2018 YEARBOOK OF MISSION HEIGHTS JUNIOR COLLEGE
“Smile more, worry less… ...education and learning are the keys to your future.”
ortho@ormiston Level 2, 125 Ormiston Road, Flatbush P: 9 277 4989 E: ormiston@ortho1.co.nz W: ortho1.co.nz
Mission Heights Mission Heights JUNIOR COLLEGE
JUNIOR COLLEGE G R O W I N G G R E AT N E S S K I A M A N A A K E
G R O W I N G G R E AT N E S S K I A M A N A A K E
2019 ANN I V E R SARY 2009 – 2019
Past and present families, students, and staff.
Thursday 4 April is the 10th Anniversary Celebration Dinner at Howick Club Friday 5 April is the 10th Anniversary Celebration Assembly Saturday 6 April is 10th Anniversary Celebration Community Day. FOR MORE INFORMATION REGISTER YOUR INTEREST AYOUNG@MHJC.SCHOOL.NZ TO RECEIVE UPDATES
CONTENTS 2
Principal’s Message
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Making Connections
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Global Connections
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Back to the 80s
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Coast Whānau
We travelled back to the hits of the 80’s for the 2018 school musical – see page 6.
10 Forest Whānau
Students ‘find their path’ through MHJC’s new Outdoor Education programme – see page 32.
21 Executive Council 2018
12 Mountains Whānau
22 Cultural Activities
14 Water Whānau
25 Kia Mana Ake!
16 Visual Arts 18 Leadership Through Service
26 Academic Extension 28 Sporting Endeavour 31 Alumni 32 Find Your Path 34 Staff News 35 Class of 2018 41 2018 Class, Team
Sporting endeavour Grows Greatness at MHJC – see page 28.
& Council Photos Celebrating the Visual Arts with Mrs Hanna-Latham – see page 16.
Mission Heights Junior College 103 Jeffs Road, Mission Heights Auckland 2016 Phone +64 277 7881 admin@mhjc.school.nz www.mhjc.school.nz THANK YOU TO OUR SUPPLIER SPONSOR: Howick & Eastern Buses Limited Phone (09) 273 3660 info@howbus.co.nz
Front Cover
Photograph credit: Mr Tashi Hishey. Subject: Brooklyn-Rose Timu during MHJC’s full school haka celebration - Kia mana ake!
PRINCIPAL’S MESSAGE
Mr Ian Morrison PONO. AWHINATANGA. AKO. WĀNANGA.
As 2018 draws to a close it is time to reflect on a wonderful
year with some amazing highlights celebrated within this the second edition of Kia Mana Ake. It is also time to look towards the future and this year one of my significant work streams was to develop a new Charter for the next five years. The Charter encapsulates the ethos, vision and values of the school. After consultation with staff, students and parents the Board of Trustees has devoted several sessions to ensure the Charter is aspirational, considers the needs of our students and embraces the best of the old and the new. Much time was devoted to predicting the future and translating this to how the educational landscape may change. While the future is unpredictable, I am pleased that our final document has as its stated intent to continue to grow the greatness of each and every one of our students and equip them with the skills, values and knowledge required for a successful, balanced and purposeful life. Acknowledgement of digital disruption on society was a major focus as was the need to provide for students’ wellbeing in an increasingly complex and technological world.
Importantly, the Charter states that we value how we manage ourselves - with integrity/pono, how we relate to others - with compassion/awhinatanga, how we learn to learn/ako - capably and responsibly and become lifelong learners/wānanga with curiosity, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration and communication. These are values I believe that will take our students into the future with hope, courage and confidence. 2
May I take this opportunity to acknowledge the work of our talented, innovative and passionate teachers and support staff who continue to provide so many exciting opportunities for our students to grow and challenge themselves in a safe and stimulating environment. May I also thank the many partners who have contributed to every students’ success parents, coaches, managers and sponsors. This was a year of firsts - to name a few: the first student exchange trip to China, the first team to reach the finals of Tournament of Minds in Darwin, the first time a MHJC student was voted top ambassador at the Hwa Chong Conference in Singapore, the first student to win through to the National Finals of the United Nations Speech Competition, the first netball team to reach the top 8 at AIMS Games, the first whole school haka celebration and the first school to win the coveted Education Perfect World Challenge for a second time. These significant achievements show the depth and breadth of student achievement across all our cornerstones and are gratifying to record as is the daily friendly, respectful and courteous learning environment we enjoy at MHJC. Best wishes for the holidays and we look forward to next year and the next chapter in our journey as we celebrate our 10th Birthday. Kia mana ake. - Ian Morrison Principal Mission Heights Junior College
MHJC Board of Trustees It is with great pride that, as the Board of Trustee’s Chair, I again write a message to you all. At the end of 2018 we reflect on a year of wonderful achievements at all levels and throughout all four of the cornerstones of the school; too many to list here but which are acknowledged throughout the year book. Principal Mr Morrison was joined by members of the MHJC Executive Council at the Stockade Hill in Howick for the 2018 Anzac Parade service where our students laid a commemorative wreath on the base of the cenotaph.
Seven Flatbush schools came together in June, including Mission Heights Junior College, for a special ‘teachers-only-day’ to collaborate, share ideas, resources, personalised education and future teaching.
MHJC finished 18 points clear of last year’s winning school in the Education Perfect World Series, victorious for the second time in 3 years! They ranked 1st in Social Sciences and Maths, 2nd in English and Science, and 13th in Languages.
At this time it is also particularly prudent, I believe, to review the past 10 years of MHJC. From its inception, MHJC has been a leading school in its teaching of authentic learning and its use of digital technology. No mean feat in itself. When you are leading from the front the hardest aspect is to stay out in front, and, like our All Blacks, not only has MHJC stayed at the forefront of modern teaching it has continued to grow and push those boundaries even further. This does not happen by accident and I wish to thank the great work of everyone associated with school, from the Principal and Senior teachers through to learning support. As much as it is good to celebrate the successes of our past, the vision must always be firmly on the future, irrespective of how uncertain, in this disrupted society, it may seem. Hence the vital importance of the preparation of the Strategic Charter to carry MHJC through the next 4 years. I am proud to say I feel that we have prepared a document that will ensure the successes of MHJC will continue and that all graduating students will be equipped with the skills they need to be 21st century citizens. I wish you all a safe and relaxing break over the holidays and best of luck to you with whatever your ventures in 2019 may hold. Blair Telfor
CHAIRPERSON 3
MAKING CONNECTIONS
WOMEN’S CHANGEMAKERS GIRLS BREAKFAST MHJC hosted its second Women’s Changemakers Breakfasts with two inspiring women speakers. Tracey Moore, spoke of her life serving and developing individuals and communities. Her roles, General Manager of Service Strategy and Integration at Auckland Council and Vice Chair of Auckland Regional Migrant Services, has seen her complete the Global Women Breakthrough Leaders programme. Our second guest, Keera Ofren, President of Amnesty International Aotearoa NZ’s Youth on Campus at the University of Auckland, spoke of her 5-year journey with Amnesty and activism. She is working towards a future of freedom and rights for all. Both women enjoyed speaking to a positive and proactive audience, making it a memorable International Women’s Day for all.
‘MAN-UP’ BOYS BREAKFAST
Many of our MHJC boys were thrilled a father, uncle, grandfather, step-dad, older brother, or other significant adult male made time to accompany them to our breakfast event and hear our guest speaker, Alex Snary, speak of his inspirational work for children in some of the most difficult war-torn regions of the world. For him the presence and support of father figures, especially between ages 7 and 14, had helped him avoid negative behaviours and find purpose, direction and motivation in his life. He emphasised the importance of ‘living your values’ (having integrity), getting involved and making a difference, no matter how small. Opportunities present themselves to people who are passionate and committed. Men contribute to the community in many positive ways – and the hope is the breakfast will continue to encourage boys to ‘man-up’.
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Guest speaker, Alex Snary, presenting on ‘A World in need of change’.
GLOBAL CONNECTIONS
SINGAPORE CONFERENCE
During June, twelve Year 10 students from MHJC, flew to Singapore to participate in the 24th Young Leaders Convention, at the Hwa Chong Institute. The theme, Media – Connecting the Dots, investigated the role various aspects of the media play in our digitalised world. The annual convention also aims to forge strong bonds across international borders between future leaders. The group were able to exercise their leadership skills in a foreign and challenging environment. The convention allowed our students to share their knowledge and experiences among their international peers as well as identify relevant issues occurring in the digitalised world.
CHINA EXCHANGE A group of 10 students and two teachers were the first from MHJC to visit our sister school, Jin Ling High School Xian Lin Campus, ≈ Xian Lin Campus, Nanjing. It was a highlight of a lifetime to visit an ancient capital city over 600 years old and to experience school life there. It was an action-packed 7 days, climbing to the top of Sun Yat Sen Mausoleum with 392 steps, wandering Elephant Road, lined with huge animal statues and cruising Qin Hua river admiring oriental pavilions. School life was fun, and during their DEEP classes we made dolls and flew model aeroplanes. The Chinese food was delicious, and we tried new things – succulent Beijing roast duck, freshly made animal-shaped candies, steamed river crabs, smokey dragon balls, everything from table BBQ to sushi. Most impressive was the hospitality and generosity of the people. Everybody we met was kind and sweet to us. We brought back gifts and made friendships with many of the students. Our fond memories of this trip will last forever.
DARWIN TOURNAMENT
For the first time, MHJC entered Tournament of Minds (ToM) participating in the junior category for Literature and a senior group for STEM. The aim of ToM is to enhance the potential of our youth by developing diverse skills, enterprise, time management, and the discipline to work collaboratively within a challenging and competitive environment. The STEM team qualified for the Nationals in Wellington and after a gruelling 3-hour spontaneous challenge they had impressed the judges, winning the category for STEM and were on their way to Darwin for the international competition. It has been a fantastic journey for all of us – an experience we will cherish.
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MHJC MUSICAL PRODUCTION 2018
The totally aweso
WHAT A BLAST! Bright costumes, big hair and even bigger music …the show brought the audience BACK TO THE 80s! Over 100 students from Mission Heights Junior College – cast, crew, choir, band and backstage – worked tirelessly to bring one of the most popular Broadway Shows to the stage. The excitement continued throughout the entire five nights with audiences singing the praises (and the hits of the 80s) of the hard work by producer Drama Teacher, Ms Abbigail Shields, music teacher, Ezra Bartlett and their team to bring together such an excellent show.
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“Truly, the show was amazing! A magical two hours and the cast are so talented and passionate. I have bought Saturday tickets as well for my extended family and can’t wait to see the production again!”
ome musical! “Fantastic performance that brought us all back to the 80’s! These kids (and staff) have worked so hard over the last seven months to bring to the stage a very well polished show!”
Thanks must go to Jason Tuhaka Snr and whānau for their outstanding contribution to all aspects of the production and to Gemma Naidoo for the choreography.
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TAKUTAI
WHĀNAU 2018 Year 8 It has been a fun year for Year 8 in Coast Whānau, taking part in class activities and on trips away. With the whānau, we went to Body Worlds learning fascinating new things about the human body, helping solve our CSI cases at school.
Year 7 In Term 1 we studied first aid training in preparation for camp – a water safety course to build confidence in the water while having fun. We went camping, some of us for the first time, enjoying the adventures Year 10 students had prepared for us. We learned how to start a fire, climb the cargo net and to go down the massive mudslide! Highlights were the activities with groups from both classes, the campfire and everything the Year 10 students encouraged us to achieve. Inquiry Projects in Term 3 showed us we have different strengths and in small groups we worked on projects, building teamwork skills and sharing them with the community. Joshua Lo won the Coast Talent Quest for his Rubik’s Cube performance.
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We had so much fun coming to MHJC, from day one to the end of the year. Coast Whānau has given us our best experiences – learning a lot, making new friends, going on adventures and more. We look forward to seeing what 2019 brings!
A highlight this year was the tree planting. Each class planted 500-600 trees as part of the Trees for Survival and Million Trees programmes. We can see our trees growing at the local Silvana Reserve. We enjoyed supporting the environment, helping introduce new habitats for birds and insects. Through Project Class, we learnt how to come up with solutions to problems we had experienced by developing teamwork skills. We devised creative, helpful ideas presenting them at our special community night. Coast Year 8s gave it all in inter-Whānau competitions, narrowly missing out on first place at the cross-country. 2018 has been an exciting and exciting year. We tried a variety of learning styles, learning through hard work and determination. Coast Year 8 wish to thank all our teachers for helping us earn good grades. – Miyaka Ortiz, Risha Prasad, Miyaka Ortiz and Risha Prasad
Year 10 Our last year at MHJC has been fun and challenging. We learned leadership skills as camp leaders, being role models to younger students. We helped them to socialise with other Year 7 students and this was definitely the highlight of our year. We visited the Bruce McLaren retirement village, to learn more about leadership with older people in our community. The residents taught us to play the games they play every day: pool, table tennis, bowls and card games. We had fun learning games we wouldn’t usually play. A trip to Body Worlds helped with PE and science, learning about muscles, bones, joints and the systems in our body. We even had to make bones and organs to present our Body World show for MHP students. As part of our PE NCEA assessment, we studied behaviours and how to be responsible. Paintballing and water rafting were two trips where we demonstrated care of equipment, compliance with instructions, supporting and assisting and appropriate communication.
Year 9 We have made many memories in Year 9 including a PE context Winter Olympics. We had an opportunity to experience real ice skating techniques and further improve our hockey skills. Controlling our movements was more difficult than we had expected but it was exciting to learn new skills.
Being in Coast for our last year has been amazing, bonding and creating many memories. We are glad for the chance to be role models to our younger students in Coast Whānau and we wish them all the best. – Piper Korner and Helen Ruan
On a visit to Spookers, we learnt how a movie director uses specific film techniques to convey messages making an audience feel a certain way. The tour guide taught us the misdirection technique i.e. misguiding others from what’s important. The trip improved our writing skills, special effects and the make-up made in science class and was a phenomenal learning experience. Our Year 9 class trips have been informative and exciting. Our bonding time gave us many incredible memories making us glad to be part of Coast, experiencing so much with a great group of classmates. – Paris Narayan and Ivan Yang
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NGAHERE
WHANAU 2018
Year 8 The main highlight for the Forest Year 8 students this year was the trip to the Botanical Gardens. Here we experienced a variety of activities such as hiking and cooking and orienteering.
Wow! 2018 has been fantastic in Forest Whānau, a year filled with triumph, resilience and hard work. Students and teachers have enjoyed the many special memories and successes this year. Year 7 This year has been about getting to know each other. The highlight was camp, an excellent opportunity for the Forest Year 7 students to get to know the Year 10 students who came along as camp leaders. We spent two days at Camp Adair and had lots of fun trying out new activities, and learned lots of new things, such as how to build a shelter in the forest, team building and problem-solving skills and how to balance correctly on a rope. The activities varied from the High Swing to the Pamper Pole, and from the Confidence Course to Bush Craft. Besides the nerve-racking adventures with our group, we had delicious meals and messy mudslides. Thank you to our excellent Forest teachers for organising this fantastic trip! Overall, the Forest Year 7 Camping Trip 2018 was a big success! – Melissa Dam and Syna Sethi 10
It was fascinating to learn new skills like mapping outside the classroom. Our favourite part of the day was being able to do some orienteering where we got to explore the garden freely and what added to the fun was an extreme downpour while we were running around. As for cooking, we worked together to cook…a sausage! A light and fluffy bun, accompanied by two condiments made the most glorious and scrumptious sausage possible! Overall, it turned out to be a great day. – Katelin Chan and Angel Alontave
Year 9 Our highlight this year has been our context Planet Earth and Beyond. One of our challenges was to look at the impact that humans have on earth and the oceans. To do this, we conducted a beach clean up. On arrival, our initial thought was the beach was pretty clean, but the teachers told us to not only look for big pieces but also look at small plastics that might have started to break down. When we did, we found tons of small pieces of plastic in the grass, sand and rocks. We were also very shocked when we saw a dead baby shark washed up onto the sand. It had already started to decompose, and there was only sand inside the shark’s body. After cleaning along Maraetai, we walked to Omana to continue to clean up there. This was an enriching trip for us since we discovered how humans could harm the environment. Back at school, we analysed the trash (in Maths and Science), and it made for fascinating reading. Our conclusion was humans are a very wasteful species.
Year 10 The highlight for the Forest Year 10 students this year were the trips to Extreme Edge Rock Climbing and the Vector Wero White Water Park. The aim was to practice risk management, responsibility, physical and emotional safety during outdoor activities. There was an abundance of different rock climbing walls at Extreme Edge, some harder than others, but our whole class worked as a team to get to the top and conquer most of the challenges. The water rafting at Vector Wero was also remarkably enjoyable. We learnt how to cross any body of water safely and how to water raft. These trips not only taught us how to be safe during outdoor activities, but it also helped us build relationships and connect with everyone in our class. A fantastic experience for all. – Tania Kumar
– Lyonne Abad
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MAUNGA
WHĀNAU 2018
Year 7 For Year 7 students the first year at MHJC has been one to remember. An action-packed camp with Year 10 to an eye-opening trip to Body Worlds Vitals. Our context My Identity: who am I? focussed on the backgrounds, cultures, biology, of ourselves and classmates. At camp we formed close bonds with other students and teachers. Despite the weather, activities included treacherous rock-climbing, a high ropes course, raft building, archery, a glow worm trail and the favourite of many, the great pancake race! The mighty Year 7 Mountains planted trees at the Puhinui stream to help Auckland Council’s Million Trees programme. The highlight for many was the Exploration Project and presenting the results at the exhibition event. There were doggy treat cakes and yummy sugarless cakes, incubators for quail eggs, eco-city and tiny house designs, original paintings and studies of bacteria, ancient buildings, space travel and rocket launches. The displays were a huge success! The learning context The Great World of Space meant we had super trips to Gravity and the Stardome. It was a fantastic conclusion to an exuberant first year at Mission Heights Junior College. – Amber Sue and Lucas Sue 12
Year 8 Our context about Challenges taught us how to deal with everyday situations. The trip to the Escape Rooms in Auckland saw us challenging a real-life escape game where teams were locked in five rooms, called Prison Break, Psych Ward, Dreams of Alice, Behind Enemy Lines and Titanic. We solved puzzles using clues, cracked codes and found keys to unlock doors and escape within one hour. An excellent trip for our creativity, teamwork and resilience. We entered the Tough Guy & Gal Challenge with many students from other schools. Surprisingly, it was a great experience to run, squelch and slide for two kilometres in mud! We waded through swamps, crawled through mud-filled tunnels, slid down a jumbo slide, leapt over and crawled under wire fences. We stood under waterfalls and, finally, washed under cold and then hot showers! An unforgettable experience! The Exploration Project had us look at our interests and passions, and creating a project designed to help our family and friends. Based on the UN sustainable development goals: Lifestyle, Technology, Environment and Community we shared our outcomes with guests at an Exhibition Evening and lots of people asked questions about our great, crazy ideas to find out what we had achieved. – Kiana Smith and Neksha Juneva
Year 9 Our learning context was Social Action, and so we focused on raising awareness and funds for the Himalayan Trust, which helps provide education and safe drinking water to people in Nepal. We learned how to read maps and take compass bearings in Maths and PE. Our Market Day was very successful and all the stalls of food sold out. We sold cookies, milkshakes, sausages and sushi. Our context was Equality, and we learned about the history of civil rights. It was refreshing to hear how brave Rosa Parks was on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. It was fun learning things that each of us wanted to learn when we worked on the Exploration Project. Some of the exciting things students explored were: writing an original chant for the Whānau; building rockets; making healthy food, and painting artwork on the theme of sustainability. Exams for the first time was a bit stressful for some. We’re off on an ecology camping trip to Sanctuary Mountain near Hamilton with the longest predator-proof fence in the Southern Hemisphere. We’re worried about sleeping on hard ground with bugs and seeing some of the predators. – Gursimran Randhawa and Shalom Toilalo
Year 10 We led our learning and chose a question, problem or interest to explore through the Mountains Whānau Exploration Project, giving us possibilities to take on a challenge we wished to learn about, either individually or in a group. We used skills and attitudes we don’t always need, such as resilience, independence and getting help from experts outside the school. We continued learning in specialist subjects and enjoyed applying this to real-life situations through some great trips. To support Science, we went electric go-karting, helping us understand gravity and forces in Physics in a more hands-on way. Some of us demonstrated the limits of friction on the tyres in spectacular ways! We showed leadership by directing a ‘flash mob’ as part of Pink Shirt day, to promote equality and anti-discrimination. We taught dance moves, lyrics, music, and publicity, coordinating 200 students in the Whānau. It took hard work and time, but the sense of real accomplishment at the end was fantastic. We each took responsibility for a Year 7 student as their ‘Sherpa buddy’ (some supporting them as Camp Leaders). We led Year 8 students on a City Challenge problem-solving day, using time-solving clues to escape a locked room. The challenges of this year have all helped us learn in fun and inventive ways! Soon, we’re going on a week’s work-experience, forcing us outside our comfort zones, helping us to understand the work environment and giving us a taste of what we might want for our future. – Jasmine Sidhu
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WAI
WHĀNAU 2018 2018
Year 7 This year in Water Whanau has been an adventure filled with fun, hard work and opportunity with our Whānau excelling in sporting, cultural, academic and leadership through service activities. Our Year 7 camp to Raglan was fabulous as our Year 10 leaders stepped up to the challenge of supporting our kayaking, rock climbing, BMX biking, beach activities and the formidable confidence course. At camp, we were visited by Charlie from Raglan EELS, sharing his knowledge on sustainable aquaculture and restoration of wetland ecosystems to bring together our learning on The Power of You. The Greatest Showman was a highlight and we explored the performing arts, harnessing our creativity to produce dance, drama and music performances. This year we had many successes at regional and national levels – the school and regional Science Fair competitions, and Fauzaan Muhammed was selected to read his poem on Anzac Day at the Auckland War Memorial Museum’s ANZAC Poetry competition. We have loved being welcomed into the Water family and we are looking forward to our successful learning journey continuing next year.
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Year 8 In preparation for the Year 8 learning context Extreme we travelled to Rotorua for an overnight stay where we went on the Skyline gondola and luge, interacted with a fantastic range of animals at the Agrodome and Fairy Springs attractions and faced our fears on the thrilling downhill Zorb. This trip set the scene for what was a fun-filled term of learning around extreme sports. The Mission Heights Science Fair provided an opportunity for some high-quality Year 8 projects to advance through to the NIWA South Eastern Zone Science Fair competition. Some of our entries even won prize money! A real highlight was Jessica Kang who was awarded first place in the Year 7- 10 ‘Technology and Innovations’ category. Water Whānau also had a large number of Year 8 Athletes attend the AIMS games in Tauranga, providing an opportunity to showcase our talents across sports such as Hockey, Netball, Basketball, Football, Badminton, Gymnastics and Tennis. Our netball team placed 7th overall in the A Grade and football finished 16th in the A grade. As we near the conclusion of 2018 we are busy exploring our context Animalia and we are all looking forward to our trip to the Auckland Zoo.
Year 9 This year we have welcomed many new students to our Whānau. We began our learning context with Big, Bold and Blue. We focused on outdoor education and challenging ourselves in a range of outdoor settings. The outcome was an overnight trip to Goat Island. Due to poor weather, we modified our trip, spending one day at Snow Planet and the next day mountain biking and conducting a beach clean-up at the Shakespear Open Reserve. In Term 2 we learnt about the different bones, muscles and body systems by exploring the BodyWorlds exhibition at the Hilton Hotel before returning to school to create our BodyWorlds presentation for our families and classmates. For our context Reducing Inequality, 24 Water students travelled to Wellington for guided tours of the parliamentary buildings and the Te Papa museum. Science fair was a tremendous success with our Year 9 students winning many awards. Faatimah Nisa, Harshitha Surendran and Jahnavi Shah were highly commended in the Year 9 and 10 environmental science, and ‘Planet Earth and Beyond’ category with Ricky Bassano placed first in the ‘Physical and Material’ category as well as winning the prize for the best overall Year 9 project. We enjoyed strengthening our new friendships this year and look forward to our challenge of leading Water Whānau next year.
Year 10 We feel fortunate to have enjoyed such a memorable year together! Raglan Camp and White Water Rafting provided a GREAT kickstart to 2018 as we strengthened our communication skills and gained the confidence to lead our junior buddies. We thoroughly enjoyed our overnight visit to Russell and the Waitangi Treaty Grounds, as a part of our 50/50 context. Our appreciation for the principles and practice of biculturalism developed from learning about Aotearoa’s founding document, Te Tiriti o Waitangi. Something we will never forget was the chance to learn and lead Water Whānau in the school Haka celebration. Another particular moment was our impromptu performance of Kia Mana Ake in response to the cultural performers’ haka at the Waitangi Marae, Lofi Lavemai once again leading peers with great mana. Our Whānau spirit has been strong this year and has led to success at many Inter-Whānau events. We are proud to have won the MHJC swimming sports, bench ball, mystery box, trivia and cross country competitions. As sad as it is to be moving on from MHJC as the graduating class of 2018, we look forward to observing the next group to sustain and build upon the unique culture, successes and accomplishments of our GREAT Whānau – Water Whanau Council, 2018
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VISUAL ARTS
MISSION HEIGHTS JUNIOR COLLEGE 2018
Y10: CITY SCAPES
Y10: ANOTHER TIME
From top left: William Chen, Payal Dowlath, Aodhan MacFadyen, Humayra Azam, Esther Cao, Chelsey Choy, Jasmine Sidhu, Tisha Krishna (centre). Clockwise from top left: Hailey Ward, Tisha Krishna, Nehal Deo, Isabelle Lim.
Y8: MORE THAN SKIN DEEP
Brooklyn-Rose Timu, Kaylin Strydom.
Y7: PLASTIC OCEAN
Y8: COMMUNITY CLOAK
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Left: Mehar Kaur, Right: Shawn Lee.
Ashlee Allwood
Michelle Do
Y9: AUCKLAND OUR PLACE From left: Grace You, Ruby Tasmania, Muhabbat Hossein Zadeh.
Y8: COMMUNITY CLOAK Leo Cao
Y9: PAPERCUT
Clockwise from top left: Cordelia Shi, Grace You, Cong Yao Ma, Front: Lucy Liu, Marissa Dodd, Muhabbat Hossein Zadeh.
Y8: NOT SO ANCIENT EGYPTIAN
Shreya Patel
Zara Kumar
Danna Liu
Jessica Kang
Adrian Carpenter
Krishah Kaileshan
Chalotte McSaveney
Yan Fang 17
MHJC FOUR CORNERSTONES
LEADERSHIP THROUGH SERVICE The School Outreach Programme and the Leadership Council spread awareness about Red Nose Day. A total of $380 was donated to Cure Kids, to support child health research.
2018 has been a magnificent journey for the Leadership Council. At the start of the year, we committed to making a difference within our school and local community and beyond the shores of New Zealand. In response to the devastation caused by Cyclone Gita on Fiji and Samoa, we collected and donated 43 quality blankets, badly needed for the victims of the cyclone. The Leadership Council identified Auckland City Mission as an essential organisation in our community following research and discovering 2,000 Auckland families are dependent on the support of the Mission for food parcels each week. By promoting a can drive school-wide, 600 cans were collected and delivered to the Mission for distribution. We celebrated Human Rights Day on March 21 with the commemoration of the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre in South Africa. The team also created a video supporting the Give Nothing To Racism Campaign promoting the day, and more importantly to take a stand against racism of any kind. An invitation to attend Race Relations Day at Government House was a memorable time for our students, meeting with the Governor-General Dame Patsy Reddy and Race Relations Commissioner Dame Susan Devoy.
Ronak Lal and Victoria Kree accept the Silver Award for World Vision’s 40 hr Famine 2018. The total raised for the charity from MHJC reached a massive $13,200. A memorable day at Government House as a guest of GovernorGeneral Dame Patsy Reddy on Race Relations Day 2018.
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Members of our Leadership Council were nominated to attend Young Leaders Day in Manukau. The event comprised of inspirational speakers encouraging the audience to follow their dreams, be true to themselves, persevere, and never give up. The essence of the event was to inspire young minds to become resilient leaders capable of breaking through stereotypes and barriers and despite challenges we may face, we need to find our inner strength. Each of us left with a strong desire to become a leader or follow a dream.
Above: Generous MHJC staff and families donated 43 blankets for victims of Cyclone Gita in Fiji earlier this year. Above right: The MHJC 2018 Can Drive for the Auckland City Mission collected and delivered 600 cans of food.
AS YEAR 10 Coast students it has been a great honour to be part of the Leadership Council. This year has been an exceptionally awesome journey, visiting Government House, attending various informative leadership workshops and events. Being members of the council has been filled with many challenges but every challenge has been worthwhile as it has shaped and deepened our understanding of our school community, local society and the many other social issues confronting people daily. We realised we can be everyday heroes through simple acts of kindness. We know next years’ council will continue the kindness and service and carry the beacon with pride, delivering hope, support and comfort to those in need. – Brianna Yeung and Tanveer Virk
The Leadership Council and MHJC School Outreach have supported Kids First at Middlemore Hospital, by raising $530 through a bake sale to purchase 57 new toys. Further new toy donations were received from staff and families bringing the total to a magificent 105 toys! Gift wrapping is underway, then delivery to the charity for distribution to the children, bringing smiles to their faces this Christmas.
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Travelwise Gold Award Winners The Year 7 & 8 Travelwise team attended an awards ceremony in Auckland in November to accept a Gold Award for MHJC! This event is designed to recognise all the hard work, effort and achievement of schools during the year as they promote road safety in their schools and communities, while encouraging children and their families to travel in an active and sustainable way.
uLearn Conference Global Studies One of the 2018 school-wide Global Studies challenges was to create a model that addresses an environmental problem here or overseas.
The winning team, from Mountains WhÄ nau , impressed judges with a project to replace sanitary pads (the disposal of which causes serious environmental problems in our oceans) with a recycled cotton material.
Second place went to Water students who addressed the burning of fossil fuels. Their solution: build a recycle hydroelectric power system to be used in third world countries and rural areas. 20
Seven students from 9W2 presented at the national uLearn Conference, held at the Sky City Convention Centre during the Term 3 holidays. Students worked alongside teachers to showcase features of the Reading Plus programme and to discuss the impact the learning tool has achieved in terms of comprehension gains, speed/fluency and vocabulary development. MHJC took part in the restoration of the Puhinui Reserve for Auckland Council’s 1 Million Trees programme. To date over 100,000 trees have been planted. Mayor Phil Goff and the NZ Army came out to help complete the programme. In 2 hours MHJC students planted 400 kahikatea, flax, totara and cabbage trees. Students now have a greater connection with the local environment.
EXECUTIVE COUNCIL 2018 THE LEADERSHIP CONVENTION in Singapore opened our eyes to a new vision for aspirational leaders. A shared critical approach to making a difference within the community and globally has cultivated an enriching model, inclusive of values and ethics from across the globe, for us as future leaders.
AS THE 2018 EXECUTIVE COUNCIL we have embraced a courageous mindset to seek a change in ourselves as individuals and in our school community and society. We accomplished this through organising events like the Year 7 Social, Singapore Leadership Trip, MHJC Student Leaders Convention and our vision to support and maintain a disadvantaged international school via World Vision.
We hosted a local Student Leaders Convention (SLC) to share skills and insights towards improving the lives of youth. We took a positive worldview towards issues identified. Our legacy project supports an international school through World Vision by donating profits made through fundraising events. In the future, we hope the Executive Council of 2019 will continue this project and expand its scope as global citizens.
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MHJC FOUR CORNERSTONES
CULTURAL ACTIVITIES We are delighted to have supported an increase in the number of students participating in the Performing Arts, the Visual Arts, Languages, Speech and Drama related activities this year. The production of a school-wide show, Back to the 80s Musical, involved students of all year groups. Whether they were involved in performing on stage, singing in the chorus or behind the scenes producing backdrops and props, everyone came away having experienced a strong sense of being part of a family who understood the importance of collaboration and teamwork. Students involved in Visual Arts continue to deliver a high standard of work, with creative concepts nurtured through original, thought-provoking subject matter. A selection of artworks by Year 9 and 10 students was on display for the Community Arts Evening. Paintings, relief prints, papercuts and mixed-media works were on exhibit while a group of students worked on their woodcut relief blocks throughout the event. At MHJC students understand the value of speaking another language in a world where trade, travel and lifestyle are opening doors to the world. To that end, we have embraced the languages of many Pacific and Asian cultures in creative fun ways. Chinese Language Week presented us with a full range of activities and learning as well as individual success in Auckland-wide and national contests. Confidence and eloquence came through this year also in the number of participants in speech, drama and film competitions. Highlights include the success of our Senior Debating team and Harjot Singh Dharni who won through to the National Finals of the United Nations Speech Competition.
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The standard of our work has been recognised for its real subject matter, delivered with an understanding of topics in mature and ethical ways. Individuals and teams have reached finals in Australasian competitions and one speech contestant, Aadi Golchha, was broadcast live on the radio in fluent Hindi!
MHJC’s Bollywood Dance Group with teacher Seema Singh and Neetu Ismail. Above: MHJC’s orchestra has grown. The group has learned many pieces and how to effectively play together. Their debut performance was ‘Chariots of Fire’ for the Champions Assembly and look forward to further opportunities to perform in 2019. Right: Rock band Tu+2, a collaboration between MHJC and OSC, took part in the 2018 Smokefree Rockquest making it through to the Manukau Regional Finals along with 11 other bands.
Every year MHJC celebrates International Languages and Cultural Week with a range of fun activities, challenges, and learning. This is also a chance for students and staff to come to school dressed in the costume of their heritage showcasing the significance it has in their culture. Students also have the option to wear clothing that show what they are passionate about, such as their favourite sports team.
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The MHJC winning Southern Zone secondary school debate team remained undefeated in the entire tournament. In this competition Paul Chan won best speaker for the region for his role as the 2nd speaker for the team.
MHJC won the Best Creative Award 2018 in the ILEP NZ School Students Chinese short Film contest with their film ‘New Student’. Several MHJC students also won Merit Awards.
Above: Nikhilesh Prasad and Fauzaan Muhammed, were named as finalists for the Auckland Museum 2018 Lest We Forget Poetry Competition. Left: Harjot Singh Dharni won the Auckland/Northland United Nations speech competition. The win took him to Wellington for the Nationals. Harjot also won the school inter-Whanau speech competition and went on to win the Eastern Zones Year 10 speech competition. He was also voted the top delegate award at the Singapore Leaders’ Convention. Far left: MHJC Year 10 students winners in the 2018 Chinese Bridge Speech Competition Auckland region. Nikhilesh Prasad placed second and Arushi Suneel won third prize. Left: Students Melinda Pender and Cong Yao Ma had artwork published in Toi Toi, New Zealand’s top quarterly school journal of writing and art. Below: Year 10 media students Ethan Kid, Kayan Kermani and Ayush Sudhaka produced a video for the Australian ‘Focus on Ability’ Film Festival. The movie includes MHJC students and twin’s Ashvin and Arvinth who have Spinal Muscular Atrophy type 3 and exist happily in our mainstream education.
Competing in the Hindi language speeches at Papatoetoe High School against schools from all over Auckland were Krish Goyal, Aadi Golchha, Sukhman Kaur and Ruplai Biln. 24
KIA MANA AKE
AN EXTRAORDINARY MOMENT took place on the eve of Māori Language week this year, the first public performance to an audience of parents and friends of the Mission Heights Junior College very own Haka: Kia mana ake! Created by Jason Tuhaka Senior, as a gift to the school, Jason has collaborated with Māori & Pasifika Coordinator, Matua Brent Dunn, to bring this performance to life. Performed by all our learners and teachers Kia mana ake! was fully embraced and passionately delivered by all four of the Whānau groups at the school - Water/Wai, Coast/Takutai, Mountains/Maunga and Forest/Ngahere.
In September, we united with Ormiston Junior and Senior Colleges to present a stunning 20-minute performance at the 2018 Kōanga Spring Festival, hosted by Farm Cove Intermediate. Beautiful harmonies, intricate choreography, a rousing haka and long poi featured at the non-competitive kapa haka festival.
Ehara taku toa i te toa takitahi, Engari, he toa takitini My strength is not the strength of one, It is the strength of many. – Matua Brent Dunn Te Reo Māori teacher/ Māori & Pacific Co-Ordinator
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Tiaki Enviro Expo
Left: Risha Prasad Katrina Pham MarcusCanlas Halle Tang
MHJC FOUR CORNERSTONES
ACADEMIC EXTENSION Each year at MHJC we continue to demonstrate outstanding academic potential in the number of accolades and awards our students receive. The benchmarking against other schools is public record, but what we see on a daily basis is a love of learning. Our teachers encourage academic excellence, balanced with involvement in extracurricular activities, adding the benefits of time management, commitment, new skills and a sense of responsibility to the student’s lives.
EPro8
Above: Ricky Bassano, Sam Martin, Jasper Carpenter, Mustafer Kamish.
The school had taken a school-wide subscription for Science and as a result, all students had the opportunity to participate in all of the Education Perfect World competitions – an international online learning programme. Our students have done us proud achieving a Global 1st place for Humanities and Maths. For English and Science the school ranked second. Once again MHJC gained the global status of overall World Champions. Other success came in Science with outstanding results from the NIWA Manukau Region Science and Technology Fair with the regional finals held in the MHJC theatre. MHJC Year 8 students won First Prize in the Year 9 & 10 category at the environmental and STEM industry event, Tiaki Enviro Expo 2018, with their project titled ‘Smart Bins’. The nationwide Vector EPro8 Challenge is a competition for Years 7/8 and 9/10. Six teams from MHJC competed against intermediate schools around the wider Auckland region. The 3-hour challenge involved the use of Science,Technology Maths and Engineering skills to solve specific problems.
Left: Amanda Lee Kyle Anderson Ronak Lal
Year 7 students, Eric Pan and Joshua Lo, both achieved High Distinction in the the Australian Maths Trust Competition – awarded to only 3% of students!
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The MHJC Mathex is an annual event held in August to coincide with National Maths Week. This fun event brings together the MHJC community - parents, students, teachers and members of the community to demonstrate their mathematical skills in solving problems. It was an evening filled with excitement, hilarity, tension, teamwork and competitiveness. The event helps to choose the top Mathematicians to represent MHJC at the Auckland Mathex competitions. Throughout the 2018 school year, students have participated in a wide range of Academic competitions and exams: ICAS, Big Science, Mathex, Australian Maths, Otago Maths Junior for Year 9 & 10, the Otago Problem Solving for Years 7 & 8, Australian Chemistry Quiz and Spelling Bee for Years 9 & 10 and the Classroom Spelling Bee for Years 7 & 8. In a new competition, the Great Kiwi Competition, run by the University of Canterbury, our students were able to show their academic prowess in English, Maths and Science.Students have achieved good success in these competitions and exams.
Manukau Science Fair
Congratulations to all our prize winners in the 2018 NIWA Science Fair:
School Mathex
“Our students have an inherent appetite for learning and have amazing self-belief. They value working hard and have become used to competing regionally, nationally and internationally and succeeding.” – Principal Ian Morrison Photo: Three of the team after winning the Education Perfect Volvo Challenge in April; four months later MHJC claimed the ‘WORLD CHAMPIONS’ title!
2018 Overall World
YEAR 7: Saniya Lal Highly Commended (Years 7 & 8 Consumer Science). Keiran Hicks & Jack Grant Highly Commended (Years 7-10 Tech & Innovation); YEAR 8: Katrina Pham & Risha Prasad Third Place (Years 7-10 Tech & Innovation); Jessica Kang First Place (Years 7-10 Tech & Innovation), Best Use of Electronics (Special Prize) & Engineering Junior Award (Special Prize) YEAR 9: Faatima Nisa, Harshitha Surendran & Jahnavi Shah (Years 9 & 10 Environmental Science); Cong Yao Ma, Saniya Sajwan and Bhavjeet Kaur Highly Commended (Years 9-13 Consumer Science); Ricky Bassano First Place (Years 9 &10 Physical and Material World) and Overall Top Year 9 Project in the Fair (Special Prize). YEAR 10: Paul Chan, Ethan Kidd & Harjot Singh Dharni Third Place (Years 9 & 10 Living World); Pahul Kumar, Kashvi Vij and Tania Kumar First Place (Years 9 & 10 Living World) Annie Man, Helen Man and Kathleen Tieu Auckland Transport (Special Prize)
MHJC FOUR CORNERSTONES
SPORTING ENDEAVOUR From its foundation year in 2009 MHJC has encouraged participation and excellence in sport, promoting physical well-being and sportsmanship. In 2009 we had very few teams in a small number of codes, but ten years later we can proudly attest to over 20 sporting codes with 70 sports teams and a total of 420 students competing in inter school competitions. Our dedicated Sports Coordinator, full time Sports Assistant, coaches and managers with support from management, are always looking at ways to add value to the programme. Once again we took part in the AIMS games held in Tauranga with over 100 MHJC students competing in football, hockey, gymnastics, netball, badminton, swimming and basketball. Our teams again showed pleasing improvement with football advancing a grade and netball with its most successful year to date, finishing 7th out of 122 schools. Overall we finished 33rd out of 334 schools. Our Year 7 swimming star, Leo
Arrowsmith, brought back a total of 4 AIMS medals!
MHJC student Kyle Anderson success‑ fully graded to a 2nd degree black belt in Taekwon‑Do. This year he also won 2 golds and 1 silver medal at the Auck‑ land North Regional competition.This adds to his collection which includes a Gold Medal in Argen‑ tina last year.
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During the year we competed in the South Eastern Zone at age level athletics, cricket, hockey, football and basketball, building on our success rate and rankings. Basketball remains our most popular sport with 17 teams of boys and girls entered in the various leagues around Auckland. In order to widen student participation, new sports have been introduced like softball and hockey. Our softball team benefitted from the valuable contribution of brothers, AJ and Ricky Bassano, who are already competing in Auckland representative teams here and in Australia. We are proud of our students and particularly the way they conduct themselves on and off the field, showing respect to officials and opposition teams. Planning is underway for some exciting development in a variety of codes in 2019 and the future of MHJC sport is looking bright.
NETBALL Auckland Competition Saturdays MHJC Premier Netball team competed in the Auckland competition coached by Laetitia Jansen van Rensburg. The players showed courage and determination playing against the top schools in Auckland. The Y7-8 team came 4th in the Junior A Section placing 4th in Auckland. BASKETBALL This year MHJC has 17 teams and six teams entered the Counties Manukau competition for Y 9-10 students. The U15 boys A-team won 7 out of 8 games, finishing 2nd and qualifying for the Auckland Championships. Coached by Daymon Hellyer-Adams, the team placed 8th in Auckland. FOOTBALL MHJC Premier Under 14 boys football team played in the Auckland competition. Coached by Tim Dunn, the team played schools from North Shore, West Auckland, East Auckland and Central Auckland, winning 6 out of 12 games. The team finished 6th in the 14A2 competition placing 18th in Auckland overall. CRICKET Five cricket teams entered competitions and our top two teams compete in the regions top level competitions: The Active Post cricket team competed against 40 Auckland intermediate schools, winning their pool and placing 8th in Auckland.
AIMS GAMES 2018
Above: Fateh Bhular and Jot Bajwa finished 4th in the AIMS Badminton doubles at the games Above right: Ava Steele placed 2nd in the bar and 4th out of 64 AIMS Games competitors.
Above: Brothers AJ and Ricky Bassano made the Under 16 Auckland representative softball team, recently playing in Australia. Both are keen to see the growing popularity of the sport at Mission Heights Junior College.
Left: Leo Arrowsmith, returned from the AIMS Games with four medals: Gold ‑ 200m Freestyle; Silver ‑ 200m Breaststroke, 200m Medley, 50m Breaststroke.
The MHJC Football team made the A grade for the second time and finished 16th out of 64 teams. Our Netballers qualified for the A grade for the first time and narrowly lost in the quarter final and finished 7th out of 122 teams. The boys Basketball team played well and finished 61st out of 73 teams. In Cross-country we sent two runners to compete and they performed strongly. For the first time we entered a Mixed Hockey Team and placed 42nd out of 56 teams.
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South Eastern Zone (SEZ) Competitions
SEZ FUTSAL - MHJC claimed the Champions title for the third time!
SEZ Competitions for Years 7 and 8 students: Cricket, Cross-country, Hockey, Rugby 7s, Touch Rugby, Orienteering, Rugby, Tennis, Gymnastics, Basketball, Netball, Football, Futsal, Volleyball, Softball, Badminton, and Athletics.
ROTOTUNA SPORTS EXCHANGE: The 3rd annual sports exchange between MHJC and Rototuna Junior High School was a day full of fun, laughter and competition. Over 300 students competing in sport and demonstrating the value of sport in our community. The day ended with burgers and juice shared among new found friends.
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SEZ CROSS-COUNTRY MHJC runners Lachlan Henry, John Nguyen and Jasmine Strong all placed in the top 10 of the SEZ event securing entry to the Auckland Championships. SEZ BOYS RUGBY competed in the Under 55kg tournament, placing 2nd in the final. SEZ HOCKEY GIRLS played well to finish 5th. SEZ FOOTBALL Year 8 Boys 3rd overall.
SEZ BASKETBALL our boys team placed 4th overall.
SEZ NETBALL Girls A team placed 5th, Girls B team 4th. Boys team 2nd overall. The boys also went to the Auckland Championships and were placed 9th in Auckland.
TOTARA SPRINGS SPORTS CAMP:
2018 was the first year we took 40 students to the Totara Springs Sports Camp. It was a wonderful opportunity for students who missed out on going to this years AIMS Games. They had lots of fun and competed in 20 different sports ranging from rugby, netball, basketball, football, wall ball, spikeball and athletics. MHJC was presented with the Top Sportsmanship Award made all the more special as it is voted on by all participating schools.
MHJC ALUMNI Where are they now?
Christopher Townsend
Taraani Mohammed CLASS OF 2012
CLASS OF 2010
Christopher is currently in his penultimate year studying a Bachelor of Civil Engineering with Honours at the University of Auckland. He specialises in Structural Engineering and has big ambitions about his future.
Taraani began as a foundation student in Year 7 moving to Ormiston Senior College after completing Year 10.
After studying chemistry, physics, biology and maths, Steven went to the University of Auckland, to satisfy his parent’s dream of getting into medicine. He recalls studying for his final first-semester exam and watching the TV show Million Dollar Listing and thought: “This seems like a fun job!”
CLASS OF 2012
After completing his degree, Christopher hopes to travel overseas and further develop his engineering experience by working on ground-breaking projects with the end goal of returning to New Zealand and applying his expertise to deliver innovative and world-class structures that will positively impact local communities for future generations. Christopher has fond memories of MHJC, especially during the 2009 school cross-country event when he competed with a broken leg. Despite torrential downpours, he was pushed around the entire course in a wheel chair, by a very determined Mr Hishey!
She is currently completing a conjoint degree at the University of Auckland studying a Bachelor of Property and Bachelor of Commerce majoring in Accounting and Finance. Upon graduation Taraani hopes to work at a Property Fund or within Business Advisory, eventually working her way up the corporate ladder and taking on a leadership role. Some of her fondest memories of MHJC include taking DEEP classes (Fab Tech, Calligraphy) and inter-whānau sports including Benchball and Prison Break. Her days at MHJC were some the best of her childhood, and she will never forget the whānau spirit and breadth of opportunities.
Steven Liang
Looking into it, Steven found a course starting the same day as his semester exam! He ended up with a real estate license in his hand 12 weeks later. Steven didn’t tell his parents until three months into the job, they didn’t speak to him for six months but it allowed Steven to focus and prove the family wrong. He admits it wasn’t easy, but now in 2018, sells some of the most beautiful homes in East Auckland with his team and partner in crime, Tom Rawson. In 2017/18 they were ranked 7th in Ray White New Zealand-wide. His advice for his 15 year-old self: ‘Search for a long-term goal or vision. Some people take years to find it. Once you see it, push forward and don’t look back.”
If you are an MHJC ex-pupil and would like to share your story of ‘where you are now..’ please email alumni@mhjc.school.nz - we would love to hear from you! 31
FIND YOUR PATH OPC / Hillary Outdoors
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During 2018, MHJC strengthened its strong commitment to Education Outside the Classroom (EOTC) with the addition of a Year 9 Outdoor Education class, led by Mr Gardi.
OED Bike Trip day
A focus on Year 9 Biking this year included cycle safety, biking on the road, mountain biking, creating awareness of places to bike and ultimately learning the many benefits of cycling. We put into practice the learning and completed a full day cycling some of Auckland’s iconic bike paths (Auckland Waterfront, Tamaki Drive and the Ormiston cycle lane). Using train transport to take us into the city, students used their navigational skills and fitness ability to complete a 26 km ride back to MHJC.
Throughout the year MHJC enjoys education outside the classroom (EOTC). Water safety, Year group camps, Goat Island Marine Discovery Centre visits and more!
OED Overnight Assessment
The Year 9 Outdoor Education class participated in the first ever overnight assessment camping trip, held at Tawhatikino Beach. We navigated around rocks and assisted each other, with great teamwork, to reach the campsite. Students had to learn how to set up camp, light an open fire, manage and cook as well as spend 100 minutes alone. Writing a letter home to parents and identifying native plants were part of the activities and the fantastic warm weather at the end of the trip meant we saw a pod of Orca whales swimming up close to the beach.
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MHJC Staff News PRISCILLA NAIDOO
has gained her Masters degree in Legal Literacy with a focus on Auckland Secondary School Principals’ understanding of education law. The Masters degree enables her to work with Principals and Boards of Trustees.
MEERA PHADKE
recognised for her presentation at the FB7 Conference Day.
BRENT DUNN
Congratulations Brent on completing your Postgraduate Diploma in Secondary Teaching.
SEEMA SINGH
has received her Post Grad Certificate in Applied Practice (Digital and Collaborative Learning).
LESLEY WILLIAMSON
graduated as a fully registered teacher at the Howick Pakuranga Principals Association (HPPA) graduation ceremony.
RESHMIKA LAL
has accepted the role of Auckland Regional Facilitator for Tournament of Minds, coordinating and hosting the regional competition and training days.
JULIET GAO
Congratulations Juliet on achieving EP Teacher Certification Levels 1 & 2. She also gained her 2018 Certificate for Transforming Practice in Language Teaching (TPLT).
MICAH-LEIGH NIKORA
Micah-Leigh has been accepted into the Open Polytechnic to study for her Teacher Aide qualification.
Active Mindfulness
the new MHJC Teaching Staff 2018: Well-being is part of our school focus for both man Chen - Mathematics; Seema Singh - English; Kim Bolton - Global Studies/Enviro; students and staff. Using the proven methods - English; Brent Dunn - Te Reo Maori; of Mindfulness to calm oneself and focus, ennn - Health & PE. ables a more enriched and deeper learning.
STAFF PROGRAMME
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We chose an activity of high energy exercise to develop a flow known as ‘being in the zone’. As the school owns 24 mountain bikes, we rode to Totara Park, minutes away from MHJC. Our first session, with nine staff members, was a great success. The teachers agreed to take on board more of these methods and pass them onto our students.
29 NOV E MBE R 2018
An evening celebrating our Māori and Pasifika cultures with music, dance, song and special awards. Matua Brent Dunn Māori & Pasifika Co-ordinator
THIS YEAR’S THEME for the Māori & Pasifika Celebration evening reflected a celebration of our MHJC students’ successes during 2018. The entire night was student-led and showcased not just the success in the classroom, but beyond the classroom as well. At the forefront were NCEA credits earned, the performing arts, sports and the number of Māori and Pasifika students representing the school around the world. There was singing and dancing from many past and present students of MHJC and awards were given to students as acknowledgement of their contribution to the kura and the community.
This year there were three new awards presented: Manukura Tane- Male leadership in kapa haka Manukura Wāhine - female leadership in kapa haka Manaaki ki te tangata- Caring for the people, awarded to a member who is a part of the Māori & Pasifika council and has worked hard and shown leadership when needed.
The winners for the three awards were: Manukura Tane: Jason Tuhaka, Cyrus Tuhaka and Lofi Lavemai Manukura Wāhine: Apryl Treygo Manaaki ki te Tangata: Keani Pereira and Sunaina Sharma.
A night filled with fun, singing and whanaungatanga by students and whanau...
...he mihi nui ki a koutou te whanau kua tai mai ki tenei pō whakahirahira me tautoko nga rangatira ō mua. Nō reira mēri kirihimete kia tātou katoa Mauri ora
Mission Heights JUNIOR COLLEGE
G R O W I N G G R E AT N E S S K I A M A N A A K E
The Four Cornerstones Our motto at Mission Heights Junior College is ‘Growing Greatness/Kia mana ake’ and to ensure every student has an opportunity to grow their greatness, opportunities outside the classroom are provided. We call these our Four Cornerstones. These opportunities allow students to showcase their unique talents, explore new activities and contribute their time and energy to the wider activities of the school. The Four Cornerstones provide an excellent vehicle for developing skills and qualities required for future success including collaboration through teamwork, resilience through commitment and determination and integrity through fair play and sportsmanship.
MHJC Four Cornerstones: 1. Leadership through Service - at its heart is selfless leadership and mentoring with purposeful outcomes linked to a set of values embedded in community related activities. 2. Cultural Activities - we aim to provide opportunities for students within the visual and performing arts as well as celebrating our diverse community. 3. Academic Extension - our goal is to provide learning experiences, challenges and competitions which extend our students and promote, creativity, critical thinking and problem solving. 4. Sporting Endeavour - To promote a healthy lifestyle through participation in individual and team sports and provide students the opportunity to develop their skills by competing against the best.
“Steven knows the ins and outs of the property market in our area far better than most.” Born-and-bred in Mission Heights and Flat Bush, Steven has settled over $145m worth of properties. “We knew Steven as a customer of our own business, and through conversations, we could tell he was very approachable, knowledgeable and would go above and beyond to get a job done well. When we came across a Ray White listing, we knew who to call! Steven has proven himself very well throughout the process, very honest, prompt and made useful suggestions through an otherwise very stressful process!” - Anthony Griffen & Maggie Chan “Tom and Steven are very professional, knowledgeable and made everything super easy.” - Melissa Thomson “Genuine and talks on our level.” - Grant & Robyn Wallen “Patient and well spoken.” - Sovanarath Seng
M: 0212384742 T: 9 262 2250 E: steven.liang@raywhite.com