Here at Springs we are celebrating the latest Metro magazine article about the best schools in Auckland.   You will have read in this article that "the mainstream school that recorded the best UE results for girls in Yr 13 was not a Catholic school or any kind of single sex school, but Western Springs College."  You will also have read, " the mainstream school that achieved the same feat for boys was also Western Springs."  And further on in the article,"the top ranked school for both girls and boys is Western Springs College, a decile 8 school with a strong kura kaupapa unit."  The editor, Simon Wilson concludes, "They're doing something right out there by the zoo."  What Simon doesn't say, and that we all know, is that Western Springs College has been the top achieving decile 8 secondary school in NCEA for the last seven consecutive years and the top Auckland region state secondary school (all deciles) from 2009 to 2015! (Source for all statistics: www.nzqa.govt.nz)

So how do we explain these outstanding results.  What exactly is it that we're doing right, out here by the zoo?  The answer of course is a whole lot of things, but for me the commitment of the staff, the care and thought that goes into course design and delivery, the identification and real commitment to the reduction of barriers to learning all add up to a winning recipe.  Our students, too endorse these efforts stating that the staff care about them as people as well as helping them to achieve to their potential.

We emphasise our commitment to WSC's core business of producing graduates who gain the academic qualifications required for competitive access to sought after tertiary level courses.  We know our students, their strengths and interests and develop courses to keep them interested motivated and challenged to achieve to the best of their ability.  We are proud that these achievements and of our students - every single day.

Ivan Davis
Associate Principal

"The Master Plan for school redevelopment was presented at a public meeting on 15 June.  The information presented, including answers to questions from the audience, is available on the school website.

http://tinyurl.com/WSCMasterPlan

We intend to provide good information throughout this project .  The Ministry of Education will provide a brief project update in future newsletters and we will hold another public meeting at the end of the preliminary design (in term 4)."

Thank you to everyone who completed the recent surveys on the changes that we have made to the Student/Parent/Teacher Interviews.  The chart below gives a summary of the results for questions 1-9 from the four groups surveyed: students on the Junior Learner Council; the parents of junior students; the parents of senior students; and teachers.  Question 10 was an open question inviting written comments.

The remaining interview evening of the year (a junior one) will follow the same new model as the interview evening that with have run this year.  Before 2017 the Senior Leadership Team will review the numerical data below and the written answers that came in relation to question 10.  We will then decide how to organise the interview evenings in 2017 and beyond.

So you can see the results at a glance 1 & 2 (Strongly Agree & Agree) have been combined, as have 4 & 5 (Disagree & Strongly Disagree).

There were many thoughtful answers to Question 10 which we will be looking at carefully.  Some parents  were concerned that the 5 minute interview slot was not adequate, and others felt that there were not enough slots in an evening for all parents to see teachers (as teachers sometimes become fully booked).  There is a tension between increasing interview slot timing and maximising the number of option slots available.  One solution would be to have all day interviews, but there was very little support for this from parents and teachers.  We will investigate and consider other possibilities and solutions.

Thanks again for taking the time to complete the survey.

Paul Alford
Deputy Principal

The New Junior Learner Council Meets for the First Time

This term we have re-established a student council at WSC.  The council will focus on learning in the junior school and will be called The Junior Learner Council.  The Council will meet twice a term and the Year 13 Academic Leaders, Liam Hogan and Muhammad Mulla, will act as the officers of the committee taking it in turns to chair and act as secretary.

At the first meeting earlier this month the council confirmed and discussed its purpose, agreed the rules and protocols that would govern its meetings, brainstormed on a proposal from WSC’s Positive Behaviour for Learning (PB4L) team, completed a survey on the recent changes to Student/Parents/Teacher Interviews and finally posed for the group photograph below.

The Council representatives were elected or appointed by the school’s five houses and the coordinators of different communities of learners within the school.  We have been careful to make sure that both Year 9 and Year 10 students are fully represented, and that the diversity of the school’s two junior cohorts is reflected in the balance of students on the council.  The quality of debate in the council’s first meeting was impressive, and the Academic Leaders did an excellent job at channeling the council’s energy and recording the debate.

Paul Alford
Deputy Principal

(Principal at Point Chevalier School)

Point Chevalier School will be celebrating Sandra's retirement after 23 years as AP / DP / Principal. A Farewell Assembly will be held on Friday 8 July 11.30am - 12.30pm at Te Mahurehure Cultural Marae in Premier Avenue,
Pt Chevalier.

Exam preparation for seniors
As we are over halfway through the academic year, it is time that we keep a focus on developing exam technique with our senior science classes. The best resource for this, after the teacher, is the relevant AME Revision book. It is a write-on book that summarises the exam content for each topic within a standard, then gives old exam questions for students to practice. It is highly recommended that students buy one. When payment is made to the school office, the student’s teacher can then supply it. All students in Level 2 and 3 courses who have paid their course fees will have already paid for the revision book. However, the cost is an additional one for Level 1 Science students who are entered in external exams, and for students doing Scholarship.The costs of these books differ and are as follows:

Level 1 Science - $17
Level 2 Biology - $17
Level 2 Chemistry - $18
Level 2 Physics (Studypass) - $20
Level 3 Biology & Chemistry - $18
Level 3 Physics - $20
Scholarship versions - $21

Students self selected for extension
We are proud of the students who took the initiative and responded to the call for entries in an external science competition run by International Competitions and Assessments( ICAS). They sat the test recently. We thank them for their commitment and, look forward to receiving the results.

12 Science trip to Arataki
On the 19th May the Level 2 Science students had their stratification field trip to the Arataki Centre in the Waitakere Ranges. The students, guided by the educator Peter King, collected data on the layers of vegetation that form within the NZ forest in response to changing environmental conditions.  The data was processed and interpreted later at school for an internally assessed task.

Level 3 Chemistry Field Trip to  Massey University
The Level 3 Chemistry students visited Massey University last week to make & analyse aspirin. This trip was to gain experience of spectroscopic analysis in order to enhance their understanding for an internally assessed Achievement Standard they do in the year 13 Chemistry programme.

Yr 13 Physics visit Rainbow's End

At the end of the Mechanics topic the Yr13 Physics students visited Rainbow’s end. The emphasis was on motion in vertical circles, which applies to most of the attractions. We were able to record some interesting data that we could subsequently analyse.

2016 Physical Sciences NASA/Theme Parks Trip                    

For the second time, in what is hoped will become a bi-annual event, the Science Department took 34 students to the United States of America for a physical sciences themed trip in the April holidays. The aim of the trip was to put into big contexts many of the Physics phenomena we discuss in class that are not available in NZ, and to stimulate interest in some Physics opportunities.

Firstly we travelled to Orlando, Florida. This was nearly 20 hours of travel in two legs, firstly to Houston then to Orlando.
We visited Kennedy Space Centre for a close up look at the NASA launch facilities which are now quite active as the site hosts Space X as well as preparing for the Orion missions to Mars. We visited the Apollo mission artefacts and had lunch with an astronaut, Jack Lousma, whose stories were really interesting. We had a half day of astronaut training, tackling a zero gravity wall and various other activities before a simulated shuttle mission.

No visit to Orlando would be complete without going to the Theme parks; we had 3 days in the parks, Disney, Universal Studios and the Islands of Adventure. The highlight would have to be the behind the scenes tour when we did the Spiderman ride with lights on (to see how the effects are generated) and lights off. Of course the new Harry Potter World was great as well, but more magic than Physics.
We then flew across the USA to San Francisco, another 6 hour flight. While in San Francisco we visited Google and Adobe for a look at the IT industry. Both sites were very interesting and offered us a completely different experience. Thanks to the two parents that facilitated these visits as otherwise  it is almost impossible to do.

The trip was action packed, every day started early and ended late. We were able to provide a number of opportunities for the students that are not available to ordinary travellers, specifically; the physics lecture at the wind tunnel, the Astronaut training at KSC, the visit to Adobe and Google and the behind the scenes tour at Universal Studios Islands of Adventure Park.

At all times the students mixed freely and worked to support each other in every aspect of the trip. The trip was very successful; the students were very engaged and excellent ambassadors for both Western Springs & NZ. We, the staff, were often complemented on their behaviour.
David Okey

News from our Sustainability Groups

Wises

HealthWise:
HealthWise is dedicated to improving the health and sustainability of our school and community. We are excited to implement and maintain initiatives aimed at increasing motivation, promoting health and developing healthy cooking skills. However, before this, our panel felt it was important to reflect and acknowledge the wonderful things the Springs community already has. From this ideal “Springs Appreciation Day” is born. Later this term Western Springs College students and staff will be invited to put their creative skills into action, creating a card or creative message expressing their appreciation for someone at our school. HealthWise will then deliver them throughout the week to the appreciated students during form time. Although our focus is the appreciation of the wonderful and kind people in our lives we also will take the day to appreciate our own health and the beautiful environment we are fortunate enough to life in.

WasteWise:
Sea Cleaners Trip with Waste Wise

On Monday 20th June, a bunch of the wastewise crew took the amazing opportunity to help clean up the Hauraki Gulf with the organisation Sea Cleaners. Since 2002 Sea Cleaners have collected over 3.2 million litres of rubbish from the harbour which is the equivalent of 135 shipping containers full of trash. Experiencing the clean up for a second time allowed me to see the extend of Auckland’s rubbish problem. It is a never ending cycle and we are the main problem. To start towards a cleaner, greener future it has to start with small things such as picking up rubbish off the streets and making sure we do not litter ourselves. Both these trips have shifted my perspectives on rubbish on the streets because seeing the effects it has on sealife and beautiful spaces causes me to not be able to walk past litter without feeling a sense of guilt because I put myself before the sea life this rubbish affects. If you ever feel like giving back to the natural environment, experiencing a clean up, or becoming a regular volunteer, Sea Cleaners is an amazing organisation that will benefit you in many ways.

Grace May

As a member fairly new to Waste Wise I was so unbelievably lucky to have this opportunity to go on the sea cleaners boat and experience the pollution of our harbour and Hauraki Gulf in person. The amount of rubbish blew me away. Beaches tucked away out of sight and out of mind were just covered in rubbish. Beaches I never knew existed right on the waterfront of the CBD were trashed. So much rubbish had washed up on the shore coming from storm water drains, overfilled public bins and even just rubbish dumped on the street by people who could never imagine it would end up in the ocean. It disgusted me how much we saw yet made me feel so good about myself as we were making a difference, as small as it was, picking up this trash. Seeing the beach go from plastic everywhere to almost pristine is honestly incredibly satisfying as it represents the improvement we made to the harbour as a whole. And not only did we do this for one beach but many which made the experience all the more better. After that day I couldn't understand why more people didn't take this opportunity to participate in the sea cleaners operation to make a difference to our harbour whose water we swim in and fish we eat as not only does it create a positive impact but is also eye opening to how much plastic is out there which cause reflection as to how much plastic we go through on a daily bases. I can almost be certain that if every aucklander went around on the sea cleaners boat for one day, the amount of plastic seen in the harbour would decrease hugely as anyone with an ounce of respect for the environment would be able to see the damage plastic is doing to our environment and thus create a change in the lifestyle of these people. Anyone can volunteer by contacting sea cleaners on their website or Facebook page and it is one of the most worthwhile experiences you could ever do.

Jessica Dallas

We have also recently been working on making a set of planter boxes to put around our school. Last term we went on a  trip to the Waitakere Resource Centre where we collected materials such as wheelbarrows and sinks to turn into planter boxes. We brought these materials back, sanded and cleaned them as well as painted them with recycled paint we bought from the centre. We have also just recently received funding from the Parent Action Group which means that we were able to purchase plants for the boxes as well as tools for upkeep and a shed to store it all in! As well as the funding we have also been able to get free bags of compost from Kings Plant Barn through their generous donations scheme which gives torn bags to schools and community groups. With this added help we have finally been able to put our planter boxes out around the school and couldn’t be more proud of all the work we have done.

The aim of these planter boxes is to show students how items that may be considered trash can have a second life if you take time to consider how to reuse them. They are also designed to brighten up the school as well as hopefully have some edible gardens that can be used by the food tech rooms /teachers /students. We have worked hard on these and hope they will be a success! We are going to keep putting these boxes around the school in the coming weeks so keep an eye out and remember to respect them so we can allow the plants to grow and flourish!

“The planting of these of boxes was satisfactory and fun as they are educating the students of Western Springs College about the beauty old items of no significance can hold”  Grace

“This experience has been so fun and rewarding because most of the planter boxes are now placed around the school, and look amazing”  Khushee

Travelwise
The Skating Competition

Last Thursday at lunchtime Travelwise held a skating competition to help promote sustainable travel and encourage skaters to skate to school. The goal of the competition was to Ollie (jump) over a bar which would be adjusted higher for each stage.It was great to see a range of skaters come down to compete. The junior winner was Gianni Canales from Moana and the senior winner, who cleared 75cm, was Dylan Foy from Atea. It was great to see so many spectators supporting the skaters and next time we would love to see more seniors and girls as this was a great event and will continue on to next year.

Year 12 and 13 students

Rather than publish all of the event and closing dates in the newsletter, I have included them as a link here.  Embedded is information about closing dates, halls of residence, course planning for uni, ex-student speakers and financial scholarships.

An tricky part of teaching and parenting is knowing when to help children and when to let them find their own way.  Situations that allow participation and discussion together can help teenagers distil their ideas and clarify plans.  Visiting a Uni Open Day together or going a long drive may provide such as opportunity.   AUT and Uni of Auckland Courses and Careers Day both fall on the 27th August in 2016.   If parents can monitor their son’s/daughter’s next steps then this may avoid the disappointment of missing out on a place in a course or the halls of residence.
 
The dates in the link above and event reminders will be in the notices.  The  responsibility largely lies with students to action their plans.  However, some students still need the hand holding needed to transition from school.

With regard to applications for university and halls of residence students are asked to monitor their emails daily and respond if necessary.  Checking their email regularly from now onwards would be a useful habit to develop if they intend to pursue tertiary studies next year.  If your son/daughter is wanting to work in 2017 they should let us know as we sometimes are contacted about employment opportunities. Please ring us if you son or daughter has still not found work in the new year

Food Technology

Year 10
From sweet to savory, the year 10 food technologists explored creating a breakfast that not only was delicious but met the specifications of their brief. Ranging from locally grown, organic and nutritious. The students trialed and tested (tasted) their breakfasts. The students demonstrated a range of talents - from the amount of elements in their dish to their technical cooking skills. This was an individually assessed task where the students showcased their abilities of sound knowledge and capabilities in the kitchen.

Next up the students find themselves in 'cupcake wars' where they are competing to create the top 3 cupcakes in the class. The top 3 will be replicated and sold at lunch time on the 4th of July. All proceeds will be donated to Kids Can Charity.

Mrs Hayes
Technology Teacher

Students photos:  Italia Arona, James Dick, Jacob Hussey, Martini Ord, Sophie Coulter & Emma Sadgrove, Stella Colquhuon, Loki Smythe, Loni Tupou

Design and Visual Communication

Year 12
We want to congratulate the year 12 students of Design and Visual Communication who have just completed their first achievement standard for the year. AS91342 is a 6 credit internal where students undergo design development to produce a coffee machine design inspired by the Cubist art movement. The results were outstanding with just over 70% of the cohort receiving Excellence.  We were extremely impressed with the work ethic and motivation of all the students which is reflected in their results. We hope this continues as we begin our next project, Floating Architecture.

Thank you for your ongoing support at home,

Megan
Design and Visual Communication Teacher

Fabric Technology

Year 13
Our year 13 students are preparing their entries for a choice of design competitions: ‘Walk the Line Young Designers’ and the ‘Hokonui Fashion Design Awards’.  Good luck to our talented  young designers!

Year 12
Year 12 students have been exploring individual design themes using a range of graphic and modelling techniques and are now developing garments incorporating their own digitally printed fabric.

Barbara Joseph
Fabric Technology Teacher

Success with music! Congratulations to our rock-band Daffodils (Theo Salmon, Isaac Keating and Louis Graham) on winning the Auckland Regional Final of RockQuest. A wonderful achievement for these students who continue to collaborate and excel with their music.

We also wish Critical Mass the best of luck for their regional Pacifica Beats final coming up soon - 2nd of July at Auckland Girls Grammar. Another recent musical highlight has been Music in the Quad. Musicians have orchestrated great live contemporary performance - impressing their peers, getting them grooving across two lunchtime sessions.

Following on from the huge success that was Seussical the Drama Department are proud to announce their class productions for Y11, 12 and 13. The following productions are taking place at the beginning of next term and you mustn’t miss the incredible Macbeth; the comedy (Y11), Too Fast by Douglas Marshall (Y12) and finally Y13 will present The Wedding Party by Fiona Samuel.

Media students are excited to hear that the 48 Hour Film Challenge has been finalised and dates for that are to follow.

Finally, whilst senior students have been busy with exams and finalising mid-year assessment it has been great to work with prospective intermediate students in workshops across the Arts. Thank you to students from Pasadena, Ponsonby and Kowhai Intermediates for taking part and participating so well in our specialised workshops. 

Thanks to Catalina Nunez-Elevancini  – 13Art Design – for the ArtsNews Heading in this issue.
arts@wsc.school.nz                                                                                     Kirsty Britton – Arts Coordinator

                                         Music in the Quad!

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Week 7 saw a new creative initiative at Springs; Music in the Quad! This was a super successful event which took place on the Wednesday and Thursday lunchtimes of Week 7. It provided various musical acts with an opportunity to demonstrate their funky sounds and generate an awesome atmosphere for every student going about their lunchtime activities.

On the Wednesday we were blessed with the angelic voices of GMG, a duo band consisting of two year 10s Grace and Gracie-Mae. This was followed by a somewhat spontaneous DJ set from year 13 Leo Casey-Waby, which sparked a large dance crowd, despite the rain!

On the Thursday we had an impromptu year 12 band who came together with the sole intent of jamming! We saw the likes of James MacEwan, Harry Scholes, Isaac Keating, all displaying their expansive musicality through talented improvisation.

Arts Leader – Sebastian Rice-Walsh

            Senior Drama Productions at TAPAC Theatre 2016
                          Weeks 1 and 2 - Year 11 Production

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Term 3 kicks off with the year 11 production. Two classes present Macbeth; the comedy. This is a Monty Python, Black Adder style romp through one of the bard's greatest plays. It follows the play fairly accurately, but in modern text, and with a twist at the end. The characters are larger life, and led by a hapless Macbeth who must rely on a Shakespearean stunt double to deliver his soliloquies. The frisky witches are a treat and you'll meet the world's worst hired assassins.

Don't miss it; Thursdays and Fridays (28, 29 July & 4, 5 August)
Shows at 4pm ($2) and 6:30pm ($5)

                                                 Week 3 - Year 12 Production
                            Too Fast by Douglas Marshall
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Sensation Nation is a vocal group founded and led by the unstoppable DD. Her grand plan is for the group to storm next year’s New Zealand’s Got Talent. First they need a gig and more importantly a heart-breaking backstory that will win votes later in the T.V series. So she’s booked them in to sing at a funeral and not just any funeral- Sensation Nation is to sing at the funeral of Ali Monroe, an older girl from their school who was killed in a car crash.

'Too Fast' is an ensemble comedy for young performers with a strong emotional heart. It was originally produced as part of the U.K’s National Theatre Connections 2011.

There are three casts who will be performing in TAPAC Theatre on the following days:

Tuesday 9th August: 4.30 pm and 7 pm Cast 1
Wednesday 10th August: 4.30 pm and 7 pm Cast 2
Thursday 11th August: 4.30 pm and 7 pm Cast 3
 

                              Week 4 - Year 13 Production
_______________________________________________________________
The Wedding Party is a glorious piece of Kiwiana, by Fiona Samuel. We take you back to provincial New Zealand in the 1980's. You, the audience, are guests at the wedding of Heather and Rob, with the action happening in and around you.

The cast is full of recognisable characters, and like any wedding we share in their joy, their laughter and their tears. Interestingly the play was first performed here at Western Springs College in the late 90's under the direction of one Ken Havill.

This is a truly delightful play, by one of New Zealand's top playwrights, and an excellent vehicle for show-casing the very talented year 13 drama class so don't miss it. Four performances, Wednesday - Saturday 17th - 20th August at 7pm. See you there!
HOD Drama - Robert Pollock and Beth Kayes

                            48 Hour Film Challenge is back!
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Big news coming from media this week as the official dates have been released for the 48 Hour Film Challenge! If you don’t know about the 48 hours it’s an event where numerous teams across New Zealand compete to see who can create the best short film within 48 hours. Participants receive a random genre and multiple aspects such as characters, props and lines which they must incorporate into their films. It’s been a yearly thrill for many New Zealand film makers and it’s a great way to put your film making skills to the test.

The competition this year has been delayed significantly and has had many people anxiously waiting for a date, and now we have one! The 48 Hour Film Challenge will now be on from the 16th of September to the 18th of September 2016. Likely there will be more information about how you can get involved with the school closer to the date so make sure to stay tuned.

On a slightly more local note the WSC Film Club is now in session and will now be on every Monday lunchtime in D12. If you haven’t heard about Film Club it’s a place for students to actively pursue film making. The purpose of Film Club is to learn new techniques and to analyse how they’re used to create an effect on the audience. Film Club’s available to everyone even if you missed the initial introduction or you think your skills might be lacking, it’s absolutely no problem and you can stop by regardless.

Media Leader - Sharn-Konet Reitsma

                                           Music News!
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WSC Jazz Band and Chamber Group are well into rehearsal for the annual KBB schools' competition which runs in term 3.  Remember that it is not too late to join either group. Jazz Band rehearses Friday lunchtime in the music room and Chamber Group is on Tuesday from the start of interval. See Margaret or Kim if you, or someone you know, is interested.

Congratulations to Daffodils (including Theo Salmon, Isaac Keating and Louis Graham) on winning the Auckland Regional Final of RockQuest! This is the second time for some members of this band. As part of their campaign to get to the National Finals Daffodils really, really need you to like their Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/daffodilsnz/?notif_t=page_fan&notif_id=1466310389172391

Go on do it now!

Critical Damage (Loxmyn, Theo, Harry, Isaac K, Bickio, and James) made a great impression at the recent Pacifica Beats heats and are now heading for the regional final. This will be July 2nd, 7pm at the Dorothy Winstone Centre, Auckland Girls Grammar. Tickets are $10 at the door. It would be so good to have a big Springs’ presence in the audience.

HOD Music – Margaret Robertson

Daffodils performing live - Rockquest 2016

“In my opinion the most valuable opportunity offered during the evening was the chance to talk to university representatives. After you’d spoken to the career representatives you were able to talk to the university about the courses specified for your selected career. You received information about how the course runs at each university so that you can see which route best suits you, what you want to do in your tertiary education, discuss scholarship opportunities and talk to people who have been to the university to see what their experience was like there.”  Mercy Williams Year 12.

“It was really helpful information for my plans next year but also I got a chance to look at other options I had not thought of such as civil engineering.” Nathan Faleolo Ngaropo Year 13 .

“The business management  speaker was really cool. She talked to me about how I could set up my own business .” Will Kukutai Year 11.

“I would  like to endorse the wonderful Matariki Careers Evening last night, it has provided us with a lot to think about and new vistas and options have suddenly opened in our daughter’s  head. “ Sue (parent)
 
" The setup last night looked awesome - huge range of interesting careers represented, carefully organised, well attended.” Rebecca (parent)

“It was great to see so many rangatahi excited about their future careers.  Such awesome respectful kids. Was a pleasure. “Jay Te Whare, Event Manager

“The students came in groups and were really engaged.  This was probably the best Careers Expo for students’ conversations. “ Blair, UNITEC

And the final word from Chris Selwyn, the Tumuaki of the Rumaki, “ Occupassion is what it’s all about.”

The Matariki Reach for the Stars Careers Evening for Maori and Pacifica students was held on the 1st of June 2016. The night was extremely successful with over 240 Rumaki, Mainstream Maori and Pacifica students and families attending. Positive feedback was received from students, whanau and the career professionals who attended.

A SPECIAL FOR
WESTERN SPRINGS COLLEGE

FRIDAY 8 JULY  
6pm
We’d love to welcome Western Springs College students in to watch ‘Dexter’s Amazing African Adventure’, with a $10 special!
By AWARD-WINNING PLAYWRIGHTS
Jess Sayer & Darlene Mohekey
PERFORMED BY NZs BEST
Amanda Tito, Bryony Skillington, Jason Chasland, Estevez Gillespie, Hadley Taylor & Darlene Mohekey

Please book at TAPAC reception.

After a successful season of Dexter’s Deep Sea Discovery, which won the 2015 Playmarket Award. Critically acclaimed writers Jess Sayer and Darlene Mohekey bring you a new adventure at TAPAC. Dexter’s Amazing African Adventure! Dexter loves animals and the zoo. On one visit he encounters a bratty baboon and learns something bad is happening in Africa. Dexter knows he must take action. With the help of his furry friends, he is magically transported to the plains of Africa on a super silly safari that will test every ounce of his courage. Don’t miss hilarious family fun at this crazy Pantomime show full of Hip-Hop Hippos, Elegant Elephants and Flaptastic Flamingos!  Will Dexter save the animals? BOOK NOW to find out! For more information or to book visit here:

The Lumino Dental bus is currently at the school until the end of this term, seeing senior students who are enrolled with them. The bus will return in Term 4 to see junior students.

If you would like to enrol your student for this free dental service, enrolment forms are available from the school office. Once enrolled, the enrolment remains current until your student turns 18.

Ministry of Health - Rheumatic Fever Prevention Programme at Home Pharmacy Grey Lynn
Free Antibiotics & Throat Swab for Maori and Pacific Island children aged between 3 and 19 years old.
No Appointment required - we're open 7 days, simply pop in.
Home Pharmacy Grey Lynn | 280 Richmond Rd, Grey Lynn (next to Fruit World)
www.homepharmacy.co.nz | Tel: 09 281 2812
Mon - Fri 9am-6pm | Sat 9am-5pm | Sun 10am-4pm
For more information - http://www.homepharmacy.co.nz/blog/sore-throats

Parents’ Action Group (PAG)

It’s not too late to order tickets for our next movie night, which is this week!
DOUGH
Great comedy, great night out
Wednesday 29th June, at the Bridgeway
7.30pm for complimentary glass of wine (or juice)
8.00pm movie start
Tickets $25 each, email Bronwyn Hackett
<bnhackett83@gmail.com>

We love supporting the school to benefit our students – so please buy some tickets, sell to your friends and family, and come along!

Book sale:
A huge thank you to all the parents who bought books during the senior students’ parent/teacher/student interviews, as well as to the parents who helped sell them – we raised $745.00!
Unity Books donated these books to us through WSC parent Ange Travers, and we’re really grateful to have the opportunity to do this fundraising.

We’re aiming to sell again at the Bridgeway on Wednesday so have a browse – bargain prices for brand new non-fiction books, many of them make excellent gifts!

Teens, parents & alcohol:
For those who are looking for information about parenting teens with regards to alcohol, there are two helpful recent interviews on Radio NZ: one with Nathan Mikaere-Wallis here and one with Sgt Andy Smith, Police National Coordinator of Alcohol Harm Reduction here 

And please email me if you would like a link to Health Promotion Agency’s excellent booklet on the same topic (address below).

Please let me know if there’s anything you’d like to talk about at our next meeting – which will be in the staffroom at 7.30pm on Tuesday 9th August (no July meeting due to the holidays).
Thanks!  Belinda Drake, PAG Secretary

The Parents’ Action Group, or PAG, is made up of parents who work together to support our school and strengthen the school community.
Email <pag@wsc.school.nz> to join the PAG email list to be part of the PAG forum, get meeting details & information about PAG-related events.

FOR ADULTS AND TEENS

At Western Springs College

Upcoming in JULY & AUGUST
Enrol: www.leisuretimelearning.co.nz
Course Starting
Hatha / Vinyasa Yoga Wed 13 July
Pilates (Various Levels) Tue 2 Aug or Thu 4 Aug
Iyengar Yoga Mon or Wed early Aug
Guitar (Various Levels) Thu 11 Aug
Ukulele Beginners  Wed 3-Aug
Investing for Your Future Wed 3-Aug
American Soul Food Wed 3-Aug
Mexican Cooking Wed 17-Aug
Spanish Cuisine Wed 31-Aug
Photography Course 101 Wed 3-Aug
Sewing (Various Levels) Tue or Wed early Aug
Xero Accounting Software 101  Wed 3-Aug
Xero Accounting Software 102 Wed 17-Aug