Wellington East Girls' College / Te Kura Kōhine o te Rāwhiti o Te Upoko o Te Ika
Welink
Issue 2, Paenga-whāwhā / April 2020
Welink is a newsletter produced as a link between Wellington East Girls' College and our community, and is emailed to parents and students. It contains essential information as well as news for caregivers. It is also on our website – www.wegc.school.nz. Please advise the school if you have changed your contact details, or would like to add an email address: wegc@wegc.school.nz
Principal's Message
Tēnā koutou kātoa
This has to be the most unusual start to any term that I have experienced in my time as an educator. We are all working out what it means for us to engage in authentic learning in these unusual circumstances. East@home our digital distance learning is now underway and I want to extend a huge thanks to our community.
Thank you to the students who have been willing to engage in new ways of learning and have maintained a positive attitude throughout. Our students continue to demonstrate the East Spirit showing care and compassion for others. An example of this thoughtful leadership has come from our Head Students who have put together the Humans of WEGC. This site allows students and staff and others linked to WEGC to share their stories and experiences and make connections.
Thank you to the staff, who have given up much of their holiday time to prepare for the shift to remote learning. It is a privilege to work with such dedicated people who are so committed to our students.
Thanks must also go to the wider East whānau for your ongoing patience and support. I appreciate that many of you will be juggling working from home and trying to support your children with distance learning and that you may be feeling inundated by the communication from school. Our priority at this time is making learning manageable, sustainable and realistic for everyone. As a whānau it's about prioritising your child’s wellbeing and seeing how our learning framework can work for you in your bubble. Please make contact with your child’s Ako teacher if you need any support.
Following the Prime Minister’s recent announcement we are now developing plans for the transition to Level 3 and will be in touch with more details in the near future.
There have been some changes to staffing this term with Ricky Prebble leaving us to take up a position as Education Officer at Heritage New Zealand.
We welcome Laura Holton who is joining us in Tikanga-a-iwi and Zane Gooderidge, Alex Karl and Linda Todd who are returning from refreshment leave.
Ngā mihi nui
Gael Ashworth, Principal
Board of Trustees
Kia ora koutou
The last three weeks have been unprecedented in our lives, and I hope that all our East whānau are keeping safe and well at this very unusual time. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Gael and her leadership team for the incredible job they did in the lead up to the Level 4 lockdown, keeping our school community informed about what was happening, and the actions being taken. Similarly, I would like to thank the entire staff at WEGC for the hard work that they have been doing over the "holidays" preparing for the roll-out of online schooling this week. The amount of work involved in re-orientating the curriculum to a virtual world is significant, and not to be underestimated. The Board of Trustees acknowledges just how challenging this must have been for our staff, while supporting and caring for their own whānau in their bubbles at home.
During the lock down the Board of Trustees has had its first ever virtual meetings, using the google hangouts app. As you would expect, a large part of these meetings has been to discuss the impact of COVID-19 on our school community, including learning and achievement, student and staff wellbeing, and changes to the property upgrade programme. We won't understand the full impact of COVID-19 for some months to come, however please be assured that the school remains fully operational, even though our buildings are closed.
Finally, if you know of a young person who is struggling during the lockdown because of the social isolation, worry about their studies or other reasons, the WEGC Hauora team is available to support them, as are other services such as Youthline and 0800 What's Up to name just a couple. Please encourage them to reach out and seek support.
Stay healthy and safe in your bubbles.
Ngā mihi nui
Jo Lambert, Board Chair
WEPA Parents' Association
Kia Ora everyone
You don’t need me to tell you the last few weeks have been strange and unsettling. We have all been in lockdown and protecting our community from Covid-19 as best we can. Like mine, your girls have been stuck at home, filling the rooms with their activities whenever they aren’t sleeping late or using up all the internet. Thank you for doing your part, and staying home and saving lives.
Distance learning started in earnest last Wednesday, and the staff have done a wonderful job to deliver and manage a great program of work for our students over the internet. WEPA met via Zoom last week to catch up and support each other. We hope to share some exciting news soon about a wonderful new acquisition for the school that has been generously funded by local sponsors and our charity funder.
We continue to need your support. Please make your donations to the school, a small part of that goes to WEPA, and shop at New World Wellington, and support our various sponsors. The income we get from all sources is so valued and it goes straight to our students. There will be some kids in need when we get physically back on site and we look forward in particular to assisting them.
As always, we welcome new members to the committee. We need you. Our next meeting date is 7 May. Please get in touch via parents@wegc.govt.nz and we will send you an invitation to join us, in person or via teleconference.
Nga mihi nui
Drew Blair, WEPA Committee
East@home website
We have put together a google site East@Home which has details on student learning, staff contact details, links to latest information and Hauora support
Absence reporting during lockdown
If your student is unwell and unable to "attend" to their school work during this lockdown period, please advise the school either via email to absence@wegc.school.nz or email their Ako teacher.
It is important that we are able to communicate to further support the student and whānau during this time.
Live Time structure
The Live Time structure will operate as follows Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday.
Wednesday is scheduled for independent study via Google Classroom
Session 1 9.00 Check emails and plan your day
Session 2 Ako 10-10.30
Session 3 10.30-11.30
Session 4 12.00-1.00
Session 5 2.00-3.00
To see which subjects will be offered during each Live Time session, check East@home
This will also be communicated with students by their Ako teacher.
The Great Lockdown Reading Challenge
The Great Lockdown Reading Challenge
What better time to read or listen to a book?
All students and staff have been invited to participate in The Great Lockdown Reading Challenge, which runs from the 26th of March to the 22nd of April. For each book review, students and staff earn a point for their house. You can also participate in this challenge as it is open to anyone in the household bubble – you can earn a point for their house by writing a one-sentence review and emailing it through to library@wegc.school.nz.
And for more incentive and a bit of fun, each week one review will be randomly drawn from each house and the winner will get a $5 café voucher.
The school library is open 24/7
Students can access ebooks, e-audiobooks and eTV @ library.wegc.school.nz. There is also a short video on how to access our elibrary.
Help with research
Even though we are in lockdown, the librarians Leigh and Pam are available to help all students with research. They can send a request to library@wegc.school.nz – the library is open until 4.30pm each school day.
There is also a short video on the library website on how to find information in google.
Introducing our Head Prefects
Our two Head Prefects for 2020 are leading their team of 38 prefects, supporting all aspects of our school, from Charities, Sports, Events and Tuakana and more. Sophie Irving (L) is from Island Bay and is Te Atiawa descent. She is involved in Surf Lifesaving, and swimming, representing New Zealand in both sports. She has also been involved in the School Council over her years at WEGC. Lorna Hallet (R) is from Seatoun and is NZ/British and has been on the School Council, is a Femineast Group leader as well as involved in Debating, Netball, and has set up the Volunteering Group, and the Supporters' Club
Sophie Irving (L) and Lorna Hallet (R) in their Head Prefect korowai
French honour awarded
Karen wearing her purple ribboned Order (L) pictured with Ambassador Carta-Le Vert (R)
On February 18, Karen Stockill (our HOD Languages and French Teacher) was honoured with an Order of Merit for services to French education and culture, from the French Ambassador, Mme Sylvaine Carta Le-Vert. The award of Chevalier de l'Ordre des Palmes Académiques was also bestowed on Ms Jennifer Bush (formerly of Wellington College) and Mr Warren Henderson (Onslow College), at a ceremony held at the French Residence in Wellington. Karen is President of the New Zealand Association of French Teachers, and received the honour on behalf of French Teachers across Aotearoa.
Toutes nos félicitations !
Athletics Day 2020
Athletics Day was held on Wednesday 25 February at Newtown Stadium, well done to all the competitors and it was great to see everyone dressed in House colours (Red - Bledisloe/ Green- Jellicoe/ Blue - Onslow/ Yellow - Ferguson). Thanks to the WEPA, as well as the Sport and House Prefects for their support on the day. Each student received House points for competing in events and the final tally revealed that Bledisloe won the most points on the day. The 2020 Athletics Champions were :
Under 14: Lily Davies 1st, Lulu Davies 2nd, Lucy Skogstad 3rd
Under 16: Scarlett James 1st, Athena Ma'alo 2nd, Jessica Davies 3rd
16 plus : Amy Walker 1st, Jazzy Brenton 2nd, Saska Cosgrove Drayton 3rd
Duke of Edinburgh - Te Aka Camp at Battle Hill
Sue Perry, Te Aka teacher tells us about the camp at Battle Hill.
In 2019 Te Aka students started working towards their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award. This February, twelve Te Aka students went on an Adventurous Journey to Battle Hill. The students had an amazing experience. For many of them it was their first time sleeping in a tent and cooking on camp stoves. We went tramping, with some students taking on the challenge of walking the summit trail. There was horse riding with RDA (Riding for the Disabled), swimming in the stream, feeding the eels, and having a great time on a huge rope swing.
Four senior students, Maia Teusse, Anastasia Reid, Emily O'Connor and Neve Bailey-Kerrison went on camp as tuakana. They worked so hard, and were such an amazing support to the girls.
The Duke of Edinburgh Award has really complemented the individual programmes that are run in Te Aka. Leonie King has been coordinating our programme, and has put in endless hours of work. Her expertise, organisation and energy has ensured that Te Aka students (and staff!) are challenged in so many positive ways. We also had volunteers come out to help with the tent pitching, and heaps of gear lent to us. Thank you to the massive team who made this event happen!
We are looking forward to our next adventure in December we hope, in which we will be staying at Blue Mountain Adventure Centre for three nights. Thanks goes to the Port Nicholson Rotary Club and WRAC who have generously supported these adventures.
Prefects living their role
Sophie Lemon, one of our Environmental prefects, is a great example of our school leaders living their role. Shift Change is an organisation that works towards sustainable change in New Zealand
1949 Wellington East Girls' College
In our 1949 copy of the school magazine (Memnonium) we spotted a reminder that the school has closed before - due to a Polio epidemic. An anonymous student reminisced with a paragraph about the poliomyelitis epidemic :
"...[which] hastened to an end 1947, and prevented us from returning to school until March 1st, 1948. Soon after the beginning of February we began lessons by correspondence. The mere novelty of it induced us to work; how much easier to learn poetry lying under a tree than sitting at a desk"
Whetu Tirakatene-Sullivan
On the facing page we also had a reminder that one of our alumni is Whetu Tirakatene-Sullivan, who was New Zealand's first Maori woman cabinet minister. She is pictured with the other Prefects of 1949 in top row, left.
Whetu was an inspiring and accomplished politician and academic, and her entry in the Encylopedia of New Zealand details her as Ngāi Tahu, Ngāti Kahungunu; politician, fashion icon, wahine toa.
New Zealander of the Year is an East Girl ....
Congratulations to Jennifer Ward-Lealand Te Atamira, another ex-student, seen here at the Award Ceremony with Jacinda Ardern - see the Stuff article here (photo from NZer of the Year Awards). She was recognised for her dedication to the performing arts and her commitment to and passion for Te Reo Māori.
Sports at East
During this lockdown and holiday time, we have had no sporting code events, however the Sports Department has set up a new site for all things sport. You can find information on all sports offered at East, as well as our latest achievements (when we are able to start up again) - the link is here and is also on our school website. You can also check out instagram and FB pages for WEGC Sport.
What we did until Lockdown :
We attended the Dragon Boating regatta held the weekend before we went in to lockdown and put in a concerted effort gaining much experience and reaching 3rd place. The WEGC Rowing team attended the NISS Rowing regatta in Karapiro just before the lockdown began. Waka Ama also attended the Waka Ama Sprint Championships held in Porirua in mid March.
Our top Futsal Junior and Senior teams played in the College Sport Wellington Championship - our Juniors played a close final against Marsden going down 6-4, while our senior team won by a penalty shoot out against Wellington Girls to make the final, against Onslow. They went down to Onslow 2-0 in the Finals.
They also squeezed in the annual exchange against Wellington Girls before all was cancelled, and WGC took the win, while Anna McCarthy Yr10 was voted most valued player for WEGC.
We had Regional Athletics in Newtown on 13 March and our small team of 12 students did well, placing in all events. Well done to all the students in the athletics team.
And our WEGC Prefects vs Wellington College netball game was held lunchtime in mid February. This year East slammed Wellington College by 20 goals to 12.
Statement of Account from WEGC
The accounts team recently sent a statement via email. Please find below information about the fees and donations requested for 2020.
Parent Portal
You can view and pay charges and donation requests from the parent portal. The portal will display all charges and payments made (including prior years). Payments can be made with credit card (Visa and Mastercard are accepted).
Login to the portal by visiting https://kamarweb.wegc.school.nz/
To log into the portal you will need to use the same updated username as your daughter and your own caregiver password. You are welcome to set up automatic payments or pay one-off lump sum payments. Please find the School’s bank details below:
ANZ Bank Wellington
06 0501 0908375 000
Reference: Please use the student’s Kamar ID (as shown on the invoice)
Particulars: indicate if you are paying for a particular payment (for example: Floorball Fees)
Alternatively, when we are back on site at school, payments will be accepted at school reception from 8.15am until 3.45pm Monday to Friday. The school reception is closed during public holidays and school term breaks. They accept payments by cash or EFTPOS. If you find it difficult to meet the school payment, please contact the accounts team (contact details below) so that suitable arrangements can be put in place.
Tax Donation Summary
You will be provided with a letter summarising your total contributions/donations paid from the 1 April 2019 through to 31 March 2020. Generally, you can claim a tax credit (formerly rebate) for school donations.
If you have any questions or comments please feel free to contact the accounts team by emailing : accounts@wegc.school.nz
Please also see the Fees and Donation info sheet link here
Ways to help - Fundraising for WEGC after Lockdown:
- Have your docket stamped at the time of purchase by a checkout Supervisor
- Deposit your docket in the East drop box provided in the main entrance of New World.
- Duplicate receipts can be requested, at time of purchase, if the original is required.
Welink Newsletter : Wellington East Girls' College, Austin Street, Mt Victoria 6011, Ph 385 8514, www.wegc.school.nz
