Message from the Executive Principal
Kia ora koutou, good afternoon, 下午好, 안녕하세요 We’ve been completing interviews for new teachers this week. We always have one or two positions to fill in November, and I’ve been delighted by the quality of the appointments we’ve made. As we expected, there have been more changes this year than in the previous two years, but no more than we anticipated. About half of the changes happened at the end of Term 2, and we have our usual turnover at the end of the year. In January, then, we will have three new Primary teachers (from the UK and NZ); and a sprinkling of new College teachers in Maths, English, Social Studies and the Visual Arts. We are very fussy with our appointments, I should add, sometimes interviewing many candidates before we find the person who will be perfect for Pinehurst. We look for subject knowledge, of course, as well as a strong understanding of a range of teaching techniques. We look for experience of working in other very good schools, and it’s also an advantage to have taught both in NZ and in a British or British International school. And, above all else, we look for teachers who are positive people, who clearly enjoy the company of young people, and who have the capacity to grow further. This week has been another busy one. I’m looking forward to tonight’s Garden Party – the tent is just outside my window, and the weather won’t get in the way. We’re rain-proof; we’ve laid a floor to keep our shoes dry;
and the food, drink and entertainment promises to be very special. Our Year 10 students are due back shortly after their Bronze Duke of Edinburgh tramp on Rangitoto and Motatapu; 35 Year 8 students avoided getting too wet on their overnight tramp in the Waitakeres; Year 9 have been to Chelsea Sugar Factory and Howick Historical Village; and some very excited little ones have enjoyed their animal-friendly social event after school. I also want to mention Year 7, who have been quite magnificent: after a week of camp, and a week, for a number of children, of Covid isolation, they have knuckled down superbly to their exams. We also had two Sports Prizegivings on Tuesday: for our Primary students, and for our Year 7 and 8 students. They were both lovely occasions, and it was wonderful to be able to celebrate so many students for their commitment
to such a wide range of sports. The prizegivings highlighted the growth in our sports, both in terms of participation and in the standards our young people are reaching. There will be even more opportunities next year, and I know that our young people will grab every chance they have. A final word for our senior students. We completed our IGCSE, AS and A Level examinations yesterday. The exams ran as smoothly as they always do, thanks to our exceptional examinations team, and this was helped enormously by our students. I can’t state strongly enough how proud I am of each of our students. They have a collective will to succeed: nearly every student was well-prepared for nearly every paper. When the whole group has the same attitude, the impact is enormous, and we continue to witness this at Pinehurst. To those students, supported so
well by their parents: thank you and well done. I’m looking forward to hearing about your exam results in January. And yes – I will be demanding to know! I’ll almost certainly be in quarantine in mid-January, so I’ll have plenty of time to go through them in detail! Have a lovely weekend and see you on Monday. Ngā mihi Alex 如需阅读校长的中文留言和重要事件日期,请点击
Monday 21 November - Year 12 Great Barrier Camp
- Year 6 - Road Patrol Rainbow's End Trip (selected students)
- Junior Ambrose Golf Tournament
- Year 10, Enviromental Management Oteha Stream Inquiry (selected students)
Tuesday 22 November - Year 7-8 NH Zone Day Beach Volleyball Girls (selected students)
- Year 10, Enviromental Management Oteha Stream Inquiry (selected students)
- 6.00pm Camp Meeting (Year 6, 2023)
- 6.30pm Camp Meeting (Year 5, 2023)
- 6.30pm Year 4 to 5 Transition Parent Meeting
Wednesday 23 November - Year 1, Botanic Gardens Day Trip
- Year 3, St John's Injury
Prevention (P11)
- Year 10, Geography Trip
- Years 3-4 Movie Night
- Year 13 Valedictory Dinner
Thursday 24 November - North Island Secondary Schools Junior Badminton Champs
- Parent 'Thank You' Morning Tea
- Years 5-6, Table Tennis Competition (selected students)
- Year 10, Business Trip - Tip
Top
- Primary Teddy Bears Picnic
- 6.30pm Year 2 to 3 Transition Parent Meeting
Friday 25 November - Years 4-6, Super Cluster Athletics (selected students)
- New Entrant Orientation
- MOTAT Trip (Year 2)
- Year 5-6 Social
Message from the Principal of PrimaryKia ora tatou, Tuesday was a celebration of all things sport and it was wonderful to reflect on the achievements of our Primary students on the fields, courts and in the pool. Our students are very engaged with sport, and team participation continues to grow as does the developing passions of our students for individual sports. For some, the Primary Sports Prizegiving was their first formal occasion and we had students from Year 1 to Year 6 walking on to the stage to receive team and most valuable contribution awards. There
were big smiles from students and parents, and we loved how the audience got so excited to hear who had been awarded. The event was also a recognition of the support that goes on behind the scenes from coaches and managers, staff and mostly from parents. Countless hours will have been spent this year trying to navigate traffic, find parking spaces and sit on the side lines at games. This is a big part of a kiwi childhood and whilst it makes for a busy family schedule there will be many special moments to remember for years to come. Congratulations to our three major cup winners: Tiffany Catapang won the Mete Cup for Sportsmanship; Chelsea Zhu won the Sportswoman of the year and Alex Garcia Curtis won Sportsman of the year. Over the next few weeks, we will hold syndicate social
events as a chance to get together and do something fun to celebrate the end of the year. This week it was the turn of our New to 2 syndicate with an after-school farm themed event. Unfortunately, the weather meant we had to head inside but there were still lots of fun things to do. Obstacle courses and games in the Arena involved rubber chickens and flying pigs as well as jumping, skipping and rolling over various soft play items. In the Dance Studio there were long queues for face painting and balloon animals, they were so popular, and outside were the farm animals to pet. My favourite was a runt piglet that looked a bit like Wilbur from Charlottes Web. Everyone enjoyed themselves despite the rain, and it was a great chance to get together. We are looking forward to next week's movie night with Year 3 and 4 and the Year 5 and 6 disco and games night. Next week is the Teddy Bears picnic, a now famous and much anticipated event which is largely run by our Year 6 leaders and gives them the opportunity to organise an event and be of service to their younger peers in the Primary. Besides bringing a favourite teddy to have lunch with there are fun games, a disco where at last I have been given my favourite task of being the DJ, and a teddy hospital for sick and injured bears. Our Year 6 Road Patrol leaders will be rewarded with a trip to Rainbows End and Year 2 are off to MOTAT. There are camp meetings and transition meetings taking place and all of the information for these can be found on Seesaw. It is a busy time as we end this year and prepare for the next but there is still a sense of calm in classrooms as we continue our focussed learning programmes in all areas of the curriculum. I am looking forward to seeing many of you at the garden party this evening and having a chance to chat and get together socially. Have a great weekend. Nga mihi, Sian
NETBALL Year Six Falcons – Team of 2022
A huge congratulations to our Year 6 netball team who was awarded the Team of the Year Award at the 2022 Primary Sports Prizegiving that was held on Tuesday, 15th November. This team went from strength to strength this year, never backing down from a challenge, and demonstrating determination and team spirit. They played in three North Harbour tournaments in 2022 with the first tournament taking place in the April school holidays. This was the first time that the majority of the players had taken part in a tournament and although they were a little bit nervous, they gave it their all. This tournament saw teams from all over the Auckland region take part and they managed to make it through to the semi-finals. The second tournament they played in was the North Harbour Year 6 Field Day; again, they played against teams from the wider Auckland region. Their hard work and dedication paid off. After playing a series of tightly contested games they managed to win their grade. An outstanding effort. The third tournament was another huge success, seeing them compete with confidence in the A grade against schools from all over Auckland as far as Pukekohe. In the weekly Winter Competition this team turned up to play in all conditions and showed commitment to their team by attending early morning trainings, and being ready to play in a range of different positions. This team has displayed an outstanding level of achievement over the
last year and is competing at a consistently high level. They showed good sportsmanship and fair play both on and off the court. A BIG thank you to our wonderful coach, Debbie Stanaway, who coached the team this year. We truly appreciate her passion, time and dedication to our Primary Netball programme. We would also like to thank Mrs Andrée Atkinson who managed the team and all the parent supporters.
New to 2 Syndicate Social The youngest members at our school had a fabulous time yesterday at the 'New to 2' social. There was a range of exciting activities such as face painting, balloon animals, obstacle courses and even a baby petting zoo with lots of furry friends to meet. Check out some of the fun below:
Spring League Netball After an extremely successful Winter season we have been delighted at the overwhelming interest in our Spring League netball teams.
We currently have 16 teams playing each Saturday morning in the Spring sunshine.
5x Year 1
2x Year 2
3x Year 3
2x Year 4
2x Year 5
2x Year 6 This huge growth in netball has seen some keen parents come on board as coaches and managers and we are very grateful for their help. We also have a very supportive sideline at each game.
In Year 1 – 2 we run training sessions during the lunchtime on the top netball courts behind P2. We often have our Year Five and Six netball players come up to help run the sessions as well as a core group of Year 4 netballers who love to come and lend a hand. It is a lovely way for our older students to be involved with our ‘new to netball’ students.
We have two teams of brand-new players from P23 and p1 and p2 this season and it has been wonderful watching them develop their understanding of the game in just three weeks. The umpires on a Saturday coach the players on the court and help them get the ball down to the court in the hope of scoring a goal.
Spring netball is a great way to introduce new players to the game, develop skills ready for the 2023 netball season and connect our families in a shared sporting opportunity.
We look forward to continuing the success of netball here at Pinehurst.
Amazing Pendulum PaintingsYear 5 & 6 have been learning about forces and the Laws of Motion. As part of our study some students were fortunate enough to create these amazing Pendulum Paintings. Lots of paint used, lots of mess made, but mesmerizing to watch the pendulum do the work for you to create the most precise patterns. Our study involved forces in motion and understanding that you could predict motion due to forces. How it Works: When the bottle is pulled back and released, it swings. The paint in the bottle flows
out continuously leaving a record of its path. By observing the pattern made by the paint, you can see how the swinging pendulum changes direction and how it slows down over time due to friction! You can make different patterns by swinging it harder or softer, swinging it in a different direction, or changing the length of the string!
Bean Seedlings - Jessica Wang Jessica Wang has been committed to our bean seedlings since germination. Daily she has tended the beans and kept an eye on their growth. The plants are now providing a morning snack for both Mrs Herbert and Jessica.
Gymnastics Zone Day – Year 3-6 Last Wednesday the Year 3-4 Gymnastics Zone Day teams competed at the North Harbour Primary Zone Day. The team performed terrifictly and we had some outstanding results from our athletes. Cynthia Su placed 2nd for the All Round Girls, coming 3rd in the Beam and 1st in the Floor. Annie Li placed 6th for the All Round Girls. Cynthia Su, Lavender Wei and Lexi Wang combined as a team and took out 2nd place in the Girls Team event. Jimmi Tsao was the All Round boys champion, placing 3rd in the bar, 2nd in the Pommel, and
1st in the Vault and Floor events. Jimmi was then joined by team mates Oscar Geng, Anthony Baumann Korneev and Hadleigh Tucker in which the team placed 3rd overall.
The Year 5-6 Zone Day was held a day later on the Thursday, in which our students did exceptionally well and brought home many medal placings. Chelsea Zhu, Sabine Tan, Mary Lin and Eugenie Lu placed 2nd overall as a team with Sabine also coming 3rd overall for the Year 5-6 girls. Serena Yang and Alice Yan placed 5th and 6th respectively. In the boys, Alex Garcia-Curtis took out 1st place in the bar and pommel and then 2nd place in the vault and floor. Alex was crowned the overall boys champion for Year 5-6. Alex was joined in a team by Justin Tsao and Ryann Wang, in which the team placed 2nd overall. Justin also placed 2nd in the tramp and 3rd in the vault. It was a great day for all of our students and it is an awesome display of our
successful gymnastics programme.
What’s happening in P19?The final term of primary is flying in P19! This week we have had Sports Prizegiving, when we celebrated the many sporting achievements of the class, we have also had the Primary Music Concert, the final visit from the Auckland Philharmonic Orchestra who have been mentoring the junior orchestra students and our visit to the Tread Lightly Caravan. In Maths … In Maths cross groups, we are finishing our unit on division and have been looking at transferring our skills to solving word problems. In Maths strand, the students have been exploring circles. They
have learned how to use a compass, name the different parts of a circle and have had great fun constructing patterns using their new compass skills.
In Writing … The students are working through a mission on writing entertaining play scripts and poems to be performed on-stage. They have been learning about the purpose, audience and structure of a play script, including how to use structural devices such as question tags and rhetorical questions. They have also been using dialogue to develop characters, add humour and move action forward. Finally, they have been learning about the importance of including a range of prepositions.
In Reading … In Reading, the students are continuing their unit on poetry. They have been considering how poets choose their words very carefully to create an image in the readers mind. They have studied the poem ‘Sky-Artist’ by Grace Nichols. They discussed their favourite images and looked at the use of metaphor to create vivid images. They discussed the importance of observation and then looked at the sky and recorded their own descriptive words and phrases.
In Art …
We are halfway through our photography unit. The students have learned how to use formatting tools, including cropping, and altering the brightness levels, to improve final images. They have also photographed a range of patterns, making sure that the focus of the photograph is the pattern and that the frame is filled with the pattern. The students have wowed us with their creativity and artistic eyes!
Message from the Principal of College Kia ora e te whānau o Pinehurst School This week the College has been abuzz with excitement about lots of different trips and activities outside of the normal classroom. Our college teachers have been very busy planning and implementing some fantastic experiences for our students. Year 9 had a wonderful time on their ‘Out There’ camp last week and they returned to school on Monday full of stories about their experiences. Their adventures have continued this week; yesterday and today they are alternating between visits to Howick Village and the Chelsea Sugar Factory as part of their Commerce and Social
Studies curricula. Yesterday Year 10 students headed off to Rangitoto Island to complete their Duke of Edinburgh bronze qualifier tramp. The Duke of Edinburgh award helps young people to realise their potential and the tramps are a large part of that. Students will be expected (under the very watchful eye of highly experienced teachers) to navigate, plan and manage themselves and their needs over a two-day camp and tramp. They are currently wending their way back home after a great camp. Along with all of that, a group of Year 8 students completed the ‘Students vs Wild’ camp in Whatipu with Mr Reyonlds and Ms Peters on Wednesday and Thursday. They experienced a long tramp after which they set up camp and slept in their tents on Wednesday night. The students did
very well and demonstrated resilience and determination over the two days. By the end of today, all of our college students will be back home, but Year 12 will be preparing for their camp on Great Barrier Island next week. Along with camps and trips there were lots of other things happening in the College. On Tuesday we had our Year 7 and 8 Sports Prizegiving for 2022. So many of our students are not only competing in, but also excelling at, a huge range of sports at school. The benefits of playing sports are also coming through in our classrooms as students are showing great resolve and demonstrating that they understand teamwork and support of others. Congratulations to all sports prizewinners but also to every student who has shown commitment to their sport in 2022. Thank you to parents and whānau for supporting
students to be able to play sport for their school. The Deans, Mr Johansen and I have spent the latter half of the week interviewing our current Year 12 students for leadership positions in 2023. We are very fortunate to have such a strong team of dedicated and passionate students in this year group and it has been a pleasure to spend time with them discussing their vision for next year. We have now reached the end of the examination season. Our Cambridge examinations are all finished and our Year 7 end-of-year examinations postponed from last week are also complete. The students conducted themselves beautifully through all of the examinations and they worked hard to ensure they gave their best. I hope you have a
lovely weekend and very best wishes to Year 12 students who will be preparing for their camp on Great Barrier Island. Ngā mihi nui Dawn
'Out There' Camp 2022The year 9 ‘Out There’ camp is truly an experience to remember for life. Along with the many survival and cooking skills we learned, we also made friends and built stronger relationships with students and teachers. Jaggers Camp is what every camp should strive to be. Students really took charge of areas like cooking pitching tents and other parts like cleaning. We completed activities like climbing Mount Manaia which had a lot of history in the pouring rain, To simpler things like fishing. The area was limited in resources which made it even more challenging to survive (especially at night). On the other
half of our journey, we were lucky enough to sail either Steinlager 2 or Lion 2. Both were sailed by Sir Peter Blake who won multiple world cups in these very yachts. The journey was amazing, from hoisting the sails to meal prep students got the full experience. The real magic happening at night, The sunset with the music playing whilst on a sailing boat made nighttime look like a scene from a movie. Overall, I think if you are in Year 8 this year you should be really excited about this trip and be grateful for this opportunity. As a wise teacher said to me “Only 1% of New Zealand get to experience this”. - Keyan Bayliss, Year 9
Golf – North Harbour Zone DayOn Monday, we took 4 brilliant young golfers (Felicia, Yicheng, Sophia and Renee) to the Warkworth Golf Club to participate in the North Harbour Zone Day. Yicheng Wang came out as the top golfer of the day with a score of 74. Sophia shot the best score based on her handicap for the day and Renee and her combined Ambrose team (with two students from Mahurangi and one from Wentworth) shot the lowest score for an Ambrose team for the day. It was a great day for all of our golfers and we look forward to seeing their progress in the future.
Facts about PiDid you know that pi is an infinitely long, irrational number and its exact value can never be known? Since Pi's exact value cannot be known, we can never find the exact area or circumference of a circle? (www.ndtv.com) Did you also know that the world record for reciting the digits of Pi is currently held by Suresh Kumar Sharma from 2015? He can recite 70030 digits of Pi! These
pictures represent Pi in the form of art called the Pi skyline. Each building represents a digit of Pi.
A few photos from the Chelsea Sugar Factory Trip
The Modern Beasts of War Exhibition The Modern Beasts of War exhibition is set to run from 21st- 25th of November in the Pinehurst school library, with over 50 model military tanks, submarines, battleships, and more to be displayed. Explore a miniature history of armoured vehicles through this extraordinarily detailed built-to-scale collection, all meticulously assembled by the hands of two of our very own students. These students have spent a combined total of 8 years scale modelling with commendable dedication. By putting on this exhibition, they hope to
inspire us to persevere in our endeavours and be patient in overcoming various challenges we face in life. All visitors welcome during the library’s opening hours after school: Monday to Thursday: 3:15pm to 5pm Friday: 3:15pm to 4:30pm
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