Message from the Executive Principal 
 

Kia ora koutou, good afternoon, 下午好, 안녕하세요  

Dear Parents/Guardians, 

The chill of winter was certainly felt this week with some very cool mornings and frost on the grass. Even with cold noses and hands, there were lots of smiles each morning as everyone moved quickly to the warmth of the classrooms. 

Our College students enjoyed a great Cultural Market at lunchtime on Thursday. With so many stalls set up in the gym, there was certainly a world of food on offer, and judging by the satisfied faces it was enjoyed by all. More importantly, it was an occasion where students were able to celebrate and share their heritage with their peers and recognize that while we are a New Zealand school, the makeup of our community is truly global. 

With Primary school reports due out today, I am sure there will be plenty of conversations at home about their contents. I encourage you to talk with your child, not just about the grades awarded but about their learning; the areas they enjoy or find challenging, and how they want to continue over time. While results represent a current level of performance, it is important from a young age that we encourage a growth mindset toward improvement. 

This week, we hosted two very large tours of prospective Pinehurst families so that they could have a first-hand experience of life on the campus. The feedback we receive from these families always makes me smile as they share their views on what makes our community so strong and invariably point to the intangible qualities of relationships and care that they see in the classroom. This is a feature of the school that we cherish and we continue to seek new ways to strengthen the relationships between students, staff, and parents. 

With the end of term quickly approaching, it is timely to remind you that all students are expected to be in school until June 30th. While there are occasions that may necessitate an earlier travel date, these should be considered exceptional circumstances as extended absence can be disruptive to the learning of both your child and their peers. Please also remember that any request for absence should be made in writing to either the Principal of Primary or College. 

At this time of year, there are plenty of tired students and as a result, it is not unusual to see some changes in their behavior, especially towards the end of the day. While some young people are quick to identify their emotions and take action, others need a little more support in regulating their behavior when tired. If your child needs any support in managing their emotions, please reach out to their teacher or tutor. 

I wish you all a happy weekend ahead. 

Regards, 

Mike Waller

如需阅读校长的中文留言和重要事件日期，请点击 

Monday 19 June 

•  Primary Life Education

Tuesday 20 June 

•  Primary Life Education
•  NH Table Tennis Zone Day (selected students)
•  Primary Parent Conferences

Wednesday 21 June 

•  Primary Life Education
•  Year 6, Netball Field Day (selected Students)
•  Year 6 to Year 7 2024, Cambridge and College Curriculum Event

Thursday 22 June 

•  Primary Life Education
•  Year 12, Loves-Me-Not
•  Year 2, Crystal Mountain Trip
•  Primary Parent Conferences
•  Dad's Fantail and Turtle

Friday 23 June

• Primary Life Education
•  NE Orientation (First Visit)
•  NE Parent Induction

•  Years 5-6, Football - Super Cluster (selected students)

Message from the Principal of Primary

Kia ora,

We have been basking in the sunshine for the whole week until today, beautiful sunrises and freezing cold mornings have opened up the campus and allowed us to enjoy the outdoors again. I love watching our Primary students in the morning blowing out their warm breath and watching it hit the cold air making wisps of smoke-like air. The laughter that follows is infectious and a great way to connect in the mornings. The rain has stopped the Watercare visit for Year 5 at Alexander Stream for obvious reasons, but it won’t stop Year 6 on their Arts tour to Orewa Estuary Arts Centre and Centrestage theatre. Sculpture is part of their Arts programme, and they will have the chance to create with clay as well as view the work of talented artists.

Harold arrived this week, you may have seen him on the side of the Life Education Van which is parked on the courts behind Year 2. Harold is a giraffe, not a real one of course, but a character that is used by the Life Education Trust to talk to children about health and wellbeing. He is a part of many kiwis school lives and valuable for learning about ourselves as humans. Each class has two sessions in the Life Education van which is a specially built classroom used to teach the programmes. We always look forward to Harold’s visits and what he can teach us.

Main parts have been cast for our Term 3 production of Pirates Past Noon. The Year 3 and 4 syndicate will perform the show for us in September this year and we can’t wait. They will of course be able to use the new theatre and have an authentic theatre experience. Every student has a role to play and will be singing, dancing and acting in their first school production. The audition process was thorough, and it was fantastic to see the talents of our 7 to 9 year-olds. Lines will be learned over the next few weeks and the show will come together ready for early September.

Reports will be available later this afternoon and represent a snapshot of achievement to date. All our students work hard and want to do well, and this is reflected in the effort grades which are largely that they consistently make the effort to engage in their learning. We hope that you will be able to get a chance to talk to your child about their successes and next steps over the weekend and that you enjoy reading about their achievements. We are looking forward to meeting with you and your child at conferences on Tuesday and Thursday of next week.

Kia pai tō rā whakata, have a good weekend.

Ngā mihi,

Sian

Message from the Principal of College

Kia ora e te whānau o Pinehurst School 

We had a busy start to week 8 and the activities only ramped up towards the latter half. I am sure many of our college students are looking forward to a quiet weekend after their very active week at school.  

One of the highlights of Term 2 is the Cultural Market Day which was held yesterday at lunchtime. The effort which our students, the cultural committee and teachers put in to make this event a success is remarkable. There were also a number of very dedicated parents who helped out with the stalls, thank you all. We had a wonderful lunch break sampling lots of yummy food, listening to entertainment and chatting with each other. All proceeds from Cultural Market Day go to the Starship Foundation.  

Selected Year 10 and 11 Music students were joined by students from other schools on Thursday and treated to a presentation from Mr Ben Fernandez who is one of our itinerant piano teachers and leader of our Jazz Band. Ben talked to the students about the development of Indian music and how students could consider different styles of music when progressing through their own music careers. Visiting students were from King’s College, Huanui College, ACG Parnell and Strathallan, Avondale College and St Peter’s College. The students are all taking their IGCSE Music examination this year with Indian music as the world focus. I am sure the presentation will be very useful for them; we are grateful to Mr Ronayne for organising the presentation and to Ben and his band for presenting.  

I enjoyed watching two Year 8 netball team play yesterday evening. Whilst it was a cold evening out on the netball courts, it was great to see the girls playing so well in their teams and working hard to compete. So many College students represent the school beautifully in the sporting arena, demonstrating our school values and giving their best. Other sporting highlights of the week included our Girls’ Badminton teams both winning at the Year 11-13 North Harbour Interschool College Competition, Junior Boys’ Football winning 10-1 and four of our table tennis teams also having very convincing wins.  

The reputation of Pinehurst College as a Cambridge centre of excellence is strong, and we are fortunate to have expert staff with outstanding knowledge of the Cambridge curriculum. As a result, we often have teachers from other schools who would like to hear about how we do things. Yesterday, a small group of teachers from Hasting Boys’ High School visited us and they were able to hear from Mr Wiggin and subject specialists about some of our practices which lead to the successes we experience. It is always nice to host teachers from other schools and they appeared to have a very productive day.  

As we approach the last two weeks of term, there is still lots to do. Year 12 students will take part in the Loves-Me-Not Programme next week.  We also have the School Ball coming up and our college production of High School Musical, which is shaping up to be a great performance. There is also an information evening next week for parents of students who will be joining year 7 in 2024 and reports will be available at the end of this term.  

I am off to watch interhouse longball in the gym today at lunchtime. Mataī House won the junior competition of longball last week so there should be some strong competition today. I hope you have a wonderful weekend. 

Ngā mihi nui  

Dawn