Message from the Executive Principal

Kia ora koutou, good afternoon, 下午好, 안녕하세요  

Best wishes,

Mike Waller 

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Message from the Principal of Primary

Teddy Bears Picnic

In a delightful display of all things furry, the Year 6 students organised the Teddy Bear Picnic event that saw students buzzing with excitement. The picturesque school grounds transformed into a sea of colourful blankets, deck chairs and giggles as children, accompanied by their beloved teddy bear companions, gathered for a day of fun and frolic. The highlight of the event? A Teddy Disco that had everyone tapping their paws and dancing with furry friends.

The Teddy Disco was a unique twist to the traditional picnic, bringing a whole new level of energy and entertainment. The school's Arena was transformed into a dance floor, complete with paw and toe-tapping tunes. Students, teddy bears in tow, boogied to their heart's content, showcasing some impressive moves alongside their fuzzy friends. It was quite a sight to see all the teddy bears joining in the dance party.

The Teddy Bear Hospital saw many bears being treated by our highly trained teddy doctors. With medical kits at the ready bears had their blood pressures taken, given injections and many broken limbs were bandaged.

The Year 6 students set up a circuit of bear themed activities for the classes to enjoy ranging from photos booths, reading stations, 3 legged races and teddy relays.

By the end of the afternoon there were some very tired bears and owners slowly making their way back to the classrooms. We are very proud of our year six students for the way they set up their stations, ran activities and supported our younger students.

Year 6 Waterwise 

All our Year 6 students have now completed their second day out on the water at Murrays Bay Beach in our Waterwise programme. All three classes had amazing weather and fully embraced the challenge of learning to sail.

With some reminding, the students managed to tie a bowline knot, steer the Optimist using a tiller and most importantly to duck their head when the boom swings across when the boat tacks. Some students took the chance to learn to race and make judgements about using the wind to sail faster than their opponents. Others took the opportunity to do a ‘controlled’ capsize and learn how to get their boat back up and get themselves back into the boat.

To be able to run a Waterwise session we need to have 3 Waterwise trained instructors. We are very lucky to have the amazing Paula and her daughter Morgan to volunteer their time. However, we are always keen to train parents as WATERWISE INSTRUCTORS to help us keep running this programme in the future. You don’t have to be an experienced sailor, you just need to be willing to learn how to drive an Inflatable Rescue Boat and to be out on the water helping our students to have a safe, positive experience on the ocean. We have an excellent training programme that will help you to qualify as a Waterwise Instructor. Please contact Mrs Clark if you are interested in doing the training.

Health in Year 3

This term the children in Year 3 are learning about ‘Keeping Ourselves Safe’. We are focusing on identifying hazards and preventing injury, at home, at school and in our local environments.

Our School Community Police Officer, Constable Louise Nicholas, visited with the students this week. She discussed with the children some of the many ways in which the Police keep our community safe. The students were fascinated to hear her explanations of when, why and how some of the many tools and equipment that they carry are used, in order to keep people and animals safe. Her stories of some of her experiences were very engaging. We also discovered that her uniform contains 17 pockets in which the various tools are located!

Louise also encouraged revision of calling our emergency number of 111, and it would be helpful if you also regularly help your children practise stating their name, address and phone number – important information for when emergency services are required.

The highlight for the children, understandably, was being allowed to sit in the police car, hear the three different sirens and seeing what equipment was contained in the boot of the vehicle.

P5

In P5 we have been on a fantastic adventure of learning and exploration during this past fortnight.

Monday in Week 6 was so exciting as we had our first dress rehearsal for our Showcase! We had to work very hard to remember the words to our song whilst coordinating our clever moves with our head pieces on. Show night was amazing and we were all thrilled with our performances, even though we were a little overwhelmed by the size of the audience, we loved the experience!

In Maths we have been learning about the properties of 3D shapes…we had the opportunity of creating our own colourful cubes which helped us to have a better understanding of this shape and where we encounter cubes in our environment. We now know a cube is a solid shape made of 6 squares or faces. It has 8 corners and 12 edges. We also learned the term ‘net’ to describe the unfolded shape.

Our learning towards the end of Week 6 was so much fun and planned around the Primary School’s Teddy Bears Picnic! We were able to bring our teddy bears into school on Friday and this was another a highlight of our week! We read teddy bear stories and sang teddy bear songs! In writing, we were able to write with our teddy bears at our tables! We were learning to stretch our sounds into words to describe what they looked like and how they felt!

The week ended with a fun teddy bears picnic we shared with all our friends and teachers… Phew! What a fun week! We, too, were tired little teddy bear caregivers!

We are now looking forward to the Primary School Market Day, when we will be able to sell the Christmas related products that we have been creating in class. We have been learning simple ideas for our own class business, product quality and pricing. It has also been very interesting for us to design logos and poster advertisements for our class company. Furthermore, opportunities for purchasing from other market ventures on the big day adds another level of excitement!

Great news to share from P5 New Entrants – Charles Wang won the National Robotics Competition for his age-group on Sunday. Fantastic effort, Charles!

Road Patrollers' Reward: A Thrilling Adventure at Rainbows End

This week our dedicated Year 6 Road Patrol students were rewarded with an unforgettable trip to Rainbows End Adventure Park. It was a day filled with laughter and excitement. It was a well-deserved treat for their commitment to ensuring the safety of our school community.

Under the rays of the hot sun, our enthusiastic Road Patrollers eagerly embraced the adrenaline rush of the Corkscrew roller coaster and many other thrilling rides. With twists and turns that left their hearts racing, the exhilaration was obvious on their faces as finished each ride with triumphant cheers.

One highlight was the sweet shop, a treasure trove of sugary delights that allowed the students to indulge their sweet tooth and share treats among friends.

The adventures continued with the Log Flume ride, a splash-filled journey that provided relief from the sun's heat. Then on the Invader, a ride that sent them soaring through the air with screams of both fear and excitement intermingled.

For those who wanted more adrenaline, the Fear Fall and the Stratosphere were the ultimate tests of courage. The thrill of conquering fear as they ascended skyward before plunging earthward at breath-taking speed.

We extend our gratitude to our Road Patrollers for their dedication and service to our school community.

Primary Sports Prizegiving

On Tuesday morning, we celebrated our students and teams sporting success in 2023 at the Sports Prizegiving. The Sports Prizegiving involved all Year 4-6 students and the Prize winners from Year 1-3 were invited to join this special awards ceremony. This was a very special ceremony, in which we celebrated students who had demonstrated superb team player attributes, students who had a valuable contribution to their team and students that demonstrated sportsmanship throughout their sporting endeavours. At the conclusion of the awards, we celebrated the students who had been awarded with the Sporting Excellence awards. Please see the list of the Supreme Sporting Excellence award winners below. A huge congratulations to all of the award winners. We look forward to an awesome summer of sport and the 2024 season next year. We would like to thank all of the Coaches and Managers that have supported our Pinehurst teams in 2023. We could not do it without you, and we are greatly appreciative of your support. 

Primary Sporting Excellence Awards:
Primary Sport Events - Most Valuable Contribution:   April (P17)
Mete Cup for Sportsmanship:   Olivia (P20)
Team of the Year:   Swimming Year 4-6 Relay Teams
Year 6 Sportswoman of the Year:   Anna (P20)
Year 6 Sportsman of the Year:   Ryan (P21)

P21 Poetry

The students in P21 have been busy reading and writing some inspirational poetry and studying how the effects are produced. They are considering the language used, including description (noun phrases), imagery, and personification. They have been writing their own poetic expanded noun phrases and making the ordinary extraordinary and also sharing their poems with the class.  So many budding poets in P21!

Click here to view some students poems. 

Message from the Principal of College

Girls Mean Business

On Friday 17 November a group of selected Year 7 and 8 students attended the Girls Mean Business event amongst other schools across Auckland. Here they were introduced to key business topics of Entrepreneurship, Finance and Marketing. Students were emersed into a range of engaging activities which ultimately led to groups having to use the knowledge learnt into creating, budgeting and marketing a lemonade cup followed by a 1-minute pitch to their fellow competitors, teachers and the organisers. Pinehurst students Millie Wang and Sylvia Yang were part of the two groups that came first equal with their dynamic cup designs and convincing pitches. Well done to all the girls.

Drama Trip

Last Friday evening, the Year 10 drama class visited Q Theatre for a viewing of Michael Hurst's "Waiting for Waiting for Godot". An absurdist comedy about two understudies waiting to go on stage for a production of "Waiting for Godot", the show was hilarious and full of existential commentary and absurdist themes. The Year 10 class are currently studying absurd theatre and will be performing scenes form "Waiting for Godot" for their final assessment, so it was wonderful to be able to see not only a piece of live theatre, but to see how absurd theatre conventions can come to life on the stage. The class had a great time, and have no doubt taken inspiration from this amazing Boyd and Brodie production. 

Year 7 Te Taiao - The Natural World 

Our talented Year 7 students are finishing off semester two with the intention of achieving personal excellence. The works below have challenged students to observe closely when using shading techniques to record the unique textures of their selected plant, bird or shell found in Aotearoa. 

The outcomes created by our Year 7's this year have been outstanding due to the persevering attitudes they have held when learning. 

Bird/Shell works: From left to right 
Ruru - Cathy, Year 7
Shell - Branden, Year 7
Kokako - Jessica, Year 7
Tui - Felicia, Year 7
Piwakawaka - Gloria, Year 7
Kingfisher - Abigail, Year 7

North Harbour Secondary Schools Touch Rugby Junior (Year 9-10) Girls

Congratulations and well done to our Year 9-10 Touch Rugby girls' team who beat Orewa Green in the final's match 2-1 last night, making them the over winner of the NHSS Touch Rugby Girls B Grade! A huge thank you to Stephen MacKenzie for coaching and to Heidi Bell for managing the team.

Trees for Survival

Trees for Survival seedling potting up day on Thursday saw an amazing effort from 27 Year 7 students.

360 little seedlings now have a great start in the plant growth unit down by the greenhouse. When well grown and sturdy, the native trees will be planted next year to encourage biodiversity, insect habitats, stream protection and erosion control.

Well done team!

Bronze Duke of Edinburgh

Thursday and Friday last week saw 95 of our Year 10 students head out to complete their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Qualifying Journey. After catching the ferry across to Rangitoto, the groups set out on their hike across to Home Bay on Motutapu Island. The glorious weather made for some spectacular views from the summit but meant everyone had to keep on top of their sun safety. After setting up camp, some students made the most of the coastal campsite by taking a refreshing dip in the Hauraki Gulf. Whilst Friday brought some cloud cover, tired legs, blistered feet, and the high humidity made the walk back to Rangitoto wharf a challenge for some. However, the sense of achievement was tangible amongst the students as they boarded the ferry home.

Boys And Girls Beach Volleyball Zone Day

This week, we had a group of Year 7s and 8s that were very excited to strut their stuff at the Mairangi Bay Volleyball Centre. There were most of the intermediate schools on the shore represented in two divisions.  Pinehurst students played some great volleyball and all teams had a few wins.  The girls 1^st team placed 10^th out of 21 teams, winning 4 of their 5 games.  All players had lots of fun and improved their skills as the day moved on. 

Well done to all participants – they showed good sportsmanship and represented Pinehurst well.   Till next year…

Engineering Science Competition

Ashleigh Bernacchi, Michael Ma and Douglas Lindsay entered the Engineering Science Problem-Solving Competition on 5 August this year and were tasked with finding a way to answer this problem challenge: 

“How much electrical power will be required due to New Zealanders adopting the use of generative AI?”

Using a combination of Mathematics, Science and Computer Science ideas, the trio spent 8 hours on a Saturday to produce a report detailing their answer to this question. They had to make many assumptions to create a model that allowed them to come get anywhere near a solution. Their report then had to convince the judges that their modelling was reasonable and compelling.

This team was awarded "Runners-Up" in the competition, which is a huge achievement against stiff competition from 185 teams in 61 schools all around the country.

Congratulations to Ashleigh, Michael and Douglas for putting their learning to such good use!

Year 7-8 Sports Prizegiving

On Tuesday afternoon, the Year 7-8 students joined together to celebrate the individual and team sporting success’ in 2023 at the Junior College Sports Prizegiving. At this event, we recognised the hard work and dedicated that had been put into the 2023 season and we celebrated students that had gained regional and national representation. Two students from each sport team were recognised by being a recipient of the team player or the most valuable contribution awards and we awarded the most valuable contribution award for each Zone Day or North Harbour event. The students were treated to a bubbly guest speaker who has played for the Kiwi Ferns League Team and the Black Ferns Team; Katelyn Vaha’akolo. Katelyn inspired the students with her messages about being inspired by your own greatness and believing in your own abilities. Katelyn then presented the Sporting Excellence awards to the deserving award recipient. Please see the list of the Sporting Excellence award winners below. We would like to congratulate all award winners and all students for their commitment and passion to their respective sports this year. We would also like to thank our amazing Coaches and Manager who have supported our teams this year, we couldn’t do it without you.

Junior College Sporting Excellence Awards:

NH Zone Day Cup – Girls:   Zara R
NH Zone Day Cup – Boys:   Jerry Y
Mete Cup for Sportsmanship:   Alex G
Outstanding Achievement in Sport:   Noah A - Diving
Team of the Year:   Intermediate Diving Team
Year 7 - Sportswoman of the Year:   Alice Y
Year 7 - Sportsman of the Year:   Alex G
Year 8 - Sportswoman of the Year:   Zara R
Year 8 - Sportsman of the Year:   Jerry Y

North Harbour Top Team Zone Day – CHAMPIONS

The Top Team Challenge Zone Day was held in week 6 of Term 4, hosted and held by Whangaparaoa College.  This competition is focused fully on Teamwork.

Our Team was made up of 5 girls and 5 boys as per the rules, and they were challenged over 8 different tasks throughout the day.  These challenges were fun-filled and varied from water-sliding, plank walking, blind-folded treasure hunting and a general knowledge quiz.

The team worked consistently well together, giving everything a go even if it meant stepping out of their comfort zones, and had great fun.  As a result, the Pinehurst Team took out the competition, coming first and came home champions with the Top Team Challenge Cup for 2023.

Registrations are now open for 2024 Instrumental Lessons at Pinehurst School!

Each week, 16 specialist instrumental and voice teachers come onto campus to share their wealth of knowledge, experience and passion and give one on one music lessons to students. Lessons are open to all students in both Primary and College, from beginners to the more experienced. These lessons also provide a robust foundation for students involved in our College Orchestra and Jazz Band. And if you'd like to learn a Brass instrument, we offer a Brass Scholarship programme to help support and develop our Brass players.

Students who have previously taken music lessons at school need to register again for 2024 even if they have let their teacher know they are continuing with lessons. 

All information, including the registration page can be found on our website here. Please email Mrs Jaques if you have any questions cynthia.jaques@pinehurst.school.nz.

Lessons start in Week 2, 5 February 2024.

School Community Officer

If you have any news or submissions you’d like considered for our newsletter, please contact news@pinehurst.school.nz