News and events for the week ending 20th September 2019 Friday 20th September 2019 Opening words from the Executive PrincipalKia ora tatou, good afternoon, 你好, 안녕하세요 I’m going to start with some congratulations, to Yuzhang Wu, one of our very talented musicians: there’s a piece about her at the end of the newsletter, and we are absolutely delighted to report that she has won First Prize, and the Young Jury Prize at the Zhuhai International Mozart Competition. She is an outstanding pianist. Pinehurst has been as busy as ever this week, of course: the Year 11-13 students had their Mock examinations, and are currently preparing for the external exams. These begin in the holidays with Art and ICT, and then hit the ground running in the first week of Term 4. We have offered a wide range of tutorials this year, running in the holidays and in term time, and students have generally been assiduous in attending these. They are exceptionally busy all-round in school at the moment, because I’ve been delighted to see that the work hasn’t stopped the House events, the charity work, the tutoring that our senior students are offering younger children, and all the other wonderful things that are going on. In Year 10, I’m pleased to see that this group has settled down well and are working hard on their IGCSE courses. It’s notable, I think, how much more a sense of purpose they have than Year 10s in some other schools. We are unusual (in New Zealand) in running IGCSEs over two years, but it’s the way they were designed and are taught in the UK, and allows us to maintain a broad range of subjects until the end of Year 11, as well as giving the students direction during Year 10. Year 9 have been taking their Checkpoint mock exams, and doing so with a great sense of purpose and commitment. In Years 7 and 8, I have been impressed by the way in which Year 7 have become so much more of a unit, and have grown up so much this term too. I think it may be because this is such an exciting, eventful time for Year 8s – ski camp, AIMs and other sports, leadership, as well as thoughts of transition into Year 9 – and there’s a space into which Year 7s can find their own identities. It’s a particularly lovely age, and they’re great fun to have right at the centre of the school. In Primary, a different rhythm applies, and there has been a huge amount of fun alongside practice for exams, and our ongoing focus on literacy and numeracy. I hope parents have made the most of the Parent Teacher Conferences this week, and that they feel completely informed about the progress of their children: please just ask questions if you have any. I know I say this a great deal, but we really do welcome every question and every piece of information, because we know how much our children benefit if we are all well-informed about every aspect of their work and their lives. I thought I would finish with a reflection this week on two of the speakers I was lucky enough to listen to a couple of weeks ago at the Independent Schools’ conference: the theme was “The Future of Talent”, and we had a number of speakers talking about what the future would mean for us. Roger Dennis, a “Serendipity Architect” (yes, they really do have titles like that), talked about how technology is doing all sorts of interesting things in labs and companies around the world, and how the jobs of the future will all require high cognitive skills. He was echoed by Mark McCrindle, who had a similar title, and this led to me think more about our roles as teachers and schools. They suggested that much of what we teach our children is no longer necessary, and that they can find out everything they need to know from other sources. I feel, though, that this ignores the fundamental purpose of education: we learn how to think, respond to others, construct arguments, conduct experiments, solve problems, and make connections through a curriculum that exposes us to thousands of years of accumulated human wisdom, which we then build on. If you don’t know what you’re looking for, how will you find it? And who will show you where to look? That’s what a teacher can do: show the way, and offer access to curated wisdom, to collective understanding. Our curriculum is always evolving and always looking to the future; but we need to have strong foundations if we are to construct tall buildings. WEEK 10 Tuesday 24 September
Wednesday 25 September
Thursday 26 September
Friday 27 September
TERM 3 ENDS 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, As we finish Week 9 it feels as though Spring has finally arrived. Today a group of 50 students and 5 teachers are heading toward the north of the Coromandel Peninsula for a 3-day hike as part of the Silver Duke of Edinburgh Hilary Award. It looks as though they will have great weather for the journey in a beautiful part of the country. At school we have had our final mufti day of the year with many wearing their national rugby jerseys as the Rugby World Cup gets underway today. The money collected today will go to the four House charities that the students have selected to support; Kauri – The New Zealand Cancer Society, Matai – Youthline, Rimu – Barnardo’s, Totara – Ronald McDonald House. Our Year 9 students return to normal timetable today after their mock checkpoint examinations this week. They have conducted themselves brilliantly throughout the week and are well placed for their Checkpoint Examinations in Week 1 next term. It is important that these students feel reassured and confident at this point in their lead up to the external examinations. They will receive feedback next week on the papers they have sat which should provide useful information for their final preparation. Today we have the last of the five staff vs student sport fixtures for the year. After a drawn football match on Wednesday the final competition, dodgeball, will decide who wins the challenge shield for 2019. It has been a great competition and it is a positive way to build relationships and school culture. Next week we have our 2019 Year 9 – 13 Sports Prizegiving. We look forward to celebrating the many successes of the year. If your son or daughter is winning an award you will have received an invitation. All parents are welcome and we hope to see many of you next week. Parents of students in Year 11-13 will receive Term 3 reports next week. The report should provide good feedback on how students have progressed and also feed forward for the external examinations. If you have any questions, please get in contact with subject teachers to seek support and advice. Finally, thank you to the parents that attended the social film event on Wednesday night. It was a good night and we look forward to engaging as many parents as we can in future events. Ngā mihi, Chris Wiggin and Kieran Verryt Principals of College Year 9-13 Sports GearA reminder to please return your hockey and football uniforms that were hired for the season. Items can be left at either School Reception or handed into the PE Office. AIMS Games 2019Our Pinehurst AIMS Team had another outstanding week away at the 2019 AIMS Games in Tauranga last week. This year, we had students competing in 12 different sports. Every one of the 64 Pinehurst students represented us with pride, passion and determination. Full results are below, however we wish to make special mention of the following results: Pinehurst AIMS Netball team. The Netball team were outstanding all week, playing with composure and confidence in every game. They completed pool play unbeaten, moving to the top 32 (A Grade) competition for the first time ever! After some exceptional games in the A Grade, the team finished 19th out of 125 teams – our best ever result at AIMS for Netball (previously our best finish was 85th place!) A huge congratulations to the team, you were amazing! Pinehurst AIMS Basketball team. The Basketball team finished 22 places higher than in 2018, in 34th place. The team were outstanding at both the pre-AIMS tournament event and during AIMS week, with some very close matches and some exceptional wins! Well done boys. Yumin Kim & Anson Dwung (Table Tennis) – Top 8. Yumin and Anson played outstanding table tennis in both the singles and the doubles competition. In the doubles, they knocked out the second seeded team in the first round! Unfortunately they went on to have a very narrow loss in the quarter finals, going down to the eventual silver medallists. Congratulations Yumin & Anson on a great AIMS tournament! Veronica Xia (Badminton) – Top 16. As a Year 7 player, Veronica was outstanding all tournament, qualifying for Division 1 in the girls singles competition after round robin play. Veronica had a narrow 29-31 loss in the Top 16, but represented the school exceptionally well and with composure and maturity. Veronica is an exciting, talented young player – we look forward to seeing her in action again at AIMS Badminton in 2020! A huge thank you to our coaches & managers, for all their efforts in preparing students for AIMS and for taking care of the students during the tournament. Thank you to the parents that travelled and supported students taking part at AIMS. Senior College Table TennisOur Pinehurst table tennis teams have ended the year on a high at their North Shore Final events. Pinehurst Team 1 won Gold in A Premier League Team competition beating Glenfield by 6:5. Pinehurst Team 2 won Bronze in A Premier League Team competition beating WBHS 6 by 11:0. A Premier Singles final, Michael Belov won Gold, Brian Park won Silver and Tim Xie won Bronze. Pinehurst Team 3 won Bronze in C grade 3-4 final. Congratulations to all our players! Year 7 ServiceMercedez Frost, Billie Dearlove and Bailey Benshaw from 7JG were busy earlier this term baking yummy cakes and treats to raise money for the SPCA. Researching and helping out charities across New Zealand is an integral part of our Service Award programme. The girls raised a total of $280 during their lunchtime Bake Sale and were fortunate to visit the SPCA to make their donation. Well done girls! Many thanks to Anne Benshaw for transporting the girls to Mangere. Year 7 Mandarin: Shadow PuppetryChinese shadow puppetry (皮影戏) can be traced back to 100 B.C. and was very popular during the Tang (618 - 907) and Song (960 - 1279) dynasties in China. Traditional puppets were made of paper or leather of donkeys and oxen, hence the name “皮影 (píyǐng)”, which means shadows of leather. The Year 7 Chinese First Language students have been learning about shadow puppetry as part of the Mid-Autumn Festival topic. The students learned to create their own puppet, write the script of one of the myths and stories associated with the celebration of Mid-Autumn Festival as a group, and eventually, perform in front of an audience. Rotary Intermediate Speech CompetitionThe two winners of the Pinehurst Junior College Speech Competition participated in the Rotary Intermediate Speech Competition on Wednesday evening. The preliminary round was held at Northcross where fifteen talented orators, from intermediate schools on the shore, presented interesting and thought-provoking speeches. Bailey Benshaw (Yr 7) spoke on the Gender Pay Gap in Sports and Natalie Raphael (Yr 8) convinced us Why We Should Learn to Speak Another Language. They presented their ideas exceptionally well, being wonderful representatives of Pinehurst. Natalie Raphael was chosen as one of six students to go through to the finals to be held next Tuesday evening. Congratulations to both girls and wishing Natalie the best of luck for the finals on Tuesday next week. Australian Informatics Olympiad ResultsIn the annual Australian Informatics Olympiad Competition, the best coders all over Australia and New Zealand compete to represent the country in a very challenging coding competition. For the first time, we entered 2 Pinehurst students to test out the competition and Jiahong (Kai) Yu gained 200 points and a Bronze award, while Douglas Lindsay gained 110 points (having taught himself Python the night before!!). Overall these are fantastic results from these 2 students and we will be aiming to enter more students into similar competitions next year. Commerce QuizLast week, Year 11 to 13 students from all subjects in the Commerce Department took part in a Quiz after school. They were tested with questions around the subjects of Accounting, Business and Economics, as well as some general knowledge questions – with the aim of having a fun opportunity to kick-start their revision programmes in the lead up to the Cambridge Examinations. Competition was high and there were plenty of laughs during games in-between rounds. Congratulations to the winning team: “Baby Boomers Ruined the Economy” (Devon, Ayden, Harry, Chantelle, and Coupa). Chiko – Tastes of China and KoreaYear 11 students participating in the Young Enterprise Scheme have been developing their business since January. They competed at the regionl Dragon’s Den event earlier this year. Last week, their business idea became a reality. Students lined up across The Village to get some yummy treats from Chiko’s food stall. Ellie, Selena, William and Iris prepared and organised all the food, completed market research, and planned their finances; each taking home a tidy profit for their efforts. Keep an eye out for what project these students take on next year! Staff vs. College Football GameOn Wednesday lunchtime the ‘staff’ took on the ‘students’ in the 4th match of the year. After a tough battle the scores were level, the game ending in a 1 all draw. This means that after 4 sports, all scores are level at 3 all. On Friday the final match of the year is Dodgeball; this will decide the winner of the first running of the ‘Staff v Students Challenge Shield’. Many thanks to the 10 staff that played, the students who played and the many students who watched. - The Sports Council Kia Ora, I am sitting in my office during parent conferences watching families making their way to classrooms ready to discuss the progress their children have made. We really appreciate the support we have from parents to get the best out of our learners in class. We know that you spend many hours at home, reading, listening, completing homework, learning basic facts and tables and promoting the values of decency, community, kindness and working well together among the myriad of others that we are all trying to promote as we guide young children to be great humans. Thanks too for your support outside of school as we run events, sports fixtures and co-curricular programmes. This weekend I am looking forward to watching our ballroom dancers at the Dancesport competition in Browns Bay and our netballers will be recognised at the Kidzplay Prizegiving. I have spent the last two terms with a bunch of very keen skiers and snowboarders at Snowplanet and enjoyed chats with parents in the cafe. It has been a brilliant opportunity to connect outside of school in an informal setting. I think some of the juniors think I work there in my spare time but it has been great to see lots of happy faces on a Friday afternoon. It has been a fairly long term which has allowed us to spend time consolidating previously learned skills and building on strong foundations when we introduce new concepts. We have been collecting data around numeracy and literacy that we are getting very excited about as it shows there is a shift taking place in our achievement levels since the introduction of a new phonics programme in the juniors and our new writing programme across the school. We are also adding a new spelling programme which will be fully operational from next year. I spent a fascinating morning in some Year 1 and 2 classes this week watching them work on place value, fractions and non chronological report writing. I was thrilled to see the levels of engagement and how such young children are able to drive their own learning and create their next steps. In Year 6 I saw students using sophisticated vocabulary to create writing that displayed maturity beyond their years and who were able to use success criteria to assess their own progress. As we head towards the end of the year and some warmer weather we will endeavour to get outside more. We have a number of events planned too where children can enjoy a variety of activities and parents can see what we have been up to this term. Next week will be busy, Year 1 are off to MOTAT, Year 3 and Year 4 have a fun movie night , Year 1 and Year 2 are planning a pirate party and Year 5 and Year 6 will show off their trash to flash creations at two fashion shows in the Arena. Look for all of the details on Seesaw. Have a great weekend. Ngā Mihi, Sian Coxon, Principal of Primary Pinehurst MakosCongratulations to the Pinehurst Makos Primary Flippaball team, who recently won North Harbour Flippaball "C Grade Silver" for Term 3. The winning team (pictured) are Isabelle (Coach), Alistair, Grace, Caleb, Ben, Chloe, Elsa, Finn (Coach) and Thomas (front). Hockey Have a Go DayOn Tuesday, with the help of an outstanding group of Senior Primary Leaders, we held a hockey experience at lunch time. About 35 of the Year 1-2 students came along to test their skills and learn about the game of hockey. There was fantastic enthusiasm shown and the concentration on their faces was clear to see! If you are interested in signing your child up for Summer Hockey it runs on a Monday afternoon and is a great way to develop your child’s hand and eye coordination and motor skills. Please click the following link to register. There will also be another experience day on Tuesday next week for any NEW Year 3 and 4 students who would like to give hockey a go. Look forward to seeing some keen new faces. 3D Paper Sculpture in P6This term in P6 we have been learning about 3D paper sculpture techniques such as, rolling, curling, pleating and more fun techniques. Our class looked closely at an artist called Yulia Brodskaya, who was known for her handmade elegant and detailed paper illustrations. We have persevered through this fun task by practising in pairs, rolling, curling, pleating and making types of prisms. Starting our planned project was fun, as our techniques were mastered. We have been busy in P4!Last week Mrs. Boniface came over and we decorated some rocks for the butterfly garden. We are so excited to be helping give the butterfly garden a makeover. Last week we also participated in STEAM day. It was a fun day filled with Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Maths. At the start of our day we got into groups and started talking about all the things we wanted to know about space. We had questions like “where do black holes come from?” and “how do the craters form on the moon?” Our Mum’s and Dad’s brought in lots of recycled materials so that we could make a robo car for the moon! We carefully designed the robo car on a piece of paper first, making sure it had all the right bits and bobs. Then we used the recycled materials and made our robo car. Some of the robo cars were so creative! It was such a fantastic day! Primary MusicLast week our Primary students took part in a “STEAM” day, and here in the music room we focused on astronauts playing music in space. (If you’re not familiar with Chris Hadfield search him up, he’s a talented guitar- playing singing astronaut!) We then created our own space compositions and performed them to each other – great fun! Yesterday our Year 0-3 students took part in a Music Assembly. Some of our New Entrants performed an action song, Year 1 showed us their “Stretchy Chord” song and two of our Year 3 classes performed a song on the recorders and chime bars. The Petite Elite choir sang two songs, “Bop Shu Wop” and “Chattanooga Choo Choo”. A great afternoon of music making. Technology P15 - Bird Feeder DesignThis term the Year 4 students have been working on designing their own sustainable bird feeder with recycled materials. Students were asked to create something that is original, that has never existed before, a very exciting task. To launch, students were asked to glance around the classroom and think about how they were surrounded by things that people created. Not only did they create these things but they also designed them. The fancy term for this is design thinking. We discussed how these people, such as artists and engineers would have required to go through a process of drafting, researching and redesigning before being able to construct their final product. Students then put on their design thinking hats and followed the same process. Creatively, each individual design team progressed through each step of the process. They designed, researched and re-designed to develop their product. Making sure to overcome challenges when things didn’t go according to their plan and making adjustments where needed. Mid Bays NetballThis week two Year 5/6 teams competed in the annual Mid Bays Netball event at Pinehurst School. Each of our teams had 3 games against Murrays Bay, Browns Bay & Pinehill schools. Our teams both played very well on the day, and Pinehurst won the B grade and finished 2nd overall for this event! Well done to all our players! A huge thank you to Mrs Heighton & Ms Stanaway for taking practices with the teams in the week leading up to the event, and to Mrs Huffadine & Mrs Heighton for coaching the teams on the day. A massive thank you and well done to our Junior College umpires – Paige, Charlotte, Lucy, Savannah, Victoria & Elizabeth, who did a fabulous job! Thank you too to Winnie for the wonderful action shots – you can see all the photos on our Pinehurst Sports Facebook Page HERE Primary MandarinLast week we celebrated Mid-Autumn festival (中秋节) by doing a variety of activities to learn about the festival. This week our big Year 8 哥哥 (brothers) and 姐姐 (sisters) came "home" to Junior Primary to visit us. They came bearing gifts in the form of stories and mooncakes. They re-told Chinese stories relating to the festival. Some of them looked really funny in their handmade costumes and some of them looked beautiful in their Chinese costumes. Term 3 in the Year 5/6 SyndicateAs always, the students in Year 5 and 6 have once again had a busy term with many opportunities available to them. They have successfully managed to balance a commitment to their learning whilst also being members of a winter sports teams or being part of an arts or music group and for some, also having leadership responsibilities too. This term began with writing speeches, much anticipated by some and dreaded by others. Persuasive points were developed on a broad range of original topics which were well researched and then translated onto colourful cue cards. Many students are already thinking of next year’s topic. Meanwhile in Maths, students have continued to develop and expand their number knowledge in their Math group classes, whilst back in Homeroom Maths covered geometry and statistics. Art and Social studies were integrated this term within the theme of Wearable Arts. Groups of students have spent the term designing and creating some very interesting wearable arts that we will be sharing next week in two special assemblies on Tuesday. Outside the classroom, the students had the opportunities to visit the Tread Lightly caravan, be inspired by the NED show and try out their yo-yo skills once again. Some students were selected to represent Pinehurst in the annual Chess Competition, Super Cluster Hockey and Basketball, Mid Bays Netball and this weekend the Dancesport Competition. We are now looking ahead to Term 4, which is a quick 8 weeks full of testing, prize-giving events, summer sport, a disco and a Christmas concert. For our Year 6 students it is their final term in the Primary and they will be spending some time preparing for the transition through to the College. Enjoy the holidays, have some rest, and be ready for another busy term. I Spy in the PrimaryI Spy...Rainbow Reading superstars! I Spy...Emily and Indie hula hooping! I Spy ... a keen reader in Mrs Jones-Hill’s office I Spy....Hockey players in the making! In Music this WeekYu Zhang Wu wins the Third International Mozart Competition Congratulations to Yu Zhang Wu (Year 8) who has won the Third International Mozart Competition, in her age bracket category, held at Zhuhai in China this year. In the final round Yu Zhang and three others performed Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.12 in A major with the Salzburg Chamber soloist. Yu Zhang won first performance due to her remarkable phrasing and knowledge of the work as well as stylistic interpretation. Yuzhang faced other competitors from around the world, including talented performers from Shanghai, Ukraine, Russia, Vienna, Canada, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Seoul, Salzburg, Romania, Tokyo and Berlin. With artistic director Klaus Kaufmann at the helm, the competition was judged by several well-respected musicians from around the world including Pavel Gililov (Russia), Andreas Groethuysen (Germany), Jian Chen (China), Ewa Kupiec (Poland), Daejin Kim (Korea), Andrea Lucchesini (Italy) and Wei Danwen (China). To see Yuzheng perform in the final performance, click here. Applications are now open for the APO 2020 Orchestral Summer SchoolThe Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra are offering an intensive five-day training programme for aspiring young orchestral musicians from the ages of 12 to 17. APO players mentor the participants through lessons, workshops and rehearsals, all culminating in the public Finale Concert. In 2020, percussion players applying to the APO Orchestral Summer School will also be involved in TAPS (The Ted Arkatz Percussion Seminar) for more information please see here. Course fee: $395.00 (payment details will be sent when application is approved) Dates: 13 - 17 January, 2020, St Cuthbert’s College, Auckland Any queries? Please contact apoconnecting@apo.co.nz Click here to view the Finale Concert of the 2018 APO Orchestral Summer School programme. Pinehurst Connection – Parent Engagement SurveyThis week Pinehurst Connection emailed all parents a Parent Engagement Survey. The survey will only take 2 minutes and you can go into the draw to win a $30 Westfield voucher! Pinehurst Connection is a network of families that formed in Term Two with the purpose to assist our Pinehurst Families current and new, by strengthening friendships within the Pinehurst community social events. All families attending the school are part of Pinehurst Connection and we welcome you all to join us in forming fellowship within our school community. Pinehurst Connection is in establishment phase, you may have spotted our name in the weekly Newsletter, at Open Days and Year Group Transition Evenings, with a presence also on the Pinehurst website. The aim of Pinehurst Connection is to create a strong foundation offering diverse social events which captures all our Pinehurst Connection families. Your feedback is important as to how we structure our future events. Please help us by completing this short survey: "Pinehurst Connection - Parent Engagement Survey" HERE. Pinehurst Connection - Pinehurst家长参与度调查”的中文版本链接如下 If you have any questions, please contact sylvia.lum@pinehurst.school.nz. Quiz NightWith our quiz less than a week away we have some amazing prizes coming in from our sponsors. We have:
And heaps more!! PLUS our Grand Prize from principal sponsor Durham Farms is a Glamorous Glamping night away at the gorgeous Durham Farms in Waipu and a Free Range 'farm to table' goods hamper!! Durham Farms have also set up a crazy good initiative! 1 follow on their Instagram page @durhamfarmswaipu = $1 they are going to donate to SeaCleaners! Tickets are almost sold out so grab 6-8 friends and come along!! Waterwise Instructors WantedAre you interested in becoming a Waterwise instructor? We are now looking for parents/friends of the school, to be a part of an exciting water safety programme. No prior experience is required. The training will be held at the Murrays Bay Sailing Club. Please email your schools Waterwise co-ordinator - kelly.clark@pinehurst.school.nz if you are interested. A meeting will be held to discuss the course. Date TBA. Cammando Basketball School Holiday ProgrammesCammando Basketball School Holiday Programmes are now open for registration. Junior Camp – Years 1-6*
Senior Camp - Years 7-13
The sessions are quite physically demanding so please bring adequate food and water. I look forward to seeing you all there.
- All players must register before attending. Registrations open now via: cammando_basketball@outlook.com - Please include Athletes name, school, and age. An email with registration information will then be sent to you. If you have any further inquiries, please don't hesitate to ask. Hope you can join us! Keep working hard players! After School Badminton - Term 4
Please register here.
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