6 minute read
Westlake Girls’ High School
Creative writer wins with futuristic tale of gene-editing
Whoever developed the left-brain, right-brain theory clearly hasn’t met 15-year-old Sydney Brandolino. The Year 11 student has plans to study neuroscience, but it’s the creative side of her brain that has won her accolades in recent times.
Sydney has had her original story It’s Only Natural – about geneedited children – included in the Young New Zealand Writers 2021 Anthology, following her success in the Write Off Line competition. Her work was one of a handful of original stories selected from more than 700 entries across 100 New Zealand schools. “I’ve done a few other small competitions, but this was my first big win, so it’s definitely a bit of an encouragement,” she says. “My mum told me about the competition, and I thought it would be fun to give it a try.”
Sydney already had a story idea brewing, which luckily fitted the prompt. It was while riding the bus that It’s Only Natural started to form. “The story takes place in a world where almost every child is gene edited, and the ones who aren’t often work as labourers. The richer you are, the better gene editing you can afford, and the smarter and prettier your kids will be. The protagonist, Cris, is a (somehow) switched-on gene-edited kid, and the first gene-edited student at her prep school. The story follows her running away with her best friend, Sydney Brandolino. Alma, after they’re falsely accused of murder.”
Sydney is Deputy Editor-In-Chief of Westlake’s Parallax literary and arts journal, after joining the creative team as a foundation member in 2019. While she is planning on a career in neurochemistry or neuroscience, she wants to continue writing as a hobby.
Westlake introduces Māori translation into its logo
We are delighted to announce that WGHS has officially adapted its logo to incorporate a Māori translation.
Te Kura Tuarua o ngā Taitamawāhine o Ururoto translates to Westlake Girls High School, and aligns to Westlake Boys, which uses Te Kura Tuarua o ngā Taitamatāne o Ururoto.
Our wider Westlake community was involved in the change, led by Mātua Eddie Hudson. The logo incorporates a more formal title than had previously been used when referring to Westlake Girls in Māori.
“We moved from Te Kura Tuarua Kōtiro o Ururoto which was commonly used, and formalised words such as ‘Kōtiro’ which means girls,” says Eddie. “Instead, we settled on ‘Taitamawāhine’ which addresses our students more formally as young women.”
The logo, in vertical and horizontal formats, is being rolled out as collateral is updated across the school.
Open Night
Tuesday 27 July 2021 4pm and 6pm
WESTLAKE GIRLS HIGH SCHOOL 2 Wairau Road, Takapuna
For more information visit westlakegirls.school.nz/open-night
Socially Distanced Shakespeare
July 27th-31st, at Westlake Boys High School
After the outstanding success of 2019’s Les Misérables*, Westlake Schools will combine once more for the 2021 school production: Socially Distanced Shakespeare. And so, it is time to secure your tickets!
In this time of Covid-19, the producers have created a promenade production, where audiences tour Westlake Boys, enjoying six 15-minute scenes from six very different Shakespeare plays. These plays include Love's Labours Lost, The Tempest, Romeo & Juliet, The Winter’s Tale, A Midsummer Night’s Dream and Much Ado about Nothing.
This mini tour, or promenade performance, is inspired by Shakespeare’s experience of touring England in the 16th century, during a time of plague in London and indeed around the world. As we, hopefully, emerge after the sustained period of unpleasantness (called Covid-19), our production aims to reflect Shakespeare’s lived experience, to be innovative in its staging, and to keep audiences safe, as they move from performance to performance in groups of no more than 30.
What: Socially Distanced Shakespeare When: Tuesday, July 27th – Saturday, July 31st @ 7.30pm Where: Westlake Boys Auditorium Tickets: Bit.ly/wbhstickets or scan Ticket prices: Adult $20; Child $15; Family (of 4) $50 Contact: Nick Brown via nbr@westlake.school.nz
* Les Misérables was awarded Best Direction, Best Musical Direction, Best Sound, Best Lighting, The People’s Choice Award, and the Auckland Live Award for Best Production of 2019, at the 2019 iTicket Showdown Awards at Sky City Theatre.
The Mechanicals rehearse A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Kayaker makes the U-18 New Zealand team
From 14-16 May, NZCT New Zealand Canoe Sprint Championships and Oceania Championships took place at Lake Karapiro. It was originally scheduled for mid-Febuary but had to be rescheduled due to a Covid lockdown.
Girls race over 200m and 500m distances in K1, K2 and K4 events. People come from clubs all around New Zealand as well as paddlers from the Cook Islands and Samoa, but unfortunately this year the field was much smaller due to the impacts of Covid – with only a handful of heats in each age group gender Tara Vaughan. category. Nevertheless, the under 18 girls’ field was very competitive and it was hard to know who was going to win the race on the start line.
Over the 500m distance, I was quite disappointed with my results in the under 18 K1, but in the K2 our boat managed to win and we came away with a second in the K4 in the final. Over the 200m distance, I managed to win the under 18 K1 200 and the under 18 K2 200 and my team also came second in the K4 over the 200m distance. Due to my success at the championships, I was named in a team of six under 18 girl paddlers in the New Zealand team that was supposed to race at the Asia Pacific Cup in Japan that was originally scheduled to take place in May. I also trialled and was successful in making the under 18 New Zealand Kayak Team that was scheduled to race at the Junior Worlds in Portugal at the start of September. Unfortunately that won’t happen but I’m hoping for some other racing.
By Tara Vaughan
Isabella wins Top Overall Speaker at Ngā Manu Kōrero
Ngā Manu Kōrero Speech Competition was held on Friday 11 June at Ngā Puna O Waiōrea - Western Springs College. This special event celebrates the opportunity for our young Māori orators to compete within our Tamaki Makaurau secondary schools.
The competition supports the use of Te Reo Māori or English as the mediums of expression. Westlake Girls High School Year 11 entrant Isabella Drummond (Ngāti Maniapoto) participated in the Korimako Trophy section for Senior English where competitors give a prepared and an impromptu speech.
Isabella’s prepared topic was “Let me be the rangatahi today; I’ll be the rangatira tomorrow” and her impromptu was “Learning Te Reo Māori via Google”.
So powerful were her performances that Isabella was awarded Top Female Speaker, Best Impromptu and Top Overall Speaker, and will now represent the Auckland region at the national competitions in Palmerston North on 23 September.
This is only the second time in history that a student from the Westlake Schools has achieved this honour, so a good contingent from both schools will travel to the nationals to support Isabella on this prestigious stage.
“The Ngā Manu Kōrero speech competition was an incredible experience, and I have grown so much as a person because of it,” says Isabella. "It was so cool to see speakers from across Auckland express themselves in a positive and competitive environment."
Isabella says she is “beyond proud and humbled” to be representing the Auckland region at nationals in September. "Ngā Manu Kōrero has given me the opportunity to express myself as a rangatahi (young person),” she says. "Public speaking can be daunting, but it has built my confidence and I hope that other WGHS students take the courage to give it a go."
Isabella is pictured with her awards, and at a dress rehearsal for this year’s Polyfest competition.
