News and events for the week ending 6th September 2019 Friday 6th September 2019 Opening words from the Executive PrincipalKia ora tatou, good afternoon, 你好, 안녕하세요 We started our Wednesday this week with a bit of a scrum. Hundreds of our younger students scrambled to find three hidden rugby balls as part of the CanonBall Challenge. The excitement was palpable (and audible!) across the whole school, and they all had a good time looking for the elusive balls. Congratulations to Ben, Sam and Astrid, who will be joining Damian Mackenzie for a coaching session in the coming weeks. We have had a bit of a sporting week, actually. We have had cricket coaches in to work with our Primary students, and our sports teams have been competing across the country: there have been some very impressive performances in golf, hockey, table tennis and netball, and our students have all represented the school as impeccably as always. I hope, more than anything, that the students have enjoyed themselves, and continued to develop the lifelong learning skills that are so much a part of our co-curricular programme. We place a huge emphasis at Pinehurst on leadership opportunities, sports, music and other programmes outside the curriculum, because we know that they are all wonderful ways for students to become more confident and able to challenge themselves, more capable and responsive with other people in unfamiliar settings, and more adaptable in everything they do. Thank you to our parents for continuing to support all of our programmes so enthusiastically. AIMS is next week! 64 of our Year 7 and 8 students are heading down to Tauranga to take part in what promises to be a fantastic festival of sport. I spent Friday and Saturday last week in Wellington, attending the annual conference of the Independent Schools of New Zealand, accompanied by Mrs Coxon, Mrs Jones-Hill, and Mr Wiggin. It was a good opportunity to catch up with other Principals, and also a good chance to taste the wind. We had some useful presentations on different aspects of risk management (very exciting, I know, but essential), and a few speakers talking about the way they see the world developing. One of the sessions was on recruiting and retaining staff, and on some of the differences they see between younger and older members of the workforce. It made me reflect on our outstanding staff, both our teachers and those who do all of the valuable work behind the scenes. We have a very good balance of youth and experience, and we try to provide the environment and the staff benefits to ensure that they continue to do such great work with the children. We also place a very strong emphasis on professional learning, and all of our staff take part in over one hundred hours of training every year (and many more than this for some teachers). It’s also been great to see that so many staff are currently planning to take post-graduate qualifications next year: the thinking and reflection that’s required at post-graduate level has a huge range of benefits for teachers. Then there is the “millennial employee” debate: I’m afraid I don’t buy the argument that our younger staff are any different to our more experienced staff. Every generation looks at the ones coming up behind them with a wary eye, and what I see in our school are committed, enthusiastic, creative and hardworking young people. In other words, exactly the same things that I saw around me when I started teaching (in a lovely school near Bath in England) 25 years ago, before the lines around my eyes became deep crevasses. I think we all want the same things: to enjoy our jobs, to work hard for the children and their parents, and to feel that we’re making a difference. It is, of course, exam season for our senior students, and our Year 6 and Year 9 students are also preparing for their Checkpoint exams. Please make sure that you ask the relevant teacher if you have any questions about these. Our message is a pretty simple one: our Year 11, 12 and 13 students need to be working and studying hard. The next 3 months are going to be full of study, but there’s a nice long break at the end of it! In Years 6 and 9, the exams are nothing to worry about: they’re just markers on the path, and we don’t want to make the students unduly worried. Have a lovely weekend. Lynn Liu, Pinehurst Graduate of 2016After Pinehurst, Lynn went on to study at the University of Melbourne. We recently caught up with her to hear how things are going...
Everything is matching my expectation of university. I am currently doing a Bachelor of Design, double majoring in architecture and construction. Architecture is a very tough major, you have to be very hardworking to earn the credits. The pressure from colleagues does drive you to produce better work.
One thing very different from studying in China and studying A-levels in New Zealand is that you get to choose what subjects you want to do, and there are much more extracurricular activities you can participate in. This experience has really helped shape me into what I want to be in the future.
Ideally I would have become a registered architect and I would love to work in a star architect firm or studio like Daniel Libeskind, Kengo Kuma or OMA.
Pinehurst taught me to live and think independently, and that is very important when it comes to design thinking and studying overseas.
Don’t be afraid to follow what you truly want to do. WEEK 8 Monday 9 September
Tuesday 10 September
Thursday 12 September
WEEK 9 Tuesday 17 September
Wednesday 18 September
Thursday 19 September
Friday 20 September
Saturday 21 September
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, At this time of year there is a different focus for the variety of year groups. Our Year 7, 8 and 10 students are working through programmes and are busy with content. Our Year 11-13 students are gaining valuable feedback after their mock examinations and are sharpening their focus in preparation for the external examinations which start next month. Our Year 9 students are a week away from their Mock Checkpoint Examinations and are working with teachers to prepare for this. They will sit their Checkpoint Examinations in Week 1 of next term. Our senior sports teams are currently making their way back from different parts of the country after tournament week. Our golf team performed well in Cromwell, with the team finishing as the 7th best team in New Zealand. Our table tennis team enjoyed their time in Tauranga, with Grace Qin standing out as she won the gold medal as the best Under 15 girl in the country. Our 1st Girls Hockey and Netball teams have enjoyed their week, both having a mixed group of wins and losses. Next week our Year 7 and Year 8 students head away for AIMS Games. They have been busy preparing for their competitions week and we look forward to their performances. These are great occasions for our students to grow as individuals as well as contributing to their various teams. On Thursday we welcomed back of a small group of recent Pinehurst alumni. It was great to have them back to work with our current Year 13 students around transition to university. They spent the majority of Thursday in workshops with our students giving them advice and vital information to assist our next set of graduates to make the most of their time as they start their university journey. It was also pleasing to hear how our students are going at university, and they often speak of how well prepared they are for tertiary study following their path through our school. Ngā mihi, Chris Wiggin and Kieran Verryt Principals of College AIMS 2019Pinehurst will be taking their biggest ever team to AIMS Games in Tauranga next week, competing in 12 different sports at this National Intermediate School event: Badminton, Basketball, Cross Country, Gymnastics, Hip Hop, Hockey Boys & Hockey Girls, Mountain Biking, Multisport, Netball, Swimming, Table Tennis & Tennis. We wish our 64 Year 7 & 8 student athletes all the very best and know they will not only represent Pinehurst with pride and determination, but also create some life long memories during the week! To follow the teams progress at AIMS, please make sure you LIKE and follow the Pinehurst Sports Facebook Page HERE Year 8 Winter CampWatch the video HERE! Science and Technology ForumIf your son or daughter is in Year 12, enjoys Science, Mathematics and/or Technology subjects and are thinking about pursuing a career in these fields, this could be their chance to join other students from around New Zealand at this dynamic Science and Technology Forum. The Forum is held at University of Auckland 11-25 of January 2020. Applications have been extended and will now close 11 September. If you require more information please email paul.oconnell@pinehurst.school.nz See the link below for additional information. Table Tennis Term 3Congratulations to our Pinehurst Silver Table Tennis Team (Ronald, Shaun, Oliver & Lucas – shown in photo) who won Grade B2 for Term 3, and to our Pinehurst Blue Team (Yumin, Anson & Younmin) who were runners up in the Premier Grade. NZSS Winter Tournament WeekTable Tennis Teams in Top 5 and a Gold for Grace!Pinehurst took part in the Table Tennis Championship held in Tauranga this week. In the group competition Pinehurst Team 1 competed in the A Premier League and came 5th overall among 9 teams. Pinehurst Team 2 made it into the A League and came 4th overall among 9 schools. In the individual competition, Grace Qin took part in the Under 15 Girls and beat all 6 opponents securing her the Gold Medal. Our other 6 boys played very well but couldn’t quite make to the semifinal stage. Well done to all our Table Tennis players, it was a great week that they won't forget! Pinehurst Golf Team 7th in New ZealandThis week the Pinehurst Golf Team played at the NZSS Golf event on the Dunes Golf course in Cromwell, Otago. Tournament day is a long day – about 9 hours of golf with a half hour turn around. Subin Wui and Eujin Kang were nervous. Yeonsoo Son was sick with a virus as we flew out on Saturday from Auckland and wasn’t able to play a practise round on Sunday. Her team-mates were adamant that she would not withdraw and would be ready to play on the day. And she was. Jaewoo Son knew that the course suited him well and quietly got on with being ready for the early Monday morning start. The team did very well and finished 7th. Jaewoo had the best score in the team and would have finished quite high up in the individual rankings if not for a couple of unlucky rolls on the extremely difficult greens. For a Year 9 student, Yeonsoo is exceptional. She missed some close putts but stepped up to the next tee and hit it straight down the fairway. Eujin and Subin finished after 36 holes with almost – bar one – the same amount of strokes for the tournament. It wasn’t the score they wanted – it rarely is – but they gave 100% to every shot they lined up for. Without their contribution and attitude, we would not have finished 7th. This was Subin’s last match for Pinehurst. She started playing golf for Pinehurst in Year 9. She is a very hard worker, always calculating and thinking of her best options for the next shot. A big thank you to Subin for everything she has given to Pinehurst golf. Year 7 Social Science: Artificial IntelligenceOur Year 7 students have been learning about Artificial Intelligence (Ai) and the opportunities and challenges for people, places and environments. Recently, students focused on Ai used in the medical industry. Their challenge was to investigate an example of medical Ai and explain how it works using Flipgrid video. Here are some of their findings… Year 8 MandarinNext week is Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋节) the second biggest festival in Chinese festivals. Just like any other Harvest festivals around the world, Mid-Autumn festival or Moon festival has long been one where friends and families come together to share and to give thanks. This week in Mandarin, both Year 8 Chinese First Language and Mandarin Foreign Language students collaborated together to research legends related to this festival, writing and preparing skits based on these stories in preparation to share them with the Junior Primary (once everyone return from AIMS). Year 8 ScienceIn Year 8 Science, some classes have begun to delve deeper into the idea of kinetic theory. Last week students investigated the effect that different solutions have on the density of Gummi Bears. The work has given students the chance to take accurate measurements, consider reliability and develop a better sense of how particles in fluids behave. The Best Spanish QuizTo help us revise the content we have learnt so far this term, Year 9 Spanish students were tasked with creating "the best Spanish quiz". The only criteria given was that students were to use the language from our Education Perfect lists and that it be engaging. We had some wonderful scavenger hunts, PowerPoint quizzes, cross-words and a Spelling Bee! The pictures are of my personal favourite - "Spanishex", modeled on the "Mathex" competitions. Students were allocated one runner from each group who had to run between the Marker and their group to complete a series of Spanish translation tasks. Some runners got more exercise than others, as you had to keep working on and re-submitting your answers until you got them right! AS GeographyThis week the AS Geography class had a very special visitor, Deputy Chairman of our board, Mr Steve Goeldner. As a town planner at Auckland Council, Steve talked to the students about his role and the various issues facing Auckland's planners at present. Some of the content included Urbanisation in Auckland, Urban Sprawl, Counter-urbanisation, Urban Renewal, Functional Zonation in Auckland and Transport. It was beneficial for the students to see the theory they study in action, in the city they live in. Workshop for Year 13 Transition to TertiaryOn Thursday, we welcomed back six ex-students to help facilitate this workshop for the current Year 13. The current Year 13 students valued the voices of experience as they discussed how to settle in to university, strategies for surviving the academic side, the differences to expect and, most importantly, what they wish they had known this time last year! Kia Ora, One of the aspects we love so much about teaching the Cambridge curriculum in the Primary is how well structured the learning programmes are. They are specific, rigorous and enable us to teach with the confidence that each level will build seamlessly on the last. Up until this point we have been able to use Maths, English and Science curricular with the recent addition of Global Perspectives. Cambridge are about to launch the long awaited Digital Technologies curriculum in addition to Art and Design, Physical Education and Music. Whilst our current programmes in these learning areas are high quality we are looking forward to the depth and structure that these new curricular will bring. We will take the rest of the year to familiarise ourselves with the documents and implement changes from 2020. Students from the Junior College are visiting Yendarra school in South Auckland today and will take with them a gardening voucher for $171 which is the money our New Entrants raised in their recent bake sale. They have written a lovely letter to the students of Yendarra talking about the plans for their own garden and offering a gift to pay it forward to another school. Next week sees our termly whole Primary event, last Term it was Lego and this term it is STEAM. Each class will be involved in a range of activities based on the Apollo moon landing. They will be constructing, reporting, calculating and making scientific observations around a central theme. There is sure to be lots of inquiry and collaboration and heaps of fun, watch out for the details on Seesaw. Have a great weekend. Ngā Mihi, Sian Coxon, Principal of Primary Primary Spring NetballThank you to all families who have registered for Spring Netball in Term 4. Registrations are now closed and parents of students who have registered would have received confirmation this week of their registration. We do still have limited places available in some year levels - if you would still like to play Spring Netball in Term 4, please email our Primary Netball Coordinator Mrs Anina Botes anina.botes@pinehurst.school.nz to enquire re spaces available, or to go on our waiting list. Firebirds Basketball TeamThe Year 3 & 4 basketball team, the Firebirds, played an amazing game on Wednesday night. The six boys played against Oteha Valley School’s Thunder team, which had nine players. It is tough having only one sub when the other team have four subs. The game was very physical and played at a fast pace. The players were running from end to end on the court as the ball was snatched, passed and intercepted. Half time saw our team down 4 – 8. This did not daunt the Firebirds. They went out in the second half and played with renewed vigour, and started putting points on the board. They jumped for the rebounds at both ends and the final score reflected their fantastic efforts. They won 22 – 16, a well-deserved win for the team. Thanks, must also go for the very supportive and enthusiastic support from the parents each week. The Firebirds pictured from the left: Marco Li, Peter Shi, Jaiden Lim, Michael Gibbons, Stanley Wu and Harry Liu Fantastic Fraction Work in P5!This week in Maths, P5 have been learning about fractions. In the photos you can see the children engaged while taking part in some of the activities to find halves and quarters of different shapes or quantities. The children had to use their problem solving skills to answer questions. The children began by learning how to find halves and quarters of a shape before applying that knowledge when learning how to find a half or a quarter of a number. The children were able to choose from a range of differentiated activities to support and challenge their learning. They used physical objects to help them to complete the problem solving tasks. Great work P5 Mathematicians! Year 2 Lego-DactaThe Year 2 Lego-Dacta GATE students are learning about simple machines and how they make our lives easier. In Term 1 the class focus was on gears, in Term 2, wheels and axles and this term we have been learning about levers. The students have been building and experimenting with levers and exploring the components, learning about the effort, load and fulcrum and how the placement of the fulcrum affects the effort required to lift a load. The students have had great fun building catapults (first class levers) and measuring how far a load will be thrown when the fulcrum is moved closer and further away from the load. They discovered that if the fulcrum is a long way from the load it will be thrown further, but requires more force to lift the load. They were then given a design challenge, where they had to design and build a Railway Crossing Barrier. It had to be longer than 15 centimetres, balance on a single stand and be easy to open and close. They needed to apply their knowledge of levers and the various components to make their design successful. They had a lot of fun, modifying their projects. Year 3 Zoo TripThis week the Year 3 cohort went on a school trip to the Auckland Zoo. When we arrived we broke off into classes so that we could each rotate to the different stations. We learnt about the habitats of the Otter and the Red Panda and we saw just how adverse animals can live. To stop the animals getting bored, the zoo keepers use toys or items that would be in their natural habitat to hide their food. At the Vet Hospital we were are able to view the animals that need to be seen by a veterinarian. You can even watch the animals that are been operated on. Kirsty, our Zoo Educator, spoke to us about the Kakapo. At the moment there are only 146 Kakapo left in New Zealand. We discovered that there is a huge project underway to help the Kakapo. They are gradually growing in numbers, but it is a slow process as they only breed every 4 years. It was a great experience, a big thank you to all our parent helpers ...and to the weather that stayed nice for us! Fantastic Flying Fish!In P11 this term, we have been creating our own 3D fish! In creating our artwork we looked closely at different fish in the ocean, what their fins, gills and scales look like, how they move in the water and identifying all the parts of the fish that are needed to help them survive. We then drew a fish and colored it in - this was to be used as the inspiration for our paper mache fish. Then using cardboard, newspaper and plastic plates we glued, taped and stapled our fish together. Once the outline of our fish was made, we paper mache it and then we began painting it. We are really enjoying our art this term! We can't wait to show everyone what the fish look like once it is all done! I Spy in the PrimaryI Spy...Maths in Mrs Roberts class! I Spy... Year 1 making letters out of playdoh! I Spy...Year 3 working together to find the answers! I Spy...music making in Year 4! In Music this WeekYear 8 Music Since the start of the term, the Year 8 music classes have been working on a research project examining the Benefits of Music, the focus of which they chose themselves. It was a pleasure to watch their presentations over the last couple of weeks unfold. The students researched a wide range of topics:
This criteria for success was determined collectively by the students and agreed upon before the research project begun. See and example HERE. Year 9 Music Year 9 have been working on developing a Music Heritage project which culminates with a presentation of their roots and musical elements of. We are very fortunate to have such a rich cultural diversity in the average Pinehurst classroom, that over the past couple of weeks the students have heard about the typical musical instruments and musical elements of:
This unit ties in really well with the World Music component of the IGCSE course in Year 10 and 11, but also it has been a great pleasure to get to know the students’ background through musical lenses. Thank you to the parents who answered a thousand questions about their heritage and helped with teaching the correct pronunciation to some musical instruments and elements along the way. See HERE for a sample. Third Informal Music Concert The Third Informal Music Concert of the year will be held on Tuesday the 10th of September in C2 from 4pm. These concerts are designed to be a performance platform through which students can gain the experience of performing in public, in front of family, peers and friends in the cosy environment of C2 and a handful of spots are still available. Students from Year 0-13 are invited to perform no matter their level of ability. To sign up your child to perform at this event, please complete the following form. CanonBall World Cup Rugby Scavenger Hunt ChallengeEarlier this week the CanonBall challenge came to Pinehurst School! Thanks to Canon New Zealand, Pinehurst Year 1-8 students were given the opportunity to take part in a scavenger hunt to find (and keep!) one of 3 official World Cup Rugby balls AND to win an amazing prize! Congratulations to Ben McQuinlan, Sam Jiang & Astrid Hebbink who were our 3 lucky winners. Ben, Sam & Astrid will be attending a skills & drills session with Damian McKenzie next weekend, and will also take home a huge printed photo of them with Damian & a bag of Canon goodies! Thanks to all the students who took part, to Chris Maclean from Canon for attending on the day and to our wonderful property team for their exceptional skills in hiding the balls for the challenge! Pinehurst Rotary Interact Food DriveA food drive is being organised to collect canned food and other non-perishable food for Women’s Refuge. This is a good opportunity to help families in serious need and to help take a stand against domestic violence. Please give any spare food items to your son/daughter to bring to their POD class. The food will be collected and delivered by the end of Term 3. After School Care Assistant RequiredPinehurst After School Care are looking for someone to join their team. Flexible hours. If interested please contact jon.horne@pinehurst.school.nz PhotoLifeYou can now access, view and order your child's photos online. Students have been given their online photo access key. If you do not have a credit card or access to online ordering you can pick up order forms from Chrissy on reception. Delivery deadline: Sunday 22 September. Summer UniformYears 1-6 Students in the Primary will be able to wear either their winter or summer uniform for the first two weeks of next term. So from the 14th of October until the 25th of October they can wear either summer or winter uniform but not a mix of both. If they are in sandals for example, they cannot wear them with socks. From the beginning of Week 3 on the 29th of October they must be in full summer uniform please. Years 7-13 All students are required to wear their summer uniform from the first day of Term 4, the 14th of October. Sofia BaumannLast weekend Sofia Baumann participated in the Taekwondo New Zealand Open Championships, competing against others from around New Zealand. Sofia won a Silver medal. This was a result of Sofia's commitment, perseverance and hours of training. Well done Sofia! Ballet Dancers Impress at Care HomeSabrina Liu (Year 6) and Seina Murakami (Year 8) performed classical ballet at West Harbour Gardens (residential care home) last weekend. The two girls attend the same ballet academy. On the day, Sabrina danced a Classical piece and Seina performed a variation of Pas de Trois from Swan Lake. It was great to see the residents’ smile at the end of the performance. Sabrina will be sitting her RAD Grade 4 exam at the end of this month and Seina has now moved onto RAD Advance Foundation level. Life Saving Pool ChampsCenedra and Paige Waddel attended the Northern Region Life Saving Pool Champs last weekend. They were competing in the under 19 year old group as 16 year old competitors. They achieved 2 silver placings in the 4 x 50m obstacle relay and the 4 x 50m medley relay. Both girls managed to improve on their best times from last year. They are looking forward to Nationals in October. 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. |