Issue 1 - February 2016 - Epsom Girls Grammar School Issue 1.pdfNews can also be seen on the School website - eg: Head Prefect Michelle Schneideman’s first speech at the Prefect

Lion and friends - Athletic prelims held on Tuesday 23 February

Dear Parents and students

This term we will trial a shorter, fortnightly newsletter. It will have highlights of recent events and also an emphasis on what is coming up.

News can also be seen on the School website - eg: Head Prefect Michelle Schneideman’s first speech at the Prefect badge presentation assembly ▶ 2016 Prefects

The year has started very positively and it was wonderful to meet families of new students at the Welcome Barbecue on Wednesday. I would like to thank the PTA, peer supporters, co-curricular leaders, students and tutors for all the work they put into this annual event.

The Athletics Parade this morning was outstanding - the inventiveness and sense of fun of the parade is something we treasure. Look out for images on the School website.

Term 1 Conferences - Wednesday 30 and Thursday 31 March Please make a note now of the dates for the Term 1 Conferences. For new families, these student-tutor-parent/caregiver conferences are student-led and focus on how a student is settling in to the demands of their new year level and it is an opportunity to plan ahead for the rest of the year. We know that student agency and a positive working relationship with families have an important impact on student progress and achievement and these conferences are a valuable part of that.

Issue 1 - February 2016

2015 Year 12 Scholars with Principal Mrs Lorraine Pound after receiving their badges and certificates at a special assembly held on Tuesday 16 February

Coming up in Week 5....Mon 29 Feb Year 11 NCEA assemblyTue 1 Mar Year 9 Netball TrialsThu 3 Mar Gap Year / Exchange Expo

Coming up in Week 6....Mon 7 Mar Year 12 NCEA assemblyMon 7 - 9 Mar Year 10 Camp (1st group)Wed 9 - 11 Mar Year 10 Camp (2nd group)Sat 12 Mar Fia Fia Night

CENTENARY5 - 9 APRIL 2017

We are well underway with planning for the EGGS Centenary next year. If you would like to be involved as a sponsor in some way, please contact Tric Milner [email protected]

Important notice:No entry to any part of Silver Road when dropping off or collecting students 7.35am - 8.35am and 3.00pm - 4.00pm.

An email went out about this earlier this week but the congestion is still a problem - and dangerous.

Please make dropping and collecting your daughter from a nearby street a permanent habit.

NO

ENTRYSilver Road

Level One Scholars Level Two Scholars Level Three Scholars

Yeun An Alicia Arulseelan Hasini Atulwage

Evelyn Charlesworth Jade Beckmann Bomi Aum

Leanne Chen Martina Benjamin Morgan Brown-Sharpe

Lucy Chen Cindy Burgess Annelise Chan

Mackenzie Ferguson Maddison Crutch Victoria Chen

Rachel Gock Katie Delbridge Jamie Chiang

Isabella Holdsworth Ronnie Duan Anya Cropper

Olivia Holdsworth May Gao Shaan Fong

Javeria Kazmi Arthana Hemachandran Tammy Hung

Jessica Kirton-Luxford Sarah Kennelly Lucy Jensen

Maryana Kozakevych Andrea Knight Grace Kaemper

Angela Liu Susie Kwon Alexandra Littlewood

Anjie Liu Victoria Lu Jendy Liu

Jessica Long Vanshika Mathur Maggie Lo

Isla Marriott Zali McMahon Gillean Miller

Mikayra Naidu Jenny Noh Kate Palmer-Neels

Jayna Patel Nayanika Podder Grace Stevens

Angela Qian Elizabeth Stuart Jessica Wong

Fatema Rampurawala Monique Waller Fiona Wu

Annabelle Rennie-Younger Monica Wang Doris Zhang

Harshi Rupasinghe Rosie Williamson

Sandani Senanayake Liyana Muhandiramgei

Gabrielle Wilson

Connolly Wilkins Coco Yu

Sara-Louise Williams Renee Zhang

Francesca Wilson

Helen Zheng

For photos of the 2015 Scholars click here ▶ 2015 Scholars

2015 NCEA and NZ Scholarship ResultsEGGS students gained outstanding results in 2015. Please see the details, below. All students involved should feel justly proud of their achievements - Congratulations!

Lorraine Pound - Principal

2015 NCEA RESULTSEGGS students have again achieved some outstanding NCEA results in 2015.

93% of Level One students achieved this qualification, 95.7 at Level Two and 90.3% of students at Level Three. 83.5% of Year 13 achieved University Entrance.

When compared to national statistics EGGS results are well above the national average. These standards of high achievement are also consistent over time.

All students are to be congratulated on their results. It is really key that students keep informed as to what the requirements of each level are. There are special NCEA assemblies for each level in the coming weeks. There is also an information evening for parents in Term 2 on Thursday 5 May.

Last week we celebrated the highest levels of success with the presentation of Scholars Awards at assembly. These are awarded to no more than the top 5% of the cohort based on the course they have completed in that year.

Scholarship Scholarship is an extra examination to recognise the highest levels of achievement in the country. Approximately 3% of the cohort sitting Level 3 in the particular subject nationwide are awarded Scholarship. Students who receive a Scholarship earn $500 for each of the first three years of study.

This year EGGS students achieved 84 Scholarships (including 4 Outstanding Scholarships) in 22 subject areas.

Three students achieved four Scholarships each:

Bomi Aum Grace Kaemper Doris Zhang

Fiona Wu achieved three Scholarships including an Outstanding Scholarship in History.

LEARNINGThe Learning Centre (formerly LEAP) has been going through a review of existing programmes as well as the introduction of two new programmes. Some changes have been made to the Life Skills programme which is now called the Learning Support Programme.

The Year 11 Learning Support Programme focuses on organisation skills, time management, communication skills and will also include literacy support. It has been designed for students that are at risk of not achieving Level 1. The girls are offered an opportunity to achieve Level 1 Literacy through three unit standards.

The Year 12/13 Learning Support Programme has been aligned with the school’s values. Each term is connected to a school value and involves students organising and hosting events at the school. The programme has been designed for students that are at risk of not achieving Level 2 or University Entrance Literacy. The new programme aims to increase student engagement and attendance as well as developing

communication skills and group work skills. On completion of the course, students will have achieved 20 credits.

A new programme that has been introduced this year is designed to attract students that have the potential to excel but might have a specific learning need. This Learning Support Group is for students who are Twice Exceptionally gifted. The group will focus on providing extension opportunities as well as mentoring and targeted support.

The second new programme is the Expansion Thinking Programme. This is a 10 session, 5 week Philosophy Course that will be offered to Year 10 students who have been identified as gifted and talented. It will begin at the end of Term 1. The groups will meet for 2 periods per week and will explore topics of interest through philosophical enquiry. The aim is to develop ‘scholarship thinking’ skills that can be used across all subjects.

COMMUNITYThe start of the year has been filled with change as well as planning for events throughout the year ahead.  This year we have a new teacher in charge, Ms Hesketh and a reliable team of new leaders and prefects who will be meeting regularly. Our overall goal for the year is to increase the profile and presence of the Community Egg in the school. We plan to do this by creating a more recognisable identity for the Community Egg by creating a new logo (which is almost finished) as well as changing the name of Community Committee to Sisterhood of Spirit, to avoid confusion with the Community Egg. We also plan to achieve our goal by carrying out many fun and original events throughout the year, which we hope many students and even teachers will get involved in, in order to achieve greater school spirit and sense of belonging for all. We would also like to incorporate more interaction and bonding between year levels through these events during the year.

Last week we held an enjoyable badge ceremony to celebrate our committees, interest groups and leaders. This week groups within Community were well represented at the barbecue for Year 9 and new students.

We have also locked in a week for Community Week which is Week 8 of Term 2 and we already have some exciting ideas for that. Overall we are having a busy yet exciting start to the year and we can’t wait for what’s to come.

Courtney York - Co-Leader, Community

LANGUAGESOn Tuesday 16 February Epsom hosted the launch of the ALLiS programme for the Remuera-Epsom Cluster.

ALLiS is the acronym for Asian Language Learners in Schools and has emerged from a Ministry funded initiative. Our school, along with Cornwall Park, Meadowbank, Newmarket, Parnell, Remuera Primary, Remuera Intermediate and Victoria Ave applied for the contestable fund and were successful. We are working to create a clear pathway and smooth transition for students studying Asian languages as they move through primary, intermediate and secondary school.

The event was well attended with well over 200 staff from the eight cluster schools, Principals, BOT members as well as the National Language Advisors for Chinese and Japanese and the co-President of NZALT (New Zealand Association of Language Teachers).

Deb Ward - Acting LAD Languages

PTA NEW STUDENT BARBECUE

Last night the PTA hosted the new student bbq for students and their families. Activities included viewing displays and talking with representatives from the co-curricular groups at EGGS, creating outstanding table displays as tutor groups based on movies with the theme related to the curiosity component of our EGGS values and meeting other families from within their tutor group. 

Congratulations to 9STR (Finding Nemo), 9CAM (Curious George) and 9COU (The Little Mermaid) on their success with their tables. 

The next PTA event is Wednesday 23 March “Survival Tips for Parents of EGGS Students” at 7.30pm in the staffroom, followed by the AGM.

SPORT EGGS Swimming Sports took place on 17 and 19 February with 250 students taking part in events including Freestyle, Butterfly, Backstroke, Breaststroke, Medley and Relays. With so many girls taking part we had a great crowd and lots of support which resulted in competitive heats and fast times.

Finals took place on the Friday where the top 7 of each event raced for the win. The fun relay had different EGGS and groups within the school taking part. Congratulations to the Underwater Hockey girls who won the relay having swum the entire relay under water.

HEAD OF HARBOUR ROWING REGATTAThe sun was shining hot and so was the competition on Lake Pupuke for the Head of Harbour Rowing Regatta held on Saturday 16 February. Thank you to everyone for coming out and supporting our girls in what was a big Auckland regatta with 899 athletes competing from schools in and around Auckland and from down the line. Congratulations to the whole squad on their achievements, in particular to the  following crews who achieved medals.

DIVISION 1 PLACINGSunder 18 novice coxed eight - 2nd under 18 coxless pairs - 3rd under 18 coxed four - 2nd under 17 coxed eight - 3rd under 15 coxed eight - 3rd under 18 coxed eight - 3rd 

DIVISION 2 PLACINGSunder 17 coxed four - 3rd under 18 coxless pairs - 1st, 2nd and 3rd under 16 coxed four - 2nd under 15 coxed eight - 1st

ATHLETICS PARADE 2016

Keep up the good work girls as we look forward to the North Island Secondary Schools Regatta at Lake Karapiro on 18 - 20 March.