Message from the Executive Principal 

Dear Parents, 

With a busy calendar, the weeks seem to fly by and it is amazing to think we are already more than halfway through March. It highlights the importance for all of us to enjoy the small moments because if we aren’t present to what is happening now, it can fly by too fast. 

This week I had the chance to speak to the Primary school assembly about leadership and what it means to be a leader. I spoke about how important it is to know yourself so that when times are tough you are clear about the values and morals that you can rely on. I also shared that I see leadership as having the courage to make the right decision in difficult situations, which means we all have to be leaders at some point and stand up for what we believe in. 

Once activities finish for the day, the school campus can sometimes feel eerily quiet. However, I have enjoyed having my office window open and listening to our College orchestra rehearse into the evening over recent weeks. The commitment of the students to come back when everyone else has gone home is very impressive and the quality of the music is outstanding. I encourage you to keep an eye out for upcoming performances, you will be amazed by the talent on display. 

While a small number of sporting events were canceled due to teacher strikes, there was still plenty of great competition, especially for our College volleyball team that competed in an Auckland-wide competition over three days. The highlight for the week was, of course, a resounding victory for our staff in a touch rugby game against College students. While these games are plenty of fun, it also models the fun, social side of keeping fit and healthy. 

I hope to see many of you at the Garden Party taking place on Friday 31st March. While it will be a great chance for us to get to know each other, it will also be an opportunity for you to get to know each otherother parents. With the various restrictions over recent years there have been limited opportunities for you to come together as a parent group and I encourage you to take this chance to do so. 

On a separate note, can I please ask for your support in taking care when parking in the business area at the shops opposite the school. I have been contacted recently about some near misses with pedestrians and also no parks being available for customers of the businesses. Please take note of any parking restrictions and act in accordance with them. 

We all recognize the importance of finding balance in our lives but it is something that we need to be mindful to support in our young people. Students will often pour huge amounts of time and energy into their passion, which is great but can be to the detriment of their overall well-being. I encourage you to talk to your child about finding a balance between schoolwork, activities, and simple downtime. If it is something they are struggling with, please reach out and our staff will happily provide some ideas for you to support your child. 

I hope you all enjoy a great weekend ahead.

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Monday 20 March 

•  AKSS Swimming - Champion of Champions (selected students only)
•  Years 4-6, Netball Trials

Tuesday 21 March

•  Year 7 Camp - Raglan
•  Year 9 Camp
•  NH Girls Cricket Zone Day (selected students)
•  Years 4-6, Mid Bays Swimming Competition (selected students)
•  Years 7-13, College Principal's Tour

Wednesday 22 March

• Year 9 Camp
• Year 7 Camp
• Years 7-8, AAIMS Swimming Interzone Champions (selected students only)
• Year 0-1, Principal's Tour

Thursday 23 March

• Year 9 Camp
• Year 7 Camp
• NH Orienteering Zone Day (selected students)
• UCAT Workshop

Friday 24 March

•  NE Parent Induction
•  NE Orientation (First visit)

Message from the Principal of College
 

Kia ora e te whānau 

At Pinehurst School we offer our students many opportunities for leadership and service. We believe that these opportunities encourage personal growth and help to develop self-esteem whilst also allowing students to take measured risks in a safe environment. At Year 9-13 assembly on Thursday, we awarded badges to our new student councillors. There are five student councils in the College - Arts, Enviromental, Student, Sport and Citizenship. Councils lead and manage events through the school year under the mentorship of a House Dean or Mr Ronayne and through these activities students are encouraged to strive for personal excellence outside of the classroom. They need to be organised and responsible, and to be authentic; all of these are important life skills. This year, we have already had a fundraiser organised by the Citizenship Council and I am looking forward to seeing what else the councils have in store for us for the rest of the year.  

On Monday our students were treated to a visit from Paws Leading Us who brought along three of their guide dogs for photographs and hugs.  There were ice blocks and other treats for sale along with soft toy dogs, fifty of which sold in the first ten minutes! It was a lovely way to start the week and a great fundraising event.  

Mr Johansen’s office is looking more like a supermarket every day after students organised a College Food Drive to help some of those families who were affected by Cyclone Gabrielle. Whilst this was not something we could have planned for, a group of students were extremely keen to help and to do something useful for those affected. The drive has been very successful, and we now have a large amount of non-perishable goods to donate at the end of the day. Thank you to all of those families who helped with this and thank you to Mr Johansen for donating his office space for the week, I am sure there will be many people who benefit.  

Sports are in full flow as we transition from summer to winter codes. The netball courts have been abuzz with practices and trials most days this week and hockey registrations and trials are also taking place. For the last three days, our Volleyball teams have been at a college tournament. This is the first time we have taken Volleyball teams to a tournament and students are having a great experience.  

As we head into the weekend, our Year 7 and Year 9 students will be preparing themselves for camp next week. It will be quieter around the College next week with two of our year groups out on amazing adventures and we will be eagerly awaiting news and photographs of their experiences.  

I hope you have a lovely weekend.  

Ngā mihi nui  

Dawn 

Message from the Principal of Primary

Kia ora,

At certain times in the year, we hold formal assemblies where students, staff and parents come together to celebrate special events such as prizegivings, the speech competition and our leadership assembly. Students sensed there was a little more formality to the assembly held on Tuesday and listened with interest to various presenters speaking about what leadership means to them. In very young children, leadership is all about leading yourself and learning to navigate the world with a growing sense of identity. Later in Primary, students can begin to offer service to their peers and to the school by taking on responsibilities that help larger groups of people.

Our assembly was a recognition of the Primary leaders for 2023 and an anticipation of the value they will add to the Primary this year. We elect and select as a process of choosing our leaders, every Year 6 student has a responsibility as a councillor, peer mediator, Librarian, arts, and cultural councillor, iLead or House captain. From Year 3 to 5 each class elects two councillors to represent them and to give them a class voice. Four Head councillors are chosen too, this year our fabulous four as they are calling themselves are, Mimie Lee, Ethan Han, Serena Yang and Ryann Wang. We are really excited to have them as leaders, and they represented themselves beautifully with their chosen topic on leadership. Ethan gave his pepeha, Mimie talked about being a role model, Ryan shared his leadership profile and Serena shared leadership quotes. We didn’t give them any help with their presentations, and they really impressed us with their thoughtfulness and understanding of what leadership is. How amazing to be inspired by our young people.

Our peer mediators have a very important job at lunchtimes especially on the junior playgrounds and around the Year 3 to 4 play areas. They are trained to help students resolve minor disputes between each other as well as offer friendship to anyone that is feeling a bit sad or lonely. They will have their first meet, greet, and eat session today where eat their lunch with younger classes and get to know them a little better. This is leadership in action and a way to demonstrate our values whilst at the same time developing leadership skills.

With three weeks to go we are planning for Term 2 whilst at the same time not slowing down on our learning. One of the things I love about working at Pinehurst is we start our programmes from the first day of term, and as our founding principal Sherida Penman Walters used to say, we teach until the last minute of the last day. There is still so much to learn before the term ends. We are looking forward to the winter sports season though and registrations are going out for a range of winter sports such as hockey, netball, and snowsports as well as the ongoing sports offered in Term 1. Team sports are so good for young children as they learn skills to play and work together and so too are individual sports such as skiing where children often excel because they can go at their own pace.

Kia pai tō rā whakata, have a good weekend.

Ngā mihi,

Sian