No images? Click here Kia ora koutou, good afternoon, 下午好, 안녕하세요 My week began with a tear in my eye: I watched our orchestra perform at a higher level than I’d ever seen from a Pinehurst Orchestra in the Holy Trinity Cathedral on Monday and became quite emotional as I heard our young musicians come together so brilliantly. There’s something about watching young people play music that soars to the rafters, swelling together, that reaches inside me. I was proud beyond words. On the same day, our ‘A’ Primary Chess team came 2nd in the North Shore competition, qualifying for the Nationals a little later this term. On Tuesday, the Intermediate (Year 7/8) ‘A’ team won their North Harbour competition, meaning they too have qualified for the Nationals. We entered two teams in both competitions, and our B teams also did very well, and this is the first time we’ve qualified for the Nationals at both levels, so I’m very proud of these young people as well! And thankful, too, for the support offered by their parents: in both music and chess, parents and staff work alongside the children to give them the chance to show what they can do. It’s another example of our amazing community at work. So it’s been a good week! We had two busy open days on Tuesday and Wednesday, inviting some new families into our school; a successful cross country zone day on Wednesday; a really well-attended IGCSE Information Evening on Monday; and a group of College students donned gumboots to plant some native trees on Wednesday. Readers Week has also been running all week, and we’ve been delighted to welcome Kate de Goldi and Stu Duvall in: both great writers, they’re also brilliant at talking to children, and I know our students gained a huge amount from their time with them. Around school, we’ve now got most of our College teachers back in after a Covid-and-other-illness affected fortnight, and it was good to see some crucial relationships restored again. In the Primary school, conversely, we have had to manage some Covid and some other illness, but we’re hopeful that next week should see a return to more normal conditions. We’re aware of some schools having to close their doors on some days, or to send some students home: we’re fortunate that we don’t need to do this, and I’m grateful to all of our staff who continue to adapt and to make things work so well. It's a good time, I think, to ask parents to take the time to check in with their students, and to have those conversations we all have from time to time. As we head into the depths of Term 3, students can become tired (expect this especially if you’re the parent of a Year 5 or 6 child who has a lead role in Madagascar!), and this can affect the ways they manage their relationships with other students, with the school and its teachers, and with their parents. Let us know directly if you have any concerns: nipping things quickly in the bud is always the best policy. Have a lovely weekend and see you next week. Ngā mihi Alex 如需阅读校长的中文留言和重要事件日期,请点击此处 Tuesday 16th August
Wednesday 17th August
Thursday 18th August
As the year has progressed, so has the construction of the Pinehurst Theatre and College 5. The walls are finally up, and the site is beginning to take real shape, looking less like a construction site and more like the theatre we have only been able to imagine through artist impressions. The state-of-the-art facility is still on track for completion in March 2023 and we can’t wait for the Theatre to offer regular musical and theatrical performances, whilst giving our students a unique opportunity to gain valuable skills – both on and off the stage. The site tours will take parents into the heart of the construction (yes - time for hard hats and hi-vis!), to see in real time how things are progressing; take a sneak peek into the future of Pinehurst and of course learn about the ways in which you can support us We currently have the following tour dates and times available (spaces are limited): Message from the Principal of CollegeKia ora e te Whānau o Pinehurst College In my last Newsletter piece, I mentioned that two Pinehurst College teams had entered the New Zealand Engineering Science Competition. Our eight budding engineers were ready to receive their challenge at 10am on Saturday morning and quickly sprang into action when the problem was delivered: “What is the largest payload that can be launched into orbit by a slingshot?” Both teams continued working up until the last minute with only short breaks for their chosen lunch of pizza or KFC and both teams posted their work after eight very busy hours. We are still awaiting results, but it was great to see these students collaborating and co-operating with each other in an effort to provide a solution. We have had some outstanding team results in the College again this week. Two of our Table Tennis teams have qualified to attend the Table Tennis Championships which will be held on 23 August, a fantastic achievement. Our intermediate chess team came first at the North Shore Interschool Chess Competition which means that we now have both a Primary School team and an Intermediate team playing in the National Finals this year. Both Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ Badminton teams had very convincing wins in their matches and our U17 Boys Basketball team will play in the final next Friday having beaten Rangitoto College in their game last week. Our Netball Team 1 won 26-18 against Westlake Girls. These are all amazing results and our students can be proud of their achievements. Readers’ Week overlapping with Maths Week has meant that we have had a marvelous few days of activities and opportunities for our students. Mrs Coombridge planned some wonderful treats for Readers’ Week, and we were lucky to welcome award winning author and reading advocate Kate De Goldi, and author and storyteller Stu Duval into school. Both authors provided excellent presentations to our Year 7-9 students in the library. Some of our students have also been engaged in a creative writing competition run by the Languages Department and a daily mathematics challenge organised by Mrs West. On Monday we held an IGCSE information evening for Year 9 students and their parents. Once again, this evening was very well attended by both parents and students who were able to have their questions answered by Heads of Department at the end of a presentation. On Monday of next week, we will be hosting an A Level information evening for our Year 11 and 12 students and their parents, and on Tuesday we will be hosting an evening for our 2023 Year 7 students and their parents. These evenings are fantastic opportunities for us to connect outside of the school day and to ensure that we are all ready for new challenges and opportunities for our students. To help Year 9-11 students with their decisions, our senior students held a subject fair during the school day on Thursday. This gave students who were thinking about subject choices to talk to students who were already taking those subjects and find out what their experiences had taught them. As the weekend approaches, many of our students are preparing for sporting activities as well as studying for mock examinations. There will be times over the next few weeks when our Year 11-13 students feel under pressure, but mock examinations are excellent preparation for what is to come in a short time. Tomorrow Reynold Yang and Kate Le Lievre will attend the KBB Gala Concert to receive our award from the KBB competition on Monday. Our orchestra played beautifully at the concert after several weeks of intensive rehearsals with Mr Ronayne. We are heading for another full week of activities next week with information evenings, more zone days and at the end of the week our Year 11 students start their mock examinations. I look forward to seeing many of you on Monday or Tuesday and hope you have a wonderful weekend. Ngā mihi Dawn Trees for Survival!Wednesday was an exciting day for 23 tree-planting Pinehurst students. Armed with spades and heavy footwear, the students planted the area around the pond with native trees. A variety of Manuka, Kanuka, Cabbage Tree, Harakeke, Karamu and Grasses were planted as part of the Trees for Survival programme. During the year, students have repotted, weeded and looked after the young plants. With the help of ground and teaching staff, students spent the morning getting over 500 seedlings into the ground. The small plants will transform the area, improving the habitat for insects and birds, reducing erosion, and ultimately improving the quality of water entering the Alexander Stream. Enormous thanks to Gail Allende from Trees for Survival, the Property Team, and the teachers who gave up their time. Model United Nations ConferenceChristian Patterson and Henry Dando where lucky enough to be able to attend the Rotary sponsored Model United Nations Assembly (MUNA) and represented the honourable delegates of Ireland. Throughout the two day conference at Auckland Girls Grammar School, we debated and discussed issues such as climate change to the conflicts in Ukraine and Yemen. We were able to see a wide range of countries share their views and the problems they were facing. Many of the delegates all wearing their cultural dress of their nation. It was a fun and interesting event and was really helpful in improving our debating and public speaking skills. It was particularly fun sending “Taddies” to other delegates with our messages written upon them. I would encourage anyone with the opportunity to partake in an event like this to do so. North Harbour Zone Cross CountryOn Wednesday, our amazing Year 7-8 Cross Country Team competed at the North Harbour Zone Cross Country event. This was held at Sanders Reserves and the course was very grueling with many obstacles, mud and a huge hill climb to finish off the rum. A true cross-country course to say the least. Everyone ran their hardest and we had some awesome results considering there was around 100 students racing in each age group from all around North Harbour. The highlight of the day was Zara Roodt coming in 5th place in the Year 7 girls race which has earned her a spot in the Auckland Zones race. Stanley Wu and Elsa Lu also placed in the top 20 in their respective races which is an astounding achievement. Please see below for the full results: Results: Year 7 Girls: Zara Roodt 5TH place Chess – Intermediate Team Wins Gold!On Tuesday our chess players out played all opposition to win the 2022 Intermediate Regional Qualifier for the North Shore, held at Wairau Intermediate School. The students spent hours training during each Thursday lunchtime during Term 1 and 2 preparing for the competition. Twenty-three teams from the North Shore played between 9am to 2:30pm in the afternoon, requiring sustained concentration and focus. However, there can only be ONE remaining at the end who persevered against the odds to claim top placing. The Pinehurst A Team won Gold to be awarded first place. Their win qualifies them for the National Finals. Congratulations to David Junyang Zhu, Jerry Yang, Shuntaro Nozaki, and Ashley Chen. The Pinehurst B Team achieved a respectable 7th placing out of 23 teams. Congratulations to Ivan Wu, Daniel Zhang, Joshua Zhang, and Yifan Jiang. Thank you to Alex Huang for coaching the teams to success. And a big thank you to the parent supervisors whom, without their help on the day, we could not have entered a team. College SciencePractical science activities have huge significance in the learning process. They engage students, helping them to develop important skills, and develop a broad understanding of scientific concepts. Year 7 students make paper cup phones to explore sound vibration. They also use clay to model the structure of the earth. Which washing powder is best for washing? Year 10 biology students are investigating enzymes in washing powder to find the most effective laundry detergent. This is a busy week for Chemistry students, AS Chemistry have been performing tests on alcohols, aldehydes, and ketones. Our A2 Chemistry students were conducting microscale experiments looking at transition metal reactions and complex formation. It might look simple, but extreme care was needed to work safely with these chemicals. Photos from our Subject Fair Last Week:2022 Auckland Secondary School Championships for FencingLast week Julie Xiao attended the 2022 Auckland Secondary School Championships for Fencing. She placed 3rd in the Woman's Epee! Congratulations, Julie! Message from the Principal of Primary Kia ora, Another busy week and an opportunity for me to spend lots of time at breaks catching up with students on the playgrounds. This time of year, is always a little messy on the fields with the edges getting muddy from wet days and lots of use but fortunately still dry enough to play on. There is a fascination for digging with sticks, making leaf pies, and using imaginations to interact with nature and collaborate with friends. The Library is a popular choice at lunchtimes for our bookworms especially, a quite space to get lost in a fantasy world or for younger children a chance to share a book and have a good giggle at the pictures. Our Peer Mediators have a very important role to play at break times, helping younger children and playing with them if they are feeling like they need a new friend. I am so impressed with this year's group of Year 6 mediators. The kindness and care they display is exceptional as is their punctuality and organisation to turn up at the right time and the right place. This week's open day for the parents of prospective new entrants was an opportunity to showcase what learning is like in our Year 1 to 3 classes. Our mornings are focused on numeracy and literacy and there was counting in fives in New Entrants, phonics in Year 1 with sound buttons too, finding three quarters of a number in Year 2 and sophisticated writing in Year 3. In Year 4 Science P14 were learning all about bones through stories, pictures, video, and actual bones for them to study. Our visitors were so impressed with the speakers in each room who expertly explained what they were learning that they clapped several times. Our students give us so many opportunities to be proud of them. Congratulations to our Primary Chess players. We took two teams to Wairau Intermediate school on Monday, both were very successful with our A team managing to secure second place and a spot in the National finals later this year. Both teams put in many hours of practise both at home and school and we are delighted that Pinehurst will send teams to Nationals from the Primary and Intermediate. Well done to everyone who competed, more details are in the article written by Mrs Jones Hill below. In just over two week our Year 5 and 6 students will perform in Disney's Madagascar Jr. They have been rehearsing up a storm and final blocking of movements and dance are being done as well as costumes completed and make up planned. Tickets are selling really well, and we are looking forward to our two performances on Tuesday 30 August and Thursday 1 September in the Arena. This will be the last show we do before the opening of the new theatre in time for our 2023 Year 3 and 4 production. It is looking like it may be a good few days weather wise so enjoy if you can get out to parks and beaches with your children and of course the courts and fields will be action packed with sport this weekend too.
Noho ora mai, Sian North Shore Primary Interschool Chess Competition 2022Pinehurst Primary entered three teams of four players into the interschool competition held at Wairau Intermediate school. Twenty-four teams from North Shore schools took part in the intense and challenging tournament. Mrs McKewen, our Extension teacher, was extremely proud of our students and the exemplary level of sportsmanship, focus and determination they demonstrated. Our students represented our school with pride and rose to the challenge of competitive play. Team A ended the tournament with 76 points and were awarded second place, only two points behind the overall winners. This outstanding result will see them go through to the National Competition. Team B came 10th and Team C came 8th. Fantastic results for our three teams, we are very proud of them. We would also like to thank the wonderful group of parents who supported the teams on the day of the tournament. They ensured that our students and Mrs McKewen were so well looked after and provided tremendous, positive encouragement to all players. Look at our New Peer Mediator Uniform!Our Primary Peer Mediators modelling their awesome new vests. Wonderful Art in P8!This week for Art, P8 been focusing on the Artist Wassily Kandinsky. Both music and colours would have a huge impact on his art later in life. P8 have used both colours and shapes to display the ‘Kandinsky Tree’ We have also been learning how to connect our letters for handwriting – in Year 2 we call it ‘Happy Handwriting’ We have been a little creative and used different materials to practise our writing skills CONGRATULATIONS Richie Liu.Over the weekend Richie participated in the Year 1-2 Boys Championship Challenger Cup 2022 held at Snow Planet. There were 15 racers from various schools around Auckland, the second and third place getters were from Kristin school. Richie is the holder of a gold medal and the title of Champion for 2022. This win also assisted Richie Liu and Austin Liu (in P1) in securing a second place for Pinehurst School in the Snowplanet 365 Schools Challenger Cup. Well Done, Boys!! An Update from P2!P2 has had an eventful first few weeks back at school. We started our ‘Midnight Garden Adventure’, discovering all about nocturnal animals and the night sky. We have been busy learning how to write reports and have written animal reports about owls and the night time. In Science, we learnt all about the sky and the different things we see during the day and night and learning to tell the difference between the two. In Art, we read the story ‘Owl Babies’ by Martin Waddell and created our own Owl artwork. First the students created the silhouette of an owl using black paper. Next, we looked at patterning and created our own owl pattern using chalk. Finally, we added old CDs to make our giant owl eyes. Next time you walk by P2, check out our owls sitting in their giant tree! In Global perspectives our theme is ‘Learning new things’. P2 has been busy learning about different cultures from all over the world. This week, our focus was Mexico and its unique culture. The children learnt about traditional clothing, music and food. P2 has been busy in phonics learning new sounds and writing new words using their ‘Fred Fingers’. The year 1 children are continuing to learn their diagraphs and trigraphs and have been busing learning the ‘air’ sound this week. The new entrant children are still working on their single letter sounds and were working on x, w, v, y and z. In Mathematics, we have been learning to count in steps of 2, 5 and 10. Our next step is to count in steps of 10 from any number, for example 4, 14, 24, 34. Next week P2 is blasting off into their next adventure all about space and the moon! Amazing learning this week P2, keep up the fantastic work! Chantelle CowieWell done to Chantelle Cowie for the following exceptional musical awards: South Auckland Performing Arts Competition Society 7 years and under (Piano Award) Restricted Own Selection - First Place 7 years and under (Piano Award) Own Selection - Very Highly Commended 7 years and under - Primary Restricted Solo Own Selection - Second Place (Harp) 13 years and under - Junior General Instrumental Own Selection - Highly Commended (Harp) What’s happening in P19?In Maths … In Maths cross groups, we have been working on multiplication using the formal written method and multiplying decimals. The students have been practising estimating their answers before calculating them. They have been using ‘Math Talk’ to articulate and defend their ideas and analyse the reasoning of others. In Maths strand, the students have been exploring mass, specifically converting units of mass. They have enjoyed exploring real life word problems and using hands on equipment to find and compare the mass of different items. In Writing … The students have been challenged to write a gripping adventure story for a fictional Festival of Stories. They have been trying to include dramatic vocabulary, flashbacks, future gazing and cliffhangers, as well as dialogue. It is wonderful to see their creativity unleashed and also their enthusiasm for sharing their writing with each other. In Reading … In reading, the students have started the term by focusing on comprehension, specifically developing their inference skills; arriving at conclusions using evidence from the text to help them uncover meanings, themes and character motivations. They have also researched Commonwealth Game athletes and compiled some informative fact sheets. In Art … We started the term researching Andy Warhol’s work and his role in Pop Art. The students went on to explore his Endangered Species series, before being given the task of creating a print in this style. To begin with they made a line drawing of their chosen animal; they are now in the process of making their print. We are looking forward to seeing the finished pieces, which will aim to include two colours and also have oil pastel highlights. In Global Perspectives … ‘If I were a World Leader’, the students have started this unit by looking at their values and what’s important to them. There were some interesting discussions arising from this and it was great to see them debating their different points of view. They went on to explore children’s rights and the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child before focusing on article 28 the right to an education. By the end of this Challenge, the students will have developed their evaluation skills by assessing the reliability of information from different sources. They will have learned about the educational rights of children worldwide, the problems with school attendance in some countries, what organisations are doing, as well as possible actions they could undertake as individuals to help the situation. CASE Space School Expeditions in July and December 2023.Pinehurst School is excited to announce our participation in CASE Space School Expeditions in July and December 2023. All Pinehurst School students are invited to join CASE Junior Space School or CASE Senior Space School and visit NASA in the USA! The space industry is the most stimulating environment to showcase the impact of STEAM and innovation in our world and inspire students in the pursuit of STEAM studies. This is a wonderful opportunity for all students to learn beyond the classroom and be inspired by the opportunities that lie ahead! Dad’s Fantail & Turtle!Bring a friend or two if you want! if you would like to attend please complete the RSVP Form or contact sylva.lum@pinehurst.school.nz. |