• Friday 24th June – Coast Whanau
Last week we celebrated Matariki, the Maori New Year which symbolises renewal. The school is also experiencing a new era with the election of our new Board of Trustees. We are pleased with the number of parents (11) who stood for election and signalled their desire to contribute to the governance of the school. This indicates a strong community spirit and commitment to the school.
Once again we thank the out-going board for all its efforts. Under the leadership of Alanna Young and more recently Blair Telfer, the school has established a strong reputation as an innovative organisation that strives for and achieves equity and excellence. The school is also in a strong financial position and has sound policies and procedures thanks to a robust programme of self-review.
In short we are well set to work with the new board to enter a new phase and a renewed commitment to the school’s vision of growing greatness – kia mana ake.
This week sees the passing of another icon. The death of Muhammad Ali came as a shock to many but relief for a family who had witnessed his suffering from poor health since the end of his boxing career. Social commentators and historians are already assessing the impact of this great man both as a boxer and instrument of social change. His life influenced how we view religion, race and conflict and this must be a measure of greatness.
One of Ali’s famous phrases was “I AM THE GREATEST” and I wondered how relevant his statement is to our vision. Not everyone can be the greatest however we can all aspire to be the greatest we can be. I am sure Muhammad Ali will join me in urging everyone in our community to aspire to greatness in whatever field we choose.
Last week Joanne Ting competed in the ‘Junior Championship Division One Badminton Tournament’ at Li-Ning, placing second in the doubles. Having won 3 of 4 games, Joanne and her partner moved on to the semifinals. Another win secured a place in the finals. A very close and competitive game ensued, with Joanne ultimately missing out on the division one title. Keep up the great work, Joanne!
Yesterday was another action-packed day for international participants at the Student Leaders Conference, Singapore. The morning started with a short trip on the MRT to the Botanical Gardens, followed by a return bus trip back to the Hwa Chong Institution for a tour of the amazing facilities, by way of an 7 station ‘challenge’ rotation. MHJC students then headed back to the MRT to travel for a late lunch at the Gardens by the Bay, followed by a visit to the spectacular ‘Cloud Forest’ dome.
Gardens by the Bay: http://www.gardensbythebay.com.sg/en.html
Today is the first of a three day ‘issues-based’ project development focus, with MHJC students being split to work in focus groups with peers from a range of schools, internationally. It is truly impressive to see Hwa Chong students leading all aspects of the conference to facilitate such high quality ‘globally connected learning!’
On Friday 27th May, Year 7 students from Mission Heights Junior College attended the Festival of Cultural Sharing at the Fo Guang Shan Temple. It was a lovely opportunity to collaborate with Year 5 and 6 students from Mission Heights Primary. The festival was a great success and students had a wonderful time. It was lovely to see our Year 7’s stepping up and being caring leaders, as well as Cultural Council students taking charge. The Festival of Cultural Sharing is an event our schools can continue to build upon and enrich each year.
Mission Heights Junior College is presenting the 2016 School Production... “POPSTARS: A 90’S Musical” Students and staff, led by Ms Abbi Sheilds, have been working extremely hard and rehearsals are well underway!
The production has all of your favourite 90’s hits from all of your favourite artists, including: Brittany Spears, Backstreet Boys, N’Sync, Spice Girls, NKTOB, Christina Aguilera, Boys to Men, MC Hammer, Mariah Carey and many more. We guarantee that you’ll know every song! With exciting dance routines and a hilarious plot, we hope that you will extend your support for students and staff by attending the production.
Please keep an eye out for the school newsletter, website and Facebook for further information on dates, ticket prices and our amazing cast!
Jarrod Millar recently captained his New Zealand representative golf team as they took on the Australians in their own backyard – Sydney. With the well wishes of Ryan Fox and Jerome Kaino from the All Blacks the team went into the main event on Saturday in trying weather conditions of wind and rain. Jarrod played in the first group of the day and secured an emphatic win for the New Zealand team, before going back out onto the course to marshal the rest of his team.
Jarrod’s leadership and encouragement eventually saw his New Zealand team come out on top, winning the Trans-Tasman Cup. Each one of the players did New Zealand extremely proud in bringing home the trophy. Our congratulations to Jarrod for exemplifying GREATNESS and achieving success on the international stage!
This week we introduce the Te Reo Maori translation of our vision statement “Growing Greatness”.
“Kia mana ake” means to continue to seek ways to improve the internal power we all possess.
As a community we seek ways of promoting cultural diversity and in particular acknowledging our obligations to the Treaty of Waitangi. The newly created Maori and Pasifika committee led by Rebecca McGrath is making significant progress by strengthening ties with families and building on the success of the celebration evening held in term 4 for the last two years.
It was a pleasure to see our Year 9 and 10 girls’ netball team aspiring to perform at the highest level in the Saturday morning competition. After successful grading games they were placed in the second section of their league which means they are in the top 6-12 schools in Auckland. On Saturday they lost narrowly to Auckland Girls’ Grammar in a very exciting game.
They showed admirable resilience by never giving up and I am proud of how they lived our vision – Kia mana ake!