ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
ACG SUNDERLAND
WINGS NEWSLETTER Vol 18, Term One, Week Six, 4 March 2022
Dear Parents and Friends of Sunderland, It’s a lovely crisp Autumn morning as I begin to write my newsletter for this week. As you will be aware, each day we will publish the number of Covid cases that we have at Sunderland. I am sure that most of you noted that we have adjusted how we report that information to protect the identity of individuals and respect the New Zealand Privacy Laws. I can report the school is open and running very well. There are two staff who are recovering from a mild case of Covid – that they picked up from household contacts – and around 16 children who are also recovering at home. We also appreciate that some families are keeping their children at home as a precautionary measure, and I respect that. However, I do reiterate my previous communication that the Government believes schools are safe if following the health protocols: mask wearing while inside, hand sanitising, social distancing and staying away & getting a test if you have any Covid symptoms.
To be kept up to date with Covid-19 and school information, please advise any changes in your address, phone or email to Sunderland@acgedu.com
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
For those children at home, students and parents will find material on Blackboard and ClassDojo. Also, for those classes where a significant number of students are absent, hybrid classes will also be available. Staff will communicate directly with the students, if this is the case. Congratulations to Janicka Hockly and her husband on the birth of Enya Hockly – born early this week.
I can report we are in the final throes of opening our new Preschool. I have employed new staff and the centre will be open early in April – which is hugely exciting for everyone. The centre will be licenced for 70 children, and we already have nearly 60 registered to start. Hopefully everyone will have an opportunity to visit at our next Open Day on 7 May. Stay safe everyone. Aspire. Succeed. Respect.
Nathan Villars Campus Principal ACG Sunderland
Value for the next week is: Courtesy The showing of politeness in one's attitude and behaviour towards others. 2
Preschool
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
The Preschool children had good time this week exploring inside and outside activities. Children love the pretend play of being a chef, policeman or fireman. These days children are learning about modes of transport ( the land , the water and the air transport)
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Preschool
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
Some of our Preschool children are back on Zoom lesson this week. The teachers are trying our best to continue with the usual routine while learning in the comfort of their homes. The children enjoyed seeing their peers who attended school, chatting to each other as well as learning together online.
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Primary
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
1BTR – Casey Nguyen for making good progress with learning the numbers to 10. 1CAR – Elena Shi for showing great improvement in reading & spelling and for achieving 100% in basic facts. 1GLC – Jason Wang for a high standard of presentation in his book work. 2SHA – Eason Hu for making excellent choices in class and making progress in writing information reports. 2ZOU – Kairav Biswas for following and helping others to follow classroom routines successfully. 3HAS – Yomal Navaratne for always helping others and contributing to class discussions. 3YAN – Maebh Lambarth for her hard work in maths and making so much progress. 3SEA – Jayden Wei for an amazing Picasso self-portrait showing understanding and skill. 4RYN – Eva Sun for always participating in class activities and learning the Sunderland Way. 4SMI – Charlotte Hoffmann for her great work in creative writing. 5BAK – Iris He for an excellent effort and enthusiasm for learning. 5RIC – Angela Ahou for being a conscientious and helpful member of 5RIC. 6LIM – Terrence Li for his excellent attitude to all learning tasks. Terrence contributes great ideas and presents his work neatly. 6DOO – Jeikishan Shankar Karthik for the tremendous effort he puts into his homework each week.
Primary House Shield Findlay 5
Primary
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
Hybrid learning in Art class
1CAR House Meeting Activity in the Classroom
1CAR Hybrid Learning in Literacy & Numeracy
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College
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
Anya’s Thoughts on Isolation It wasn’t long after Omicron first surfaced on November 24th, 2021, that we all realised this new variant would take over Delta; in headlines and hospitals around the world. We watched other countries struggle with hundreds of thousands of cases of Omicron, yet somehow many of us (and by "many of us", I mean me) weren’t prepared for the sudden surge in cases that has taken over NZ in the past couple of weeks. In the past week or two, we’ve had close contacts and potential cases around the school (and now we even have some confirmed cases, but this wasn’t the case back at the time), so when I woke up last Tuesday morning with symptoms of COVID-19, I thought it would be best to stay at home, isolate and get a test. After I got my test and started to feel a little better, I started on my schoolwork. Luckily for me, due to the number of COVID cases around New Zealand (and especially in Auckland), the teachers were all ready for a situation like this. On Blackboard I found many resources for at-home learning and quite a few announcements labelled ‘For students who are isolating.’ So, during my isolation, I never really fell behind on work. Unfortunately, I would have to miss out on things like science practical experiments and P.E. lessons but nevertheless, I’m still very thankful for the number of resources that were available to me. Throughout the isolation, I was always a bit worried about something to do with my COVID test result. What if I was positive? What if I’d given it to my friends or family? What if I’d started an outbreak at school? Then the day came when my result was supposed to come but it never did. This caused more worry for me, the logical part of my brain knew it was most likely because many, many people were getting tested, but there was always that little voice in my head wondering if they’d lost my result or if positive tests came back later than negative ones. My test came back this Monday and, as a relief to me and my family and friends, it was negative. As of the time I’m writing this, I’m continuing to learn from home due to the cases in the school, but I hope to be back to the classroom soon!
By Anya Thurner - Year 10 7
College
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
"No Planet B" Hidden Environmental Issues – Biodiversity Loss In this day and age, you can never escape the talk of climate change and plastic pollution – and for good reason. Although these two issues are the most well-known, there are many more that are just as pressing, and are affecting our environment just as much every day. An especially important issue was brought to the light by David Attenborough’s film: ‘A Life on Our Planet’. In this captivating documentary, he talks about a decrease in biodiversity. Biodiversity is the biological variety amongst living organisms, and the loss of it is happening shockingly fast. This problem is prevalent all around the world: in the vast oceans, in the beautiful Amazon rainforest, in Europe’s woodland forests; even here, native bush is being turned into farmland, and wide plains, providing no space for native birds to live. The fine balance of the ecosystem has decreased significantly since 2001, including NZ birds’ lush and diverse habitats, which used to give them space to mate, raise young, and live long and fulfilling lives. Here are some statistics for you: from 2001 to 2020, New Zealand has had an 11% decrease in tree cover – losing 12,900 square meters of native bush. If you thought that was bad, the Amazon Rainforest has lost 13,235 square kilometers of forest in only 2020-2021. So, why is this such a big issue? If we look at rainforests specifically, the biodiversity they hold is the key to keeping the ecosystem upright. Birds, mammals, and insects can only flourish if the plants around them flourish too. When the naturally varied vegetation around these animals is cut down, and rows upon rows of oil palms are planted, significantly less animals can survive in a plantation of only one plant (“monoculture”)., If these animals can’t survive, not only does it send the entire ecosystem crumbling; it also has shocking effects on our lives.
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College
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
To begin, the oil palm industry is one of the most environmentally damaging industries in the world today. Why? Let’s take the orangutan as an example. These apes are essential for seed dispersal, and without them, the future generations of trees would be at risk. However, the numbers of orangutans in the rainforest are decreasing dizzyingly fast, all due to the deforestation and loss of their natural habitat. Instead, they find themselves fighting for survival in the kilometers of oil palms that don’t bear enough of the correct fruit they need to feed on. Therefore, they cannot disperse many seeds – and just like that, over 400 tree species struggle to survive. So why do we need this variety in our rainforests? The answer is quite simple. Without diversity, animals and plants cannot survive, tree numbers decrease, meaning carbon isn’t being absorbed at the rate it should be. Without trees, and healthy soil, rain cannot be absorbed causing floods. In addition, animals and plants may have medical benefits we haven’t yet discovered; and how will we ever discover them if there is nothing left of the millions of species found in just the rainforests? Now, there’s not much you can do to help the Amazon Rainforest specifically; however, you can do little things such as: ensuring food you buy doesn’t contain palm oil, planting native trees and even making others aware of the problems our planet is facing. I hope you learned something from this article and thank you for taking the time to read it: even just educating yourself helps.
By Amelia Lee - Year 10
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College
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
Art & Design Technology – Year 8 and 9
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Notices
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
Year 7 & 8 School-Based Immunisation Programme 2022 Year 7 •
It is important to keep up with schedule vaccines despite the challenges COVID-19 presents.
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The Public Health Nurse team are scheduled to visit ……ACG Sunderland…..on ……Tuesday…15th March…
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Year 7 students will be offered Boostrix vaccine (Tdap) in school. This vaccine is a booster of tetanus, diphtheria, and whooping cough (pertussis). Most children received these immunisations as pre-schoolers.
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Information on the vaccine and a consent form is attached in this email. Please complete the form (fill either section A for yes or section B for no) and return to the school. We will not vaccinate your child without a signed consent form.
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If you would like more information on this important immunisation programme, please go to WDHB School Immunisations
Year 8 •
It is important to keep up with schedule vaccines despite the challenges COVID-19 presents.
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The Public Health Nurse team are scheduled to visit ……ACG Sunderland…..on ………Tuesday 15th March…
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Year 8 students will be offered human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in school. This is a New Zealand schedule vaccine that is recommended to be given at 12 years of age. Students need two doses with a 6-month gap between dose 1 and 2.
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Information on the vaccine and a consent form is attached in this email. Please complete the form (section a for yes or section B for no) and return to the school. We will not vaccinate your child without a signed consent form.
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If you would like more information on this important immunisation programme, please go to WDHB School Immunisations 11
Notices
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
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:
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Notices
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
COVID-19 Contact Types Flow Chart Use this helpful easy to follow flow chart to help determine what type of contact you and your family are and what you need to do.
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Notices
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
ACG Sunderland is opening its new Preschool early in 2022. There will be three main rooms that we are looking to name. Infant Room Junior Room Senior Room We are running a competition and giving the students the opportunity to name these rooms similar to how the onsite Wings Café was named The theme is AVIATION You can email your room name choices along with your name and class for one or all three rooms to linda.storey@acgedu.com.
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Notices
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
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Notices
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
Primary School Lunches A reminder that Primary children are not able to order their lunches directly from the cafeteria. All primary lunches must be ordered from our online lunch ordering system via our website. https://www.sunderland.acgedu.com/school-information/lunch-nutrition
Pick Up and Drop Off Parents, please drop your children at the gates or front doors and do not come into school unless you have an educational meeting. Primary children are to be dropped off in the carpark area by the primary/preschool gate. Please do not park in the numbered carparks as these are for staff parking only.
Lost Property We have been collecting an awful lot of lost property. Please ensure that all your children’s clothing is named along with their lunch boxes and drink bottles. The lost property can be found by the double glass doors that lead out to the primary deck area.
myACG Login These have been emailed to all new parents this year to ACG Sunderland on Friday 18 February. If you did not receive your login details please email sunderland@acgedu.com
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Notices
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
Attendance If your child is going to be absent from school or you are picking up your child during the day for medical, dentist or other appointments, please email their teacher and sunderlandattendance@acgedu.com
Masks If your child is in year 4 or above, there is a requirement for them to be wearing a mask while in school. Please ensure that you child comes to school with a mask and a spare one in their bag in case it is lost or broken. Please ensure that your children dispose of their masks in the rubbish bins provided around the school. We are finding a lot of masks just thrown around the school grounds.
Police Vetting Forms These forms are used when a parent or caregiver wishes to assist on any school trips where interaction with the students is required. When forms have been completed, the parent needs to hand this into reception along with the original 2 forms of identification. Ie: driver's licence, passport or birth certificate. The original identification needs to be sighted by reception to ensure its validity.
Bus Service Any children that require the services of the ACG Sunderland bus service need to contact Victoria Ogden at reception or by email at Victoria.ogden@acgedu.com Please be aware that if your child is new to this service, we do need at least a week's notice to get this arranged with the bus company and to ensure that your child is aware of where the buses depart from at the school
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Notices
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
Students Lunches and PE Uniforms Please ensure before you leave home that your child has packed their lunch, drink bottle, PE uniform & shoes and other uniform requirements in their school bag or you have ordered their lunch online by 8.30am. We are having a lot of lunches and bits of uniform dropped off at reception which can be quite disruptive to the classes when these are dropped off or students asked to collect from reception.
Purchasing Badges & Uniforms If you are needing to purchase a house badge, Sunderland badge or uniform items from reception, please ensure you have the correct money or can pay by eftpos as we do not hold change. House badge - $5 Sunderland Badge - $8.50
ACG Sunderland Students Invoices As mentioned in January, we moved to a new finance system at the start of the year. The implementation has gone smoothly and we’d like to thank parents who have amended their reference when making payment by bank transfer to the Communication Ref No. A small number of parents have not recognised the noreply-jde@inspirededu.com address that the invoices have been sent from, or have found that the emails have gone direct to junk. If you can please check these points if information is not coming through and, as always, please contact Mandy Allen at mandy.allen@acgedu.com or 09 838 7070 if you have any accounts questions.
Trophies If your child received a school trophy at the prizegiving at the end of 2021, please ask your child to collect their trophy if they have not done so already from the Library. They are all named and ready for collection.
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Notices
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
Senior Tutorials
Tutorials are offered to students as a means to give extra support and guidance. The key to tutorials is be prepared. Examples of what you could get help with and what you should bring but not limited to • • • • •
Review past exam questions Specific questions related to the course Practice essays Questions on your coursework Teacher is reviewing a specific area you are not confident in.
The key is being specific, remember staff like it when you are proactive. The tutorial is the opportunity to look closely at the requirements of a piece of work with the guidance of a staff member.
KASC is offering an after school care fee discount to all the Sports players who will stay in KASC from Monday to Friday. Parents just need to sign an enrolment form as required by MSD & OSCAR. The discounted fee is $10 which include afternoon tea.
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ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
Travis Hill – Guitar and Bass Tutor We’re very lucky to have a new guitar teacher at ACG Sunderland. Here’s what a long term colleague had to say about him. Travis is a great colleague. He is easy going, approachable, and an excellent communicator. Travis has really expanded his teaching skills and strategies and has thrived (not just survived) with his online teaching during the periods of lockdown. He is extremely positive and friendly, and many of his students remain in lessons with him through their entire time at school. So if you child is keen on the guitar I’m sure they will be very happy to have Travis as their teacher! You can contact him directly to set up a lesson time: Travis Hill travisjameshill11@gmail.com
Violin Teacher - Fiona Haughton There are so many ways that learning the violin can positively impact the lives of our young people. It brings physical confidence through improved co-ordination, stamina, posture and flexibility. It also brings mental and emotional confidence through developing memory, co-ordination of the senses, the ability to perform in public, working with others in ensemble situations, and the ability to express meaning and emotion through music. Children who learn the violin can play comfortably in ensembles, which allows them to engage with their friends and peers in a new way, and to experience performing in public with the security of being surrounded with others.
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Notices
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
UBIQ has taken the decision to not proceed with second-hand buyback purchasing for the 2022 academic year. This is not a decision they have taken lightly as they feel it is a valuable service to provide to the students, and families attending ACG. However, in light of recent and ongoing outbreaks of the highly transmissible Delta variant of Covid-19 in the community and subsequent alert level changes, they strongly feel the need for ongoing caution and care. Even more so given the size of the campus we are based on, and recent cases that created exposure events on campus. For this reason, UBIQ are uncomfortable putting their staff, ACG students and their families in a position of risk. UBIQ sincerely apologise for any inconvenience this will cause and look forward to a safer 2022. 21
Notices
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
ACG Sunderland Ball Committee are fundraising – please support them!
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Ground Crew Lenco School Wear Shop
ACG Sunderland 09 838 7070 6 Waipareira Ave, Henderson, Auckland
Sunderland Second-Hand Uniform Shop
40 Patiki Road Avondale Auckland Tel 09 838 6164
The shop is open. Please ask at reception for access.
2022 Open 10 January to 12 February Monday to Friday from 8.30am – 5.30pm Saturday from 9.00am – 3.00pm
Lost Property
From 12 February Monday, Wednesday, Friday from 8.30am to 4.30pm Saturday from 9.00am to 1.00pm Closed Tuesday, Thursday, Sunday and Public Holidays As a reminder all school uniform continues to be available for purchase online on our Lenco website https://lenco.space/schoolwear/school-wear-acgsunderland/
We are taking good quality uniform items for the second-hand shop. Blazers must be dry cleaned.
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
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.
2022 Term Dates Term 1: Term 2: Term 3: Term 4:
26 Jan to 14 April 2 May to 1 July 25 July to 23 September 10 October to 6 December
Staff Emails Email format for staff is: Firstname.Surname@acgedu.com
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.
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. 23