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P rincipal's MessageAs Mission Heights Primary School heads into the next phase of its journey weare fortunate to have some continuing and new board members who willbring a wealth of intellectual and social capital and analytical skills to thebenefit of our young school.

Congratulations to the elected parent trustees, John Bassano, Chris French,Rohit Prasad, Edmund Nikora, Sian Grant and our staff Trustee Carol Norton.The role of a school trustee is complex and being served by some verysupportive board members in the past who undertook this responsibility withserious commitment has been great for MHP. The departing Board is noexception to this – Theodora Despotaki as Board Chair and Steve Sund asTreasurer can both leave from MHP’s Board knowing that they have madean important contribution through what has been a very significant time ofgrowth and development for our school.

The relationship between the Board and Principal is most significant for anyschool, and I am looking forward to continuing an open, highly engagedrelationship with the new Board so that together over the next three years,we are poised to move the powerful vision of 'Growing excellence throughproviding innovative, constantly evolving personalised learning' forward forthe greater good of all our students and ensure that our school remains atthe forefront of NZ education.

Being in our eighth year of operation we are still a very young yet a leadingedge future focused school with visitors from around the country who cometo see our school and vision in action. However as foundation principal Ibelieve there is still a lot of work to be done to achieve our goals and dreamsfor the future as we endeavour to reach the top of our mountain.

Additional to this landscape of high expectations at MHP are the powerfuleducation reform initiatives and National priorities making headlines recentlysuch as the new Health and Safety regulations, Vulnerable Children's Act,Communities of Learning, Performance management and professionalstandards of teachers, accelerating the learning of our most at risk students,a future focused personalised school curriculum, alongside an increasedfocus on technology, media, teacher development, networking and socialand emotional learning. In fact there has never been a more important andaccountable time in schools to ensure that school leaders get the supportthey need to be the agents of change who can deliver on the promise ofthese initiatives and ensure the engagement, progress and learning of everystudent matters to their future.

In such a demanding educational scenario, it is heartening for me asPrincipal to work alongside an experienced yet new Board, a dedicatedteam of senior leaders and staff and a supportive school community.

In this Issue...Principal's MessageAir Studio TripChampion Dad'sWorking BeeCommunity InfoEveningEarth Studio TripERO VisitFamily & FriendsFoGuang Temple TripGuardian of theGardenMoney Maths MarketDayNetball Field DayNumeracy WorkshopRugby Field DaySamoan LanguageWeekScholastic Book FairSchool DiscoStaff MattersTuakanaTeinaTerm 2 Events

Mission Heights Primary School103 Jeffs Road, Mission Heights, Auckland 2016

PO Box 64 448, Botany , Auckland 2163Phone: +64 (09) 277 7888 Fax: +64 (09) 277 7883

email: admin@mhp.school.nzWeb: http://www.mhp.school.nz

MHPS NEWS

The Mission Heights Primary School Newsletter

Issue 5 / June 2016 www.mhp.school.nz

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Together as a united team we can certainly ensure that MHP continues todeliver the strategic goals of a future focussed education that we can all takepride in as we continue to make a difference in the life and learning of everychild at our school.

Veena Vohra(Mrs)PrincipalJune 2016

A ir Studio Trip to the ZooThe Air Studio and LZ9 had a wonderful day at theAuckland Zoo.  We investigated the importance ofcolour for animals in their environment andconsidered the animals natural habitat.  We hadan insightful lesson learning about how Meerkatsand Giraffe are adapted to their environment andcharacteristics that are unique to them that helpthem eat and see in the hot African sun.  Thisexperience gave the Air Studio and LZ9 an

authentic experience and really captivated our attention and interest thisterm.  We would like to thank our wonderful parents who came along andshared in our experience. 

C hampion Dad's Working BeeOn Saturday 2 July, the Champion Dads group will be holding a Working Beeand BBQ around the school from 9am to 12.30pm.  This will involve doing smalljobs around our school to help to keep it in the pristine condition we are usedto, as well as enjoying a BBQ and tea and coffee.  Please email Mr Wilcock(dwilcock@mhp.school.nz) if you can help on the day, as the numbers ofdads will influence the kind of jobs we can do.  

C ommunity Information EveningOn Wednesday 15th  June, the senior leadershipteam along with Prakash Grover, a psychologist,hosted a community evening for punjabi andhindi speakers at Mission Heights Primary. Thefocus of the evening was on how families couldhelp their children at home with their education.Staff members shared achievemnent data onhow the students were achieving. The familiesand staff that attended found the evening veryrewarding.

E arth Studio's Trip to Kelly Tarlton'sEarth Studio had a great experience at Kelly Tartlons in Week 5.  We metdifferent marine creatures and learnt how we can protect them. We willcome up with ways to teach our school how we can save the marine animals.Thank you parent helpers who came along!

E ducation Review Office (ERO) VisitWe have received confirmation that a team of three from ERO will be visitingMHP in Term 3 for an external audit that is rigorous and comprehensive andgives a fresh perspective on our school's teaching and students' learning. This

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review will add another lens on our school's self review processes, investigatingthe following evaluative questions:

What are the important features of our school that have an impact on studentengagement, progress and learning?How effectively does our school's curriculum accelerate and support studentlearning and in particular our Maori and Pasifika students?

An ERO review affirms the things we do well as a school and helps identifyareas for future improvement. We are looking forward to the review next termas an opportunity for a professional conversation with the visiting team aboutshowcasing what we do well as a school and highlight areas that could befurther improved through further strengthening of new and ongoingdevelopment initiatives.

F amily & FriendsThe MHPS Family and Friends group is now online!Join our facebook page 'MHPS Family and Friends' to find out more about theschool, communicate with other parents and join in with school activities. This isa great way to be more involved and feel part of the school community.

Second hand uniform sale coming up soonThe weather has definitely become a little more chilly and I'm sure you are alllooking around for warmer uniform items for your children. That makes it aperfect time for us to have a second hand uniform sale.

If you have good quality uniform items that you no longer need and arehappy to donate please drop them into reception by 3pm Wednesday 29thJune. Please make sure they are clean and presentable.

The uniform sale will be held in the meeting room to the left of reception onthe following days.• Thursday 30th June between 2pm and 3.30pm.• Friday 1st July between 10am and 11.30am. (This is after the schoolassembly).

Prices for items will be available on the day. Don't forget to bring cash as thereis no eftpos available.

F o Guang Shan Temple VisitOn the 27th May the Year 5 and 6 Learning Zones, along with the Year 7’s and10’s at MHJC, attended the Festival of Cultural Sharing at the Fo Guang ShanTemple. The festival was a joint initiative between the Police and the Fo GuangShan Temple.  The purpose of the festival was to promote positive values andconnectedness in the local community.

We walked down to the temple altogether with thehelp of the Police to keep us safe on the roads.  Whenwe arrived we were warmly welcomed by Sally Wong,education officer for the Temple and then we began arotation of different activities including a tour of thetemple, a talk by the NZ Police, movies about acts ofgoodness, origami and a delicious morning tea. Thetemple was a truly beautiful place and we all enjoyedthe learning experience.

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G uardians of the GardenThe students of MHP were rewarded for theirrecycling efforts when we received 15 indigenoustrees from Paper4trees. The Guardians of the Gardentook pride in placing these valuable gifts into ourschool gardens. We will be encouraging the studentsto be considerate and careful towards these youngtrees as they establish their roots over the next fewweeks. We are very grateful to Paper4trees as well asto Mrs. Michelle Carpenter and Mr. Wilfred Tafololin

who came along to help and support MHP's Guardians of the Garden groupon the day.

M oney Maths @ Market DayLast Friday Team Enterprise presented their MarketDay. They had a real hands on experience withmerchandising, packaging, displaying and selling.Mathematics was the core subject for both the sellersand buyers. The team was assisted by the SchoolCouncillors who joined in with enthusiasm. Thank youparents for sending some cash with your child thatday, it was a great learning experience for theyounger ones to be shopping and making choices ofwhat to buy with the coins in their bag without anadult.

N etball Field DayThe 2016 HPPA Netball Field Day was held on Tuesday the 14thJune.   MHP took three teams to participate in the day, a Year5 team, a Year 6 team and a mixed Year 5 & 6 team. Theweather wasn’t completely on our side, as it rained off and onall day.  However, the rain didn’t dampen our spirits and wehad a fantastic day!   All three teams played exceptionallywell, all winning 5 out of 6 of their games. A big thank you tothe parents and Mrs Wright who gave up their day to supportthis trip and enable us to take so many students.

N umeracy Parent Workshop JLCIn Week 6 the Junior Learning Community held ourtermly Numeracy Parent Workshop. At the workshopparents got to see how maths is taught in the juniorschool and how children progress in their mathslearning. We began explaining the different stages ofmathematics as outlined in the New ZealandCurriculum and how students progress through thesein the early years of schooling. Support was also givento the parents about how they can help their childrenin these early stages by playing a variety of games with them and using mathsin their every day lives alongside resources and online links.

R ugby Field DayThe Mission Heights rugby teams went to the Howick and Pakuranga field day

Term Dates 2016

Term 12 February15 April

Term 22 May 8 July

Term 325 July23 September

Term 410 October16December

Public Holidays 2016

Waitangi Day8 February

Easter Friday25 March

Easter Monday28 March

Easter Tuesday29 March

Queen's Birthday6 June

Labour Day24 October

Teacher Only Day7 June

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at Lloyd Elsmore Park and played several games against tough opposition. Although the teams did not win many games, their positive attitude and effortwas a pleasure to see.

S amoan Language WeekAfio Mai Fanau,Fa'afetai tele lava for your contribution and attendanceduring our Samoan Language Week To'onai. Our MHPCommunity thoroughly enjoyed the large spread andvariety of diverse foods. It was a great way to finish offweek and we hope that future language weeks are justas vibrant! Thank you to Miss Collins and our Samoansenior students for showing their language and foodculture with the school.Fa'afetai, manuia lou aso.

S cholastic Monster Book FairThe Scholastic "Monster Book Fair" from Monday 20th June Friday 24th June. We will be selling books everyday 8 8.30am, 3 4.30 pm and Thursday 6 7.30pm in the meeting room next to the library.

All classes will have the opportunity to come and look at all the wonderfulbooks that are available during the Fair.

Melinda Szymanik, children's author, will be visiting the school during bookweek.

Parents are invited to attend during Parent Conference Time.

Along with award winning titles and authors, you will find books that are onlyavailable at a Scholastic Book Fair. All Book Fair purchases benefit our schooland help provide new books for our library.

The Book Fair creates an enjoyable opportunity for the whole family to getexcited about books, reading and learning.

S chool Disco – Bright & Sparkly!On Friday 27th May, students and staff came to the whole school discodressed in their bright & sparkly clothing. A wonderful time was had by all!

S taff MattersAt the end of this term we say farewell to Miss McLean in LZ20 who is moving toSt Kentigern's as a Year 7 teacher. We wish her all the best for her new job in aprivate schooling environment.

We welcome Mrs Ingrid Manickum who will be teaching in LZ20. Mrs Manickumhas been a long term reliever at MHP and the students know her well.

Mrs Short in LZ14 will be going on maternity leave at the end of this term. Wewish her and her growing family all the best.

We welcome back Mrs Monique Browne who will be looking after the studentsin LZ14 until the end of Mrs Short's maternity leave.

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T uakanaTeina initiativeLast week saw the start of this new initiative. We had ahuge turnout of students ready and eager to read totheir little buddies their teina, who in turn were keen toread to their tuakana. We started our session with adigital viewing of a Matariki legend and a round ofrakau before getting into the reading. We look forwardto seeing them every Tuesday, Wednesday andThursday.

T erm 2 EventsJune16 Board of Trustees Meeting17 School Assembly2024 Book Week and Monster Book Fair20 3 Way Conferences commence21 Y6 Netball vs Shelly Park School 12.40pm away

Champion Dad's Bootcamp'FitDads'6pm in the courtyard22 Y5 Netball vs Elm Park

Kiwiathon Sheets go home24 SLC Assembly

Book Character Dress Up Day (this is not a mufti day)27 Dental Van28 Dental Van

Champion Dad's Bootcamp'FitDads'6pm in the courtyard29 Literacy Quiz Competition at Baverstock Oaks School30 3 Way Conferences finish

HPPA Hockey Field Day

July1 School Assembly

3 Way Conference Reprots go OnlineMufti Day Theme 'New Zealand Day'

2 Champion Dad's Working Bee4 HPPA Hockey saving day

Family & Friends meeting5 Champion Dad's Bootcamp'FitDads'6pm in the courtyard6 Science Roadshow7 Science Roadshow8 Last Day of Term 2

Library closed after school

Please note: The calendar is subject to change and we will do our best toinform parents as soon as possible when a change occurs.