Wellington East Girls' College / Te Kura Kōhine o te Rāwhiti o Te Upoko o Te Ika

Welink

Rāwhiti Taukaea

Issue 3, Haratua / May 2023

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 term is shaping up to be a busy time with events and the opening of our new Ahumairangi classrooms. It has been exciting to see the students using this new space for Science and Technology learning. We celebrated the opening with a dawn blessing on the last day of Term 1 and thank our local iwi Te Atiawa for leading this event.

Earlier in the term students have been involved in Pride Week, as well as NZ Sign Language/Rotoman week. Next week the students will be involved in Bullying Free NZ week. and Spirit Week, which is lead by our Prefects. It is by living our school values of Whanaungatanga, Aroha and Rangatiratara that we will continue to build an inclusive and safe environment for all. It is uplifting to be engaging in events and activities that build a sense of community. These are our values in action.

We also have our annual Food Fair happening next week. This promises to be a wonderful evening for the community to come together and share food

We will soon be going out into the community to visit our local schools to talk about enrolling into Year 9 next year, and our Open Day is on 15 June when we will be welcoming our wider community to visit the college to gain a sense of how we educate and value our young people.

Ngā mihi nui

Gael Ashworth, Principal

Please see the Student Calendar below for student events coming up

WEPA AGM

Kia ora koutou,

The role of WEPA is to distribute funds raised through grants, fundraising and donations, back to WEGC students to support their extracurricular activities such as sports, cultural and academic pursuits. For example, at our April meeting we approved a grant to Teine Mai Sasa’e - the WEGC Poly Group to support their 2023 TuTagata Festival campaign.

We’ve had some recent changes on our committee, on behalf of WEPA we would like to extend our thanks to outgoing committee member Georgina for her help and support during her time with the Parents Association. We also wish a very warm welcome to new committee members: Kim Baker and Fran Bellingham. We are always keen to get new members, if this interests you, please do join us at one of our monthly meetings. It is a great way to find out what is happening at school and support our students.

Our next meeting is our AGM Wednesday 31 May, 6pm in the staffroom.

Other ways you can help

a small part of school donations goes to WEPA, including this in your school donations enables us to support the students in their extra curriculum activities.
if you shop at New World Wellington pop your receipt in the WEGC slot opposite the coffee card as you exit.
if you’re keen to get involved but attending meetings is not for you, we are also looking to update our “casual helpers” contact lists. There are various options - if you are keen to help out as a volunteer at school events and fundraisers, or helping us by providing baking for various fundraisers then please get in touch via parents@wegc.school.nz and we can let you know when these opportunities come up.

The income we get from all sources is so valued and supports amazing opportunities for the students.

AGM Meeting invitation:

We have our AGM on 31 May. As always, we welcome anyone who would like to attend the meeting and learn more about how we support the school and the committee. It will be held at 6pm in the staffroom at school. Please email parents@wegc.school.nz if you wish to attend.

Opening of Ahumairangi Building

On Thursday 6 April 2023 in Term 1, we officially opened our new wing, called Ahumairangi. This now houses our Technology and Science Departments.

The opening blessing was held at dawn on 6 April, where we had the building blessed by local iwi and attended by staff and students, along with the building team at Naylor Love. Naylor Love also donated a cake to the staff later in the day.

We continued the celebration on the first day of Term 2, and invited the school community to a breakfast and tour of the building before start of classes.

NCEA Literacy and Numeracy Examinations for Year 10

This message is specifically for the parents of Year 10 students.

In Week 8 of this term, Year 10 students of WEGC will have an opportunity to complete the NCEA examinations for Literacy (Reading and Writing) and Numeracy. There are three examinations in total which will be provided across the week of Monday 12th June through until Friday 16th June. This is a chance for year 10 students to gain Literacy (10) and/or Numeracy credits (10) early as the new format becomes compulsory in 2024.

The Literacy and Numeracy team at WEGC, Jacqui, Donna (Literacy) and Tamsin (Numeracy), will have more information sent through to you shortly via the Junior Dean Lead, Michelle Kennedy. Whānau please see the linked information from the Ministry of Education which has been prepared for whānau on Literacy and Numeracy. For students there will also be optional Homework Club support provided on Wednesday afternoons.

Pride Week 2023

This year the school celebrated 2023 Pride Week with some now embedded events in the school calendar. The building was lit up with rainbow lights for the week, and the interior of Matairangi was decorated in colour. We held lunchtime events for students - Monday and Tuesday was a Drag show, the Art Department hosted a bracelet making event, and on Thursday we held an indoor picnic and Chalk Art event. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the organisation, and attended events.

Food Fair is coming !

The annual WEGC Food Fair will take place next Friday May 19th from 5pm to 8pm. It will be held on the lower floor of Matairangi main building and the quad (weather permitting). Come along and enjoy an array of foods, get dinner, and maybe even get your face painted or some henna while you're there. There will also be live performances and tombola. A great night out for the whole whānau.

Quiz Night for WEGC

Tickets are now available for the annual WEGC quiz night! The funds raised will go towards the Year 12 and 13 end of year ball to make tickets more affordable for our community.

6.30pm, Thursday 25th May at Iron Horse in Miramar - teams of 3 - 6 people.

Tickets are $15. You can register for tickets at this link https://forms.gle/imcdasui9RGBE4op7

If it states that the form is "no longer accepting responses", then the tickets have sold out! Tickets are also available for purchase at the WEGC reception. A list of names will be on the door, no physical tickets given. There will be $2 raffles on the night which include awesome prizes such as 2x ball tickets, nail vouchers, hair products and more!

Food and drink will be available for purchase on the night of the event from Iron Horse. Students under 18 must be accompanied by an adult.

If you have any questions, or queries about using the form, feel free to email us:

oleta.adams@student.wegc.school.nz OR emma.rosenbrook@student.wegc.school.nz

We look forward to seeing you!!

International Students Homestay needed

We have a busy and engaged group of international students at school. New students usually join us at the beginning of each term. Each student needs a kind and caring host family. The covid hiatus has impacted many schools and homestay families are a rare and valuable commodity! We would love to hear from you if you have ever thought of hosting an international student - either long (most of one year), or shorter (one term/two weeks). The hosting fee for 2023 is $320 per week - three meals and a cosy and inviting bedroom. The fee will rise to $340 a week in 2024.

Email international@wegc.school.nz or athena.london@wegc.school.nz to find out more.

Brainwave Seminar

Porirua Womens Centre is hosting a Brainwave Seminar on Thursday May 25th called Brainwave: Unravelling the Adolescent Mind. It aims to help parents to understand their children while they navigate adolescence.

Battle of the Pans

On Wednesday 3 May, WEGC hosted the Wellington regional Battle of the Pans Hospitality competition. It was a great day with Hutt Valley High School, Whanganui High School, and Tawa College also competing. Our WEGC team consisted of 9 Year 12 and 13 Hospitality students and we came away with 3 bronze and 4 silver medals. Congratulations to team members Chiemesia Kelechi, Eva Angell, Katie Simonlehner, Gemma Warrington, Isabelle Rehman, Mia Maulder, Mia Coles-Nixon, Yvonne Blom, Eva Ofsofke.

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

2023 Payment of School Fees/Donations

You can view and pay your school account from the Kamar portal: https://kamarweb.wegc.school.nz/index.php

Direct credit payments can be made using the following details:

WEGC Bank Account Details:

ANZ Bank Wellington

06 0501 0908375 000

Reference: Please use student ID (on invoice)

Particulars: payment details (example: ID Card, GE200 Trip)

Payment in person @ School: Payments are accepted at reception from 8:15 am until 3.30 pm Monday to Friday. The School is closed during public holidays and school term breaks. Payments by cash or EFTPOS are available.

Ways to help WEGC - Fundraising :

Please support Wellington East as we sell Entertainment memberships. We are fundraising to ensure that all East girls are able to access the same opportunities. 20% of your Membership purchase comes directly to us!

Entertainment are currently offering a promotion (which finishes at Midday, Wednesday 24 May):

if you buy a 12 month single city or multi city membership you will receive a $20 gift card for either Farmers or Sephora
if you buy a 24 month single city or multi city membership you will receive a $40 gift card for either Famers or Sephora
NB: 3 month single city or multi city memberships are excluded from this promotion

There are three different types of memberships:-

· Single City Membership

· Multi City Membership – unlocks 21 cities in New Zealand and Australia

· Multi Plus Membership – double the savings of a multi city membership for two years

Get yours today online by clicking the link below!

https://www.entertainmentbook.co.nz/orderbooks/105u644

Thank you for your support

When you are shopping at Wellington City New World: 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. Every time you purchase products from New World Wellington City, they will pay the school 1.5% pa of the total $ sales value.

Welink Newsletter : Wellington East Girls' College, Austin Street, Mt Victoria 6011, Ph 385 8514, www.wegc.school.nz

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