Tal Yosef
For those who don't know you, please introduce yourself
My name is Tal and I was born in Israel and moved to New Zealand when I was four...so New Zealand is home to me! My hobbies include singing, dancing and spending time with friends! I have a younger brother and no other siblings and I guess something interesting about me is that I can make a raindrop sound with my cheek?
It's well-known you are one of the most driven students here at Burnside, what motivates you to achieve academic excellence?
I think rather than my family motivating me, it's more my own personal drive to achieve my best. I truly believe that achieving academic excellence isn't based on 'how smart you are', but more on how hard you are willing to work to achieve your best. If you feel like you have worked hard and pushed yourself to your absolute maximum, that to me is achieving excellence in itself.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe you were elected as head girl for West Division last year, how do you wish to integrate your leadership and communication skills into the role?
That is correct! I was elected as head girl for west division last year, and I'm hoping that those leadership skills I acquired will carry on and my communication with the other Academic prefects and mentors will be strengthened. I like to help delegate and make decisions within a group of people and hearing different opinions.
How do you hope to benefit the performance of Burnside through your role as academic leader?
I hope to actually help students see that striving for excellence is achievable to anyone. I want to enforce that if you study and work hard, anything is possible, and to show people that work ethic and learning can be very rewarding.
What do you believe are the myths around today's education?
I believe a big myth in today's education is that every student should be able to achieve highly in a specific learning style, whereas some students retain information more successfully when they listen to music or use their computer rather than writing in an exercise book.
What's one piece of advice you wish you were given as a year 9 student?
Stress less! Enjoy year 9, get involved with every opportunity given to you, whether it's joining a club or sport that interests you or something completely new to you! Also, use your locker more! It's life-saving! Don't be afraid to ask for help from teachers or prefects, the list just goes on!
If you could leave us with one inspirational nugget of wisdom, what would it be?
I shall inspire everyone with a good old Einstein quote ''every body is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.
Kaila Renee Robertson
For those who don't know you, please introduce yourself
I guess the first thing I should address is my name-it's pronounced Ky-lah ('Kai' as in the Maori word for food), but I've had lots of weird variations like 'Kayla', ''Kalia'', ''Kaylia'' and even ''Kyle''! I came to Burnside as a year 9 from Kirkwood intermediate, and I also have two brothers who are in years 9 and 11-so basically my whole family is at Burnside this year! I'm definitely a very academically-orientated student-I've never held a huge interest in sports or the arts. My favourite subject is Geography but I do still love the sciences, particularly biology. Also, if you've ever noticed that one girl roaming around the school with a couple of pens in her hair? That's me.
It's safe to say you are one of the smartest students here at Burnside, what motivates you to achieve academic excellence?
You'd think that having my dad at school, that would be a major source of motivation, but it's not really! Most of my motivation is my own personal drive to maintain most of my grades at excellence level and many of my teachers have inspired my love for learning and particular subjects. Mr. Cattell, for instance, who was my Science and Biology teacher for years 10, 11 and 12, probably influenced my love of science the most-probably because of his constant enthusiasm! There are others like Mr Paull, who completely changed my previously strong, negative perspective on mats, as well as Mr. Barbour (who was quite possibly one of the best teachers I've ever had), Ms. May, Mr Bond...I sound like a complete teacher's pet, but it's true! They've all made their various subjects fun for me in different ways and I'm really lucky to have had them as my teachers.
Has having your dad (Mr. Robertson) as Burnside's Assistant Principal changed your school experience or forced you to work harder?
Having my dad here at school has definitely changed my entire experience at Burnside. Many people would probably assume that I get super embarrassed by him, but personally I think he's more embarrassed by me sometimes. Last year I surprised him on his birthday by getting half of the West prefects to go and sing him 'Happy Birthday' in his office, and to be honest I don't think he quite knew where to look! On a more serious note, I probably wouldn't be as familiar with senior leadership staff like Mr Barnett and Mr Holstein, and his office is a really handy study space too, (though he never hesitates to kick me out when he has meetings or anything!), and it's also really handy for when I need to print anything. I've never really felt forced to work harder, though. I'm usually pretty motivated and he knows that I'm already doing the best I can.
You are one of the leading librarians here at the school, is there anything you wish to change within people's behaviours towards reading and literature?
To be completely honest, I actually don't read as much as I used to anymore! My view of my role as a librarian vastly concerns my team (because Monday is the best team) and about providing Burnside students with the best experience in the library. But, having said that, I do still love literature, and I do think that it's super important to read. Many of the books that I've read over the course of my life, particularly those in high school, have really left me with powerful messages and a better view of the world and how others see it. To Kill a Mockingbird is still one of my favourites after English in year 11, but others like Ender's Game, The Bone Season, The Martian, Life of Pi-they've all left their mark upon me. I do wish that people bothered to read the book and didn't just use SparkNotes or Shmoop to get through their connections or book reports for English, because I believe deeply investigating a good book, film or poem can really broaden your perspective. Believe it or not, guys, if you have a book that you actually enjoy, reading is fun!
How do you hope to benefit the performance of Burnside through your role as academic leader?
Burnside is already a brilliant school in terms of academic achievement, but this year I'd really like to promote the Homework Club (as both an Academic Leader and a Maori Leader). I think a lot of people believe that it's strictly for Maori students, but it's not! I think that when people think of extra-curriculars they tend to look towards the arts and sporting side of things, but the Academic field can offer alternatives too, so I'm really keen to advertise the additional academic activities that students might not know about or aren't very motivated to get into.
If you could leave us with one inspirational nuggest of wisdom, what would it be?
I think probably my favourite piece of advice that someone's given me was by our expedition leader on the World challenge trip last December. Andy told us right at the beginning of the trip that ''what you focus on grows.'' He gave us the analogy of having a garden-if you focus on all of the weeds, even though you might be able to pull some out and get rid of them, they'll keep regrowing and coming back. On the other hand, if you focus on the plants and the flowers that you actually want to grow, they'll end up flourishing enough that the weeds won't have enough room anyway. Basically, the point is that if you focus on your mistakes and your regrets, they'll end up ruling your life, but if you focus on the positives and the things that you've done really well, then you'll end up living more positively and as a result, you'll end up far happier. Another one I love was something he told us right at the end of the trip-''when you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.'' It just reminds me that if we stop talking so much and start listening to the people and the world around us, we're more open to the possibility of learning something new, and personally, that's one of my favourite things in the world-learning.
Lewis Williams
For those who don't know you, please introduce yourself
Hi, I'm Lewis, I'm one of the Academic leaders for Burnside High School this year. I am also involved in other areas of the school culturally and academically, including being an academic mentor, year 10 support prefect, am involved in the Sheilah Winn Shakespeare competition, Stage Challenge and 40 hour famine. I was originally born in Surrey, England, but moved to New Zealand when I was pretty young. My main interests and favourite subjects include politics, History, English and French.
You are regarded as one of the smartest students here are Burnside, what motivates you to achieve academic excellence?
I'm really motivated to achieve academic excellence because of my ambitions for my future career. I want to have as many opportunities as possible to be able to get my ream job, which is working for the UN or in some part of the international political sector. However, I probably did have a passion for certain subjects because of the influence of different teachers and being spurred on by the successes of my friends.
You are known within the Senior division as having a strong passion for politics and history, do you believe this is undervalued in today's education and among modern students?
Yes, I do. I find it saddening when people I know decide not to vote, because they believe their vote doesn't matter. I'm a staunch believer in increased youth participating in politics, as we need to ensure that decisions are made that support our generation, not just the generations before us. Those generations have already caused issues and we have to deal with the consequences, such as global warming, and the only way we can guarantee our future is to make sure we are represented. As for history, I realize it's not for everyone, but I still think it's important to learn from past events.
Has having an absolutely fabulous twin sister changed your school experience or your work ethic?
Having a twin at school can be quite useful, as we have been in the same class on multiple occasions and can therefore help each other in those subjects. A further benefit is when times are tough with studying it's good to have someone who understands what you're going through, because they are experiencing the exact same thing along side you. It can be a bit depressing because Sophie has an insane work ethic, when it comes to study and so I sometimes feel pretty lazy, as we're always comparing our own successes or failures with each other.
How do you hope to benefit the performance of Burnside through your role as an Academic leader?
I hope to be able to get more students involved in things on offer. There's so many enriching experiences available to them that they might not have noticed, so I want to make sure that we encourage the students to take participate in the schools multiple areas. I also want to build upon Burnside's established reputation as an excellent academic school, and ensure that we maintain that high standard, and give every year level the support they need.
What do you believe makes a great Burnside student?
Someone who is well-rounded, hard-working, involved in different aspects of life inside and outside of school, and is determined to do their best. I also think someone who is able to enjoy themselves, and finds time within a chaotic schedule to pursue a normal social life, because I believe it's important to ensure you give yourself down-time.
What's one piece of advice you wish you were given as a year 9 student?
Get involved in everything! Actively try and find stuff to get involved in, because you'll regret it if you don't. Chill out about school. It's important, but those junior years of year 9 and 10 are nowhere near the stuff you get later on, so use all your spare time to the full, because you won't have any in year 11, 12 or 13.
If you could leave us with one inspirational nugget of wisdom, what would it be?
Be confident in yourself and your own abilities. Confidence matters more than people think it does. Without confidence you'll never achieve your goals. Stand up for yourself, otherwise everyone will see they can take advantage of you, and once you've fallen down that hole it's very hard to get out.
Yan Hao Tay
For those who don't know you, please introduce yourself:
In relation to my family, both of my parents are originally from Singapore and I have an older sister who is studying dentistry at University at the moment. In my spare time I like to get involved and experiment with as many sports as I can, such as football or badminton, because I believe it is important to experience as many different activities as you can.
It's safe to say you are one of the smartest students here at Burnside, what motivates you to achieve academic excellence?
To be honest, everything motivates me to endeavor to achieve. The main driving force comes from me, because I want to ensure my own personal success and prepared myself for independent life outside of high school in environments like University, but I also know that if failure happens, you can't do anything about it, you just have to persevere and focus on your goals.
How do you hope to benefit the performance of Burnside through your role as academic leader?
At the moment we (the academic leaders) are helping and promoting academic exercises at other schools and communities, an example being we have an upcoming trip to Roydvale primary school where we will be advertising fun, interactive learning activities such as debating or chess to show the support we can offer to students at Burnside. I think it's important to show the entertaining, extracurricular side of academics and express that you can have fun while challenging your brain.
What specific elements or subjects do you wish to change within this role?
There isn't any particular area of Burnside I wish to target, because I believe we are a generally academically stable school. We just want to help students maintain a well-rounded and balanced school experience where they can distribute their skills evenly throughout their subjects and be set for a multi-dimensional and skilled world outside of school.
In January you were solely selected by the Bishopdale Rotary Club to attend a two week RotartyYouth Science and Technology Forum in Auckland, how did this convention broaden your perspective on the possibilities of the relationship between science and technology? (comments extracted from the principal's term newsletter)
It was an eye-opening experience that expanded my outlook on all aspects of science and technology. All together, we attended sixteen sessions at Auckland University, AUT and Massey University campuses, which ensured that we were able to gain an insight into many science and technology related studies and careers available to us after high school. During this forum, there was also plenty of time for social interaction, and it was refreshing to meet so many other young, like-minded people with similar passions and hopes for the future.Overall, I thought the forum was great preparation for tertiary education and would be a great experience for anybody, especially for those who do not yet know what science-related course they wish to pursue in future.
Correct me if I'm wrong, but I have heard that you are attending a Geography competition in Serbia as well as participating in the entrance tests of the Biology Olympia. Could you please explain these two processes for those who aren't acquainted with these programs?
Basically, for most of these programs, there is an entrance test for students, whose results causes approximately 150 students to be selected, and this is followed by repeated levels or tests which then define a smaller group that get to compete in the main competition. For the Biology Olympia I got through to the next stage of selection, but was unsuccessful in the next tier of testing, whereas for Geography you had to submit a report, which I thankfully did well in which led me to be selected to go to Wellington with 12 people on a 'test day' where they tested different aspects of the subject and they chose 4 students to form the New Zealand team that competes and gets ranked against other countries at the official Geography competition in Serbia.
What do you hope to achieve through your participation in these two competitions?
I just want to try my best, experience new things, broaden my perspective and see what happens! I enjoy Geography because it is such a broad, wide-ranging subject that encompasses so many different subjects and is so relevant to today's society, so really I just want to enjoy the experience and not become too focused on the competitive side of it.
What's one piece of advice you wish you were given as a year 9 student?
I would say to my year 9 self to try and apply for whatever you can, get involved, and if you fail, just keep trying because it doesn't really matter in the great scheme of things!
If you could leave us with one inspirational nugget of wisdom what would it be?
Try your best at whatever passion you have and put effort into everything you do.
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