Message from the Executive Principal

Kia ora koutou, good afternoon, 下午好, 안녕하세요  

Best wishes,
Mike Waller

Message from the Principal of College

Developing skills and building confidence in Music

Our Year 7 music students have been making fantastic progress this term, demonstrating determination and adaptability in their musical journey. They recently completed their chair drumming and guitar assessments, working through challenges with rhythm, coordination, and technique. Throughout this process, they’ve developed resilience, teamwork, and problem-solving skills, figuring out how to extend or simplify their parts to match their ability level.
 
Currently, students are exploring keyboard skills, chords, and comping pat in jazz, pop, and rock styles. This foundational work is preparing them for their upcoming group performances, where they will bring together their instrumental skills in an ensemble setting. It’s been great to see students supporting each other, experimenting with new ideas, and growing in confidence as musicians. We look forward to seeing their creativity shine in the performances ahead!

Science skills in Years 7 and 11

Year 7 students are investigating the factors that affect the dropping time of a parachute. Using the scientific method for this investigation is a very important skill in science learning. Students need to ask a question, conduct research, plan a method, conduct the experiment, draw a conclusion, and evaluate the results.

Year 11 Chemistry students have been studying organic chemistry. This is a new topic for these students and has a lot of new terms to learn. To help with fractional distillation and the different fractions that are produced they made models of the column. The had to include the names of the fractions, their uses and changes that occur as you go up the column.

Spanish Literature

In our A-Level Spanish Literature course, we are currently reading El coronel no tiene quien le escriba by Gabriel García Márquez. This powerful novel captures the political and social atmosphere of the Colombia of the 1950s. The novel is set during La Violencia, an era of Civil War between liberals and conservatives, in which Martial Law and strict censorship had been enforced. The students are thoroughly enjoying the text, engaging in lively discussions about its symbolism and historical context.

“The Spanish literature course this year is a very new and exciting extension of our knowledge and skills we have obtained at the AS level. Our current novel helps us explore the historical background in the 1900s, and we are constantly challenged to utilise both our language and literary skills”. (Lisa Guo)

 “While it has been difficult to not only understand, but also analyse, it has been exceptionally educational about the cultural, historical, and socioeconomic situation in Colombia. I've already learnt a massive amount of interesting information and greatly improved my Spanish skills in the few weeks that I've been at school”. (Alex Lindsay)

¡Seguimos aprendiendo!

DOE Year 10 Tawharanui Experience

The Year 10 students headed out to Tawharanui Regional Park for their Duke of Edinburgh Bronze Practice Journey this week. The group set off on Thursday morning to grey clouds and showers, but the weather soon brightened up for the hiking groups. The surfing groups saw some challenging conditions. However, lots of fun was had try to catch some waves. After lights out, the staff were treated to some wild Kiwi rustling around in the bushes, ticking a big item off a few teachers' bucket lists! 
Friday morning brought blue skies and perfect waves. A lovely day to round off a challenging but enjoyable trip. 

Cambridge Outstanding Learner Awards

Pinehurst School students received 20 Outstanding Learner Awards from Cambridge at a formal ceremony at Auckland University last week. Our students were awarded three Top in The World awards across three departments, with Outstanding Awards from a total of seven different departments here at Pinehurst. Percy Kuang and Amelia Neal were invited to attend morning tea with Kanjna Paranthaman, Cambridge Regional Director, in recognition of their outstanding achievements. Congratulations to all Award recipients - we are exceptionally proud of each and every one of you!

Classical Studies overseas trip

Pinehurst School is excited to announce our first ever Classical Studies overseas trip! We will be travelling to Greece and Italy in the April school holidays in 2026. This is open to all students who are currently in Year 10, 11, or 12. To learn more, make sure you register for the information evening which is being held on March 12 in the Pinehurst Theatre. See you there!

Interhouse Athletics Day: Passion + Performance

Last Wednesday, our school came alive with energy, excitement, and competitive spirit as we held our much anticipated Year 7-13 Interhouse Athletics Day at AUT Millennium Stadium. The event was a spectacular showcase of athleticism, teamwork, and house pride, with students enthusiastically participating across a range of track and field events. The day was filled with incredible performances, from thrilling sprints to intense long-distance races, high-flying long jumps, and powerful shot put throws. It was fantastic to see students giving their best effort, cheering on their peers, and demonstrating outstanding sportsmanship throughout the competition.

We were thrilled with the level of participation from students across all year levels. Whether competing for podium finishes or simply pushing personal limits, everyone contributed to the vibrant atmosphere that made the day so special. The support from teachers and spectators added to the excitement, making this event a true celebration of our school’s athletic talent and community spirit.

A huge congratulations to all our participants, and a special thank you to our staff and volunteers who helped make the day a success. The overall house points, house shield, and champion medals will be awarded at the next assembly. 

We would like to congratulate the below students who broke some long-standing records last week. Breaking a school record is an incredible accomplishment, showcasing dedication, perseverance, and the drive to push beyond limits. Congratulations to our record-breakers who have etched their names into our school’s history:

2025 Records Broken – Year 7-13 Athletics

Senior Boys:

• Long Jump – George Hardy, 6.09m (New Record)
• 100m – George Hardy, 11.33s (New Record)
• 200m – George Hardy, 23.02s (New Record)

Year 7 Girls:

• High Jump – April Wu, 1.25m (New Record)

Year 8 Boys:

• 200m – Noah Roodt, 27.66s (New Record)
• 300m – Noah Roodt, 46.38s (New Record)
• 400m – Noah Roodt, 1.05.60 m/s (New Record)
• 1500m – Noah Roodt, 5.22.42 m/s (New Record)

Well done to everyone who took part – we can’t wait for next year’s competition!

Kapa Haka Group Kicks Off The Year With Enthusiasm!

Our Kapa Haka group had a fantastic start to the year, with a mix of new and returning members coming together to celebrate and strengthen our school’s cultural traditions. We were also joined by all of our new councillors, who showed great enthusiasm in supporting the group.

During the session, students practiced using the poi and learned the motions for the beginning of a poi song, led by Zahria and Zoe. The boys revisited the haka used in a pōwhiri, with guidance from our college members.

Adding to the excitement, the group was inspired by the live screening of Te Matatini, reminding everyone of the skill, passion, and dedication behind Kapa Haka. It was a wonderful way to begin our journey this year—kia kaha, team!

Toi o te wiki - Year 10 Visual Art

Toi o te wiki this week showcases the learning our Year 10 students have undertaken for their first Visual Art assessment. They been exploring the rules of composition in photography as they begin their IGCSE Art and Design course.

These images explore light, leading lines, rule of thirds and contrasting tones.

Well done to Angela, Claire, Eva, Jess, Iris, Felisha, Jenny and Molly. 

Please make a note of these upcoming Events which are always listed on the Pinehurst Career Education website:

March 1-8: Interested in Singapore? Check out the NUS Online Open Days NUS 120 Open House 2025

March 4: UCAT Registrations Open. You need to do this if you are interested in Medicine/Dentistry/some Sciences in Australia and/or UK

March 5: Oxford University Webinar – why course choice matters. Register here

March 10: University of Otago Introductory Talk at 12:45pm in the Library

March 11: Massey University Introductory Talk at 12:45pm in the Library

March 13: Victoria University of Wellington Introductory Talk at 1pm in 304

March 14: University of Canterbury Introductory Talk at 12:45pm in 303

March 18: University of Auckland Introductory Talk at 12:45pm in the Theatre

May 4-5: University of Otago Open Day in Dunedin if you want to book your flights now

Message from the Principal of Primary

Spanish in Years 1 - 3

¡Hola a todos!

Our Year 1 students have been busy practicing Spanish greetings and counting objects up to ten. They love greeting everyone around the school with enthusiastic cheers of ¡Hola! and ¡Adiós! and are learning to ask and answer “How are you?” in simple conversations.

Year 2 students are expanding their responses to ¿Cómo estás? and ¿Qué tal?, expressing a variety of feelings while practicing correct masculine and feminine endings. Students enjoy roleplays and conversing with their friends.

This term, Year 3 students have been learning how to introduce themselves, share their age, and express basic feelings. Through interactive games and role-playing, they are becoming more confident using key phrases like “Good morning” and “I am... years old.” These activities help them feel more comfortable speaking Spanish in everyday situations.

Year 3s explore plants, 'fair tests' and Paul Klee art

In P10 we have begun to develop an understanding of what plants need to be healthy. They are carrying out a scientific enquiry called a ‘fair test’.  In a fair test one thing is changed to see what effect it has; everything else is kept the same. In groups the children have been given two pots, and some grass seed. They are going to plant the see and will then one of the pots will be exposed to a different condition to the other for example one will receive no light while the other will. Over the term the students will collect and record observations and or measurements in table and diagrams. They will also identify whether the results support or do not support their predictions and they will make a conclusion from the results and answer the scientific question ‘What do plants need to be healthy?’

Our art lessons we have looked and been inspired by the works of Paul Klee and have built on our knowledge of colour theory.  P10 have applied their knowledge using warm and cold colours as well as complimentary colours to create some amazing art pieces.

Amazing artwork in Year 4

Written by Ling, P13.

Lately, P13 have been learning about an impressionist technique called pointillism.  We’ve created a few amazing pictures by doting tiny circles closely together to do so.  Most of the masterpieces are painted in eye catching detail,  for example one was about a lush green forest with the floor sprinkled with bluebells.  Another showed a beautiful sunset on the sea, the sky glimmering with streaks of rose pink and yellow- all made up from dots.  As we first started this technique, all P13 artist created a colour wheel using a small amount of pure colour which were: yellow; blue; and red. Then to create the secondary colours, we dotted blue dots next to the yellow dots to create green, then blue and red for purple. Finally red and yellow to form orange.

As we started to finish Mrs Thomson announced that if you were done you could start creating a piece pointillism artwork on a blank piece of paper. After a few minutes, most pupils started speeding up like cats chasing mice! Our class finished one by one and started working on our second project. Most of us on my table did a beach, white sand and sapphire sea with an emerald, green Island in the distance. When our lesson ended, everyone felt glad and proud of their established work

The next Monday afternoon, all of us students crashed in, ll bustling around, filled with energy ready for art. As our teacher walked in, we snapped into attention to hear the instructions. This time we were doing a kind of art that was called pop art, which uses the pigments yellow, blue and red. Leaping to our tables everyone snatched a piece of blank paper! To my surprise they grabbed it more swiftly than I thought with, no one colliding with each other!  Using Pop Art we created onomatopoeia. My onomatopoeia word that came to me was Buzz. Again snatching some pens, we all immediately started….. who knows what will happen next? 

Year 4 Science gets Sticky!

Introducing our absolute favourite insects (and hopefully, soon yours too) - the stick insect! These camouflaged creatures were created by our super amazing Year 4 students.

The fascinating creatures are very cleverly disguised to avoid being prey. As part of our study to identify features of predators and prey we looked at camouflage as a trait that animals use to either obtain food or avoid being food. 

Stick insects can camouflage themselves to ensure they are protected from predators. Some species of stick insects have bright colours underneath their bodies, which they show to predators to confuse or scare them. Some species of stick insects have wings and can fly. Some species of stick insects spray a poisonous fluid on their predator and other species are sick on their predators when they are attacked. Stick insects shed skin regularly and this process is called “moulting”. 

If a leg from a stick insect comes off, most likely caused by a predator, they can regrow it! Stick insects are nocturnal, which means they are active at night. Spot the stick insects in our photographs.

Sprinkle it with Kindness in Year 5

Children arrive in P17 every day, super happy to be here. Yesterday I walked into laughter and positive conversations that filled our class. I stopped and asked all of P17, "Why are children in our class usually happy..?"

Here is some of the feedback I received:
"Seeing my friends and my teacher. I also enjoy writing especially when we have cold write and ICT"...Sidney
"I enjoy learning new things daily"...Leo
"Some of my favourite learning is maths cross group and ICT"…Oliver
"I enjoy the lessons at Pinehurst and friends"...Annabelle
"Seeing my friends and my teachers. My favourite learning is during maths cross group and art"…Yinuo
"Being with my friends; some of my favourite periods are art, library and enrichment writing"…Grace
"Being a class councillor and helping children around the class and school"…Jessica
"I enjoy coming to P17 because my query or contribution is never ignored"…Lucas
"I enjoy playing with my friends and doing PE"…Joseph

In Global Perspectives we were learning about norm/ rules and the power of teamwork.  Here are some of the norms/ rules in our class that keep our class a safe and happy place:
1.        Respect and listen to others.
2.        Never give up.
3.        Be kind and help others.
4.        Use an inside voice.
5.        Raise your hand and wait for your turn to speak.

Making a splash: Year 5s at Northern Arena

Last week, our students in P15, P16 and P17 swapped the classroom for the pool as they dived into a week of swimming lessons at Northern Arena in Silverdale. Traveling by bus each day, they eagerly took to the water, refining their swimming techniques, improving their confidence and mastering essential water safety skills.

In a country surrounded by water, swimming is more than just a sport - it’s a life skill. Whether at the beach, the lake or the local pool, knowing how to stay safe in and around water is crucial for all Kiwis. These lessons have given our students the opportunity to develop their abilities and feel more at home in the water - some even conquering fears and reaching new personal milestones!

The excitement doesn’t stop there! Our Year 5-6 Swimming Sports is just around the corner, taking place on Tuesday March 11th at Northern Arena. We can’t wait to see our students put their skills to the test, cheer each other on, and celebrate their progress in the pool.

Stay tuned for all the action!

Strand Maths Explores Shapes in Year 6

This week in Year 6 we started our new strand topic of shape. In our first lesson P20 learnt the differences between a range of quadrilaterals and created a poster in small groups to show the different features of the different shapes. This included looking into how many parallel lines they had, if the length of the sides were important and how many right-angles they had to have - if any. 

The whole class made fantastic displays and were able to use their maths language to explain the difference between a rhombus, parallelogram, kite, square, rectangle and trapezium. 

Celebrating Leadership at our Special Assembly

On Tuesday 25^th February, our school community gathered for a special Leadership Assembly to celebrate and acknowledge the students stepping into leadership roles this year. It was a proud moment as we officially welcomed our new student leaders and recognised their commitment to making a positive impact on our school.

The highlight of the assembly was hearing from our four Head Councillors, who shared their perspectives on what makes a great leader. They spoke about the importance of responsibility, teamwork, resilience, and kindness, inspiring their peers to lead with integrity and care.

This year, a diverse range of leadership positions will contribute to the smooth running of our Primary and the wellbeing of our students. Our Class Councillors will be the voice of their classmates, representing their ideas and concerns. Library Monitors will help maintain a welcoming and organised space for reading and learning. Peer Mediators will play a crucial role in fostering positive relationships by helping their peers resolve conflicts in a respectful manner.

House Captains will lead their houses with enthusiasm, promoting school spirit and teamwork during sporting events. Our iLeads will embrace the role of digital leaders, supporting the use of technology in learning. The Arts and Cultural leaders will celebrate creativity and diversity by encouraging participation in music, drama, and visual arts. Additionally, our Year Six Councillors will take on broader responsibilities across the school, ensuring all students feel supported and included.

These students have committed to setting a strong example for their peers through their dedication to service and care for others. By demonstrating respect, responsibility, and a willingness to help, they will contribute to a school environment where every student feels valued and supported.

Congratulations to all our new leaders. We look forward to seeing the positive impact you will make this year!

George's SEANZ Exchange to Canada

Below is a piece of writing by Year 12 Student George D about his recent Exchange programme experience: 

Over the Christmas holidays, I was fortunate enough to participate in a three-month exchange program through SEANZ (Student Exchange Australia New Zealand). I attended Fellowes High School, a Canadian secondary school in Pembroke that accommodates pupils from year 10 right up to year 13 with an enrolment of approximately 1,100 students. 

School life felt like a polar opposite to the life at Pinehurst. There was no dress code - students wore anything from pyjamas to Crocs, even when it was -30°C outside - and the school was more focused on trade than the academic emphasis we have here at Pinehurst. At Fellowes, I took several Unique courses. In "Transportation Industries," I learned practical skills such as welding, balancing tires, oil changes, and simple engine repair. In "Construction," I learned woodworking skills, and in "Cooking," I learned kitchen work skills in a kitchen that simulated a commercial kitchen. I also took "Canadian History," which helped in understanding Canada's past and culture. Outside of class, I had a lifetime of memories. I took a two-week trek down the eastern seaboard of the United States, as far south as Cape Coral, Florida. I endured a -35°C blizzard for an hour in each direction to the gym. 

I was also fortunate enough to experience being an assistant teacher and provide children with insights into New Zealand culture at Beachburg Elementary School. 

This opportunity offered an intriguing change in perspective and allowed me to share a piece of my home with others.

I attended a thrilling ice hockey game, navigated four international airports by myself, and encountered interesting people from varied backgrounds, including businessmen, army corporals, professional bodybuilders and powerlifters, and real estate developers.

Overall, I strongly recommend participating in an exchange. It can be hard to leave your comfort zone at first, but the experiences you have and the memories you create make it all worth it.