29th November 2024 Newsletter

Senior Leadership Team

Principal News

Dear parents and whānau

Whāia te iti kahurangi ki te tūohu koe me he maunga teitei

As we approach the final two weeks of the school year, it’s incredible to reflect on all that we’ve achieved together. With the finish line in sight, it is important that we all focus on finishing well, maintaining effort, enthusiasm, and positivity right to the end. I reflect on the whakatauki that I put at the start and although I have used it before I think it is apt. The Idea that I chase what is important to me and that if I bow my head let it be to something lofty. I think it symbolises that we should always be looking for these opportunities even if it is in the last two weeks of the school year.

These last weeks are filled with exciting events that celebrate the hard work and successes of our students. From our Year 8 Graduation, which marks an important milestone in their learning journey, to the always fun Pool Day, there is plenty to look forward to. We’re also hosting our End of Year Excellence Prizegivings, where we will recognise outstanding achievements, and there are still a few extracurricular competitions underway. It’s a busy time, but also a time to celebrate and reflect on a wonderful year.

None of this would be possible without the strong partnership between school and whānau.The support, encouragement and involvement of our community play a crucial role in the success of our students and the vibrant culture of our school. Together, we provide the foundation that helps our young people thrive.

Thank you for your continued support and for being such an integral part of our school community. Let’s make these final weeks as rewarding and memorable as the rest of the year has been!

A heartfelt thank you to everyone who took the time to participate in our recent school survey. Your feedback is invaluable as we strive to provide the best possible learning environment for your children.

We are proud to share some of the positive highlights from your responses. Many of you noted that:

Our school embraces diversity, creating a welcoming and inclusive environment for all.
You have positive relationships with your child’s teachers, which is vital to student success.
Your children are happy at school, which is a testament to our nurturing and supportive culture.

These affirmations are incredibly encouraging and reflect the collective efforts of our staff, students and whānau in building a strong and vibrant school community.

At the same time, your feedback has highlighted an area where we can grow, ensuring that every child is consistently challenged in their learning. This is an important focus for us moving forward, and we are committed to developing strategies to support and stretch every student to reach their full potential.

Thank you again for your engagement and support. Together, we will continue to build a school community where every child thrives academically, socially, and emotionally and where they feel connected to people, have a real feeling of belonging and where their strengths are celebrated.

Kia haumaru te noho

Jason Pocock

Principal ANI

Deputy Principal’s News

Kia ora koutou

This week contains a brief property update from me, as work continues around the school and into the upcoming Christmas holiday period. The interior painting is now complete and the rooms are looking fresh and ready for the installation of noise-reducing Autex. The painters have now moved to the library space where the remodelling has begun!! Watch this space as we transform this into a modern library/information suite.

The completed upgrades of all spaces will enable us to kick off 2025 with fully refurbished rooms. We have rolled out stage 1 of our furniture upgrade in the 10TS, with both hubs now having brand new furniture throughout and large whiteboard/resource storage areas that enhance the learning experiences for both teachers and students.

We have a large-scale project which will happen over the break, with 7 classroom blocks being re-roofed, this will complete the 5 Year property plan and see our kura looking in great shape.

As the year is fast coming to an end, it is timely to reach out and ask for your support to help us with our PTA. This provides the school with valuable monetary resources, which we use to benefit our students. If you are able to give some of your time to help us by becoming part of our special team, please do contact me – sboniface@ani.school.nz, or mobile 027 319 0745.

We are entering a very busy time as we near the end of term 4, meaning there will be a lot of information coming your way. Please take time to read communications that come out, there will be items requiring your attention, especially for our Y7 students and whanau as we prepare and organise events and activities for 2025. The first is the camp organisation, which all Y8 students are expected to attend. A google form will have been sent to you for completing. Please do so at your earliest convenience as this provides the detail required for the camp to run smoothly.

I look forward to seeing you around our kura at some stage before the end of the year. Take care and enjoy your weekend

Kia haumaru te noho

Scott Boniface

Graduation

Our Year 8 ākonga continue to impress this term with their dedication to their learning and getting every last opportunity out of their time at ANI.

To prepare students for High School we will be holding a High School Practice Day on Thursday 12th December.

Students are given a unique timetable in which they move location every period. This simulates High School to prepare them to be organised and self managing!

There are a few events in Week 9 to celebrate our students’ time at ANI.

Amazing Race

Week 9, Wednesday 11th December hosted at ANI

Students compete in challenges in groups across the school to win prizes, dressing up encouraged! A Morning Tea sausage sizzle snack and juicie are provided on the day for all dietary requirements.

Year 8 Graduation

Week 9, Thursday 12th December – 5pm – 8pm – MPS

You are invited to see our Year cohort graduate. This includes a certificate ceremony for whānau followed by a pizza dinner and disco social for students. We finish with a Year 8 performance for the community. Please see the Graduation invitation and further information on Hero and in the Newsletter.

Please contact your young person’s classroom teacher or Ms O’Sullivan if you have any questions.

Alice O’Sullivan

Year 8 Dean

Exhibition

HOW WE EXPRESS OURSELVES EXHIBITION 2024

We are excited to share the wonderful learning and experiences we have had with you at our Exhibition open evening. This will take place at ANI in the MPS, Library and Classrooms on Monday December 10th.

This is a wonderful opportunity to have a look at what your child has achieved during their time at ANI and to celebrate their learning in lieu of student-led conferences this term.

Times available are:

1:30pm – 2:30pm AND 3:00pm – 5:00pm

Light refreshments will be available

End-of-year prizegiving

The end-of-year prizegiving times are as follows:

Year 7: Friday 13 December 9am – 10:30am

Year 8: Friday 13 December 11am – 12:30pm

School will close for the year at 12:30pm

Student Achievement

Spark Christmas Art Competition

Spark held their Christmas Art Competition to give rangatahi the opportunity to design their 2024 national Christmas card.

There were two age-category winners and one of them was ANI’s very own Yi-Ling C!

These two talented individuals will receive a one-on-one mentorship session with Blue-Monty Hamel along with a Samsung Galaxy Tab S9FE tablet and stylus.

Their winning designs will be showcased on selected billboards in Auckland and near the winners’ home regions, plus their art will be featured in Spark’s Christmas card available in Spark stores during December.

We love seeing the amazing extra-curricular activities of our students, well done Yi-Ling! This is a really cool achievement!

Yi-Ling’s winning entry is pictured here.

Principal Awards

Taking Action - Service in the Community - Year 7 inquiry

On Thursday 28th November Miss Jolley, Mr Rice and I had the privilege of taking 55 amazing ANI students to Maungawhau School to complete service in our community! Over the past five weeks in our inquiry group, our students have been exploring key concepts from our lines of inquiry, kaitiakitanga, manaakitanga and turangawaewae — and they were eager to put these values into action.

The students worked in groups to identify issues in the community and they came up with brilliant solutions! Some groups noticed the challenge of teacher shortages so they stepped in to create and lead fun maths and art lessons in junior classes. Others believe that young people aren’t getting enough physical activity, so they went to lead energetic PE games and skill-building activities. One group even took on the challenge of improving the school’s playground by cleaning up rubbish, clearing the leaves away, and giving the space some much-needed love and care with spray and wipe.

The Maungawhau students were absolutely thrilled to have ANI students visit, with one Year 3 even asking their teacher, “Can we please do service in our community too?” It was a day full of smiles, learning and connection, and a true testament to the power of service and community spirit. Well done to all the students who participated — you’ve made a lasting impact and inspired others!

We look forward to the next two trips (Friday 29th and Thursday 5th) where our inquiry group is going to Royal Oak and Three Kings School to complete their action and service in the community.

Ngā mihi,

Renée Dale, Saasha Jolley, Xavier Rice

Inquiry group teachers

Poetry

Room 19 have been working on poetry, here are a couple of pieces from their students:

Sports

CZ Athletics

Mr Houston and Miss Hughes had the pleasure of taking an awesome group of students to athletics zones on Wednesday 20th November.

Our students are so incredibly talented and we had amazing results. So many of our students made it through to finals, 100m and 200m.

The relays deserve a special mention and all teams that entered put on an excellent performance!

Well done to all the students who went along, you should be extremely proud of yourselves!!

Nick Houston and Kayleigh Hughes

Teachers in Charge of Athletics

Girls Cricket

On Tuesday 26th November, Ms T and Mr Markham took a few of our girls to Parnell for a friendly cricket competition. They had an awesome day supporting our Girl’s Cricket team. They played against some tough competition and gave them a good run for their money.

They were also awarded the Fair Play team. A great group of young ladies to take out for the day, they made it a fun day out in the sun.

Brooke Tuialii and Jacob Markham

Teachers in Charge of Cricket

Ki-o-Rahi

Yesterday Gershon and myself took two teams to compete in the Ki o Rahi tournament on Waiheke Island. It was a big day with a van ride downtown (thanks Scott and Jason), a ferry over to the island, and then a bus to the high school. Waiheke often comes over to us for a lot of Central Zone sports so it is a great opportunity to return the favour.

We were welcomed on with a short mihi whakatau and into our games. One of our teams came 4th, losing out to Wesley in the 3rd place playoff. Even though the results didn’t go our way we are really proud of the sportsmanship and gratitude shown for being able to take part in such a great day.

Gershon Cadelis and Steve Van Nes

Teachers in Charge of Ki-o-Rahi

Auckland Champs Athletics

Ki Ora e te Whānau

I had the pleasure of taking our 8 athletes to the Auckland Champs Athletics at Mt Smart stadium. We should all be super proud of our athletes’ commitment and efforts. The heats were fast and fierce and our athletes were up against the best of the best in Auckland and they literally left it all out there on the track and field.

A special mention to Zach B who came in 2nd place in the 100m final and 3rd place in Long jump.

Gemma K placed 4th in the Year 8 Long jump.

Ngā Mihi

Mose Tuialii

Teacher in Charge of Athletics

Staff

Reception Reminders

Dear Parents,

We kindly request your assistance in reminding your children that our office is a professional environment and must be treated with the utmost respect at all times. It is essential that all students maintain their best behaviour while in this space.

Students should not enter the reception area during school hours unless necessary and must not use it as a place to socialise or skip class. Additionally, we ask that parents report to reception when signing out students or arranging pick-ups during school hours.

Please plan pickups outside of break times or coordinate with the school in advance to avoid any delays. Classrooms and device cabinets are often locked during breaks, so this helps us ensure your child can retrieve their belongings promptly. When you arrive at reception, provide your child’s name and room number so we can arrange for them to be brought to you. Additionally, please remember to sign your child out of school, as it is crucial for health and safety to know which students have left during the day.

We also want to please remind you that if a student is late to school, they must sign in at reception.

We appreciate your cooperation in maintaining the respect and appropriateness of this space.

Thank you for your understanding and support.

Front of House Team

ANI Community

ANI PTA

The ANI PTA are an active and awesome group that support the school in a number of ways from helping out at events to hosting parent information evenings and the odd bit of fundraising. If you would like to join our group please email me: pta@ani.school.nz

Ngā mihi nui,

Luke Barnard

ANI PTA Chairperson