More than 67 different clubs and groups were on offer at our lunchtime Join In @Avcol expo event on Wednesday! The annual event saw hundreds of students exploring the many co-curricular opportunities available to them at Avondale College. They were able to talk with the teachers and student leaders and register their interest online by scanning QR codes to each group. These forms are also available on the Avondale College intranet - so if students weren't able to make it to the event, they can still sign up via the online forms on each group's page on the Student Hub. If unsure, students can check with their home room teachers for more information. Registration for sports teams is also happening online this year via the pages on the Sports Hub - or students should attend the Sports Sign Up day on Monday in the Stadium to find out more.

Year 13 athlete Lex Revell-Lewis has quite literally hit the ground running this year, sprinting his way into a top three in the world ranking for his age group in the 400m U18 men's event, following an outstanding performance at the North Island Interprovincial Athletics Championships on 30 January. Lex's great form continued at the Athletics Auckland Track and Field Champs last weekend, where he won three gold medals in the U18 men's 100m, 200m and 400m!

Avondale College students have once again featured in the top academic ranks of students nationally, following the announcement of the NZ Scholarship results from 2020. These exams are recognised as the pinnacle of secondary school achievement, and are only awarded to the top 3 percent of Year 13 students studying each subject at Level 3, if they meet the standard that is set. Thirty-three NZ Scholarships have been awarded to 24 Avcol students, including five Outstanding Scholarships, across 12 different subjects. Two students (Nico Davies and Joo-Yeon (Julie) Jeong) were awarded NZ Scholarships while still in Year 12, and five students gained more than two awards. Most impressively, Hasidu Wanniarachchi was awarded six NZ Scholarships, and has been announced an Outstanding Scholar, which also means he will receive $5000 a year for three years of tertiary study. Congratulations to all our NZ Scholarship awardees and their teachers on achieving such impressive results! Joon Young Baik - Biology Joon Young Baik - Chemistry Joon Young Baik - Physics Nico Davies - Biology Liam Douglas - Biology Anna Hiew - Painting (Outstanding) Sepe Huch - Design Joo-Yeon Jeong - Calculus Natalia Knox - Painting (Outstanding) Katarina Knox - Painting Xin Yang Liu - Statistics (Outstanding) Xin Yang Liu - Chemistry Xin Yang Liu - Physics Ielyzaveta Lobko - Biology Malisha Munidasa - Statistics Pavitra N Khanijoe - Biology Pavitra N Khanijoe - English Emily O'Callaghan - History (Outstanding) Emily O'Callaghan - English Emma Richards - Painting Emily Smith - Biology Emily Smith - Physics Christopher Tang - Statistics Heather Wallace - Classical Studies Irene Wang - Biology Hasidu Wanniarachchi - Media Studies (Outstanding) Hasidu Wanniarachchi - Biology Hasidu Wanniarachchi - Chemistry Hasidu Wanniarachchi - English Hasidu Wanniarachchi - Physics Hasidu Wanniarachchi - Statistics Crystal Yu - Statistics Zhixin Zhao - English Scholarship recipients: Heather Wallace, Julie Jeong and Hasidu Wanniarachchi

Students at Avondale College are fortunate to have the opportunity to receive tuition in a wide range of instruments, free of charge. Lessons are held in small groups, and are available in flute, clarinet, saxophone, oboe, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, French horn, tuba, violin, viola, cello, double bass, popular and jazz guitar, classical guitar, bass guitar, drums, percussion, vocals (singing) and keyboard. There are also a limited number of individual lessons available on piano and students who have already learnt piano may apply for jazz piano. The teachers are paid by the Ministry of Education and Avondale College provides sheet music without charge. Avondale College has a number of instruments available for hire at less than commercial rates, but once these are all in use students must hire or buy their own instrument. To find out more, students should fill out the online application form. Once lessons are full, students will have to go on waiting lists. If you have any questions, please email Dr Garner.

Kia ora koutou! I want to congratulate our Year 9 cohort for making such a great start to the year. They presented themselves very proudly for the pōwhiri and we were delighted that so many students were supported by their whānau as they arrived at Avondale College. We were pleased to see the students quickly becoming involved in activities with their Home Room Classes, and building connections with teachers, classmates and prefects. We are looking forward to working with this group of young people as they journey through Avondale College over the next five years. Kohia ngā Taikākā - Mrs L Watkinson, Principal

2020 concluded with a leadership camp in the beautiful setting of the Whangaparaoa Peninsula for our newly-selected prefects for 2021. As well as getting to know each other, students engaged in team-building and leadership activities in preparation for their roles as student leaders this year. Three prefects have been allocated to each new Year 9 home room, and they are looking forward to working with these classes throughout the year.

The results of the Cambridge International exams and the NCEA external exams are out, and Avondale College students have received some outstanding results! Of particular note are seven Cambridge students across Years 11 to 13 who have come top in New Zealand in seven subjects! Further to this, Chanuri (Hweawasan) Fernando in Year 11 has come Top in the World in IGCSE Chemistry! Congratulations to these students and their teachers on achieving such outstanding results! NATIONAL CAMBRIDGE AWARDS: Year 13 Vishva Dave (High Achievement AS Law) - Taught by Ms F Jeewa Year 12 Toby Barrett (Top in NZ AS Music) - Taught by Dr J Garner Sei-Bon Kim (High Achievement AS ICT) - Taught by Mr S Qadir Maya Pinto (Top in NZ AS Psychology) - Taught by Dr K Pinder Year 11 Hetanshi Chauhan (Top in NZ AS Maths) - Taught by Ms S Rudland Mary Wang (Top in NZ IG Biology) - Taught by Ms K Kamna / Miss S Lane INTERNATIONAL CAMBRIDGE AWARD: Chanuri (Hewawasan) Fernando (Top in World IGCSE Chemistry) - Taught by Priya Parsot

Happy New Year! I hope that our students, their whānau, friends and wider community had a restful and enjoyable holiday period. Welcome back to school, and a special welcome to those students and families who join our Avondale College community this week. We start the year feeling incredibly proud of our students for all that they achieved last year. 2020 was a year that presented many challenges, but the academic outcomes of our students were exceptional. Year 13 students maintained our very high levels of University Entrance qualification, and our students have gained a record number of Cambridge International Awards. 93% of our senior students achieved their year level qualification, and junior assessments indicated significant progress by Year 9 and Year 10 students over the year. The ever-improving outcomes of our Māori and Pasifika learners continue to significantly outperform national measures. These achievements are remarkable, and are a testament to the students, their families, and our team of expert teachers. The partnership between student, home and school is critical, and that was particularly true in 2020. Through a shared commitment to the success of the young people we work with, teaching and learning continued through the school closures, and every lesson counted once school re-opened. The results of that shared effort are evident. Many congratulations to all of our students – you have set the bar high for 2021! All the best for a happy and successful year. Kohia ngā Taikākā. - Mrs L Watkinson, Principal

Avondale College's Athletics team of 17 gave a superb effort at the NZSSAA event in Tauranga during the holidays, bringing home seven medals - our best result ever! Medal Results: Gold Medal - Senior Mixed 4x400m Relay (Tremayne Redman-Gardner, Kimberley May, Joanna Poland, Lex Revell-Lewis) - smashing the record by six seconds! Silver Medal - Kimberley May 1500m Silver Medal - Joanna Poland 800m Silver Medal - Tremayne Redman-Gardner 110m Hurdles Bronze Medal - Tremayne Redman-Gardner High Jump (1.99m) Bronze Medal - Wiremu Ngamotu 2000m Steeplechase Bronze Medal - Senior Boys 4x100m (Tremayne Redman-Gardner, Lex Revell-Lewis, Kadin Taylor, Texas Beattie) Ayub Sayid placed 4th in the closest-ever 2000m Steeplechase race. He came very close to winning the bronze medal but was just overtaken on the finish line – just 0.02 seconds separating the two. Mose Faaumuumu placed 9th overall for his first ever nationals competition in shot put and secured himself a new PB of 12.08m. Arinze Michael was also a strong candidate in the junior boys’ triple jump, placing 9th overall with a measure of 11.68m. Kadin Taylor, a Year 9 student was a surprise performer with his super speedy sprint performances in the 100m and 200m. He was also exception in the senior boys 4x100m relay – taking away a well-earned senior medal. The Avondale College Senior Mixed 4x400m team were victorious again, defending their national title and beating their own record by around six seconds, with a time of 3:47.52min (previous record was 3:53.08min). The second placed team from St Peters School came in with a time of 3:54.60min. I feel confident our record will remain for many years to come. A huge thanks to our support crew – Dr Brown, Ms Butler, and parent helper, Mr Elliott Ngamotu. - Judy Revell – Athletics Manager

Our College Shop will be open for uniform sales from 10am Wednesday 20 January 2021. For more information, including uniform price lists, visit our College Shop page.

Follow the links below to download the stationery lists for each year level.

RE-ENROLMENT Tuesday 26 January Re-enrolment day (ONLY for Year 12 & 13 students whose timetables are incomplete) Year 13 10.30am - 1pm Year 12 1.30 - 4.00pm. TERM ONE STARTS Thursday 4 February 9.00am - Year 13 in the Stadium 10.00am - Year 9 Powhiri in the Stadium (Year 9 parents are welcome to attend). Morning and afternoon school buses will be operating from today. Friday 5 February 8.55am - Year 9 to home rooms 10.00am - Year 12 to PAC 11.00am - Year 11 to PAC 11.00am - Year 10 to Stadium School finishes at 3.15pm for all year levels