Our MHJC students have returned from the 25th annual ‘Young Leaders Convention’, hosted at the Hwa Chong Institution in Singapore and they have brought back with them the prestigious award of ‘Best Delegation 2019’! We’re very proud of these wonderful ambassadors for the school. Here are a few highlight images from their week in Singapore:
Well done to our MHJC students for your commitment with the 40-Hour Famine Event.
A huge thank you to all 343 students for raising $11,568.70 to support refugees in Northern Uganda. Money raised, will be used to provide educational playgrounds, food, water and solar energy for these people. MHJC student fund raising efforts showcase great compassion and kindness that will certainly make a profound impact!
Winning Whanau: Coast.
Congratulations to the following students for raising the most funds:
Winner First Placement: Joash Narayan 10C1: $455 raised
Second: Saniya Lal 8W1: $350
Third: Riya Gulani 7M2: $310
7F1 and 7F2 travelled to Totara Park this morning to support Auckland Mayor Phil Goff’s pledge to plant a ‘Million Trees’ in the Auckland region. The millionth tree milestone was marked by the planting of a Puriri. We are tremendously proud that MHJC students roll up their sleeves to positively contribute to a more sustainable world… 🌳
We had an amazing day yesterday during the Flat Bush Cluster 7 conference held in the Mission Heights Schools. For the uninitiated, the Flat Bush Cluster 7 is an annual gathering of the 7 schools in the Flat Bush area, Ormiston Primary, Ormiston Junior College, Ormiston Senior College, Baverstock Primary, Willowbank Primary, Mission Heights Primary and Mission Heights Junior College. Keynote talks from notable speakers and breakout workshops enable teachers to connect and learn more about their role as educators in Aoteroa.
One great takeaway from the keynote talks was the importance of education and its role in shaping society. Chris Clay touched on the need for educators to empower learners to harness the collective will to solve the world’s problems. Grant Pix emphasized on mindfulness as a competency to be developed and Prof Peter O’ Conner related his experiences on vitality and the importance of imagination and creativity in and through learning about a world of wicked problems and our learners’ places within it. It was amazing to hear Melinda Webber; her awesome wahine toa and korero touched many in the audience.
As an ICT professional in the education industry, it has been always my view that ICT in the school should be used as a tool and an enabler. While information technology is indeed a positive tool for many, its possible abuse is too well-known and needs no repeating here, especially in New Zealand. Our challenge is how we can help raise the importance of empathy in our dealings with one another, especially in the realm of information technology. This and many more factors will be instrumental in shaping the future of ICT within the two schools.
POWER UP YOUR CLASSROOM! This one-day workshop delves into how game-based learning (GBL) is an effective teaching strategy. Hear from the ‘converted’ – teachers already creating meaningful learning experiences with GBL at the intermediate and secondary levels.
Industry experts will share research backing playful and game-based learning. Award-winning Māori game ‘Guardian’ is an adventure game about Māori settlement and heritage. SPARX is an interactive game based on cognitive behavioural therapy, designed to help young rangatahi manage their depression. Both games will be showcased, and participants will have an opportunity to engage with digital and non-digital resources to be used upon return to the classroom.
SPECIAL GUEST MARU NIHONIHO
‘Bringing Māori Culture To Video Games’. Two games bringing Māori culture and heritage to the forefront are Guardian and SPARX, influential award-winning games developed by NZ based company, Metia Interactive.
Maru will discuss her inspiration in developing the games, their global success, and how teachers can use them.
Teachers include:
Industry experts include:
Book now for the Gamify your Classroom Workshop.
When: Saturday, 17 August, 8:00 am – 3:30 pm
Where: Mission Heights Junior College, 103 Jeffs Road, Mission Heights, Manukau, Auckland
Cost: $99/person, includes lunch and morning tea.
Workshop Sessions:
Maru Nihoniho – “Bringing Māori Culture To Video Games”
Two games that bring Māori culture and heritage to the forefront will be highlighted in this session. Guardian and SPARX, are powerful and award-winning games developed by NZ based company, Metia Interactive. Maru will discuss her inspiration in developing the games, their global success, and how they can be used by teachers.
Richard Durham – “Making Playful Learning”
For those who attended last year’s Games for Learning day, this is the second part of “game fit for purpose” workshop. Participants will establish a working vocabulary of playfulness/engagement to apply to your activities. Participants will work through modifying a formative assessment together to familiarise themselves with the planning instrument, and finally discuss with peers on how to apply them to their own activities.
Dan Milward – “Introducing Game Dev Clubs”
Gamefroot is levelling up digital technologies for your classroom this year by combining both code and culture in a new 90 minute game design workshop. Attendees will develop a game set in New Zealand and code some familiar characters including a young Kupe and the ghost of Captain Cook.
Attendees will leave the workshop prepared to take code into their classroom in a culturally inclusive and New Zealand kind of way. We will show you a way to integrate game design with local stories and inquiry in your classroom.
Catherine Hunter + MHJC Students – “Discussing eSports in Schools”
Participate in a roundtable discussion about how your school is running eSports and what barriers there may be. Year 10 students will share what information they have gathered and their thoughts on eSports in schools.
Diana-Grace Morris – “Getting Started with Game Design”
This session is back by popular demand! Are you keen to bring game play and game design into your classroom curriculum in a meaningful way, but unsure where to start? Are you wondering what kinds of learning you can build around a games focus? This session will take the form of an introductory workshop on making and playing games. I’ll show you how game-based learning can transform your classroom into a more creative, collaborative, and inclusive community, and bring out the best in your students. I’ll share insights from research and my own practice with Y 7 and 8 students, AUT pre-service teachers, and as an RTLB, including transforming the classroom into a game design studio space, making games for a national game design competition and PB4L, writing game reviews, and establishing school-wide Chess and code clubs. This session will leave you with lots of ideas you can put into practice on Monday.
I am sure the MHJC community is well aware of the strike action planned for Wednesday 29 May. Some of the issues that have been publicised include salary increments that have not kept pace with inflation and working conditions which have caused many to seek other employment or which have caused significant health concerns.
I am pleased to be working with a Board of Trustees which takes its responsibility as a “good employer” seriously and has supported several initiatives to promote staff wellbeing. Some strategies include membership of the Employee Assistance Programme; showing a compassionate approach to leave requests; paying support staff a “living wage” which is above rates specified in the collective agreement; support of teachers going on study leave and supporting management with initiatives which assist teachers and support staff to maintain a work/life balance. Our mentoring system has also been very successful in responding to the needs of our staff before the situation becomes damaging and the schools within school/whānau system is a very effective means of providing emotional support to our staff as well as our students. I continue to work with our Senior Leadership Team at ways in which we can lighten the load on our staff and commit to this on a daily basis.
While planning this message I wondered what our community can do to support our teaching and support staff while the union leaders and Education Minister lock horns. I note in the many articles and news reports that many teachers and support staff describe their situations in different ways often because of the context in which they work. I am pleased that in general our students and caregivers provide wonderful support to our staff. While working conditions overall could improve it is so important that our staff are and feel valued. We can all show this by following our values of integrity/pono and compassion/awhinatanga. Let us show our appreciation and gratitude for what our teachers and support staff do on a daily basis whether it be phoning in an absence, replying to a reminder about homework completion or simply meeting and greeting a coach/manager at an academic competition, sporting or cultural event. Just a few kind words on these occasions may not fill the bank account but they will fill the well of goodwill and put a smile on the face and a spring in the step for a community that is doing a great job but needs a boost right now.
Growing greatness – Kia mana ake!
Introduction
The Four Cornerstones of extra curricular achievement refers to opportunities we provide students to participate and excel in academic competitions, cultural activities, leadership through service and sporting events and competitions.
These opportunities are designed to ensure students can find and grow their greatness outside the formal curriculum and promote the development of the whole child.
Students are recognised and acknowledged for showing commitment to an activity and we celebrate outstanding achievement at Celebration Assemblies, Prize Giving and Graduation.
A teacher coordinates each cornerstone with support staff assistance.
Academic Competitions
All students may enter regional, national and international academic competitions which extend their problem solving and intellectual capabilities. These opportunities are particularly valuable for our academically gifted and talented students and the DEEP programme is often used to support and guide groups to excel in a particular competition like Mathex.
The school is proud to have won the Top School in the world in the Education Perfect Challenge for the third time in 2019 which is a competition that complements our core curriculum and illustrates the wonderful commitment of our students.
Cultural activities
MHJC is a diverse community and we enjoy recognising and celebrating as many cultural events as possible and a Cultural Dress Competition is held every year. Various events help to showcase students’ cultural abilities which include a bi-annual musical, annual Performing and Visual Arts showcase evening as well as the popular Talent Quest and Santa Show.
We also provide our Māori and Pasifika students with an opportunity to perform at a celebration evening and our Kapa Haka group performs at public events like the Koanga Festival.
Leadership through Service
Students are encouraged to be good citizens by providing their time and energy to help others. Councils have been established to provide student voice and opportunities to help drive activities and events e.g. Whānau Council, Sports Council, Cultural Council.
Senior students support our new Year 7s at camp and act as buddies throughout their first year. And the Principal selects two senior students from each whānau to meet he and the Student Representative to the Board of Trustees weekly in an open forum.
Sporting activities
The Sports Programme at MHJC has grown substantially since we opened in 2009 and every year we have added more to the Sports Programme than before.
Our goal is to provide opportunities for all students to be active and healthy as well as provide our top athletes with the highest quality facilities, coaches and competition. In addition to regular inter-whānau and inter-school competitions, highlights of our programme include an annual sporting exchange with Rototuna Junior High School, competing in the International AIMS Games held in September in Tauranga and the Sports Camp in Totara Springs.
All communication regarding sports sign-ups and trial dates are emailed to the students’ school email address. We encourage students to sign up and trial if they wish to represent the school. Each time a student represents the school in a school sporting activity or in a school sports team they will receive a sporting cornerstone which will be visible on their MHJC Profile Page. We encourage parents to sit down with their child to help them navigate their emails and ensure they do not miss out on any sporting opportunities.
Information regarding trials will also be loaded on the MHJC school website under the ‘events’ section.
If you have any questions or queries please do not hesitate to contact us at sport@mhjc.school.nz.
This week we look forward to a number of activities which will promote our school’s values of integrity and compassion. We believe that by cultivating a better understanding of our differences and celebrating our wonderful cultural diversity we can send a positive message to our community. The week will finish with Pink Shirt Day which has become a rallying cry for us to treat each other with respect and manage ourselves so that we remain calm and respond appropriately if offended. The most important change we wish to see after analysing a recent survey is for students to become more equipped to articulate their feelings and for bystanders who witness hurtful actions or words to make a stand and indicate their disapproval. This has been documented to be one of the most powerful ways to combat bullying.
The following web site has more information which may provide us with greater insight: https://www.bullyingfree.nz/bullying-free-new-zealand-week/
Our view is that while we respond to any reports of anti-social behaviour we also wish to promote a positive message of seeking ways to be kind and compassionate which help create a culture of acceptance and celebration of our differences. The Student Executive Council has created a slogan “#be kind, be you” which I think sums up our message superbly.
Growing Greatness – Kia Mana Ake!
The Pew Research Center is an American organisation that conducts research into many facets of life affecting the average American home. One of the many interesting studies it performs is on the effect of social media use among teenagers. Headlining the report is that “fully 95% of teens have access to a smartphone, and 45% says they are online almost constantly”.
Netsafe, our local Internet advisory agency, shares similar findings in its report entitled “New Zealand teens’ digital profile : a factsheet”. In 2017, “a third of NZ teens spend 4 or more hours online in an average day” and that “teens regard themselves as confident technology users”. Most of the report corelates with our experiences here in the Mission Heights Schools, with students in both schools rating their usage of technology highly in both personal and school aspects of their lives.
What is of interest here is the personal aspect, and which is not often discussed openly enough. Our teachers play an important and active role in helping and advising students in their digital lives and how to stay safe online, especially during learning advisor time. Here, there is a clear focus on digital citizenship and how to behave online in a manner that is consistent with caring for others. There is also this desire for the students to bring these practices back home.
As a result, parents also play an important role in creating this atmosphere at home. The ICT team often receives requests from parents on how to help their children at home, and the most important advice we can give anyone is that communication is a key element in building trust and rapport between parent and child. Establishment of that brings along greater cooperation among all parties alike.
For example, putting a time limit on social media use is very often a cause for strife between parent and child. In fact, the average person spends nearly 2 hours a day using various forms of social media, with teenagers using far more than that. If both parties are made aware of the consequences of spending too much time on social media, and a common goal is formed where social media use is lessened to an agreed duration, the results may be more acceptable than simply removing the device from said child.
Theere is a growing body of knowledge amongst goverment agencies and academia about the way young New Zealanders interact with digital technologies. It is our hope that we learn to embrace the opportunities and be upfront with the challenges and potential risks that these technologies afford.
I felt privileged to enjoy the beautiful Central Otago during the holidays as my wife and a few friends completed five days of the Alps to Ocean bike trail. I confess we decided to use e-bikes to make the journey less strenuous than it might have been and to maximise our collective enjoyment! We were reminded of the natural beauty of this country and the many opportunities we can and should take to experience the outdoors. In our increasingly technical and digital world more and more research is showing how important it is to take a break, detox and make time for face to face conversation, take part in healthy physical activity, indulge in a hobby or simply read a book. We promote all these activities at MHJC through our DEEP programme and extensive extra-curricular activities. I trust parents and students continue to enjoy and appreciate these opportunities as well as the trips and competitions that are so much part of our students’ learning.
We have already kicked off a busy term with a wonderful celebration of our cultural diversity culminating with our annual Cultural Dress Competition; started the next leg in our pursuit of a third Education Perfect World Title with the English challenge; encouraged students to show compassion/awhinatanga by signing up for the World Vision 40 Hour Famine and had a social for our Year 9 and 10 students – this shows what an active and busy community we are!
I look forward to seeing many parents at the many Academic, Sporting and Cultural events we host. It is a great way for me to connect with our community and I have always been so proud of the way our students and supporters have behaved at such events. Let us continue to build the excellent reputation we hold of being gracious winners and fierce competitors who always give 100% but respect officials and opposition even when we may feel a 50/50 call may have gone against us – this builds resilience and equips our students for the future.
Growing greatness – Kia mana ake!