Emails have been sent to all parents, students and staff with a link to our bi-annual community survey. Please take some time to respond to this as it will assist us to measure our progress and make future plans based on your feedback. The higher the number of respondents the higher the reliability of the survey.
For easy access the link for parents is below:
As our senior debating team reached the top 8 schools in Auckland it struck me how well our Year 9 and 10 students are performing in all areas of inter school competition. Some highlights include our cricketers who are currently top in the Colts 2 Competition which would place them in the top 10 in Auckland. Similarly the Boys’ Soccer Team are currently near the top of the Second Tier of competition which would also place them in the top 10 schools in Auckland. Our Under 15 Basketball team has reached the top 8 schools in Auckland and will compete for higher honours this Thursday. We have been invited to an awards evening thanks to the efforts of a number of our students who raised funds for World Vision and we are placed second in the world in Education Perfect’s international academic competition.
A great effort indeed!
Growing greatness – kia mana ake
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…
My compliments to all our students for the incredible effort they showed on Friday. The annual event was a show case of much that we promote at MHJC. While Mountains Whanau emerged as the overall winners, in a sense every student “conquered their mountain”. Our top athletes competed for top honours and as importantly, this year, every position counted. This meant we saw every student trying to get that crucial point which would assist their whanau to succeed. That sense of individual purpose contributing to something bigger is what we wish to promote at MHJC. We saw individual excellence and great effort by all. It was also pleasing to see and hear students cheering each other at the finish – first to 200th we all achieved something.
For the record Mr Morrison (aka Mr Plod) achieved a creditable 55th place in the Year 9 Event….He is aiming for a top 50 finish next year!
Now we look forward to our top Maths students competing in the much anticipated annual Mathex Competition this Thursday evening.
Growing greatness – kia mana ake
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.
Reports were recently sent to parents regarding progress towards National Standards for Year 7 and 8 students. This has been our practice as it helps students to make plans and access the support they might need to reach their goals for the year.
It is important to note however that some students who have been reported as being below standard at this point are being measured against the standard that needs to be reached at the end of the year.
In a sense, it is expected that some students would be below standard at mid-year and my message to them would be that with consistent work they should be at standard or above by the end of the year.
The Senior Leadership Team has analysed the whole school National Standards and e-asTTle data which shows the progress of our students in Mathematics and English and we are extremely pleased with the results so far. While National Standards are aspirational goals we also consider each individual’s progress as of equal importance.
We will be having our Student Led Conferences in a few weeks where your child’s Learning Advisor will be able to give more information about e-asTTle and National Standards or you can contact your Whanau Leader.
Growing greatness – kia mana ake
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.
The last two weeks have been very busy at the college and the focus has been on strengthening connections with our community.
Our information evening for year 8 parents to share information about our curriculum and opportunities for year 9 and 10 was well attended. The exciting transition programme from year 8 to senior college was discussed, the new subjects we offer and leadership opportunities in particular. There were a number of questions about the accelerate class (year 9 and 10) and the provision for gifted and talented students which is run through the DEEP programme as well as the NCEA achievement standards offered in year 10. In short we learnt a lot from the interaction and appreciate the parents’ perspectives offered at the meeting. The Senior Leaders who attended and I felt that those who were able to attend have a better understanding of how their children can benefit from a further two year transition in an environment which is specially designed for this age group. Our students succeed wherever they go after year 10 and I am convinced that this is due to the opportunities they receive in year 9 and 10 which enable them to build and grow on the foundations laid in year 7 and 8.
On Friday we trialled a breakfast for boys to attend with their significant adult. The event was well supported by Family and Friends and students and staff led by Mr Penfold. Our guest speaker Mr Richie Barnett, former National Rugby League star and commentator shared some personal perspectives on the importance of having someone who can support and guide our young men and his speech was well received. A similar event for our girls is being planned for later in the year.
Last but certainly not least was our inaugural Matariki Celebration Evening organised by Mr Tuhaka and the Maori and Pasifika Committee. Students, staff and parents came together to provide a wonderful evening of entertainment and insight into the meaning and significance of Matariki. The performances were extremely entertaining and we look forward to some of the singers and dancers appearing at Talent Show this Thursday!
It is gratifying that these efforts to connect with our whanau are appreciated and that so many parents have made an effort to strengthen our connections for the benefit of our students.
Growing greatness – kia mana ake