February 2013

Exhausted but Exhiliarated Ex-Student Mike Allsop
 

We often report on the successes and exploits of ex-students as they are brought to our attention.

Mike Allsop has just completed 7 marathons in 7 days on 7 continents, and we congratulate him on this latest adventure and what it means for him and for his chosen charity KidsCan.

 

Each year we invite to our Festival Awards Dinner a notable ex-student as a guest speaker. In 2008 Mike enthralled our students with his mountaineering tales, especially his experience of conquering Mt Everest. Hopefully we will have him return to a future school function as he is inspiring and entertaining and now has a new adventure to share.

 

Go to http://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10867502 for an article on Mike's marathon adventure.

 

Individual Sporting Honours
 

Our students continue to excel in regional, national and international competitions. Congratulations to these committed and determined athletes:

 

Michael Durham (Year 11) - Australian Intermediate Men's Ice Figure Skating Champion

Natalie Woodgate (Year 13) - again performed extremely well in the recent Harbour race from St Heliers to Tamaki Yacht Club. She finished 3rd overall in a field of 260 competitiors, and was the first female swimmer home, two minutes ahead of her nearest rival.

Shee Nathan-Wong (Year 12) - named in the New Zealand Girls' Under 16 Touch Football Tournament Team which will compete in Australia later this year.

Grace Kukutai (Year 12) - one of 27 selected to trial for the NZ Secondary Schools' Netball Team

Mario Sinovcic (Year 10) - top scorer for his Waitakere Water Polo Club Team in the Pan Pacific Water Polo Youth   Festival

 

 

 

 

Year 12 Calculus Scholars

 

Tim Hight and Nicolaas Waddington both love Mathematics and it is the purity of Calculus, the challenge of finding the one correct answer, that inspired them as they achieved at Scholarship level last year. A significant achievement by anyone's standards and more so given the boys were Year 12 students but studying  Maths with Calculus at Level 3.

 

This year as Year 13 students they have taken the opportunity, and challenge, of enrolling in a  University of Auckland Stage 1 Calculus paper. On a Tuesday afternoon Tim and Nick head to the city for 2 hours of lectures, broken by an hour of a smaller group tutorial session. As well as catering for their love of the subject the exposure to university life and expectations will give them a little advantage over their peers next year when they move to full time university study.

 

As to their future studies and possible career paths, neither student has a firm idea as yet, but they certainly have a number of options. Tim is contemplating studying for a number of years probably to doctorate level in either physics or an engineering field.

 

For Nick, who has been a key member of Lynfield's very successful Robotics teams over the past four years, the fields of Engineering Science and Mechatronics have a real appeal ( From the University's website : "Mechatronics engineers design or select sensors and actuators, develop control algorithms and use or develop advanced functional materials for the design of mechanical systems such as chassis stabilising systems, anti-lock brakes, engine control units, disk drives, cameras, service and surgical robots and artificial hearts.")

Congratulations to Tim and Nick on their success last year! and we wish them well for their University paper and their Level 3 studies here at school this year. Both have four Level 3 courses in their academic programme. Have they accepted the challenge of achieving four Outstanding Scholarships this year? "We are definitely up for that!" says Tim.

 

Dragonboats Firing Up

 

For the first time in a number of years Lynfield is entering one, maybe two, teams in the Auckland Secondary Schools' Dragonboating Regatta on 24 March at Lake Pupuke.

 

Interest in joining the sport has been quite overwhelming and 33 students are currently signed up. Training takes place each Wednesday at Westhaven between 5 and 6pm, and students from all levels are keen to participate in this high-energy event. Being able to swim 50m is a prerequisite of course.

 

26 secondary schools are competing at the regatta and we are sure the Lynfield students will have a lot of fun on the water. The photos below were taken by parent Oliver Glampe at last week's training.

2012 NCEA Scholarships

 

Our top scholars from last year are beginning their tertiary studies at various universities this week. We congratulate them on their successes of 2012 - they made everyone very proud - and we wish them well in the next stage of their learning journey.

 

Following are the students who achieved at scholarship level in the NCEA examinations at the end of last year. An "O" indicates a scholarship "with outstanding achievement" and five students reached this level (they are in the top 0.3% of the students who sat the subject.) 

 

Five students gained three scholarships each - Marisha Aya, Nalin Choudhary, Wendy He, Stephanie Love and Ashley Walters - and they have received a "Scholarship Award".

 

Wendy He	Biology, Geography, Maths with Statistics and Modelling(O)
Marisha Aya	Art History, English and Graphics(O)
Nalin Choudhary	Biology, Chemistry, Maths with Statistics and Modelling(O)
Stephanie Love	Art Design, Graphics, Media Studies
Ashley Walters	Art History, Classical Studies (O), Media Studies
Manisha Sharma	Art History, History
Hannan Kashkari	Biology
Anuradha Nagahaulla	Biology
Madison Hughes	Biology
Kerryn Smith	Art Design
Yidan Feng	Art Design
Watthanasin Kaewsa Pullen	Art Design (O)
Kristin Unruh	German
Mehul Patel	Graphics
Joshua Edmonds	Graphics
Tim Hight	Maths with Calculus
Nicolaas Waddington	Maths with Calculus
Wei Cao	Maths with Calculus
Jacob Couper	Maths with Statistics and Modelling
Tianshi Huang	Maths with Statistics and Modelling

 

First X1 Cricket - Stellar Performance
 

21 February
 

It was a runfest last Saturday - Darshan Mehta 109 not out, Saharsh Dhankawade 47 not out, and Lynfield First X1 214 for 1 after 29 overs. Liston College Senior A team were all out for 194 after 26.5 overs (Lynfield's Rugved Deshpande 2 for16 in 5 overs, and Akshay Chauhan 3 for 8 in 2.5 overs).

 A century in schoolboy cricket is exceptional - congratulations Darshan!

Why Water Doesn't Fall out of Buckets
 

21 February

 

In preparation for their field trip to Rainbow's End, Year 13 Physics students are practising by taking measurements of physical phenomenon. Here they investigate how the weight of an object can provide the required centripetal force for water to move in a vertical circle -and hence the reason why we can feel "weightless" when we ride a loop in a rollercoaster.

2012 NCEA Results Analysis

 

Lynfield College Academic Advisor Mr Neil Waddington has been analysing last year's NCEA results and his rigorous approach has revealed much cause for congratulations to students and staff. Additionally, such analysis, together with the course reviews undertaken by staff and published in our Achievement Report, informs the teaching and learning programmes and experiences for this year. Success builds success.

 

There is some key data in our current newsletter and Mr Waddington has provided the following data which details some additional highlights:

 

Students are able to have individual courses Endorsed with Merit or Excellence if they achieve at least 14 credits (including both internally and externally assessed standards) in the course.
 

• Of the 60 Year 10 students studying NCEA Level 1 Geography or Science, over 90% were endorsed with Merit or Excellence.
• The Level One Maths Advanced Class had 97% of students endorsed with Merit or Excellence, with 57.7% of those at Excellence.
• ALL students who took Chinese at Level 1 or 2 were endorsed with either Merit or Excellence.
• At Level 2, Chemistry Advanced had 96.4% of its students endorsed with Merit or Excellence, with 64.3% at Excellence level.
• At Level 3, Art Design had the highest ratio of students endorsed with Excellence at 26.7% and another 13.3% Endorsed with Merit.  Level 3 Graphics and Physical education were 2^nd equal, with 19.2 percent of their students being endorsed with Excellence.
• Level 3 Physics Advanced had the highest ratio of Level 3 students endorsed with either Merit or Excellence; 65.2% of the class achieving this.

Congratulations to the students (and teachers!!) of these courses!
 

 

Athletics Enjoyed by All

 

Add a variety of events and weather to highly competitive athletics and throw in plenty of good humour and House spirit, and you have a very successful and enjoyable day! 

 

In our Athletics Day last Friday all students completed a circuit of 11 different events in the morning ranging from Tug of War and 3-legged races to high jump and discus.  After lunch our top athletes competed in finals then junior form class and senior House relays. 

 

House competition became more intense as the mascots were judged on strict criteria and the Best Dressed House was announced.
 

Overall points for the House competition: Fatialofa and Faumuina 1st=, followed by Zoricich, Lewis, Bray and Reid.                                                              

 
 

Mainzeal Collapse Delays Cafe Construction
 

Construction on our new college tuckshop and sports changing facilities started last November with Mainzeal. Unfortunately, with their collapse, all work has come to a stop.

 

The project was supposed to be completed at the end of February and currently there is only a month of work required to complete the project. The project manager has been in discussion with the receivers and the Board of Trustees is awaiting further developments.

 

During January the old tuckshop was demolished and a temporary building put in to provide a limited service to students. We regret this stopgap measure will need to continue longer than expected.

The building in progress is shown here:

 
 

Athletics Friday 15 February
 

The Director Sport, Felicity Walbran has provided guidance on frequently asked questions regarding Athletics Day which is scheduled for tomorrow, Friday.
 

 

Trip of Significance for History Students
 

On Tuesday February 12 60 Year 13 History students visited the Auckland Sky Tower and the Central Library in order to complete their research assignment into "An event of significance to New Zealand".

 

Topics the students have chosen include the 1981 Springbok Tour, the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, the Erebus disaster, the nuclear free New Zealand movement, the 1951 Waterfront Strike, the Bastion Point Occupation, the impact the Great Depression had on New Zealand, the campaign to get women the vote and New Zealand’s contribution to the Boer War.

The visit to the Sky Tower was an opportunity for the students to learn how Auckland developed and see where some of the sights of significance were located such as Marsden Wharf the site of the 1985 Rainbow Warrior bombing and Bastion Point which was occupied by protestors for 506 days in 1977 and 1978.

They then went to the Auckland Central library where they used the research centre and special collections to look up old newspapers on microfilm and Hansard parliamentary debates. The librarians were kept very busy fulfilling all the orders the students made for books from the basement which they dusted off and used for their research.

A good day’s work was completed by all the students. They will continue with this for the next two weeks at school. The next step in the research process for many of the students is to conduct some interviews with people who may have lived through these events (although the suggestion from the students that they could visit the old folks' home to interview people who might remember the anti-nuclear protesting from the 1980’s drew looks of horror from their obviously very ancient teachers!).
 

Student Art on The Block
 

As mentioned in a previous article a group of our Year 9 and 10 students created the art that is receiving considerable acclaim at Blockhouse Bay's newest cafe The Block.

 

The installation of clay tiles was designed by Art Design teacher Mr Glynn Hambridge who joined with Ms Bev Austin to assist students in creating the work during the 2011 Caring for our Community project.

 

 

Our Student BOT Rep on Great Barrier Island
 

Tena Koutou Katoa and Happy New Year! 

 

My name is Kylie Clarke, and I am the Lynfield College Student Representative on the Board of Trustees.
 

The New Year brings challenges and experiences which I have definitely faced late January this year. As the Student Trustee, attending the OPC Governance Challenge at the Edmund Hillary Pursuits Centre, for a week, located at Great Barrier Island, will absolutely be considered as one of the few events I will never forget.
 

The purpose of this camp was to ensure Student Trustees all around New Zealand come together, and among other skills, develop an understanding of the role of a Student Representative. One hour sessions were facilitated, every morning and evening, outlining how the Ministry of Education works in relation to the Student Trustee, and how this important role is related back to the Government and school. The majority of my time at the camp however, involved many physical challenges, which were aimed at building confidence and leadership through demanding activities like rock climbing, sea kayaking and coasteering, where team cooperation was essential.

During my stay at Great Barrier, the largest fire the island has had in years, spread not too far away from where we were staying. We were still outside the evacuation zone, but there was still some tension circulating the campsite. The airport that I flew into the day before the fire was shut down for the week, causing strain on the staff at OPC, trying to find a way that was safe to send students back to Auckland at the end of the camp. Last day of camp and students were told that flights could be delayed 24hours, though a solution was reached, and we arrived back in Auckland later that day.

I want to thank the Board for funding this journey for me. The experiences I had were thrilling, and designed to push us out of our comfort zone. I also gained some friendships that I intend to continue.

I look forward to representing Lynfield College students on the Board this year.
 

Kylie (centre) pictured with other schools' Board of Trustees Student Representatives on Great Barrier Island

 

NZ Herald's Stories Well-Connected!

 

February 4 2013

Those receiving the NZ Herald on Saturday may have read in the magazine section the lengthy article on Isaac Sinclair - a perfume designer with significant credits to his name already, and now home to design a distinctive New Zealand scent for a range of Ecoya candles.  Isaac is a fomer student of Lynfield College and we are delighted to read how well he is achieving in such a unique career niche.

 

Here is the link to the Herald story:
 

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10862306

 

And in the same magazine there was a review of Blockhouse Bay's newest cafe - The Block. It scored very highly in the review, and we are very proud that the large mozaic of clay tiles which features on the front of The Block was created by Year 9 and 10 Lynfield students during the 2011 Caring for our Community project.

 

We are sure you will be impressed with this artwork when you next visit The Block (in Blockhouse Bay  village).

 

 

Year 9 Students' Orientation

February 1 2013

Over the past two days our new Year 9 students have begun their journey towards becoming "Lynfield Learners'. With assistance from their Peer Support tutors they have been learning about the college, and how to cope successfully with the transition from Intermediate to secondary school. There has been an introduction to e-LynC our online learning envirionment, a session with the college principal, Mr Steve Bovaird, who spoke about the history and values of Lynfield College, and some e-asTTle testing.

 

The Year 9 Dean,Mrs Sofia Hameed, is enjoying meeting her new Year 9 cohort and looks forward enthusiastically to leading the students through their 5 secondary school years.

Becoming familiar with e-LynC	The college crest explained.
Students and their Dean getting to know each other.	Ms Zimmer hands out timetables to her 9ZM form class.
e-asTTle testing.	First look at their Year 9 timetable.

Leadership Camp
 

The Student Leaders for 2013 are enjoying themselves and learning about their roles and responsibilities this year at  a 2-day Leadership Training course held at AUT as part of their Prefect Training Programme..

 

The images below are of our Head Girl and Boy, Wiki Maihi and Rugved Deshpande, with some of the wider leadership group engaging in team building at Okahu Bay.

 

Telephone System Issues

Friday January 18 - the college telephone system is currently experiencing some issues which we hope will be remedied on Monday 21 January. We apologise for the inconvenience.

If you are unable to make contact via telephone please email admin@lynfield.school.nz with your query or request which will be dealt with as quickly as possible. Please include your telephone number in your message.

Alternatively, there is a lot of information on this website regarding the beginning of the school year, enrolments, uniform, etc - hopefully you may find the information you are after by searching the website.