A tremendous shout-out and heartfelt congratulations to the students who have earned scholarships! The NZQA Scholarship exams coincide with the NCEA external exams, yet our students have excelled, securing a total of 39 Scholarships: four Outstanding (O) Scholarships and 35 Scholarships (S). Their accomplishments are truly remarkable, reflecting their dedication and hard work alongside their NCEA studies.

Outstanding Achievements

We would like to give special recognition to the following students who were awarded Outstanding Scholarships (O):

• Lana Lee (Biology)
• Amanda Yu (Design and Visual Communication)
• George (Yiwei) Zhao (Calculus, Chemistry)

Additionally, a special congratulations to George (Yiwei) Zhao (12J5) for receiving an Outstanding Scholar Award.

2025 Scholarship Recipients:

Our Year 10 Business Pathways students recently completed an exciting Dragons’ Den challenge that transformed them into real entrepreneurs. Throughout the term, teams of students developed original business ideas from scratch¡ªconducting genuine market research, creating comprehensive business plans, and delivering five-minute pitches before teacher “dragons” and their peers. Each team member took on a key business role, from Managing Director to Finance and Marketing Directors, gaining hands-on experience in everything from financial planning to product development.

This wasn’t just a classroom exercise; students learned to identify real problems, validate their ideas through research, and present with confidence¡ªskills that will serve them well beyond school. The winning teams from each class earned certificates, gift vouchers, and a valuable achievement for their CVs, but the true prize was the entrepreneurial mindset and practical business acumen they developed. We were thoroughly impressed by the creativity, professionalism, and innovation displayed by these young entrepreneurs, and we congratulate all participants on their outstanding efforts and the class winners on their well-deserved success.

~ Shraddha Sharma, HOD Commerce

In Weeks 8 and 9 this term, our Year 9 students completed the ETA Program¡ªa one-and-a-half-week, cross-curricular project where they identified and solved real Auckland community problems using skills from Mathematics, English, Social Studies, Science, and Health.

Why This Mattered

The ETA Program connected classroom learning to real-world impact. Students developed essential ?heitanga skills¡ªcommunication, collaboration, cultural responsiveness, and adaptive thinking¡ªwhile discovering that their ideas can create positive change. Through empathy, research, and evidence-based problem-solving, students prepared for both academic success and active citizenship.

The Student Experience

Working in teams, students explored UN Global Goals and Auckland census data to identify local issues. They conducted community interviews, analyzed data, and used empathy diagrams and root cause analysis to understand their chosen problems deeply. The program culminated in a Golden Hour Exhibition on 2 December, where teams presented their solutions, demonstrating the critical thinking and creativity developed throughout their journey. The experience showed our young people the satisfaction of applying their learning to make a tangible difference in their community.

Congratulations?to all participating students and staff on a successful program!

~ Shraddha Sharma, on behalf of the ETA team

In Week 4, the BDSC Art Exhibition was held upstairs in Koru, showcasing the artwork created by the Year 10s all the way to the Year 13s. From digital art to visual art, photography to painting, there was such a variety of different themes being put up for display and ideas that were just absolutely wonderous and creativity-inducing. Just by examining all the different kinds of artwork would give anyone rushes of wanting to create. There were so much originality and innovation that went into every single board and art piece that you could definitely tell that the creators put a lot of care and effort into them. It was such a wonderful experience that had a piece for everyone and left many jaws dropped. It’s certainly an event anyone could go to and be absolutely mesmerized. I definitely was.

~ Vera Pham 11D3

On Tuesday 28 October, the Art Department hosted our annual school Art Exhibition, showcasing a wide range of creative works across Visual Art, Photography, Design, and Digital Art.

The exhibition celebrated the creativity and dedication of our art students, presenting a diverse collection of pieces that reflected both technical skill and individual expression. Some parents and teachers attended the event to appreciate the artistic talent within our school community.

Overall, the exhibition was a wonderful success, highlighting the passion, effort and creativity that continue to grow within the Art Department.

~ Frishta Mosavi 12K12

The Level 1 Digital Art students had the exciting opportunity to visit Howick Historical Village, where they explored the unique architecture, artifacts, and heritage of early settler life. The trip provided inspiration for their creative projects, giving students a chance to gather photographs, and ideas to incorporate into their digital artworks by taking a step into the past. They got the chance to participate in two activities to get a hands on feel of life back then; butter churning and rag rugging, as well as a self-guided tour to explore the grounds and find inspiration for their upcoming external.

~ Maeve Simpson 11S4

On Tuesday 29 July, I had the wonderful opportunity to visit the Auckland Art Gallery to see the traditional and modern artworks as well as the new ‘A Century of Modern Art’ exhibition. It was quite interesting to see the difference between the traditional artworks, which heavily relies on oil paints and realism, and modern artworks which had more variety of painting mediums used and focused more on the artists¡¯ emotions.

I personally found the ¡®A Century of Modern Art¡¯ exhibition very unique because many of the artists within the exhibition had created these fantastic artworks which look amazing from afar but at a closer look, the artwork themself have used limited detail but the colors have been cleverly placed in order to give the illusion of more detail.

As a student currently taking 3ART, this trip has inspired me to look at my own artworks at a different angle, and rather than trying to reach perfection in each brush stroke, to embrace the uniqueness of my own work.

~ Kate-Lynn De Klerk 13E2

On Thursday 26 June, students in 1JAP went on a trip to the city where we visited a Japanese shop and ate authentic Japanese food while using our language skills.

Our first destination was Japan Mart where a hunt for groceries began. When I entered the store, I could see my classmates picking out things, so I started choosing similar items. I chose six items in total. Before our trip, we were given a piece of paper with the task of taking pictures of different items to share with the class for the next day.

Our next stop was Nippon Sake Bar. ?The moment we opened the doors, we were greeted with a drum. The staff were greeting us with ¤¤¤é¤Ã¤·¤ã¤¤¤Þ¤» (irashaimase) which means welcome. Everyone in the class was highly encouraged to communicate in ÈÕ±¾ÕZ ¡ª nihongo (Japanese). It was a scary task at first, but since we¡¯re still learning, we decided to give it a go. The food was delicious and the staff were very nice.

After dinner, it was time for our last event ¨C Karaoke. The first to start the session was our very own teacher, Ms Lodge. She had chosen a Japanese song and sung it with one of the welcoming staff members, and they did it with a lot of passion. It was then our turn, and we chose songs we all knew as a class, so that everyone could sing along. The entire bus ride home was a continuation of our karaoke session.

This whole experience was a great one and I enjoyed every single moment of it. I would recommend Nippon Sake Bar to people who would like to try out authentic Japanese cuisine, as all the food was very good and it had great customer service.

¤è¤í¤·¤¯¤ª¤Í¤¬¤¤¤·¤Þ¤¹ (yoroshiku onegaishimasu ¨C thank you)

~ Hazel Hii 11J11

On Wednesday 4 June, the Level 2 Business classes held their first Market Day at BDSC during lunchtime. Despite the windy weather and unexpected rain, the student-led businesses adapted quickly and continued selling from an alternative location. The atmosphere filled with excitement as the bell finally rang. It was time to showcase the hard work that had gone into their products, advertising, and displays. The atmosphere was lively as students wandered from stall to stall, engaging with a variety of creative and sustainable products, including snow globes, candles, keychains, and decorated mirrors. Curious customers stopped to ask questions and make purchases, giving the 2BUS students a valuable opportunity to practice their customer service and sales skills. The day ended with thoughtful reflections and fresh ideas, as students began preparing for improvements leading into the second Market Day held on Monday 23 June.

With insights from their first experience, Level 2 Business students returned for the second Market Day with refined products and a renewed sense of confidence. Improvements focused on enhancing quality, safety, and visual appeal, adding more variety and polish to every stall.?The second Market Day?offered a deeper?view into the realities of running a business, such as?needing adaptability, resilience, and creativity. Overall, the effort paid off as students achieved greater success in both sales and customer engagement, reflecting their growth and dedication across the two Market Days.

~ Serena Wong 12E14