Message from the Executive Principal

Kia ora koutou, good afternoon, 下午好, 안녕하세요  

Best wishes,

Mike Waller 

Term 3

Message from the Principal of Primary

Woodwind Ensemble Resthome Performance

Over the Matariki weekend, our talented Woodwind Ensemble delivered a heartwarming performance for the residents at Ultimate Care, Rosedale. The ensemble, led by Kelly Choi, was not only a beautiful way to celebrate Matariki but also a valuable experience for our students, fostering a sense of community and the joy of giving back. We are incredibly proud of our Woodwind Ensemble and look forward to more opportunities to share their talent with the wider community.

Art in P19: Can art preserve the past?

In Art, P19 have been developing their observation skills while deepening their understanding of history, geography, and art, specifically about how these subjects interconnect. We started by examining landscape paintings, reflecting on what they told us about the past. We also analysed the composition of landscape paintings.

Next, we thought about places that were meaningful to us, and how that place had changed over time. Having researched a suitable photograph, we went onto create a realistic landscape painting of this place using acrylics and only primary colours!

Finally, we researched different styles of landscapes, including Impressionist, post-impressionist, expressionist, surrealist and primitivist. Then we worked in small groups to create an abstract mixed-media cityscape using paint, textiles and paper. This was an opportunity to be more imaginative and experimental. In this collaborative piece we aimed to create a link with the past. We peer assessed each other’s pieces, adjusting our work accordingly and then mounted and displayed our finished pieces in our classrooms.

“It was fun using different materials in our abstract landscapes. Some of us even used fabric or string to highlight features,” commented Emily.

“I enjoyed mixing different colours to find shades of colours and I learned to paint the background first,” explained Ziming.

“I learned how to create dark shades using only the primary colours, and I understand now that things in the foreground are bigger and brighter,” Zack.

I enjoyed looking at the different styles of paint. I liked surrealist landscapes the best!” remarked George.

Year 6 Netball Team Win Field Day

Our Year 6 netballers competed in the Field Day Competition last week. Seventy teams from all over Auckland converged at the Northcote Courts. Our team was in the A grade with twenty other teams and ended up facing Red Beach (whom we had never beaten before) in the final. It was a very tight game, but Pinehurst came home with the win.

Planning a Story in P6

P6 has embarked on an exciting writing adventure, planning a simple story. We have learnt the components of structure. We discussed how stories typically start with an introduction to characters, the setting, and the situation. Next, we explored how the middle part develops the plot, introduces complications, and builds tension. Then, we could describe how stories conclude with a resolution or ending that wraps up the story. 

Planning Techniques

• Brainstorming: Encouraged students to brainstorm ideas for their own stories based on the story of Max and Tiger’s silver box. They have learnt how to use mind maps.
• Story Structure: Introduced the concept of story structure, where students outline the beginning, middle, and end of their stories using story mountain strategy.
• Character and Setting: Taught students to describe characters and settings using adjectives and adverbs.

Through the lesson, we unravelled the secrets behind crafting interesting stories by understanding the structure of writing

Spanish Year 1-3

In our Year 1 classes, counting became a playful adventure as we used colourful materials like blocks, stickers, and LEGO to practice counting from "uno" to "diez." The classroom was filled with excitement as we cheered our way through the numbers, enjoying songs, games and roleplays.

Our Year 2 students are enthusiastically learning about body parts in Spanish. They enjoy singing the song "Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes" in Spanish and pointing to each part as they sing along. The students learnt about the articles "el" and "la". For instance, they practiced saying "el brazo" for "the arm" and "la mano" for "the hand." These lessons have been consolidated through playing matching games, pairing pictures of body parts with their Spanish names.

The Year 3 classes are having a fantastic time learning about numbers, months, and days. They can now write and say the date, and they're even conducting a survey to find out the most popular birthday month among their classmates. It is a wonderful opportunity for them to practice their language skills while having a lot of fun.

Get Healthy with P12

As we come to the end of our unit ‘How Healthy is your diet!’, our class had an important task to finish off the unit; by creating a poster showing an awareness about healthy eating and exercise. In a world where screens and gadgets dominate, it’s essential to teach our young ones about the building blocks of good health. So, this is how we broke it down.

1. The Food Puzzle:
   • Imagine a puzzle with different pieces: fruits, veggies, grains, protein, and dairy. Each piece matters!
   • Fruit & Veggie Power: These colourful gems give us vitamins and energy. Aim for a rainbow on your plate!
   • Grains & Energy: Bread, rice, and pasta fall into this group. They’re like fuel for our bodies.
   • Protein Builders: Meat, beans, and nuts help us grow strong muscles.
   • Dairy Delights: Milk, cheese, and yogurt keep our bones healthy.
2. Nutrition Guides: Experts create guides to help us make smart food choices. These guides show us how to put our food puzzle together. Remember, it’s not just about eating—it’s about eating right!

Let’s be health detectives. Investigate what you eat, play outside, and take care of our planet.

In art we have been finishing off our Matariki Collage.  We have learnt how to use specific technique and blends of colours to create illusions.  We hope you like our finished product!

Year 4-6 Mandarin

The past few weeks have been busy for us in the senior primary Mandarin. We have had the celebration of 端午节, Dragon Boat festival. Discovering the reasons for the festival and how we have kept up with the traditions two thousand years later!

We have also worked on using different strategies to help us memorise Chinese characters so we can write them ourselves. The post-tests we did last week show the strategies do work and they did help us memorise and recall Chinese characters. Now, we just need more time to practice these strategies so we can do them automatically.

Manawatia a Matariki

This week has been all about Matariki for Year 4. On Tuesday we travelled by bus and explored the Auckland museum. Each class participated in a Matariki experience, acting out how Matariki was formed, identifying the 9 stars and learning a waiata. As part of the visit each class explored the museum following a Matariki trail. There were questions and instructions to help solve the word puzzles.

On Thursday the primary had a Matariki day. Each class followed a Matariki themed schedule, partaking in a variety of learning activities. There was Matariki themed art, making stars, poetry writing and to finish of the day there was kite building and flying.

The Matariki assembly featured the Kapa Haka who opened and closed the celebration. P7 and year 4 shared their amazing Matariki art and all the students joined in the Matariki macarena. Some students from P9 and P11 explained each star and how it was connected. Greta and Oscar spoke about what Matariki was while Chloe and Mia talked about why we celebrate it. The primary school finished the term off with a cultural celebration.

Manawatia a Matariki!

Primary Sports Registrations

We still have some spots available for the following Term 3 sports:

• Football
• Badminton
• Tennis

Message from the Principal of College

Upper Harbour Youth Council Art Expo

At the Upper Harbour Youth Council Art Expo on 22 June, Felisha was awarded the Local Board Chair Award.

The local council board chairperson, Anna Atkinson, along with two other local board members, collectively selected Felisha's artwork from among many pieces submitted by artists aged 13 to 24. Felisha is the youngest entrant in the competition, making this achievement even more remarkable. 

Felisha's art work titled 'Trapped' is creative and beautiful, and the meaning behind it makes people think about how we can care for our environment. "This artist is also an activist," was a quotation from the judges about her piece. 

Well done, Felisha - your passion for expressing  yourself through your art is wonderful!

Media Studies Trip

On Monday, our AS Media Studies class headed into town to visit TVNZ and learn about the media industry in Aotearoa. We were so lucky to get a full tour of the newsroom, filming studios (including where Breakfast, One News and Seven Sharp are filmed) and the hair and makeup department. Chatting with journalists, Daniel Faitaua and Chris Chang from Breakfast, we learnt about different pathways into the media industry, as well as the challenges facing New Zealand media today due to changing technology and audience preferences. We even got to sit at the news desk and on the Seven Sharp couch to test out our media personalities.

Toi o te wiki

Our Year 7 students have been learning about Toi Māori - Māori art.

Fusing elements of kowhaiwhai, raranga, taniko, and whakairo with butterfly wings and birds feathers have resulted in these beautiful works of art. Student have selected the materials they wanted to use to complete these works. Some used watercolour, others used coloured pencils, and fine liners; and many used a combination of both. 

Year 7 Art students have now completed their semester in the visual art space and next term with immerse themselves in Music. Mrs Rakete is looking forward to working alongside the remainder of the Year 7 cohort and observing them thrive, too!

Well done to Livvy, Sabine, Andrew, Autumn, Raymond, Summer, Mateo, Eva and Noah for completing these beautiful works of art.

Reflections from Members of the Volunteer Club

Last Wednesday, I went to Fairview Retirement Village with 4 other students to be waitresses for their anniversary dinner. We helped bring their meals to their tables and take their plates away after they were finished. Although it was a pretty tiring job, it was all worth it at the end when we saw how much the residents enjoyed themselves, and when we got some of the delicious food they had prepared. - Candy Shen

The trip to fairview was an amazing opportunity to give back to the community. I volunteered my service as a waitress for Fairview’s anniversary dinner, and it was such a great experience socializing with the residents of Fairview. They were all very nice and it was such an amazing experience to be a part of. I am looking forward to having this opportunity again next year! - Felisha Zhao

Joining the Cleanup Crew for a beach cleanup at Rothesay Bay Beach last Sunday was both a fun and fulfilling experience. In the two hours we were there, we picked up lots of rubbish and made a visible difference. As part of the younger generations, it’s our responsibility to work towards a clean, sustainable future, and I encourage others to participate in impending cleanups as well. - Michelle Prasetyo 

Last Sunday at Rothesay Bay me and some of my friends helped with the beach cleanup. We found all sorts of pieces of rubbish from tiny plastic bits to large plastic bags. Together between me, Katrina, Candy, and Michelle we had a competition to see who had the most rubbish at the end. Even though I did lose it was great fun! Overall volunteering at the beach cleanup was both exhilarating and a great way to give back to nature. - Stacy Gao  

Matariki Celebrations - Campfire Cookout

A2 Classics

In A2 Classics we have just finished reading Homer's Iliad. The story tells us of Achilles' journey at the Trojan War and the way his anger and rage fluctuates as his pride is wounded by the Greek king Agamemnon, and then as he loses his beloved companion, Patroclus. After we finish each chapter, we complete a quiz to test our content knowledge and understanding. Big congratulations to Christian who achieved an average of 92% for all quizzes, and Lucy and Alex who tied in second place with 91%.

Cultural Market Success!

From flavourful fried chicken to mouth-watering noodles, the annual Cultural Market, like always, was definitely one of the most unforgettable highlights of the year. Packed with bustling people, the gym was overflowing as everyone frantically rushed around, trying all the different foods from the different cuisines. There were waffles, bubble tea, egg tarts and jelly, all with a wide variety of cultural backgrounds. The cultural-themed background music brightened up the market and Masterchef was a huge success as all the judges tasted dish after dish. By the time the market was over, my stomach was so full that I couldn’t eat anything else. Over $2,000 was raised for Starship Foundation by the Student Council.

Congratulations to the following winners and a huge thank you to the Student Council for organising this amazing event, as well as all the stallholders and staff for making it possible!

• HIBIKI – Masterchef Gold Medal
• Kiwiana Kai – Masterchef Silver Medal and Most Sustainable Stall
• The Great British Bake Off – Masterchef Bronze Medal
• Baozi Eatery – Best Decorated Stall
• Max Jia (Year 10) and Tamara Farquharson (Staff) – Raffle Winners

- Jules (Year 10)

Year 7-8 North Harbour Table Tennis Zone Day

Last week, 7 students from Year 7-8 competed in the North Harbour Table Tennis Zone Day. Students either participated in the doubles or singles competition. There were some outstanding results from the tournament, including our top singles players in the girls and boys competition making their way to the Grand Final in their respective competitions. In the doubles, Alex S and Ryann W made it into the semi finals, unfortunately losing in a very close tussle. Unfortunately, there was not a 3^rd or 4^th playoff match. In the singles, Abigail T placed 2^nd overall in the Girls singles competition, narrowly losing in her final to her regularly rival. In the Boys singles, both Matthew H and Peter W made it into the Semi Finals however were drawn to play each other. Matthew H was victorious over Peter W which was a very close match. Matthew H went on to the Grand Final in which he placed 2nd overall. This was a very exciting game which turned into a very close encounter, going all the way to 3 sets with only a couple of points separating the two opponents.  

Fruit Forest Planting 

On Thursday morning, 27 June, we celebrated Matariki by planting our new school food forest alongside the Matariki cookout. Sixty students volunteered their time to place and then plant a variety of fruit trees. Together they successfully planted eighty trees encompassing twenty-two different fruit varieties which will ripen at different time of the year. This initiative was led by Dilan Singh and Leo Huang, leaders of the Environmental Council, with the goal giving back to Pinehurst and the vision of "bringing nature back into our students daily lives," and introducing more outdoor learning opportunities. The food forest will serve as a space for students to hang out, study, read books, or perform in the theatre area. This project will be continuously maintained and developed by Pinehurst students each with a further goal of making connections to the curriculum. 

The Environmental council would like to thank Mr Waller, Mr Wilson and the property staff for all their support with this project.

• Victoria University of Wellington is running a scholarships workshop on 10 and 17 July. Venue: Level 4, 50 Kitchener Street (the Chancery), Auckland. Interested students can register here to attend
• Lincoln University Open Day July 19. Register here: Hui Whakatuwhera Open Day :: Lincoln University
• The University of Otago runs a programme called Hans-On in which students in Year 11 and 12 go down to Dunedin and experience student life. Hands-On will run from  January 12-17 2025. Want to know more about the programme? Head online: otago.ac.nz/hands-on-at-otago
• If your Year 13 student is planning on applying to accommodation for an NZ university, please consider booking an accommodation tour – there are so many different accommodation options at each university, so it is great to be there in person to get a sense of how they look and feel. Contact the universities directly to arrange this. All students applying for accommodation at an NZ university also need to complete a CCRF: ccrf.ac.nz/Account/Login.cshtml
• If Australia is their destination of choice, remember to apply for accommodation as well as applying for the university course. It is good to apply for both at the same time because if you wait until you have a guaranteed offer of a place at the university you may end up with nowhere to live. Big universities have high competition for accommodation whereas some smaller universities have guaranteed accommodation
• There are lots of university open days happening in August. If you want to plan ahead, check out the full list of dates on the Pinehurst Career Education website: Careers - Organization home (sharepoint.com)

Senior Librarians

Hi everyone !! we are Fiona and Bobby your Senior Librarian Prefects for 2024. Our goal at the library is to make sure you all have a fantastic time, whether you're studying, reading a book in peace, or just listening to music. It's a wonderful, peaceful place to be! 

We've already accomplished a lot this year with a variety of displays and activities that engage students at all year levels, from Pinehurst primary to college. A few of these include our Valentine's Day blind date with a book event, our collaboration with the environmental council for Earth Week sustainability book displays, Easter celebrations, and further book quizzes for College Book Week! Most recently, for primary book week and the scholastic book fair, we also had Bobby and I dress up as Geronimo Stilton (your favourite book character) and wave out the school with a visit to the Primary! We love seeing you all come and enjoy our library space and encourage you all to keep reading over the holidays as it's an amazing way to stay entertained and allow your creativity to run free.

- Fiona and Bobby, Year 13

Abigail - North Island Table Tennis Individual Champs

Golf - New Zealand National Junior Training Camp Invitation

After a very impressive season, Sophie has been invited to attend the Golf New Zealand National Junior Training Camp. Sophie has been described as one of New Zealand's emerging young players and will attend the training camp during the July School Holidays. The camp will be held in Cambridge.

Worlds Table Tennis Tournament - Hannah

During the school holidays, Hannah Li will participate in the Worlds Table Tennis Tournament in Hong Kong. This is an outstanding opportunity for Hannah so please wish her well. Hannah will be representing Pinehurst at the Team Nationals in September.