News and events for the week ending 31st August 2018 Friday 31st August 2018 Opening words from the Executive PrincipalGood afternoon, Kia ora tatou, 你好 It’s been great to see all the Year 8 students back in school this week: they tumbled out of buses on Friday afternoon, tired and happy. And they bounced back into school on Monday morning, full of energy and ready to catch up with teachers and friends. Our children in Primary have also – of course – been full of energy. Our Senior Primary student leaders had a fantastic Young Leaders’ Day earlier in the week, the Junior Primary classrooms have been filled with increasingly tuneful and confident singing, and the downpour on Tuesday morning caused much excitement amongst Year 3 and Year 4 children. There have been quite a few requests from the students for a swimming pool to be built recently, (lol!) the rain produced a natural pool on the top field. I’m not sure how impressed the pukekos were, but any passing ducks would have been very pleased. If you have children in Years 11 to 13, this may well have been a tense week. But the mock examinations are now over, and everyone can draw breath, smile and, hopefully, relax a little over the weekend before hitting the books again. I’ve been very impressed with the studious approach adopted by our senior students, and I know this will bear fruit as they head into their external examinations in Term 4. Teachers have spent the week surrounded by piles of papers to mark, so the results should be with students pretty early next week. As ever, please contact teachers or Chris Wiggin if you have any concerns or questions about the best way to prepare for the exams to come. Thank you to parents for your courteous and considerate behaviour behind the wheel this week. The unpredictable weather has led to a little more congestion than normal, but the flow has been steady, if a little slow. Thank you too for the supportive and collaborative way you approach the school if you have concerns or issues that we need to address. I am very proud of our committed and caring staff, as well as our incredibly supportive community, and I know how good we all are at resolving problems together. It’s built into the Pinehurst ethos, and will always be part of the way we do things. If we work together, always remembering that we are all acting in the best interests of our children, we can do anything! A couple of quick updates for you: we are some way into our preparation for creating a new after-school care facility at the top of the school: this will be up and running at the start of 2019, and we’ll have more information for you on it next term. We are currently budgeting for next year as well, and will be investing some additional money in technology: Robotics in Year 9 and equipment for coding in Primary, as well as some additional hardware in Senior Primary. Still on technology, we have an evening on Tuesday for parents who wish to know more about our ‘Bring your own device’ (BYOD) approach in College. This is aimed at students who will be in Year 7 next year, and will run through the ways we use technology in the classroom, and the devices we recommend. From 2019, we are offering three “SNAP” computers that can be bought through the school, including two less expensive models that will do the job well for our students. These can be purchased by students in any year in College, and information is available through the school office. WEEK 7: Monday 3rd September
Tuesday 4th September
Thursday 6th September
WEEK 8: AIMS Games, Year 7-8 selected students (all week), Tauranga Tuesday 11 September
Wednesday 12 September
Thursday 13 September
如需阅读校长的中文留言和重要事件日期,请点击此处 Kia Ora, The main focus this week has been mock examinations for Year 11, 12 and 13 students. We are now able to hold these examinations within the new Mathematics classrooms rather than the Arena. This creates an improved environment for students. The area is quieter with improved heating and lighting conditions. Throughout next week, students will receive the results of their examinations along with feedback from their teachers. By the end of the week, each student will know the grade that they will have achieved for each subject. It is important that students take the time and trouble to review and reflect on how they have performed within each subject and use this to develop a plan leading into their final examinations. For most Year 11 students their first IGCSE examination is 7 weeks away, A Level examinations begin in 6 weeks’ time. Before this there are also Art and Design and Information Technology assessments. All Year 11, 12 and 13 students have now received their statement of entry so they know the dates of all their final examination papers. All Year 9, 11 and 12 students have received their login details enabling them to make their subject choices for next year. An email has been sent to all Year 8 parents regarding Language subject choices for next year. Next week is Tournament week. This is the highlight of the sporting year for many secondary school students. Pinehurst will have 4 teams competing in these National tournaments, Boys Hockey, Netball, Golf and Table Tennis. Good luck to all the students taking part, we look forward to hearing of your progress throughout the week. In two weeks’ time Year 7 and 8 students head to Tauranga to compete in AIMS Games. This is a truly impressive week long sporting event where thousands of intermediate school students compete in a wide variety of sports, we wish these students good luck also. Ngā mihi, Chris Wiggin and Kieran Verryt Principals of College NH Zone Day Basketball - BoysPinehurst entered a Year 7 Basketball team at the recent Zone Day this year, as our Year 8 students were away at camp. This experience allowed our younger Junior College players an opportunity to have some tournament experience prior to AIMS Games. Year 8 Winter CampLast week the Year 8’s enjoyed a fantastic week of activities down at Mt Ruapehu and the surrounding area. The camp consisted of a day rafting and climbing in Turangi, followed by two days of skiing or snowboarding up at the Whakapapa ski field on Mt Ruapehu. The pupils were challenged at every step of the way to show leadership and develop a greater sense of independence. They responded brilliantly and whether battling the elements to get up to the mountain or simply forming groups to complete construction challenges, their grit and determination, as well as their thoughtful and kind approach, was frequently commented on by the staff of our partner organisations. The Junior College would also like to thank all those who came along and helped to make the camp such a success. Enviro GroupOn Wednesday of this week, eight students from the Pinehurst Enviro Group travelled to Kristin for a shared lunch. Both schools described the various sustainable projects they are working on. The Pinehurst Enviro students mentioned a few of our current projects: the used-battery collection; the compost and worm farm initiatives; the reusable coffee cups and water bottles that we hope to sell at school; the outdoor bin stations. The meeting was thoroughly enjoyable and it was great to meet with like minded students from our locality - we even discussed the idea of working on a community project together. We came away feeling pleased that we are heading in such a positive direction and we would like to welcome any students at Pinehurst School who feel that they can offer something to our ever evolving group. Winning Gymnasts!Wednesday the 29th was the day that the Junior College Gymnastics team had been working for since Term 2. Taylor Blackwell, Maddi Smith and Amelie Wells represented Pinehurst in the North Harbour Zone Day for Artistic Gymnastics. With over 200 students competing from all over the North Shore, the girls' hard work in conditioning and strengthening was paid off in gold and silver on the day. Taylor came through with her circle over into a tuck hold on the Uneven Bar, a skill she has been trying to master. This shows what you can achieve with determination and perseverance. She scored consistently and contributed to the team success. Maddi was awarded with two silver for her Beam and Floor routines. Her high score on the Beam secured her an All Around first place in the girls non-competitive category. Amelie came in second equal with Maddi on the Beam and she was awarded a fifth place for All Around. With a combined team score of 108.75, the girls were awarded - Girls Team first place! Congratulations girls you did us proud! A special thank you to Miss Anderson who helped us with our strength work and a big thank you to Biec Vien, for all her time, effort and support in preparing the girls for the Zone Day competition and for AIMS this year. Supporting KidsCanAs a part of our Young Enterprise Scheme, Mikayla and I organised and hosted a charity event in which we raised money and awareness for KidsCan whilst also supporting the local youth in business. We were able to raise $750 to donate and help support kiwi kids. On Friday the 7th of August we visited the KidsCan headquarters and donated our money as well as gained a tour of their warehouse. It was an interesting experience and we were able to see all of the work and stock it takes to support these families in need. - Mackenzie Cooper New Zealand Secondary Schools Winter Tournament WeekWishing our Golf, Boys Hockey, Netball and Table Tennis teams all the best for the coming week as they head off to a variety of venues around the country this weekend for the annual New Zealand Secondary School winter tournaments! You can check our team's progress through the Association websites: Golf - NOMADS Secondary School Final Kia Ora, For the last two terms I have had the pleasure of going up to Snowplanet every Friday afternoon with over 80 students, mostly from the Primary. Although I have had to bear the brunt from members of staff at times about how cruisey it must be it is not only a time to sit in the cafe with a Diet Coke having a chat, there is actually some work to do, honestly! I have loved watching our students, many of them complete beginners, start at the bottom of the slope, find their confidence and their centre of balance and work their way gradually towards the top. Standing up on skis or a board is the first challenge, then learning how to snowplough, getting the hang of the lifts, going from the top and then just maybe trying some jumps. Most of our students have turned up every week, even when they are tired at the end of the day and braved the cold. There have been a few tears but mainly high levels of perseverance, risk taking and resilience. So often we see children getting frustrated when they can’t do something quickly or perfectly the first time but interestingly enough they all seem to understand that there is a process and it will take time and practise. Encouraging your child to enjoy the journey to learning a new skill and not just the destination is a valuable lesson which builds their resilience. Mistakes are great, if not sometimes painful on the snow but we learn from them and grow. What if we could see mistakes as fun, vital and totally necessary for us to experience without the shame or embarrassment that so often goes with them? Celebrating what we have learned when we try, fail and then improve is not necessarily something that comes easy to us as adults, we weren’t brought up that way but we have the ability to change that for our children. With only three weeks left of the ‘ski season’ for Pinehurst I am looking forward to getting home early on Fridays but have loved watching all of our skiers and boarders make so much progress in such a short time, you have been amazing! I had to post this pic of Bruce Xu enjoying the apres ski, I promised him I would if he got ready quickly to go out on the snow...yes bribing children is sometimes OK! Ngā mihi, Sian Coxon, Principal of Primary
Year 4-6 Interhouse Cross Country 2018Last Friday our Year 4-6 students headed across to Rosedale Park for the annual Interhouse Cross Country event. After a brief rain shower right on arrival, the sun came out and we commenced the races for the day. The course was muddy and slippery from all the rain, but we still saw some very close races and bursts of energy right down to the finish line! Well done to MATAI who were the overall winning house in 2018! Congratulations to all students who took part, and a special mention to the students who finished in the top 3 for their age group in 2018. Our thanks to the parents who assisted with walking students to and from the course and helped with marshalling on the day. For additional photos from the Cross Country, please see our Pinehurst Facebook Sports Page Young Leader's DayOn Wednesday, 29th August the Year 6 Peer Mediators attended the Young Leader’s Day workshop alongside 700 North Shore students. They were given the opportunity to hear from a range of speakers about the challenges and life lessons that these high achieving people had experienced and overcome. One of the guests was Richie Paterson, the now famous New Zealand weightlifter, who shared his journey on becoming an Olympic and Commonwealth champion. At the young age of 12 (Year 8) he watched Nigel Avery stand on the Olympic podium and from that moment on decided that he wanted to win a medal at the Olympic games. He faced many set-backs, failed attempts and obstacles but 16 years later he received a gold medal at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games. One aspect that stood out was his growth mindset. He kept talking to himself and saying…. “I am going to win.” Richie shared his recipe for success:
In the words of Richie Paterson , “ It takes a team effort to keep your dream alive.” I hope that you are thinking about your next goal in life! News from P19In PE, we have been working on mastering a wide range of gymnastic actions, including: different types of rolls, jumping, climbing, balancing and using apparatus like the beat board, beams, vault box and mats. The children are able to create and perform complex movements with control and accuracy, while managing the space safely- there are some very talented gymnasts in our class! Also, well done to everyone for taking part in cross country last Friday. Despite the scattered showers and muddy grounds, everyone gave it their best – special congratulations to Zachary Hounsell from P19 for coming 2nd in Year 6 boys category. Meanwhile in Art, the children have been experimenting with layering colours as part of our Andy Warhol’s Endangered Species artwork. Over the course of the rest of the term, we will be developing our printmaking skills so expect to see some amazing prints displayed on our windows soon! Primary MandarinWe have all been working on various skills and knowledge in Mandarin. This term in Junior Primary we have been looking at how Chinese characters are put together - sometimes we can even make up interesting stories to help us remember what the characters mean. For those of us learning Mandarin as a foreign language, in Year 5 we have been learning to make descriptive sentences with colours and in Year 6 we have learned to tell time and say the date. The Chinese way is simpler but at the same time it's odd? Chinese First Language students in the Senior Primary have been writing persuasive speeches. It is a lot more difficult than we initially thought! But we made it and we were able to present them to our classmates. Luckily, some of us were able to use a combination of English and Chinese in our speeches if we needed to, which meant we were all able to reach our personal goals successfully! SeussicalThis week has been an exciting one! On Tuesday and Thursday some of our cast had their makeup trial and got their first chance to see and try on their costumes! Señora Farquharson did an amazing job with the makeup. The cast were delighted with their costumes - Miss Dobbins has had an astronomical task putting them together, it’s almost been a full time job for her these past 5 weeks – thank you! This was an ideal opportunity for us to take photographs for the programme - we definitely have some models in our midst - the poses were very creative! If nothing else, it was a great laugh for us all and certainly brightened up our day! Thank you to Mrs Brown and her son Mitch, who kindly came in for the photoshoot.
I Spy in the PrimaryI Spy....persuasive writing in P 16. I Spy...an enthusiastic reader. I Spy....props being created. I Spy....rehearsal time. I Spy....an ocean wonderland in P2! I Spy....3D paper sculpture techniques in P6. I Spy... P6 and P14 working together. Pinehurst MusicMeet Cherie Moore – one of our vocal tutors Congratulations to Cherie Moore, one of our vocal tutors who, with her production company Last Tapes, took term 3 off to present their critically-acclaimed, original work Valerie at the biggest arts festival of the world – Edinburgh Fringe. This week, Valerie won the best newcomer award. If you would like to see a trailer of Valerie, click here and/or read a review, click here. Cherie is a professional actor, singer, and vocal coach with a degree in Drama and English from Auckland University. She attended The Actors' Program and is a founder and co-director of Last Tapes Theatre Company. If you would like to enroll your child into vocal lessons with Cherie, click here Petra and Daisy with the North Shore Youth Symphonic Wind Band Congratulations to Petra Damianovich (yr 10) and Daisy Cai (yr 11) for amassing an impressive array of awards at the recently held New Zealand Concert Band Association's Festival in Wellington with the North Shore Youth Symphonic Wind Band. They received third place in the competitive category and a Gold overall award. Petra (pictured in third row, second from the right) on flute and Daisy (second row, second on the right) French Horn played a selection of pieces for the adjudicators, in one of which Petra was a soloist and obtained a Silver Award. Informal Music Concert 12th of September This term’s Informal Music concert will be held on a Wednesday the 12th of September from 4.30pm in C2. All Pinehurst students are invited to perform in an informal setting to their loved ones. Limited spaced remain for this even but if you wish for your child to perform, please email marija.naumovska@pinehurst.school.nz by the 5th of September. Space SchoolPinehurst is pleased to announce that we are offering students the opportunity to join the CASE Space School International Study Program in 2019. CASE Space School is an amazing opportunity for students seeking to pursue success in a STEAM career. Students will be immersed in enriched and exclusive space science activities to explore the multi-facets of STEAM. Students will also learn and engage in an inspiring personal and leadership development program to truly empower them for changing times. Junior Space School is astronaut training for youth and is an engaging, hands-on adventure. Students learn about space travel, the development of space-related technologies and are lead through several simulated missions. An information evening will be held at Pinehurst on Wednesday 19th September at 6pm in College 4 where students and parents can learn more about the program. Click here to RSVP. In2Art ExhibitionThe ‘In2Art’ opening at the Mairangi Arts Centre was on Saturday 25th August. A biennial event not to be missed. The Visual Arts at middle school level on the North Shore is of a very healthy standard. The work is wide ranging in variety and of a standard that art educators, parents and the young artists themselves can be very proud of. Our Yr 7 and Yr 8 student contributors are talented young artists and their work hangs ‘proud’ in the gallery. If you have not visited this Arts Centre before, this student exhibition would be well worth a visit. Be aware that the hours this gallery is open are restricted to – weekdays 10am – 4pm and weekends 11am – 2pm. This exhibition closes on Friday 14th September. Parent Breakfast Meetings - Term 3
Venue: Caffe E Cuccina, 265 Albany Hwy Please RSVP: judy.wallace@pinehurst.school.nz CheerleadingOn the 25th and 26th of August, Maddi Smith and Fiona Li from 8KS competed in a Cheerleading competition called Olympia. Fiona is in level 1 and Maddi is in level 4, Fiona's team Evermore and Maddi's team Immortal both came first place in their division and Grand Champion out of their whole level. Noah BossNoah Boss in Year 9 has played for the Albany Barbarians this rugby season. The team was made up of students from Pinehurst, Kristin, Long Bay and AJHS. The boys have developed well throughout the season and have had a great run through the finals. After finishing 4th in the regular season they managed to beat Massey High School in their semi-final, a team that had beaten them convincingly during the season. In the final on Saturday the boys played the favoured Westlake Team in the 6th Grade North Harbour Plate Final. After trailing 17-5 at half time the team put on an excellent second half performance to win 22-17. Noah played at number 7 throughout the season and was the jumper in lineouts. Congratulations to Noah on an outstanding season. UNICEF Charity BallThe annual UNICEF Charity Ball is back for 2018 - bigger and better than ever! With all proceeds going towards the Yemen Children's Crisis through UNICEF NZ, and not to mention - a full buffet dinner and professional DJ and photographers, the committee is pleased to present to you: Wander! For all students Years 11-13 through to University. Follow our Instagram: @wanderball18 Registration: http://bit.ly/wandersignups Permission Form: http://bit.ly/wanderform Play Cricket this Summer at Kumeu Cricket ClubKumeu Cricket Club registrations are open for 2018/19 season (Term 4 & Term 1). |