News and events for the week ending 26th July 2019 Friday 26th July 2019 Opening words from the Executive PrincipalKia ora tatou, good afternoon, 你好, 안녕하세요 Welcome back to a crisp Term 3 at Pinehurst after what I hope have been a fantastic few weeks away. The weather has been beautiful – if we ignore the sudden downpours every now and then – and the students seem happy to be back. There were quite a few smiling parents on Tuesday as well: the holidays can be a wonderful time, we know, but also quite a challenging period for working parents. We will be doing a little consultation with parents this term on our holiday programme, so please look out for a brief survey in the next week or two. A big welcome too for Sarah Boam, who teaches English, and Chantelle Wang, who teaches first and second language Mandarin Chinese: they have both settled in brilliantly. We have had the privilege of welcoming 20 students from Imae Middle School, just south of Seoul, this week. Imae was our host school when we visited Korea last year with Year 7, 8 and 9 students; and we will be returning there next year, so look out for the information session later this year. They were wonderful hosts last year, and have been perfect guests over here: the students performed for us in Assembly yesterday afternoon, and both sets of children have been learning about their respective cultures, building friendships and just having fun. Many thanks to our homestay hosts who have enabled us to develop our relationship. As usual, our students have been managing all kinds of marvellous achievements over the holidays. I haven’t got space to mention them all, but I’d like to highlight Maria Kopilevich, who finished Year 13 last year and is now the Youth MP for Erica Stanford, our local constituency MP and a very supportive Pinehurst parent. She was in blistering form in Youth Parliament over the holidays, and she was so convincing that I found myself wanting to agree with her about subjects that I’m pretty sure I disagree about. I’m no longer quite so sure, though… And congratulations to Charles Shen and Kevin Guo, both in Year 7, who received gold and bronze, and gold and silver medals respectively in the NZ Robot Olympiad. They will be representing New Zealand in the International Robot Olympiad in Thailand in December. I hope those parents who came along to our ‘Tackling Technology’ information evening on Wednesday found it useful. I’m very happy to receive any feedback you may have about it. The coming weeks see a number of information evenings, so I hope to see you at these. Next week, we have our Parent Teacher meetings on Tuesday and Thursday, and we have our IGCSE Option Evening on Monday 12th August, and our AS and A Level Option Evening on Monday 19th August. We know that there are lots of decisions to be made this term, and we enjoy responding to any questions you may have, so please simply get in touch if you have any queries at all. Please also just ask if you have any concerns about your child’s progress at all levels. This term can be an anxious one for some students and parents at all levels, and we know that talking through questions, issues, concerns is always useful, and can make everyone feel more settled and confident. Good luck to everyone involved in school sport over the coming week at all levels. It’s been great to see sports practices up and running so enthusiastically at the start of term, and I thought I’d share with you just a few of the College teams’ performances at this stage of the winter season: In badminton, our boys and girls teams both placed 2nd overall in their grades. In Senior College table tennis, Team 1 placed 3rd overall in the A1 grade, Team 2 placed 2nd overall in the A2 grade and Team 3 placed 4th overall in the B2 grade. And In football, our First XI Girls placed 2nd overall in their grade. Badminton and table tennis have new competitions starting this week. In basketball, hockey and lacrosse, the seasons are continuing. At the moment, our basketball U19 A team is currently top of the table in U19 Boys League 1, our Hockey 2nd XI Girls are currently in 2nd place in the 5A grade, and our Lacrosse team is currently in 1st place in their grade. Well done to all our students, coaches and managers, of all ages and in all sports. I’m very proud of the commitment all our young people show, and I’m exceptionally proud of the perfect sportsmanship they always show, representing our school with pride and perfect manners! Have a lovely weekend. WEEK 2 Monday 29 July
Tuesday 30 July
Wednesday 31 July
Thursday 1 August
Friday 2 August
Saturday 3 August
WEEK 3 Monday 5 August
Tuesday 6 August
Wednesday 7 August
Saturday 10 August
Sunday 11 August
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, A warm welcome back for Term 3, we hope that you enjoyed the break with your children and that they are rested and ready for the term ahead. Term 3 is a busy one for our senior students as they work through to finish the their A Level and IGCSE courses. Teachers will be working hard to support the students to achieve the goals that they set for themselves at the start of the academic year. There is also a lot to look forward to for our Year 7 and Year 8 students, with Year 8 Camp and Aims Games two highlights that are on the horizon. We also have winter tournament week for our top senior teams, the KBB Music Festival and many other challenges for our multitude of teams and clubs. Thank you to the parents that attended the Year 7 – 9 Tackling Technology parent information evening on Wednesday night. It was an informative evening with some very useful advice for parents on how to support and guide their children through the myriad of challenges that the ever-changing technology scene offers our children and ourselves. It is important that students, parents, and the school continue to up-skill and keep informed of the latest information and trends in this area. We look forward to seeing many more parents at next weeks parent teacher conferences. These conferences are timed so that parents, students and teachers have had an opportunity to reflect the progress made to date, and set clear targets to strive for in the next half of the year. If you have not managed to book your conferences yet, please log in to the parent portal by Monday 29 July. Ngā mihi, Chris Wiggin and Kieran Verryt Principals of College Table Tennis Champions!Once again our Pinehurst Year 5-8 Table Tennis teams had amazing results in the Term 2 after-school league at North Harbour Table Tennis, and they were recognised at prizegiving earlier this week. Our Pinehurst Blue team – Yumin Kim, Samson Craig & Ilya Kopilevich - finished 1st = in the Premier A (top grade). Yumin was also awarded the overall top player for the term, undefeated all season! Congratulations to all! Gold for the Pinehurst Suns Basketball teamWell done to the Pinehurst Suns who won BL5 at North Harbour Basketball in Semester 1. Congratulations to Hybo, Kristian, Alan, Hunter, Roger and Tye (absent), Coaches Jesse, James & Oscar (absent), and our thanks also to our super subs for the last game Oscar & Ian. ESOL - War Horse Field TripIn the last week of Term 2, fifteen Year 10 and 11 ESOL students attended the stage production of War Horse at the Civic Theatre in Auckland. The students had studied the book in English class and to be able to attend the event was a once in a life-time opportunity. For many of our students it was the first time that they had studied a book and had the chance to combine their learning with a live stage production. For two and a half hours the students were enthralled by the story of a boy and his horse, accompanied by haunting music and astounding puppetry. “After a while you started to believe that the horses were real,” said a Year 11 student. The sounds of canon and gunfire boomed through the theatre and although it was at times startling for some students, it brought to life the horrors and reality of war. It was a wonderful end to the term to have a new experience in Auckland City and at the Civic Theatre. NH Zone Day WaterpoloOn the last Thursday of Term 2, our JC Waterpolo team took part in the inaugural NH Zone Day Waterpolo event at the National Aquatic Centre. The team had a tough first game against eventual Zone Day winners Murrays Bay, but went on to enjoy closer pool games against both Birkdale and Whangaparaoa. Although they didn’t come away with a win, they played hard all day and scored (and saved!) some great goals. Thank you to Sarah & Amanda for transporting and supervising the students on the day, and to coaches Boston & Lucas. Hockey 1st XIWith a final score of 6:2 Pinehurst agreed their opposition, Northcote College, were the deserved winners. The Pinehurst chaps enjoyed a fine match and knew their strategy had not worked for this encounter. The whole team worked hard in ideal conditions and there was a positive team spirit. Pinehurst were often out-played by a skilled and physical team who dominated so much of the play some of the spectators expected them to reach double figures. At times there were 20 players in the Pinehurst end of the pitch and the defence worked well, but with all the team falling back for a tactical stand there was no-one left for the attack. Pinehurst beat this team last year, twice, and with losses of key Pinehurst players the team will take a while to gain the skills and vigour necessary to nail these fellows. Connor must be congratulated for the two splendid goals and all the young Pinehurst men must likewise be congratulated for their efforts and unrelenting exertion. Next week Pinehurst face a new challenge and they will need to dig deep to get themselves back on course. Imae Middle SchoolStudents from Imae Middle School in Korea visited Pinehurst this week. They have been learning about NZ culture, building friendships and just having fun! Kia Ora, Welcome to Term 3 and to all of the families who have joined us this term. There are new students in every year group and another New Entrant class has started in P1 with Mrs Shelly Murray. We are looking forward to getting to know you all and to working with you and your child over the coming years. It has been a busy week as new units of work are being started and students are demonstrating what they already know or need to know about new concepts and focussing on their next steps. Please check on Seesaw for the overview of what your child will be learning in each subject area this term. Travelling around the Primary school has been interesting this week, there are an awful lot of pirates in the Year 1 and Year 2 syndicate! Hats, costumes, eye patches and parrots can be seen in makeshift pirate ship corners ready to stimulate exciting writing with wow words, connectives and adverbial openers! We are really looking forward to reading all of the wonderful pirate stories that are sure to come our way. Year 6 are at the Science Roadshow as I write and no doubt enjoying all of the exhibits and learning more about the world around them. They are in revision mode in their core Cambridge subjects of English, Maths and Science as they review their learning and prepare for Cambridge Checkpoint tests in Week 1 of Term 4. As part of the work we are all doing on sustainability this year we will welcome the Tread Lightly caravan next week which is a resource that students can visit and learn all about how to look after the planet. Each class is timetabled for a visit throughout the week and we are hoping for parent support to help with the facilitation of groups, please sign up on Seesaw. We will be having a big push on Maths Whizz this term as it is our chosen Maths homework programme. We selected Maths Whizz specifically because it is closely aligned with our own Maths programme and because there is a wealth of research to demonstrate that regular participation significantly increases student confidence and achievement. The programme gives teachers valuable data which they use to adjust their programmes to meet the needs of their class. Please set time aside each week for your child to complete their homework and to achieve their progressions and a ‘green tick’. Ngā mihi Sian Coxon, Principal of Primary Would your child like to play basketball?We have limited spaces available for Year 5-6 students in Semester 2. Games will be on a Tuesday night. If your child is interested or you would like more information please email Teacher in Charge of Basketball – Ms Stacey McIntosh at stacey.mcintosh@pinehurst.school.nz . P13 NewsThe term has started well in Year 4. We have welcomed all our new students to Pinehurst with the Powhiri on Tuesday morning. The students returned with smiles and excited chatter as they met up with their friends and shared their news. They wrote three paragraphs about their holidays but with a wee twist. It was two truths and a lie. When they share their recounts with the other students, they get to try and work out which episode is the lie. It is always fun trying to work these out. We are all looking forward to the Tread Lightly caravan sessions next week where the students learn about sustainability for our environment. This is a focus for Year 4 this term. P6 PiratesWhat a busy week it has been in P6. We have had lots of fun starting the term with our Literacy Unit, ‘Land Ahoy!’ We started by reading the book ‘The Pirates Next Door’ by Johnny Duddle! We enjoyed listening to the story and talking about some of the fabulous language in the book. This has emerged nicely into our Social Studies lessons where the children were engaged in a variety of different tasks, learning about people in the past, using Pirates as the context. P10 Scavenger HuntP10 would like to welcome Franklin Shan, Nina Hou, Karen Zhang and their whānau to our class and to the Pinehurst community. To help our new students get to know their new school environment, P10 had a scavenger hunt. Students placed themselves into groups and were then handed a list of objects that needed to be found throughout the Primary School grounds. Items that needed to be found ranged from a footprint to a bird flying. Capturing the bird during flight did prove to be a little bit hard but the students did manage to photograph a bird. Finding a live caterpillar or a butterfly was a more difficult task, however, the students managed to find photos in our butterfly garden. It was lovely to observe the students working together, having discussions on where the best place would be to find items and then racing off to investigate if ‘it’ could be found. Thankfully the sun was shining, and it was very obvious how lucky we are to have such a beautiful and safe environment for our students to enjoy while outside. P20 WritingP20 have had a great start to Term 3 and been doing some recount writing about the holidays. The challenge was to focus on just one moment in time that happened and be very descriptive, describing that moment. Here are some examples of the magical holiday moments. P19 at Science RoadshowToday P19 and the rest of Year 6 were lucky enough to go to Albany Junior High and experience a Science Roadshow! We had an awesome time, starting with watching a fascinating live show about chemical reactions before being let loose to explore the interactive science exhibit. From forces to geography, electricity to magnets, there was something for everyone - even a bed of nails (which was surprisingly comfortable!). It was an awesome experience and a cool way to learn science! I Spy in the PrimaryI Spy…P11 making beautiful feathers for a Korowai (Maori Cloak)! I Spy...Year 2 in a game of Bullrush! I Spy...kids having fun at lunchtime! In Music this WeekIn the Media: Students who take Music lessons do well in other subjects Forbes magazine recently published an article referring to an extensive study from the University of British Columbia in Canada that shows students who took music lessons in high school performed better in subjects such as English, Science, and Math. The researchers collected data from over 100,000 students at public high schools across the province of British Columbia. Comparing the test scores of students who took music classes with those of their peers, the musicians got higher grades in a range of different school subjects. Several studies link music practice with neurological changes that improves certain brain functions. This could explain how studying music affects memory or planning skills, for example. But the researchers also consider that there is a possible motivational factor: Students who take music lessons see a tangible result from practice - they get better - and they might apply that to their other work. And finally, the non-competitive team aspect of making music together could strengthen students’ social development, which would also help them in other areas. To read the full article, click here. In the New Zealand Herald, Michelle Dickinson (aka Nanogirl) also wrote on the same topic. To read the full article, click here. If you wish to enrol your child in itinerant music lesson, please visit this page and complete the enrolment form. KBB Competition – Full steam ahead Both the Pinehurst Orchestra and the Jazz Band are perfecting their set of repertoire for the upcoming KBB competition. The Pinehurst Orchestra will be competing at the Holy Trinity Cathedral on the 12th of August, Monday at 2.30pm. The Jazz Band will be performing at St Mary’s on the 14th of August, Wednesday at 9.30am. Parents, family and friends are welcome to attend the competition. The Pinehurst Orchestra has had several guest conductors, including Polly Sussex (string specialist) (pictured), Julia Cornfield (woodwind specialist) and Colleen Pope (general musicianship) to help all sections of the orchestra prepare to the best of their ability. A gentle reminder that there are special rehearsals coming up for both of these groups:
Shuan Liu in the Semi-Finals of the Wallace National Piano Competition Congratulations to Shuan Liu (Y12) for reaching the Semi-finals of the Wallace National Piano competition. The biennial competition is a premiere platform for tomorrow’s musicians. Shuan was recognised to be in the top 15 of New Zealand’s best young pianists and adjudicator Charles Owen (Professor of Piano, Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London) selected four Grand Finalists to compete for prizes totalling over $20,000. We are very proud of her achievement! Sibling PhotosPinehurst Parent Connection have organised Sibling Photos for families who are interested. There will be 2 sessions available from 2.30pm-4.30pm (please note time change) on: · Thursday 1st August · Friday 2nd August These will be held in P3 (Junior Primary block). Emails have gone out to sibling families with details and a registration form. If you have any questions, please contact Sylvia Lum on Sylvia.lum@pinehurst.school.nz. Tennis Coaching Term 3There will be tennis coaching available after school in Term 3. If you require any further information, please feel free to email Liz on the email below.
Contact: elizabeth.daly@pinehurst.school.nz NH Hockey RepresentativeCongratulations to Kalan Evans (Year 8) who was recently named to play in the North Harbour Hockey U13 Boys ‘Hatch’ team for 2019. Kalan will represent North Harbour at the National tournament for this age group in the first week of October in Palmerston North. Rotary Club Fundraiser – Bronze MedalYear 8 student Jack Potier and his team (12 yr old Boys) took part in the Rotary Club fundraiser on Sunday 30th June. The team had to swim as many 25m laps as they could within a 45 min time- frame. They finished 3rd with an amazing 168 laps. This was an especially great result as they were up against any age group/opens, with their team being the youngest team competing! A great day for Jack and team, and for a great charity too! NZ Robot Olympiad 2019Junior College students Charles Shen and Kevin Guo recently competed in the Intermediate Division (Year 7-9) of the NZ Robot Olympiad. Charles got Gold for Creative Robot and Bronze for Robot in Movie. Kevin received Gold for Robot in Movie and Silver for Creative Robot. Charles and Kevin are also selected as members of Team NZ to attend in the International Robot Olympiad 2019, which will be held in Thailand this December. Charles Shen Kevin Guo |