Dear Parents and GuardiansTerm four has started positively as we move towards the end of year exams for all of our senior students. Cambridge examinations have actually started this week, I hope that they have gone well for all of the young men concerned. Whilst all of our senior NCEA students still have two or three weeks left at school, they should all be actively preparing at home for their external examinations. Please support us in ensuring that this work is going on. Good luck to all of our cricket, tennis and sevens rugby teams, who all have full sets of fixtures this weekend. Have a nice weekend. Regards |
|||
Music Awards DinnerOn Tuesday evening the annual Music Awards Dinner was held in conjunction with Westlake Girls High School. The evening is a chance to celebrate the commitment, leadership and long service of students to all the co-curricular music groups at both schools. There are also a number of special awards given out to recognise the individual achievements of top Senior students. The awards evening is held at McHughs of Cheltenham where a buffet meal is one of the highlights, as was an entertaining vocal performance from Riley Cahill and Arthur Close, and a combined jazz group of both boys and girls called A Leisurely Horse and Cart. |
|||
|
|
|||
| Former Westlake Boys student Alex Taylor was the guest speaker this year – he gave an inspiring insight into life as a composer in New Zealand and encouraged all the students to “get stuck in” to a career in the Arts.
This year, the top awards included three new trophies donated by friends of the Music Department. The top awards were:
|
|||
|
|
|||
Massey University Scholarship RecipientsCongratulations to the following students who have been awarded scholarships to Massey University, since our Prizegiving:
|
|||
Westlake Boys Retain Thorburn Cup |
|||
|
|
|||
| On Wednesday afternoon, Westlake Boys hosted the annual Thorburn Cup debate in the staffroom, attracting a good turnout of staff and students. The Thorburn Cup has been hotly contested between Westlake Boys and Westlake Girls since 1970. In this time the girls have claimed the cup 27 times to 19 for the boys.
Our Premier Advanced Debating Team of Liam Rawlings, George Han and Ian Lim took on the girls in what proved to be a highly entertaining debate. The moot was, “Assuming there was a potion that would stop you falling in love until you were 21, this house would take the potion” with the girls affirming this. Many important issues facing young people were raised in relation to this rather unconventional moot ending in another solid win for the boys. Congratulations to both teams on an interesting and insightful afternoon of debating and special thanks to all staff and students who came along to support both teams. |
|||
Scholarship Tutorials AvailableScholarship tutorials continue during Term 4 in the lead up to examinations. All enquiries should be directed to Ms Palmer, apalmer@westlake.school.nz. Click here for a list of tutorials. |
|||
iTicket Showdown AwardsCongratulations to the following students and staff for their 16 nominations for the iTicket Showdown Awards. These awards are coveted by the top schools for performing arts in the wider Auckland region, and are hotly contested. Sixteen nominations across ten categories is a wonderful recognition of all the talent and effort that was on display. The nominations are as follows:
|
|||
PTA Meeting – Tuesday 27 October 2015The next meeting of the Westlake Boys’ High School PTA will be held at 7.30pm on Tuesday 27 October in the school staff room. All interested members of the Westlake community are welcome. Enquiries to mcurry@westlake.school.nz |
|||
Westlake Boys JacketOver the last couple of years, our red and green jacket has been phased out. From the start of 2016, students will only be permitted to wear the jacket pictured right. These jackets are able to be purchased from our Uniform shop, or email lbbrown@westlake.school.nz |
 |
||
2015 Westlake Boys Sports Awards Dinner, Friday 6 November 2015Get your tickets now! Ticket sales close Tuesday 3 November, no excuses. |
|||
| What: 2015 Westlake Boys Annual Sports Dinner When: Friday 6 November 2015, 6.00pm (doors open at 5.30pm) Where: Westlake Boys Auditorium Tickets: $50 per person from the Uniform Shop (Note: sales finish close of day Tuesday 3 November) |
|||
| The annual Westlake Boys Sports Awards Dinner celebrates the achievements of Westlake’s many talented sporting teams and individuals, their coaches and supporters. With this year’s record of five National titles, two New Zealand runners-up placings; six Auckland Championships as well as six Auckland runners-up titles, we expect a full house on the evening.
Guest speaker, internationally acclaimed tennis player Simon Rea, will enlighten our young sportsmen with his sporting knowledge and hands-on experience at the highest levels of his sport. Additionally a delicious buffet meal, Westlake Boys Sports Awards and Colours will be presented and a highlight compilation of 2015 sporting moments will be shown. |
 |
||
| Tickets are available from the Uniform Shop in Student Services until Tuesday 3 November. Tickets cost $50.00 per person, payable by cash/Eftpos/Visa or MasterCard (no cheques).
Click HERE for the Sports Awards Dinner ticket order form. |
|||
2015 Westlake Boys Graduation Dinner |
|||
| What: 2015 Westlake Boys Graduation Dinner When: Saturday 28 November 2015, 7pm Where: Westlake Boys Auditorium |
 |
||
| Westlake Boys’ annual Graduation Dinner has become a popular and special event amongst those boys completing their final year of education at Westlake Boys High School. The 2015 Graduation Dinner will be held in the Westlake Auditorium from 7pm on Saturday 28th November. | |||
| The Graduation Dinner offers our leavers, their parents or caregivers as well as Westlake Boys staff an important opportunity to share a celebration that officially recognises the completion of the boys’ years at Westlake Boys High School. It is also the official farewell to the departing students and to wish them well for their futures as Westlakers. The evenings’ proceedings will include an address by 1960’s old boy and international businessman, and man of many talents, Mr John Burland, a formal graduation ceremony and a Valedictory Speech.
Tickets will go on sale on Monday 21st September until Friday 20 November. Our seventh form students will receive the necessary Graduation Dinner information after Monday’s assembly and you can find a copy of the information letter and permission and ticket order form available to download from the school website HERE. Space is limited so tickets will be sold on a first-in, first-served basis with a limit of three tickets per family. We recommend that you purchase your tickets early to avoid disappointment. |
|||
Important Dates: |
|||
| 12-28 October | 3.15 Exhibition – Westlake Artworks Past and Present, NorthArt Gallery, Northcote | ||
| 22 October | Maori Achievement Evening – Staffroom | ||
| 23 October | CIE Year 11 Students leave | ||
| 26 October | Labour Day – School closed | ||
| 3 November | NCEA Year 12 and 13 Students leave | ||
| 4 November | Board of Trustees Meeting | ||
| 5 November | Pasifika Celebration evening | ||
| 6 November | NCEA Examinations commence | ||
| 6 November | Sports Awards Dinner – WBHS Auditorium | ||
| 6 November | NCEA Year 11 Students leave | ||
| 10 November | Late Start for students 10.55am | ||
| 16-19 November | Junior End of Year Examinations | ||
| 24 November | Junior House Swimming | ||
| 25 November | Junior Sign Out and text book return | ||
| 27 November | Junior House Athletics afternoon | ||
| 28 November | Graduation Dinner | ||
| 2 December | Senior Sign Out and text book return | ||
| 3 December | House Speech Competition | ||
| 4 December | Junior Prizegiving / End of Term 4 | ||
Westlakers v WBHS Premier Water Polo Match |
|||
 |
|||
| What: Westlakers v WBHS Premier Water Polo Match When: Sunday 1 November 2015, 5.00pm-6.00pm, followed by drinks and some finger food at ‘The Finish Line’ Where: AUTM pool at AUT Millennium |
|||
| After establishing the annual Westlakers rugby, hockey and football matches over the last few years, Westlaker Water Polo players have been challenged to compete in the inaugural Westlaker Water Polo matchup against the 2015 Westlake Boys Premier Water Polo Team on Sunday 1 November at 5.00pm at the Millennium Pool. | |||
| The match promises to be a great opportunity for Westlake’s Premier Water Polo team to match their skills against Westlaker Water Polo “stars” from yesteryears.
Westlake’s Premier Water Polo team including Jarvis Jensen (currently in the New Zealand School Boys) and Iziah Mahe (New Zealand U16 team) coached by Davor Carevic (North Harbour Head coach and New Zealand coach) will certainly have to step up on the day. They will come up against a team of old boy players which comprises of an astonishing line up including five New Zealand Men’s Water Polo players, four New Zealand School Boys representatives and the rest of the players have all represented various age group levels and top North Harbour teams. Each of these players has won a national title in every age group. All 2001/2002 players have won the National title at least two times in a row and some three times. |
|||
| The following Westlakers will take the pool – cap numbers, name, last year at Westlake Boys, highest representative honours:
1 – John Love (2004) – New Zealand Men’s Water Polo 2 – Graeme Gunthorpe (2001) – New Zealand School Boys 3 -Jake Bennett (2001) – New Zealand Men’s Water Polo 4 – Chris Wall (2001) – New Zealand School Boys 5 -Troy Gruebner (1997) 6 – Greg Weeks (2001) New Zealand School Boys 7 – Steve Knights (1981) New Zealand Men’s Water Polo 8 – Phil Blackbourn (2007) – New Zealand School Boys 9 – Kurt Bennett (2008) 10 – Chris Chester (1999) 11 – Owen Chambers New Zealand Men’s Water Polo (2011) 12 – William Pike (2002) 13 – Dave Broome (2001) – New Zealand Men’s Water Polo 14 – Garreth Carter (2001) |
|||
| There will be an opportunity to mingle and share stories about Westlake water polo at the after match function from 6.00pm at ‘The Finish Line’ at Millennium Stadium.
We are looking forward to a great game with match commentary provided by Alex Mackenzie and Jonny Clarke. All are welcome to come and watch the match – see you on Sunday 1 November at 5.00pm at the Millennium Pool. |
|||
Westlake Sport |
|||
Squash New Zealand Junior Nationals |
|||
| After having won the New Zealand Secondary Schools Championships earlier this year, four of Westlake’s top Premier Squash players Rafa Yam, Matthew Lucente, Gabe Yam and David Matthews travelled to Invercargill to compete in the Squash New Zealand Junior Nationals during the holidays. Matthew Lucente was Westlake’s best performer in the tournament finishing runner-up in the Boys U17 division.
In the inter-district team events, the Auckland Girls’ and Boys’ teams came out on top with their respective 1st place and runners-up finishes and were awarded the Gifford Cup for being the best performing squash district in New Zealand. With four out of the five Auckland team players from our school the future of Westlake Squash remains promising. Congratulations to all players and Westlake Premier coach, Manu Yam who was the manager of the Auckland team. |
 |
||
2015 North Island Secondary School Snowboarding Competition |
|||
| The North Island Secondary School’s Snowboarding Competition took place in the last week of term 3. Despite races being postponed on the first day due to blizzard conditions, the full three events took place.
Westlake’s best result in the Dual Slalom event was a 13th place by Casey Sturrock (Year 12), while year 10 student Nick Burt pulled out a fast 1st run, only to break his collar bone at the end of it. The Slopestyle event with over 120 boys competing from all over the North Island saw Sam Readman (Year 11) get in the top 20 securing 3rd place with a smooth, stylish second run. Meanwhile the Boarder X event where four riders head down a tight, fun course racing each other in knock-out fashion, saw Sam Readman and Bailey Smith (year 12) produce solid runs only to be knocked out in the quarter finals. |
 |
||
| The team of the above boys, along with Glen Jeffrey (Year 13), Luke Moriarty (Year 11) and course assistant Blake Readman came 4th overall in the Boy’s Team event, narrowly missing out on a podium finish by 1.5 points. Westlake continues its proud tradition of being the best performing team in Auckland. Trident High School were 1st place, followed by Ruapehu College and Hamilton Boy’s High School. Congratulations to all involved and a special thanks to Mr Smale and Mrs Peak for their organisation and making sure the team had a fun and safe trip. | |||
Westlake Premier Chess Team Finish Runners-up in New Zealand |
|||
| On the last day of term 3, the Westlake Boy Premier Chess team, accompanied by Mr van den Heuvel flew to Palmerston North for the New Zealand Secondary Schools Chess Tournament. The team played seven rounds of chess in total and after round two Westlake were leading by half a point. However, long-time opponents Auckland Grammar School managed to take over the lead, going ahead 3-1 at lunchtime.
At the end of the first day Westlake were in a safe second position but seemingly out of reach of first place. Westlake Boys Premier team finished a very respectable runners-up in New Zealand after the two games on the second day and the team are eager for the chance to win back the title next year. Congratulations to Winston Yao, Hao Jia, William Li and William Zhang (pictured below with tournament winners Auckland Grammar School at the Auckland Champs earlier this month), Mrs Gouws and Mr Van Den Heuvel on a very successful year. |
 |
||
Westlake Premier Lacrosse Finish Runners-Up in AucklandHaving retained the Jack Hutton Cup (the North Harbour Championship) last month, the Westlake Boys Lacrosse team won a place in the Auckland Lacrosse final after a scintillating semis win over Mount Roskill Grammar School. With final opponent Mount Albert Grammar School fielding a record number of 12 New Zealand Lacrosse squad players against Westlake’s single representative player, the team were to come up against formidable opposition in the last match of the season. |
|||
 |
|||
| The final was played away at the St Peter’s College artificial turf on the last day of term 3 and the match saw Westlake try to adjust its play to contain their main players, but by the end of the first quarter the team were 2-5 down. The coaches readjusted the game strategy and Westlake managed to hang on to a 1-0 lead in the second quarter followed by a 2–1 win in the third quarter taking the score to 5-6. However by the final quarter, Westlake were exhausted and the onslaught of 13 personal fouls for rough play on the young Westlake team had taken its toll. MAGS scored 3 more goals in the final quarter taking the victory 5-9.
Westlake competed extremely well in a hard fought match and never gave up. Rowan Angelo scored 4 of the team’s 5 goals and goalkeeper Dylan Penlington was named man of the match by keeping Westlake in contention throughout the match. It was a tough game to end another successful year. Congratulations to all involved and special thanks go to Mrs Vikki Clarke and Westlaker coaches Jung Hyun Lee and Stefan Vidal. |
|||
2015 Westlake Boys Premier Basketball National Tournament |
|||
| During the first week of the school holidays Westlake Boys Premier Basketball Team competed in the Secondary Schools National Tournament in Palmerston North. Having qualified as the 3rd seed, we were placed at the top of Pool C. Pool C included two teams from Zone 2 (mid North Island), Rotorua Boys and Hillcrest, two Zone 4 (South Island) teams, Christchurch Boys and Burnside and another local Zone 1 team, Liston. Being placed in a strong pool was going to be tough from day one. |  |
||
| The team had a thrilling run to the final but were eventually thwarted by a good Rangitoto side, who prevailed to take their maiden title. It was a gallant effort from the Westlake Boys’ premier side that saw them beaten by the better team on the day.
Well done to Isaac Letoa and Matt Freeman in making the Tournament Team this year. Credit to all staff and students for a good season and we look forward to what 2016 has in store for the next talented crop of young basketball players at Westlake. |
|||
Congratulations |
|||
|
 |
||
|
|||
|
 |
||
|
|||
|
|||
Good Luck to:
|
|||
 |
|||
 |
|||
| If you have information and/or photos which you feel may be included in a future newsletter, please contact the Headmaster’s EA, Mrs Sandra White: swhite@westlake.school.nz | |||
