News and events for the week ending 8th March 2019 Friday 8th March 2019 Opening words from the Executive PrincipalKia ora tatou, good afternoon, 你好 We had two very enjoyable Open Days this week: on Tuesday, we welcomed prospective families interested in joining us in College; on Wednesday, it was the turn of families interested in joining us in the Primary School. We always have fun showing people around the school, and of course the students were the stars of the show: the visitors all commented on our open, articulate, warm and sensible young people. When I welcomed the new parents, I talked a little about the school’s philosophy, and I thought it was a good time to repeat it to the whole school community. Our starting point is always each child’s happiness. We do everything we can to make our school a happy, welcoming place, because every child needs to be happy if they are to learn. Our small classes, our nurturing environment, and our strong emphasis on pastoral care all support this. We also believe that young people flourish in a structured environment. We have a very strong core curriculum – our Cambridge curriculum – that is standardised and which both supports and challenges children of all abilities. This stretches from Year 1 to 13, and is the backbone of our education. I believe that there is a foundation of knowledge and understanding that all students need access to if they are to be successful citizens, helping each other as they make their ways in the world. We teach children how to think for themselves, how to solve problems, how to inquire into the world around them and how to make it a better place. How to be independent thinkers, in other words. And we do this through the foundation of structured, shared knowledge, of a common understanding that we all need to develop about our world. To me, this is just common sense: it’s about equity of access to the knowledge and understanding young people will need in their lives. We also believe in an holistic education: we want to challenge students in their academic studies, and will extend and stretch students in every way we can. But we also want them to play sport, take part in our music programme, take part in drama activities, develop their leadership skills, take part in a council, have fun and explore themselves in every imaginable way. I want every single child in our school to be involved in sport at school in some way, for example – we have so many sports available! – so if your son or daughter is not doing anything sporty, please encourage them to do so. I have also enjoyed spending time walking around classrooms this week, seeing the wonderful work our teachers and students are doing from Years 1 to 13, and I do hope you have the time to skim through the whole newsletter to get a taste for the kinds of things that are going on around school. Every now and then, it’s suggested to me that we shorten the weekly newsletter or add jumplinks to enable parents to navigate more easily to the areas in which they’re interested. I resist both these requests, reasonable though they are, because we like to share as much as we can of the school, and because I’d encourage parents to take a few minutes just to whip through to see the full school in action. I understand not many people have the time to read the whole thing but I am, as you can probably tell (!), very proud of our children and our school. Our last Primary School camp returned on Wednesday: tired and happy Year 4 students were greeted by excited parents after a slightly complicated trip home. Thank you to the parents who accompanied the camp – it’s always a momentous one, as for many of our students it marks their first overnight stay away from their parents – and to Mrs Donald, Mrs Rodriguez and Miss Ahn for their work and commitment. We have our Year 7 camp next week, followed two weeks later by our very exciting new Year 9 sailing and tramping ‘Out There’ camp. A huge thanks in advance to the staff and parents involved in making these happen. Enjoy the weekend ahead, and I look forward to seeing you around school in the week to come. Have a lovely weekend. WEEK 7 Monday 11 March
Tuesday 12 March
Wednesday 13 March
Thursday 14 March
WEEK 8 Monday 18 March
Tuesday 19 March
Wednesday 20 March
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, We have reached the mid-point of the term and the College feels like it is humming along at a good productive pace. Students are working well in class and it is great moving around the school and seeing how engaged they are in their lessons. We have now extended our BYOD (laptop) programme to include all year levels in the College. Teachers are using a variety of tools and strategies in their lessons, blending technology into their planning and delivery of the curriculum where and when it is beneficial. Differentiation is one of our key focus areas for the year with teachers working together to ensure that every student is extended to their potential. Outside of the classroom the college is also starting to get very busy. This week we have had some Hockey and Netball training before school. Basketball is in the gym after school most days, and we have seen an increase in the number of players that is supported by great coaching. Our Volleyball, Tennis, and Golf teams are all underway, with teams performing very well. We have more students playing both Golf and Tennis this year than we have had before, and they continue to produce outstanding sportsmanship. If your son or daughter is interested in playing sport for the school this year, please visit our website for all the information that is required. School sport is a wonderful opportunity to get active and engaged. Last Friday we had our College Athletics Day. This is a wonderful event full of colour and enthusiasm. It is also a great house competition with the final placings being decided by the relays at the end of the day. This year we were under pressure to get through the programme due to the sheer number of students competing in so many events. This is a great problem to have. Congratulations to all of those that did so well. Yesterday we played host to Mt Richmond School for an after school football match. Mt Richmond is a school for students with special needs and it was great to see the spirit with which our students joined in the game. We have no idea what the final score was, but it was a good experience for all the students and staff involved. We wish our Year 7 students well for their camp next week. We know some of them will be nervous in the lead up, but it is a great opportunity to develop some new skills and build on the friendships that have started to form. Ngā mihi, Chris Wiggin and Kieran Verryt Principals of College 2019 College Inter-House AthleticsLast Friday, our Year 7-13 enjoyed a day at AUT Millennium to participate in our school Inter-House athletics event. Competition was strong and many students dressed up in their house colours which added a bit of fun to the event. Congratulations to all our event winners with a special mention to Charlotte Gardner, Daniel Alsammak, Nina Ward, Brianna Tirado, Aria Rhodes and Oliver Farley-Wilson, who all managed to break school records on the day! For more photos, please see our Pinehurst Facebook Sports Page Year 8 Physical EducationYear 8 have had a fantastic start to the school year in PE. We have just concluded our athletics unit and it was pleasing to see all the hard work the students put in which resulted in excellent performances at the school’s athletics championships. We have now just started a striking and fielding unit with them. The aim of this unit is for students to develop their striking and fielding skills, playing in a range of different games, such as kickball, rounders and softball. We’ll also investigate different tactical strategies that we can apply in the games, which will further challenge students thinking. In Health Education, students are continuing to learn about the human body. Classes are now concluding looking at the skeletal system and specific bones in the body, and are soon to start the muscular system. It’s been great seeing the enthusiasm from students and the willingness to learn about the fascinating human body. Year 7-8 NH Zone Day TriathlonEarlier this week, 38 of our Year 7-8 students made their way to Long Bay Reserve to take part in the annual Triathlon Zone Day event. Students had the option to enter as an individual (completing all 3 disciplines) or as part of a team (completing 1 of the 3 disciplines). Students swam 200m for the first leg of the race, followed by a 5km bike ride on the grass. The final leg was a 2km run on the sand and then off to the finish line. All students were amazing on the day, giving 100% effort! A special mention to Kalan Evans who was 2nd overall in the Year 8 Individual Boys event. Further official results are still pending, we also had a number of other students/teams finish in the Top 10! For more photos, please see our Pinehurst Facebook Sports Page Year 8 embarking on a Historical Music journeyAlthough Musical History is a subject we could spend years on unpacking, Year 8 are presented with a condensed programme to gain an overall appreciation of the artistic, cultural and environmental impacts that progressed the development of certain instruments, styles and genres. Recently a set of Medieval knives were discovered that had music notation chiselled into them by an Italian maker. The set of knives point to the every-day presence music had within their lives – these ones, in particular had a benediction engraving on one side (usually said before one eats) and the grace on the others (for after the meal has finished). Year 8, 12 & 13 got to hear what this would have sounded like and found the project equally fascinating. Want to know more? Click here. Year 10 Geography Field TripThe Year 10 Geography classes went on a field trip to Brown’s Bay this week. Their tasks were to complete pedestrian counts and record building heights in designated areas throughout Brown’s Bay. The aim of this exercise was for the students to practise their fieldwork skills. The students had a fun morning out and about and even made time to grab the odd ice cream/Starbucks in between data collection. A2 PhysicsThe Year 13 A2 Physics class have been busy investigating potential dividers. These circuits are often used with transducers such as LDRs, RC combinations and thermistors which are used in most homes on a regular basis. WeightliftingOur students have started another term of weightlifting classes this year at Functional Strength, just round the corner from school. The programme, which is heavily subsidised by KiwiSport, is run by Olympic and Commonwealth games athletes and it aims to get more people into the sport. Students will learn the basics of Olympic Weightlifting techniques (cleans, jerks and snatch) as well as practice gymnastics skills, strength and conditioning. It’s a great way to start a new sport, gain some extra strength and power for your existing sports or just keep fit and healthy. Sessions run on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons 3:30-4:30. Registrations are open on the Pinehurst website. AS Level BiologyThis week the AS Level Biologists have been learning about Cell membranes and Cell Division. As part of their learning they have been building models to utilise their visual learning. Skylah Smallman, Hannah Gannon and Arianna Tuson are demonstrating their excellent modelling skills of ‘Active Transport’ and the 5 phases of Mitosis – IPMAT. This week the students will finish Cell Division and will be onto the next topic of Biological Molecules. Pinehurst Golf Team Remains UnbeatenThe Pinehurst golf team continued its winning streak last Monday at the North Shore Golf Club. For the third week in a row, the weather played its part and both Kristin and Pinehurst were able to tee off in warm, still conditions. What could have been a closely contended match, ended with Pinehurst winning quite comfortably 113 -131. Yeonsoo played consistently and for the third week in a row scored well; Jaewoo started well but at the end was a bit disappointed with his performance overall; Eujin had a birdie on a par four and had a good round; and Subin hit her tee shot into the woods on a par four, chipped out, hit her third just off the green and chipped in for par. She took this brilliance in her stride. Our second team of Luke, Towa, Daniel and Kalan lost to Westlake but are gaining experience as the competition goes on. Next week both our Pinehurst teams will play against each other. Pinehurst vs St Richmond Special School - Friendly Football GameLast night our school played St Richmond Special School in a friendly match of football. The first half of the game was played with us versing them, but based on St Richmond rules. For the second half we mixed both teams together, with each team being allowed to have all 15 players on the field, this created a few laughs and fun atmosphere for all involved. Our students were very positive and encouraging towards St Richmond Special School students, which made the game enjoyable for everyone! Kia Ora, Our students are well into the term’s programme now and really beginning to get to grips with the learning in each year group. It was wonderful to see many cross groups this week in Maths and also in Year 6 English. Cross grouping allows us to provide programmes, especially in Maths, that are able to meet the specific needs of each student with stretch for the more able and support for those that need it. Children need to feel successful in order to gain the confidence to take responsible risks; allowing them the opportunities to work at the right level, which is neither too difficult or too easy helps them to build their skills. Too much stretch too quickly and they snap, not enough and there is no growth in learning. It’s a fine balance but one that can be achieved through differentiating through grouping, time, resources and support. Students from Year 1 to Year 6 should be aiming for four progressions a week in Maths Whizz as part of their weekly homework, the programme was chosen specifically to support the Cambridge Primary Maths programme so please help your child to set aside time each week to complete their work as this too helps them to succeed in the classroom. It was fun to spend some time this week out at Peter Snell camp with Year 4. The weather was beautiful, the scenery was stunning and the waterslide was exhilarating. Camps are a wonderful opportunity to make memories and friendships and Year 4 were totally engaged in getting the most out of the experience as possible. For some it was the first time they had stayed away from home so well done Year 4 students and parents for stepping out of your comfort zones! Ngā mihi Sian Coxon, Principal of Primary P6 ScientistsOur Year 1 students have been working on a Biology unit, which involved us looking at different types of foods and learning about the need for a healthy diet. This included us identifying suitable foods for our health and well-being. We wrote healthy shopping lists and created café menus. Wow! These featured some tasty delicacies which some of us then recreated into 3D representations. We had great fun learning about what helps us to stay healthy as we work and play! P5’s Super LearningThis term in Year 1 we have been learning in a creative way through our topic of Superheros. In writing, we are currently writing instructions on ‘How to be a Superhero’. Before writing our instructions, we thought about what we would need and what we would need to do. The children planned their instructions and acted them out with each other before publishing. Here are some examples of the children’s amazing instructions. 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 have been learning about keeping healthy by making a healthy Superhero plate of food for our Superheros who need super strength. This week we are continuing our learning in Science by looking at our super senses. 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 P5! Bubbles DayBeautiful bubbles floated through the air amongst the delighted squeals of excitement. We spent a fun filled lunchtime last week blowing big bubbles and chasing these mystical orbs across the field. A rainbow of colours created by bubbles of all shapes and sizes soared, whilst students of all ages joined in the fun. The school council showed terrific organisational skills in putting together such a successful event. Our Peer Mediators had lunch with their Junior buddy class and spent the lunchtime helping their little buddies retrieve sticky lost bubble wands, pop big bubbles and run around in the sun. The I-Lead team were our on the spot image gatherers. They captured the moments of bubble fun and put together wonderful ‘bubble movies’ for us all to enjoy, Blake Fitzgerald's and Liam Webb's are below. You may have noticed some ‘fun generators’ in our movies. The students in our Arts/Cultural team came in surprise dress up costumes and added an element of hilarity and good cheer. The class councillors alongside the Year Six councillors created Bubble Day posters to promote this event and then were put to work, alongside P13 and Mrs Donald, with the great clean up at the end. P17 Reporters!P17 have been learning how to identify the features of a recount written in third person, which they discovered was not as easy a point of view to write from as first person! To get into character and see things from someone else’s perspective they decided to become reporters. After much investigating into the structure and features of a newspaper article, the budding P17 journalists wrote their own news reports about the exciting week of swimming that took place at Northern Arena. Here are a couple from the P17 Newsroom. Look out for the next edition coming soon! I Spy in the PrimaryI Spy... Hockey skills in Senior Primary. I Spy... New Entrant students with their Year 3 Buddies having a pizza party! I Spy... Aliens and spaceships in P4! I Spy...making rockets in P2! Production UpdateOn Tuesday 30 members of the production class were able to spend time with the choreographer from the Pop-Up Globe, Brigid Costello. Each group spent an hour with Brigid learning how to do a Shakespearean jig. Students from Year 7-10 worked very hard to pick up this new style of movement quickly and with enthusiasm. There was much hopping, clapping and sashaying to be found. All of the students were very grateful to learn from someone as experienced as Brigid who has choreographed over thirty productions for the Pop-Up Globe. They are all looking forward to the follow up session later in the year and closer to the production dates of 13th to 15th June. The Pinehurst OrchestraOur Orchestra this year is boasting an impressive number of students - 50 and it’s the largest it has been in the last 15 years. We have already started preparing for the upcoming KBB competition in August and are working through a diverse repertoire. Rehearsals are once a week on a Thursday lunchtime and we accept students that are grade 2 and above in their instrumental learning. Last year the Pinehurst Orchestra presented a number of Pop and Film music which the judges appreciated but at the request of the students, this year we are focusing on a number of classical pieces but of course, with a twist. We are currently working on Over The Rainbow with Catherine Franicevic as our vocal soloist. If your child plays an orchestral instrument and wishes to join the Orchestra, please don’t hesitate to contact Ms Naumovska. Parent ConsultationsParent Consultation Meetings with Alex are on the 26th March at 2pm and 5pm. The topics to be covered include; co-curricular participation and community building. If you would like to attend please RSVP to judy.wallace@pinehurst.school.nz Pinehurst Golf LessonsOn Friday 1st March, 18 students from Years 1-8 took part in their first golf lesson for Term 1. Coach Sam took the students through a warm-up, some putting practice and went over the technique for holding their clubs. Students then had a game practicing their new skills and a bit of teamwork! The group are looking forward to continuing to practice their new skills over the coming weeks, and playing a round of golf at the end of the programme! Round the BaysOn Sunday, the 3rd of March, 15 Matai teachers and students took part in the annual Round the Bays. Well done to everyone who achieved personal bests i.e. Mr Dawson for completing the event in 31 minutes, Tyla George for being the 19th girl in her age group, Ms Pirini for completing the 8.4km in 49 minutes, Ryan Hughes and Dom Van der Steeg for sticking together and finishing the event in just over an hour, Mrs Vien and Mr Zimmermann for completing the event in an hour and 31 minutes, Mrs Ovenden and Mrs Waddel for finishing the 8.4km in an hour and 41 minutes as well as Hannah Ridgway, Cassie Wilson, Lauren Ovenden and Jordyn George for supporting each other and working as a team. It’s not too late to support this group’s efforts in fundraising for Youthline here. Auckland Secondary Schools Mountain Bike Series (Event 1)Last weekend Ben Spence competed in the AKSS MTB series, his first school event and only his second MTB race ever. He placed a credible 7th in the U17 Boys and 1st in the boys relay which was a composite team made up from a group of schools. Well done Ben! Lifeguard SchoolCenedra and Paige Waddel were selected to attend the Intermediate Lifeguard School at Bethels Beach last weekend. Only 3 candidates from each club are selected based on having level 2 first aid certificates and 2 years of patrolling behind them. The completed modules included Surf Lifeguarding techniques, teamwork, public image, emergency care, board rescue and rock/surf rescue. This is some of what they had to say about the weekend. “We ran the 1.5km to the rocks where we practiced climbing when a surging wave came and lifted us up onto it. We finished off with patient rescues which involved more jumping off the rocks. From there we went into a small narrow cave and walked to the end of it in the dark (1.2km). Then we swam into the beach with the 4m waves crashing over us. After lunch we practiced making helicopter landing zones. Then the Police “Eagle” helicopter came and taught us about the helicopter and we got to try on the bullet proof vests. Upon completion of this activity we ran 2.5km to the sand dunes and the Bethels Bay lake. There, we did some board rescue. At 9.30pm we went and did a search and rescue scenario. It finished at 11.30pm, then we went to bed at 12am. We were then woken up at 5.30am and ran 3km to the 2nd biggest sand dunes. Here we were made to do 100 press-ups at the bottom, then ran up and down the sand dune, followed by 100 sit ups, then ran up and down the sand dune followed by 50 burpees and you guessed it ran up and down the sand dunes for a final time." |