Category Archives: The Four Cornerstones

The Four Cornerstones of Extra Curricular Achievement

Introduction

The Four Cornerstones of extra curricular achievement refers to opportunities we provide students to participate and excel in academic competitions, cultural activities, leadership through service and sporting events and competitions.

These opportunities are designed to ensure students can find and grow their greatness outside the formal curriculum and promote the development of the whole child.

Students are recognised and acknowledged for showing commitment to an activity and we celebrate outstanding achievement at Celebration Assemblies, Prize Giving and Graduation.

A teacher coordinates each cornerstone with support staff assistance.

Academic Competitions

All students may enter regional, national and international academic competitions which extend their problem solving and intellectual capabilities. These opportunities are particularly valuable for our academically gifted and talented students and the DEEP programme is often used to support and guide groups to excel in a particular competition like Mathex.

The school is proud to have won the Top School in the world in the Education Perfect Challenge for the third time in 2019 which is a competition that complements our core curriculum and illustrates the wonderful commitment of our students.

Cultural activities

MHJC is a diverse community and we enjoy recognising and celebrating as many cultural events as possible and a Cultural Dress Competition is held every year. Various events help to showcase students’ cultural abilities which include a bi-annual musical, annual Performing and Visual Arts showcase evening as well as the popular Talent Quest and Santa Show. 

We also provide our Māori and Pasifika students with an opportunity to perform at a celebration evening and our Kapa Haka group performs at public events like the Koanga Festival.

Leadership through Service

Students are encouraged to be good citizens by providing their time and energy to help others. Councils have been established to provide student voice and opportunities to help drive activities and events e.g. Whānau Council, Sports Council, Cultural Council.

Senior students support our new Year 7s at camp and act as buddies throughout their first year. And the Principal selects two senior students from each whānau to meet he and the Student Representative to the Board of Trustees weekly in an open forum.

Sporting activities

The Sports Programme at MHJC has grown substantially since we opened in 2009 and every year we have added more to the Sports Programme than before.

Our goal is to provide opportunities for all students to be active and healthy as well as provide our top athletes with the highest quality  facilities, coaches and competition. In addition to regular inter-whānau and inter-school competitions, highlights of our programme include an annual sporting exchange with Rototuna Junior High School, competing in the International AIMS Games held in September in Tauranga and the Sports Camp in Totara Springs.

All communication regarding sports sign-ups and trial dates are emailed to the students’ school email address. We encourage students to sign up and trial if they wish to represent the school. Each time a student represents the school in a school sporting activity or in a school sports team they will receive a sporting cornerstone which will be visible on their MHJC Profile Page. We encourage parents to sit down with their child to help them navigate their emails and ensure they do not miss out on any sporting opportunities. 

 

Information regarding trials will also be loaded on the MHJC school website under the ‘events’ section. 

If you have any questions or queries please do not hesitate to contact us at sport@mhjc.school.nz.