Principal’s Report on Student Achievement 2015

In 2015 Mission Heights Junior College students continued to  enjoy high levels of success across the four cornerstones, academic, cultural, sport and leadership through service. We enjoyed many successes in a wide range of regional,  national and international  competitions.

I am proud to present a summary of the school’s achievements in 2015.

Academic achievement

National Standards (Year 7 and 8)

Students in Years 7 and 8 are assessed against National Standards in Reading, Writing and Mathematics.

At the end of 2015, 76.4% of Year 7 students were assessed as being at or above standard in Reading. At the end of Year 8 the percentage at or above standard was 78.1%

In writing Year 7 results were 71.4% at or above standard and in Year 8, 72.7%. In Maths by the end of Year 7  74.1% of students were at or above standard and at the end of Year 8  81% of students were at or above standard.

National standards results for all schools are reported in detail to and by the Ministry of Education.

E asTTle (Year 9 and 10)

As students are not assessed against National Standards in Years 9 and 10 the following data is based only on e-asTTle testing. The testing in Mathematics was based all strands of the Mathematics curriculum. Overall teacher judgements would take into account broader data sets including NCEA results, where applicable, and a broader range of testing data.

In Reading 77.9% of students tested at or above the curriculum level and 63.8% in Maths. In Year 10 the figures were 47.6% and 42.9% respectively.

Progress data

If student achievement levels are to be raised it is important to monitor the rate at which students are progressing. This is done by using “effect size” calculations based on e-asTTle pre and post testing. Overall students are making excellent progress.

In Year 7 Reading,  86.5% of students made at least the expected progress over the year and  in Maths 95% made at least the expected progress over the year. 62.2% made greater than expected progress in Reading and 73.6% in Maths.  34.6% of students actually made over 2 years progress in one year in Reading and 45.7% did so in Maths.

In Year 8 Reading,  79% of students made at least the expected progress over the year and  in Maths the figure was 93% . 44% made greater than expected progress in Reading and 75 % in Maths.  17% of students made over 2 years progress in one year in Reading and 49 % did so in Maths.

In Year 9 Reading,  74 % of students made at least the expected progress over the year and  in Maths the figure was 89 % . 40% made greater than expected progress in Reading and 49 % in maths.  21% of students made over 2 years progress in one year in Reading and 24 % did so in Maths.

In Year 10 Reading,  76 % of students made at least the expected progress over the year and  in Maths the figure was 83 % . 40 % made greater than expected progress in Reading and 46 % in Maths.  16 % of students made over 2 years progress in one year in Reading and 12 % did so in Maths.

NCEA

Unlike most other schools we offer all our Year 10 students an opportunity  to attempt NCEA Achievement Standards in Year 10 as our key purpose is to prepare students as they transition  into  Year 11 in their new school.  Our objective is to provide students, regardless of ability an understanding of the NCEA system of assessment and confidence in their ability to succeed without compromising their ability to improve their achievement level further in Year 11.

In summary, our 2015 results show that 32% of our students gained 20 credits or more, and 15% of students gained 25 credits or more.

An outstanding 90% achievement rate was achieved.

Significantly, 51% of the credits achieved were at Merit or Excellence level.

Academic Competitions

Once again in 2015 all of our students had the opportunity to participate in a wide range of Academic Competitions with a great deal of individual and team success.

IPENZ Transpower Neighbourhood Engineers Awards

Three teams from Mission Heights Junior College gained merit awards in the senior section of this competition.This competition sees students working with engineering mentors to develop technological solutions to an issue/area of concern that the students have identified in their school or community.  The school is developing an impressive record of success, having also been awarded prizes in 2012, 2013 and 2014.

MHJC Science Fair and NIWA Manukau Region Science & Technology Fair

Our annual Science Fair had a record number of entries in the year 7 and 8 categories, complimenting our year 9 and 10 entries.  From the school fair, 46 of students represented MHJC at the NIWA Manukau Region Science and Technology Fair on Sunday 10 August.  The regional fair was hosted in the MHJC Middlemiss Theatre with 18 other participating schools. Our students were successful, earning the following awards:

First Place in Scientific Photography; Best Project by a Maori Student; Best use of Statistics (Second Place); Best Use of Flour (Second Place); Innovation Prize for Best Year 9 Project and Innovation Prize for Best Year 10 Project.

ICAS, Maths and Science Competitions

Following trends from previous years, students performed to a high standard in each of our ICAS competitions.  Students participated in spelling, writing, computing, mathematics, science and digital technologies tests this year.  Achievements of Distinction and High Distinction were awarded to 41 students, with ICAS maths being our strongest area. Students achieving Distinction and High Distinction  are in the top 1-10% of all students who sat nationally.

Students also participated with success in the Junior Mathematics Competition, the Otago University Problem Challenge and the Big Science Competition.

Mathex is always an exciting school event,  and 2015 was no different.  Staff, students, parents and past students turned out to let their math skills shine.  Teams from MHP and Ormiston also entered to build stronger ties with our feeder schools.  Our top mathematicians were then selected by Mrs Taneja to represent MHJC in six teams at the Auckland Mathex event.  Our students performed admirably up against very tough opposition,  and thoroughly enjoyed this exciting evening of mathematics.  One of our year 7 team scored 95/100 and came 5th out of 110 teams. Our year 8 team scored 90/100 and came 6th out of 110 teams.

Crest Awards

In 2015, 25 year 9 students earned a Bronze Crest Award and 28 students in year 10 earned Silver Crest Awards for their hard work on various projects, including Science Fair, IPENZ and CodeWorx challenges. To achieve Silver Crest Awards in Year 10 is impressive, as most recipients are Year 12 students.

Education Perfect and Language Exams

With such a diverse community our students are able to speak a number of languages.  This fact shone true as MHJC came first internationally in the Language Perfect category, beating over 1000 schools from around the world.  Students came first in New Zealand in Maori, Samoan, Italian, and Indonesian and second in Japanese.

Globally, we performed very well.  Collectively our students earned MHJC a second in the world for Social Studies, third in English, fourth in Science, and fifth in Maths.  To accomplish these amazing feats students earned individuals awards; 63 Elite awards, 106 Gold awards, 45 Silver award and 83 Bronze awards.

Students also participated in ALC examinations.  These examinations have oral and written examinations in a range of foreign  languages.  Out students earned  Distinction and High Distinction awards in both examinations.

Burger Battle

2015 marked the first year a team of students entered a food technology competition. After battling it out at school, the winning duo headed to the Auckland Council Burger Battle competition held at the annual Food Show.  Students designed and presented unique burgers to top chefs from New Zealand. Our team took away a “Merit” award for their efforts.

In 2016 the school will look to continue with the well-established competitions that we have entered for many years,  whilst also looking to broaden our scope of competitions and experiences offered to our students.

Sport

Once again participation and success increased in sporting activities in 2015 across a broad range of sporting competitions.  Students have opportunities to participate in the sporting cornerstone through both extra curricular opportunities and very effectively through our personalised DEEP programme.

Cricket

2015

Our Year 7&8 Boys cricket team placed 3rd in the South Eastern Zone competition. They also took part in the Auckland knock out cup and competed in 4 exciting games, winning one of the four. Our Year 9&10  Cricket team once again were undefeated this season and were therefore winners of the Term 1 competition.

Netball

Our Year 7 and 8  girls netball team  attended the AIMS games in Tauranga for the second time and at the end of the grading round were placed in the B grade. This was a big achievement and a challenge for our team who played with passion and commitment at this high level.  They also played in the Y9&10 Howick Pakuranga Netball competition and they finished 1st.

We also had 2 teams entering the SEZ tournament in which they finished in the C grade and played some good netball

At year 9 and 10 our teams enjoyed success. Our MHJC Yr 9 and 10  A team came second in their division and our Yr 10A team excelled, in the final tournament achieving second place in the final against MHJC Junior A team.

Our Premier team also entered the Auckland Netball competition for the first time and was graded in the B grade where we finished second. This team showed that Mission Heights can compete against any school.

Football

Our Year 7 and 8 boys football team attended the AIMS Games for the second time and enjoyed a number of hard fought games. This team finished in the top 10 teams of the tournament.

Our Y7 team entered the SEZ tournament and finished 3rd in the tournament.

Our Y8 team also entered the SEZ tournament and also finished 3rd.

Our Year 9 and 10 girls took fourth place in their the Greater Auckland Junior B competition.

Our Year 9 and 10 Boys team won their competition for a third time, beating Rosehill A in an exciting final. They also entered the Auckland knock out cup competition losing to  Auckland Grammar.
Basketball

In 2015 we again hosted the ABSL Year 7 and 8 competition and fielded 18 teams in the first and second semester tournaments.

Our Year 7 and 8  boys and girls were South Eastern Zone finalists and our U15 Girls team reached the top 2 in the regional competition, which is an outstanding achievement.

Our u/17 boys finished 8th overall in the Counties Manukau league.

In a 3 on 3 competition a Mission Heights Team was B grade winners.

Swimming

We were again well represented at  the SEZ swimming competition with 17 swimmers and this year one of our swimmers Victor Chua competing in the NZ Secondary Schools Swimming Championships won gold and  3 silver medals.

Athletics

In the  Eastern zone Athletics MHJC took our biggest team yet to the meeting. We took 45 athletes. All students did really  well and our Y7 boys relay team won their race and qualified for the Auckland Champs where they placed 3rd.

Cross Country:

We took a team of year 9 &10 students to the the Counties Manukau cross country competition for the first time and the students did really well.

We also took 30 runners to the SEZ meeting and we had two runners placed in the top 10.

Tennis:

We took 6 tennis players to SEZ tournament and we competed very well all the matches we played. Kevin Fu finished second in the singles competitions.

Badminton:

We took a Badminton team to the AIMS Games for the first time, and we did really well. Our doubles team won a Gold medal. All five of our singles players placed in the top 20. We also placed 2nd in the team competition.

We also entered the SEZ competition and won the doubles and singles competitions.

Touch:

We entered our Y 7&8 mixed touch team into the SEZ tournament. We placed 4th overall with a lot of games having very close scores.

Our Y 9&10 girls touch team entered the u/15 Manukau touch tournament for the first time and we finished 7th overall.

Culture

Performing Arts

In 2015 our students were able to share their talents across a wide range of performance opportunities. We had our traditional in-school events; the Talent Quest and a Winter Wonderland themed  Santa Show.  We also had our second Maori and Pasifika Achievement Evening with it proving another huge success. As always our students made our school community extremely proud with their commitment and talent in school and across the community.

Cultural Food Festival

We celebrated our bi-annual Cultural Food Festival.  This is a huge undertaking by staff and students and supported by Family and Friends.  Each Whanau sells food from a range of cultures to our community in a effort to raise money for graduation.  It is a busy but fun way to open our school to the community.

Dance Sport

Once again our Year 7 and 8 students had an opportunity to compete in an MHJC Dance Sport competition in term 3 learning four styles of Ballroom dance: Waltz, Foxtrot, Cha Cha and Jive.  We had two couples attend this competition and both got placings in the top 10.

Visual Arts

Work by 10 of our art students was showcased in the annual Auckland Middle Schools Art Association Exhibition for Year 7 & 8 students held at the Corban Art Centre in September.  

Cultural Celebrations

Cultural Dress days are, as always a fun and important part of sharing our cultural diversity.  Students participate in many language/cultural days and compete in a cultural dress competition and staff support this event with their colourful traditional wear and costumes.

Public speaking

This year we hosted the both the year 7 & 8 APPA Easter Zone Competition and the 9 & 10 Eastern Zone Speech competitions where Oliver Davies was placed 2nd in Year 9 and Victor Chua placed 2nd in Year 10.

We also did well in the international language speech competitions.  With Moriah Lino placing 1st  in Nuien speeches, John Yang 2nd in Cantonese.

Debating

We had a good run in debating in 2015. Our two teams failed to make the October finals but some great foundation work was laid for the 2016 season and our teams had a lot of fun and learned a lot about how to debate and speak in public.

Ormiston Community Christmas in the Courtyard

Our students also had the opportunity to perform at the Christmas in the Courtyard event held by the Ormiston Community Group. This was a fun way for some of our top performers to finish the year.

Service Leadership

The 2015  Executive Council created a new competition which promotes the four cornerstones and inter whanau competition. Four activities which represent the four cornerstones were chosen to decide the trophy which was presented at the end of year Prize Giving. The council also raised money from their popular discos in term 1,2 and 3 to purchase TV monitors for each whanau which will be used to raise awareness of student activities and achievements. The council members showed a high level of maturity and leadership throughout the year. The degree to which we show trust and faith in these student leaders is that they had a significant voice in the selection of our new Principal. They interviewed short-listed candidates and provided their feedback to the interview committee.

Our whanau councils take the lead role in organising whanau assemblies and, in some whanau in 2015 student curriculum committees actively contributed to ideas for learning contexts.

We value the service of our road patrollers, our librarians, ICT crew, and our sports and  cultural councils.   Other opportunities to lead and serve are available through Wai Care, the Enviro Council, Travelwise and Trees for Survival.

Five Year 10 students once again represented Mission Heights Junior College at the  Singapore Young Leaders Convention where they worked with other students from across the globe to address issues affecting youth.  

The school continued to support a wide range of community organisations including SPCA,  Habitat for Humanity, World Vision, Starship Hospital, and the Cancer Society. A number of students had the opportunity to attend the Outdoor Pursuits Centre in Turangi.

We realise the importance of preparing our student leaders to be effective in their roles. Accordingly an introductory leadership training workshop was held on 25th November 2015. This training run by World Vision was successful in getting students to look at the attributes of a good leader. Based on the success of this initial training,  the following training programmes have been booked for our students for this year: Young Leadership Program, GRIP training program and the KATTI training program directed at upskilling our Maori students

Systems have been put in place to streamline the leadership selection and appointment process. A digital system was set up to allow students to choose their leadership positions. Effect size student data analysed in 2015 showed there was a clear correlation between student engagement and the number of cornerstones that students participated in. Students that take on too many formal leadership positions, requiring a year long commitment, found themselves over-committed and this negatively impacted upon their academic achievement. Similarly it was found that students who did not participate in any leadership positions showed less engagement resulting in regression in progress. Based on these findings it was decided that students be limited to three formal leadership positions for the year. The new system also allowed teacher input into students’ leadership selections resulting in students being offered positions which whilst allowing them to work to their strengths also challenge them to be GREAT leaders.  Furthermore, this system ensured that all students were given a chance to apply and be considered for the various leadership positions being offered.