News and events for the week ending 28th June 2019 Friday 28th June 2019 Opening words from the Executive PrincipalKia ora tatou, good afternoon, 你好, 안녕하세요 I am crouching under my heat pump as I write this, watching the sun shoot through the windows, steam rising from the chair and tables on my deck. The Albany basin traps the cold night air until mid-morning, but the sun always breaks through in the end. I could construct a grand metaphor here about childhood, adolescence and growing up, but I think I’ll restrain myself and simply reflect on what a privilege it is to work in such beautiful surroundings. It’s the last day of Term 2, and I hope that all the children have had a good, productive nine weeks. The senior students have had exams, as have the Year 6 students, and everyone has now had their reports. The mid-year reports are an important staging-post for the year’s work: they recognise the progress that students have made, and they signal a way forward for the next two terms. Please take the time to talk them through with your children, and please also ask if you have any questions, or would like to talk about them in more detail with us. But it’s holiday time for the children. For our younger students, it’s a chance for family time, play, activities and just kicking back a little. For our older students, there should be some study in that mix. It’s important that children have the time to do things that don’t involve school work, but it’s also important that Years 11, 12 and 13 in particular do some homework and study. I’ve finally managed to write a short message. Have a lovely holiday, enjoy the midwinter weather if you’re staying in New Zealand, or the skiing if you’re heading down to Queenstown. To those flying to a northern hemisphere summer: I’m envious. Just remember your sunscreen! I look forward to seeing you all in three weeks’ time. We have a teacher only day on Monday July 22nd, so I will see you all on Tuesday 23rd July. Monday 22 July
Tuesday 23 July TERM 3 starts, Powhiri for new students, 9:30am Wednesday 24 July
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, What an action packed Term 2 we have had in the Primary! We are all ready for a break, especially the youngest of us; an opportunity to play, relax and have fun. Hopefully the weather will be kind and we can all get out and about and spend some time in the sunshine. When my son was younger, we often went Munzee hunting in Long Bay reserve during the holidays. Munzee is an app you can use to treasure hunt all around Auckland. You need a phone and the app and you use it to solve clues by finding QR codes that have been attached to trees and fences etc. When you find a code, you scan it for points. It is a great way to get out and about and not glued to a screen the whole time, although it uses a smart phone the need to look at it is minimal. We have a policy of working to the last minute of the last day and not slowing down because a holiday is approaching. This week I have seen some very hardworking Year 2 students in action that have literally taken my breath away. When 7 year olds bring you their writing which is in paragraphs, with a clear beginning, middle and end, wow words or powerful adjectives, bossy verbs, connectives and fronted adverbial openers, yes really! You can only smile, be amazed and feel great levels of satisfaction that as teachers we are able to facilitate learning at such a level. It would be easy to say that only one or two students can write like this but walking through classes it is the majority of students who are working at these levels. Specific teaching and excellent resources are coming together to add value to learning in very exciting ways. One of the highlights this week was of course Lego Day! We know the students were excited but so were the teachers. Students got to choose six structured activities for the day which involved writing, drawing, maths, technology, I.T. and lots of thinking outside of the box. It might have looked liked we were just playing with Lego for the day but there was so much learning going on. Even students who said they didn’t really like Lego got really involved in building bridges, writing poems, making pencil holders and marble runs and trying to solve problems using Lego. The levels of engagement and focus were outstanding and every class we went to was totally engrossed in their Lego learning. The day was so successful we are planning to run something similar next term with a different theme. Head over to Seesaw for lots of snapshots of the day. Thanks as always for the support you have given us this term and we really look forward to seeing you all on the first day of Term 3, Tuesday 23 July. Ngā mihi Sian Coxon, Principal of Primary Kiwis in P2In P2 for Science, we have been learning about the kiwi and recognising that all living things have certain requirements, so they can stay alive. We have learnt that the kiwi is nocturnal and lives in forest areas and especially likes to hide inside hollow logs. It eats worms, slugs, snails, spiders, insects, seeds, berries and is an omnivore. The kiwi has wings but cannot fly and is the national symbol of New Zealand. We have had fun creating some kiwi homes or habitats using pipe cleaners for the kiwi, rolled paper, wood, greenery and rocks. Chase said, ‘Can you see the worm I have made for my kiwi to eat?’ Katherine said, ‘I am going to hide my kiwi inside this log.’ We have all enjoyed the practical aspects of our learning. Lots of Fun Learning in P6We started the week by learning about Matariki the Maori New Year. We learnt about the 7 sister stars of Matariki and read stories exploring traditions on Matariki. The children were engaged in discussions on how they celebrate their own New Years and we also talked about the similarities between the two celebrations. Everyone enjoyed participating in different stations working on Matariki, and showing aroha to their loved ones and friends. Lego day was a success in our class on Wednesday. We started the day by watching the Lego story and discussed new learning. The students went on to create their own timetable for the day, exploring chosen activities. Everyone enjoyed the challenge and team building activities. We had a very innovative day in P6! P10's Lego DayWednesday the 26th of June had finally arrived. P10 had been eagerly waiting for this day since the news broke last week. Students arrived with their packs of Lego and a big smile on their face. To start our Lego Day journey, we watched a short YouTube clip called The Lego Story. This short movie captured all of our interests and we were engaged throughout the film. Ole Kirk ChristiansenIt, the founder of the Danish Lego Group, faced many hardships during his life and the story was inspirational, (it is well worth watching!) During the day students were able to plan their own timetable from nine different activities. Some of the activities were bridge building, marble runs, writing a poem and having a pencil topper building challenge. While the students were having fun with the Lego, skills that were being developed were problem solving, creativity and working together, as well as being able to extend their maths and literacy skills. It was a fabulous day, and the students are already asking when the next one will be. Many thanks to Mrs Jones-Hill and the Student Councillors that organised the day for us. Fabulous ArtistsP12 have some fabulous artists. We looked at hot and cold colours and blending. We chose a silhouette and the result was awesome. To celebrate Matariki, we have been learning a Maori stick game. We hope to perform this at an assembly next term. On our wall are some amazing Myths we have written about a dragon and a shiny, gold orb, so feel free to come and read them. Lego DayExcited Lego engineers arrived at school on Wednesday ready to construct, create and develop their critical thinking skills. The Primary Council had planned a day of three-dimensional thinking, problem solving, creativity and lots of fun. We asked our specialist teachers to come on board and they tailored their lessons around the Lego theme. The Junior primary classes had a lot of fun sorting their Lego into Spanish colour groups. They also practised counting in Spanish. In Mandarin the Year 3 students were challenged to create Lego dragons and then label the parts of their dragons in pinyin or Chinese characters. Coding class saw Year 4 students asked to create a Lego Sphero maze. They then underwent the challenge to create and execute a Sphero code that would allow their Sphero to go through the maze. Bridges of Lego were constructed challenged with holding the weight of a drink bottle, even NASA phoned and asked us to design a new space rocket. Classes were challenged by a range of activities from creating Lego pencil toppers, designing a new Tardis for Dr Who to using the iMotion App to create a moving scene. Mrs Du Toit's Year 4 music class created musical instruments. Lego Day was a huge success. Just wait to see what we have planned for Term 3! Primary Chess ClubOur Thursday Primary Chess Club has been busy working with our chess coach Alex developing game strategies and new moves in preparation for the North Shore Interschool Primary Chess competition taking place on the 28th July at Wairau Intermediate. We are taking three teams to represent Pinehurst and we hope to keep our winning title. All students are welcome to come to P16 for a lunchtime game, as well as chess classes happening after school on a Wednesday and Thursday. Please contact Alex Huang on 0210543891 for after school chess classes or Tina.Lindsay@pinehurst.school.nz for any queries about chess at school. Magic Loft Evening of Fun!Last Friday 21st June Social Coordinators for Years 1 – 4 organised a fun evening at the Magic Loft Playground in Browns Bay. Over 100 student attended and just as nearly as many parents too! Magic Loft is a new indoor playground that the children are always so excited to visit because it caters to different age groups. The children loved the little go-karts that drove around, through and under the obstacles and the ball-pit was a favourite for children…and some adults too! We had a range of ages from pre-schoolers to older children as all siblings were most welcome. The venue was hired out from 5pm – 8pm, and by 6pm we had a full house. Which was great timing because pizza and sushi arrived for everyone! The children had a fantastic time and some parents were able to meet for the first time. It was great seeing parents pull together to help make the evening a fun, social and organised event. Thank you to the Social Coordinators, Parent Connection Committee and the parent volunteers who took on roles that made the event run so smoothly. I Spy in the PrimaryI Spy…Term 3 New Entrants! I Spy...a bake sale that raised $168.80 for St Johns! I Spy ….shadow compasses that tell the time and periscopes peeping around corners! I Spy...David, Jill and the Year 5 netballers running a netball skills session at lunchtime. I Spy.... Mrs Jones-Hill as a Lego person! Kia Ora, This week all College students (Years 7 to 13) will have received their school reports. I would encourage all parents to take the time and trouble to sit down and discuss the report with their child. Next term on 30th July and 1st August we will be hosting parent teacher conferences you will be able to book conference times from 22nd July. Well done to all the students involved in organising last Saturday’s 2019 Pinehurst School Ball. It proved to be a great success. For some, this is one of the highlights of the school year and I am sure the event will have provided many memories that will stay with some students long after they have left school. Today we farewell Miss Kostova, she joined Pinehurst in January 2013 and this year is her 3rd year as House Dean of Matai. Miss Kostova has made an invaluable contribution as both English teacher and Matai House Dean. We wish her all the best for her future. Also best wishes go to Mrs Liu and her family as she begins her maternity leave. I hope everyone a safe and enjoyable three week holiday. I encourage every student to take full advantage of the this extended break from school. It is possible to relax, take time to enjoy yourselves and, for senior students, devote some time to study and complete some academic work. Ngā mihi, Chris Wiggin and Kieran Verryt Principals of College JC Waterpolo – Player wantedWe are looking for an additional player to join our Junior College Waterpolo team for the remainder of the season (Term 3 & 4). Games are on Friday afternoon/evenings, and practices straight after school on a Monday. Students must be strong, confident swimmers for this sport. Please contact Year 1-8 Sports Coordinator kelly.lindsay@pinehurst.school.nz for further information or to express interest. Junior College Social at JUMPOn Monday afternoon the Junior College went quiet as the Year 7 and Year 8 students made their way to JUMP. There was lots of EXCITEMENT, ENERGY, LAUGHTER and SMILES all around! Well done to the JC council for organising such a smooth and fun event. Now we can’t wait till the next one! “It was sooo fun!” – Maisie 8KS “I enjoyed socialising with people from other classes” – Emmerson 8KS “Splendid!” – Chloe 7EC “It was fun! But I got really tired jumping.” – Samara 7EC Des HuntOn Friday, the students in Year 7,8 and 9 were treated to an extremely interesting talk from award winning New Zealand author Des Hunt. Having taught Science, Physics and IT in secondary schools in New Zealand for 40 years he decided to give writing adventure books a try. His books are set in local places that young Kiwi readers can recognise and visit. They have a strong environmental message that emphasise the unique features of New Zealand fauna and geology. Using his scientific background he was able to teach us how to write books and make them exciting. He taught us about hooking the audience by showing us a chemical reaction using a firelighter, mint spray and oxygen. Through a physics experiment with magnets and electricity, we also learned about the importance of rising tension in a story leading towards an ‘explosive’ climax. He was so interesting to listen to and everyone came away excited about story writing. Chinese First Language Class CalligraphyCalligraphy is considered as one of the four best friends of ancient Chinese literati, along with playing stringed musical instrument, the board game “Go”, and painting. Year 7 and Year 8 Chinese First Language class students practised 知足常乐zhī zú cháng lè in Ouyang style calligraphy this week. JC MandarinThis term we have been learning to write Chinese characters. Writing Chinese characters is an art that has been practiced for thousands of years. There are rules on how to write each stroke and there are rules how to put the strokes together as well. This may sound confusing at first but when we think how Chinese characters were originally written with ink and brush, we start to understand the logic behind these rules. Getting Messy in Year 8This week the Year 8 students dissected hearts to learn more about our circulatory system. We explored the different thicknesses of the heart and how that relates to its function. We stretched the aorta out to see how strong and pliable it is and enjoyed getting our hands rather messy. Year 11 Speech FinalsLast Friday, nine brave and talented students attempted to persuade the audience. The topics ranged from Why do we wear masks? Is there such a thing as luck? to Why music matters? 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: 1st place – Oliver Farley-Wilson: Why French is the most attractive language in the world. 2nd place – Madison Smith: The Perfect Life 3rd place – Anthony Raphael: You’re being watched The other finalists were: Leo Alsabie, Petra Damianovich, Ellie Kang, David Lu, Iris Lu, and Francesca Miller-Hard. Thanks to Mr Bean, Mrs Cairns and Ms Kostova for judging the speeches. Young Enterprise SchemeStudy Buddy What is the most serious issue in the modern world right now? Global warming? Racism? Sexism? While they are all serious issues, there is one that affects everyone no matter their age, race or gender. The root of evil - procrastination. It affects us students too, as we end up having to stay up until 2am studying which is very bad news if we have school the next day. Procrastination makes us feel extremely stressed if we stay up late and don’t end up getting the work done. We wanted to find out if there were other students who procrastinated. So, we went to the mall and used instagram stories to collect some primary data. We got answers from a random spread of 85 people aged 8 to 25. We asked them if they procrastinated and out of the 85 participants, 72 said they do and 13 said they don’t. This shows us that we aren’t the only ones; procrastination actually affects the majority of students. Due to the research we are planning to create our own product - an app that can lock other apps on your cellphone! The lock will only let you have access back when the time is out or by answering some questions. We hope this app will help all of the people who suffer from procrastination. Inter-House ChallengeOn Thursday, 20th of June, the Student Council leaders organised the first Senior College Inter-House Challenge. For this event the 20 Senior College PODs competed in a variety of challenges such as a number of different quizzes, a human knot challenge, cat and mouse game, two relays, German tag, rob the nest game as well as paper, scissors, rock tag. The second part of this Inter-House Challenge will take place in Term 3. At the end of the Inter-House Challenge, the winning house will gain valuable house points towards the Overall House Shield which will be presented at the Senior College Prizegiving in December. Hockey 1st XIOn a cool, but not crisp evening, the scene was set for a fine game of hockey. Both Westlake and Pinehurst were keen to make an early impact. Just as the umpire blew her whistle an ominous grey cloud appeared to hang over the Pinehurst dugout. The shafts of sunlight pierced the edges of the celestial gloom but could not penetrate the melancholy heart of the cloud. The first half was played with passion and enterprise as both teams battled on. At two points to nil Pinehurst were trailing but not beaten. The second half looked extremely promising with all the Pinehurst team playing their part and working hard. The third goal against them really was the death knell and a wisp of desperation then drifted amongst the squad. The strikers did not quite connect with their mid-field shooters and no goals were realized. With a final score of 5:0 Pinehurst were not robbed. The grey ominous cloud had gently dispersed as the rose-tinted faces of young men enjoying a fine match reflected upon their loss and agreed upon a new strategy for their next encounter. ShowquestYou've seen the photos, you've read the article, now watch the video! Second Informal Music ConcertIt was a pleasure to witness the developing skills of so many of our students on display while they performed group and solo items on the cello, drums, recorder, piano, voice, harp and flute. Students from Primary right through to Year 12 performed on Tuesday afternoon in the cosy environment of C2, surrounded by peers, family and friends. Well done to all the participants – performing isn’t an easy skills to master but it is certainly one that keeps on improving with practice. Instrumental Itinerant Lessons & Music GroupsTerm 3 is a great time to enrol your child into itinerant lessons, especially if they are about to begin their music subject rotation. Latest research shows that learning to play a musical instrument or learning to sing develops areas of the brain that no other learned skill can. Click here to see how. For a list of instruments and groups and to enrol your child in an itinerant lesson or to sign them up for musical co-curricular group, please visit the music page on our website here. Butterfly Garden UpdateWe’ve had 3 weeks of wonderful progress with the Primary Butterfly Garden. It’s had a dramatic transformation from a Garden of bush and weeds to a refreshing canvas with so much potential. Our Parent Connection Committee Members – Avril Williams and Victoria Smith along with some amazing parents and grandparents, have tirelessly volunteered their time. They have put in sweat and hard work to give it a much needed tidy-up. Even the rain couldn’t stop them… as they stood under the shelter waiting for it to stop, they continued to plan what their next steps were. Swan plants are planned to go in over the holidays as the children in the School Holiday Programme make their contribution to the garden. A big thank you to the parents and grandads that have come in on a Thursday to help – your time and hard work is very much appreciated. Thank you also to the Year 1-4 Social Coordinators who have kindly donated $150 towards expenses for the plants that will go in later in the year. Keep an eye out for the Grandparents Club coming next term! Sports Team PhotosA friendly remainder that Sports Team Photos are being held in Week 1 of Term 3, on Wednesday 24th July 2019 in the Gym. All coaches and managers are very welcome to attend. NB – additional photos for Term 3 & Term 4 Year 1-10 Sports teams will be taken in early Term 4. If you have any queries or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact (Year 1-8) kelly.lindsay@pinehurst.school.nz or (Year 9-13) Cyndie.augustin@pinehurst.school.nz PhotoLifeOnline photo access key slips have been given to students. Please note the free delievry period expires on Sunday 14 July. Sibling PhotosIf you are interested in getting Sibling Photos taken of your children, there will be 2 sessions available on from 2.00pm - 4.30pm on:
Forms will go home to older siblings in the first week of term with further details. Uniform ShopHoliday hours:
10am - 2pm each day Peter Pan JR.On July 13th - 20th Centrestage Theatre Company's Youth Theatre Proudly Presents Peter Pan JR. We have 5 students performing in it these school holidays, the set was created by Belinda Cannan and her husband and Kelly Clark has been doing the costumes. Tickets can be purchased here. National One Dance ChampionshipRyan Hughes and his dance partner Aleksi competed in this two day competition over Queen’s Birthday weekend. They were placed in 31 of the 42 dances they competed in, eight of which were NZ titles:
Congratulations Ryan and Aleksi! |