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Takapuna, Milford, Castor Bay, Forrest Hill and Sunnynook VERED FORTNIGHTLY AN INDEPENDENT VOICE Issue 1 â 15 March 2019
TNIGHTLY DELIVERED FORTNIGHTLY AN2019 INDEPENDENT VOICE AN INDEPENDENT VOICE â May 15, 2026 Issue 1 â 15 Issue March174 2019 Issue 1 â 15 March
VERED FORTNIGHTLY
Issue 1 â 15 March 2019 Former WBHS students Filipino Festival accepted for Oxford... p7 picture spread... p8-9
AN INDEPENDENT VOICE
Tale of royalsâ nanny comes to PumpHouse... p14
Westlake girls shirty over âsee-throughâ blouses
High-viz... Michaela Bycroft (above left) and Kahlan Turner wear dark sports bras to more easily show the transparency of their school uniform blouse, which they say is worse if wet
A student-led petition calling for the ditching of âtransparentâ blouses worn by Westlake Girls High School seniors as part of the schoolâs compulsory uniform has gained hundreds of signatures. Its launch followed a meeting two Year 12 students held with the principal over their concerns about the blouses. Kahlan Turner from Milford told the Observer girls were uncomfortable wearing the blouse because their undergarments could be seen through its light white fabric. âWe feel self-conscious and exposed.â The effect was much worse when they got caught in the rain, or in summer when they perspired and the poly-cotton fabric stuck to their skin. âSome of my friends have to cover up more because of their culture,â Kahlan said. This meant they were layering garments beneath the blouse or wearing their blazers, which was uncomfortably hot in warm weather. The blouses also strained across the fronts of growing students, causing gaping that could show skin, due to what she considered inadequate fabric overlap and poor button placement. Junior blouses were better and made of a softer, thicker, darker fabric. âWe want privacy to be guaranteed,â said Michaela Bycroft, from Unsworth Heights. She said she had two Muslim friends who were ânot allowed things that showedâ. The girls told of comments and whistling when students walked past groups of boys from nearby schools at crowded bus stops. Westlake principal Jane Stanley said there were useful discussions on possible improvements to the blouse during the meeting with the girls on Friday 1 May. But Kahlan â who has the backing of her father, Shane Turner, for her advocacy â said she left the meeting feeling discouraged and thinking only button placement might be looked at. This prompted her to raise her concerns in her classes and post on online petition platform Change.org. âAs we walk around the school we can see the back of studentsâ bras,â she said. âWe feel this is very intrusive on their privacy that should never be invaded.â To page 5