It’s TIME to tell you what we have been learning in P14!

In our home-room Maths this term, we have been working to understand the direct relationship between units of time and convert between them.  This included, reading and recording time accurately in digital notation (12- and 24-hour) and on analogue clocks. We have also been interpreting and using the information in timetables and finding time intervals between different units: days, weeks, months, years, seconds, minutes and hours. 

Like distance, time is something we can measure, and represent as a number. The children have learned we use lots of units to measure time and different devices to make the measurements. Our rich discussions have included the measurements of seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years.

We have practiced telling the time and illustrating it on an analogue clock, the 12-hour clock and the 24 hour clock.

To consolidate our learning we played a fun interactive game.

Here are some of our reflections about our learning to tell the time and convert between analogue and digital clocks.

Top Chess Team Tournament

This week, six of our talented primary Chess players attended a competition against other Auckland Schools at Willow Park.  We entered two teams in the event. Team A: Luna Lu, Ethan Han and Isaac Gu and Team B: Hugh Wang, Eddie Han and Bianca Jin. Both teams had a fun and successful day and especially enjoyed the sausage sizzle lunchtime treat!

All students played six matches against various other schools. Their sportsmanship and the encouragement they gave to their fellow teammates was admirable. The day was excellent preparation towards the upcoming North Shore Interschools Primary Regional Qualifier in Term 3.

Out of the 21 teams that entered, our B team placed 10^th and our A team was 3^rd. Special mentions go to Ethan who placed 2^nd overall as a Table B player, and Luna who was the 1^st placed girl from the whole event and 2^nd place out of all Table A players. All students enjoyed some lollies as recognition and a well done for their participation on the day. If your child is in Year 3-6 and is interested in Chess, they are very welcome to come to P7 on Tuesday lunchtimes to learn and play

Writing in P17

We have been learning about writing timeslip stories where the setting changes and the character moves forwards or backwards through time.

In particular we have developing our skills as writer to ‘show’ rather than ‘tell’. That way a reader can visualise in their minds what is happening. To do this we have been drawing upon the 5 senses, and using figurative language such as simile, metaphor, and personification. We have also been looking to build up tension in our writing by varying our sentence lengths, using punctuation such as ellipses, and using powerful verbs. 

After writing we peer assessed each other using the success criteria and we thought about how we could uplevel our writing.   

Judy and the Picnic 

By Zoey Wu 

Specks of bright light swooped through the dancing trees, the wind waltzing along. “Should we go fishing later on? I’m craving some tuna.” Judy exclaimed, shielding herself from the bloodsucking bugs. Jess, Judy’s company, was grinning happily as Judy spoke. “What’s happening? Did you- wait… What did you do?” “Well, I found this route and it has a magnificent cave!” Jess squealed. “Maybe we’ll check it out.” Judy nervously told her. 

“Oh, we should head back this way.” Jess pointed, nervous of the dark. “Nah, maybe we’ll find the cave? Who knows- we might even be able to find some treasure!” Judy assured Jess. “Oh fine. But I’m not going! Just be back by tomorrow, okay?” Judy had promised Jess she would be back at dusk… Or will she? 

Few minutes later, it was getting dark and now, Judy was a bit anxious, until… There it was! The glorious cave! It was as big as a mansion! Eager, Judy skipped along into the cave. Not thinking clear, she delightfully hopped inside. Later, it had gotten boring. Now, the glistening amethyst, the amber geo’s and the crystal clear gemstones weren’t pleasing. So, she had soon started to retreat until… 

She was lost in the labyrinth of rocks! Now, it wasn’t exciting and wonderful now, it was darker than midnight, as gloomy as a bat! Anxiously, she crept further into the cave until… A trapdoor appeared. Had it been there just then? She just couldn’t help herself, her curiosity luring her nearer second by second. And so, she jumped in. 

Insider there was a soothing melody, in the middle, a pool of sunlight spotlighted a tiny picnic, large enough for a mouse, she approached with caution, heart pounding like thunder. She picked up a sandwich carefully, before chewing on it nervously. What place is this? Where am I? She thought, looking around. Suddenly, she heard sirens blowing louder second by second! 

“Judy! There you are!” Jess bursted into tears. “Huh? Jess? What’s wrong?” Judy panicked. “You went missing for 2 whole days! Wait… what’s that?” Jess brushed her tears away, inspecting the sandwich. The silence was loud, almost like it’s infectious, then she realised. “You ran off without me! You’d gotten me sick worrying about you! You know what? Fine then! I’m never leaving you ever again!” She wept. Should I tell her where this is seriously is from?  Never mind, she’d never believe me anyways. Judy thought supposedly as she hungrily bit into her sandwich once more. 

P17 has also been inquiring into onomatopoeia as an additional form of figurative langue to those listed above. Here are some of our poems:

PINEHURST PRIMARY SCHOOL’S 

Year 3 & 4 SOLO AND DUO PERFORMANCE SHOWCASE  

Wednesday 31 May – 3.30pm Pinehurst School Theatre 

We are thrilled to announce Pinehurst Primary School's Term 2 Solo and Duo Performance Showcase on Wednesday 31 May. 

We are offering one performance opportunity each term for our students to perform in front of a supportive audience of parents and other students. This term it is time for our Year 3 and 4 students to perform, followed by students in Year 2 and below next term, and finally, in Term 4, we will invite students who may have missed their chance to perform earlier in the year and students who we would like to welcome back again.  

This term’s concert will be on Wednesday 31 May at 3.30pm in the new Pinehurst School Theatre. Year 3 and 4 students who would like to perform should register their interest by completing this form by Friday 19 May. Please note that as part of this process we need you to upload a video of your student performing their piece (instructions with the link are in the form).  

We welcome students of all levels and encourage a variety of instruments and music genres, including voice, to provide a balanced and entertaining programme. Please register as soon as possible as places are limited to 20 students. Lastly, we kindly request that performances are limited to three minutes or less. Please see Ms. Pope or Mr. Ronayne if this is an issue. If you have any questions, please email Mrs Jaques Cynthia.jaques@pinehurst.school.nz. 

We look forward to seeing you and your children at our upcoming performance showcase. 

Best regards, 

Pinehurst Music Department

This Week in P6!

At the beginning of this term P6 embarked on a journey of discovery to answer a question ‘What is a Rock?’  They have really enjoyed reading about the 3 common/primary/natural types of rock.

Igneous rock: this rock is formed far under the ground where the temperature is hot enough to cause magma (molten rock).  The magma then cools and crystallizes, either at volcanoes on the surface of the Earth or while the melted rock is still inside the crust creating igneous rocks.

Sedimentary rock: Sedimentary rocks are formed from pre-existing rocks or pieces of once-living organisms that accumulate on or near the Earth's surface. They are created by geological processes such as erosion, weathering, dissolution, and precipitation. These processes break down, wear away, or dissolve rocks and produce sediments, which are then deposited, compacted, and cemented to form sedimentary rocks. The Sedimentary rocks are distinguishable by the distinctive layering.

Metamorphic Rock: Metamorphic rocks are rocks that have changed from one type of rock to another. They form when high heat, high pressure, or hot fluids act on a rock to alter its physical and chemical properties for example slate and marble.

CHILDRENS VOICE:

“This rock is igneous because it has holes and comes from the inside of the volcano,” said Caleb.

“It looks like sand, and it has little bits of sand in it.  I think it is sedimentary,” said Erica.

“There’s no layers so it’s not sedimentary it could be igneous,” said Felix.

They have enjoyed examining the rock collection using magnifying glasses and been involved in some great discussions as they categorise the rocks into the 3 different categories. P6 and the rest of the year 2 syndicate are really looking forward to their trip to Crystal Mountain as they test their knowledge against what they will see there.

News from P11!

In P11 we have been focusing on preparation for our camp this week. Unfortunately, due to the weather we have had to change our camp venue to Camp Pinehurst.

Wow what a fabulous day P11 has had today.

As you can see, we have been collaborating, working together with people from other classes, trying out new ideas and activities.

 We listened to the story of the Seven Kites of Matariki and made kites in P11.

One of the kites has a very special message on it about saving our forests and the bears in them.

We had so much fun learning together in a different way.

Mrs K and P11 Students

Landscape Images in P21

For art in P21, we have been experimenting with composition through observing different landscape images.  We observed paintings from the past and discussed how these are different from paintings now.  The students learnt about using a foreground, middle ground and background in a landscape image and also how to create different perspectives to ensure  images in the back look further away and images in the front look close up. Once the students had sketched out their landscapes they used water colour pencils to shade their colours and complete their landscape image off.

Exploring Place Value in P2!

P1 and P2 are learning place value in Maths this term. We are using concrete materials and hands-on activities to develop a solid conceptual understanding of place value. P2 enjoyed a mix of hands-on activities and games for more fun and engaging learning of place value this week. 

A great way to learn place value for P2 students was to get them moving around and using their bodies. P2 students became human tens and ones to make two-digit numbers to compare. We could not stop laughing and giggling while learning place value using these cute resources!

All of P2 students can now compare and order 3 different numbers from smallest to greatest. Our life-size Emperor penguin for Antarctic adventure in Literacy helped us to visualise what smaller and greater actually mean. 

Even though we had rainy days this week, the rain could not put a dampener on our fun Maths learning! Boys enjoyed playing a place value game. When P2 students engage in Maths activities and games, they also learn problem-solving strategies, patience, perseverance and focussed attention are developed as they manipulate their turns and flow of the game until the activity is completed. 

Our journey of Maths will continue to be full of fun and active participation!

Senior Commerce Students at Parliament

This week, 20 senior students headed to Wellington for a whirl-wind tour of our nation’s capital. Students, along with Mrs Mann and Mr Goforth, took a tour around parliament to see how laws travel from the debating chamber to the select committee room. They even stood in the exact spot where Jacinda and Ashleigh deliver Covid-19 updates in the Beehive’s theatrette. While there, Hayden G and Amy W had a whirl at answer tough questions from the press gallery. We all thoroughly enjoyed the excitement of the house at question time, including the expulsion from the chamber of te pāati Māori co-leaders, and a heated exchange between leader of the opposition, Chris Luxon, and Prime-minister, Chris Hipkins.

The other highlight was our visit to the TradeMe office where we learned how important culture is to their company, got to experience their stunning office environment and hear about all of the different facets of working for a homegrown tech company. The highlight was definitely the 2-floor commute from the 5^th to the 3^rd floor on their amazing slide!  

While most activities were very-much linked to the Commerce curricula, there was time for some less serious activities. Some of these highlights included the $600,000 slide at Parliament, the famous cable car, and early morning walks around the city. We also had the chance to do a night time tour of Zealandia where we saw Kiwi, Takahe, Tuatara and Weta

This trip was inspiring for students and gave them many real-life experiences that they can relate to their studies. It also highlighted opportunities and pathways that they might not have thought about incorporating into future studies.

Creative Writing Club 

Coffee – Inyoung Joung Year 8

If you give me coffee

I will throw it out of the window,

It doesn’t matter which type,

In the bin it will go,

Kick it down the stairs,

Or dump it in your room,

If you bring me coffee,

I will always hate you!

Toi o te wiki

This week goes to some of our talented Year 7 students as they finish off creating work exploring ‘Te Taiao’, the natural world of Aotearoa, NZ.

Students first looked at NZ native flowers and plants and used shading techniques to show the light and dark areas of them. They used black and white pencils on brown paper to record and observe the details of living things like the Piwakawaka, Monarch Butterfly and NZ Grayling.

Well done Abbie, Sylvia, Emily, Cher, Abby, Ivy, Mia, Lucci, Lucy, Bonnie, Declan and Tristan.

Watch this space as there is more amazing Y7 work that is almost finished that students would love to share with you.

If you haven’t already, please follow our school Visual Art Instagram: Pinehurstschool_visual_arts

Pinehurst Theatre Grand Opening

Last Thursday, we had the pleasure of formally opening our theatre to our community. The Grand Opening was a sold-out event featuring a variety of performances from across our community. The event was a huge success and really highlighted what the theatre will offer our community for years to come. Thank you to those that attended, to those that performed and those that were behind the scenes making it all come together – it was a truly special and memorable event and, as a community, we really can be proud of this collective achievement.

Following on from the Grand Opening we have had a few queries regarding sponsorship. We are pleased to share that we have opened a few more sponsorship opportunities. If you would like to find out more about becoming a sponsor of the wall or a seat plaque, please contact Sylvia Lum (Marketing Relationship Manager) sylvia.lum@pinehurst.school.nz.

Cultural Market 2023

The Student Council is bringing back The Pinehurst Cultural Market this year on the 15th of June at lunchtime. This is to support the Starship Foundation while enjoying unique and delicious food from various cultures from our wonderful diverse student body.  There will be live performances during the event where students can watch people showcase their talents. There will also be a prize for the best dish, decided by the MasterChef judges. On top of that there will also be a raffle which you can enter on the day to have a chance of winning various prizes. If you are in years 7 to 13 and would like to run a stall - please complete the form here. If you are in years 7 to 9, you will need an adult to accompany you during the market. All of the information is on the form but if you have any question, please ask our friendly Student Council members.