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Ad Augusta June 2010
Dear Parents and Guardians
I write to you, now at the end of Term 2. It seems little time since we started the year. Now well over half way through the year we anticipate the important terms 3 and 4. Senior students have about 15 weeks of learning time left at school prior to start of NCEA and Scholarship examinations.
It has been an exciting term. We continue to appreciate
the space offered by the completion of the new buildings and the departure of the many prefabs. The school in recent weeks has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Korean Society of New Zealand. We have agreed to place a new building behind the main block featuring office space, meetings spaces and an auditorium space for about 100 people. This will add another option for the school in terms of teaching spaces offering a medium space between the hall and that of a standard classroom.
This building will bring about many advantages for the
school, including the capability to host video conferencing facilities to assist students in their learning. This will give students in many curricular areas to take advantage of connections throughout the world.
Given the time of year I would like to impress on
parents the need to keep students at school. We receive many approaches from families seeking permission for their sons and daughters to be absent from school. Aside from the expectations of the Education Act and exceptional circumstances, the normal response is to decline the permission. I understand the need to travel can be based on many variant factors. I ask parents to consider very carefully the impact of absence on their student’s learning.
We welcome the new Takapuna Grammar School
Board of Trustees. Mark McCall, Board of Trustees Chair,
has included a message from the Board of Trustees in this newsletter. The new Board of Trustees are committed to student achievement and the ongoing development of the school. I am very much looking forward to working with them in progressing this school.
Over the past few months we have had so many
students involved in various trips associated with our
curricular and co-curricular programme. I have been
receiving many emails and letters from members of the
public noting the politeness and courtesy of our students.
They are to be applauded for this. It is a proud moment for the school when these acknowledgments come unprompted to the school.
Regards
SIMON LAMB
Principal
Takapuna Grammar School
Luke Carey: A youth ambassador
By Isabelle Verney
Never been overseas before, and want to change that?
Well, might as well do it for a good cause.
Luke Carey has been chosen as one of 12 student delegates
to represent New Zealand at the environmental Conference
of the Parties (COP 16) in Cancun, Mexico, in late November.
World leaders will be meeting together to discuss international climate change policy. At the conference, the delegates will be observing the debate on a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol, which has aged and is no longer scientifically sufficient. The delegates will have a chance to talk to world leaders, which will give them a chance to have an input and as Luke puts it, you’re not talking to one person, you’re talking to one person who represents a thousand.” The focus will be on reducing methane emissions, which is important to NZ as the methane from our farming industry makes
up a large part of our greenhouse gases.
For Luke, a year 12 student, it all began when a friend told him about the NZ Youth Delegation. After sending in the application form, there came a phone call telling him he had been selected. Luke is the youngest at 16 – most of the delegates are between 22 and 25. Just half an hour later, there was another phone call requesting $3200 immediately, to secure flights.
There’s a lot of work to be done before November, including two hui in Wellington and talking to scientists at the University of Waikato who’ve done extensive research into NZ’s methane emissions. There’s also lots of fundraising to be done. Most of the delegates will try to find sponsors to send them overseas, and repay them afterwards by giving talks and presentations as “they’re always looking for inspiring speakers,” according to Luke.
Because of the timing of the conference, Luke will be missing two of his end-of-year examinations but it’s definitely worth it he believes, “I’m really overwhelmed . . . I hope to get a lot from it.” Luke’s prior environmental involvements include the 2009 Make A Difference sustainability hui, the Wellington Youth Forum, the Waiheke Biosphere project, and Commonground (a sustainable urban design project). The annual COP is organised by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC); the first one was the Earth Summit in 1992, and last year’s was in Copenhagen.
Fine dining at the Sir Peter Blake Technology and Visual Arts Centre
The grand opening of the hospitality training facility, Blake’s Restaurant, was made official on 28th May when the ribbon was cut by Kim Evans, owner of the popular cafe Little and Friday. Kim was among many guests who had been invited to the special opening, including Principal Simon Lamb and Senior Management. The Year 13 hospitality students served the many attendees with food and drinks they had prepared for the lunchtime event. The purpose of Blake’s Restaurant is to be an authentic and realistic learning environment or hospitality students. It is here where they will learn restaurant etiquette, food presentation and customer service skills. Blake’s Restaurant was named in honour of the late yachtsman Sir Peter Blake who was both a national hero and former pupil of Takapuna Grammar.
The launch of Blake’s Restaurant began with a speech from the head of the Food Technology Department, Ms. Hyland who, along with Mrs Rouse, organised the event. Fruit “Mocktails” were presented by the hospitality students as the visitors arrived, followed by inger foods - spinach filo parcels, falafel, spicy thai meatballs, mini quiches and crumbed prawns. These excellently garnished dishes were followed by dessert consisting of Brigadero, prepared by the Brazilian students, and chocolate mousse cups. Music was rovided by the Jazz Combo - Morgan Allen, John McCall, Zac Fraser-Baxter, and the Barbershop Quartet - “The Four Tunes”, Eli Nicholls, Petra Bullock, Ruth Chang and Harriet Maire. The music complemented the wonderful service and food.
The hospitality students and teachers clearly worked hard to make the grand opening the success. They received many compliments on the day about the food as well as the professional service. All of the students clearly showed that they were committed to their roles, whether they were waiters, bar tenders or kitchen hands. The opening of Blake’s Restaurant is a great example of what is in store for hospitality students this year, as well as in the years to come. Not only will Blake’s Restaurant provide an ideal environment for assessments, it will also create a great learning experience for those interested in a career in hospitality and business enterprise.
Student Achievement
Student Achievement
Key Dates
Key Dates 2010
Term Dates 2010
Term 1 Tuesday 2 February - Thursday 1 April
Term 2 Monday 19 April - Friday 2 July
Term 3 Monday 19 July - Friday 24 September
Term 4 Monday 11 October - Thursday 9 December
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