Principal's Blog, School News

MHJC teachers leading learning

One of our strategic goals is to attract, retain and develop high quality teachers and support staff. Part of this goal is achieved through our professional development plan. All our teachers are involved in “inquiry” projects of their own as part of our professional development programme. Every year we identify areas of our teaching or leadership that we wish to improve, strengthen or investigate and experts from within the staff or external providers support teachers to grow their practice. We also host a number of schools who are interested in how we deliver the curriculum, our focus on personalised learning and our DEEP programme in particular.

 

During the October holidays several teachers presented at educational conferences. Their time and efforts are appreciated as they have helped to reinforce our place at the forefront of innovative educational research and practice. 

 

Ms Lambert has led a team of MHJC teachers for almost two years with resourcing from the ministry which has investigated how to strengthen collaborative practice among teachers. The positive findings of this research will help us to continue with our integrated approach to learning which allows students to see links between learning areas and develop authentic outcomes which are relevant to them, particularly with regards numeracy. She and Ms Grant, one of the team, presented their findings at U-Learn, other members of the team, Mr Hishey and Mrs Premdeep presented at the New Zealand Mathematics Association and Mrs Phadke will be presenting later this term at the Statistics Teachers’ Day at the University of Auckland.

 

Mr Choong also presented at U-Learn with the support of some of our students. His focus was the integration of STEM (Science Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) into the general curriculum and Mrs Newbold presented ‘Learning through the Arts’ at a Literacy Conference in Christchurch. STEM and creativity are both focus areas for the school. 

 

The professional development of our staff and willingness to share our learning journey individually and collectively show that we are committed to our vision of “growing greatness through innovative, constantly evolving personalised learning”.

 

Growing greatness – Kia mana ake!

 

 

School News

Ashvin and Arvinth’s Success at the Halberg Games

MHJC is extremely proud to share Ashvin and Arvinth Sathy’s achievements at the 2019 Halberg Games, which were held from the 11th – 13th October, at Kings College, Otahuhu. The boys had a great time on the track with their wheelchair racing events and gained strong results in both Boccia and Table Tennis.
Ashvin participated in a thrilling Boccia final, winning the Boccia trophy. Arvinth managed to defeat Ashvin to win the trophy for Table Tennis – this too was a thrilling final!
The boys enjoyed the opportunity to meet Grant Elliot and worked on their ‘catching practice’ whilst chatting with him. Ashvin and Arvinth also met the ‘Sports and Recreation Minister’, Grant Robertson and Para Olympian medalists at the Opening Ceremony. MHJC staff member Matua Brent witnessed the boys in action and remarked, “Ashvin and Arvinth were like the ‘All Blacks’ of the Halberg Games!”

 

ICT Blog

How to improve your home wifi

(Reproduced from Google’s blog. I thought the points made in this blog post by Sanjay Noronha are sound and worth repeating to our community.)

These days, access to a reliable Wi-Fi signal can feel as crucial as having basic electricity or plumbing. In fact, a recent study conducted by Kelton Research and commissioned by Google found that 28 percent of people don’t think they could last a single day without Wi-Fi. But in that same study, a whopping 81 percent of people said they have experienced issues with their Wi-Fi at home. So why is something so essential considered such a hassle?

Luckily, there are some simple strategies to maximize your home Wi-Fi network to avoid slow loading times or grumbling when you’re trying to get online. Here are a few tips for making the most out of your Wi-Fi.

Place your router as centrally as possible. 

Wi-Fi signals get weaker the farther away you go from your router, so if you keep your router by the front door, your videos might load more slowly if you’re trying to watch them by the back door. So if you can, place your router as centrally as possible within your home, though this may not always be possible depending on where your internet provider brings in the connection. And if you don’t mind your router sitting on the counter top, keep it out in the open. If you can avoid hiding it by a bookcase or filing cabinet, you can really help boost your Wi-Fi signal.

Consider a mesh network. 

A mesh network is a group of routers that wirelessly communicate with each other to create a single, connected Wi-Fi network over a large area. It allows you to have multiple sources of powerful Wi-Fi throughout your home, not just one from the main router. Having a mesh network solves the problem of having the router just relegated to a corner in the house. We created Google Wifi as a mesh system because having multiple points work together to create a seamless single network provides consistently strong coverage for all connected devices in every room of the house. 

Make sure your router is up to date. 

If your existing router is more than three or four years old, check to make sure it supports 5GHz Wi-Fi signals. Some older routers only support 2.4GHz signals, which can make your devices much slower. Think of it as having a car that isn’t fast enough to drive on the freeway. Upgrade your router to at least an 802.11ac system so you can also use 5GHz frequencies, which are like the autobahn of Wi-Fi. (There are more lanes, and higher speed limits.) 

Always, always make your network password-protected. 

Having an “open network” without a password might seem convenient, since there’s no need to remember a complicated password. But if you do that, anyone even driving by your home could join your Wi-Fi network and compromise your network, devices and data by accessing your drives or slowing down your network. Choose a strong password that’s tough for anyone to guess, but easy for you to remember. 

Create a separate Wi-Fi network for guests. 

If you have kids at home, or just get a lot of guests, chances are you’ve handed out your Wi-Fi password a lot. Setting up a guest network creates a second Wi-Fi network in your home so your guests can have a great experience while your own devices stay secure and private. 

ICT Blog

How to restrict your child’s screen time

With the holidays coming up, the media is chock-full of advice on how you can restrict the screen time of your children. With all 3 major OS manufacturers touting methods on their operating systems (Microsoft -> Microsoft accounts, Google -> Digital Wellbeing and Apple -> Screentime), there is no shortage of avenues that the parent can take. This post isn’t about them.

There are some other methods in which parents can help ensure that their children are getting the benefits of technology. Here are a few that you could try during the holidays :-

  • Establish consistent “media free” times, particularly at meal times. (That means no hand-held games for older kids, or cell phones or iPads for grown-ups).
  • Make your own media. Give your child a low-cost digital camera and teach her how to plug it into your TV. This is a great way to review memorable events and can be a rich language experience for very young children, as they name family members from their last birthday party, for example.
  • Provide exciting non-tech options in your child’s life. Instead of trying to remove current media from your child’s life, continue to enrich her playtime with new, concrete, interesting alternatives, so your child will want to turn off the TV.

Having said that, media consumption on computers doesn’t need to be an all-or-nothing approach. Computers and television can play a key role in helping children wind down and relax. For example, a half-hour session of Thomas the Tank Engine after dinner can help your 5 year old make the transition from dinner to bed time and this will be more beneficial than 3 hours of it on Saturday afternoons.

International

Apply to Study

Applications for 2025 are now welcome.

Immunisation

All applicants are required to provide evidence of immunisation before their enrollment can be confirmed.

To complete the process, you will need to attach the following documents with your enrolment application.
  • Completed enrolment form
  • A scanned copy of your passport (and visa if you have one)
  • A photo
  • Your last school report, translated into English
  • Insurance certificate and policy details, translated into English (if you are booking your own)

Click here to see a description of our enrolment process.

Application Form for International StudentsDownload
International

Become a Host Family

Have you ever considered hosting an international student from Europe, the Americas, Russia or Asia? We are looking for families to become homestay providers to our international students. We need families for one term, two terms, and full-year periods. Families are reimbursed $300 per week.

What kind of families are we looking for?

We welcome applications from anyone in the Flat Bush area who speaks English in the home, has a clean, tidy home and a spare furnished bedroom, and has a desire to share their culture with an international student. Families need to be available and most of all, warm and welcoming.

Why host an international student?

Learning about a new culture through hosting an international student can be a very enriching experience, helping to enable people to understand other languages, food and customs.

If you are interested, we will endeavour to provide all the information you require. The application pack below contains information pertaining to expectations and guidelines which we hope will allow you to make that decision.

Application Pack for Host FamilyDownload
Police Vetting Request and Consent FormDownload
International

Accommodation

Students may live with one of the following :-

  • Their mother or father, who may apply for a Guardian visa to accompany them to New Zealand.
  • In a school approved homestay
  • With a family member or close family friend known to the student’s parents. This person is known as the Designated Caregiver (DCG) 

Parent

Some parents accompany their children to New Zealand. If students are living with a parent, the parent has full responsibility for the pastoral care of the student outside school hours.

Teachers and students from our sister school in Nanjing (Xian Lin Intermediate School) visiting MHJC

Homestay

Many International Students choose to live in an accredited homestay arranged by the school. All our host families have been carefully selected by a highly trained and experienced team. We understand the importance of a relationship between the student and the host family and as such we aim to match students with a suitably compatible host family. Student needs and requests are always considered when making placements and this ensures that they are placed in an environment that works best for them.

Ian Morrison and Joan Clansey with our international students at the Bike Track Opening Ceremony

Our host families are wonderful and will give students the chance to experience the Kiwi way of life, as part of a caring family, and help them to develop their English language skills.

All homestay caregivers are police vetted in accordance with The Code of Practice for the Pastoral Care of International Students.

Designated Caregiver

Students can live with a Designated Caregiver (DCG) who is a person or family that the student’s parents have chosen to take care of their child while they are in New Zealand. The parents take full responsibility and accept the decisions made by their DCG regarding the day-to-day requirements of their child. Even though the parents have chosen the DCG, the school has a responsibility to check that the home is suitable for the student and if the caregiver will be verified as a DCG. All family members in the household over 18 years of age will be police vetted.

The DCG will need to sign the Designated Caregiver Agreement to acknowledge their understanding of the agreement and responsibility involved.

Do you wish to be a host family? Apply here!

International

Our Team

We have an International Student Team dedicated to the care and support of every international student, who chooses to make their home with us.

Management 
Senior LeaderInternational Student Coordinator

Raeesa Dada
Joan Clansey
Raeesa is responsible for managing the Global Connection portfolio.Joan is responsible for overseeing the International team. She approves applications and is the primary contact for parents, caregivers and agents.

Contact us at international@mhjc.school.nz . Our administration hours are Monday to Friday, 8 am – 3:30 pm (New Zealand Standard Time). We will endeavour to respond on the next working day should your enquiry be outside of these hours.

School News

MHJC Strengthens use of Māori Language

This year MHJC has challenged all ākonga to get involved with Te Wiki o te Reo Māori. Matua Brent has shared many wonderful resources and encouraged learners to develop pepeha + use te reo in and around the kura to fill our basket of knowledge. 
Students have also participated in the Education Perfect New Zealand ‘Te Reo Maori Language Competition’ this week. 
‘Kia kaha te reo Māori’ MHJC – Let’s make the Māori language strong!’

The home of Mission Heights Junior College, Auckland, New Zealand