Friday 13 November 2020Opening Words from the Executive PrincipalKia ora tatou, good afternoon, 你好, 안녕하세요 I’m going to keep it uncharacteristically short(-ish) this week. I talked quite a bit about our teachers in the last newsletter, and the fruits of their hard work have been everywhere this week. I don’t think there’s a child in the school who has had a ‘normal’ week, so even if your son or daughter responds to your cheerful question about how the day has been with “It was alright” or perhaps a grunt and a shrug, I’m pretty sure that they do actually have interesting stories to tell. My highlights were the wonderful Senior Primary and Junior Primary music concerts on Monday and Tuesday: huge thanks to Mrs Du Toit, Mrs Naumovska, and all the children and their parents who performed for us. So talented! We know, by the way, that we have many more children who want to perform than we had space for this year, and we are looking at ways we can increase the opportunities for performing next year. We love our music, and we’re also looking forward to having a proper theatre to perform in. Other highlights have included the Year 5/6 Athletics Day; the arrival of a petting zoo on the back field; the cheerful, positive faces of our Year 7 and 8 students as they got stuck into their exams (they’ve been brilliant this week); the increasingly happy conversations I’m having with Year 11-13 students as they near the end of their exams; watching Year 9 students work out how to pitch a tent in preparation for Duke of Edinburgh next year; seeing a rat being dissected (really: it was fascinating!) in a Year 9 lesson, and then enjoying seeing a different Year 9 class discover the mechanics and effects of static electricity; the excitement of our younger students as they headed out to gymnastics zone days; and the more relaxed enthusiasm of our Year 9 students as they headed out to the Maritime Museum. There’s more next week, of course, and I’d like to the chance to thank both the staff who run these events and the parents who make them possible. Dozens of parents have supported events this week, and I’m really grateful to all of you. Thank you! Finally from me this week: it’s our annual Valedictory Dinner this coming Tuesday. It’s always a wonderful evening that I enjoy hugely. This year, I had the privilege of seeing the farewell video that we will be showing at the evening. It simply shows our departing Year 13 students talking about their time at Pinehurst. By the time I’d finished watching it, I was quite emotional: our graduating class are a talented group who have bright futures ahead of them. They are also the most international group who have graduated from our school, and a number of the students came to New Zealand when they were 11, 12 or 13 years old, wondering what was in store for them. They now leave us as confident, resilient young people ready for everything life will throw at them. More than that, though, their humility, humour and kindness shone through in every word. It’s sad to see them say goodbye, but I’m so proud of all of them. If you are one of the proud parents there on Tuesday night, I look forward to seeing you at the dinner, and to sharing your pride in seeing your children become fantastic young women and men. Ka kite anō au i a koutou. Have a lovely weekend! Alex Reed 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, This week has flown by with lots of learning and many events keeping us all busy. There is a great deal on at the moment and plenty of activities still to be held in the coming weeks. Please don’t think you have to come to everything, we are running lots of events partly because we do at this time of year and partly because some have been postponed from earlier on. We just want to try to make sure that children don’t miss out on something that they really wanted to do. Of course your children may have other ideas about what they want to come to but we will leave that up to you! Athletics day was a highlight for Year 5 and 6 this week as we journeyed to the Millennium Stadium to compete in track and field events. The weather looked to spoil the fun initially but in the end a great day of running, jumping and throwing was had and everyone had a fantastic time. Thanks to all of the parents who came to help us time the competition or to cheer us on from the stands. We were musically delighted and amazed over two nights this week with our junior and senior primary concerts. With a range of instruments and styles of music our students performed beautifully and often effortlessly as the music seemed to flow out of them. Petite Elite, our junior choir got us all singing along to Abba and everyone came away each night feeling like they had enjoyed a really good concert. A visit from McDonald’s Farm was a highlight of the farm themed social for New to 2 on Thursday afternoon. The weather was sunny and warm and we all enjoyed the various activities. Well done teachers for dressing up in your farm outfits and running face painting, Feed the Pig, Go Fish, gumboot throwing, pin the tail on the donkey and much more! Everyone had a great time, even the ponies, goats, rabbit and rooster as everyone was so careful to treat the animals kindly. Transition is the theme this week and next as we all ensure our students, families and staff are ready for the move to 2021. Last night we met with Year 3 parents to discuss what to expect when their child moves to Year 4. Today and over the next week, students are going into the year above to see what it is like and Year 6 will have an orientation morning in College so they know what to expect when they move to Year 7. Our teachers will meet from next week to talk to 2021 teachers about the students who will be in their classes next year. By doing this we make sure that we are all feeling ready to go at the start of the year, knowing as much as we possibly can about what to expect. Parents will be informed who their child’s new teacher will be on Wednesday 13 January 2021 and be able to book a time to meet before school starts. Kia pai tō rā whakatā Sian Coxon, Principal of Primary Shore to Shore 2020Excitement and a sprinkle of rain hung in the air as we joined the excited groups of runners and walkers at the 2020 Shore to Shore event. Of the 1500 participants, 32 Pinehurst athletes were waiting at the start line. The hooter sounded, and we were off. The course of 5.9km took us from Takapuna Grammar, along Takapuna beach, Hurstmere Road and then finally jogging and walking over the sandy Milford Beach to the finish line. A team of enthusiastic supporters cheered us on for those last few hundred metres. Pinehurst had some very fast runners and walkers who came quickly over the finish line. There was also a rather stupendous effort by Mr Taylor, our P.E. teacher, who was spotted sprinting over the finish line in an impressive time of 24 minutes and Miss Shaw in 28 minutes. The Shore to Shore event is a wonderful opportunity for our school community to come together to enjoy each other’s company, as well as providing the school with a range of new sports equipment. We would like to thank all the teachers and families for supporting Pinehurst, and each other, in this family focused, community event. We look forward to seeing you all again next year. Churros for breakfast anyone?The Year 2 students are keen for a trip to Spain after finding out what Spanish people like to have for breakfast: churros with chocolate sauce, pastries, chocolate biscuits… The look on their little faces was priceless. We compared eating habits and what people like to eat around the world and were fascinated with the differences. We talked about healthy eating habits, our food preferences, and what makes up a healthy diet. We learnt how to express likes and dislikes using the Spanish structure ‘ (No) me gusta / me gustan’. The children are now confident at distinguishing between singular (el/la) and plural (los/las) nouns which is required in order to use the above expression correctly. This is a concept that takes some time to fully grasp as the semantic structure in English and Spanish can be quite different. The Year 2 students have proven they can cope with a structure that is taught in Year 8 and we could not be any prouder! Primary MandarinWow! The term is flying by and we are already half way through. This week we have been reviewing and reflecting on the work and learning we have made this term in Mandarin. In the Junior Primary we have been reading and writing pinyin, making sure that we know what the tone marks sound like and how to write them in our writing. In Year 3 we have been working on our handwriting skills and in Year 4 we have been using our writing skills for our comic strips. Moon PhasesYear 5 children had a tasty science lesson while learning about the phases of our Moon. Students first found out about the different phases and why we see the Moon shape change over the Lunar month. Using the icing of our very own Oreo cooking we shaped the icing to create an edible poster. Four children with one cookie each were able to create the eight phases on the moon calendar. P8 Robots & ArtworkWe have been reading a book called ‘The Wild Robot’ this term in Year 2 and have based many activities around it. For Art we have used different construction techniques to create and design a robot. We used cardboard, boxes and loose parts for our box construction. For our Artist Study we have been looking at a Brazilian artist named Romero Britto who combines elements of cubism, pop art, and graffiti in his work, using vibrant colours and bold patterns. We have tried to create our own piece of work based around his research and ideas. The Fashion Revolution Inspiration for PrEPDuring Global Perspectives, Year 4 have been researching, discussing, and learning all about the Fashion Revolution. The Fashion Revolution believes that the fashion industry should value people, the environment, creativity, and profit equally. #whomademyclothes became very popular around the world with people asking if their clothes were made ethically. We discovered some interesting facts, such as, it takes about 2700 litres of water to make a t-shirt. That’s how much water we normally drink over a three-year period! This led to further discussions about how we could repurpose unwanted fabric and old clothing to make sustainable products for PrEP. Our PrEP business groups have been busy carefully cutting and sewing pieces of fabric by hand to create new and exciting products! P14 is happy to be giving new life to unwanted fabric and soon a new home too. Primary AthleticsOver the past week, we have held Athletics events for all our Primary students. We started with an Athletics morning last Friday for our ‘NEW to 2’ students. Supported by a group of wonderful, enthusiastic Year 5’s, students moved around with their classes to try out 8 different athletics themed activities set up on the fields at Pinehurst. We saw some great running, jumping, throwing, obstacle-coursing, hurdling and relaying! After morning tea, our Year 3 & 4 classes came out to compete in their 4 field events – this time the students were supported by some very athletic Year 6’s, who were happy to help and demonstrate the techniques at the events. The rain held off, and we also held sprint races and some fun class relays in the afternoon, with some very speedy runners on show! On Wednesday, after a very wet start to the week, the skies cleared and the Year 5/6 students hopped on buses and made their way to the stadium for their Athletics Inter-house event. Although the ground was a bit soggy, it did make for some very dramatic soft landings for the discus, shotput and long jump - it was definitely easy to see the marks this year! Our Year 5 & 6 students demonstrated just how hard they had been working this year in PE on Athletics, with some outstanding results on the day. Congratulations to all students who took part in our Athletics events, and a big thank you to all the teachers, parent helpers and to family and friends who came to watch for supporting the students at these events. A special mention to our overall medal winners (below) in Years 3-6 (all Year NEW-2 events are non-competitive). NH Gymnastics Zone DayThe long-awaited days arrived this week for the primary gymnasts. They have been learning and practising their routines since Term 2 and throughout the holidays. The North Harbour Zone Day was a two-day event for students from Year 3 through to 6. We had seventeen teams compete this year, it was a new experience for the Year 3 students representing their school and competing against other schools on the Shore, so it was very exciting and nerve racking at the same time! Each student wore the Pinehurst logo proudly and they did their very best to demonstrate their skills. Coaches and parents were proud to see their performances. Here are the highlights from prize-giving. Kia Ora, For most of our students, this week has been all about examinations. Students have handled these well and we have had a settled and focused week. Teachers are now busy marking and will work through the all-important feedback to students next week. In addition to the feedback, next week teachers will also be writing reports to highlight student’s areas of strengths and the next steps required in their learning. Parents will receive these reports in the final week of school. The next few weeks are important as we finish the school year well, with students focused on continuing their learning before the long summer break. We have a balancing act also though, as we are doing a lot of transition work to ensure that students are comfortable about their next step and the changes that they can expect in their education journey. We will have a number of transition meetings amongst teachers as information is passed along to ensure that all of our students are well supported. Our Year 9 students have been the odd ones out this week as they had already completed most of their examinations earlier in the term. They have enjoyed a range of field trips which you will be able to read about in the articles below. Next week we celebrate our 2020 Valedictory Dinner at Markovina Vineyards. The night is always a highlight as we reflect on the end of a journey for our Year 13 students and their families. Our graduating class of 2020 has 69 students, 8 of whom have made their entire school journey at Pinehurst. At the other end of the spectrum, next week we also have our transition day for the 92 students who will be joining the College in Year 7 next year. Our Year 7 and Year 8 students will enjoy an abbreviated celebration of the sporting year on Tuesday at our sports assembly, and I look forward to seeing parents there. Next week we will also interview of current Year 12 students to help decide who will take on the senior student leadership roles for 2021. At the end of the week our Year 10 cohort will embark on their bronze Duke of Edinburgh Hillary Award qualifying tramp to the Pinnacles. Ngā mihi, Kieran Verryt, Principal of College Trees for SurvivalOn Thursday, 12 students from Years 7 and 8 spent the afternoon planting some seedling trees and flaxes from trays to growing bags with Gail Allende from Trees for Survival. This is an environmental education programme which involves young people growing and planting native trees to restore natural habitats by helping landowners revegetate erosion prone land, improve stream flow and water quality and increase biodiversity. The students potted around 400 manuka and flax plants which, in 8-10 months’ time, will be planted in a range of places including: Pinehurst School, local farms, streams, council land and reserves. During this time, the Junior College Enviro Group will be monitoring the growth carefully in terms of watering, weeding and general maintenance. Year 7 GymnasticsYear 7 students have been developing a range of gymnastics floorwork skills in the lead up to creating a sequence for their unit assessment. Last week they were using task cards to try increasingly difficult pair balances and exploring the concepts of counter balance and counter tension. Year 9 Book ReviewsYear 9 Sailing TripThe annual Social Sciences Auckland Waterfront Experience came around again for another group of adventurous Year 9 students on Wednesday. Sailing on the harbour, watching bungy jumpers under the Harbour Bridge, viewing the Maritime Museum, and even spotting the America's Cup teams having coffee and relaxing between training sessions. Year 9 Trip to the Sugar FactoryYear 9 students visited the Chelsea Sugar Factory on Thursday. They had a tour around the factory, learnt about the history of the site, and baked some delicious yo-yo’s! Design Your Career Youth SummitThis is an international event which has been online this past week but the links to all presentations are live until 21 November. Mrs Griffiths has viewed some of the presentations and there are some excellent speakers with material relevant to both students and parents. Register for a free access ticket here If you use the registration code APINNZ20 when you register, it means that Mrs Griffiths and Pinehurst Careers will have ongoing access to the material beyond 21 November. The following is the promotional material about the event: Join 30+ passionate experts from education, business, entrepreneurship & technology as they share practical, real-world career advice to prepare you for the rapidly changing world of work. The world of work is radically transforming and traditional paths to successful lives and careers are no longer the guarantees of success they once were. Discover the skills, strategies and tools all young people need to be developing now to prepare themselves for college and careers from those on the frontlines of economic, career and workplace change. Junior and Senior Primary Formal Music ConcertsOver 100 students auditioned to take part in the above concerts, held on Monday and Tuesday afterschool this week, in the Arena. We were incredibly impressed with the high quality of students who auditioned and are very privileged to work with such a talented primary cohort. Due to the hour long limitations of the concerts, as well as aiming to provide an instrumentally diverse programme that featured student performers from all of the six year groups, we needed to restrict our number for this event but are currently looking into ways of expanding our performance programme and providing more opportunities for our students to show off their musical skills for next year. The thunder and torrential rain could not dampen the impressive star quality of the students who performed. The audience were treated to a variety of piano numbers, as well as a diverse drum programme, fantastic singing as well as string and woodwind performances. Thank you to the parents and teachers who attended these events, it is only due to their support, love and care for music that the concerts are such a success. A big thank you to Mrs Du Toit, our Primary Music specialist who auditioned the students for the events and even played detective to find them on the Athletics day in order to do so. Mrs Du Toit also directed the Petite Elite Choir, made up of Year 2s and 3s, as they entertained us with their vocal renditions of Rockin Robin and Mama Mia. To see them in action, click here. Little GemsTo acknowledge and highlight the very many talented musical students at Pinehurst, the newsletter will from now on have a dedicated arts section, to showcase our talented, music, dance, art and drama students from the Primary School. This week’s highlight is our very talented Chantelle in Year 1 who has been learning the piano for only 10 months but over the weekend competed at the Lewis Eady Junior Music Contest and was awarded Gold for this performance. To view Chantelle in action, click here. If you wish to nominate your child for our brand new Little Gem section, please email our Head of Visual and Performing Arts at marija.naumovska@hurst.school.nz Harry Potter ClubWe’ve been busy in the Harry Potter club, especially with the college students on exam leave! We painted our patronus and practiced Expecto Patronum, thinking our happiest thoughts. Then it was onto the dark arts, using Confrigo to explode a balloon. Everyone seemed to enjoy the wand work and the treats hidden inside! The Harry Potter Club just for fun. It originated with a Global Year 7 class last year wanting to do something with Harry Potter. It is open to all ages and when the college students are here it is a good mix of ages with over fifty kids. We do trivia and watch clips and arts and crafts and all kinds of fun activities! I Spy...Junior Primary Netball players last Saturday! I Spy...The Lion King Jnr. cast makeup rehearsal. I Spy...Boys just hanging out reading a book before school. I Spy...The bears hard at work preparing for the Teddy Bears Picnic next Thursday! I Spy...Making fireworks in P1! I Spy...New Entrants making reindeer! I Spy...Year 6 students, PrEP Market ready! I Spy...A petting zoo and lots of fun games at the Year 0-2 Social! Pinehurst Christmas HampersMany thanks to those of you who have already contributed donations for our Xmas Hampers. It is tradition for Pinehurst to present these at our Pinehurst Christmas Concert on the last day of the school year, Thursday 3rd December (2.00pm-3.15pm). Contributions of non-perishable food hamper items, Xmas treats, vouchers, new toiletries, toys and games would be much appreciated. Please bring in donations to your son/daughter’s homeroom. If you would be willing to decorate our Xmas hamper boxes and are available on Wednesday 18th December 9am-12pm, please contact Nicole Webb (nicole.webb@pinehurst.school.nz). Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you again to everyone for your support with this. Foster Hope Charity Organisation will be so grateful for your kind donations in what can be a very stressful time of the year. |