Last Thursday, 58 Avondale College students travelled into the Aotea Centre for ShowQuest 2021. As the first school timetabled to rehearse on the stage at 8.30am and the last school (out of 11 schools) to perform that night, it was a long day, but our students, ably led by leaders Izzy Hosie and Izzy Simmons, kept focused and positive all day. Last minute creases were ironed out in the performance, sore legs were bandaged, costumes were fitted, rats’ tails were re-sewn, LOTS of makeup was applied and Avondale’s ShowQuest performance was all set to go! The overall quality of the performances from other schools was very high – our old Stage Challenge rivals have upped their game with dramatic concept, live music and video walls, as well as increasingly sophisticated choreography. Avondale’s performance this year was based on the fable of the Pied Piper. When the Mayor refuses to pay him for ridding the town of a terrible infestation of rats (wearing stunning masks made by Mr Jamie Smith and his wonderful props team), the Piper (Keon Hall channelling Jimi Hendrix) lures the children away with a social media message telling them to “follow” him. The townsfolk can only look on in horror and regret as their children, glued to their phones, are led away, leaving us with the sobering message of how easy it is for young people to be manipulated by their devices. Although we didn’t place in the top three schools this year, we came away with the prize for the Best Costumes (this was a real acknowledgement of the hours of work that went into making them) and we had several teachers from other schools congratulating us on our slick and dramatic performance. This is Mr Les Hughes’ 20th and final ShowQuest performance for Avondale College. He started with leading the Stage Challenge cast and crew in 1999 and when Stage Challenge became Show Quest in 2019, he oversaw that transition. His artistic vision, patience and humble leadership has seen Avondale produce incredible shows and this year was no exception. Congratulations to the Izzies, the whole cast, the props, makeup, lighting, costume and video teams and to Mr Smith and Mr Jeremy Foster for his energetic warm ups and drama tips. Final thanks must go to Les Hughes though – we have all been learning at the hands of a real master and he leaves very big boots to fill. - Ms Carolyn Medland

At the end of this term Mr Phil Hill will step down from his position as Deputy Principal at our school, although he will continue to teach his Psychology class until the end of the year. This year is Mr Hill’s 50th year of teaching. He has been at Avondale College for 34 of those years, and Deputy Principal for almost 30 years. In that time Mr Hill has been an integral part of the Avondale College community, and has seen an enormous amount of change. He was a member of staff at the time of the great fire in 1990, and was closely involved in the many building projects that have happened since then. More importantly than buildings, over the past 34 years, Mr Hill has been absolutely committed to the students and staff of our College. Any of you who have been fortunate enough to work closely with Mr Hill, or who have been in his classes, will know that he has the most incredible general knowledge, an endless thirst for learning and he is a teacher that you never have a dull conversation with! Over his career Mr Hill has taught Geography, Social Studies, History, Art, Art History, Health and Careers, and currently Mr Hill teaches Psychology. Psychology is a subject that he introduced to our school in the mid-90’s and he then pioneered its development across New Zealand, including its approval as a full UE subject just a few years ago. Beyond the classroom, Mr Hill has made a significant contribution to the wider life of the school. This includes giving hundreds of Avondale College students the opportunity to travel overseas during their time at school, and to gain the very special learning experiences that this allows. He has been a significant part of developing our sister school relationship with Daito Bunka and as part of that has led many exchange trips for students to visit Japan. All of these successes represent only a tiny part of all that Mr Hill has contributed to Avondale College. His absolute commitment to the College, its students, staff and wider community has been unwavering. His contribution to teaching, learning and the life outcomes of the thousands of students who have attended our College over the time of his tenure is immeasurable. We thank him for all that he has done, and wish him all the very best as he steps aside from the role of Deputy Principal. - Mrs Lyndy Watkinson, Principal

The Term 2 Parent Report Evening will be held on Tuesday 6 July from 4:30pm to 7:30pm in the Atrium and A Block classrooms. The purpose of this evening is to allow parents and caregivers to meet with their child's teachers and discuss their progress to date. Progress reports will be emailed to parents and caregivers prior to the meeting. These include grades for assessments or practice assessments that students have completed this year. In addition, each teacher has given an indication of the student's level of effort, participation, conduct and academic progress in each subject so far this year. Printed copies of reports will be available by request at the Parent Report Evening, or may be obtained from Reception or the Attendance Office during the school day. If you would like to meet with your child's teachers at the Parent Report Evening, please book an appointment online using Family Connection. Bookings will be available until 5 July. Alternatively, your child can make an appointment with their teachers using the booking sheet available from reception. Where concern has been expressed by a teacher, we would recommend that you make an appointment to meet with them.

Avondale College students have raised over $5,000 towards the work of World Vision by participating in the 40 Hour Famine over the weekend! Students took on a variety of challenges - such as going without food, living without furniture or turning off technology for 40 hours - to raise funds which will go towards helping stop the hunger pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa which has been made critical due to the wider impact of Covid. Avcol students also showed generosity in supporting two school-based fundraising events - a bake sale and a lunchtime concert - which were run by our 40 Hour Famine student leaders. Donations are still coming in, so we don't have the definitive figure yet, but World Vision's Youth Ambassador Alyssa Wilson tells us that the money Avondale College has raised so far, for example, could provide 200 chickens, or 20 community gardens, helping so many learn sustainable ways to grow their 5+ a day. It's not too late to make a donation - follow the links in our Avcol fundraising page here: https://my.worldvision.org.nz/d/ss/tQO3qg/avondale-college

Avondale College's Amnesty Group, and student leaders Alice, Shreya and Brooke, would like to thank all Avcol students and families who supported the canned food drive last week! Over 400 cans were collected over four days, as well as plenty of cup noodles and other non-perishable items. These were delivered to the Auckland City Mission over the weekend to support the good work they do in ensuring struggling Aucklanders have access to a nutritionally-balanced food supply during a period of crisis. Find out more about the work of the Mission: https://www.aucklandcitymission.org.nz/support-us/food-parcels/ Thank you to all who took part!

The Avondale College Gospel Choir has received two awards and an invitation through to the next level of choral competition, following a superb performance at the Big Sing held in the Auckland Town Hall last week! The 25-member choir won the Leo Pasifika Award for Best Performance of a Single Work Using a Text in a Pacific Language for their performance of a Gospel medley He Honore/ Ou te vivi’i ia te Oe Te Reo/ Gagana Samoa, which had been arranged by Choir co-Director and alumnus Seumanu Simon Matafai. The piece featured soloist Harmony Timu, as well as performances of poi by Juna Hall and Sylvia Tagaloa-Leniu The group also was named Runner Up for Performance of a Choral Art Music Composition for their piece Benedictus by Andrea Klouse. Following on from this success, Gospel Choir Director Mrs Fredda Sorensen was delighted to receive the news that they had been selected to participate in the 'Cadenza' choral festival and competition in Rotorua, alongside choirs from 12 other upper North Island Schools on 16 and 17 August. "It's a huge achievement," says Mrs Sorensen, "particularly since this year's choir comprises many junior students whose lack of experience is offset by their magnetic enthusiasm. What I love about working with the Gospel Choir is their passion and wairua. They sing with a heart that touches your emotions and with a maturity that belies their age. The choir was rewarded with a standing ovation by a visibly emotive and appreciative audience. One Takapuna Grammar performer cornered me and said he cried all the way through our performance." "Talent alone is insufficient to move an audience. But combine talent with hard work, heart, and love of what you are singing, and you end up with a performance not to be forgotten by the performers and the audience. Simon's showmanship on the piano also contributed to the overall result and his choir experience proved invaluable in lifting the standard of our performers."

Over fifty Avondale College students are about to take part in Aotearoa's biggest performing arts competition when they step onto the stage of the Aotea Centre this evening! Avcol's ShowQuest group for 2021 features 39 students in the cast and around 20 in the crew managing hair and makeup, props, lighting, soundtrack and the custom video wall. Student directors Izzy Simmons and Izabella Hosie and the student committee have been planning the ten minute visual spectacular since March, and Sunday rehearsals have taken place over the past ten weeks in the lead up to their performance at the Auckland regional competition. Their performance explores the theme of the impact of technology and social media on youth, and is told using the narrative of the Pied Piper, explains Izzy. "We look at how easy it is to be sucked into your phones and technology and social media," she says. "It happens through the story of the Pied Piper who uses technology to control the children and lead them away..." "Be thoughtful. Be careful what you believe," says Izabella. "Not everything you see on social media is true!" The student-led group is supported by teachers Ms Carolyn Medland and Mr Les Hughes who have given guidance and input when needed, based on their years of involvement with ShowQuest and its previous iteration, Stage Challenge. In fact, 2021 marks the twentieth year of Mr Hughes' involvement! "Mr Hughes and Ms Medland have been very supportive," says Izabella. "We definitely couldn't have done this without them - the collaboration worked really well!" The girls say they are excited and nervous about the upcoming performance. "People don't really realise how many hours of work it takes to get to this point," says Izzy. "We are just happy to be getting on the stage!"

Friends and family were treated to an outstanding night of music at last week's Jazz and Soul concert. Thirteen different groups performed at the event, and such is the strength of Avondale's jazz programme, one of the major challenges for Avcol's Head of Jazz, Mr Mike Robinson, was narrowing the selection of items down to just one piece per group! The night featured the multi-award winning Avondale College Jazz Quartet of Delores Lesatele, Tyler Diprose, Toby Barrett and Lucas Kewell; combos Hiri and the High Hat, 52nd Street Combo, Robs Dogs and Blue Note Combo, the funky 'Dale Soul, Soulful and Contemp groups, the Gospel Choir, Stage Band and some outstanding performances by students coming up through the Performing Arts Academy Jazz programme. Alumnus Maxwell Barrett was also welcomed back as a guest performer as drummer for crowd favourites Toby and the Rest. The evening concluded with a toe-tapping version of Sing, Sang, Sung, by the Avcol Big Band, featuring soloists Benjamin Ridsdale on soprano saxophone and Jakob Elijas on trombone. Students are now preparing for the upcoming Auckland Jazz competitions as well as the KBB Festival in August.

Innovative, effective and excellent teaching practice, and a focus on relationships are just some of the aspects that have led to Avondale College being named as a finalist in The Prime Minister’s Education Excellence Award for 2021. Avondale College has been shortlisted in the awards’ Excellence in Engaging category, which celebrates working together as a community to transform relationships and strengthen achievement, leading to improved and sustained outcomes for all children and young people. Avondale College's Principal, Lyndy Watkinson, said that the College’s case study of the significant gains made by their Pasifika students over ten years was a story worthy of celebration. “Over the past ten years we have seen the year level appropriate achievement of our Pasifika students climb from 51% to 90%,” she says. “Underpinning this success has been an interconnected network of strategic initiatives, effective processes and most importantly, people - which have supported our diverse Pasifika learners in achieving and sustaining excellence – both inside and outside the classroom.” The judges commented on Avondale College’s “engaging, stand-out application.” They also noted that the case study showed engagement had been sustained over a good period of time and the change had been significant, while also meeting the College’s strategic goals. The Category Winners, Focus Prize Winner and Supreme Winner of the Prime Minister's Education Excellence Awards will be announced on 7 September at the Awards ceremony in Wellington.

Avondale College jazz musicians walked away with literally half the awards from the Wellington Jazz Project competition held last week! Six of the twelve awards went to Avcol students, for their individual and group performances at the nationwide secondary schools competition. The Avondale College Quartet of Tyler Diprose, Lucas Kewell, Toby Barrett and Delores Lesatele won the award for Best Combo - for the second time this year! They were also named Best Combo at the National Schools Jazz Competition in Tauranga in April. This wasn't the only award to replicate the results from Tauranga: Tyler was (again) recognised as the Best Bass Player, and Lucas (again) the Best Pianist! To top off the accolades, Lucas's composition Poor America was named Best Composition. While all four are outstanding individual musicians, the group puts their success down to their strong friendship. "If you like the people you play with, you play better," says Delores. "You're more comfortable to express yourself." Also winning recognition at the Wellington competition was Year 13 musician, and Deputy Head Prefect, Hirimaia Eketone. Her band, Hiri and the High Hats not only won the award for Best Original Arrangement, but Hirimaia received the award for Best Musicianship - across the whole competition - an outstanding result! Avondale College's HOD of Jazz Mr Mike Robinson said he was delighted by the success of the students at the competition: "This year's incredible results speak volumes about the continued dedication and commitment that our jazz students put into their performances," he says. AWARDS: Best Original Composition – Lucas Kewell Best Original Arrangement – Hirimaia Eketone Most Outstanding Bassist – Tyler Diprose Most Outstanding Pianist – Lucas Kewell Most Outstanding Musician – Hirimaia Eketone Best Combo – Avondale Quartet – Tyler Diprose, Toby Barrett, Delores Lesatele, Lucas Kewell

Our Innovation Programme (TPI) students have been quietly stacking up some solid IT qualifications alongside their NCEA credits this year. And we're not just talking about basic qualifications - instead, these are industry-standard certifications that are usually gained by adults in the workforce or at tertiary level! As a certified qualification provider working alongside NZIQ, Avondale College is able to offer students the unique opportunity to earn certifications in a range of applications such as Microsoft and Adobe, while still at secondary school. So far this year, 241 students have gained their IC3 Digital Literacy Certification. One hundred and thirty four Microsoft Office Specialist qualifications have been awarded to Avcol students, with 24 students earning their Microsoft Office Specialist Associate qualification (only possible after achieving the Associate certifications in Microsoft PowerPoint, Excel and Word). Two students have gained certification in Entrepreneurship and Small Business. Thirty one Microsoft Technology Associate qualifications have been gained, and we have eleven Adobe Certified Associates! This adds up to a grand total of 419 certifications gained this year alone! Three Year 10 students deserve a special mention: Mia Horvath, Basit Daif and Vedansh Patel have already completed 80% of their Year 10TPI programme and have acquired an impressive range of qualifications in Microsoft and Adobe applications. Avondale's Head of ICT, Mr Vijay Prasad says there are number of other Year 10 TPI students who are also following close behind these three. "We as teachers are extremely pleased with this type of high level achievement!" says Mr Prasad. "We will have about 20 more students completing the entire Year 10TPI course by the end of this term - and they will then begin working on more advance Microsoft Technology Associate certifications and some industry based projects." "In the next half year we are expecting to double the volume of higher end industry certifications." Congratulations to all who have achieved these qualifications so far - we look forward to updating these totals in the months ahead!

After a break last year due to Covid disruptions, it was great to see the grand tradition of the Avondale College Talent Quest return to the PAC stage last week! All finalists in the vocals, bands and dance categories showed an outstanding level of talent, which made the job of our four judges (Avcol alumni: Kristin Paulse, Jireh Lalotoa Peniata, Grace Ikenasio and Melodownz ) - extremely difficult! Taking out the top honours in the awards for the evening were: 1st Place: Vocalist Delores Lesatele 2nd Place: Band: Hiri & the High Hats (featuring Hayato Ogasawara, Chester Rowland, Lucas Wongso, Abigail Sin Kelso, Zennah Shin Kelso, Simon Shilov, Ben Ridsdale and Hirimaia Eketone) 3rd Place: Dancers: Marielle Dulangon, Joshua Paila and Hosana Alefosio. As tradition demands, the highly anticipated staff vs prefects items were extremely entertaining! The prefects brought two Muppet Show-themed items, while the staff topped off their Greatest Showman performance with a Samoan Siva to take out the contest for 2021! The evening was capably run and MC'd by the Prefect Talent Quest committee, with assistance from the Year 13 Deans, Dr Pinder and Mr Dewsnap. Congratulations to all our finalists - it was a superb evening of Avcol talent and greatly enjoyed by all who were in the audience. We are looking forward to 2022 already!