The Green Striped Blazer, 26th June 2026

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The Green Striped Blazer - Friday,
26th June 2026

Dear parents and caregivers,

Good afternoon. On Monday, the next round of Engagement Grades will be available. These
grades reflect two main areas: your son's contribution to a positive classroom environment
and his overall effort toward learning. This will be the fifth engagement report for 2026,
and by comparison a clearer picture of your son’s progress should become evident.
Following this, the report on the mid-year exams will be sent out later in the week.

Tonight, we wish Ms Kumar and the organisers of Indian Culture Night the very best for
their event. The event is being held at Westlake Girls High School in their auditorium. Food
stalls open from 5.30pm and the show starts at 7pm. Students from both schools have
been rehearsing for some time and will no doubt put on a good show in the third edition of
the event.

Over the past two weeks, we have visited our intermediate schools as part of our enrolment
process. The students who attended these visits enjoyed returning to their former schools,
and the feedback has been very positive. Enrolments for 2027 are now open and details
can be found on the school’s website.

One week to go at the end of a long and demanding term. It is important that we finish
well. I spoke at assembly to encourage students to look after themselves physically and
mentally, and to reflect on and acknowledge what they have achieved this term as
motivation to finish on a positive note.

We hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Kind regards

Shane Young

Senior Deputy Principal

IN THIS ISSUE:

Important Dates
Rowing whānau gather to open new boathouse
Runners take the lead
Swan of the Week: Wesley Vakalahi
Ururoto wins House Basketball
New partnership with Ethos Academy of Sport
Te Puna students receive awards
Students focus on hot topics in Rotorua
Future Sport sets the pace
Meet our Staff: Mr Ajay Marwaha
Hugh wins top award
Japanese on the menu at Daikoku
1st XV maintains winning streak
Hockey Prems go down in nailbiter
U85kg Rugby team in top-table clash
Uniform shop hours
Teams on form at Japanese Trivia
Dancer in the spotlight
Second-hand uniform shop hours
Swan Song
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Important dates

Sports results

Important Dates

Our Major Diary Dates are shown above. Please note, these are subject to change if
necessary, throughout the year.

Rowing whānau gather to open new boathouse

On Saturday, we welcomed our Westlake rowing whānau to their new home at the Upper
Waitematā Marine Centre in Hobsonville.

The open afternoon gave friends and families, who have been part of Westlake rowing over
the years, the opportunity to view the new Andrew Whānau Boathouse and reconnect with
the programme.

Our Te Puna students led the mihi and karakia, before guests were invited through the
rowing shed and upstairs to the function space.

Headmaster Paul Fordham and Director of Rowing Jo Shotter acknowledged the work of
Mike Stanley, Aaron Andrew and Terry Zouch in bringing the project to life, presenting
them with an oar and pounamu in recognition of their contribution.

It was a fantastic event, and it was great to see so many Westlakers past and present come
together to celebrate this significant milestone for rowing at Westlake Boys.

Runners take the lead

Westlake Boys delivered a strong performance at the New Zealand Secondary Schools
Cross Country Championships in Wellington last weekend.

Huw Robinson finished runner‑up in the Junior Boys race, leading the team to the
Six‑Person Team Championship and a runners‑up finish in the Three‑Person event.

Junior team: Huw Robinson (2), Liam Crooks (15th), Oliver Storz (34th), Xander Vaughan
(43rd), Zac Bould (45th) and Connor Freeman (47th)

The Year 9 Boys also claimed the Six‑Person Team Championship, with Nathan Barron
(19th), Lawson Montgomery (25th), Alex Swanson (30th), Phoenix McQuoid (31st), Sam
Snelgrove (36th) and Reef Somerville (47th) all contributing to the result.

Well done to our athletes.

Swan of the Week: Wesley Vakalahi

At assembly today, Wesley was recognised for stepping in to help someone in need.

While delivering a note as a Year 10 runner, Wesley noticed a teacher carrying a heavy box
of books up the stairs. Without being asked, he immediately offered to help, took the box
and carried it all the way to the office.

“What made this act so special was that it was entirely unprompted,” said Senior Deputy
Principal Mr Young reading the teacher's email.

“Wesley could have easily continued on his way, but instead he noticed someone in need
and stepped in to help. His kindness and willingness to put others before himself is a
wonderful example of what it means to be a Westlake Boys student.”

Congratulations Wesley, our Swan of the Week.

Ururoto wins House Basketball

Ururoto House won the Senior House basketball final against Smale in front of a packed
gym at lunch break today.

The team in black held a narrow lead for much of the match before a series of late three-
pointers gave them a 25-18 win.

New partnership with Ethos Academy of Sport

Westlake Boys is excited to introduce a new programme to our community, in partnership
with Ethos.

Built around a strong foundation, Ethos uses sport as a tool to grow young people of
character - creating a positive environment where kids can stay active, build confidence,
and develop a genuine enjoyment for movement and sport.

What makes this programme particularly special is that sessions are facilitated by our
Westlake Boys students, who provide leadership, mentorship, and positive role modelling
for younger participants, all under the guidance of a trained lead.

We’re proud to partner with Ethos to bring this initiative to life and look forward to seeing it
grow within our community.

Te Puna students receive awards

Today Te Whānau o Te Puna held a special assembly, with the students recognised for
their contribution to Te Kauri.

They were nominated by their Te Kauri kaiako, with awards recognising values such as
manaakitanga, kaitiakitanga and rangatiratanga.

Shea Watene, Wylie Grayson, Brody Tauri, Shaylem Rewiri‑Te Momo and Anakin
Ormsby‑Cairns were pictured below.

Jett Heta, Elliot Barker and Kayden Macdonald also received certificates for their
contributions.

Aneurin Brockbank and Te Maioha Pirini were recognised for competing at the Ngā Mānu
Kōrero Māori Speech Regionals.

Students focus on hot topics in Rotorua

Last week on the 18th of June, our Year 13 geography cohort of students and teachers
headed down to Rotorua for a geography field trip focused on tourism development - a
topic for one of our external exams.

Rotorua is one of New Zealand’s most visited destinations, and it’s easy to see why — the
city has built its tourism industry around two main attractions: geothermal activity and
Māori culture. We started the day at the Rotorua Library, discussing the social, economic,
political, technological and environmental impacts of tourism on the region before grabbing
lunch and heading to the Zorb — one of the highlights of the trip. For those who don’t
know, it involves rolling down a hill inside a giant inflatable ball sliding around in water.

From there, we visited Te Puia, one of Rotorua’s most well-known attractions and a strong
example of how tourism and culture can work together. The site is home to the Māori
museum, the Pohutu Geyser — the largest active geyser in the Southern Hemisphere —
bubbling mud pools, and steaming geothermal vents. We watched live cultural
performances, saw traditional crafts like whakairo (carving) and weaving being practiced by
students from the New Zealand Māori Arts and Crafts Institute, and stopped by the Kiwi
Conservation Centre for a rare chance to see New Zealand’s national bird up close. We
finished the afternoon with the Tree walk, moving through the forest canopy — at night,
the walk takes on a differen