Friday 1st May 2020Opening Words from the Executive PrincipalKia ora tatou, good afternoon, 你好, 안녕하세요 Welcome to Level 3 at Pinehurst! I hope everyone has navigated the week successfully, and that everyone in our community feels that we’ve made the move into the waiting room without too many problems. It does feel a bit like we’re “in between” two versions of our lives right now, hovering in a cloud of unknowing, anticipating an enlightenment. (And, perhaps, spending a little too long in conversation with ourselves!) But I’m hoping that our waiting room is a comfortable one, and that our students have enjoyed their learning this week. I thought I’d run through some information for you today about the online programme, the learning our in-school Level 3 students are doing, and a glimpse ahead to what we think we might be doing when we get to Level 2. Online, I know that there has been a little disruption to our programmes this week, mainly in Primary, as we have adjusted to teaching students in school as well as at home. I hope this hasn’t been too difficult for the children to get used to, and that everything is now settling down. In Primary, around 90% of our students are studying at home this week, and our plan is to continue to mix and match live teaching, some recorded videos, and activities for the students for the 90% until the end of Level 3. Please keep talking to class teachers, to me, and to Mrs Coxon and Mrs Jones-Hill. Our teachers are continuing to work hard to adapt and develop the programmes, and your feedback has really helped us do this. In College, pretty much all Year 9-13 students are at home, and we have 4-5 students in school in each of Years 7 and 8. That means that our online programme has continued with very few changes, and we don’t anticipate any more changes at Level 3. I am, as I have said many times, very proud of the work our teachers are continuing to do online, and of the way our students and parents have responded. That said, I’m also conscious of the dangers of online learning, and we know that this environment can widen gaps in progress and achievement. We are chasing up students in College as much as we can, and focusing on those we are concerned about, but we also need your help here. Please get in touch with Mr Verryt or your child’s Dean if you are worried or have any questions. Now that some of us are in school, we are stepping up further our interventions here. For the 35-40 Primary students in school, we are essentially delivering a full teaching programme. There is a little online learning, but we are basically doing an adapted version of everything you would expect in a normal day at school for your children. We have PE every day, as well as some arts and crafts in the afternoon, and the literacy, numeracy and science is as close to normal as possible. We have different bubbles, of course, and these bubbles are kept apart from each other, and children don’t necessarily have their usual teacher, but we’ve aimed for a “special” version of normal. In College, the students in school are largely doing the online programme, but the teachers that are in, are trying to support the students, and we are also doing a few extra bits and pieces to get the children active and using their hands. This is an “online plus” version of the curriculum. So why are we doing it this way? We’re doing it this way because I believe passionately that children should be actively engaged in learning and interacting with each other in different ways wherever possible. If children are in school, we will do everything we can to give them a rewarding experience, at the same time as ensuring that the students at home don’t miss out. Our online programme is, I believe, a very strong one. But nothing can replace being in a classroom with a good teacher and with other children. I’ve been reading a huge amount about online learning these past few months: even though our structured, interactive approach is the best way for our students, we want our children back in school as soon as possible. And our Level 3 planning means that we are ready for Alert Level 2. We have our safety procedures in place, and have drawn up detailed plans for how we might manage to educate all our students in an environment where we still have some restrictions on numbers and on travel to and from school. So our principle at Level 2 will be that we want all of our students in school as much as we possibly can: I can’t tell you exactly what that will look like until we have more details from the Government, but I can promise you that we will let you know what we are doing as soon as we have these. In the meantime, please stay safe, keep in your bubbles, avoid queues at burger bars (!), take advantage of our click and collect Library and Uniform services, and keep connecting with each other and talking to us. It’s been so good to see students back in school again this week, and I can’t wait to see everyone else come back, hopefully in less than two weeks! Emotional ManagementAs we continue to work, play and be together in our bubbles, managing our emotions becomes our ‘next step in learning’. The first stage in ‘emotional management’ is the ability to identify and understand emotions. The better we are at naming emotions the greater chance we have of being able to manage these emotions. Here are some ideas for tackling emotional management at home.
A key aspect of positive functioning is being present with one’s emotions. Let’s aim to increase our ‘bubbles’ positive emotions. He waka eka noa. We are all in this together. Family Well-BeingTui Fleming is a well-being coach, amongst many other things and has worked with our students in the past. Tui is aware of the struggles some families are facing during this time and she has provided us with a couple of videos that you’re welcome to access: Riding the emotional rollercoaster: a video for adults based on Brene Brown’s research on vulnerability. One strategy. 4 steps - https://www.loom.com/share/5878d36a69a1453caebb8fd12c234bf4 Many big feelings, 4 small steps: a video for children with 4 simplified steps to managing big feelings - https://www.loom.com/share/857b6576d7af4f8ab94b59a851642a2e School CounsellorDebbie Stanaway is available if any student is feeling stressed or anxious or you are concerned about a family member. Please feel free to contact her - Debbie.Stanaway@pinehurst.school.nz or 021 973 727. Kia Ora, As we moved into 'Level 3 life' at Pinehurst this week, we welcomed our new ‘bubbles’, and committed to the task of running, ‘in school’ and online learning programmes to meet the needs of all of our students and their families. I was very relieved to return to the physical version of Pinehurst, to see some of our students, staff and parents in person, which was a very welcome event on Wednesday morning. Although some of our students were a little worried about what it would be like in their new bubbles, they quickly settled with their new classmates and our teachers set about delivering their programmes in a different way. Online, some students joined other classes for their numeracy, science and literacy lessons with regular check-ins from their homeroom teacher. Everyone quickly found a new rhythm and remote learning continued to go from strength to strength. In times like these we all have choices about how we respond and although it has been difficult at times, as a staff we are focussing on the possibilities. Some of what is going on in the world, we as individuals have no control over. We can however try to make the best of things and seek out the possibilities rather than focussing on how much things have changed. We are determined to make the experience for students in school as safe and as creative as possible. I have seen and heard about wonderful lessons, making masks, writing poetry, learning time whilst dancing and singing rock around the clock. There have been catapults with popsicle sticks, plays, art inspired by the story, The Dot, and also by Van Gogh’s Starry Night. Look at the wonderful collaboration from our Year 5/6 bubble in the article below. This started as a playground activity with chalk and ended up as a beautiful piece of art. Online the Tiger Came to Tea in the New Entrants and a wonderful morning tea was had at home and in gardens with pearls, tigers and fancy hats. The creativity has been amazing as we have found different ways to learn and have fun at the same time. We are immensely proud of the resilience of our students and families and the innovation and dedication of our teachers. Our students have been overwhelmingly kind, especially to new students who have joined the school this term. They have actively looked for ways to share and work together even when they are apart from each other. There are so many positive lessons we will take forward from this experience, the possibilities are endless and we will use this as an opportunity to adapt and think differently as life returns to some sense of normal. Sadly we have to say farewell to Lindsay Watters this week as she returns home to Scotland. Lindsay has been a gift to our school, bringing with her a wealth of experience and an outstanding knowledge of the curriculum. She has taught us all so much, her students have been so fortunate to have her as a teacher and as a Primary team we will be very sad to see her go. We wish her all the very best for the future and safe travels. Nga Mihi, Sian Coxon, Principal of Primary Online Learning in P1Last week P1 read the story ‘Superworm’ before planning their own story map for their own character. You can see Luke’s story map he drew for his own character Super Spider before writing his sentences down to create his own character description. Students also went on a 3D shape scavenger hunt around their homes. Look at all the shapes Vincent has found and labelled. Another great week of online learning P1! Sorting ShapesLast week P2 learnt to identify and sort 3D objects. This was a great topic to do from home as the students were able to hunt for lots of shapes in their homes and share with their friends during online lessons. Some children went the extra mile and created some of the shapes using playdough, magnetic tiles and paper nets, especially for objects such as pyramids and prisms, which are harder to find. Students also engaged in their learning through specially designed videos, where learning about shapes has been put into the context of a fairground. The videos pose questions and allow the students to pause and discuss. Animals, Animals, Animals in P5In Science, P5 have been learning about classifying animals into the six main groups, and then looking at the characteristics of 'Reptiles'. We have been recognising the similarities and differences between animals. For Writing, we had a lot of fun reading the book, 'There's a Snake in my School,' and then changed the story to include ourselves and a pet we would take to school. Some of us even shared these pets at one of our class meetings. P5 were excited to then create and label their favourite reptile. Here are some photos of our creations. P4 Senses and Superveggie story maps!P4 has been very busy at home with their online learning. Before they left for the holidays, they talked about the five senses in science class; smell, hear, taste, touch, and see. Last week they focused on their sense of taste. Since they were at home, they were able to do a “taste hunt.” They went around their kitchen and found types of foods that matched their vocabulary. It was a fun afternoon trying all these different things in the kitchen and talking about what they taste like! They have also been busy making lots of story maps! “Evil Pea” is a story about a bunch of Superveggies that have to cross the valley of doom. It was up to P4 to write instructions for the Superveggies to follow. Don’t worry, they made it safe and sound to the treasure! P6 cooking and colouringStudents in P6, remembered the ANZACs last week by baking ANZAC cookies and making poppies. P6 students also studied the picture book - 'The Day the Crayons Quit' for their literacy learning. Students learnt to think in the role of a character and how to write informal letters. At the end of the week, we tried to colour a picture with lots of crayons just like Duncan, the main character did at the end of the story. P7's Crayon CharactersLast week’s online learning with the Year 2’s involved reading the book “The Day the Crayons Quit” by Drew Daywalt. P7 have been exploring the different characters within the story and taking on the role of a character. When they do this they try and see things from the characters point of view. As part of their writing they wrote letters as though they were one of the crayons. Year 4's Board Game CreationsDuring the holidays, the Year 4’s took on a fun challenge to create their own board games. Creating their own games involved students in researching, creativity, logical thinking and experimenting. We know inventions don't work instantly, rather they need lots of trials to perfect them. The holidays at home were a perfect time for this. The students played their games with their families and made changes where needed. We now have a range of fun of games ready to be played with our friends later on in the year. Have a look at some of the exciting games the Year 4’s created. Chalk ArtOur Year 5 & 6 bubble are doing some amazingly fun work at school. We are doing an artistic study on Van Gogh and are beginning to create our own version of the famous 'starry night'. Inspired by our work in class our Year 5/6 bubble created a starry night using chalk out on the court. I think it’s safe to say Vincent van Gogh would be very proud! Edward’s At Home Science AssignmentYear 6 student Edward Marshall did an amazing job at calculating the surface area of his soft toy Orca. We are looking at human organs and the biggest organ being the skin, was our focus last week. By doing this activity it highlighted the size of the skin and why it is the largest organ in the body. Edwards Notes - Measuring surface area of skin To measure the surface area of my toy Orca’s skin, we did these steps:
The measurements on my rectangle of orca skin was 100cm x 72cm. The surface area of the toy Orca skin is approximately 7,200 square centimetres. In real life Orca skin is 7 to 10 cm thick and feels like rubber to human touch, but is very sensitive. Kia Ora, After the first week of term where teachers commented that students were very quiet in lessons, the college has once again hit a positive groove of productivity and active engagement in our online environment. While teachers and students are enjoying developing new skills and working in a different context, we are all very much looking forward to a return to what we consider normal. This week we have had 11 students in the college as the majority of students continue to engage in lessons at home. We have had a range of staff at school, working on various plans for what might be needed going forward. Planning for the Production, school photos and a range of other school events has continued. Our sports co-ordinators had an Auckland wide meeting this week to discuss what our sports programmes might look like over the next two terms. As a college we continue to make plans to ensure that our student leaders get the opportunity to develop and share their skills. As we have continued with our online learning programme we have become increasingly conscious of the amount of time that our young people are spending on devices and in front of screens. Our teachers are working hard to vary what they are doing to try and break their students time up as much as possible. Through talking to students it has become evident that many are also spending significant extra time in front of screens watching Netflix or gaming at this time. We would encourage our students to ensure that they are maintaining as much balance as possible and getting out for some exercise or spending time practising other skills. Today I will write to parents with some general information and also to inform you of our plans for mid-year testing to give the students feedback on their progress. If you have any questions about what we are hoping to do please do not hesitate to be in contact. Nga Mihi, Kieran Verryt Year 7 EnglishHere are some acrostic poems for the word 'conflict'. This is the theme for Year 07 English this term and particularly with just having had ANZAC Day and many other different situations we are confronted with - which are not so easy - the students had lots of material to work with. PE Challenge UpdateOur aim in PE during lockdown has been to encourage students to stay healthy and active. Thanks again to all of the students who are working through the PE challenges at home and recording their evidence in their assignments. This week our leaders in each year group are:
Well done to those students, but there are some others hot on their heels already. We have had to introduce an extra ‘platinum’ level for those who have already nearly finished all 25 challenges! The importance of physical activity in isolationOver the last week the Health & PE team at Pinehurst have been giving a lot of thought to the role that we play in educating students during this unprecedented time. There is one word that is consistent across all of our conversations - that is, Hauora. Hauora is a Māori philosophy of health which encompasses a person’s social, emotional, physical and spiritual well-being. It is the idea that the different dimensions of a person’s well-being are interconnected and that you cannot have one without the other. It’s interesting that in times of crises such as this, that our lives are often stripped back to only what is essential. In this context it has become more obvious to our department than ever before that Hauora as individuals, as families, and as communities is critical to our prosperity. This is why, we believe, that the regular uptake of physical activity over the next while is more important than it ever has been in the lives of our young people. We all know the long term physical health benefits of regular physical activity in our lives. That is, the 50% reduction in morbidity and mortality from coronary heart disease and stroke amongst drastic reduction in a range of other health issues later in life. These factors though, naturally, don’t feature high on our students list of priorities right now and nor should they. More importantly though is the growing understanding of the link between regular physical activity and improved emotional well-being outcomes. Outcomes such as reduced anxiety and stress, improved general mood, better sleep quality, improved self perception and self esteem, and protection against mental illnesses such as clinical depression and anxiety disorder. Although the mechanisms by which this is achieved are not yet fully understood it is thought that a combination of biochemical, physiological, and psycho-social factors are behind it. Some factors under further investigation are the realease of endorphins and the metabolisation of stress chemicals such as adrenaline and cortisone, as well as the impact of increased body temperature on post exercise muscle relaxation. Equally important though is the investigation in to the improved body image, which is a strongly linked factor in determining and individuals self-esteem and which impacts on a range of daily habits, food choice, clothing choice, and confidence in public. There is nothing more important than our health right now, and our emotional well-being is a crucial pillar in achieving this. The HPE team here at Pinehurst encourage you and your children to stay active. Whether that is through the uptake of our ‘PE at home’ program or in other ways, the message is the same. Get moving! Year 8 Bubble PEThe Year 8 bubble in school took part in a Les Mills Body Attack workout using the TVNZ On Demand service. Ms Koopen and Miss Murray were impressed with their attitude and enthusiasm. The students are keeping active every day and will be ready for their sports codes, whenever they start! Year 7 Digital TechnologyYear 7 students in Digital Technology have been using Scratch, to programme their own interactive games, here are two examples from Sophie and Ivy. Sophie Mackenzie: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/389556437 Ivy Roodt: https://scratch.mit.edu/projects/389244099 Year 8 StoryboardsTara Sabor in Year 8 recently finished her storyboard on Thoughts About The Future for Digital Technology. Year 9 ScienceBefore the holidays some of the Year 9 Science students experimented at home with improvised ramps to look at how friction could change the speed of an object. Not only were the experiments carried out well but the improvisation of the students was fabulous! Year 12 ChemistryMr Stafford is recording experiments for his Year 12 Chemistry students to help them prepare for their practical exam. They will watch it next week and try to use their observations to answer some questions. Senior College Art & DesignStudents in the Art & Design IGCSE and A Level courses have been very busy creating work for their coursework portfolios. Part of the process of developing ideas requires students to look at Master Artists for inspiration. Here are a few examples of IGCSE Year 11 students artist replicas. James Corles in Year 13, is working on his A2 portfolio in architecture, looking at modern extensions to historical structures. These are all fantastic examples of the great work that is being created by Pinehurst College Art & Design students.
In Music so far this term...Performances in Isolation from Year 10-13 students Over the holidays it was a pleasure to view the performances of the Year 10-13 music students, remotely, whose performance portfolio makes up to 30% of their year’s work. All students perform on a termly basis to build up their skills and receive feedback in order to become familiar with the marking criteria. Their portfolio is then filmed for their final submission between August and September, marked and sent off to Cambridge for moderation. To see once such performance click on William Lin. Year 9 exloring SoundtrapSince the start of Term 2, Year 9 have been exploring a programme called Soundtrap which allows students to create their own music piece and record original material into is as well. The programme allows the teacher to collaborate with the student in real time to provide feedback and guidance for development. Looking forward to sharing some of these compositions with you towards the end of May. Uniform purchasingPlease note that during Alert Level 3 uniforms may only be purchased online. You will be notified by email when your order is ready to be collected from Reception. If an exchange of size is required, please email the Uniform Shop, uniform@pinehurst.school.nz, with the new size and return the unwanted garment in a bag in its original condition. Again, you will be notified when the exchange is ready for collection. We appreciate your understanding if the size you require is not available and will endeavour to provide one as soon as possible. Harbour Sports CodesA number of the sports codes in the region have been putting together short videos that you can use/share to help other students stay connected to sport.
Support Local BusinessesLots of smaller local businesses have reopened in Level 3 in some capacity – usually for click/collect, takeaways and delivery, and would love our community support. The Pinehurst Parent Connection Committee are currently putting together a list of our parent's businesses that are open for business now. There has been so much interest from our Pinehurst families to add their business to our 'Lockdown Business Support Directory'. We have so many amazing businesses needing your support – but also businesses offering fabulous products and services to our Pinehurst families, homes and businesses. You will be able to find this list in the next few days on the Pinehurst Connection page of our website here. Kirsty Gordge, Class of 2012Kirsty has recently written a novella about the '48 Hours Before the Lockdown'. It's an amusing, fictitious story from the perspective of twelve characters in Auckland, detailing how each of them react to the news of the Level 4 lockdown, and start preparing for it. It's 55 pages and she's selling it for $10 through this link here. Logan Cho, Class of 2019Logan has recently enrolled in Engineering and Applied Science at the University of Pennsylvania where he hopes to spend the next four years studying a BSE in Mechanical Engineering. The Robertson Scholarship helped in his shortlisting as one of the 6 finalists, unfortunately he could not attend the final dinner & interview due to the pandemic. Nevertheless he is grateful for all the assistance Pinehurst gave him and really excited for the future. |