News and events for the week ending 9th August 2019 Friday 9th August 2019 Opening words from the Executive PrincipalKia ora tatou, good afternoon, 你好, 안녕하세요 We are nearing the end of peak enrolment season at Pinehurst at the moment. We meet prospective parents and students all year round, of course, but the start of Term 3 is particularly busy for us. I love these meetings, and find the range of questions I’m asked to be refreshing and sometimes quite challenging. So I thought I’d share a couple of those, with the answers I gave, in this week’s newsletter. A parent of a Year 2 child asked me this week about the ways our school focused on the future needs of our students. The world is changing, so how do we prepare students for a world that will be very different to the one we met when we first left school? The answer is a complicated one, because we know this is a complex question requiring a thorough answer. We think that vague phrases such as “innovation” and “21st century skills” don’t actually say anything useful. Instead, we talk about the importance of relationships, an open-minded approach and building connections between people, places and times. And we place these qualities, these values, alongside a strong curriculum that keeps evolving, retaining the core content and skills that we have always needed and will always need, and responding to the changes we see in front of us. Our school is a diverse, multi-cultural community in which relationships are placed at the centre of everything. Our children learn to work with people from all over the world, with a wide range of experiences; from next year, we will be teaching Global Citizenship to students from Years 1 to 12, a programme that helps young people explore their identities as New Zealanders and as citizens of the world. We also teach Mandarin Chinese and Spanish from Year 1, and offer programmes such as Environmental Management and Geography, both of which explore the challenges the future will bring to the world we live in. Through Global Citizenship in the Primary and in Science, Global Citizenship and Social Sciences in College, we will be helping students learn about sustainability. Robotics, Coding and Digital Tech have, of course, an eye on the future, but what we’re really teaching through these subjects are creative thinking and problem-solving skills. We also think that our future children will need to be good mathematicians, avid readers and fluent writers, as well as have a strong grounding in the sciences, social sciences and arts. In other words: the broad skills we need today will still be needed tomorrow. The exact content and specific skills will develop, but the core of education has always been the development of curiosity, the fierce desire to find out more about the world. What we try to do at Pinehurst is build that curiosity alongside a really strong understanding of the academic disciplines that enable us to appreciate, enjoy and challenge, the world around us. The life skills we build in our camps, our leadership and Duke of Edinburgh programmes, our range of sports and music, our productions, our charity work and our other activities… well, these are all about the future too, and preparing resilient young people ready to do exciting things! I also think that working alongside kind, caring, curious adults who want to discover more about the world is one of the most important experiences a young person can have. That’s an experience we try to give our students every moment they are in school. Another question I’ve been asked over the last couple of weeks has been about how our teachers continue to train. Our teachers are very well-qualified professionals, of course, and are very capable in their own areas of expertise, but we know that we always need to learn more, always need to develop ourselves. Each teacher, through our Appraisal process, sets inquiry goals each year, and develops their expertise in this area in a range of ways during the year. These goals vary, but they are always connected to ways they can support students in their learning. At the same time, we run school training in a range of areas. This year, all staff have been training in cultural responsiveness, and there has been a particular focus on meeting the learning needs of students who need a little extra support, challenging able students in a mixed ability classroom, using technology in and outside the classroom, and giving useful feedback to students to help them develop. Teachers work together and in departments; we run “communities of practice” in which teachers from College and Primary talk together about strategies; and we have an observation and feedback programme to support our teachers to reflect on their own practice. Next year, we are going to continue this work, and will be doing some additional training around developing resilience in children and adults. We also support all of our staff to do additional professional qualifications and other higher degrees. I hope you can see that the training we do – and which we all enjoy doing – is connected to how we think about preparing students for the future. They’re both about developing the skills that humans will always need, and about responding to an uncertain future! Talking of which: this is the last newsletter that June Wang will be translating for me. June leaves us today to take up an exciting role with a tertiary provider, and she takes with her all of our very best wishes. I hope, if you’ve read her translations, that you have enjoyed her elegant, thoughtful prose: we will miss her words and her wisdom. We will, though, have a mystery translator next week! I’m sorry: I haven’t written anything of the speech competitions this week – the students were amazing! – or the commitment I’ve seen around the school from our older students, conscious of the approaching exams. I haven’t mentioned the great sports happening everywhere, nor the wonderful musicians preparing for KBB next week (I’m looking forward to seeing you in action). But the school is of course every bit as full of brilliant action as it always is, and we even have our new Library roof shout this afternoon. Have a lovely weekend. WEEK 4 Monday 12 August
Tuesday 13 August
Wednesday 14 August
Thursday 15 August
Friday 16 August
WEEK 5 Monday 19 August
Tuesday 20 August
Thursday 21 August
Friday 22 August
Kia Ora, A wild week of weather has meant that students have had to spend more time in classrooms than normal this week. The cold weather has also meant that we have witnessed some variations in our uniform standards. This morning we have taken time as a College to check all aspects of our uniform to ensure that we are meeting the high standards that we expect. We have reminded students of our expectations and really appreciate parent support in ensuring that all our students are well presented. We will be checking again on Monday to support students. This week we have also reminded students around headphone use at school, as this was something that has been creeping in. Students are expected to be headphone free during the hours of the school day. This is to ensure that they take the opportunity to interact with each other and establish connections and relationships, an essential part of the school experience. Thank you to the group of parents who came into school on a cold Wednesday evening for our USA Commerce and University Tour Launch Evening. A high level of interest in this trip means that a good size group of Year 11 - 13 students will be embarking on this tour next July. This is on the back of an excellent trip to Europe in April this year. We have a few significant events coming up over the next couple of weeks. We are looking forward to hosting all our Year 9 families next Monday, 12 August, to discuss the IGCSE option choices for 2020/2021. We have been talking to our Year 9 students about this transition and are eager to ensure parents are well informed also. The following Monday, 19 August, we will be doing the same for our Year 11 and Year 12 families as students look forward to AS and A Level study. Both evenings will start at 6:30pm in College 4. The mock examination timetable will be released for our Year 11 – 13 students this upcoming Monday. Examinations will start on the afternoon of Thursday 22 August for our Year 11 students. Year 11 students will be expected at school for the Thursday and Friday. Study leave for students in Year 11 – 13 will begin on Monday 26 August. Finally, thank you to all the parents who have braved cold and wet conditions to support our school sports teams this season. As many of the seasons start to wrap up over the coming weeks we can look back on another successful season. We are proud of all the achievements of our students and know that this essential part of our school would not work without the constant support of parents. Ngā mihi, Chris Wiggin and Kieran Verryt Principals of College 2018 Academic CupsIf you received an Academic Cup in 2018, please would you return it to reception, thank you. Information Evening - Cambridge IGCSE
Mr Chris Wiggin (Head of College Curriculum and Assessment) will present information regarding:
Mrs Kaye Griffiths (Careers Counsellor) will also be available to answer any questions that you may have. Information evening – Cambridge Advanced Level
Mr Chris Wiggin (Head of College Curriculum and Assessment) will present information regarding:
Mrs Kaye Griffiths our Careers Counsellor will also give a short presentation. Senior College Table TennisOur Senior College Table Tennis teams have had a great start to the term - all 4 winning their games last Friday. Pinehurst Team 1 vs Glenfield - Won 6:5 Pinehurst Team 2 vs WBHS 4 - Won 7:49 Pinehurst Team 3 vs WBHS 25 - Won 6:5 Pinehurst Team 4 vs Birkenhead - Won 6:5 NH Zone Day Cross CountryOn Tuesday, 21 of our top Junior College runners competed in the NH Zone Day Cross Country event at Sanders Reserve in Paremoremo. All students gave 100% effort on the day on a very challenging course, battling the rain, wind & mud. A special mention to Ethan Ying (Year 8 Boys) who finished in 8th place and will go on to represent the North Harbour Zone at the Auckland Championships in Week 7, Kalan Evans (Year 8 Boys) who finished 19th and Charlotte Gardner (Year 8 Girls) who finished 26th. Thank you to our parent helpers Holly, Reiss and Amelia for your support on the day!
College RoboticsAs part of the ongoing expansion of Digital Technologies at Pinehurst School this year a new extra-curricular after school Robotics club was formed. Beginning in Term 1, seven teams of eager young students from Years 7 and 8 began the process of constructing their soccer playing robots using Lego Mindstorms EV3 kits. Following this building phase, the students learned the basics of how to connect to their robot and how to programme it to move. The game of Robo soccer involves the use of an infrared emitting “ball” that robots need to be able to “find” and a soccer field in which, depending on a coin toss, teams would have to play in either direction, in order to score goals against an opposing robot. To solve these problems the students were introduced to the infrared sensor, to locate the ball, and the compass sensor, so they were able to keep track of which direction they were facing. After a long period of trial and error throughout Term 2 and into this term, the students were ready to play a mock competition, to see which two teams would represent Pinehurst at the Auckland Regional competition to be held at St. Cuthbert’s College this Saturday. After a hard-fought round-robin competition held over several after school clubs and lunchtimes the students who will represent Pinehurst School are: Team A: Alan Chen, Kohtaro Nozaki, Kai Yu, Colen Yan Team F: Anson Ji, Roger Lin, Charles Shen, Hybo Xu If you are interested in attending the competition which runs from 9.00am to 3:00pm this Saturday 10th August the address is St Cuthbert’s College,122 Market Rd Epsom. Following this weekend’s competition teams will disassemble and pack up their robots and the club will be reconvened in Term 1 2020. Year 10 Speech FinalsThe Year 10 Speech Finals were held on Tuesday, where seven brave and talented students attempted to persuade the audience. The topics ranged from Why money is so important to Why there needs to be gender pay equality in sport. The speeches were entertaining, thought-provoking, fluent and amusing. They were well structured and well presented. Congratulations to all the contestants and especially to the winners. The placings were:
The other finalists were: Annie Ediker, Roza AL Sakani, Hannah Ridgeway and Kevin Wu. Thanks to Mr Smith, Mrs Daly and Mrs Boam for judging the speeches. Year 9 Speech FinalsThe three judges: Mr Zimmerman, Devon Alexander and Mackenzie Smith had a very difficult job deciding on the winners of the Year 9 Speech Finals for 2019. There were an unprecedented number of students and the standard was exceptionally high. All the speakers were confident, articulate, engaging and did themselves proud. The winners on the day were:
Congratulations to everyone involved. Year 7 & 8 Speech FinalsJunior College students and staff and a number of parents had an enjoyable few hours listening to the finalists for the Junior College Speech Finals on Wednesday morning. There were some interesting topics, ranging from the benefits of living in small houses, to aliens, to guns and technology. Congratulations to everyone who competed in the finals, as the judges, (Mr Johansen, Arden Callagher and Amy Jang) had a difficult decision. The winners were: Year 7
Year 8
Hockey 1st XIPinehurst have found this new league a true challenge and it is providing them with a chance to improve and develop their hockey. This week the team were down to just eleven. With Felix given a bloody brow from a wild swipe of an attackers stick it was time for the remainders to show a little mettle. The young fellows worked up a sweat and the Year 13 boys led the crew well, giving clear and concise instructions pertaining to the positions and tactical expectations. Kristin looked menacing and were rather vocal but on the field of play it did not amount to much. The umpires did a sterling job in keeping the game flowing and both teams worked hard to win. Pinehurst played with flair and imagination. Benson played many deep probing shots which CJ, Toby and even Townsend could not connect with. The back row set up a strong defence and Nathan along with Dom showed spirit and exuberance. The scoring started within a minute. CJ nailed it. Within five minutes ‘no goal Harry’ swiped in his first of two. After the break, Ensor went hunting for crosses and gained two more and with 18 seconds left on the clock Toby slipped in a corker. During the play Auckland provided dazzling Mackenzie Basin sunshine, deep dark threatening clouds, Welsh rain (only seen passing by horizontally) and a bitter west wind. But the team kept up the onslaught and gained a strong victory. Six goals are a fine tally, but man of the match must surely go to Dong Ook who kept far more goals out, with his electric lightening reactions than Pinehurst got in the back of the net. Well done all players, supporters and umpires who made this an extremely pleasant way to spend a bracing evening. Kia Ora, A wet and windy week in the middle of winter but we have still managed to get outside at some point each day. We said goodbye to the Tread Lightly Caravan with promises to act responsibly, recycle, save water and conserve power. Parents and family members will join us on Friday afternoon to learn more about recycling and how we can encourage each other to create a more sustainable lifestyle. We have a number of outside providers join us in school throughout the year from Science shows to musicians, Life Education, Tread Lightly, St Johns and the NED show. By bringing groups in we can get as many of our students as possible to enrich their learning in ways that go beyond the classroom. Each year group will also enjoy a learning related visit to a relevant attraction by the end of the year. We are currently planning a social event for each syndicate group to take place before the end of the year and parent events so that families can come into the classroom and share their child’s learning. Details will follow soon on Seesaw. We are very much looking forward to our Year 4-6 Speech competitions which are taking place in year groups next week with the finals the following week. Every child gets the experience of writing and delivering their speech, some relish the opportunity others not so much but each gets a chance to give it a go and push themselves outside of their comfort zone, which is where the learning happens. Stay warm this weekend! Ngā Mihi, Sian Coxon, Principal of Primary The Tread Lightly CaravanThe Tread Lightly Caravan is a mobile environmental classroom which Pinehurst Primary was lucky enough to have visit last week. Each class got to attend an education session with lots of fun interactive exhibits and activities. It inspired students to live more environmentally responsible lifestyles. The programme showed students how everyday choices in an urban context (what we buy, how we travel, what we eat, how we use energy in our homes) can make a huge difference to their natural environment. Students got to experience the power bike and hand generator to generate their own electricity for powering different lightbulbs and appliances, and test their knowledge of sorting and disposing of waste correctly at the waste activity. There was a video microscope to look closely at macro-invertebrates and other organic matter, an environmental footprint calculator and demonstrations of storm-water pollution. They made their own environmental pledge to take away and focus on so they can do their bit for our planet! Lots of Fun and Learning in P4Last week in P4, we visited the Tread Lightly Caravan. We had so much fun and learned a lot about how we can help our environment. We planted seeds, talked about the storm drains, and saved a fish from eating plastic! The most interesting thing we saw was how things “break down” over time. We looked at what things were like after 5 years, 20 years, and 100 years. We couldn’t believe how many things, such as barbie dolls, and old cell phones looked exactly the same after 100 years. As a class we have pledged to do one small thing: recycle paper in our classroom. We are really hoping that our little change in our classroom will eventually have a big impact one day. Our theme this term in P4 is Pirates and we are having so much fun! We have been talking about what it takes to be a pirate and what we need to do to get treasure. In P4, we have been reading “Pirates Love Underpants.” We spent all week reading the story and doing different activities around the story. On Thursday, we had a big write where we retold the story events in the shape of a treasure map. In Science, we have been talking about things that melt. Ms. Lew brought in butter, marshmallows, and rice krispies and showed us how to melt it all together to make a yummy crispy bar! We saw how the butter was solid and when it came in contact with the heat, it melted right before our eyes! We had so much fun…and the rice krispies were very yummy. Wearable Art in P21This week the Year 6 students in P21 have been designing artworks for a “Wearable Arts” performance that will be presented to the school, parents and families. We have been designing an outfit from recycled ‘junk’ found in the school and home environment. We have begun to collect a range of ‘junk’ from school and home including newspaper, milk bottle lids, empty cans, cardboard boxes and cylinders, tinfoil, buttons, cellophane, etc. We hope you enjoy our designs, we have been working hard to create, problem solve and compromise to create a piece we all love! Year 3 ScienceAfter witnessing several staff members slip over on a wet, wooden ramp, Year 3 linked their learning about friction to the reasons for the slips. We took a walk around the school and found areas which could be slippery. Special attention was given to the surface materials and the incline of the slope. Back in the class we looked at our shoe soles and whether they were designed for good grip on the surfaces we would be walking on. We also looked at the soles of some shoes designed for a variety of sporting activities and how they were different. We viewed pictures of the polar bears paw and read about how it is adapted to walking on ice. Design time…. Applying our knowledge about friction and how it could help increase the grip on surfaces we began to make a new shoe sole. After our soles were completed, we then tested the shoe sole with a Newton metre. The bigger the force required to pull the shoe across a carpet the greater the grip. Lots of great designs and choice of materials were used to make our slip proof shoe soles. School Council EventAt the end of Term 2 the Primary School Council had a ‘think tank’ meeting. The students were asked to put together a list of possible activities we could run in Term 3 knowing that we face some unpredictable weather. We were very fortunate to be able to book a Thursday lunchtime in the Arena each week. Here were some suggestions they came up with:
In Week 2 they ran their first event for our 3 New Entrant classes – ‘Obstacle Course.’ 3 Year Six students were given the task of picking up the students from their classes and walking them down to the Arena. Excitement was in the air when they spotted the range of equipment laid out in a circuit for them to try. Each councillor was given 3 students to take around the obstacle course, which included rolling, balancing, bouncing and jumping. Squeals of delight and laughter could be heard for miles around. The councillors showed great care and responsibility for their younger peers and a terrific time was had by all. We look forward to hosting the Senior Year 1 classes next week. I Spy in the PrimaryI Spy...Year 2 getting physical! I Spy...lots of children having fun in the sun! I Spy…P2 melting ice to uncover dinosaurs! In Music this WeekPinehurst students awarded at NZCBA’s Festival Congratulations to Petra Damianovich (Year 11) who won gold and silver awards in the solo flute category at the NZCBA’s Festival held over the weekend. Petra along with Daisy Cai (Year 12) and Kelly Zeng (Year 11) were awarded gold for their performance with The North Shore Youth Symphonic Wind Band, a multi-award winning concert band based on the North Shore. The band's primary focus is on providing an environment in which young brass, woodwind and percussion musicians can learn and excel at fun and challenging music, alongside experienced conductors and talented fellow members. This is done in a social environment in which members are able to meet and network with other musicians. To view Petra’s solo flute performance, click here. To view The North Shore Youth Symphonic Wind Band’s performance, click here (and fast forward to 2 hours and 22min). Nicole Lam participates in ASQ International Music Academy Congratulations to Nicole Lam (Year 8) for attending the week long ASQ International Music Academy held in Wellington this year. Forty-two string players and pianists from China, Hong Kong, Australia and around Aotearoa converged on St Andrew's on The Terrace for six days of chamber music, string ensemble, masterclasses, concerts and social activities for an intense but very fun week. |