Message from the Executive Principal
Kia ora koutou, good afternoon, 下午好, 안녕하세요 There was a festival of blue hats and brightly-coloured drink bottles on the fields on Wednesday. In the morning, Year 3 and 4 boys and girls threw shot puts, slung discuses (without causing injury!), ran, jumped high and jumped long, and thoroughly entertained the staff who accompanied them and the parents who followed them around. Some impressive athletes! By the afternoon, the sun had become stronger, the viewing crowd of parents had grown, and it was the turn of our smallest children. Year 1 and 2 did brilliantly, in many cases trying out events for the first time. Many thanks to Ms Puckett and to Mr Taylor, supported by the Primary team: it was Ms
Puckett’s first Primary Athletics Day, and she did a wonderful job. Year 7 have been at camp this week – it’s gone well, and they should be back in the arms of their parents, very tired, by the time you read this. It was another first for us: a new camp by the sea, but with an experienced group of teachers and parent helpers. Thank you so much to the parents who went along, and I hope you had a great time. Next week, Year 9 head to the wilds of the sea and an isolated, electricity-free camp on Whangarei Heads. It’s going to be fantastic! We will, because of the nature of the camp, and the closeness of life on the boats, be running Covid-tests before this camp. We don’t do this as a matter of course any more, but it’s an obvious precaution to take given the general rise in cases around New Zealand at the
moment. There have been events taking place all week – too many to mention! – but I do want to highlight a couple of them. We have been continuing our road safety programme, supported by the community police, with our little ones. Please help us by reinforcing common sense safety rules both in and out of school. And yesterday, we ran a Year 8 Career Event, organised by our outstanding Career Counsellor, Mrs Griffiths. This is a real strength of our school, and I’m very pleased by the way we approach career education in our school. When the children are younger, we try to broaden horizons, opening students’ eyes to the huge range of opportunities they will have in the future. As they get older, especially when they head into Year 12, but also when they start to make choices for Year 10, we make sure that they are
making choices to keep their chosen pathways available to them. And we guide them towards building an academic and cross-curricular profile that will support them to apply to the universities of their choice when they reach that stage of their lives. Our exams continue to go well: thank you to all the students, supported by their resilient parents (I’m sure the calmness we see at school is not always replicated at home!). You have been doing so well, and I know that you will enjoy the feeling that the end is in view. My very best wishes to all of the students as they complete the exams. And to the Year 13s: I’m looking forward to the Valedictory Dinner in three weeks’ time. Have a lovely weekend and see you on Monday. Ngā
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Monday 7 November - Year 9 “Out There” Camp
- Supercluster Touch tournament (Selected Students)
Tuesday 8 November - Surf Life Saving Beach Education – Year 3
- Year 7-8 NH Zone Day Girls Badminton (selected students)
Wednesday 9 November - Tread Lightly Caravan: Environmental Education - Primary
- Primary Athletics Day Years 5-6
- Year 3 & 4 Gymnastics - Primary School Zone Day (selected students)
- Year 7-8, Zone Day Boys Badminton (selected students)
Thursday 10 November - Tread Lightly Caravan:
Environmental Education - Primary
- Year 5 & 6 Gymnastics - Primary School Zone Day
- Kiwilele Local Jam Year 5-6
Friday 11 November - Year 7-8 NH Zone Day Athletics (selected students)
- Tread Lightly Caravan: Environmental Education - Primary
Message from the Principal of PrimaryKia ora, Wasn't the sunshine wonderful on Wednesday? A promise of the summer to come as we grabbed hats, sunscreen and water bottles and headed out to the field for the Year 3 and 4 syndicate athletics day followed by New to 2. The sport was amazing of course, but what impressed us the most was the determination to play hard and give everything a go. There were some new events for our youngest students, the discus or in our case throwing a quoit is not an easy skill to take on board. The throws I saw were all in the right
direction which is pretty good for 5 and 6-year-olds. One of the highlights I reflected on in my Principals group this week is how grateful I am that we get to take part in so many events this term, being able to spend time on the sports fields, at concerts and in events outside the classroom is a great way to create memories together. The feeling around school is magical. It was lovely to get to know some of our newest families this week at our meet and greet and at the phonics session. There are always great questions as well as opportunities to talk about how our five-year-olds are settling in. We have other meetings planned this term with transition on our minds and the process of preparing students and their families for the next year group. Our transition process is
thorough, and we spend time thinking and reflecting on the best ways to take the journey to the next year group. There will be camp meetings too with early 2023 camps for some cohorts and meetings with syndicate leaders to hear about plans for next year. The road safety message from Police officer Louise, really seems to be sinking in. Children are looking before they cross at the crossings and reminding their parents to do the same. Well done students! I watched a Year 3 boy start to walk across the carpark yesterday before he stopped himself and headed back to the pavement to use the crossing. He didn't know anyone was watching him and I was really impressed and grateful that our children have the skills to keep themselves safe. In Year 3 we have had visits from St Johns too as part of the health programme and our
students are learning how to keep themselves safe and prevent injuries. It is an opportunity to learn about safety, to see people at work and what their jobs look like. Our students have had lots of questions for both the Police and St Johns in these past few weeks, having visitors in school adds another dimension to our learning programmes. Next week there is gymnastics, more athletics, the Kiwiukele Jam with Suzy Cato, and the first week of the Tread Lightly caravan where students are going to learn more about sustainability and resources. This will be a big topic for the whole school in 2023 and so we are looking forward to getting a head start with our thinking. Have a wonderful weekend. Nga mihi Sian
P10 NewsArt The P10 artists found a gap between the showers to stroll among the school gardens and pick their favourite spring flowers to sketch. They looked into the shape, colour and texture of the flowers and passionately made them alive on the paper with vibrant colours. Here is a snapshot of the lovely lesson.
Reading An iron giant rose into the twilight…a little boy from a coastal village discovered it in shock, but he just knew what to do. This is the beginning of our new chapter book The Iron Man. Unlike Tony Stark, our Iron Man is much more rusty and mysterious than the flying suit with an unlimited power sac on the chest. There is not enough evidence to prove whether the metal giant is our friend or foe, but we will soon find out using our Big Read Agents’ skills.
Term 4 Learning in P11What an exciting and fabulous beginning we have had to Term 4 in P11. We have been focusing on showing respect and kindness to each other and have made T-Shirts to remind us how to do this and written messages to our friends to tell them how much we value their kindness. In Health, we are exploring hazards in the world around us. This is helping us to develop strategies to stay safe more independently; it is also helping us to recognize what decisions to make when we come across something that we have noticed is not safe. In Global Perspectives our focus is on ‘Reuse, Reduce and Recycle’ and how we can each take responsibility on making changes to how we use items in a way that can help to sustain and protect our environment. Watching a video we were fascinated by the way items are recycled in NZ once they leave our houses in recycle bins. We are learning about power and forces in Science; recognizing magnets and their properties and how friction is caused. This has been very interesting when we explore things in our homes that use magnets. Lastly, swinging from our classroom ceiling is a school of beautifully coloured 3D fish which we have created in Art. P11 is certainly an exciting learning place to be!!
Year 6 Waterwise After a long hiatus due to lock-downs we have been finally able to get back out on the water. This week we had our first Waterwise session since February 2021! Our Year 6 students enthusiastically embraced the challenge to get out of the classroom and couldn’t wait to get out on the water at Murrays Bay Beach. Each class spent a day learning how to rig and sail an optimist boat. Students discovered how to tie a bowline knot, steer a dinghy using a tiller and most importantly to duck their head when the boom
swings across when the boat tacks.To be able to run a Waterwise session we need 3 trained instructors. We are keen to train more 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. Any interest parents who would like to complete the WATERWISE instructor training, please contact Kelly.clark@pinehurst.school.nz
North Shore Swimming ChampionshipsOn Tuesday 1st November, we took 21 strong swimmers from Year 4-6 to the North Shore Swimming Championships. Each swimmer was only allowed to enter 3 individual races. Our swimmers competed so well and many earned medals in almost all of their events. Please see below the students that placed in the top 3 for their respective events.
Girls 8 Years Old: Cynthia Su: - 2nd place in the 25m Backstroke
- 2nd place in the 25m Freestyle
- 2nd place in the 50m Backstroke
Eva Sun: - 3rd place in the 25m Freestyle
- 3rd place in the 50m Freestyle
Boys 9 Years Old: Leo Liu: - 2nd place in the 50m Breaststroke
- 1st place in the 25m Breaststroke
- 3rd place in the 25m Butterfly
Girls 9 Years Old: April Lin: - 1st place in the 50m Breaststroke
- 1st place in the 50m Freestyle
Serena Cao: - 3rd place in the 25m Butterfly
Girls 10 Years Old: Chelsea Zhu: - 1st place in the 100m Freestyle
- 1st place in the 50m Backstroke
- 1st place in the 50m Freestyle
Boys 10 Years Old: Tim Wei: - 3rd place in the 50m Breaststroke
Boys 11 Years Old: Shawn Li: - 3rd place in the 50m Breaststroke
- 2nd place in the 25m Breaststroke
Brayden Zhao: - 3rd place in the 25m Butterfly
Girls 11 Years Old: Mary Lin: - 3rd place in the 25m Backstroke
Relays: - 2nd in the Mixed 10 Years Old 100m Medley Relay
- 2nd in the Mixed 8 Years Old 100m Freestyle Relay
Serena YangOver the last few weeks Serena Yang has had a very successful competition season for ballet and piano. In ballet, she has received a first place and a second place in a Hamilton Dance Society competition, a first place and a third place in the South Auckland Performing Arts Competition, a very highly commended and a highly commended in an Auckland Caledonian Dancing Society competition, and second and third place in a Follow Your Dream competition. In piano, Serena received first place, a third place and a highly commanded in APMA piano competition. Serena was selected, following an audition, to perform a piano solo in Auckland town hall the
26th November
Year 5 Extension WritingThe Year 5 extension writing students are busy creating Anthologies of poetry. They have chosen a theme that is meaningful to them that they can write a collection of poetry around. Themes range from family to places to seasons. We have explored three types of poetry to date: Cinquain, Haiku and Limerick. The students have created two poems that are fine examples of each different poetic form. We have discussed purpose, imagery, rhythm, and rhyme in our lessons, and we look forward to writing Kennings, Free Verse, Diamante and Colour poems over the next few weeks. The poems are currently in draft form but we will publish our collection soon.
A Visit from Jon and Barbara Tucker.
This week the Year Six students had a visit from author and ocean sea adventurer Jon Tucker. Jon and his wife Barbara are grandparents of students here at Pinehurst. They have spent most of their lives on the sea and raised their family of five boys aboard a traditional ketch called New Zealand Maid. The Tuckers have had many adventures including sailing to Antarctica and, when their children were little, sailing with the peace flotilla that travelled to Moruroa, French Polynesia, to protest nuclear weapon testing. We have a book in the Pinehurst Library that documents this period of history. Jon passes on his love of seeing children engage with nature, camping out and ‘mucking about in boats’ in a series of
adventure books that start with ‘Those Snake Island Kids’. He spoke with our students about creative writing and how and where to get those story-worthy ideas.
What has been happening in P7?P7 have had a fabulous start to term 4. The students participated in the nationwide “Shake Out” on 27th October at 9:30 am. Shake Out took place across the world to remind people of the right action to take during an earthquake. The students were shown how to drop, cover and hold. They discussed the importance of practicing for different natural disasters so that everyone knows what to do. P7 were all extremely sensible when following the procedures. In Art the year 2 students are focusing on the elements of construction. P7 created different pieces of art by folding, cutting and gluing
paper. This week the class made paper flowers. The paper flowers were quite difficult to make but the students persevered and produced bright coloured paper flowers. The Year 0-2 athletics was held on Wednesday afternoon. The students all participated in a variety of activities ranging from relay races to high jump. The parents who were able to attend all cheered and encouraged the students. It was exciting to demonstrate the skills they have been learning in the P.E classes with Mr Taylor.
Junior Choir and Woodwind Link-Up TripOn Wednesday this week, 100 children in the Junior Choir and Woodwind ensemble set off to the Due Drops Event Centre to play with the Auckland Philharmonia Orchestra. Students worked hard in the weeks leading up to the event to learn the repertoire in their weekly sessions either by singing or on their instruments. The repertoire ranged from more traditional pieces like 'La Folia' and the 'Anvil Chorus' to more modern pieces like 'Johnny B. Goode'. Students were so excited to see the APO in action, and the compere - New Zealand legend - Suzy Cato. It is so great to see such a large number of students committed to their involvement in the
extracurricular music programme.
Message from the Deputy Principal of College Kia ora e te Whānau o Pinehurst School Term 4 is a great time for our students to be involved in outdoor education experiences. Today year 7 return from their Raglan camp, tired and excited with many stories to tell and experiences to share. Next week, year 9 students head North on their camp experience. Half the students sailing to Whangarei Heads whilst the other half travel by bus to their wilderness beach campsite. Then on Wednesday the two groups swap over. Year 10 students will be completing their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze expedition on 17th and 18th November and this week students had meetings to start planning for this. At the end of November a
group of our senior students will travel to the South Island to complete their Gold Duke of Edinburgh expedition. This challenging adventure is the culmination of many years of a student’s outdoor leadership experiences and is something that all Pinehurst students should aspire to achieving. Alongside these rich rewarding opportunities our students also continue to experience the endeavour and discipline of academic examinations. Senior students are now entering their 4th week of external IGCSE and A level examinations and practical assessments. I am continually impressed with the way that our year 11, 12 and 13 students have approached these external examinations. Most people would not willingly choose to expose themselves to the commitment and pressure that results from examinations. However, I constantly see students who
have got on with the challenge demonstrating a positive determination to succeed. This will be a busy weekend for all our year 7, 8 and 10 students. As they prepare for their week of examinations. These examinations provide valuable feedback and are a chance for students to demonstrate their learning. During the week, all students are expected to be at school at normal times. I constantly remind students to plan for the week so there are no surprises. Year 13 students will be starting to look forward to the Valedictory Dinner on 16th November. After a long list of final events such as final sports game, last assembly, final ever mathematics class, last school examination. It is often the Valedictory Dinner where students fully realise that they are now leaving school and the next
stage of their life is about to begin. Have a wonderful weekend, I am looking forward to doing something on the water. I am sure many year 9 students and parents will be keeping a closer than usual eye on the weather and wind forecast for next week. Ngā mihi nui Chris
Year 8 PEIn Year 8 PE the students have been focused on our Te Ao Kori Unit. This is an exciting and fun unit where the students will get to learn a variety of games they may not have played before and develop a range of skills while integrating key terminology from Te Reo Maori. In these action shots, students are participating in Tapu Ae.
“Inspiring the Future” Y8 Careers EventYesterday afternoon all Y8s took part in a careers event where they heard from visitors representing a number of different occupations. After trying to guess what their job was, they then had time to hear a bit about their job and could ask questions. Despite this being virtual (as in our visitors joined us online), the sessions were very interactive and the Year 8s enjoyed learning about some jobs they may not have heard of before.
Year 7 & 8 Tennis Zone Day Last week, the following students attended the North Harbour Tennis Zone Day as part of the Boys Year 7-8 Team: Keitaro Yoneda, Jerry Lu, Harry Ellin & Otto Neumann. All students participated in singles and doubles matches. The team finished 10th in the singles competition and 12th in the double’s competition. It was great to see these students in action and there was some great tennis played by all.
Year 7 & 8 Touch Zone DayOur Y7 & 8 Mixed Touch Rugby team competed in the North Harbour Zone Day this Tuesday. The team started strongly with a convincing win over Wentworth School, moving the ball into space and scoring some spectacular tries. Our next three games were challenging, losing to North Cross, Birkdale and Murrays Bay Intermediates. In the play offs we played Orewa College which resulted in a 1 all draw. All in all it was an enjoyable day out with some great skills and teamwork on display.
Out of the Cocoon: the Pinehurst Theatre and College 5
On Tuesday this week, we were delighted to guide 25 of our Theatre donors around the new Pinehurst Theatre and College 5. Four classrooms will be ready for the start of Term 1, and the whole project is still on schedule for handover on March 7th, 2023. Everyone was very impressed: the size of the Theatre, with 253 fixed, tiered seats and the capacity for 150 more when we have Assemblies, is now clear, with a state-of-the-art acoustic treatment ready to be installed. The stage is wider than the stage at the London Palladium, and the Theatre is 9.2 metre high: that’s equivalent to two giraffes, for those of you who think in units of wild animals. Staying on that theme, the building contains 1000m3 of concrete, and the largest concrete slab is roughly the weight of two Tyrannosaurus Rex.
So quite heavy then. It’s a beautiful space, and our children are very lucky to be moving in. Aside from the Theatre itself, which will be used for College and Primary productions, and for College and Primary Assemblies, as well as performances and events of every kind; the Lobby space is perfect for chamber performances and has a viewing gallery too. The landscaped courtyard between the Theatre and College 5 will also become a performance space, as music and drama spill out from the huge fire station doors. The classrooms are light and well-designed, and the space will be used by the whole school. We’re all very excited! Thank you so much to all of our donors. There have been 163 separate donations, ranging in size from $10,000 to $200. A total of $192,000 has so far been pledged (nearly all of which has been paid - thank you!), and we have sold 92 seats ($500 each) and 89 bricks ($1000 each) on the wall. We have $55,700 pledged for our Grand Piano. All donors’ names will be displayed permanently, and larger donors will be recognised as well. Our target at the start of the project was $250,000 and for half our community to be a permanent part of our building: we’re nearly there! If you would like to donate, please either visit our website (Contact Us - Donate) or contact Sylvia Lum at the school. We kindly thank all our sponsors who have contributed to the Pinehurst Theatre. Your support is greatly appreciated and will be remembered. 'List of Sponsors’.
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