and boys attended the very exciting Quarter-Final: USA against Serbia on Sunday 14 June at North Harbour Stadium Auckland. Though it was cold and raining, they very much enjoyed being part of the 10,826 strong crowd to watch the game live.

Jasmine Tang, Chinese Advisor

It’s a Small World

In January we welcomed Sean Goodburn a fine young man from County Kildare in Ireland, who would be with us till the end of term 2.

Sean’s in his gap year and took the opportunity to spend this time engrossed in the New Zealand way of life and experiencing a season of rugby playing in the 2^nd XV team.

Prior to his departure from Ireland a chance meeting with a young man at Sean’s local rugby club “NUIM Barnhall” was to leave an impression on him. This young man was Westlake old boy Chris Winks who was in Ireland for a year playing for the local team. Chris was very informative and spoke highly of the school.

After such a recommendation the Irishman looked forward to heading to the Land of the Long White Cloud. In a twist of fate now 12 months on and Chris Winks is now the teacher of the student.

Hope you have enjoyed your time here Sean, safe travels home.

Julia McGahan, Manager, International Department

Drama:

Some of our Year 10 students recently entertained us, presenting scenes from the Shakespeare play, Romeo and Juliet.  They acted with enthusiasm and flair.

Well done to the boys and their teacher, Mrs Margie Cachopa.

From our cultural corner……

CHICKEN GREEN CURRY (GAENG KEOW WAN GAI)

Ingredients:

100 g chicken breast sliced into small pieces                                         2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 tablespoon red curry paste                                                                      ¼ cup sweet peas

Red or green chilies cut lengthwise                                                          Kaffir lime leaves

1 cup coconut milk                                                                                           ½ teaspoon fish sauce

½ teaspoon sugar                                                                                            Fresh Thai basil leaves

Method:

1. In a large saucepan, briefly stir-fry curry paste in oil over medium, then, add half of coconut milk.
2. When coconut milk begins to bubble, add chicken. Once chicken is cooked add the rest of coconut milk, turn down heat and simmer to reduce sauce. If it becomes too thick, add a little water.
3. When the sauce is desired consistency, add red chili or red capsicum, add Kaffir lime leaves, fish sauce and sugar. Removed from heat and stir in Thai basil leaves. Serve with rice.

Miss Sara Limpapath, Thai Advisor