Wellington East Girls' College / Te Kura Kōhine o te Rāwhiti o Te Upoko o Te Ika
Welink
Issue 1, Poutū-te-rangi / March 2021
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,
Welcome to the first WELINK of 2021. Already we are seeing students settle into a new year of learning and we are fortunate to be able to do so in a face to face environment.
I would like to congratulate all of the students who were successful in their NCEA qualifications last year. We are also delighted that some of our Yr 13 students from last year have been successfully awarded scholarship in a variety of subjects:
Ella Wipatene Outstanding Scholarship Art Design (Top Scholar)
Neesha Dixon Outstanding Scholarship English, and Scholarship History
Holly Morse Scholarship Sculpture
Matahi Pott Scholarship Photography
Mili Panchal Scholarship Painting
It was an absolute pleasure to be able to host a morning tea to celebrate their success earlier this term. I was also lucky enough to see Ella and Holly’s work displayed at NZQA’s Top Art exhibition which will be touring the country in the coming weeks
We have also seen the new house names being proudly displayed at Athletics Sports Day last week. It was great to see so many students participating in a wide range of sports and having a lot of fun too.
This week we have a group of students attending a noho marae at Te Kakano Marae, Lower Hutt. This is the second year that this event has been held and it highlights the strong leadership of the students who have organised and developed the programme and workshops that have been held. I would also like to acknowledge the encouragement and support to the students from whānau and our kaiako Māori; Whaea Keta and Matua Hemi.
It is at this time of the year that students will be setting their own goals for achievement. One of the critical keys to being successful in learning is regular attendance at school and punctuality to classes. I would therefore ask families to support us with this message. Please be in contact with your child’s Dean or Ako teacher if you have specific concerns.
We received resignations from
Hamish Buddle, Vienna Masoe, Katie McQuaid
We are delighted to welcome
Carl Condliffe, Tim Atkins, Vidhya Balakrishnan, Nic Cox, Micaela Diedrichs, Bridget Dixon, Prue Dreaver Stimpson, Judy Dunkley, Annaliese Elliott, Dara Flaws, Anu John, Lisa Lorenzen, Charlotte Lucas, Delaney Moonemalle, Melissa Reeve, Briar Smith-Waddel, Romy Stevenson, Matt Titcombe, Emma Wadsworth
Ngā mihi nui
Gael Ashworth, Principal
Board of Trustees
Kia ora kōutou
On behalf of the Board, welcome to all new students, staff and whānau who have joined our community at Wellington East Girls' College this year. I hope you have a long, happy and rewarding association with our school. To those returning, welcome back!
The start of a new year is always a busy time for schools, and moving through lockdown levels certainly doesn't ease the workload on anyone. However, I am very heartened when talking with Gael, that students and staff have taken this latest escalation to Level 2 in their stride, and that the school continues to function almost as normal. Thank you to all staff and students for simply "getting on with it".
As I write this message for Welink, I have just finished preparing for the Board of Trustees meeting, and am reflecting on the volume and variety of papers we will be reviewing this evening. Tonight we will approve the annual budget and discuss the School's Charter and goals for the year. We will also look back on the achievements of 2020 including discussing the NCEA Achievement data, as well as the many other initiatives to support our students, staff and community that were completed or contributed to during 2020. Property, as always, will be a major topic for discussion tonight, as we consider our development options for Ahumairangi, Te Ranga a Hiwi, Tawatawa, and making our Drama facility weathertight. We will hear from our student representative about how the year has got underway for them, as well as for our Staff representative, and members of our community groups. It's a full agenda!
There is no doubt that 2021 is going to be a busy year at WEGC, and with 100 more students than last year, it's great to see our East community thriving and growing. Although we continue to live in a climate of uncertainty, I am sure that the school will continue to achieve great things over the coming months, and that our values of Aroha, Whanaungatanga and Rangatiratanga will always shine.
Ngā mihi nui
Jo Lambert, Chair
Please see the Student Calendar below for student events coming up
Wellington East Parents' Association (WEPA)
Kia ora kotou,
On behalf of the Wellington East Parents’ Association (WEPA) we would like to welcome all our new whānau and students and all those returning. I hope you all had an enjoyable summer break.
We are a group of parents who meet monthly. We host events to bring our wider school community together and we provide financial support to the girls through funding equipment and experiences that enhance their education outside the classroom. This financial support comes from your donation; the Parents’ Association subscription (tick the box on your invoice) plus from other fundraising ventures throughout the year, where you can show your support.
We welcome all members of the school community to attend our meetings and contribute to the planning and decision making. Please contact us if you are interested... we have a few positions to fill this year, and the time commitment is not onerous... we need you!
Our next meeting is Thursday 11 March 6.30pm at school and AGM is on 8 April also at school.
Please help us and get in touch via parents@wegc.school.nz
We look forward to meeting you soon.
Nga mihi nui
WEPA Committee
Pasifika Parents' Group
Talofa lava, Malo e lelei, Fakafeiloaki, Kia orana, Ni sa bula and warm Pacific Greetings to you all!
This week we had intended to have our first Pasifika Parents’ Association meeting of 2021. Unfortunately the timing of the latest community COVID cases and change in alert levels to level 2, mean we are once again having to postpone this meeting.
We will now push our first meeting of the year to Thursday 25 March, so please mark that in your diaries now! We will follow up with further information about the evening closer to the date.
Tū Tāhi Whānau
Our Whanau meetings are held twice a term, with the next meeting on Tuesday 16 March.
The whānau support group helps to provide support to all of the Māori students at WEGC to achieve the best that they can in all areas of school life. Te Whānau Tūtahi works in partnership with the Principal and staff in developing strategic goals for success and engagement of Maori and to provide advice and guidance to help the school meet those goals. A representative from the TWT is on the Board as a co-opted member. Te Whānau Tūtahi is open to all parents, caregivers and whānau of all Māori students and students learning Te Reo Māori. It also encourages the participation of students, staff and other whānau in the school community. New whānau are welcome to join at any time.
New Settlers' Parent Group
The New Settler's Group welcomes our student families from new migrant and refugee backgrounds to connect with our school community. This group has been established to support our families with understanding our schools systems, to give a platform for families to provide feedback and to celebrate the diverse achievements of their children. This group meets in the evening roughly twice a term and when these dates are confirmed these will be communicated with families. To find out more, please make contact with Lisa Lorenzen (lisa.lorenzen@wegc.school.nz).
School contacts
All our information can be found on our website www.wegc.school.nz or here https://www.wegc.school.nz/our-school/staff
Who to contact :
It is important for parents to be aware of whom they should approach at school on matters concerning their daughter.
Subject Teachers
Please contact Subject Teachers to discuss on-going progress and achievement within a subject or to raise subject specific queries. Subject teachers can also be contacted to discuss course information.
Ako Teachers
Please contact Ako Teachers to discuss general progress and achievement, or to pass on good news. Ako teachers can also be contacted to raise concerns about attendance, discipline/behaviour, health and wellbeing.
Deans
Please contact Deans to discuss on-going progress and achievement or to pass on good news. Deans can also be contacted to discuss major concerns about academic progress, attendance, discipline/behaviour, health and wellbeing. At course selection time Deans can be contacted with queries regarding course selection and timetabling.
Year 9 Michelle Kennedy
Year 10 Camielle King
Year 11 Mele Isa’ako
Year 12 Miranda Hurley
Year 13 Annabel Heenan
Attendance Officer/Absence
Ph 385 8514 then dial 1. Please phone regarding student absence, lateness or illness. Available 8.30am to 3.45pm daily. You can also email absence@wegc.school.nz
Learning Support
Please contact the Learning Support Coordinator with any information or queries about your daughter’s learning needs: bridget.dixon@wegc.school.nz
Careers
Please contact the Careers Advisor, Charlotte Lucas, with any queries about your daughter’s career choices or future pathways. Careers information can be found under the Learning/Careers bar on the WEGC website.
Guidance Counsellors
Please contact the Guidance Leader Joy Maehe, or Lynley Goodisson with any student social/emotional concerns or mental health issues. This may include: stress, bereavement, difficulty adjusting to a new school, family issues, depression, teenage issues, links to outside agencies, etc. You can find more info on our website here: https://www.wegc.school.nz/wellbeing-hauora/about-us
Deputy Principals
Please contact Deputy Principals for whole school matters or for issues of a serious nature.
Email Contact
If any parent wishes to make email contact with a teacher at the college, the standard format for the email address is:
firstname.surname@wegc.school.nz (eg – mary.jones@wegc.school.nz)
School Office
School phone number: 04 385 8514
School email address : wegc@wegc.school.nz
School website : www.wegc.school.nz
NCEA 2020
A reminder that although students can access their results through Kamar, the NZQA website is the official site for NCEA results. At the end of 2020 NZQA added a feature for schools where we can now check the last time students logged into the system. Ako teachers are working one-on-one with any Year 12 or 13 students who have not recently logged in to help support them.
Students can order through their learner login any documents for which they are eligible and want a copy. One free copy of each certificate is available.
Students should wait for the results of a review or reconsideration before ordering a certificate.
School Driveways
We appreciate how busy drop off and pick up times around the school can be, and recently have received feedback on the increasing risk created during these times. Ensuring pedestrian safety is a high priority on school driveways and surrounding areas. The traffic congestion at the beginning/end of day on the Paterson Street drive are of particular concern and creates a significant hazard.
To avoid blocking the flow of traffic and students on the road, we ask all parents and caregivers to avoid the area and drop off/collect your student well away from the gates. Coupon parking continues to be available near the school (free for the first two hours). These arrangements will operate both inside and outside school hours.
Driveways Closed during start and end of school day
School driveways are closed at the start and end of the school day. Barriers may be in place restricting vehicle access during this time. Only vehicles authorised for drop offs to Te Aka or due to accessibility requirements are permitted to use the drives.
Thank you to those families who have been following the guidelines
WEGC Prefects 2021
Head Prefects
Sofia-Maraea Gowans
Paradise Lesatele
Arts
Clara Lindsay
Alexx Phelps
Board
Isy Oliver-Clyne (Year 12)
Charities
Macy Hare
Kelly Ngan
Cultural
Shanaya Kumar
Charmaine Poutoa
Environmental
Saskia Cosgrove-Drayton
Natalie Guldborg
Events
Ally Andrews-McCaulay
Izzy Gilmore
Houses:
Edger (Green) - Miron Girmay
Sheppard (Blue) - Sylvie Kynaston
Cooper (Yellow) - Issy Peet
Tirikatene (Red) - Lily Rapson
International Student Support
Khanh Kim Le
Library
Anoushey Khan
Jay Young
Manakura Kapa Haka
Jade Minarapa
Rhiannon Riwai
Manakura Māori
Veava-Mei Hammond
Chloe Mercury
Media
Eva Juriss
Hariklia Nicola
Alyssa Davenport
Music
Tofoi Sio
Liam Young
Peer Tutor
Amy King
Kajol Patel
School Council
Rebecca Hutt
Maya Rush-Dunn
Sports
Hinetekawa Thomson-Laulu
Hannah Geale
Te Aka
Nikhita Riches
Emily O’Connor
Technology
Lia McCallum
Leila Paul
Tuakana
Ibanez Tiaki
Lesieli Katoa
Dimitra Araboglos
Wellbeing Hauora
Renee Simpson
School Day
School begins at 8.45am finishes 3.20pm each day (not Wed)
Mon,Tue,Thur:
Interval 10.15-10.40am, Lunch 12.50-1.50pm
Wednesday:
Interval 10.15-10.45am, Lunch 12.15-12.45pm
Early finish at 2.15pm
Friday:
Interval 10.30-10.55am, Lunch 12.40-1.35pm
Term Dates 2021
Term 1 - 4 February to 16 April
Term 2 - 3 May to 9 July
Term 3 - 26 July to 1 October
Term 4 - 18 October to 15 December
Thursday 4 February 2021: Pōwhiri for new students
School started this year with our Pōwhiri for new students to WEGC in 2021. We also welcomed our new staff to the school at this event. The kairanga and conch shell called the manuhiri to the Hall and our Kapa Haka group welcomed everyone as they arrived. This year we arranged a screening room set up in case of overflow in the Hall. As part of the event we welcomed our new Deputy Principal Carl Condliffe, who was supported by his previous school Rongotai College who performed their Haka. The welcome speeches and songs were followed by a morning tea for families . Thank you to Whaea Keta and Matua Hemi for their assistance with the Pōwhiri.
Contributions / Donations to the School
Statements for students’ school contributions /donations and course subject costs will be sent out in February. We appreciate your support. 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 2020 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
WEGC BP Business Challenge
The BP Business Challenge is a three day long practical business workshop run by facilitators from The Young Enterprise Trust. This course was offered to Year 11 and Year 12 students taking Business Studies. The three-day course gives you the opportunity to work alongside a variety of people and gather knowledge from experienced people in the business field.
Continued ...
We started the first day getting used to business ideas by doing activities to start us thinking outside the box e.g. getting an object and creating a new purpose for it, as well as practicing a business pitch. The first half of the second day was all about problem-solving; we were taught how to identify problems, target markets, needs and unique solutions to problems by having to create business ideas with a prompt in groups. In the second half of day 2, we were put into our final groups for the actual competition and had to brainstorm major problems and realistic solutions that would create a profitable and sustainable business. We were assigned jobs in each group to split the work between a CEO, marketing team, production manager, strategist and financial team. The last day was all about putting everything we had learnt into a final business pitch with a pinboard with all our research, diagrams and pictures. This six-minute pitch with judge feedback and questions was presented to three out of the six judges. They used criteria to pick four finalists, those finalists then did their pitch to all six judges, teachers and everyone at the workshop. By the end of the day, they reveal the overall winner of the challenge.
This challenge offers so many different skills all of which help when you are out in the real world. Over these three days 90% of the time you work with a random group of people,. Not only is this a great chance to meet new people, it also gives you a taste of life post school, where you can't always choose who you work with. In this course, we focus heavily on thinking outside the box with a growth mindset, no idea is a bad idea and often the most unique are the ones that succeed. Throughout this course you had to manage yourself, everyone had a role to play and was a necessary part of the team. As mentioned, by the end of the course all teams must present their business plan, this involved everyone publicly speaking. The list of skills goes on, and I assure you everyone took a skill from this course and will continue using them.
Both of us really enjoyed this opportunity as we gathered many new skills to benefit and further expand our understanding of the world of business. If this challenge is offered to you we highly recommend taking the opportunity.
By Minnie Robertson and Kate Clare
Valentines Day at East
We love love at WEGC, which is why Valentine’s Day is one of our favourite days of the year. Even the light rainfall couldn’t dampen our spirits! The quad was decorated beautifully with hearts and bunting, faces beautifully decorated with face paint, and tables beautifully decorated with delicious baking, pink lemonade, and heaps of roses from schools all around Wellington. Music blasted and lots of people, including Tara the Taniwha, busted out their best dance moves. Thank you to the wonderful Prefect team who put this event together, the teachers and admin staff who put up with our last-minute organising, and of course all of the students who bought roses and danced with us - you all made the event the success that it was!
Te Aka news
We have a new Teacher Aide in our Te Aka unit, Ruby Solly, who is also a musician, writer and music therapist. She was recently featured in RNZ The Mixtape :
https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/music101/audio/2018782547/the-mixtape-ruby-solly
Te Aka Tramp
Some of our Te Aka students tramped to Haurangi Hut this week (2-4 March). Thanks Nikhita for your hard work and to Lydia for the awesome video (and your hard work too!!), and Leonie King for organising the event.
Link to video : https://youtu.be/vd7TeDeQ_qk
Scholarship Art Exhibition
If you haven't seen or know about our Principal's Twitter account you can read it here, and see her photos of the Top Art exhibition at Massey University. This tweet can also be found on the front page of our website www.wegc.school
Top Art is an annual touring exhibition of visual art portfolios by secondary school students who achieved Excellence at NCEA Level 3. The show included up to 60 portfolios, and showcased the best of the five streams of Visual Arts: Design, Painting, Photography, Printmaking and Sculpture.
Property News
Our Honour boards recording our list of Student Dux and Prefects dating from 1925 to present, have now been reinstalled after being in storage during our rebuild, and we have placed them in the heritage vestibule and stairway. We are also reinstating our portraits of previous Principals starting with a portrait of Janice Campbell, located in the vestibule.
Māori Student Hui
The hui run by the Manakura Māori Prefects and the Manakura Kapa Haka Prefects was held Tuesday 23 February in the Whare. This welcomed our new students, of many ethnicities, and introduced them to some activities happening this year, such as the Wananga Rangatahi Noho Marae held at Te Kakano O Te Aroha Marae. All students were welcome to attend the assembly, and we are looking at holding a Pasifika Assembly later in the term.
Sports at East
You can find information on all sports offered at East, as well as our latest achievements - the link is here and is also on our school website.
You can also check out Instagram and Facebook pages for WEGC Sport at @wegcsport www.facebook.com/wegcsport
Athletics Sports Day
This year's Athletics Sports Day was held on 25 February at Newtown Stadium. We started with good weather but had to finish early , with rain becoming heavy later in the day. Fantastic costumes and House spirit prevailed. and thanks to the staff, parents and students who made this a fun and organised event. Results from the day -
House Points :
1st Sheppard
2nd Tirikatene
3rd Edger
4th Cooper
2021 Champions:
Under 14
1st: Holly James, 2nd: Olive Squire, 3rd: Alysha McGrath
Under 16
1st: Lucy Skogstad, 2nd: Brooke Assur, 3rd=: Maia Wilkinson and Emma Radersma
16+
1st: Athena Ma’alo, 2nd: Scarlett James, 3rd: Leila Paul
Cyber Safety: Netsafe Tips
As part of a school-wide approach to cyber-safety, we are going to be posting one tip per newsletter on how you can support your child to be safe online. For more in-depth information, please visit Netsafe’s advice for parents at https://www.netsafe.org.nz/online-safety-parent-toolkit/.
Cyberbullying
Know how to make social media as private as possible and sit down with your child to get the best settings for each app or site. Each social media site has policies on blocking, unfriending and reporting content on their ‘safety centre’ page. Some sites have even more specialised functions, like on Instagram you can filter comments on posts. It may also be useful to know how to block cell phone numbers and take screen shots of posts to use as evidence.
If there’s a cyber-bullying incident that occurs at school or involves other students from school, contact your Ako teacher or Dean or request an appointment with a guidance counsellor through the form on the student intranet which can be found in the ‘Cyber Safety’ page.
If it’s a serious incident, or doesn’t involve school, contact Netsafe. They can mediate with sites to take content down and will know if the content needs criminal action as well.
For more information on this, please go to: https://www.netsafe.org.nz/parents-bullying/
Obituary
Williamina Mary Allen (Wilma) (Formerly Dalgliesh, nee McLennan) We featured Wilma in 2019, an old girl of East and an Island Bay resident, when she turned 100 years old. Sadly Wilma passed away on Jan 11th 2021 at the age of 101. Wilma McLennan was a prefect at Wgtn East in 1935 & 1936 and was dux in 1936. She graduated with a degree in Home Science from Otago University and taught at Wairarapa College, both before her marriage to William Dalgliesh and again after his early death in 1953. In 1956 she married Ray Allen and moved to Wellington and taught in a relieving role at several Wellington colleges. We commemorate her at the school with her name on our Honours Boards as Dux and Prefect.
Fundraiser for Wellington Children's Hospital - Recycle your phone
Old cellphones (going or broken) can be dropped off in a box in the school library. So far these phones have raised $3440 for the Wellington Children's Hospital. Clean out your drawers and bags and bring your old phone in for a good cause.
The Wellington Hospitals Foundation advises that all phones are securely wiped, with Sim and Memory cards destroyed and recycled. Please iCloud unlock all Apple iPhones before donating.
Check out this website for more information https://whf.org.nz/2018/11/14/recycle-your-mobile-phone-and-support-our-new-wellington-childrens-hospital/
Ways to help - Fundraising for WEGC:
WEGC Entertainment Books
Help us to fundraise to ensure that all East girls have access to the same opportunities.
Receive fantastic savings while you eat, play and shop with Entertainment. Memberships are convenient, easy to use and packed full of valuable 2 for 1 and up to 50% off offers for you and your family to use over any 12-month period from activation.
Get yours today online by clicking the below link!
https://www.entertainmentbook.co.nz/orderbooks/105u644
Welink Newsletter : Wellington East Girls' College, Austin Street, Mt Victoria 6011, Ph 385 8514, www.wegc.school.nz
