Pinehurst Newsletter - Friday 13th March 2020 No images? Click here Friday 13th March 2020Opening Words from the Executive PrincipalKia ora tatou, good afternoon, 你好, 안녕하세요 I’m going to start with teaching and learning today, and about some more lessons I’ve seen this week. Seeing students in classes and in activities remains one of the best part of every day, and I’ve been privileged to see some superb teaching this week. I could pick many examples, but here are just two: on Wednesday, I saw Mrs Blackwell teach an AS Level (Year 12) Physics class: I was a bit confused at the start, as it seemed to feature Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in mid-leap between a collapsing skyscraper and a burning one, but all became a clear a little while later, as I watched a class of 13 students move from free body diagrams (a new term for me) to discussions of velocity and negligible air resistance, through a funky little app that seemed to involve working out how to fire a grand piano from a cannon to hit a target, all the way to equations that were well beyond my level of understanding. In other words: an engaging, lively lesson that used a range of activities with a very clear, challenging purpose in mind. A little earlier that same day, I watched Miss Murray teach an A Level (Year 13) Physical Education class. It was great again: there were 4 students in the class, and they moved from a recall exercise, trying to categorise terminology and other details from recent work without using their notes, to drawing large-scale diagrams on the tables (with erasable markers!), to discussing how to place biological and physiological information within the context of physical exercise and sporting competition. In both classes, I saw lively classes, enjoying great relationships with each other and their teachers, making rapid progress, supporting each other, being challenged, and all experiencing success. I came away a little upset that I’m not teaching a class this year, but also feeling energised by what I had seen. It’s been a very settled week in College, actually: we had a cricket zone day for Year 7 and 8 students yesterday, and some of our top competitors did superbly in the North Harbour Athletics competition earlier in the week (a particular ‘well done’ to Brianna Tirado, Aria Rhodes and Olivia Frame) but most students have been working hard in class all week. It’s the time of year when senior students whip through a huge amount of the syllabus, and it’s been great to see how diligently they’re approaching their studies. In Primary, there has been some great work going on as well. I saw some brilliant phonics being taught in new entrant and Year 1 classes at the start of the week, for example. We’ve also had our Positive Puberty course for Year 6 students – it’s an important part of our curriculum, and it’s delivered in a healthy, engaging way that our children both enjoy and gain a huge amount from. As I write, the Year 4 students are coming home from three days and two nights of heady excitement on the Whangaparoa peninsula, accompanied by ever-so-slightly weary teachers and parents. Thank you both to our teachers who continue to make all of our camps such great experiences, and to our army of parents who make it all possible and who help ensure that everyone has such a great time. A final quick word about our response to the coronavirus – I wrote home about it yesterday afternoon and covered most things I needed to say. I did just want to reassure all our community that we are continuing to be vigilant, cautious and responsive, while ensuring that all our students can enjoy their lessons, sporting activities and everything else that makes our school such a great place to be. I am also aware of evidence from recent studies that have suggested limited pre-symptomatic transmission is possible, so we will step up further our precautions within school. Assemblies and larger gatherings of students will be limited or postponed from next week, we will be talking to students about what “social distancing” means, and we will be doing some additional cleaning too. All other precautionary measures remain in place, and we are ready to act quickly should the situation develop . Parents can help me with this: please do not send your child to school if he or she is unwell in any way, or has any cold-like symptoms. Staff are being similarly vigilant and staying away from school if they are unwell in any way. I will also be asking parents over the next two weeks about their plans for overseas travel in the holidays: I would advise against most overseas travel at this time, as there is always the possibility that, on your return, you may be asked to self-isolate for two weeks. And my advice is, where possible, to avoid having visitors from any country that has a coronavirus outbreak: if your child has close contact with someone who has been somewhere with an outbreak, he or she should self-isolate. We have moved past the point where the School sets rules for specific countries: it is simply about our community acting together to ensure that we are all as protected as we can be. Have a lovely weekend. Erica Cataloni, Primary & College TeacherErica’s first encounter with Pinehurst School dates back almost a decade ago as a Spanish and Japanese student teacher. Her return to Pinehurst in 2018 was a permanent one, firstly as a Year 6 homeroom teacher, and more recently teaching Spanish in the Primary and Junior College, which she loves. A South Korean native, at the age of nine, she and her family migrated to Aotearoa: a country she is proud to call home. Erica’s undeniable love for foreign languages began in high school, resulting in her studying German, Spanish and Japanese up to Year 13. This passion led her to complete a double major in Japanese and Spanish at the University of Auckland. Not content to focus only on the theoretical aspects of foreign language learning, Erica was lucky enough to receive a Japanese government scholarship which allowed her to study at Hiroshima University for a year. In her third year at university, she participated in an exchange programme in Valparaíso, Chile, to experience complete language immersion. Lifelong friendships, intercultural exchanges, regional travel, and research on linguistic similarities between the two Asian languages, were some of her highlights while overseas. Preparing for her return home, Erica applied for a language speaker flight attendant role with AirNZ. Erica's most fond memories of the role were the amazing crew, practising her language skills, and developing her interpersonal skills. While flying full time, she embarked on completing a Graduate Diploma of Teaching through Massey University, knowing that language teaching was her calling. Securing a teacher-in-charge of Japanese position at Carmel College and teaching up to Year 13 confirmed this decision and she has never looked back. Since then, Erica married her former AirNZ colleague and has two children that keep her busy; the eldest currently attending Pinehurst and her youngest to start next year. Currently teaching Spanish from Years 1 to 9 offers plenty of variety to her role. Erica loves to teach across the range of ages and being able to witness student language acquisition progress first-hand. She believes everyone should learn a second language since it offers the learner a completely new perspective into a new culture, while also learning more about your own. Kia ora, It’s that time of year. Many schools across New Zealand seize opportunities to make the most of the warm, balmy weather, escaping the four walls of our classrooms to head out into the great outdoors. A quintessential part of being a New Zealander. Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) throws up a range of learning experiences that simply cannot be found in a typical classroom setting. At Pinehurst, we don’t just go outside, we explore a range of pristine, untouched and protected parts of New Zealand. A few weeks back our Year 10 students hiked through the nikau palms and pohutukawa of Waiheke Island. Our Year 7 students will soon be paddling the mighty Waikato river, followed by our Year 9 students sailing across the Hauraki Gulf towards Whangarei Heads. There is no greater way to develop an appreciation and sense of guardianship of our land, oceans and rivers than to experience it. As Kaitiaki, collectively, we have a responsibility to nurture, cherish and treasure our environment. Outdoor activities also offer opportunities to build relationships. Students are immersed in a range of healthy activities that are designed to improve self-esteem, teamwork and acceptance of each other’s differences. This breaks down social barriers and provides opportunities for our students to interact on positive terms. Our staff get to see a different side to our students, and vice versa. All promoting and building relationships that are so important for the year ahead. The physical, psychological and emotional challenge of outdoor pursuits is a more pertinent example. Hiking long distances, lugging bulky and laden backpacks over steep and precarious terrain is no easy feat. Miss Murray and I experienced this with our Year 12 – 13 PE class this time last week in the Abel Tasman National Park. Sure, there were regular bouts of cognitive dissonance and endless complaints about heavy packs, sore shoulders and painful blisters, but there was also quiet determination, increasing levels of self-belief and most importantly, zero ego – an unspoken understanding that leadership is not about the success of the individual, it is about the success of the team. In a world largely controlled to be safe and comfortable for our young people, we see value in offering opportunities for our students to be stretched and to be challenged. Here at Pinehurst, we value EOTC experiences and embed these into our programme from the Primary years throughout the College across all year groups. We encourage our young people to walk towards discomfort and provide opportunities for our students to learn how to be comfortable with the uncomfortable. Martin Luther King once said… “Only in darkness can you see the stars.” There’ll plenty of star gazing in the coming weeks for our College students. Ngā mihi, Joseph Johansen, Deputy Principal of College - Wellbeing, Teaching and Learning
AS PE Hill Walking – Abel Tasman 5th-9th MarchLast week, 14 Year 12-13 students set off on an adventure to complete the Abel Tasman Coast Track. Catching a flight to Nelson, we were in the National Park within a few short hours and set off heading north from Marahau. The group were out to complete an assessment that made up 10% of their grade for AS level PE. As part of the assessment, students developed their skills of camp-craft, map reading, navigation and leadership. Highlights of the trip included the incredible views, swimming in crystal clear water, a natural rock waterslide and dealing with pesky weka that constantly stole our belongings! All 14 students completed the assessment (which in the end saw them walking over 70km) and showed high levels of perseverance, resilience and team work. Thank you to Mr Johansen and Ms Murray for accompanying the group. Video highlights HERE . Autobiographical HandsYear 8 students were given the task to create a very tight autobiographical account of their life by using their hand-print as an outline. They were encouraged to decorate their hand-print in a way that represents who they are. The outcome was a great success and it really was such a pleasure to see such wonderfully decorated and informative autobiographical hands. Year 9 Physical EducationYear 9 are beginning a unit of leadership. Throughout the unit, students will be developing their own leadership styles and learning about effective ways to lead others. This will culminate in an assessment where they will plan and lead their peers in a physical activity of their choice. Over the next few lessons, students will start with ways to develop trust with others. This week, this has involved blindfolded activities where tasks have required them to trust those around them to complete a range of activities. North Harbour Secondary Schools Athletics Zone DayLast Wednesday, five Pinehurst students, Nina Ward, Brianna Tirado, Olivia Frame, Aria Rhodes and Harry Carter, qualified to attend the NHSS Athletics Zone Day in a variety of events. The competition was very fierce with some huge talent from other schools at the event. However, all our students managed to place in the top 10 bar one. A special mention and congratulations to Brianna Tirado, who placed 1st overall in the Intermediate Girls Javelin, and Aria Rhodes, who placed 2nd overall in the Senior Girls High Jump. Kia Ora, The mornings have been a little cooler but we have still been able to enjoy the sunshine and get outdoors as much as possible. A visit to Year 4 camp on Thursday was a glorious reminder of how lucky we are to live in such a beautiful part of the world. Peter Snell camp in Whangaparoa looks out onto the most breath taking scenery and is a stunning backdrop for the activities taking place at camp. Having spent the afternoon and early evening there, Mrs Jones Hill and I got in the car to head home and remarked on what an amazing feeling there was at the camp. The afternoon’s activity was a free choice and there was plenty of laughter and cheers coming from the waterslide, a fierce Uno competition on the deck and sliding competitions on the bank. Everyone was getting on with each other and there were great examples of kindness and working together. There were also lots of tired faces, no one sleeps at camp on the first night, but a feeling of, ‘we are all having a great time even though we are away from home.’ Experiences such as camp teach resilience which is a vital skill for children to learn for their well-being and mental health in later years. It can be taught in the classroom but even more so in situations where children are out of their comfort zones. They will come back exhausted today but with some very happy memories of a wonderful experience and some new friendships made. A reminder to keep up the Maths Whizz homework, students are aiming for 4 progressions a week which gives them a green tick. At the end of term we look at the data and recognise all students who have received a green tick throughout the term with a certificate. There is a maximum amount of time to spend which is 90 minutes a week but for younger children we would recommend at least 30 minutes a week to see progress. We know that parents do not want their children on screens too often and we fully support that in our programmes at school, breaking up Maths Whizz and Reading Eggs into small chunks each day means learners can benefit from the programmes whilst not spending excessive amounts of time on screens. It is the best of both worlds. Ngā mihi, Sian Coxon, Principal of Primary Primary Interhouse Swimming 2020Earlier this week we held our Senior Primary annual Interhouse Swimming Event at Northern Arena. There was lots of excitement as students arrived at the venue, some to take part in their very first ever swimming sports event! After collecting a house coloured cap, students showed off their talent in the pool in a wide range of events, including a number of events new in 2020. An amazing 11 school records were broken, and a high bar was set for the new events in terms of times to carry forward as school records. Well done to Kauri who were the overall winning house this year, after some great results in the finals and relays! A huge congratulations to all students who took part, with special mention to the students who were our overall medal winners in 2020. Thank you to all the parents who assisted us on the day with timekeeping for this event. For additional photos of the day, please see our Pinehurst Facebook Sports Page (these will be up early next week) Super Cluster TennisLast Friday we held the annual Super Cluster Tennis event at Pinehurst School, with 7 local primary schools participating. The day was perfect for Tennis, with sunshine, a little cloud and a breeze! Pinehurst had a team of 8 students take part – Sunny, Robbie, Ben, Oscar, Olga, Jessica, Renee & Rachel. All our students played really well on the day, with our doubles teams making the semi finals and Sunny finishing 3rd overall in the boys singles. Well done! P1’s Super LearningIn P1 we have been learning in a creative way through our topic of Superheros. In writing, we read the book ‘Superhero ABC’ and learnt all about alliteration. We then came up with our own Superhero name using the same idea and thought of things our Superhero might like or dislike with ideas that started with the same sound as our name. Here are some examples of some of the Superhero’s we have in P1. As part of our cross-curricular approach to learning the children have also had opportunities in Topic activities to explore new concepts linked to Superheros. In the photos you can see some of the children engaged in imaginative play in their Superhero den and some very creative masks that have been made in the creative area. In Science we are starting to learn about our super senses – this week we learnt all about the sense of touch. It’s been lovely to see the children’s enthusiasm for the topic and all the fantastic learning taking place – keep up the super work P1! P10 NewsIn Health, we are learning about ‘Success’ and finding out about strategies we can use to help us achieve our goals. We interviewed some Year 6 students from P20 to find out about their own goals. We wanted to know how they managed to achieve them and what helped or hindered them along the way. We had lots of discussion and fun while we carried out our interviews. To support us while we work towards our goals, we are using the acronym CHAMP. Challenge yourself, don’t give up. Have a go and take a risk. Always look for and use your strength. Mistakes help you learn, don’t be afraid to make them. Persist and put in effort, don’t give up. Primary MandarinIt has been a very busy week in Primary Mandarin. We have been learning the Chinese language and culture through a variety of ways. Chinese First Language in the Senior Primary have been rehearsing and performing their self-written and directed play about Nian, the monster. The plays were fun to watch and it was interesting to see how the different groups had their own interpretation of the age old legend. Year 5 Foreign Language students also learned a legend - The Chinese Zodiac animals. While the Year 6 wrote and recited their self-introduction. Year 3 and 4 have been learning about Chinese (character) writing. In Year 3 we deconstructed each character and rebuilt them with pieces of wool. This helped us see how the characters are made of different parts (just like Lego). Knowing how the different parts come together will help us learn to write with the correct stroke order. When we are in Year 4, we start to learn the names for some of these parts and how these "radicals" (部首) can sometimes give us a clue to the meaning of the words. In the Junior Primary, we have continued to learn the Mandarin pinyin sounds and those of us in Year 2 are now writing these words ourselves and we are trying hard to write them with the correct tone marks. Year 6 LeadersEvery Year 6 student has a leadership role where they are responsible for carrying out specific duties and being a role model to all the other primary students. These roles require them to be organised, mature and sensible which are all important qualities we want to develop in our older primary students. We would like to introduce the 2020 Year 6 Leadership team: Head Councillors
Peer Mediators
Councillors
Library Monitors
Arts & Cultural Leaders
I-Lead
I Spy in the PrimaryI Spy... soccer stars in the making! I Spy...Rainbow Readers! I Spy... some brilliant reading in Year 2! Art Tutorials for Senior StudentsThe Art Department is offering after-school and Saturday morning tutorials for IGSCE and A Level Art & Design students. The focus of these tutorials is to continue developing a strong foundation in both drawing and painting, that will help students create art for their portfolios with a strong understanding of skill and technique. If you are interested in attending one of these tutorials, please let Mrs Heslop know in advance - elyse.heslop@pinehurst.school.nz The Addams Family UpdateThis week the production cast has continued working on their singing and dancing skills but also the seven Addams Family members got transformed into their characters for the photo shoot. The production team of teachers and some very skilled make-up-artists (ex Pinehurst students) enjoyed the process immensely on Wednesday afternoon. Look out for the fantastic poster, photographed and designed by our fantastically talented Art teacher Ms Smith, in our upcoming Panorama issue. To hear a teaser for one of their numbers, click here. Pinehurst MusicPinehurst Itinerant Flute Teacher Profile Christine Mori is our Flute Choir tutor and meets with the 7 members every Tuesday lunchtime to develop their group flute playing. The more advanced members of this group will be entering the Chamber Music Competition held in June this year, for the 4th year in a row. Parent Breakfast Meetings with Alex ReedWe are starting up these meetings again for the year. Dates are as follows;
Meetings will be held at Café E-Cucina – 265 Albany Highway. If you would like to come along to one of these meetings please register by emailing judy.wallace@pinehurst.school.nz Young Golf StarsYear 6 student Yicheng Wang and Year 4 student Sarah Li played at the World Stars Junior Golf Trans Tasman Cup, representing New Zealand on the 10th and 11th March. They both played very well and contributed to winning the trophy against the Australian team! Isabella Abbott-WheelerOur Head Girl Isabella, who represents North Harbour in tag rugby, recently represented the New Zealand invitational team which placed second in the U18 Mixed for Oceania. She played 10 games including finals and lost 2 games. Isabella scored tries against American Samoa, Fiji and the Cook Islands. |