ACG Sunderland Newsletter - 17 February 2023

ACG SUNDERLAND WINGS NEWSLETTER

Vol 19, Term One, Week Four, 17 February 2023

Dear Parents and Friends of Sunderland,

As we are all aware, Cyclone Gabrielle has hit hard throughout the Central and Northern regions of the North Island. Particularly, Gisborne and the Hawkes Bay. I heard on the radio this morning that over 10,000 people are displaced in the Hawkes Bay and this impact is perhaps greater than the Christchurch earthquakes.

Back here in West Auckland, I am conscious that several families from ACG have been affected by flooding, landslides and logistics being completely wiped out. I have had contact with people in KareKare and Piha and currently those families and children cannot leave their settlements.

Some families have reached out already, and we are offering posted work on Blackboard and ClassDojo and some hybrid-type lessons. However, we are aware some have no power and online lessons will be impossible. To those families, we can make up packs of work –photocopied here if need be. Please make contact if you can.

I appreciate that the vast majority of our families are back at school face to face and are enjoying the familiar routine of school.

–

As I explained on Tuesday, we have had seven trees come down at school and thankfully we had our arborist come in to deal with all this during the stormy conditions on Tuesday.

Like many, we are day 5 without power at home too, and as inconvenient as it is, I am thankful we are all safe and sleeping in our own beds.

I have included images of the trees plus one family whose property has been completely destroyed by a huge landslide.

At times like this, it is important to keep some perspective.

On a brighter note, on Thursday night we celebrated some students from Sunderland who both achieved a Top in New Zealand awards; Cedric Siriwardana in AS Physics & Jessica Liu in AS Mathematics. As highlighted earlier, Jessica was also the Top Student in New Zealand in Year 12.

Please note, we have employed an additional Admin Staff member starting Thursday. Mrs Ellen Herlihy will be based at reception; her key roles will be attendance, admin support and Health & Safety.

Keep safe everyone and please don’t hesitate to reach out.

Aspire. Succeed. Respect.

Nathan Villars Campus Principal ACG Sunderland

Value

for next week is: Reasonable Having sound judgement; fair and sensible.

Early Learning School

Under 2’s Room

This week, we stacked the blocks and tried to figure out how to make them steadier.

Junior Room

During our zoom meetings, we enjoyed ourselves by singing songs, listening to stories about the storm and playing the matching game. We could see lots of peer playing this week and the younger children learnt to build relationships with others. We have also made playdough to support children's imaginary play.

6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland

Early Learning School

Senior Room

The senior room children learnt about the letters "a" and "t" and the sounds they make. We included zoom scavenger hunts, drawing an Aquarium, and poems. Once we all met back at ACG Sunderland preschool, we explored what happens when you combine baking soda and vinegar.

Primary Art – Online Lesson

6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland

Oliver Barnes 4SMI is the Upper Primary trophy winner for this week.

Week 4 Assembly

Life Education Trust

2SHA enjoyed being in the mobile classroom of Life Education Trust this week for their second session with Mat Harris, the facilitator. They learned about emotions with Harold the Giraffe.

1CAR Online Learning in Literacy and Numeracy

Life Education Trust

"Life Education Trust session was a hit!

Students had a great time while learning important life lessons. At this engaging session, students discovered the beauty of friendship and the impact of kindness. Through interactive activities and hands-on lessons, learning was made enjoyable and memorable"

This week's Lower Primary Winner was XXXXXX

Sunderland Starts 2023

It’s the beginning of another year which means once again, we find ourselves memorising new timetables, meeting new teachers and figuring out classroom locations. Sunderland is back for 2023 and the school roll is bigger than ever.

However, we’ve also found ourselves in the middle of an interrupted start to the year, an instance students around Auckland have become very accustomed to. First, we had a substantial amount of rain which caused flooding around the city, leaving land slips and uninhabitable homes in it’s wake. Even our own school wasn’t immune to this as some of the water managed to find it’s way into the building through the bottom floor. Schools were told to stay closed by the Ministry of Education and so we were granted an extra day off before a throwback to COVID times with some online learning.

The bliss of being back to school – rather than online – was crushed once again when Cyclone Gabrielle decided to make its way towards New Zealand, hammering Northland, Hawke’s Bay and Bay of Plenty as well as making its effects felt in Auckland. School was once again closed for two days, a transition students and teachers here made quite easily.

As a Year 11 student who is experiencing what it’s like to be a senior at Sunderland for the first time, it wasn’t an ideal start, but the school ensured we were still on track with our learning. Being in the upper college has its similarities and differences with the lower college. Similarly, to Year 7-10, we have a seven period timetable and occasional cycle testing. The differences include having those cycle tests less often due to senior assembly, we attend classes for our three chosen subjects as well as English and mathematics instead of the usual ten or eleven and we clearly have more external examinations than other year groups.

The new year has brought on plenty of new experiences, on top of new teachers, more form classes and a wellbeing course for the whole school. So that’s what’s new with Sunderland and there are sure to be more developments as the year progresses. Stay tuned for that and bring on 2023!

By Isheeta Lal, Year 11

The Return of Live Music

Since the (not so abrupt) departure of COVID-19, we were able to welcome back one of the joys of life as a teenager: live music. Ask anyone; your grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles, they’ll tell you that concerts and music festivals are some of the most memorable experiences from their youth.

Now, in this post-COVID world, we welcome an influx of artists coming to perform in Eden Park, Mt Smart Stadium and Spark Arena.

To kick off the concert-mania, Billie Eillish played at Spark Arena on her Happier Than Ever world tour in September 2022. I think it’s fair to say the performance she gave was a night to remember, and she is one of the rising stars in the music industry; well on her way to becoming the musical gem of our generation. From enchantingly metaphorical lyrics to a captivating live performance and beautiful voice, I can’t wait to see what she has in store for us next.

Dua Lipa, Conan Gray and Justin Bieber gave equally spellbinding performances for the pop-lovers, but if rock is a little more your style, then Guns and Roses, and Kings of Leon will have provided you with all the hardcore guitar and vocals you need.

In the way of music festivals, Sound Splash was jam-packed with half the teenagers on the North Island camping out in the blistering sun in Raglan: New Zealand’s very own Coachella. And the famous Rhythm and Vines took place, as usual, in Gisborne, welcoming the new year in style, and surrounded by other music lovers, screaming and partying through the countdown to 2023.

This year, Laneway Music Festival had one of the best line-ups ever, including: Finneas, Haim, Joji, Phoebe Bridgers and Girl in Red. These artists, and many more, were expected to perform in front of the largest crowd Laneway had ever expected in Auckland’s Albert Park, but unfortunately the huge event was cancelled due to the horrific flooding Auckland experienced, which shut down the airport, wreaked havoc on the roads and malls and caused unprecedented loss and heartbreak. Let’s hope next year runs more smoothly.

The same happened to Elton John, who, for the second time, failed to perform in Auckland. The concert was called off just minutes before he was expected to step on stage, and it was a mad scramble, with water up to their knees, that the fans had to evacuate the stadium and make their way home.

The latest concert to take place experienced extremely lucky timing, between cyclones, as Ed Sheeran performed in front of a full Eden Park crowd. That’s not to say that the performance was without hiccups. Halfway through his Friday night show, he attempted three times to perform hit song “Bloodstream,” crackling feedback forcing him to stop midsong every time, before telling the audience that there was a technical issue with his loopstation and he would have to play the rest of the night acoustically: just him and his guitar. While his team tried to fix the issue, the crowd entertained themselves with a Mexican wave that just kept going, until he took the stage again. Although I would have liked to have seen songs like “Bad Habits” and “Shape of You” with a full band and loud beat, Ed Sheeran’s acoustic performance felt more intimate, and made the crowd feel special. From screaming and jumping to “Castle on the Hill” and swaying with our phone lights held high during “Perfect,” it was easily one of the best nights I’ve ever experienced, and I left the venue with a sore throat and feeling only slightly sorry for the people next to us who had to endure 3 hours of our shouting.

Now we await the highly anticipated Harry Styles for his Love on Tour performance, the newly announced P!NK’s Summer Carnival tour, and hold our breath for Taylor Swift to announce her international Era’s Tour dates that will undoubtedly cause another Ticketmaster crash.

New Zealand truly is a second home to many artists, and if that means we can expect more singers and bands to stop here on their tours; we sure aren’t complaining.

By Amelia Lee, Year 11.

6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland

Arrival at School

Please be reminded that school starts at 8.30am. Students must arrive by 8.15am and they will be marked absent if they are not in class by 8.30am.

Lost Property

We are accumulating an awful lot of lost property – uniforms, drink bottles, lunch boxes, shoes etc.

Please ensure that ALL your child’s belongings are labelled with their name.

Sundry Purchases

If you are purchasing sundry items from Reception like calculators, badges etc, can you please ensure your child has the correct money as we do not have change at reception. We are unable to put these on your school account.

2nd Hand Uniform Shop

A reminder that the 2nd hand uniform shop is no longer sending cheques out or able to pay into your school account for uniform items sold on behalf. If you know you have uniform items in the shop to sell, please go to reception or ring the school with a bank account number to deposit the funds. No bank account number – no payment

School Lunches – Ordered from Libelle

When placing your order via our website for the student café – please ensure that you have update the class and room for 2023..

School Socks

We have available in the 2nd hand uniform shop, a range of brand new boys socks in a variety of sizes. Price is $14 per pair.

School Badges

House Badges $5, Sunderland Badges $8.50, Speciality Badges $12. Please ensure your child has the correct money as we cannot charge these to your school account. These can be purchased from Reception.

Dropping Off Items to Children

Reminder – when you are dropping off items or collecting your children from school for appointments – you MUST report to reception and NOT go directly to their classroom.

Parents and Friends Committee

Dear Parents and Friends of ACG Sunderland, ACG Sunderland is an independent school whose students are of incredibly diverse ethnicity. From pre-school to senior college the school strives to help their students achieve their full potential. The Parents and Friends Committee works alongside this aim of the school.

Parents and Friends is a committee run by volunteers all, unsurprisingly, are friends or families of the school! The committee raises funds to cover items of benefit to the students that are not covered by school fees. In the past this has included such things as donations to the school ball, shade sails over playgrounds, cricket nets, and the planting of a hedge for privacy at the front of the primary playground.

All activities run by Parents and Friends are fun, social activities that help to instil a feeling of belonging throughout all families attending the school. Meetings take place on the first Thursday of every month at 8.30am in the staffroom. Please let Mrs Sonya Eldridge know if you are interested in joining the committee by email: sonya.eldridge@acgedu.com

The next meeting is Thursday 2 February 2023.

ACG Sunderland Parents and Friends Committee Scholarship

Parents & Friends Committee would like to let all parents know about this scholarship for 2023.

The purpose of the ACG Sunderland Parents and Friends Scholarship is to assist an individual or group of current students to participate in an activity that extra finances are required to allow the activity to take place. These activities may include (but are not limited to) representative sports, music, the arts, or sponsorship.

Criteria

 The student/s must be currently enrolled at ACG Sunderland

 A full application Form must have been completed and signed

 At the discretion of the Parent and Friends committee a maximum of $1000 may be allocated each academic year.

Application forms can be requested from Linda Storey at linda.storey@acgedu.com

Sunderland on Service at ACG Sunderland

Dear parents and students, as you maybe knowing service is a crucial value that should be practised by all ages. Here at Sunderland we want to recognise those who already do active selfless service at home or in their community, but most importantly we would like those who don’t really do active service to be given a chance and to be educated about service, and this can be reached through Sunderland On Service (S.O.S).

What is our Mission statement?

To develop the values of service and respect by helping others in our school and community.

To actively contribute within our communities, display values of selflessness, enthusiasm and determination.

How to get involved or get your badge?

We will be putting up information about different activities that can be done on our notice board and will be posting more information soon. You can collect a sheet at reception to fill in with your hours or find it on blackboard, and it can be handed back to reception so that we can award you for your outstanding service.

Anything you want to count as your hours should be done as a volunteer, meaning you shouldn’t be paid for doing it. Remember to keep the service age appropriate.

Below is the information for the badges:

Ground Crew

Freedom2Play School Wear Shop

40 Patiki Road

Avondale

Auckland

Tel 09 838 6164

Open

Tuesday, Thursday from 9.00am to 5.00pm Saturday from 9.00am to 1.00pm

Closed

Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Public Holidays

As a reminder all school uniform continues to be available for purchase online on our Freedom2Play website freedom2play.co.nz/collections/schoolwearschools-acg-sunderland-school

Kids at School Care

Kids at School Care operates in G02, Monday to Friday, from 7.00am to 8.20am and 3.10pm to 5.45pm. They also run a Holiday Programme.

Contact Beth Rivero for enrolment and fees information by email beth.rivero@gmail.com or Phone: 022 394 5743.

Staff Emails

Email format for staff is: Firstname.Surname@acgedu.com

Sunderland Second-Hand Uniform Shop

The shop is open. Please ask at reception for access. We are taking good quality uniform items for the second-hand shop. Blazers must be dry cleaned.

Lunch Orders – From Libelle

You can order your child's yummy and healthy lunches at www.lunchorders.co.nz. Cut off time for ordering same day is at 8.30am. If you have any questions, please reach out to the Lunch Orders team via email on lunchorders@libelle.co.nz or flick a message on the Lunch Orders FB Messenger. Happy Lunch Ordering!

No cash-out service available.

6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland

Lost Property

All lost property can be found by the Second-Hand Uniform Shop.

For your best interest, please name all clothing, lunch boxes and drink bottles, as we will return all named items to the student’s homeroom teacher.

School Contact Details

School Office: Phone: 838 7070

Address: 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson

Waitakere 0610

Email: sunderland@acgedu.com

Attendance: sunderlandattendance@acgedu.com

Web: www.acgedu.com

2023 Term Dates

Term 1: 26 January to 6 April

Term 2: 26 April to 30 June

Term 3: 24 July to 22 September

Term 4: 9 October to 8 December

2024 Term Dates

Term 1: 25 January to 12 April

Term 2: 29 April to 27 June

Term 3: 22 July to 27 September

Term 4: 14 October to 3 December

Traffic- Safety

Please note that numbered car parks are for staff. Please do not park in the numbered carparks.

Contacting School Bus Drivers

Please do not ring or text the drivers after 7.15am as they will not be checking their cell phones while they are driving. Thank you for your support.