Message from the Executive Principal

Kia ora koutou, good afternoon, 下午好, 안녕하세요  

Best wishes,
Mike Waller

Message from the Principal of College

Toi o te wiki - Year 9 Art

Toi o te wiki this week goes to Jessica, Jimmy, Logan, Milton, Ryan, Tristan and Yudi for the work they have created for their first assessment.

Our Year 9 students have been exploring the work of artist Antonio Mora who creates surreal photographic double exposures. Students have blended reality with dreams of places and spaces in these double exposures, where they have layered portraits with environments. Carefully considering the way that the images they have selected to layer creates visual impact has been a crucial part of this art making process. 

The next step for these students is to take these double exposures and use different media and materials to create drawings and paintings, exploring art making techniques.

Ka rawe, Year 9!

Properties of paper in Design Technology 

In Year 10 we have learned about where materials come from and what properties they might have. 

We are now delving deeper into each material area in theory and follow this up with a practical skill building unit.We have investigated sources of paper, how to best work with paper and what kind of commercial processes might be involved as well as finishing techniques. 

The practical unit was to address a need to design a sign for a hotel, that can be hooked or attached onto a door handle. It is supposed to communicate in black and white only and in a non-verbal way whether the guest would like their room cleaned or not. 

In Year 9 we are making our passive speaker models. First we learned about sound and how sound can be amplified in simple ways. Then we set out designing for a phone, students had to present two design ideas before we could start modelling. The amount of paper students can use is 2-3 sheets of A3 and students had to develop their own nets for the three-dimensional shape including glue tabs. Here you can see an example of a sketch, net development and initial model. 

AKSS Tennis Champion of Champions Tournament

Last week, our top tennis players competed in the highly competitive AKSS Tennis Champion of Champions tournament. This prestigious event saw the best 16 players in each grade battle it out for top honors, and our students showcased their skills and determination throughout the competition.

Junior Boys Peter W faced a tough opening match against the 4th seed. Despite a strong effort, he was unable to secure the win and did not proceed to the second round. Ryann W, also competing in the Junior Boys category, had an impressive start, winning his first match 6-1, 6-0. He then moved on to the quarterfinals, where he met the top seed of the tournament. In a closely contested match, Ryann fought hard but ultimately lost, ending his singles campaign at the quarterfinal stage.

In the Junior Boys doubles tournament, Peter and Ryann teamed up to put on a fantastic display of teamwork. They won the first set but lost the second, forcing a tiebreaker set. Unfortunately, they were unable to clinch the win, but their effort and resilience were commendable.

Junior Girls Lucy Z had a strong start to her tournament, winning her first match 6-3, 6-2. She continued her dominant performance in the quarterfinals, securing a convincing 6-0, 6-1 victory. In the semifinals, Lucy faced the 3rd seed in what proved to be a tightly contested match. She fought hard but was edged out 6-3, 6-3. Her efforts earned her an impressive 3rd= finish in the tournament, a fantastic achievement at this elite level of competition.

Senior Boys Jerry Y competed in the Senior Boys division and faced a challenging first match against the 3rd seed. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to advance to the next round. Jerry then partnered with Andrew Y for the Senior Boys doubles competition. The duo put up a strong fight in their match but ultimately fell 6-2, 6-3 against tough opponents.

Overall, this was an incredible experience for our players, giving them the opportunity to compete against some of the top-ranked secondary school players in Auckland. We are extremely proud of their performances, sportsmanship, and determination on the court. Well done to all our athletes!

Senior Boys Tennis Team Nth Harbour Champions

Our Pinehurst Tennis teams have been making the most of the sunshine with some nail-biting matches. 

Most of our teams are heading into their penultimate round, but for our Senior Boys 1 team, the season came to an exciting finish on Monday with a hard-fought final.

With stellar performances from Jerry Y, Oscar Z, Ryann W, and Sean P, the team secured a narrow but well-earned victory against a strong Takapuna Grammar School side. This win not only marked the end of their season but also secured them the title of overall winners of the North Harbour A3 Boys grade—the highest grade in the North Harbour competition. Even more exciting is the possibility that the team may have the opportunity to qualify for the Auckland competition next year through promotion-relegation games.

A special mention goes to Matthew B, who, despite not playing in the final, has been an integral part of the team throughout the season. His contributions in earlier matches were crucial in securing key victories, and his development as a player has been outstanding.

With only one Year 13 player departing and two of the team members still in Year 8, the future looks incredibly bright for our Senior Boys Tennis team.

Congratulations to the team on this fantastic achievement! We look forward to seeing what they can accomplish next year. 🎾🏆

IGCSE PE

IGCSE PE students have delved into health, fitness and training topics. They have identified components of fitness and linked them to a range of sporting examples. As they are learning this new content, they will be designing a training programme that will directly benefit their main sport/s.

To do this accurately they needed to require some baseline data by completing a range of fitness tests. Students have been learning test protocols and gathering data the last two weeks. By applying the SPORT FITT principles, they will be able to improve personal focus areas: cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, power, agility, speed, balance, coordination, flexibility and reaction time. It was pleasing to see how eager students were in the sessions to repeat the tests with their peers to attain a result they were happy with.

Outstanding Performances at Nth Harbour Athletics Championships

Our athletes put on an impressive display at the North Harbour Athletics Championships last week, showcasing their dedication and competitive spirit.

Wen Yao Z dominated the track in the Intermediate Boys category, securing a gold medal in the 800m, a silver in the 400m, and a bronze in the 1500m. His versatility and endurance across multiple distances were truly commendable.

In the Senior Girls category, Tara S soared to a 2nd place finish in the High Jump, demonstrating both skill and determination in a highly competitive field.

Looking ahead, Wen Yao Z, Harry E, and Sofia B-K will be competing next week at the AKSS Athletics Championships, and we wish them all the best as they take on this next challenge!

Congratulations to our athletes for their fantastic achievements and for representing our school with pride!

Year 9-13 Swimming Sports

Last week, our Year 9-13 students gathered at the AUT Millennium for a thrilling day of swimming, competition, and house spirit at the annual Swimming Sports event. The atmosphere was electric as students cheered on their peers, showing unwavering support for their houses and making the event a true celebration of school spirit.

Participation was at an all-time high, with an increase of 40 students from last year. Students of all abilities took to the pool to compete in a variety of events. From sprints to distance races, the enthusiasm and effort displayed by all swimmers were commendable. Adding to the excitement, the staff relay team was a standout moment of the day. Mr. Foden, Mr. Hill, Mr. Fickling, and Mr. Johansen battled it out against the Intermediate teams—and they didn’t come last!

It was incredible to witness the record-breaking performances, with an astounding 23 school records being shattered throughout the competition.

Our competitive swimmers delivered outstanding performances, showcasing their talent and determination. The level of competition was fierce, with many races coming down to the final strokes. Several students set personal bests, proving that hard work and dedication truly pay off. 

A special thank you goes out to the staff, Parent helpers, and student helpers who ensured the smooth running of the day. Well done to everyone who took part and showed up for their house.

Senior Ethics Olympiad Training Clinic

Today our Library Boardroom was home to an Ethics Olympiad training clinic. Catering for students participating in the Senior School Ethics Olympiad in May 2025, the clinic was conducted via zoom and saw senior College students  work together and in break out groups.

An Ethics Olympiad is a competitive yet collaborative event in which students analyze and discuss real-life, timely, ethical issues. An Ethics Olympiad differs from debating in that students are not assigned opposing views; rather, they defend whatever position they believe is right and win by showing that they have thought more carefully, deeply, and perceptively about the cases in question.

Experience shows that these types of events encourage and help students develop intellectual virtues such as ethical awareness, critical thinking skills, civil discourse, civic engagement, and an appreciation for diverse points of view. For more information about these events, please contact Deputy Principal of College, Mr Johansen.

Message from the Principal of Primary

Peer Mediation Training

Our Year Six Peer Mediators had their first training session in preparation for their leadership role as ‘ambassadors of social justice’ within our school.

Peer mediation empowers students to help maintain a safe, respectful, happy and peaceful environment. Students working in the role of ‘peer mediator’ are trained in conflict resolution skills and support their peers in conflict to reach peaceful agreements through a mediation process.

Having the opportunity to engage in mediation, enables young people to take responsibility for generating their own solutions to problems and resolving conflict peacefully.

Our Peer Mediation programme aims to:

• Raise awareness of how others act in conflict situations.​​​​​​
• Teach lifelong conflict management skills so that individuals feel empowered to make positive choices towards peaceful conflict resolution.
• Develop leadership in giving service to others and promoting respect for differences.
• Empower individuals to believe they can make a positive difference in their homes, schools and wider community.

What is Mediation?

Mediation is a process that uses a third person to help the students come up with their own solution to solve their problem. It provides a way for people to solve their disagreements with a win/win solution.

We look forward to having our Peer Mediators supporting the duty teachers during the lunchtimes.

Inspired by the night sky in Year 1 Writing

In P22, we have launched an exciting new mission in our writing journey! This week, we’ve been learning how to write simple and compound sentences, and what better way to inspire our writing than by looking up at the night sky?

To begin, we shared what we already knew about what could be seen in the sky at night. Stars, the moon, planets, and even comets were just a few of the amazing things we talked about. Then, we used books to help us do some research and find out even more. We learned all about the planets in our solar system and discovered lots of fascinating facts and created a piece of art as a class to show the solar system.

Once we had gathered our ideas, we began creating simple sentences. We started with a noun phrase and then added a verb to turn our ideas into full sentences. We made sure to use capital letters at the beginning and full stops at the end. Everyone worked carefully to make sure their writing followed these rules.

Next, we worked with our partners to practise combining two simple sentences using the word and. Then, in groups of four, we took this a step further by creating compound sentences. We learned that when we use and to join two ideas, we don’t need a full stop in the middle anymore—but we still need one at the end!

We are so proud of the sentences we created. Not only did we learn more about the night sky, but we also became better writers by practising how to join our ideas together. Our next steps are to write reports about the moon. Please pop into our class to see our wonderful writing. This mission is truly out of this world!

Year 5-6 Concert: A Fantastic Showcase!

A huge congratulations to all the students who performed at the Year 5-6 concert on Wednesday afternoon! It was a wonderful display of musical talent, with standout performances from our soloists and ensembles. A special thank you to the Year 4 and 5 Marimba and Woodwind Group, for their fantastic guest performance. Thank you to all the parents and whānau who came to support our young musicians—we appreciate your encouragement!

Extreme weather in STEM

For STEM this term our focus has been  Extreme Weather! We have investigated the symmetry of a snowflake, and how something so beautiful and delicate can cause events such as blizzards and avalanches. We have investigated giant hail stones and made some of our own to test just how destructive these balls of ice can be! Our current focus is on tectonic plates and how subtle movements in our geosphere and the earths mantel can cause catastrophic earthquakes, which can lead to Tsunami's. We have created several earthquake and tsunami stimulations and have been challenged to build something to protect a town from being washed away! 

Year 5 and 6 Swimming Sports

Our Year 5s and 6s swam their hearts out at our annual Swimming Sports earlier this week. Several records were broken including Year 6 Boys Butterfly 25m and Year 6 Boys Freestyle 25m by Marcus Niu, and Year 5 Boys Freestyle 25m by Adrian Zhou. Congratulations to our record breakers, top placegetters and to ALL of our students who competed - these events are a great way to 'give it a go' and participate in some Pinehurst School spirit! 

Writing Stars in Year 6

P21 are excited to share the details of our recent writing mission, which was a resounding success! In this mission, our students had the opportunity to craft their very own autobiographies, designed to inspire Mr. Turner's students as they work on their time capsule project. The goal was to showcase the rich experiences and memories that shape who we are, while also teaching our students valuable writing skills.

Throughout the mission, students not only learned how to tell their personal stories but also developed important writing techniques to make their work more engaging and polished. They practiced using subordinate conjunctions to add variety to their sentences and create more complex ideas. This allowed them to connect thoughts and details more smoothly, enhancing the flow of their writing.

In addition, the students worked with subheadings to organize their autobiographies clearly and effectively. By breaking their writing into sections, they were able to highlight key moments in their lives, making their stories more accessible and easier to follow.

Finally, we explored the use of parentheses to add extra detail to their writing. This helped students include interesting facts, clarifications, or personal insights without interrupting the main narrative. The ability to incorporate these elements gave their autobiographies a more polished and thoughtful feel.

Overall, this writing mission was a fantastic learning experience for our students. They not only improved their writing skills but also learned how to reflect on their own lives in a meaningful way. We are incredibly proud of the work they accomplished and excited to see how their autobiographies will inspire others!

Bolina's Classical Ballet success

Year 4 student Bolina J competed in the “Impact Auckland” Dance Competition on Friday 7 March, winning a 2nd place Medal in the 8 years + Classical Ballet Section. Congratulations Bolina, we are very proud of your hard work and determination and can't wait to see you perform on stage at Pinehurst School one day soon!

Pinehurst progress in Orienteering Sprint Series

Our Pinehurst Orienteering students have been navigating challenging courses across North Shore school fields as part of the Orienteering Sprint Series. Now at the halfway point, 13 of our students have secured top 10 placements in their respective categories, a fantastic achievement!

Congratulations to all our runners on their hard work. We look forward to seeing their continued success in the upcoming races.

Ethan G comes First in Snowsports Challenger Cup

On Tuesday 11 March, Year 2 Student Ethan G competed in the 365 School Challenger Cup 2025 at Snowplanet. Open to skiers and snowboarders in Years 1-8, Ethan's diligence and hard work paid off as he came in first, an incredible achievement coupled with a Silver medal won earlier in the year for other Under 8 racing competitions. Congratulations Ethan on your fantastic snowsport success!

Information Evening for Camp Borneo - April 2026