• News
• 2010 Start-up Information
• H1N1 Swine Flu Virus
• Headmaster's Resignation
• Latest Newsletters 2010
• Letter to NZ Herald
• North Shore Secondary Schools Musical Showcase
• Replacement PE Shirts
• Rugby Registrations 2010
• Scholaris
• School-links Update
• Streaming 2009
• Study Program
• Westlake Boys Top Scholars on TV3 News
• 2009 Senior School Handbook
• 2009 Student Athletics Day
• 2010 Form 3 Enrolment Process
• CIE, NCEA and Scholarship Results for 2007
• Darren Perreira Seminar
• Headmaster's Reports 2009
• Mid Year Reports 2009
• News Archive
• Newsletters 2008
• Newsletters 2009
• Open letter to Chris Carter regarding Operational Funding in State Secondary Schools in New Zealand
• School Ranking Tables: Not Comparing Apples with Apples
• The Headmaster's Welcome
• Wayne Mullins' 2009 Sabbatical
• WBHS enters the Westpac Enterprise North Shore Business excellence awards - customer service
• WBHS enters the Westpac Enterprise North Shore Business excellence awards - innovation

The Headmaster's Welcome

Parents and Friends of Westlake Boys High School

Welcome to 2008 academic year.

As the incoming Headmaster, I have been greeted with huge support both from the students, the staff and the parental community. Westlake Boys High School is a wonderful School - one which celebrates excellence at all levels and one which is unashamedly competitive in all that it does. I certainly feel at home in this environment and this emphasis will be enhanced further during my tenure at this fine school.

A special welcome to the Form 3 boys and their families. It is important that they take advantage of every opportunity that Westlake gives boys who join this great school.

Throughout the first term the young men of Westlake Boys High School have witnessed their peers receiving awards in academic, cultural and sporting pursuits. To quote a Form 3 boy whom I recently walked with at lunchtime; "it is so awesome Sir, to see what boys can do at Westlake Boys High School. I so want to walk across that stage". I believe this says it all. At Westlake Boys High School to walk across the stage is an honour and boys look up to others that have achieved this feat. Boys aspire to improve their own performances so that they can do the same.

Here at Westlake we celebrate maleness and we celebrate education of young men. Every student should be aware that we have well over 80 boys on our waiting list for Form 3 who dearly want to be part of the student body this year but who were unable to enrol. No boy should take their place for granted and every boy needs to make the most of attending this fantastic school.

Excellence in academic, sporting, cultural and personal achievement is the clear objective of this school and looking at the 2006 results, the school is achieving just that. With 7 Top in the World results and 11 Top in New Zealand results from the Cambridge International Examinations, Westlake Boys High School was named the No. 1 school in New Zealand. Further to this with two Outstanding Scholarships (top 0.5% of New Zealand), the School's academic life is in very good shape.

One thing I have been very happy with are the qualities and attributes of the student leaders for 2007. The Prefect group this year is an outstanding one and the Head Boy and Deputy Head Boys have characteristics of leadership second to no other school in New Zealand. I personally congratulate Alex MacDuff (Head Boy), Tony Manning, Willie Jacobsen and Danny Keene (Deputy Head Boys) on their recent appointments. A new initiative this year is to appoint a Sports Captain, and Academic Captain and a Music/Cultural Captain whose roles will be to enhance success in their respective areas of the school. I again congratulate Tony Manning, William Cheyne and Jeffrey Chang respectively in being appointed into these high profile positions. This is an exciting time of student leadership and one which we can celebrate wholeheartedly.

An inspiration to many boys at Westlake; Tony Christiansen came to speak to the student body. He spoke to the boys about heart, soul and passion. Tony lost both legs in an accident when he was 9 years old, and he had a choice; did he allow life to happen to him, or did he take life by the scruff of the neck? He followed the latter pathway and became a successful businessman, a pilot, a racing driver and more importantly has climbed Mt Kilimanjaro on only two hands. This gentleman was an inspiration to all who heard him and left some very powerful messages in his wake. The presentation was capped off by the students unanimously giving Tony Christiansen a standing ovation - a real sign of the respect that the boys gave to Tony (something that has rarely been bestowed on an invited guest).

It was a wonderful experience for me to talk to all 2100 boys in the Auditorium where the School spirit and tone is developed. Boys need to feel ownership to this school; boys need to love this school and feel a need to serve this school. There are some future initiatives that are planned that will help enhance the School spirit and I look forward to seeing these come to fruition. An understanding of history and tradition of Westlake Boys High School will be ensured and therefore an understanding of the responsibilities of every boy attending will result from these initiatives.

Enjoy Westlake Boys High School's website. It is filled with achievements, successes and highlights together which have made an excellent start to 2007.

Remember: "It is hard to fail, but it is worse never to have tried to succeed"

C A Monaghan

Headmaster