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Dear Parents, In the last newsletter I outlined my expectations for all Whangaparaoa College learners. The key expectations are that learners will learn, participate, achieve and respect. When these expectations are met, excellent educational outcomes will result. But what does it mean to learn? The idea of learning has changed dramatically over recent generations, especially in relation to the way we access knowledge. My grandparents gained facts and figures at school and were tested to see if they ‘had learned’. These days there is information overload. We go on the web, ‘google it’, follow a ‘link’, etc; knowledge is easy to come by. The skill is to decide what knowledge is needed and how to separate it from the mass of other information that confronts our senses. The next step is to process the information and make informed decisions about how to apply it to a range of situations. It is also important that we learn to learn from this process. Only then can we do things better next time and grow from the experience. At Whangaparaoa College we will help learners prepare for life and learning in this

new age. The future will be stimulating and challenging; one thing we can be sure

of is there will be much change. Watch this space and as we join together on this

learning adventure.

In addition... Building a Strong Partnership between the College, Families and Community I was approached recently by some parents of the college who had an exciting proposal. They want to join with others who are keen to support the college, parents and learners; and enhance the communication between the college, families and the community. To explore where this might lead there will be a get-together next Monday 21 May at 7pm in the Admin block. This may sound like the start of a PTA (or similar) – please be assured that fundraising is NOT a focus. We want to hear your ideas about building and maintaining strong partnerships; and what this may look like at our college. In addition, Mr Graeme Williams (Director of Sport) will talk about sporting

participation and success at the college; and will be available to answer questions.

James Thomas Principal

Congratulations

Whangaparaoa College 2012 Important dates for this term...

May 21 “Proposed PTA” Meeting 7pm 21 - 23 Year 10 Zoo Trip 24 Junior Concert 26 - 28 Band Camp 30 Years 9-13 Auckland X-Country 31 - June 1 Year 12 Pinnacles (Outdoor Education) June 26 Careers Expo (Wgp College) 27 Yr9/10 Learner/Parent Interviews July 18-19 Yr7/8 Learner-led Conferences (Term 3)

WHANAU SUPPORT HUI This hui is for ALL parents, learners and other whanau that are interested in supporting our school and assisting our learners to achieve. Thursday 24 May 6.00-7.30 pm. Please RSVP to lisaba@wgpcollege.school.nz and state any other agenda items you would like added. AGENDA

Matariki – Thursday 21 June (Week 9, Term 2) Kapa haka Pou – 3 to possibly be carved for front of Te Maramara a Tane Welcome/celebration of James Thomas as our new principal

Thrills and spills at the Skate Park On May 5 a number of Whangaparaoa College

learners competed in the Hibiscus Coast

Scooter trick riding event. This is much more

than rolling down the footpath! Such tricks as

Briflip, 360, and Hangfive, are challenging to

perform and exciting to watch. Logan Lear

came first in the Under 14 Boys. The photo

shows Logan with his dad, Peter Lear, James

Thomas and Henry Tan of Bike Me who

sponsored the event.

Vietnam Trip - Fundraiser

The Whangaparaoa College History Department is making its first ever trip to visit the country of Vietnam at the end of this school term. The senior learners have been studying Vietnam and the numerous wars fought there against France and USA in the 1950s and ‘60s. It will be a chance for them to see, first-hand, the sites of famous battles, as well as view memorials to the fallen. The group also plan to visit an orphanage and take school supplies and gifts to benefit the children. Learners, parents and friends of the school are invited to come along to a Bingo Night at Whangaparaoa College on 25 May to help raise funds for this trip. Proceeds will also be given to our local Hospice to support their efforts with rebuilding. Food and refreshments will be for sale during the evening. Please call Learner Accounts if you would like to reserve tickets on

424-9177 Ext 256. Alternatively you could email the tour leader

Greg Burnard - gregbu@wgpcollege.school.nz

Duke of Edinburgh

Joel Davies a Whangaparaoa College foundation learner/student is the first recipient of the College to be presented his Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award at Government House. This prestigious award takes three to four years to complete. There are so many invaluable lessons that are gained from completing the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Learners complete a Service where they learn that to give of themselves is immeasurable ..a Skill where they learn to be open to take up new experiences and knowledge … a Physical Recreational Skill, here learners realise the importance of being a healthy person that cement habits leading to a balanced lifestyle, learners take on a challenging expedition into the big outdoors. To achieve a Gold award, learners must complete a Residential where they show commitment to others and themselves, to be active in body and mind and to set you up with a great values for life. Some highlights from Joel Davies: Bronze – Having to paddle in the pouring rain from Weiti River towards Silverdale – this tested my endurance and taught me camaraderie. Silver – Exploring how far I could push myself and learning to do tricks on my bike without getting injured. Gold – Having to ride huge waves towards the beach on our kayaks; we were losing control and even flipped over once but we finally made it!

Joel with Gold Duke of Edinburgh Award received from the Governor General The Right Honourable Sir Jerry Mateparae and Lady Janine Mateparae

All recipients

Year 8 Camp 2012

Monday 7 May was D-DAY! The Year 8’s were on their way to Camp Adair in the Hunua Ranges for 4 days of ‘Challenge’. From the time we arrived to the time we departed, fun was had by all. We were outdoors the whole time, amongst the trees and open fields, challenging ourselves to reach great heights! People pushed themselves to the limit and gave everything a go. This was the warmest Camp that the College has had at Camp Adair. The weather was kind to us, we only felt the cold after the Mud-slide and Confidence Course. Amy Smith 8TOWL

UPCOMING PERFORMANCES 24 May - Junior Concert Auditorium, 4.30pm - 5.30pm Gold coin donation For the first time, Loud and Proud and Junior Choir will be performing together. 7 June - Senior Concert Auditorium, 7.00pm Tickets $8 advanced purchase, $10 at the door Featuring senior bands, choirs, ensembles and soloists

Performing Arts - Music

WGP COLLEGE QUIZ NIGHT FUNDRAISER Last Friday night, the College Gym was transformed as 180 staff, students and parents came together for a Quiz night fundraiser. With the best attendance ever, money raised will go to helping the Concert Band attend their first New Zealand Concert Band Association Festival taking place in Hamilton 14 - 16 September. It is a national competition which incorporates both school and community bands from all across New Zealand. Learners will also have the opportunity to compete in the solo and/or ensemble categories at the event. This will be great experience for the learners. A big thank you to our wonderful concert band parents for getting out there and selling tickets.

Sports Talk WGP

Winter Sports kicked off at the weekend, and a big thank you to all the coaches and managers who have given up time and have teams ready to represent Whangaparaoa College. We are looking forward to even more success than last year. Inter-house Cross Country A great day of Inter-house rivalry. Once again, it was great to see so many taking part including our principal, Mr Thomas. The winning house was Green, 2nd place Red, 3rd Place Blue and 4th Place Yellow.

Name Age Group Place John McCaughan Senior 1 Andrew Creevey Senior 2 Sean Plant Senior 3 Nicola Higgins Senior 1 Tessa Bassett Senior 2 Logan Keightley Intermediate 1 James Wright Intermediate 2 Ivan Smith Intermediate 3 Continued over page

NZ MUSIC MONTH — Library Performance To help celebrate New Zealand music month the school Concert and Jazz Band’s played outside the Whangaparaoa Library last Saturday morning. The rain thankfully held out as the Concert Band played three numbers, including the crowd pleaser Duel of the Fates. It was a particularly important performance for the school senior Jazz Band, as it was their first performance since the director has changed to Mr Ward. Performances included Birdland, Malaguena, C Jam Blues and even an encore! The morning was a great success and we would like to thank all the parents and teachers that were involved, as well as the library staff for giving us this performance opportunity (and marsh-mallows afterwards). Special mention to Mr Brian Smith for accompanying both bands on the morning. Amber Johnson.

North Harbour Cross Country Team Results John McCaughan Senior 15:23:61 5 Daniel Pikett Intermediate 21:55:76 68 Logan Keightley Intermediate 16:56:38 33 Sam Hyland Intermediate 16:08:16 28 Georgia Archer Intermediate 3:29:29 6 Bradley Hill Junior 60 Dion Abayakoon Junior 59 Dylan Sparkes Junior 56 Brooke Barker Junior 17:45:61 49 Caitlin Windress Junior 17:45:32 48 Baylee Shepherd Junior 15:52:00 41 Johanna Guyatt-Lewis Junior 15:48:99 40 Yasmine Brooke Junior 14:42:20 27

Sonja Bain Junior 12:41:54 5

Hockey 1

st X1 Hockey Boys v Orewa

2-1 loss 1

st XI Hockey Girls v Birkenhead

3-2 win 2

nd XI Hockey Girls v Kaipara

1-0 win

Inter-house Cross Country—continued Name Age Group Place Rachel Smith Intermediate 1 Georgia Archer Intermediate 2 Chloe Beggs Intermediate 3 Jarad Moeke Junior 1 Liam Hislop Junior 2 Sam Risbrook Junior 3 Sonja Bain Junior 1 Yasmine Brook Junior 2 Johanna Guyatt- Lewis Junior 3 Blake Galley Year 8 1 Jacob Galley Year 8 2 Abdul Ahmen Year 8 3 Rose Peddie Year 8 1 Tayla Flatt Year 8 2 Punyeesa Pranomrum Year 8 3 Nathan Mayes Year 7 1 Sam Murphy Year 7 2 Kieran McNair Year 7 3 Gabby Martin Year 7 1 Eve Thomas Year 7 2 Seren Wiliams Year 7 3

Lacrosse Lacrosse Senior v Avondale 10-0 win Lacrosse Senior v St Michael’s 16-3 win Lacrosse Junior v Avondale 10-3 win Lacrosse Junior v Auckland Girl’s 10-7 win Soccer - (also see write-up over page) 1

st XI Boys v Howick 2-1 win

1st XI Girls v Botany Down 2-1 loss

U19 B Girls v Rangitoto 6-0 win. 1

st XI Boys v Rutherford 2-0 win

2nd

XI Boys v Westlake 9-0 loss Rugby 1

st XV played a very strong

Westlake (2nd) team on Saturday and showed great determination and team spirit going down 83-0.

6th Grade had a win over Orewa in a pre-season game 15-12. Last Saturday they played Northcote at home and lost 22-46.

The girls have started well this season, and played in the Auckland 7’s competition where they finished 3rd. Last Monday they had a convincing win over Northcote 119-15.

Netball What a great start to the netball season both at North Harbour and Hibiscus Coast. Great results coming through with the grading rounds nearly complete. Senior Netball Tournament Our two senior netball teams will be competing in the North Harbour Secondary Schools Tournament on Tuesday 15 May. The following Tuesday, we will have our two Year 9 and two Year 10 teams competing in the tournament.

Rodney District Netball Challenge

Last Monday night saw the first night of competition in the Rodney Schools Netball

Challenge. This year we have entered our Senior 2 Netball team into the competition.

They won their first game against Otamatea, the champions from 2011, winning 41 -36.

This Monday evening they will be playing Kingsway, all the best to the team and Mrs

Conn. Below are the upcoming games on Monday nights.

WGPC Football 2012 – Season Start Over the past two weeks, our 6 football (aka soccer) teams have kicked off and are now into the swing of things for another season. It has been great to see so many keen learners out on the pitch training and playing the ‘beautiful game’. Boys: 1

st XI – Two good wins to start the season have the boys (and their tireless coaches –

Mr Williams and Mr Rea) in good spirits. Trent Mayes has slotted 3 past the post so far this season, with Jake Darcy following this example putting 1 away on the weekend as well. Congratulations to the following young men - Jack Rea, Trent Mayes, John McCaughan and Ben Smart, who have stepped up to help lead the team this year. Development XI (2nds) – A 22 strong squad sees football in the school developing to new heights. Although going down in their first game, the team showed good spirit throughout the match and were very supportive of each other. Again we have some keen young men putting their hands up to help organise and lead the team. Well-done to Nathaniel Faulkner and Harrison Burnard, who with the support of other leaders in the team, will look to keep the boys inspired for the season. Juniors (Yr7/8) – This year a new competition for boys has opened up the opportunity for our Intermediate learners to get involved in football. In the one game this team has played so far, the boys kept up spirits in a loss against Pinehurst. The team has some future stars, so watch this space!! Yr 7 Zone Day – Monday 7 May saw a team of Year 7 Boys take part in the North Shore Intermediate Schools Zone Day. The boys, coached by John and Trent, had a challenging day with six tough games. Despite coming up against some talented and well drilled sides, our boys were very determined and competitive. The games were all close with no more than two points difference in any of the games. The most notable feature of the day was the way the Whangaparaoa boys improved through the tournament. This resulted in them winning their final game against the highly (contd.. )

TEAM TIME VENUE

WGP V RUAWAI 21 May 6.00PM HIBISCUS NETBALL CENTRE

WGP V WENTWORTH 28 May 6.00PM HIBISCUS NETBALL CENTRE

WGP V RODNEY 11 June 6.00PM RODNEY NETBALL CENTRE

FINALS NIGHT 18 June 6.00PM RODNEY NETBALL CENTRE

Dates for your Diary All details will be updated on the Sports Board.

Date Event When Where Thurs 17 May Lacrosse Senior v Mount Albert 4.00 Home Lacrosse Junior v Albany 4.00 Home Hockey 1

st XI Girls v Takapuna Grammar 4:10 Harbour 3

Friday 18 May Hockey 2

nd XI Girls v St Dominics 5:20 Harbour 1

Saturday 19 May 1

st XV v Kaipara 12:00 Home

6th Grade v Rangitoto 10:40 Rangitoto

1st XI v One Tree Hill 10:00 Home

2nd

XI v Rosmini 10:00 Hato Petera

Whangaparaoa College is seeking voluntary coaches... ...for the 2012 season to cater for the growing

number of teams in all grades.

Netball, Rugby, Soccer, Hockey. Basketball,

Touch, Softball, Cricket, Lacrosse, Athletics, Cross Country.

Enquiries and applications to

Mrs O’Brien, Sport Coordinator

Whangaparaoa College

PO Box 775

Phone: 09 424 9291 Email: sharonob@wgpcollege.school.nz

www.wgpcollege.school.nz

regarded Takapuna Normal Intermediate School 2-0. Girls: 1

st XI – This team of girls are beginning to work together out on the field, shown in the

way they are playing as a team. Through Dion Coleman’s persistence as coach and the senior leaders of the team looking to keep the girls focused they have a bright season ahead. Lucy Marlow and Stacey Martin look to motivate the girls and lead them throughout the season. Development XI (2nds) – Have had an excellent start to the U19 comp with two convincing wins. The team has really gelled together over the past two seasons and are playing some good football. A range of players have managed to get on the goal scoring list, but Kate Rossouw is golden boot at this stage, with 4 goals to her name for the season thus far. Juniors (Yr7) – A great group of girls front up for training and games every week, keen to learn and get involved in football. Unfortunately for the girls the competition they were originally in didn’t go ahead, and so are in an U15 grade. The opposition do look like giants in comparison to us, but that doesn’t stop the girls having fun and enjoying the game! Yr 7 Zone Day – The girls were at Pinehurst on Tuesday 15 to experience a fun filled day of football. So now we are in the swing of things, and we look forward to some hard fought games over the coming weeks. TIC Football

Notice from the counsellor’s desk...

Handy Hints for Improving Learning - continued - The following handy hints for improving learning are extracted from Andrew Fuller’s book: “ Help Your Child Succeed At School” No. 5 How much sleep does my child need to succeed at school? A good night’s sleep (at least 8 hours) is essential for optimal brain functioning at school. Memory consolidation occurs during sleep especially during dream (or REM) sleep. During the normal 8-9 hours of sleep, five dream (REM) cycles occur. Adolescents getting only 5-6 hours of sleep lose out on the last two REM cycles and thereby reduce the amount of time the brain has to consolidate information. Teenagers need as much sleep as children, partly because their brains are doing so much development. Always remember there is no such thing as a sleep bank. So just because you slept 10 hours one night doesn’t mean you can get away with only sleeping six hours the next night. Students who don’t get enough sleep have to work much harder to do well at school. No. 6 Know Your Child’s “Down” time Everyone has a down time when they learn new information less well. As a rough guide, think of the time they go to sleep, then think of the time they usually wake up, calculate the midpoint of their sleep, add twelve hours and around that time is their “down time”. For example, if your child sleeps from 9.30 pm to 7 am, the midpoint of their sleep is 2.00 am. Adding twelve hours takes us to 2.00 pm which is the time your child is likely to learn least well. It is important for teachers and parents to know students likely down times so they can schedule in active, hand on learning at these times. No. 6 Eat a good breakfast If your Mum ever said have fish or eggs for breakfast because it’s brain food, she was right! As long as it’s medically safe to do so, a breakfast that is high in protein (think cheese, milk, bacon and eggs) and lower in carbohydrates (think cereal, orange juice and toast) promotes concentration and learning. Also encourage your child to drink lots of water- the brain runs on it! Students who don’t eat breakfast are not only more likely to gain weight; they will also have to work harder than others to do well at school. No. 7 Use Music There is a growing evidence to suggest that playing instrumental music softly in the background enhances learning. Pachelbel's Canon, Mozart and Baroque music seem to be particularly effective though you might like to use a range of music. It is always good to have students study for some time without music. Exam rooms don’t have music playing in them. No. 8 Use aromas Most people have had the experience of smelling a particular aroma and having a series of memories flood back. Partly this is because your Olfactory Nerve is directly linked to the Hippocampus, which is the part of your brain where memories are integrated. The aromas most often associated with improvements in concentration and memory are lemon, basil and rosemary. To be continued...

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The Hilarious Hypnotist - Dave Upfold Come and see your friends and relatives be hypnotised at what promises to be an absolutely hilarious show! Dave will also be running an auction during the interval with all sorts of fantastic items up for grabs at potentially bargain prices! Whangaparaoa Primary School Hall - 39 Ladies Mile, Whangaparaoa Friday 8 June - doors open 7.30pm, show starts at 8.00pm. Tickets : $20 available from the Whangaparaoa Primary School office. Cash bar and snacks will be available - strictly no BYO alcohol.