Congratulations Nathan Zheng (8C2) for being placed first in the Kelston Deaf Education Centre Year 7 & 8 Speech Competition. Nathan is really happy to have won as he set himself this goal after placing second last year. Organisers described his presentation as outstanding!
Year 9 students took part in an exciting day trip to the Capital this week. First up was a visit to the Beehive, New Zealand’s parliament buildings. With the 52nd general elections looming, this was perfect timing to learn more about our country’s electoral system and a chance to visit the House of Representatives – where Ministers of Parliament (MPs) and Select Committees meet to debate and vote on matters of national importance. The MPs weren’t sitting at the time of our visit as they were campaigning for their Party in their own electorates.
This was followed by a fascinating guided tour exploring Te Papa Museum with its rare exhibitions and collections. Students were in awe of the stories behind many pieces from New Zealand’s history.
A phenomenal result for this year’s 40-Hour Famine from Mission Heights Junior College was recognised at a celebration Awards evening held this week at Elim College, Botany. Over $10,000 was raised by our pupils choosing to either give up food, technology, furniture or even talking – for a whole weekend in June! As one of the top fundraising schools this year, a special acknowledgement was also made to Maddison Taylor’s personal effort of raising $1,000. Thanks all for a huge effort for a great cause raising money for the Syrian Refugees. Shown here are students (from left) Maddison Taylor (10W1) and Georgia Hall (10F2) accepting the awards on behalf of our school.
Sixty students from Mission Heights Junior College will be attending the 2017 International AIMS games from the 11th to the 15th September. As costs associated with this tournament are high, this year sports teams sold raffle tickets to help lower the cost for families. Thanks to our sponsors who kindly donated prizes, we were able to raise $11,520.
Our sponsors are:
| SHARP NZ | Click Chiropractic | Spices Thai Restaurant Botany Junction | Accounting Mechanix LTD |
The draw was completed on the 9th August at 11am in the Mission Heights Junior College Staffroom.
The winners are:
A big thank you to Mr Groenewald and team for staging another successful Cross Country event this year. Although Mountains ultimately won the inter-Whanau event, all four Whanau impressed with wonderful levels of spirit and participation. The school drone captured some beautiful footage of students (and staff) on the course, which we hope you enjoy….
Congratulations to Sharon Zheng who is one of three finalists in the Senior category of the Brother Design Stars. The overall winner is being announced on The Adam & Eve Show on TVNZ2 today. The judges are shown below trying on Sharon’s headgear…
Mission Heights Junior College have released a school app available for parents and caregivers to download. This app is available at no charge for Android and iOS devices. The MHJCApp allows the school community to receive information on school events, news and personalised notices from the school.
The Android MHJCApp is available on Google Play;
The iOS MHJCApp is available on the Apple App Store;
To receive personalised notices for your child you will need their student ID card. You can add their student ID by going into the settings menu within the app and tap on “Add Student ID”. This will use the camera on your phone or tablet to take a picture of their ID card, which allows you to receive automatic notices from the school about sports practices, field trips, etc.
We are pleased to announce the appointment of three senior leaders with effect from the start of Term 3:
Mr Ian Suckling will replace Mr Neil Penfold as Deputy Principal (Mountains Whanau). Mr Suckling was born in the UK and moved to New Zealand in 1997 where he taught at Auckland Grammar School, Lynfield College and Rodney College. He has a wide range of experience as a Business Economics, Accounting and other subjects such as Outdoor Education, Faculty Leader, Dean, Deputy Principal and Acting Principal. Recently Ian has been working with the Ministry of Education as a Learning with Digital Technologies Facilitator and with Cognition Education as an accredited facilitator. He is relocating into the area from Snells Beach with his wife and two children.
Mrs Raeesa Dada will replace Mr Naidu as Deputy Principal (Coast Whanau). Ms Dada is a foundation staff member who has been teaching at MHJC since 2008. After leaving South Africa in 1997 she was a team leader at Howick Intermediate and Curriculum Leader at BBI. Mrs Dada was awarded a Masters of Educational Leadership and Management from UNITEC and performed various roles at MHJC including most recently Assistant Principal (Water Whanau). Mrs Dada had valuable previous experience in this role having held the position of Deputy Principal on two previous occasions at the school for 3 terms and one year respectively.
Mrs Reshmika Lal will fill the vacancy of Assistant Principal (Water Whanau) vacated by Mrs Dada. Mrs Lal grew up in Fiji and started her teaching career in New Zealand at Sir Edmund Hillary Collegiate. She is a foundation staff member having joined the MHJC staff in 2008. Mrs Lal is the Special Educational Needs and Literacy coordinator and was Acting Assistant Principal for two years. Mrs Lal has also been awarded a Masters of Educational Leadership and a Graduate Diploma in TESSOL (Teaching English in Schools to Speakers of Other Languages.
We are very fortunate to be able to attract and recognise educators of this talent and experience and we wish them well in their leadership roles at the school.
Congratulations to Mr Jason Tuhaka (supported by Mrs Justine Tuhaka and the Tuhaka Whanau), MHJC’s Māori & Pasifika Council, teachers and families for a wonderful Matariki Event on Wednesday evening.
This event was an authentic opportunity for our students to not only hear about Matariki, but also to participate in it and learn through it. This is ‘Kia Mana Ake’ or ‘Growing Greatness’ in action!
Health & PE Teacher, Aly Grant captured some stunning shots from today’s William Pike Challenge Award outdoor education trip to Whatipu Beach. Students were thrilled to be visited by William Pike himself, as they completed rogaining, cave exploration and emergency first aid activities. A big thank you to Tess Connell who also supported MHJC’s contingent of 40 Year 9 students.
